The Present Truth, vol. 10
November 22, 1894
“Front Page” The Present Truth 10, 47.
E. J. Waggoner
“Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him.” Luke 15:1. “And the common people heard Him gladly.” Mark 12:37. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.1
There is no record or intimation that Jesus required some one to go about with Him to explain His words to the people. There is no suggestion that the people needed to have some learned man stand between them and the Lord, to interpret to them His words. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.2
What was the difference between the teaching of Jesus and that of the scribes and doctors of the law? They both used the same Scriptures, and quoted the very same words. When Jesus went into their synagogues, He read the appointed lesson for the day. But the difference was that His teaching was simple, while theirs obscured the sense. The people could understand Him, and could not understand them. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.3
The words that Jesus spoke were the same that the ancient prophets had spoken; for “God, who... spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.” Hebrews 1:1, 2. They were the same words that the apostle spoke after His ascension; for the word of salvation which “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord,” “was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him.” Hebrews 2:3. They are the very same words that we find in the Bible to-day. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.4
When the prophets spoke, the people understood them. Their warnings and reproofs were not always heeded, but they were understood. When God sent a prophet with a message to a king or a people, He did not send another man to explain the prophet’s message to them. The violent death of the prophet was often the evidence of how well his unwelcome message was understood. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.5
Even so it was with the apostles. When Peter spoke on Pentecost the people “were pricked in their heart,” and cried out, “What shall we do?” And “they that gladly received his word were baptized.” When Paul “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” Felix needed no interpreter to make the words plain. So well did he understand the words that he trembled under them. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.6
In all these cases, an “interpreter” would only have confounded the minds of the hearers. Query: If the people who heard the words of the Lord when they were spoken understood them without the aid of an interpreter, why cannot we? Are the common people now less acute and intelligent than they were then? Is not the confusion of mind that exists concerning the Scriptures due to the fact that there are so many who have set themselves to “tell what they mean,” thus leading the people to suppose that they do not mean what they say, and that they cannot be understood by the simple-minded? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.7
“But,” we are asked, “Did not Christ and the prophets often use figurative language, in speaking parables?” Yes, they did, but the people understood them nevertheless. If at any time the disciples did not understand the sayings of Christ they went to Him and He made His meaning clear. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.8
That was a sensible thing to do. Why should we not act as wisely? If we wish to know what the Lord means when He speaks, we should go to Him and ask Him. What if we cannot talk with Him face to face? He has left His representative, of whom He has said, “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.9
The Scriptures themselves contain their own explanation. If we wish to know what a parable or a prophecy means, we must find a meaning in the word. No man on earth, be he Pope or peasant, has any authority to attach to them any arbitrary meaning out of his own mind. Whoever presumes to do so, puts himself in the place of God, setting himself forth as God. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.10
“Glorious Preachers” The Present Truth 10, 47.
E. J. Waggoner
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” Isaiah 52:7. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.11
The tenth chapter of Romans, together with the nineteenth psalm, makes us know who these beautiful preachers are. Let us read, in order that we may be able to recognise them when they come. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.12
We begin with Romans 10:13, and read to the close of verse 18. We find first that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But then the questions arise one after the other, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believe? and how shall they believe in Him of the whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 737.13
These are very natural questions. Men cannot call upon the Lord if they do not believe in Him, and they surely cannot be expected to believe in Him if they have never heard of Him; and the Lord Himself, in the words first quoted, and which immediately follow, recognises the fact that they cannot hear without a preacher. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.1
The apostle quotes the words from Isaiah to show that a preacher is necessary in order that men may hear the Gospel; “as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.2
“But they have not all obeyed the Gospel,” because they have not all believed it. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” But there is no reason why all should not believe and obey the Gospel, because they have heard it. “Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.3
What words have gone to the ends of the world?—The words of the Gospel, of course, for that is the subject. Who has proclaimed them?—The preachers who are sent to publish the Gospel of peace, and to bring glad tidings of good things. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.4
Notice the evidence that the apostle gives to prove that all have heard the Gospel. He says, “Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” Who are these creatures whose words have been uttered so widely? The nineteenth psalm gives the answer: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork, day unto night showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.5
The heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and stars, are the glorious preachers whose words have made the Gospel known in every land and among people of every language. “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace!” Wherever they go, they leave a path of light. And why? Simply because they proclaim only the word of the Lord, the word of power and light. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.6
These preachers have no interpreter. They speak an universal language, and can be understood by all. They proclaim only the power of the word of God, and the message is so simple that all are without excuse if they do not obey it. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.7
The message which they preach is that which should be proclaimed by human preachers. Men are simply to take up the strain and echo the story the heavens are telling. “Let him that heareth say, Come.” Not a different message, not the same message with additions, but the very same, for there is but one Gospel. The word of truth is a Gospel of salvation. Ephesians 1:13. Therefore let every one, great or small, who would receive praise from the Lord, “Preach the word.” Study those model preachers, the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, to learn the power of simplicity. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.8
“Church Reunion” The Present Truth 10, 47.
