The Present Truth, vol. 10
April 5, 1894
“Front Page” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23, 24. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.1
Note well, and remember, that it is the knowledge of God Himself, in which we are to glory. We are not to glory in any knowledge that we possess, even though it be the knowledge of the Bible. While knowledge of the Bible is necessary, when we take pride in such knowledge, or glory in it, we are really glorying in ourselves; and knowledge which leads to that, is not knowledge of God. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.2
It is possible for a person to backslide, and to be grievously deceived while diligently studying the Bible. Not because the Bible is at fault, but because self, instead of the Holy Spirit, guides in the study. “Knowledge puffeth up, but love buildeth up.” “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; ... and have not love, I am nothing.” That study of the Bible which does not lead to the shedding abroad of the love of God in the heart by the Holy Ghost, makes Pharisees, but not Christians. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.3
“The Drink Curse” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
The Drink Curse.-Workers in all departments of reform work find the drink evil to be the main cause of the troubles which they seek to relieve. It is at the root of the poverty and over-crowding in our cities. It leads many to the immoral life, and very generally it is drink that fortifies the victim to endure the life of shame, and the loss of all self-respect. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children finds intemperance the main cause of the cruelties practised upon the young, whether in the homes of rich or poor. It is the king of evils. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.4
“The Sin of Witchcraft” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
When the children of Israel were travelling from Egypt to Canaan, the Amalekites came out to oppose their progress by arms. This was nothing less than an act of armed rebellion against God, under whose guidance the Israelites were marching, and therefore God said, “Because the hand of Amalek is against the throne of the Lord, therefore the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Exodus 17:16, marginal reading. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.5
The Amalekites filled up the measure of their iniquity, and the Lord chose the Israelites, in the days when Saul was king, to be the instruments by which He would execute judgment against them. Accordingly the prophet Samuel came to Saul with the following command from the Lord:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.6
“Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy it all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, box and sheep, cattle and ass.” 1 Samuel 15:3. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.7
So Saul departed on his mission, and smote the Amalekites; “but Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.” Verse 9. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.8
This, it will readily be seen, was in direct violation of the express command of the Lord; yet so deceived was Saul, that he thought that he had obeyed the Lord; for when Samuel came to meet him, “Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” Verse 13. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.9
Samuel, however, was not deceived. The evidences of Saul’s disobedience were too numerous; the cattle themselves proclaimed the fact. And so, to Saul’s protestations of obedience, the prophet said, “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I here?” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.10
To this pertinent question Saul replied, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have to utterly destroyed.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.11
It will be seen from this that Saul had so far recovered from his deception that he was willing to excuse himself from any connection with the disobedience, and to lay the entire blame upon the people. Yet he excused the act as a righteous one, inasmuch as they designed ultimately to kill all the cattle that they had taken. He seemed to think that so long as they were finally destroyed, it would make no difference how or when it was done. Indeed, he seemed to think that offering them as a sacrifice to the Lord, would more than make up for the disobedience; for upon Samuel’s reproving him for his arrogant disregard of the Lord’s commandment, Saul again replied:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 209.12
“Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.1
Even this did not make any difference; the disobedience was too evident, and the prophet of the Lord said, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is says iniquity and idolatry.” 1 Samuel 15:22, 23. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.2
The reader will notice that the words “is as” in the verse last quoted, are in Italic, indicating that they do not occur in the original Hebrew, but are supplied by the translators. The Hebrew language is brief, and a simple connective is often omitted when it would necessarily be understood. In reading, “Rebellion, the sin of witchcraft; and stubbornness, iniquity and idolatry,” it would be most natural to supply the copula “is,” but there would be no necessity nor warrant for supplying “as.” So that we may understand the prophet to say, as given in the Jewish rendering, that rebellion is indeed the sin of witchcraft, and that stubbornness is inquity and image-worship. Wherever therefore we find rebellion, there we find the sin of witchcraft. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.3
This idea is expressed by the Apostle Paul when writing to the Galatians, who were turning away from the purity of the Gospel, and disobeying the truth of God. Galatians 1:6, 7; 5:7. To them he exclaimed, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you?” Galatians 3:1. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.4
A PARALLEL INSTANCE
“The deceitfulness of sin” is proverbial. There is a magic charm about sin that bewitches the senses, and leads one to think that he is doing right when he is openly transgressing a plain and well-known commandment. A most striking illustration is furnished in the case of Saul, and a perfect parallel to that case is found in the excuses which men give for observing Sunday instead of the Sabbath, in professed obedience to the fourth commandment. Let us briefly trace the parallel. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.5
The Lord Himself came down upon Mount Sinai, and said:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.6
