The Present Truth, vol. 14

March 3, 1898

“Undesired Testimony” The Present Truth 14, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

When the unclean spirit in the synagogue cried out to Jesus, “I know Thee, who Thou art, the Holy One of God,” Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Hold thy peace.” Mark i. 23-25. “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And He straitly charge them, that they should not make Him known.” Mark iii. 11, 12. He who said, “I receive not testimony from men” (John v. 34), would naturally not receive testimony from devils. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 130.1

The testimony that the Lord desires is the testimony of the life. He says that the honouring of Him with the lips, while the heart is far from Him, is hypocritical and vaikn. Matt. xv. 7-9. “Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke vi. 46. And yet even to this day many religious teachers think to advance the cause of God by quoting testimony from Napoleon and others, whose whole lives where a denial of everything godly. To such the Lord says, “Keep still.” Their patronising words are only a damage to His cause, in that if unrebuked, they tend to cause men to think that mere words, without deeds, are of some value, or that they are even sufficient to identify one as a Christian. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 130.2

“Trying Gospel Methods” The Present Truth 14, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

We are glad to be able to note that Dr. Parkhurst, of New York, who a few years ago was labouring zealously to purify that corrupt city by the aid of politics, has now become a convert to the Gospel method. He is reported to have said in a recent sermon:— PTUK March 3, 1898, page 130.3

My ideas on this subject in all its phases are very different now from what they were a few years ago. A new heart is needed by individuals. Unless individuals are changed and reformed we cannot have reformed cities and governments. For that reason, more than ever before in my life, I feel the necessity of personal pleading with you for your souls good. To that work, and that work only, I shall devote all my sermons and all my efforts this winter. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 130.4

This sort of work will not receive so much attention from the newspapers, but it will doubtless save some souls-a thing that can never be done by political working. It is to be hoped that the Doctor will find the method so successful that he will continue it even after this winter. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 130.5

“The Epistle to the Galatians. Redeemed from the Curse” The Present Truth 14, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

The third and fourth chapters of Galatians have to do with Abraham as the typical Christian. That which God gave him and promised him is precisely what He gives and promises to all. We say “gives and promises,” instead of promises and gives, since giving is the first thing that God does. It is His nature to give. Without respect to persons, He gives to every man. He is not content with simply promising, and then leaving circumstances to determine whether or not anything shall be given. No, He gives, and in His gift is a promise. “Much more” is the description of every gift of God. If those who receive God's gifts receive them joyfully and thankfully, then the very reception of them is the assurance of much more to come. God “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts xvii. 25); if they care for these things, and show appreciation of them, then God will give “more abundantly.” So again we say, Every gift of God is a promise of more. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.1

God blessed Abraham, not because of Abraham's goodness, but in order that he might become good. Abraham believed God, and accepted the blessing, and so became good. The Gospel was preached to Abraham in the words, “In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed;” and this blessing comes to us through Christ, who, having been raised from the dead, has been sent to turn every one of us away from our iniquities. Acts iii. 25, 26. This is what is presented in the portion of Galatians that we began to study last week. “They which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.2

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith; but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Gal. iii. 10-14. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.3

Good Works .—The Bible does not disparage good works. On the contrary, it exalts them. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable.” Titus iii. 8. The charge against the unbelieving is that they are “unto every good work reprobate.” Titus i. 16. Timothy was exhorted to “charge them that are rich in this world,” “that they do good, that they be rich in good works.” 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18. And the Apostle Paul prayed for us all, that we might “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work.” Col. i. 10. Still further, we are assured that God has created us in Christ Jesus “unto good works,” “that we should walk in them.” Eph. ii. 10. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.4

Good Works Only By Faith .—“If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” Rom. iv. 2, 3. Although good works are required of us, they are not the “works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves” (Titus iii. 5), but the “good works which God afore prepared, that we should walk in them.” Eph. ii. 10. These good works God has “laid up” for them that fear Him, He Himself having “wrought” them for those who trust in Him before the sons of men. Ps. xxxi. 19. “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John vi. 29. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.5

