The Present Truth, vol. 13

March 11, 1897

“God's Handiwork” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

The winter has past and the brightening, warming sun gives promise in its enlivening beams of the vernal joys of bud, and bloom, and fresh green leaves, and singing birds, which are near. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.1

Yet, while the springtime and the summer are beautiful, and show forth to us daily in bewildering multitudes the marvels of God's handiwork, the winter-time is no less wonderful in its beauty, and at the same time no less beautiful in its wonders. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.2

Consider for a moment just one of the accompaniments of the wintry winter, the snow. In the still, small voice of the softly-falling snow, the expression of Divine creative power, and supremacy of authority, may be realised even more than in the startling insistence of the thunders of the summer showers. Job's friend, Elihu, felt this when he said, extolling the greatness and power of God (Job 37:5, 6), “Great things doeth He which we cannot comprehend. For He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth” etc. “By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.3

But man's understanding of the wonders of snow and ice is so small, and his view so narrow, that God said in reply (Job 38:22, 23), “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.4

So this beautiful, gentle snow, and no less marvellous thing, ice and hail, commend themselves to our attention even more than by their beauty, and the natural marvel of their production. There are treasures of these frozen forms stored up for use as part of the terrors of the time of trouble, in the last days,—which no man has seen, and of which there is no thought among men. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.5

But what is the snow? This anomalous thing which, falling, makes the day dark with its solid whiteness, and the darkness of the night brilliant with its brightness, though it hides all familiar things from our sight? How softly and gently it robes the earth in its pure mantle, warmly and lovingly protecting from cold and death the life which mother earth carries in her bosom, yet relentless in its chilling cold to him who braves its trackless wastes. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.6

Beautiful, yet terrible; soft and light and tender and beneficent, yet hard and stern and fierce and deadly; protecting and preserving the life of the coming summer, yet remorselessly chilling away the warm life that is exposed to it. The cold breath of the snow hardens the earth and the water till the whole surface of the earth is as unimpressionable as the primeval rock; yet this is, that, purified of its grossness and poisons, both earth and water may return again to the use of man more fit than before. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.7

How delicately soft a thing a snowflake is, as it lightly treads its airy stairway down to earth,—the most pure and angel-like product of the mystery of the skies. Whence did it arise? how came it there? how came it here?—questions as unanswerable to-day, outside of the Word of God, as in the days of Elihu and Job. With all man's scientific research, in which he has followed, step by step, the processes of God's creative and upholding power, as far as they are open to his eyes, he, in reality, after it all, only knows that God said, “Let it be so!” and it was so, and still is so. When God said, “Let there be a firmament,“ and divided the waters beneath from the clouds above, then first became possible the wonder of the falling snow. But when the airy home and pathway of the snowflake was made, only the same potency of Omnipotence could make the snowflake itself. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.8

Did you ever examine closely a new-fallen snow flake, so fragile and weak, and both the marvel and beauty of its symmetrical crystallic forms,—and do you know that to put, and hold, in those shapes, so much of this frail substance as you will gather in your hands to make a snow-ball, requires a force as great as the power which Etna puts forth, when it heaves lava and gigantic rocks to the skies? Only the potency of Omnipotence could do it. And all man's achievements are possible only through the use of the potencies of the Almighty which He has prepared for man and granted him the privilege of utilising, that he may learn the power and goodness of the Creator. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 145.9

In the beauty and wonder of the snow, except he be blind, spiritually blind, every man, and every child, may see an expression of the power of the Creator, and know God. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 146.1

But now the winter is past, the snow is gone, and the wonder of the growing things, the beauty of the blooming flowers, and the joy of the singing birds is with us. Truly, “day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge” of God,—and, of all these wonders which He has made, “there is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 146.2

“Jesuits in Madagascar” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

The Jesuits are still the pioneers of Romanism, and wherever political situations favour old-time methods of “conversion” they are as ready as ever to take advantage of their opportunities. Owing to their influence the Protestant missionaries in Madagascar have had a hard time since the French occupation. The London Missionary Society has prepared a statement, of which the following paragraph is a summary:— PTUK March 11, 1897, page 146.3