E. J. Waggoner
While the various Protestant bodies are discussing the problem of Protestant reunion, the Pope is pushing forward a scheme for the reunion of the Eastern churches with the Church of Rome. A conference at which several Eastern Patriarchs were present has been in session at the Vatican for the attainment of this object. The Pope is no doubt willing to receive the Eastern churches again in fellowship on the same terms as those recently offered to Protestants; namely, a full surrender to Rome in the form of an acknowledgment of her supreme authority in spiritual things. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.9
Here is a distinct basis of reunion, and in this respect the Pope and prelates of Rome have an advantage over Protestants, who are without any basis of practical value. There are, in fact, only two ways in which religious reunion is possible, and one of those is held by the Pope, while the other is the one set forth in the word of God, toward which the Protestant masses are becoming more and more sceptical and irreverent. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.10
These are but two great forces represented in the conflict of sin and righteousness, and under one or the other of these all reunion must take place. There must be a surrender to the control of one or the other, for there is a distinct, intelligent personality at the head of each. Christian union (there is no Christian reunion) comes by full individual surrender to God. It is the union of individuals filled with one Spirit,—the Spirit of God. It comes by an acknowledgement of the full and supreme authority of God, which means an acknowledgement of a full and supreme authority of His word. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.11
There has always been Christian union; it is not possible that it should be otherwise. Reunion is a problem only for those outside the Christian ranks. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.12
“Studies in Romans. The Law of Sin. Romans 7:9-25” The Present Truth 10, 47.
E. J. Waggoner
In the first seven verses of the seventh chapter of Romans we have had the relation which we by nature sustain to sin, and which by grace we afterwards sustain to Christ, represented under the figure of marriage to a first and second husband. The union with the second husband can not take place while the first husband is living; and in this case the marriage is so perfect, the two parties being literally one flesh and blood, that one can not die without the other; therefore we must needs die with sin, before we can be separated from it. But we die in Christ, and as He lives, although He was dead, we also live with Him. But in His life there is no sin, and so the body of sin is destroyed, while we are raised. Thus in death we are separated from the first husband, sin, and united to the second husband-Christ. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.13
In the verses which follow the apostle has pictured the struggle with the sin that has become distasteful. It is really an enlargement of that which has been presented in the first verses. It is the story of PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.14
THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
“Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is not more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:8-25. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 738.15
Although this is a long portion of Scripture, it does not need so long treatment as some shorter portions, since there are several repetitions. For instance, the statement in verse 15, is repeated in verses 19, 20. Verses 17, 21 are also the same thought, as also verses 18, 23. The points, however, will doubtless appear much more clearly by the usual PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.1
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
What does the apostle say that sin wrought in him? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.2
“Sin... wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.3
How did it do this? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.4
“Taking occasion by the commandment.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.5
What was the condition of sin without the law? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.6
“Without the law sin was dead.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.7
But what was the apostle’s condition without the law? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.8
“I was alive without the law.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.9
What change occurred when the commandment came? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.10
“When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.11
What did he find the commandment to be? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.12
“The commandment... I found to be unto death.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.13
Yet for what was the commandment designed? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.14
It was “ordained to life.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.15
What did sin do? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.16
“Sin... deceived me, ... and slew me.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.17
How had it the power to do this? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.18
“Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.19
What was it that deceived and slew him, the law, or sin? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.20
“Sin... deceived me, ... and slew me.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.21
Wherefore what is true of the law? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.22