“The Just Shall Live by Faith.” -This is proof that no one is justified by the law; for if one were righteous by works, then it would not be by faith. There is no exception, no dividing up. It is not said that some of the just shall live by faith, or that they shall live by faith and works, but, “The just shall live by faith.” All of the just shall live by faith alone. The law and the works of the law have nothing whatever to do in the work of justifying men, although the law itself “is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Rom. vii. 12. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.6

Who Are the Just?— In other versions than the English, as, for instance, the German and Danish, these texts are made much plainer, because they use the word which conveys the idea more perfectly than the word “just” does to us. This is the way it is: “But that no man is made righteous by the law in the sight of God it is evident; for, the righteous shall live by faith.” The words “just” and “righteous” really mean the same thing, but in the word “justify” the majority of readers do not readily recognise the phrase “to make righteous.” We see, therefore, that righteousness is the end to be attained. Righteousness means right doing, and the law is the standard of right doing. The only question before us is how this desired object is to be attained. How is the sinner to be made righteous-to be made a doer of the law? Not by the law itself, for that does nothing; it simply points out the right way; but we ourselves are “without strength.” Righteousness therefore must come from without, from some living thing, and when attained in genuineness will be “witnessed by the law and the prophets.” Rom. v. 21. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.7

Life Is Doing. -“The man that doeth them shall live in them.” The law calls for action, deeds, and nothing else. If good deeds are manifested, the law is satisfied. “The law is not of faith;” it cares nothing for faith; works, and works alone, commend themselves to it. How those works are obtained is of no concern to it, provided they are present. There is life in the doing of them, for only he who is alive can do them. Notice the word “them.” It indicates the fulness of the law. “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” But “all have sinned;” and since all are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. ii. 1), it is very evident that none can of himself be in the position described by the words, “The man that doeth them shall live in them.” The man must first be made alive, before he can do them. Do not forget, however, that in all this the law is exalted and honoured, instead of discredited. There is life in obedience to it, and death in disobedience. The curse is only on those who do not do it. “In keeping of them there is great reward.” Ps. xix. 11. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 131.8

Sin and Death the Curse. -That death is the curse is evident from the last part of verse 13, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Christ was made a curse for us, in that He hung on a tree, that is, was crucified. So we have the substance of verse 10 thus, that those who do not continue in the things written in the law are dead. That is, disobedience is death. And this is what the Scripture says: “When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Sin contains death, so that when by one man sin entered into the world, death came by sin. Rom. v. 12. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.1

Christ Made a Curse for Us. -That “Christ died for the ungodly” is evident to all who read the Bible. He “was delivered for our offenses.” Rom. iv. 25. The death that was deserved, came on Him. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isa. liii. 5. But death came by sin. Death is the curse that has passed upon all men, simply because “all have sinned.” So as Christ was “made a curse for us,” it follows that Christ was “made to be sin on our behalf.” 2 Cor. v. 21, R.V. He “bore our sins in His own body” up to the tree. 1 Peter ii. 24, margin. Note that our sins were “in His own body.” It was no superficial work that He undertook. The sins were not merely figuratively laid on Him, but they were actually in Him. He was made a curse for us, made to be sin for us, and consequently suffered death for us. To some this truth seems repugnant; to the Greeks it is foolishness, and to the Jews a stumbling-block, but “to us who are saved, it is the power of God.” For bear in mind that it was our sins that He bore in His own body, not His own sins. The same scripture that tells us that He was made to be sin for us, assures us that He “knew no sin.” The same text that tells us that He carried our sins “in His own body,” is careful to let us know that He “did no sin.” The fact that He could carry our sin about with Him, and in Him, being actually made to be sin for us, and yet not do any sin, is to His everlasting glory and our eternal salvation from sin. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.2