“The French Government professed, and still professes, to concede full religious liberty; but, especially in outlying districts; a system of terrorism prevails. The Jesuit missionaries are the moving force, and in many cases they are backed by the Government officials, who depend upon them as interpreters. A favourite course is to claim a Protestant chapel as communal-to get a majority of the people in their favour, and then to oust the Protestants and open it as a Catholic place of worship. At least a score of chapels have thus been taken possession of by the Catholics. The fact is that these chapels were not built by the communes as such, but by the united gifts of the inhabitants. The Jesuits gain their majority by denouncing the Protestants as friends of the English, and as enemies of France. The terrified people believe that they will be shot, and to save their lives go over in hundreds to the Catholics.” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 146.4

“Present Blessings” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

Jesus met Martha and Mary, after the death of Lazarus, each of them in reproachful sorrow, “Lord, if hadst been here, my brother had not died.” Martha, however, did not allow regret for the past to shut out all comfort for the present, as she added, “But I know that even now, whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee.” It was a confession of faith for a present blessing, though even then she was hardly prepared to believe that Jesus would immediately raise Lazarus to life, and found it easier to believe for the future-that in the resurrection of the last day her brother should rise again. The Lord had comfort for them just then and gave them their brother risen from the dead. But the lesson of Martha's confession is for all time. It is natural enough to regret the past; to feel that if only this or that had not occurred, or if only the Lord had interposed and ordered differently, we could now have faith and courage. But whatever the past, there is blessing from the Lord for every one just now. He has present comfort for those who sorrow under bereavement, and present forgiveness and good cheer for those who sorrow over past failures and misfortunes. God lives to bless and comfort and work in the eternal present. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 146.5

“The Popularity of War” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

At the farewell banquet to the American Ambassador last week, Lord Salisbury, speaking of the influences which make for war between peoples, said:— PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.1

Of this I feel certain, that it is not in the traditions of Governments or the tendencies of official persons that the danger, if any such there be, to good relations exists. If you will keep the unofficial people in order I will promise you the official people will never make war. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.2

It would be too much to accept this as absolutely true, as statesmen are but of the same flesh and blood as the unofficial people, but no one can fail to see that kings and rulers do not make war nowadays against the will of their peoples as much as in past days. Rather is it popular passion forcing the hands of statesmen. What the passion for war is every Christian knows who knows his Bible. “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts?” That is what the Word says, and everybody knows it is true, however much people may glorify war. It is the working out of the natural brute in man. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.3

“The Promises to Israel. The Time of the Promise at Hand” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

In closing our study of the Babylonian captivity last week we saw that if Israel had learned the lesson of trust in God and had not continued still in the bondage of pride and self-confidence, the seventy years of Babylonian captivity would have brought them to a point where the long-deferred promise of an everlasting inheritance might speedily have been fulfilled; for, as already stated, up to the time of the beginning of the captivity in Babylon the only definite time of prophecy was the period of seventy years. But God foresaw before this time ended that the lesson had not been learned; and so, toward the close of that period He gave the prophet Daniel a vision in which another and longer time was fixed. The prophecy is briefly this:— PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.4

THE VISION OF DANIEL 8

Daniel saw in vision a ram with the peculiarity that one horn was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. He “saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.” Daniel 8:3, 4. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.5

Next he saw a goat coming furiously from the west, having one notable horn between his eyes. “And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host,“ etc. Daniel 8:5-11. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.6

After giving some further details concerning this wonderful little horn, the prophet thus concludes the account of the vision:— PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.7

“Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spoke, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Verses 13, 14. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 147.8

THE ANGEL's INTERPRETATION

It is not the design to enter into the details of the prophecy, but simply to give the barest outline, so that we may be able to trace the history of the promise. An angel was commissioned to explain the vision to Daniel, which he proceeded to do as follows:— PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.1

“The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning is true.” Daniel 8:20-26. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.2

Two universal kingdoms that were to follow Babylon are named, and the other one is so clearly indicated, that we can readily name it. The power that acquired the lordship of the world as the result of the third revolution spoken of by Ezekiel was Rome, here plainly indicated by its work of standing up against the Prince of princes. After the death of Alexander, king of Greece, his kingdom was divided into four parts, and it was by the conquest of Macedonia, one of these four divisions, in B.C. 68, that Rome acquired such strength that it could dictate to the world. Hence it is said to come forth from one of them. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.3