“The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.23
Was then that which was good, namely, the law, made death unto him? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.24
No; “but, ... working death in me by that which is good.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.25
Why was this? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.26
“That it might appear sin;” “that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.27
What do we know of the law? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.28
“We know that the law is spiritual.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.29
But what about ourselves? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.30
“But I am carnal.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.31
And therefore in what condition? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.32
“Sold under sin.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.33
What do we call one who is bought and sold? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.34
A slave. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.35
What is the evidence that the one who is carnal is a slave? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.36
“That which I do I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; and what I hate, that do I.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.37
What is shown by the fact the he does the evil that he hates? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.38
“I consent unto the law, that it is good.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.39
Therefore who is it in reality that does the evil works? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.40
“It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.41
To what law is such an one subject? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.42
“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.43
In what does he delight? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.44
“I delight in the law of God.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.45
How does he delight in the law of God? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.46
“After the inward man.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.47
Then why does he not obey it? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.48
“I find another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.49
In what condition is such an one? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.50
“O wretched man that I am!” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.51
What is his distressed cry? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.52
“Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.53
Is there any hope of deliverance? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.54
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.55
Sin Personified.-It will be noticed that in this entire chapter sin is represented as a person. It is the first husband to which we are united. But the union has become distasteful, because, having seen Christ and having been drawn to Him by His love, we have seen that we were joined to a monster. The marriage bond has become a galling yoke, and our whole thought is how to get away from the monster to which we are united and which is dragging us down to a certain death. The picture presented in this chapter is one of the most vivid in the whole Bible. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.56
The Strength of Sin.—“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.” 1 Corinthians 15:56. “Without the law sin was dead.” “Sin is not imputed when there is no law.” “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” So it is that “sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.” Sin is simply the law transgressed, “for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Sin has no strength, therefore, except that which it gets from the law. The law is not sin, and yet it binds us to sin, that is, the law witnesses to the sin and will not grant us any escape, simply because it can not bear false witness. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.57
The Law of Life, and the Law of Death.—“The commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.” The law of God is the life of God. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. His life is the rule for all His creatures. Those in whom the life of God is made perfectly manifest, keep His law. It is very evident therefore that the design of the law is life, since it is life itself. But the opposite of life is death. Therefore when the law is transgressed, it is death to the transgressor. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.58
The Deadly Enemy.—“For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” It is not the law that is the enemy, but the enemy is sin. Sin does the killing, for “the sting of death is sin.” Sin has the poison of death in it. Sin deceived us so that for a time we thought that it was our friend, and we embraced it and delighted in the union. But when the law enlightened us, we found that sin’s embrace was the embrace of death. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.59
The Law Cleared.-The law pointed out the fact that sin was killing us. “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” We have no more reason to rail at the law than we have to hate the man who tells us that the substance which we are eating, thinking it to be food, is poison. He is our friend. He would not be our friend if he did not show us our danger. The fact that he is not able to heal the illness that the poison already eaten has caused does not make him any the less our friend. He has warned us of our danger, and we can now get help from the physician. And so, after all, the law itself was not death to us, but its office was “that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 739.60