Redeemed from Sin and Death. -Christ has redeemed us from that which He suffered; for “with His stripes we are healed.” So He has redeemed us-brought us back-from sin and death. He has redeemed us from death in redeeming us from sin, since death is but the result of sin. But sin is wrong-doing-the transgression of the law. 1 John iii. 4. So it is from our “vain manner of life” that we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. 1 Peter i. 18, 19, R.V. By becoming sin for us, and carrying our sin up to and on the tree, Christ has redeemed us from the transgression of the law. That is, He has redeemed us from committing sin. This is the glorious reality of the Gospel. Present salvation from the commission of “the sin that doth so easily beset us.” In this is contained the sum of all things. And this great blessing comes to us through faith. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.3

The Revelation of the Cross. -In verse 13 we are brought back to the subject presented in Gal. ii. 20 and iii. 1,-the ever-present universal cross. We can not go into the subject in detail, for it is inexhaustible; but note the following facts, which may suggest many more things to your minds:— PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.4

1. The redemption from sin and death is accomplished through the cross. Gal. iii. 13. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.5

2. The Gospel is all contained in the cross; for the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. i. 16), and “unto us which are saved” the cross of Christ “is the power of God” (1 Cor. i. 18). PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.6

3. Christ crucified is the only way Christ is revealed to fallen men. There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby salvation may be obtained (Acts iv. 12), and therefore, it is all that God sets forth before men, since He does not wish to confuse them. “Christ and Him crucified,” is all that Paul wished to know; it is all that any man needs to know. Thus: the one thing that men need is salvation; if they get that, they get all things; but salvation is found only in the cross of Christ; therefore God puts before the eyes of men nothing else: He gives them just what they need. Jesus Christ is by God set forth openly crucified before the eyes of every man, so that there is no excuse for any to be lost, or to continue in sin. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.7

4. Christ is set forth before men only as the crucified Redeemer; and since that from which men need to be saved is the curse, He is set forth as bearing the curse. Wherever there is any curse, there is Christ bearing it. We have already seen that Christ bore, and still bears, our curse, in that He bears our sin. He also bears the curse of the earth itself, for He bore the crown of thorns, and the curse pronounced on the earth was, “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth.” Gen. iii. 18. So the whole creation, which now groans under the curse, has been redeemed through the cross of Christ. Rom. viii. 19-23. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.8

5. It is only on the cross that Christ bears the curse, for His being made a curse for us was indicated by His hanging on the cross. The cross is the symbol of the curse, but also of deliverance from the curse, since it is the cross of Christ, the Conqueror and Deliverer. The very curse itself, therefore, presents the cross, and proclaims our deliverance. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.9

6. Where is the curse? Ah, where is it not? The blindest can see it, if he will but acknowledge the evidence of his own senses. Imperfection is a curse, yea, that is the curse; and imperfection is on everything connected with this earth. Man is imperfect, and even the finest plant that grows from the earth is not as perfect as it might be. There is nothing that meets the eye that does not show the possibility of improvement, even if our untrained eyes can not see the absolute necessity of it. When God made the earth, everything was “very good,” or, as the Hebrew idiom has it, “good exceedingly.” God Himself could see no chance, no possibility, for improvement. But now it is different. The gardener spends his thought and labor trying to improve the fruits and flowers under his care. And since the best that the earth produces reveals the curse, what need be said of the gnarled, stunted growths, the withered and blasted buds and leaves and fruits, and the noxious, poisonous weeds? Everywhere “hath the curse devoured the earth.” Is. xxiv. 6. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 132.10

7. What then is the conclusion of the whole matter? Is it discouragement? Nay; “for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. v. 9. Although the curse is visible everywhere,- PTUK March 3, 1898, page 133.1