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy works; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; and it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.7
This commandment is of universal obligation, for it is based upon creation, which concerns the whole human race. “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 1:17), without respect of nationality, or age of the world. It was made when there was but one man and one woman on earth. At the close of the six days of creation, immediately after the creation of Adam, God rested on the seventh day from all His work, “and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:2, 3. Therefore this commandment is spoken to everyone who is descended from Adam. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.8
It is very definite, requiring the observance of the seventh day of the week, because the women who saw Jesus crucified and buried, “returned and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56), and “when the Sabbath was past,” they came to the sepulchre early on the first day of the week. Mark 16:1, 2; Luke 24:1. The day immediately before the first day of the week must be the seventh day of the week, and that is “the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.9
The commandment requiring the observance of the seventh day of the week is part of the law, of which Jesus said, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. Heaven and earth have not passed away, therefore the law remains unchanged. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.10
It is one of the commandments of the law, which Jesus said He came not to destroy, but to fulfil (Matthew 5:19); and it is one of those which He kept. John 15:10. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked.” 1 John 2:6. We are “saved by His life,” and by that only. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.11
The seventh day is the day that is always called “the Sabbath” throughout the Bible,—the New Testament as well as the Old,—showing that God designs that it shall always and everywhere be known by that name. It is never called anything else but the Sabbath, except in Revelation 1:10, where it is called simply “the Lord’s day,” which is what the fourth commandment declares it to be. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.12
So much for the commandment. Yet, plain as it is, we find that it is very generally disregarded by professed Christians. That is, they profess to keep the commandment, by keeping another day than that named in the commandment. No one claims that there is anywhere in the Bible any mention of a change in the commandment, or that the Bible says one word about the observance of Sunday; for it is admitted that the substitution of Sunday for the Sabbath did not occur until after the days of the apostles, and that “the change from the seventh to the first appears to have been gradually and silently introduced, by example rather than by express precept.”—Dr. Scott. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.13
We have before us a tract written by a clergyman of the Church of England, in which it is stated that the change in the day was made “when Christ’s life on earth was ended, and He had ascended to heaven.” It is claimed that this change was made in obedience to the will of Christ, yet the writer adds that “we are not told of any words of His in which He gave this direction.” Indeed we are not. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.14
The excuse most commonly given for the change from the commandment, is that the people generally do it, and that since the first day is kept “in honour of Christ,” it must be acceptable to the Lord; that the intent of the commandment is met, inasmuch as one day of the seven is observed. Precisely the way in which Saul persuaded himself that he had obeyed the commandment of the Lord. He said, “the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen.” It was as easy for Saul, as it is for men now, to imagine that whatever “the people” do is all right. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.15
Moreover, the cattle which God had said should be “utterly destroyed” were saved to be sacrificed to the Lord. Surely the Lord ought to be satisfied with such a bribe as that! What difference did it make when the animals were killed, so long as they were sure to be killed sometime; Saul thought that it would honour the Lord more to slay them in sacrifice, than to slay them in any other way; just as people think that the Lord will be honoured more by Sunday observance, than by the observance of the day which He has commanded. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 210.16
There is not an excuse given for keeping Sunday instead of the Sabbath, which is not paralleled by Saul’s excuse for not destroying the spoil of the Amalekites. But in the case of Saul the Lord said that it was rebellion, which is the same as the sin of witchcraft. Since the same God now lives, and changes not, what would He now say of the liberties that His professed followers had taken with His fourth commandment? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.1
THE ROOT OF THE MATTER
Having seen that plain violation of one of God’s commandments is the sin of witchcraft, no matter how specious is the excuse, let us now go to the root of the whole matter. Writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul said: “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.2
It is evident that in every attempt to beguile men from the truth as it is in Jesus, the devil has used the same arts with which he succeeded in deceiving Eve. Let us therefore see by what means she was deceived. Read the account in Genesis 3:1-6. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.3
God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, saying, “in the day ye eat thereof ye shall surely die.” The serpent came with artful insinuations against God, intimating that God was unjust in giving such a commandment. “Is it so that God hath said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Can it be possible that He would be so arbitrary as that?” This prepared the way for a bolder strike in response to Eve’s statement that God had said that they might eat of every tree but one, but that they should die if they ate of that. The serpent said:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.4
“Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God’s [literally, like God], knowing good and evil.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.5
Then the record says that “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.6
But the fact was that the tree was not one to be desired; neither, since God had prohibited it, was it good for food. It was poisonous, as has been amply demonstrated; for it was, PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.7
-“the tree whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe.”
PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.8
How then did the woman see that the fruit of the tree was good for food, and to be desired?—She saw it through the representations of the tempter. He caused her to see it by means of his magic arts. She was bewitched. She saw that which did not exist, just as has been the case with many people since, when they have been under the spell of the conjurer. It was witchcraft and magic that caused the sin from which all other sins have sprung. And thus we see why it is that rebellion is the sin of witchcraft. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.9
But what was the magic by which the tempter induced Eve to transgress the express commandment of the Lord?—It is all summed up in one sentence, “Ye shall not surely die.” It was the belief of this lie that caused the first sin and all the sins that have followed in its train. It is by the subtlety by which the serpent beguiled Eve, that our minds are in danger of being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. The false prophets and teachers are threatened with punishment by the Lord, because, as He says:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.10
“With lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life.” Ezekiel 13:22. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.11
THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST
This is the spirit of antichrist, for since Christ “was manifested to take away our sins” (1 John 3:5), it is evident that everything which tends to oppose His work,—to keep men in sin,—is the work of antichrist. It is the work of “that old serpent, called the devil and Satan.” Revelation 12:9. Let us look a little more closely at this principle of evil. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.12
Satan induced Eve to sin by saying, “Ye shall not surely die.” He induced her to commit an act of open rebellion against God,—an act which would separate her from Him,—casting off entirely her allegiance to Him, and following her own way; and this he did by making her believe that it would not cut short or diminish her life. But the only ground on which one could expect to have life under those circumstances, that is, in separation from God, and rebellion against Him, would be that he already possessed life in himself, independently of God. The devil, therefore, caused Eve to believe that she had life in herself, so that she could not surely die, and be utterly destroyed, even though she utterly rejected God. He with lies induced her to sin, by promising her life; and false prophets and teachers have strengthened the hands of the wicked, that they should not return from their wicked way, by promising them life. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.13
NATURE OF MAN
The Scriptures give us in simple terms the nature of man. Let us read something of what they say. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12. The nature of man is sinful, and mortal because sinful. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.14
“From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.” Mark 7:21, 22. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.15
“The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.” Galatians 5:19-21. And the same writer, after naming over the same things in Romans 1:29-31, says that the judgment of God is that “they which commit such things are worthy of death.” All men have sinned, and so all men are mortal, because “to be carnally minded is death.” In sinning man lost life, just as God said he should. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.16
CHRIST’S WORK
Christ came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” This He does by supplying to man that which has been lost. And what does He supply?—Life. Read the following texts:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.17
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 211.18
“As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eatheth Me, even he shall live by Me.” John 6:57. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.1
“The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.2
“Father the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee; as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:1-3. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.3
Christ has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:10. He has abolished sin and death in His own flesh (1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:15); therefore it is abolished only in those in whom Christ dwells by faith. He has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel; therefore none can see life and immortality except those who accept Christ and the Gospel. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” John 3:36. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.4
LIFE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IN CHRIST
It is in the Gospel that life and immortality are brought to light; because the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth;” “for therein is the righteousness of God revealed.” Romans 1:16, 17. It is by the Gospel that we are saved. But we are “saved by His life” (Romans 5:10), because His life is righteousness. Righteousness cannot be found except in the life of God. Jesus, who is the manifestation of God to men, said, “None is good, save one; that is, God.” Luke 18:19. And God alone has life in Himself. With Him is “the fountian of life.” Psalm 36:9. So we find that life and righteousness, alone from God, are inseparable; because His life is righteousness. Christ is our righteousness, because He is our life. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.5
The same thing may be shown in another way. Thus: “All unrighteousness is sin.” 1 John 5:17. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Therefore all unrighteousness is the transgression of the law. But the law was, and is, the life of Christ, because out of the heart are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23), and Jesus said, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. All unrighteousness, or transgression of the law, is therefore opposition to the life of God in Christ; for His life is the perfection of righteousness, or of obedience to the law. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.6
This being the case, it is evident that whoever claims that life may be had apart from Christ, is claiming that righteousness may be had apart from Him. When the serpent told Eve that if she ate of the forbidden tree she should not die, but should be like God, and he really assured her that it would be right to do what God had forbidden. In other words, he made her believe that her way was right, and that she was the proper judge of her own actions; in short, that she was essentially God. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.7
It is evident, therefore, that the teaching that men will live to all eternity, even though they do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ, is the work of antichrist. It must be so, because it is a positive denial of the words of inspiration, that he that hath not the Son, hath not life. It is a denial of the work of Christ, which is solely to give life, and to give righteousness through His life. Moreover, it is shown to be the work of antichrist, in that the devil himself, the great enemy of Christ, is the one who originated the teaching that even sinners cannot die. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.8
MODERN SPIRITUALISM