A LONG PROPHETIC PERIOD

But there was a period of time connected with this vision, which the angel did not explain with the rest of the vision. It was the twenty-three hundred days, or, literally, twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings. That these are not literal days may be known from this: This is a prophecy of symbols, in which short-lived animals are used to represent kingdoms that existed during hundreds of years; it is perfectly in keeping with the method of symbolic prophecy to use days in connection with the symbols, but it is evident that they must represent a longer period, in the interpretation, since two thousand three hundred days-a little more than six years-would scarcely be the beginning of the first kingdom. So we are warranted in concluding that each day stands for a year, as in Ezekiel 4:6, where the Lord uses days in symbolising years. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.4

Later on the same angel came back, as the result of Daniel's prayer, to make known the remainder of the vision, namely, about the days. See Daniel 9:20-23. Beginning where he left off, as though not a moment had intervened, the angel said, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people,“ etc. Verse 24. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.5

Seventy weeks, four hundred and ninety years, were determined or cut off from the two thousand three hundred years, upon the Jewish people. They were to begin from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem. This commandment full and complete we find in Ezra 7:11-26, and it was given in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, which was B.C. 457. Beginning in the year 457 B.C., four hundred and ninety years would end in the year 34 A.D. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.6

But the last one of these prophetic weeks was divided. Sixty-nine of them-483 years-reaching to the year 27 A.D., marked the time of the revelation of the Messiah, or the Anointed One, the time when Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost at His baptism. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.7

In the middle of the last week of years, namely three and one-half years after the baptism of Jesus, Messiah was “cut off, but not for Himself.” During the entire week, or seven years, the covenant was confirmed. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.8

The whole period of two thousand three hundred years, which can readily be calculated, reaches to the year 1844 A.D., which is in the past. Thus the longest prophetic period given in the Bible has expired, so that now indeed “the time of the promise” must be very near. When the Lord will come to restore all things, no one can tell, for “of that day and hour knoweth no man.” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.9

THE KINGDOM OF GOD TAKEN FROM THE JEWISH PEOPLE

But let us note further for a moment that period of four hundred and ninety years devoted to the Jewish people. Was it a time in which God would be partial, in that he would not regard the salvation of any other people? Impossible; for God is no respecter of persons. It was simply an evidence of the long-suffering of God, in that He would wait yet so many years on the people of Israel, to give them an opportunity to accept their high calling as priests of God, to make the promise known to the world. But they would not. On the contrary, they themselves so far forgot it that when the Messiah came they rejected Him. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.10

So from being the ones around whom the kingdom of Israel, the fifth and last universal kingdom, should centre, they ceased to have any distinctive place in the promise. Individuals of the race may be saved by believing the Gospel, just the same as other persons; but that is all. The desolate temple, with the rent veil revealing the fact that the glory of God no more dwelt in its most holy place, was a symbol of that people's standing in connection with the covenant. As individuals they may be grafted into the good olive tree, the same as any Gentiles, thus becoming Israel; but their position as leaders, as the religious teachers of the world, is for ever gone, because they did not appreciate it. They knew not the time of their visitation. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 148.11

THE FINAL CALL FROM BABYLON

And now what remains?—Only this, that God's people hear and obey the call to come out of Babylon, lest by remaining they receive of her plagues. For although the city on the Euphrates was destroyed many hundred years ago, even several hundred years before Christ, yet nearly one hundred years after Christ the prophet John was by the Spirit moved to repeat the very threats uttered by Isaiah against Babylon, and in almost the identical words:— PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.1

“How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine.” Revelation 18:7, 8. Compare Isaiah 47:7-10. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.2

Babylon was a heathen city, exalting itself above God. As shown in Belshazzar's feast (Dan. v.), it represented a religion that defied God. The same spirit exists to-day, not simply in a certain society, but wherever men choose their own way in religion, rather than submit to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. God in His longsuffering and tender mercy is but waiting until His people, coming out of Babylon, and humbling themselves to walk with Him, shall preach this Gospel of the kingdom, with all the power of the kingdom, even the power of the world to come, “in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.3

That “end” will be the destruction of Babylon, just as spoken through Jeremiah; but as Babylon of old was a universal kingdom, and its real king, as shown in Isa. xiv., was Satan, the god of this world, so the destruction of Babylon is nothing less than the judgment of God on the whole earth, when He delivers His people. For now read the words which “Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations,“ when he prophesied about the end of the Babylonian captivity:— PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.4