“The Law Is Spiritual.”—“For we know that the law is spiritual.” If this fact were more generally recognised, there would be much less religious legislation among so-called Christian nations. People would not try to enforce the commandments of God. Since the law is spiritual, it can be obeyed only by the power of the Spirit of God. “God is Spirit” (John 4:24); therefore the law is the nature of God. Spiritual is opposed to carnal, or fleshly. Thus it is that the man who is in the flesh can not please God. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.1
A Slave.—“But I am carnal, sold under sin.” One who is sold is a slave; and the evidence of the slavery in this instance is very plain. Free men do that which they wish to do. Only slaves do that which they do not wish to do, and are continually prevented from doing what they wish to do. “For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” A more disagreeable position can not be imagined. Life in such a state can be only a burden. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.2
Convicted, but not Converted.—“If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.” The fact that we do not wish to do the sins that we are committing shows that we acknowledge the righteousness of the law which forbids them. But conviction is not conversion, although a very necessary step to that condition. It is not enough to wish to do right. The blessing is pronounced upon those who do His commandments, and not upon those who wish to do them, or who even try to do them. Indeed, if there were no higher position for a professed follower of the Lord than that described in these verses, he would be in a far worse condition than the careless sinner. Both are slaves, only the latter is so hardened that he finds pleasure in his slavery. Now if one must all his life be a slave, it is better for him to be unconscious of his bondage than to be continually fretting over it. But there is something better; therefore it is a blessing that we are convicted of sin, and that our slavery is thereby made as disagreeable as possible. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.3
Two Laws.—“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Compare this with verse 5. Remember also that all this is written to them that know the law. It is not addressed to the heathen who have not the law, but to those who profess to know God. While knowing the law, we are united in marriage to sin. This sin is in our flesh, since they who are married are one flesh. It is the law that witnesses to the fact that we are sinners, and that will not grant us any escape from it. But we are slaves. Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin. John 8:34. Therefore it is that the law that will not let us be anything but what we are, is really holding us in bondage. While we are in that condition, it is not to us a law of liberty. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.4
A Body of Death.-We are joined in marriage to sin. But sin has in it death; for “the sting of death is sin.” Sin is that with which death kills us. Therefore the body of sin, to which we are joined when in the flesh, is but a body of death. What a terrible condition! Joined in such close union that we are one flesh with that which is in itself death. A living death! And “the strength of sin is the law.” It witnesses to our union, and thus holds us in that bondage of death. If there were no hope of escape, we might curse the law for not allowing us to die in ignorance. But although the law seems to be pitiless, it is nevertheless our best friend. It holds us to a sense of the dreadfulness of our bondage until in anguish we cry out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” We must be delivered, or we perish. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.5
A Deliverer.-The pagan proverb has it that God helps those who help themselves. The truth is that God helps those who can not help themselves: “I was brought low, and He helped me.” No one ever cries in vain for help. When the cry goes up for help, the Deliverer is at hand; and so, although sin is working death in us by all the power of the law, we may exclaim, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57. “There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” Romans 11:26. “Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts 3:26. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.6
A Divided Man.—“So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” That is, of course, while in the condition described in the preceding verses. In purpose he serves the law of God, but in actual practice he serves the law of sin. As described in another place, “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye can not do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. It is not a state of actual service to God, because we read in our next chapter that “they that are in the flesh can not please God.” It is a state from which one may well pray to be delivered, so that he can serve the Lord not merely with the mind, but with his whole being. “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.7
“Days of Peril” The Present Truth 10, 47.
E. J. Waggoner