This teaching is all summed up in what is known as Modern Spiritualism. Most people have a very vague and incorrect idea of what Spiritualism is. They think that it means simply rapping, table-tipping, and other more or less extravagant manifestations. But the whole of Spiritualism is summed up in the teaching that man has a conscious existence in death,—that, in fact, there is no death, because man has life in himself, regardless of his relation to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let Spiritualists themselves tell us what Spiritualism really is. We quote from standard Spiritualist publications:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.9
The central idea of modern Spiritualism is the keystone of the religious arch. That is, a continued existence.-Golden Gate. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.10
Spiritualism per se is a science; it is the demonstration of certain facts relative to the nature of man; it explains the psychical phenomena which have transpired in the past, and the mysteries which have surrounded us as spiritual beings. It demonstrates the fact of man’s continued existence after death, and enlightens us in regard to the matter of that existence.-Ib. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.11
The very central truth of Spiritualism is the power and possibility of spirit return, under certain conditions, to communicate with those in the material form. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.12
The phenomena that a company Spiritualism are simply the means by which it is sought to demonstrate the idea of man’s continued existence. As Satan made Eve “see” that what he told her was so, although it was an infamous lie, so he still proceeds to cause people to “see” that there is no such thing as death, by giving them pretended communications from the departed, and by showing them their forms. For be it known that the devil and his angels, and not the spirits of the dead, are the authors of all the communications and phenomena of Spiritualism. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.13
MAN’S CONDITION IN DEATH
The Scriptures tell us man’s condition in death, and assure us of the impossibility of anybody’s taking any part in the affairs of this life, after he has died. Let us read a few texts:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.14
“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:3, 4. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.15
“The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalm 115:17. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.16
“For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit [grave] cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day.” Isaiah 38:18, 19. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.17
“For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.18
“Man that is born of woman is a few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not.” “For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax cold in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But men dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and as the flood decayeth and drieth up, so men lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” “His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” Job 14:1, 2, 7-12, 21. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 212.19
“For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little season, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.1
From these texts it is evident that the phenomena of Spiritualism cannot be produced by departed men. That they are the production of demons is evident from the fact that they are wrought for the purpose of giving colour to Satan’s great falsehood, “Thou shall not surely die,” and that both Satan and his angels are able to transform themselves into angels of light, and therefore have the power to personate the dead. Modern Spiritualism is but ancient Paganism; and of that the Apostle Paul wrote, “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils.” 1 Corinthians 10:20. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.2
SAUL AND THE WITCH
The truthfulness of the words of the prophet—“rebellion is the sin of witchcraft”—was fully demonstrated by Saul himself before he died. He had rejected the Lord and therefore the Lord had of necessity rejected him. “When Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” 1 Samuel 28:6. How could He, when Saul had despised His word, and turned to Him now only through fear? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.3
“Then Saul said unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.” To appeal to one that has a familiar spirit, is to appeal to the dead, as we learn from Isaiah 8:19, “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter; should not a nation seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?” R.V. But to have professed dealings with the dead, is to have actual dealings with the devil, since the dead know not anything, and the devil personates them. This is witchcraft, and the beginning of it in Saul’s case, as in every other, was in turning aside from the word of the Lord. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.4
Now let us read the interview between Saul and the woman with the familiar spirit, or, as she would be called in these days, the Spiritualist medium. After her fears as to her safety had been calmed, she said:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.5
“Whom shall I bring up to thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid; for what sawest thou? And the woman said, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up.... And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.6
Saul “perceived” that it was Samuel, just as Eve “saw” that the forbidden tree was good, and to be desired. He saw it through the representations of the devil. Whether or not Saul actually saw anything is uncertain, and is immaterial. In either case it was the devil who was deluding his senses. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.7
Then followed the conversation, in which the spirit told him of his approaching doom. This the devil could easily do, as Saul was now entirely in his power. And this is the lesson to be learned from this narrative, that he who rejects the word of the Lord, rejects the Lord Himself; and he who rejects the Lord, must of necessity put himself into the devil’s power. Rebellion is the sin of witchcraft. Whoever rejects the word of the Lord in one particular, has no safeguard against believing any sort of error. All the wickedness of Spiritualism is wrapped up in rejection of God’s word. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.8
DENYING THE ATONEMENT
We have seen from the Scriptures that to teach that man has life in himself is to teach that he has righteousness in himself,—that he himself is the standard of right,—and that he is, in fact, God. It was thus that the serpent beguiled Eve, saying, “Ye shall not surely die;” “Ye shall be like God.” Now see how this is borne out in Spiritualism. In the Banner of Light, one of the leading Spiritualist journals of the world, we read:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.9
I believe that man is amenable to no law not written upon his own nature, no matter by whom it is written.... By his own nature must he be tried-by his own acts he must stand or fall. The, man must give an account to God for all his deeds; but how?—Solely by giving account to his own nature-to himself. Feb. 6, 1864. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 213.10