“Change and decay in all around I see,” yet things live, and men live. But the curse is death, and no man and no thing in creation can bear death and still live. Death kills. But Christ is He that liveth, and was dead, and is alive forevermore. Rev. i. 18. He alone can bear the curse-death-and still live. Therefore, the fact that there is life on the earth and in man, in spite of the curse, is proof that the cross of Christ is everywhere. Every blade of grass, every leaf of the forest, every shrub and tree, every flower and fruit, even the bread that we eat, is stamped with the cross of Christ. Everywhere is that cross; and as the preaching of the cross is the power of God, which is the Gospel, so it is that the everlasting power of God is revealed in all things that He has made. Eph. iii. 20. Rom. i. 16-20, compared with 1 Cor. i. 17,18, amounts to a plain declaration that the cross of Christ is seen in all the things that God has made-even in us. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 133.2

Courage and Despair. -“Innumerable evils have compassed me about; mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore my heart faileth me.” Ps. xl. 12. But not only may we with confidence cry unto God out of the depths, but God in His infinite mercy has so ordered it that the very depths themselves are a source of confidence. The fact that we are in the depths of sin, and yet live, is proof that God Himself, in the person of Christ on the cross, is present with us to deliver us. So everything, even the curse, for everything is under the curse, preaches the Gospel. Our own weakness and sinfulness, instead of being a cause of discouragement, are, if we believe the Lord, a pledge of redemption. Out of weakness we are made strong. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” Rom. viii. 37. Truly, God has not left Himself without witness among men. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.” 1 John v. 10. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 133.3

The Blessing from the Curse. -Christ bore the curse, in order that the blessing might come to us. He bears the curse now, being crucified before us, and in us, and we with Him, that we may continually experience the blessing. Death to Him is life to us. If we willingly bear about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus, the life also of Jesus will be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. iv. 10, 11. What is the blessing that we receive through the curse that He bears? It is the blessing of salvation from sin; for as the curse is the transgression of the law (Gal. iii. 10), the blessing consists in turning away every one of us from our iniquities. Acts iii. 26. Christ suffered the curse, even sin and death, “that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.” And what is the blessing of Abraham?—That we have already seen, but we may well read it again. Having stated that Abraham was justified, made righteous by faith, the apostle adds: “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Rom. iv. 6-8. And then he shows that this blessing comes on the Gentiles as well as on the Jews who believe, because Abraham received it when he was uncircumcised, “that he might be the father of all them that believe.” The blessing is freedom from sin, even as the curse is the doing of sin; and as the curse reveals the cross, so we find that the very curse is by the Lord made to proclaim the blessing. The fact that we live, although we are sinners, is the assurance that deliverance from the sin is ours. “While there's life there's hope,” says the adage. Yes, because the Life is our hope. Thank God for the blessed hope. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 133.4

“The Promise of the Spirit.” -Christ hath redeemed us, “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Do not make the mistake of reading this as though it were “that we might receive the promise of the gift of the Spirit.” It does not say that, and it does not mean that, as a little thought will show. He has redeemed us, and that fact proves the gift of the Spirit, for it was only “through the eternal Spirit” that He offered Himself without spot to God. Heb. ix. 14. But for the Spirit, we should not know that we were sinners; much less should we know redemption. The Spirit convinces of sin and of righteousness. John xvi. 8. “He that believeth hath the witness in himself.” Christ is crucified in every man; that, as we have already seen, is shown in the fact that we are all under the curse, and Christ alone, on the cross, bears the curse. But it is through the Spirit that Christ dwells on earth among men. Faith enables us to receive the testimony of this witness, and rejoice in that which the possession of the Spirit assures. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 133.5

The Spirit the Pledge of Inheritance. -Look ahead in our epistle and see what is said of redemption and the Spirit: “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Gal. iv. 4-6. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.” Rom. viii. 16, 17. Thus we see that the gift of the Spirit, which assures us of our redemption through the cross, is itself a promise. As we said at the beginning, all God's gifts are promises of more. Now read how God's purpose in the Gospel is to gather together in one all things in Jesus Christ, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will; that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that or when ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” Eph. i. 10-14. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 133.6