The address of Dr. Ryle, Bishop of Liverpool, at his recent Diocesan Conference, sounds an alarm which is worth reading. The danger to the believer, in the midst of the perilous times which the apostle said would come in the last days, is in the fact that the spirit of lawlessness and self-seeking which exists in the world is natural to every heart, and can be kept from manifesting itself only by the power of the word of God, effectually working in those that believe. A loose hold on the word of God leads to compromise with the spirit of the times, and the power of godliness is denied. That is why the man who speaks out as Dr. Ryle does in the first part of his address (which we quote) is usually denounced as an alarmist. Dr. Ryle says:— PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.8
Some will think me a foolish alarmist and pessimist, and deny that there is any danger. Be it so. The prophets of evil are never popular. Wicked King Ahab said of the faithful my Micaiah, “I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” 1 Kings 22:8. None are so blind as those who will not see. Some will think me a gloomy, melancholy man, and charge me with ignoring the immense amount of good that is going on in the country. Be it so. Nothing is easier than to look at only one side of an account, and from that one side to draw a very wrong conclusion. No doubt there is a great amount of good in the land; but side by a side there is even a greater amount of evil. I stand to my point. Whether men will hear me or not, I see that here in England we are living in “perilous times.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 740.9
(a) The times are perilous in the matter of religion. What are the facts? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 741.1
Infidelity abounds. Multitudes of people in every part of the country seem to have totally cast off all religion. They go either to church nor chapel, as we know to our sorrow in Liverpool. Many openly sneer at the Bible as an old-fashioned, defective book, and give God no place in their thoughts. Is not this perilous! PTUK November 22, 1894, page 741.2
Romanism is increasing. Real Popery has revived, and extreme Ritualism is helping it. Some Churchmen are little better than Papists. They scoff at Protestantism and the Reformation. They delight in the very Popish ceremonials which our forefathers deliberately rejected. They avow their belief in the worst and most mischievous Popish doctrines, and boldly preach, teach and defend them. Is not this perilous!... PTUK November 22, 1894, page 741.3
(b) I go one step farther. The times are perilous in a social point of view. What are the facts? PTUK November 22, 1894, page 741.4
The whole framework of society appears to be falling to pieces. A wave of lawlessness and disobedience to superiors is flowing over the land. Lawlessness in Church and State, lawlessness in the House of Commons, and lawlessness in the streets,—universal lawlessness appears to be the rule of these last days. The foot of the “Lawless One” (2 Thessalonians 2:8) is everywhere. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 741.5
This last sentence points out the root of the evil that has been multiplying its fruit in the earth ever since man fell by disobeying God’s law. The Scriptures show plainly that the one great question in the final conflict between truth and error before the coming of the Lord will be loyalty to God and His word. Already we can see the beginning of the fulfilment of the prophet’s words, “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth.” Isaiah 24:5. So far has the apostasy gone that loyalty to God’s law is counted lawlessness by the world. From many pulpits which profess loudly to be evangelical the law of God is openly set aside and counted as of no force. What wonder then is it that lawlessness increases as Dr. Ryle asserts, and as every one can see? But the word of God will endure through it all, and that word has power to keep the one who receives it amidst the perils that have come and are yet coming. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 741.6
“News of the Week” The Present Truth 10, 47.
E. J. Waggoner
-The French Chamber voted 65,000,000 francs for the Madagascar Expedition. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.1
-It is announced that the wedding of the Czar Nicholas will take place Nov. 26. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.2
-Since July, 52 fatal accidents occurred on the Alps, 18 other climbers receiving serious injuries. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.3
-It is said that there were 7,357 murders in the United States and 286 persons lynched in 1891. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.4
-The elections in Hawaii have resulted in favour of the party advocating a union of the islands with the United States. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.5
-As a result of the bye-elections in Newfoundland the Government has been placed in a minority in the House of Assembly. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.6
-A telegram from Calcutta reports that a revolt has broken out against the Rajah of the Tributary State of Nyaghur, in the province of Orissa. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.7
-The P. and O. steamer Caledonia has made a record passage from India, the mails being delivered to London only twelve days after leaving Bombay. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.8
-A British steamer has been fired on by a Liberian gunboat, and twenty-five men were killed. The steamer was unloading cargo in defiance of the revenue laws. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.9
-The first centenary of Gibbon’s death is being celebrated by an exhibition in the British Museum, of manuscripts, portraits, and relies of the great historian. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.10
-There have been enormous catchings of herrings off Devon and Cornwall, one boat capturing 15,000 in a night. They were sold at the rate of ten a penny. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.11