In line with this is the following editorial statement in the Golden Gate of July 2, 1887, another leading Spiritualist journal:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.1
The spirits also teach us that there is no atonement or remission of sin except through growth; that as we sow, so also must we reap. They have not found God, and never will, except as they find Him in their own souls. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.2
Once more we quote the words of another leading Spiritualist teacher:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.3
We believe that God does not pardon sin, as is represented in the Scriptures; and we also believe that sin is as much a necessity as righteousness so-termed; that sin in the evolution of Nature’s (God’s) laws is converted into righteousness. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.4
Let the reader turn to the texts previously quoted, which showed the nature of the unregenerate man, and he will see that such teaching as this must inevitably tend, when believed, to all manner of wickedness. Since it is the teaching of the devil, it must produce deviltry. That it is anti-Christian it is evident from the fact that it contradicts both what the Scriptures say of man’s nature, and what Christ says of His mission, and that it tends to sin. But it is the legitimate result of the doctrine that there really is no death. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.5
But some will say that the Spiritualists are ungodly men who make a profession of belief in the Bible, and that their unchristian utterances are to be attributed to this, and not to their belief in continued existence in death. Let us then see how that doctrine affects those who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and to revere His word. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.6
THE DEAD AS SAVIOURS
We quote from a Sunday-school paper which, although edited by a Methodist Doctor of Divinity, is undenominational, circulating among all denominations. Although the paper had an “Open Letter” Department, in which correspondents were free to express their opinions, no word of dissent ever appeared, against the editorial from which the following was taken, but, on the contrary, it was highly commended. Under the heading, “What Our Dead Do For Us,” the editor wrote:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.7
Much of the best work of the world is done through the present, personal influence of the dead. And in our estimate of the forces which give us efficiency, we ought to assign a large place to the power over us, and in us, of loved ones whom we mourn as wholly removed from us. When death takes away one on whom we leaned.... the temptation to us is to feel that his work for us is done, and that henceforth, while we live on here, we must live on without his presence or aid. Yet, as a practical fact, and as a great spiritual truth, our dead do for us as constantly as they could do for us if they were still here in flesh; and they do for us very much that they could not do unless they were dead. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.8
Some of the saintly faces of fathers and mothers, which are a benediction to all who look at them, could never have shown as now with the reflected light of heaven, unless they had been summoned to frequent upward lookings through the clouds, and loving communion with their children in heaven. There are manly and womanly children, who are more serious and earnest and devoted in their young life struggles, because of the constant sense of the overwatching presence of their dead parents.... And so the dead live on here, for, and with, and in, those who mourn and remember them as gone hence for ever. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.9
Our living friends do much for us, but perhaps our dead friends do yet more. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.10
The object of this extract is to show the natural result of the doctrine that the dead do not really die. Notice (1) that the dead are put in the place of Christ, as the agency that works in men for good; and (2) that the glorification of saints is attributed to communion with the dead, and not to communion with Christ. When it is said that faces “could never have shown as now with the reflected light of heaven, unless they had been summoned to frequent upward lookings through the clouds, and loving communion with their children in heaven,” it is evident that the influence of Jesus Christ is discounted. The dead are exalted to His place. It is as much as to say that the dead do that which Christ Himself ought to. And yet the men who wrote that would be shocked at the suggestion that he did not perfectly honour the Lord. It was by his subtlety that the devil beguiled Eve, and the words, “Ye shall not surely die,” still undermine trust in Christ in the most subtle and unperceived matter. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.11
Perhaps the following from a published sermon by a most prominent D.D. of the Presbyterian denomination may serve to indicate (since it is but one out of scores of similar utterances) how much trust is put in the dead for salvation, by many who would spurn with indignation the charge that they are Spiritualists, and who would in the strongest terms condemn Catholic saint-worship:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.12
Oh, may the dead ever be with us, walking by our side, taking us by the hand, smoothing the tears from the troubled brow, and pointing us upward to the regions of everlasting light and peace! PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.13
FAITH IN THE DEAD
The following extract from a story in another religious journal (Presbyterian) shows still more strikingly how the doctrine that the dead do not really die deposes Christ from His rightful place, and puts human beings in His stead. Whether the story professed to be a narrative of facts, or was simply imagined in order to illustrate a theory, makes no difference. The influence of the belief in the conscious existence of the dead is shown just the same in either case. The story opens with a conversation between a mother and her little daughter, and runs thus:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.14
“Mamma, are you thinking of Jessie?” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.15
“Yes, dear, she seems to be very near me to-night.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.16
Bertha drew a low stool to the window by mamma’s side, and asked in hushed tones, “Do you indeed think that sister Jessie can sometimes be with us in this room?” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.17
“I cannot doubt it,” was the reply. Mamma’s hand was laid caressingly and soothingly upon the bowed head, for Bertha had not yet learned (alas, how few in this weary world do learn!) the quiet repose and steadfast hope of a perfect faith. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.18
After a moment’s silence Mrs. Grey continued: “I have been sitting here alone thinking of Jessie’s life among the angels. How happy she must be in her beautiful home! I often wonder in just what way the hopes and aspirations, that made her earth life so pure and true, are finding their perfect realisation in the unrestricted possibilities of spiritual life.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.19