Of this inheritance we must speak further later on. Suffice it now to say that it is the inheritance promised to Abraham, whose children we become by faith. The inheritance belongs to all who are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus; and the Spirit that marks our sonship is the promise, the pledge, the first fruits of that inheritance. Those who accept Christ's glorious deliverance from the curse of the law,-redemption not from obedience to the law, for obedience is not a curse, but from disobedience to the law,-have in the Spirit a taste of the power and blessing of the world to come. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 133.7

“Notes on the International Sunday-School Lesson. The Wheat and the Tares-Matt. xiii. 24-30, 36-43” The Present Truth 14, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

MARCH XIII

We are not left to doubt and conjecture as to the true teaching of the parable which is the basis of this week's lesson. In response to the request of His disciples Jesus Himself explained the parable, and so we have His own interpretation for our instruction. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.1

UNSEEN REALITIES

From His own interpretation of the parable of the sower, we know that “the seed is the Word of God.” Luke viii. 11. With this thought in mind we can see that the growth of a field of wheat in which an enemy has sowed tares is not simply a good illustration of the development of God's kingdom in the world, but it is in reality the visible manifestation of it. This is the secret of all the object lessons from nature which Jesus gave. He did not put new meanings into the facts operations of nature, but He made clear the lessons which were already there, but had been lost sight of. “In the parables of the lily and the fowls, the seed and the tree, the vine and the fishes, He disclosed the great fact which we are constantly forgetting-that nature has a spiritual as well as a material side-that she exists, not only for the natural uses of the body, but also for the sustenance of the life of the soul. This higher ministry explains all the beauty and wonder of the world, which would otherwise be superfluous and extravagant.” “Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.2

In the parable before us the likeness between the kingdom of God in the world and the field of wheat among which tears have been sown is not merely an outward or superficial one. The likeness is an inherent one. The facts are the same in both instances. In the one case the facts are made visible to the natural eye by clothing them with a body, while in the other case, though just as real, they are seen only by the eye of faith. Or to put it in other words, the principles of the spiritual and the natural are the same, and in the light of the teaching of Jesus when we study the natural, we may again in it also study the spiritual. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.3

“The words of Christ placed the teachings of nature in a new aspect, and made them a new revelation. He could speak of the things which His own hands had made; for they had qualities and properties which were peculiarly His own. In nature, as in the sacred pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, divine, momentous truths are revealed; and in His teaching, Jesus laid open before the people, bound up with the beauty of natural things.... As interpreted by Jesus, flower and shrub, the seed sown and the seed harvested, contain lessons of truth, as did also the plant that springs out of the earth.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.4

THE TRUE SEEDTIME AND HARVEST

“He that soweth the good seed [which is the Word] is the Son of man.” This is simply the statement of the means by which the kingdom of God was originally developed in the earth. The Son of man, who was also the Son of God, was the One by whom all things were made, and without whom was not any thing made that was made. It was through him that God “spake and it was.” And this is the seed, the Word, which was sown in the earth at the beginning: “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth.” Gen. i. 11. Thus did the Son of man sow good seed in His field which is the world. If the Word of God, by which the world and all in it, including man, was brought into existence, had always been received and obeyed, there would never have been anything but good things in the world, but when man opened his heart to the devil's lie and received it in the place of the Word of truth, then were the tares sowed, “and the enemy that sowed them is the devil.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.5

As the annual sowing of the seed by the husbandman is symbolic of the work of the Son of man in sowing the world with the Word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation; and as the warmth of the sunlight and the moisture of the dew and the rain are symbolic of the provision which God has made for the development of His Word in the hearts of men; and as the growth in the vegetable world, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear,” is symbolic of the progress of the kingdom of God both in the hearts of individuals and in the world in general; so the annual harvest is but a symbolic one. “The harvest is the end of the world.” All other harvests are but pictures in God's great lesson book of nature, designed to present in visible form the one real harvest, when the fruit of the seed, which is “the Word of God,” shall be gathered. Then the Word will go forth, “Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Rev. xiv. 15. Then will some say: “The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jer. viii. 20. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.6