-A despatch from La Paz, in Bolivia, states that severe earthquakes have been experienced along the southern coasts of Chili. It is reported that 100 people have been killed. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.12
-A great commotion, similar to that caused by the Jack-the-Ripper outrages in London, has been produced at Denver, U.S.A., by the perpetration of a series of murders, the third victim being a Japanese girl. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.13
-Suggestions have been made in England for the adoption of wooden houses, as country residences, on the Swedish mode. It is claimed that they can be brought from Sweden and put together at half the cost of a very ordinary brick building. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.14
-A terrible explosion of firedamp occurred in the Pluto Colliery at Wiesa, in Saxony. A large number of men were at work at the time, hut the majority escaped with trifling injuries. Twenty men are missing, however, and it is feared that ail of them perished. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.15
-Tortoli, a town in the Island of Sardinia, has been attacked and plundered by about 100 brigands. Two gendarmes were killed and many of the townspeople were wounded in a struggle with the well-armed miscreants. Troops have been sent to the district. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.16
-In consequence of the cold, wet season, and the consequent lack of flowers, the bees in France have been unable to make honey enough to feed themselves, and it will be necessary for bee cultivation to supply their hives with honey or sugar to keep the bees alive. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.17
-Disastrous floods caused by the overflow of a river, have occurred at Limassol, in the island of Cyprus, and a portion of the town has been rendered uninhabitable. Twenty-one persons have lost their lives, and a large number of animals have also perished. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.18
-Various accounts have been received regarding a massacre of Armenians alleged to have occurred in the Samoun district near Moosh, in Asia Minor. It appears that the villages were raided by Bashi Bazouk volunteers, who killed or wounded a very large number of the inhabitants. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.19
-A steamer which is being built in France will, it is said, revolutionise steamboat traveling. The invention consists in rolling a vassal over the water instead of forcing it through as at present. A number of enormous copper cylinders are fixed to the steamer, which revolve on the surface of the water. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.20
-Australian newspapers report extensive cannibalism at Rossel Island, in the Louisiade Archipelago, where a French trader and all his labourers have been killed and eaten by the natives. These islanders are already notorious for having captured and eaten the whole of the crew of a Chinese trader. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.21
-Various rumours that the executioner Deibler is about to retire on a pension and be succeeded by his son has raised a controversy on the subject whether this post ought to be hereditary. M. Paul Masson, an ex-colonial magistrate, has applied for the place. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.22
-Severe floods and gales have been reported from various parts of the kingdom. At Dover there was a south-westerly gale of hurricane force. The barque Leif, of Drammen, went ashore there. Six of her crew were rescued, and three, including the captain, drowned. Part of the promenade pier was carried away. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.23
-Copenhagen has been declared open as a free port, and in accordance with the Free Port Act, the dues of 110 ore per ton, which incoming vessels from abroad had to pay, have been abolished in all Danish ports. The Copenhagen port duos are reduced by one-half, and converted into an impost on merchandise, not applicable, however, to goods in transit. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.24
-For the Lord Mayor’s 000 guests, on the occasion of his recent “show,” there was provided two barons of beef, 24 turtles,100 gallons of soup 4,000 oysters, 600 lobsters, 200 large soles, 120 turkeys, 200 partridges, 100 pheasants, 300 plovers, 200 capons, 20 hams, 600 cutlets, 200 veal and ham pies, 180 pairs of sweetbreads, 200 calves’ feet for jelly, and 1,200 portions of sweets and ices. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.25
-An attempt was made recently by sumo persons unknown to set fire to the military arsenal of the fortress of Brianoon, in the department of the Hautes Alpes. The perpetrators were surprised by an artillery officer on his rounds, but effected their escape in the darkness. Had the attempt been successful a terrible disaster might have ensued, as close to the powder magazine, near which the men were discovered, are the hospital and a number of dwelling houses. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.26
-President Cleveland has, at China’s request, communicated with the Japanese Government offering to act as arbitrator, but Japan has not yet made a definite reply. Meanwhile the Japanese continue to advance and disperse the Chinese forces in their front. The Japanese Commander in Chief has informed his Government that he is continuing his march through Manchuria in two directions. A battle had been fought between the right division and a large force of Chinese cavalry, the latter being completely routed. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 750.27
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 47.