“But, mamma, what comfort do you find in that?” cried Bertha. “I want her here; she was older and so much wiser and better than I, and she would have helped me so much.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.20
“But that is a selfish grief, dear Bertha; is it no comfort to know that Jessie is safe and happy? She knows how much you need help, and can guide you far more truly now in her perfect knowledge of the good and true, than she could have done in her earthly existence.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.21
“But I cannot see her; I cannot hear her. How can she help me now?” and Bertha sobbed with the unreasoning abandon of a grief that would not be comforted. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.22
“But quiet, my child; Jessie does not wish to mourn for her in this rebellious way. It can be a help to you always to think what way your angel sister would rejoice to have you think, and speak, and act. If you seek to do those things that merit her approval, it would surely feel her guiding power. Jessie can both see and hear you; but her spirit is released from its earthly fetters, because the loving Father had need of her among the angels. We cannot hear her voice, but we may feel the holy influence of her angelic presence; we cannot see her face, but we may be cheered and comforted by the thought that her bright spirit is nearest, and that she loves us with a love that is purer and holier than earth-love, even as her life in its changed relations is purer and holier.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.23
The story goes on to tell how Bertha was seduced and comforted by this talk, and how her heart was filled with an “unspeakable joy” by the thought that her dead sister “might always be unto her an invisible guardian, an intangible, loving presence.” Then follow an account of a dream which he had, in which Jessie appeared to her, and when she awoke, “its calm influence entering into her heart, taught her that death is indeed life,” etc. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 214.24
Is it possible to read the above and not see that Jesus is entirely ignored, and His rightful place filled by a dead girl? The Bible tells us that Christ is the Author and Finisher of faith; that is, that true faith centres in Him alone. But in this story “the quiet and steadfast hope of a perfect faith” is nothing else but belief in the presence of the dead. The Scriptures tell us that there is not salvation in any other than Jesus; but this makes a dead friend the chief saving agency. Instead of seeking to “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,” the little girl is taught to seek to do the things that merit the approval of her dead sister. Peter tells of “joy unspeakable and full of glory,” which comes to those who love and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; but the doctrine under consideration makes the unspeakable joy come from the belief in the presence of the dead. Instead of saying to the Lord, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none on earth that I desire beside Thee,” the belief in the continued existence of the dead relegates Jesus to the background, and deifies the dead. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.1
THE DEAD AS JUDGES
The next extract is from a Baptist paper. It is from a report of anniversary services held in memory of a Dr. Parker, at which the wife of the minister read a “tribute” to the departed. Following is a portion:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.2
Another soul has taken its place among the great cloud of witnesses, and to-day looks on with clearer, juster, kindlier vision than earth can know at the battle you and I are still waging. Have you thought with what loving interest he is watching our work and lives? Not with the imperfect edition of men, and with the unjust judgments of earth, but with a clear and just discrimination of Heaven we are seen by him to-day as we in turn shall see. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.3
There is for us who meet in Parker Chapel a new tie binding us to Heaven, and there is just as surely a new motive for more earnest, more worthy, more holy living and work on earth. If there be any incentive to worthy endeavour in the thought that the great and good of all ages are witnesses of our efforts, then the knowledge that he who so recently was with us has taken his place in the great host of heavenly witnesses, should be a fresh motive for us to lay aside every weight, and run our race with patience. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.4
“Do we indeed desire the dead
Should still be near us at our side?
Is there no baseness we should hide?
No inner vileness that we dread?
PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.5
“Shall he whose applause I strove,
I had such reverence for his blame,
See with clearness some hidden shame,
And I be lessened in his love?
PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.6
“I wrong the grave with fears untrue;
Shall love be blamed for want of faith?
There must be wisdom with great Death;
The dead shall look us through and through.
PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.7
“Be near us when we climb and fall.
Ye watch, like God, the rolling years
With larger, other eyes than ours,
To make allowance for us all.”
PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.8
When we read how the ancient Greeks and Romans deified their dead heroes, we call it Paganism. But thousands of men, including many preachers, have read these verses, and have applauded the author’s clear grasp of “Christianity.” But who can tell the difference? There is none. The serpent said to the woman, “In the day that ye eat thereof, ye shall be like God, knowing good and evil,” and the inevitable result of believing the doctrine, “Ye shall not surely die,” is still to exalt the dead to the place of God, and make them the judges of mankind. Surely such teaching is none other than the work of antichrist, inasmuch as all judgment is committed to the only begotten Son of God. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.9
THE DEAD AS TEACHERS
One of the most prominent ministers in the world, who regularly preaches to congregations numbering several thousand, and whose name is known, and whose sermons are read throughout the world, has preached a published sermon entitled “The Employments of Heaven,” in which he pictures dead physicians as still carrying on their work, and attributes to their unseen touch some of the mysterious recoveries of patients who have been given up to die. Then, speaking of himself, he said:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.10
When I get to heaven-as by the grace of God I am destined to go to that place-I will come and see you all. Yea, I will come to all the people to whom I have ministered the Gospel, and to the millions of souls to whom, through whom the kindness of the printing press, I am permitted to preach in this land, and in other lands.... I will visit them all. I give them fair notice. Our departed friends in the ministry are engaged in that delectable entertainment now. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.11
Thus is the devil using his first falsehood—“Ye shall not surely die”—to pave the way for the reception of many others. For we know from the Scriptures that no man is able to know or do anything when he is dead, and that when they seem to come back, and to communicate, it is only the spirits of devils. Now see for what purpose he is getting the people accustomed to the idea that dead ministers can come back and teach. Some years ago a Baptist minister left his pulpit, and became an avowed Spiritualist. Writing of his experience, and of the spirits who were his familiar visitors, he said:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.12