GOD's CONTROVERSY WITH THE NATIONS

“For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.5

“Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me: to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Askelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.6

“Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.7

“Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:15-33. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.8

This is the fearful doom to which all the nations of the earth are rushing. For that great battle they are all arming. Many of them are dreaming of federation and of universal dominion; but God has said of universal dominion on this earth, “It shall be no more, till He come whose right it is, and I will give it Him.” Ezekiel 21:27. The last general revolution will be at the coming of “the Seed to whom the promise was made” (Galatians 3:19), who will then take the kingdom to Himself. Yet a little while are these terrible judgments delayed, that all may have opportunity to exchange the weapons of the flesh for the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, which is “mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.9

This captivity is freedom. By God's Word we come from the Babylonian bondage of pride and self-confidence to the freedom of God's gentleness. Who will heed the call to come out, and exchange the bondage of human tradition and speculation for the freedom which God's eternal Word of truth gives? PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.10

“Where Do You Live?” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

Where Do You Live? -Every day, and every hour, as we grow from childhood to maturity and old age, we are building, and furnishing, mansions and palaces of thought for our souls to dwell in, not creations of fancy, or “Castles in Spain,“ but veritable abodes for the soul. And every one, however humble, however poor, may, if he will, live in “The House Beautiful.” But these homes of the soul are as varied as the grave, the prison, the castle, the palace, and the home; and there are those which are a foretaste of the mansion which He has gone to prepare. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 149.11

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

—The Dutch people consume more tobacco per head than the people of any other country. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.1

—One of the largest ships of war ever built on the Thames was completed for Japan last week. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.2

—There are four hundred and eighty poisons to the square mile in England, and seventeen to the square mile in the United States. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.3

—The damage to life and property wrought by the high wind last week was said to be almost unparalleled at this time of the year in England. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.4

—On every shilling turned out the Mint makes a profit of nearly threepence. On every ton of penny-pieces taken out from the Mint there is a profit of ?362. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.5

—The Benin and the Niger expeditions have been completed and the British authority established over immense territory. Both campaigns were fighting ones, and much blood was shed. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.6

—Over three million of people are now being relieved by the Government relief works in India The Mansion House Fund, which is used in supplementary relief, is now nearing the half-million pounds. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.7

—The situation in Europe is so critical that little thought is given to political upheavals elsewhere. But last week the Spanish forces defeated the insurgents in the Philippines, slaying, it is said, 2,000 of them. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.8

—“Captain Boycott—who has given both a noun and a verb to the language—says that to-day, so far from being the most hated man in Mayo, he is one of the most popular. It is he who was originally ‘boycotted’ sixteen years ago.” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.9

—Crete has been under Turkish rule since 1669. There have been periodic revolts ever since. It is a very rough and mountainous island, and in some of the rocky wilds it is said there have always been some who have never been conquered or subjected. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.10

—The Pope has purchased a large estate adjoining the Vatican gardens, being assured that Italy will treat it as the Vatican, granting rights of extra-territoriality, that is, as territory beyond the jurisdiction of the ordinary processes of government. Thus the Pope is actually sovereign of a considerable area, which pleases his vanity immensely, although he wants all Rome to be his. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.11

—The Chinese Empire has been surrounded by officials whose aim has been to keep him from becoming contaminated by too much knowledge of the world outside of the Middle Kingdom. For long it was unpatriotic to allow that there was any world not ruled by the Court of Peking. But the young man is asserting himself and evidently means to learn. He called for a French teacher, and one Li was provided. But the Emperor soon found that Li knew no more of French than him-self, and ordered him under arrest, to be detained until he acquired the language which he was reputed to be able to teach. The Emperor will doubtless learn French. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 158.12

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

The very men who most have cried, “Peace and safety,“ are invariably foremost in giving vent to the sentiments which make for war when crises come. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.1

Any observer can see that there is no real peace in the nations. The only sentiments which draw them together in combinations are mutual selfishness and mutual hatred. There is no peace where selfishness is, and selfishness exists wherever Christ is not enthroned in men's hearts. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.2

The newspapers frequently speak of the Armageddon which they see drawing near. They use the phrase as a convient one to denote the general upheaval which all expect. But if they really believed what the Bible says about Armageddon their leading articles would read very differently. That great gathering to battle is plainly preparing, and what then? Then the voice cries, “It is done;” and the earth shakes and “the cities of the nations” fall, and the end comes. Revelation 16:14-31. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.3