E. J. Waggoner
Another such gambling den as exists at Monte Carlo has been established just across the North Sea, at Ostend. The proprietors are to pay ?25,000 to the authorities for the privilege of fleecing the foolish. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.1
A new definition of alcohol has been given by Sir Benjamin Richardson. He calls it “the devil in solution.” This is how it comes that the man or woman who gets it into the brain is driven to deeds which only the devil could suggest. “At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.2
Roman correspondents assert that dignitaries of the Church of England are in communication with the Vatican over the question of reunion. To such advances as these from without, doubtless, is due the increased boldness with which Rome has lately been urging her claims to supremacy over all peoples. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.3
It is even asserted that the commission of Anglicans has gone to Rome to confer with the Pope. The Catholic Times says that “if it be true that such a deputation has been appointed to lay before the Pope the views and wishes of a section of the Anglican Church, it may be predicted with certainty that they will be welcomed and received with courtesy, and that any suggestions they may bring forward will be duly weighed and considered.” Undoubtedly; Leo-the lion-will not refuse any tempting morsel that is thrown in his way, especially when he has long been seeking to devour it. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.4
The Rome correspondent of the Tablet says that the cause of Joan of Arc is progressing favorably before the college charged with deciding her title to beatification. The only difficulty is the lack of any modern miracle proved to have been wrought through her patronage. But we are told:— PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.5
It is thought that the modern enthusiasm will not be unattended by such heavenly signs. My informant states that if it is the Divine will that the beatification should take place they will undoubtedly occur. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.6
Undoubtedly they will. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.7
The Russian Bible Society has been celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of this work under Imperial action. One favourable thing about Russia in the past has been that the people were allowed to possess the word of God. This fact accounts for the rapid progress of the Stundist movement. But the Stundist not only keeps the Bible in the house, but believes it, and hence he has been persecuted bitterly for years, and now the authorities are beginning to deny to the Protestant the right to have the Scriptures. It has always been considered by a persecuting Church dangerous to leave in the hands of one who believes it. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.8
Along with Stundists and Baptist, many Seventh-day Adventists in Russia had been imprisoned and banished for holding the Bible truth. A communication recently received from one of our Russian brethren in a Southern province says:— PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.9
Our situation has not grown any better. They do not allow us to gather any more, therefore each has his own worship in his own house at the beginning of the Sabbath, and then Sabbath morning we meet early, so as to leave the house ere the light. Still they watch us very closely, and they especially seize all the books. One week ago last Sabbath they came and took all the books; only one Bible remained, because it was on the stove, and they did not see it. Last Sabbath we had again our meeting before daydawn. In the afternoon we met out of doors for a consultation. None of us had books, except a brother who had come from one of the villages; he had his Bible, and was at once seized. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.10
Still our work in Russia prospers, and, as ever, the truth is triumphant amidst persecution. Another letter from a leader of one of the Sabbath-keeping churches says:— PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.11
Here the storm rages as never before. A member of the clergy was commissioned to visit me to bring me to the Greek Church again, but it turned to the opposite. The Lord directed the priest’s mind to the truth. He came very often to me, and as he noticed how we searched in the Bible, and listened to our answers and questions, he became so deeply interested that he declared to us openly that he would lay down his office. As he now really carried out his intention, he has been at once seized, and we have no idea whatever as to where they have taken him. Oh, if you could only see how it boils and seethes here; still on my part I am quiet. I have laid myself wholly on the altar, and I would ask the brethren and sisters to remember us at the throne of Grace, that He might strengthen us and fill us with courage to testify more and more of Him with bold utterance of speech, and sound forth the glad tidings of the near advent of our Saviour. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.12
The Holy Scriptures are our only protection against deception. When man, or angels in the guise of men, come to us with teaching, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. They may come professing to expound the Scriptures, pretending to tell us what they mean; but still the Scriptures are the test. “It is written,” may be replied to every attempt to put a gloss upon the text. The written word will always stand against any professed explanation. “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.13
Terrible reports of outrage and wholesale massacre come from Armenia, which may be believed, though the precise cause and responsibility for them are not yet clear. The Turks accuse the Armenians of inciting a revolt, which compelled them to protect the country subject to their depredations; and the Armenians, on the other hand, affirm that Turkish and Kurdish troops made an unprovoked attack upon defenceless people-men, women, and children alike-and slaughtered hundreds with the most fiendish barbarity. However it may be, the situation furnishes a good pretext for Russian intervention in behalf of the Christians, which she may use as she did a similar one years ago, to facilitate her onward march to Constantinople and the Indies. The “unspeakable Turk” cannot much longer maintain a position in Europe. PTUK November 22, 1894, page 752.14