Nearly half a score of old Baptist preachers, with whom I have been associated in the past, have already come to our home, and explained wherein their former preaching was erroneous. The whole system of Biblical interpretation is far away from the truth, as everyone will find when they enter the spiritual world. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.13
Without attempting to defend anybody’s “system of Biblical interpretation,” we may learn this fact, namely, that when the devil personates dead ministers, and begins preaching, it is only for the purpose of undermining faith in the Bible. And those who have so far wandered from God’s word as to believe Satan’s fiction that there is no death, despite God’s word to the contrary, will, if they do not forsake that error, fall easy victims to all the false doctrine with which the agents of Satan will flood the world. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.14
A few years ago there was a representative gathering of the Congregationalists in London, from all parts of the world. Of course the new “criticism” came in for discussion. Some had pleaded for holding to “the faith of the fathers,” when one man said, “But who knows what the faith of the fathers is now?” This was thought to be a particularly happy bit, and was the most applauded of any remark made during the convention. Thus the way is rapidly preparing for Satan to fill the minds of professed believers in Christ with all manner of false doctrines, and to fill the churches with wickedness. And then will the words go forth from heaven: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:2. And the preparation for this was made by Satan in Eden six thousand years ago, when he said, “Ye shall not surely die.” How fearfully the Apostle Paul’s forebodings have been realised, for as the serpent beguiled Eve, many thousands of minds have been corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.15
TRUE COMFORT
“But are we not to be comforted with the thought of meeting our loved ones again? Are we to think of them when they die as lost for ever?” No; the righteous dead are not lost, but the promise is that “they shall come again from the land of the enemy.” Jeremiah 31:16, 17. Read these soul-cheering words:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.16
“But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as the rest which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them which are fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 215.17
Yes; if we truly believe the Lord we shall meet the ones who have departed, for “together with them” we shall be “caught up”—“to meet the Lord.” But even the joy of meeting friends and kindred will be overtopped by the joy of meeting with “the chiefest among ten thousand, and the One altogether lovely.” “He will swallow up death in victory.” To Him alone will every eye be turned, and will every tongue ascribe praise. “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,” will all honour and glory be given. And since that will be the occupation of the redeemed in heaven, let the redeemed on earth beware of anything that tends to eclipse His glory now. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 216.1
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 216.2
“Life and Death” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:12. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.1
When you skip with a rope, or roll your hoop, or play with your dog or cat, or help your father or mother, do you ever stop to think who gives you the power to skip and run and shout? Who filled you so brimful of life and activity? And who keeps you alive during the long nights when you, as well as your father and mother, are sound asleep? Think a moment, and see if you cannot remember. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.2
We have learned that “In Him [the Lord] we live, and move, and have our being,” and that “it is He that hath made us and not we ourselves,” for “with Him is the fountain of life.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.3
Well, then, since we live in Him, and there is no other fountain of life, suppose we should shut ourselves away from Him, what would happen to us? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.4
Yes, we should surely die, for we have no life of our own at all. We cannot live without God any more than the grass or the trees or the beasts can, for from Him flows “the life of every living thing.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.5
Then can you not see how hopelessly lost we were when man in Eden shut himself away from God by the “thick cloud,” or “wall,” of sin? And can you not see how hopelessly lost we are now, if we do not accept Jesus as our good Shepherd, and allow Him to take our sins away and bring us back to God? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.6
As we learned last week, Jesus is the only “door” and only “way” to God, the fountain of life. That is the reason that God says, “He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Jesus is our only hope, our only salvation. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.7
By sin we have shut ourselves away from all right to the life that God gave us, and which He now lends us but for a little while that we may have time to learn of Jesus, and to take Him for our Saviour. We shall soon die and return to dust, just as God said we should, and just as Adam and Eve did long ago. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.8
If we have accepted Jesus, we have accepted His life, and we need not fear, for we shall live again, never to die anymore. While we sleep in the grave Jesus will safely keep for us His own eternal life which we have accepted, and He will come in a little while and wake us up to receive it again. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.9
But if we will not accept Him and His life now, we shall have no life then to be hid with Christ in God, and therefore we shall have to be awakened to everlasting destruction instead of to everlasting life. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.10
Satan knows this, and so he does everything that he can to keep us away from Jesus. He knows that if we have Jesus, we have life, and He does not want us to go to Jesus that we may have life. He wants to make us believe that we can live without God just as well as with Him, and that we cannot die no matter how wicked we are. If he can get us to believe that, he knows that we shall not feel any need of Jesus, for we shall think that we have life in ourselves; thus he will be able to keep us away from the only One who can save us. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.11
Whenever, therefore, we are tempted to disobey God and commit any naughty sin, Satan whispers to us just as he did to Eve, “Fear not; it will not do any harm; ye shall not surely die, even though you do disobey God, and shut Him away with your sins; there is no such thing as death; even though you appear to die it is not death, and so you can never die.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.12