The Drink Bill of the United Kingdom for 1896 has just been published. The expenditure for the twelve months was ?146,972,230. This is six and a half millions over the preceding year. What a fearful record this is when misery and want and famine abound in so many parts. And the drink is the direct cause of a great proportion of the misery at home. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.4

Solomon expressed with great simplicity and clearness the facts in reference to the courses of the great air currents which generations of scientific observation and research have at last noted, and mapped, and reduced to a certainty, when he said: “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whistleth about continually, and the wind returneth again to his circuits.” Solomon was taught by God; that is the reason why he was in advance of his age as a scientific man. If other men had been willing to receive knowledge from the same source the world need never have been ignorant either of material or spiritual things. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.5

“What Christ Says” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

What Christ Says .—The head of the Greek Church in Greece appealed “in the name of Christ” to the ecclesiastical heads of the English and Russian churches to pronounce in favour of the Cretans; who are declared to be fighting for their liberty and the Christian religion. But Christ's explicit word to all Christians is, “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” But of course those who counsel war, fighting for liberty, insurrection, or whatever name may be given to it, do not believe Christ's words, nor will they admit that Christ's life is the example for Christians. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.6

“‘As He Walked’” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

“As He Walked.” -Christ had ample provocation from men if there had been any root of evil in Him to respond to the evil without. He to whom all power in heaven and in earth was committed suffered every ignominy, and never contended for His own. Suppose; when the people took Him to the brow of the hill to cast Him over, that He had begun to fight them, or when they took up stones to cast at Him that He had retaliated in kind! No one who knows the life of Christ could imagine such a thing. We say that wouId have been utterly unlike Christ. He trusted God, and Divine power preserved His life until His hour was come, and then He died praying for His enemies, not cursing them. That was Jesus Christ. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1 John 2:6. This for ever shuts every Christian away from war and from the spirit of this world which leads to fighting. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.7

“The Unwisdom of War” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

The Unwisdom of War .—The man whom God granted to be the wisest of men said, “Wisdom is better than weapons of war.” Is it that there are so few wise men among the nations that they put so great trust in navies, armaments, and battalions? If in proportion to their lack of wisdom men put trust in these things, how lamentably little wisdom there must be in the world at the present time. There never was a time in which men put greater confidence in “heavy battalions” than at the present. So, when at last these forces are put in motion, those who have trusted in them most will meet with bitterest reverses. It is not given to those who are, from the human point of view, the swift and strong, to win in the final contests. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.8

“Bondmen and Freemen” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

Bondmen and Freemen .—Men talk as though the gaining of political liberty were the one great and noble aim of a people—always excepting any people whom the majority represented by those who thus talk may desire to deprive of full political liberty. Even religious teachers talk as though fighting for political independence were a Christian thing to do. But they do this because they imperfectly understand the liberty which Christ proclaimed. It was liberty for the soul from sin, for the bondman as well as for the freeman; and so sweet was the draught of liberty from the everlasting fountain of God's free life that it made bondmen patient to bear injustice and servitude. When the great event comes toward which these very struggles for political changes are fast forcing the world, it will matter little to the men who have filled the earth with violence whether they happen to be free of not. “The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and every bondman and every freeman” will vainly call for the rocks to fall upon them to hide them from the face of the Lord. Revelation 6:15. Yes, there is a liberty infinitely more important than civil liberty which men must hasten to learn if they would not be in the company described. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.9

“Is the Bible Heretical?” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

Is the Bible Heretical? -“Books of apostates, heretics, schismatics, and all other writers which defend heresy or schism, or in any way tend to overthrow the basis of religion are absolutely forbidden.” Thus the Popes decrees. But the same decree forbids the Bible in the tongue of the people without the explanations of the Church. Granting the creed of Rome to be the standard of orthodoxy, the Bible is truly the most heretical book extant. PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.10

“Two Paths” The Present Truth, 13, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

Two Paths .—It was of that just and righteous man who had received into his heart and life the Light of the world, that Solomon thought when he said: “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,“ and placed in contrast the pathway of him in whom there is no light: “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.” Therefore he urges: “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the path of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away.” PTUK March 11, 1897, page 160.11