Whether the annual harvest be a good or a bad one depends upon the character of the seed sown in the field, and so it will be in the real harvest at the end of the world. And the harvest time is almost here. The season is nearly ended. “What will the harvest be?” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.7

“OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE”

Before the coming of Christ, John the Baptist had taught of Him: “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into His garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt. iii. 12. That this destruction is not a matter of mere arbitrary decree, but that grows out of the very nature of God and His relation to sin, will be seen by reading a few scriptures. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.8

“They shall see the Son a man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt. xxiv. 30. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.9

“And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Ex. xxiv. 17. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.10

“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking 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 from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” 2 Thess. i. 7-9. “For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. xii. 29. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.11

The harvest, which is the end of the world, and the coming of the Lord occur at the same time (Matt. xxiv. 3), and then the undimmed revelation of the glory of the Lord will be a consuming fire, an utter destruction, to all sin and consequently to all those in whom sin is found in that day. The prophet Isaiah inquires:— PTUK March 3, 1898, page 134.12

“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty.” Isa. xxxiii. 14-17. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 135.1

“Behold He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him.” Rev. i. 7. The question to be decided is, whether we shall see Him and live, or be destroyed “by the brightness of His coming.” Those in whom His glory is being revealed here, consuming all sin, will be prepared by this experience of His indwelling presence, so that in that day of glory they will “be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter iv. 13. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 135.2

THE REVELATION OF THE GLORY

The declaration that “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” is not a poetical exaggeration, neither is it a comparison, but a simple statement of fact. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John i. 5. “The Lord God is a sun.” Ps. lxxxiv. 11. “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.” Isa. lx. 19. “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Rev. xxi. 23. Once when Jesus was here revealing the glory of God (John i. 14), this glory was permitted to appear clearly, and then “His face did shine as the sun.” Matt. xvii. 2. “We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him.” 1 John iii. 2. “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament.” Dan. xii. 3. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 135.3

This simply means that the glory of which man was crowned at his creation (Ps. viii. 5), when he was made in the image of God, and which has been lost (Rom. iii. 23), will be restored through the acceptance of Christ, who is the “brightness of His glory.” This is not merely an external brightness, but is the shining forth of His righteous character which has been wrought in man through faith. Then will man, restored to the image of God, like him be “clothed with honour” and covered “with light as with a garment.” “Then shall the righteous [because they are righteous] shine forth as the sun [because He who is “the Sun of Righteousness” dwells in them] in the kingdom of their Father.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 135.4

“HEAR HIM”

Our ears are given to us that we may hear the voice of the Lord, even the “still small voice;” but sin has made our ears “dull of hearing.” The work of Jesus is not only to open the blind eyes but also unstop the ears. Then it is simply necessary to look with eyes which have been anointed with eye-salve, and to listen with ears which have been touched by His fingers, and believing what we see and hear we shall become acquainted with God as our strength and our salvation. “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.” Rom. i. 20. “The voice of the Lord is powerful.” Ps. xxix. 4. He who said, “Let there be light,” created light by the power of that Word, and “there was light.” The same One says to him who has ears, “Let him hear,” and this word when revealed in faith will make it so. Then “thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Isa. xxx. 21. “I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people.” Ps. lxxxv. 8. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 135.5

“For the Children. ‘The Things that Are Made’” The Present Truth 14, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

When the Apostle Paul stood on Mars Hill, and told the heathen people of Athens of the true God that made the heavens and the earth, He said, “For we are also His offspring.” That is, we are all God's little children. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.1

Our Father wants all His children to know and love Him, and so for His human family He made a wonderful book, in which they might see Him clearly, and hear Him speaking to them all the time. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.2

When men put their thoughts into words, and make books, they have to use ink paper, because they can only think and speak and write about things, but God thinks and speaks and writes the things themselves. His Word is “living and active,”—it lives and works. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.3

So when, in the beginning, God put His thoughts into words, the Word took just the form that was in His mind when He spoke it,-sun, moon, stars, plants, birds, fishes, animals, man,-and this is how God's Book was made. We call it “the book of nature,” but nature is God's showing us Himself in “the things that are made.” He says that “the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Divinity.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.4

In each thing that He has made the living Word is speaking to us some thought of God, showing us something of God Himself that will teach us to know Him better and love Him more. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.5

Adam and Eve were the first of God's children to read in this book of God. They understood just what God was saying to them in each of His wondrous works. “They held converse with leaf and flower and tree, gathering from each the secret of its life. With every living creature, from the mighty Leviathan that playeth among the waters, to the insect mote that floats in the sunbeam, Adam was familiar. He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and habits of all.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.6

“On every leaf of the forest or stone of the mountains, in every shining star, in earth and air and sky, God's name was written. They were ever discovering some attraction that filled their hearts with a deeper love, and called for fresh expressions of gratitude.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.7

God's older children, the angels, also delighted to read this beautiful Book of God. They watched with the deepest interest during the six days that it was being made, and when it was finished, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Even they could see God more clearly, and understand Him better, through “the things that are made” in this earth. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.8

But when man, to whom God had given the power choose good or evil, chose to disobey the living Word of God, and so not to let the thought of God be carried out in him, a great change came over everything. The curse of sin came upon man, and “sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.9

It was God's own life that He had given to man; God Himself lived in him, and so it was upon him that the curse of sin came. Yet God did not at once take away His life for man, but went on bearing the curse that man had brought upon himself, so that he might be saved. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.10

Man now had other, deeper, more wonderful lessons to learn of God. As a sinner he needed to know God as a Saviour from sin, and so that His Book might teach him this God allowed the curse that man had brought upon himself, to come upon all “the things that are made.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.11

Thus man could not only see God in all things, His “eternal power and Divinity,” but could see Him bearing the curse of sin, and learn to read the Gospel, which is “the power of God unto salvation” from sin. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.12

And now the Book of God began to tell a more wonderful, more beautiful story than in the beginning, “The Story of the Cross.” Another time we will perhaps talk more about this, and how we may each read it for ourselves in all “the things that are made.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 141.13

“Back Page” The Present Truth 14, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

The Army estimates for the coming year amount to ?19,220,500. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.1

It is stated that the details have been definitely settled for an extension of the Bulawayo Railyway to Tanganyika. This will make a fairly good start on the way from the Cape to Cairo. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.2

A steamship of the Castle Line, that arrived from the Cape last week, was for three days of its passage in the midst of a sand-storm! The air was so filled with fine red sand, evidently from the Sahara Desert, that the sun and stars were completely obscured, and the captain had to make his way to Madeira by dead reckoning. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.3

In India the Government pays the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church of Rome, and other churches considerable sums of money for stipends, etc. This support from the Government may account for the lethargy of these churches when the questions of legalising vice and the opium traffic come up. Governments do not support churches for nothing. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.4

A Christian workers among the Spanish labourers employed in constructing the new Government docks at Gibraltar says that “three thousand are Spiritualists, about one thousand Free Thinkers, and it is a rare thing to find one man who will profess himself a Roman Catholic.” It shows how the deception of Spiritualism is spreading among the Spanish workmen. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.5

The London County Council Election has naturally been one of the leading topics of the Metropolitan papers for the past two or three weeks, and the religious journals have also taken their share in the campaign. Some of the preachers engaging in it have been very enthusiastic. For instance, the Rev. J. Guinness Rogers, D.D., in a speech made as chairman of the meeting, said that London is “the greatest city in the universe.” We fear that this is but a sample of the way in which attention to worldly politics, on the part of preachers, makes them unfamiliar with that heavenly country of which they ought to be ambassadors. The good doctor must surely have heard of that “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. xi. 10), the immense size and the wonderful grandeur of which are described in Rev. xxi. 10-27. The improvement of London is a practical theme, but far more practical is the awakening of an interest to dwell in that city where the conditions of life are perfect. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.6

“The annual number of suicides in Europe,” says the British Medical Journal, “is estimated at 50,000, and is increasing at a far greater rate than the population. The struggle for existence is a most important cause of suicide, and Dr. Müller holds alcohol, blunting as it does the weapons used in the conflict, is the most frequent immediate determinant of the act.” PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.7

The trial of M. Zola, in Paris, which has resulted in his conviction, is a matter of world-wide interest, in that it shows the growth of militarism. It revealed the fact that France is ruled by the army, and that law-makers, judges, juries, and people, are all under its domination. The old sentiment, “the king can do no wrong,” is modified in France to “the Army and do nothing wrong.” Of all despotisms, a military despotism is the most mercilessly and fiendishly cruel, inasmuch as militarism knows no law but that of destruction. The worst feature in the whole affair is that the people of France seem to glory in their bondage to this demon. The history of the “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” is simply the history of the country after the army gained control of the empire. In like manner the present affair reveals the French nation ripe for revolution and anarchy. Other nations are following in the wake of France, in that they are making the Army the first thing of importance. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.8

But there is another feature which still more complicates the situation in France, and that is that race prejudice is at the bottom of the present excitement. Dreyfus, whose cause Zola espoused, is a Jew, and the trial elicited the most violent outbursts against the people. Dr. Max Nordau, one of the leading Jews of Europe, declares it to be his opinion that France is “simply marching towards a new St. Bartholomew's Eve, to a massacre which will only be limited by the number of Jews whom the Catholics can find to knock on the head.” Dr. Nordau continues:— PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.9

I believe, and I declare most emphatically, that the slightest relaxation in the present display of force on the part of the Government would lead to a general slaughter of the Jews throughout the country. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.10

That the foregoing statement is not the utterance of a frightened Jew, may be seen from the following delivered statement by M. Drument, editor of the Libre Parole, and the leader of the anti-Jewish movement in France:— PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.11

It seems a serious statement to make, but to tell the truth, as things are, I see no way out of the present awful situation except by a general revolution, which will sweep away our present masters and replace them with some form of one man power-not necessarily an emperor or a king, but some kind of dictator, a strong, patriotic man who will put an end to Jewish supremacy and clean out our Augean stables of vice and corruption! PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.12

A pitiful thing, and not by any means the least worthy of note is that the popular idea of Christianity is such that the ordinary term for those who are moved by this mad frenzy against the Jews, is “Christians.” That is, those whom the Bible designates as heathen, are now commonly called “Christians.” “Perilous times” are truly just before us, when the earth will be filled with violence by those who call themselves by the name of the Prince of Peace. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.13

“The Coveted Post” The Present Truth 14, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

The Far East bulks most largely in the public mind just now, but a well-informed weekly journal says that the Near East is giving statesmen a deal of anxiety. The whole situation is but a phase of that ever-changing Eastern Question that is always before the nations, and round which, the Scripture shows us, the final conflict will be raging when the Lord appears. The journal referred to says:— PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.14

The Powers are tired to death with the impotence of the Concert of Europe, and, given a presentable excuse, would enter but slight protest against Russia's taking over the administration of Armenia. To make this possible, however, Russia must walk warily, waking no suspicions until the coup is all prepared. The first cautious move is the nomination of Prince George of Greece to the governorship of Crete. This has occasioned but slight hostility, and under cover of the Far Eastern war-cloud others may follow shortly. For Russia has never yielded aught of her ambition to possess Constantinople and an exit to the Mediterranean. PTUK March 3, 1898, page 144.15