Though with our own eyes we may have seen our friends die, and lie perfectly still and helpless, and deaf to all our cries, yet he has said, “Ye shall not surely die; this is not death, but another and better and more beautiful way of living; your friends are not dead but alive, and they hear every word you say, and are watching over you and thinking about you all the time, and they can help you to live as you ought.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.13
He is so very anxious to have us believe this, and thus lead us away from seeking Jesus for help and life, that he and his angels sometimes cause themselves to look like people who have died, and then they come and show themselves and say that they are the friends who were supposed to be dead. They look so much like them, and talk so much like them, that people are easily deceived, and believe that they are really talking with their dead friends. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.14
Satan has also written messages to people in the handwriting of their dead friends, thus causing them to think that their friends were alive and writing to them. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.15
Although we are told that Satan will soon work “with all power and signs and lying wonders,” we need not fear that we shall be deceived if we know and love and really believe God’s word. He has told us very plainly all that we need to know. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.16
God said to man, If thou eatest of the tree, “thou shalt surely die.” In Ezekiel we read, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Notice, God does not say that it shall appear to die, but that “it shall die.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.17
Again, God says, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.18
How plain that is! “The soul that sinneth, it shall die,” and in the very day that he dies, “his thoughts perish.” He cannot be thinking about us, then, can he? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.19
In another place we read, “His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” No wonder that he does not know what happens to his children after he is dead, for God says that “his thoughts perish.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.20
But here is another word of God which is still plainer; “The living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.21
Notice the difference between God’s word and Satan’s: Satan says, They shall not surely die; God says, They shall surely die. Satan says, They are thinking about us; God says, Their thoughts perish. Satan says, They know as much or more than they did before; God says, They know not anything. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.22
Then let us believe God even though Satan appears to us, looking and talking to us like our friends who have died, and even though He sends us writing that looks just like theirs. We may be sure that Satan is just trying to fool us, for God says the dead cannot think, or know, or do, for they are dead. They, therefore, cannot help us, and they cannot harm us. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.23
Jesus is the only One that can save us from our sins and bring us to God that we may have life. Without Him we shall have no life and no hope of life. Oh, let us not believe Satan, but let us come to Jesus now that we may have life. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 221.24
1. Who made you? Psalm 100:3. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.1
2. By the power of whose life do you live and move? Acts 17:28. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.2
3. With whom is the only fountain of life? Psalm 36:9. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.3
4. Then if we should shut ourselves away from God, what would happen to us? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.4
5. How much do we need God?—As much as the grass and beasts. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.5
6. Why? Job 12:10, margin; Ecclesiastes 3:19. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.6
7. Then happened to man as soon as he shut himself away from God by sin?—He was doomed to death. Genesis 2:17. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.7
8. How many of us have sinned? Romans 3:23. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.8
9. Is there, then, no hope for us? John 3:16; 1 John 5:12. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.9
10. What did Satan say to Eve when she was tempted to sin? Genesis 3:4. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.10
11. What does he say to us when we are tempted to sin?—The same thing. 2 Corinthians 11:3. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.11
12. How else does he try to make us believe that there is no death? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.12
13. Why is he so anxious to have us believe that we can sin and yet live? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.13
14. What does God say about the soul that sins? Ezekiel 18:20. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.14
15. And what takes place the very day that a man dies? Psalm 146:4. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.15
16. Then can a dead man know what his children are doing? Job 14:21. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.16
17. How much can he know? Ecclesiastes 9:5. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.17
18. Is it necessary to be deceived by Satan when God has spoken so plainly? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.18
19. If we do not have Jesus, what else do we not have? 1 John 5:12. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.19
20. Then who is our only hope? Acts 4:12. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.20
21. If we accept Jesus now, what will be safe even though we sleep in the grave a little while? Colossians 3:3, 4. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.21
22. But if we will not accept Him now, to what shall we be awakened? John 5:29. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.22
23. Then can we afford to grieve away the only One who can give us life? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.23
“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
-Six months imprisonment is the sentence recently pronounced upon a Berlin editor for writing an article “inciting to class hatred.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.24
-The State of Wyoming, U.S.A., has recently been visited by a severe storm, in which immense numbers of cattle are said to have perished. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.25
-In the recent explosion of dynamite in the sunken hull of the Cabo Machichaco, at Santander, eighteen persons were killed and twenty-three injured. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.26
-The Brazilian insurgents are still holding out in one or two of the southern provinces of Brazil, but it is not thought that they are capable of resisting long. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.27
-Mr. Vanderbilt is spending two millions sterling in building himself a house in New York to rival the moat splendid palaces in Europe. Over 600 men have, been employed two years in its erection. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.28
-It is stated in official quarters at St. Petersburg that the Russian Minister of the Interior proposes shortly to introduce several administrative measures for improving to a certain extent the position of the Jews in Russia. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.29
-The State Council of Switzerland has unanimously adopted the Bill approved by the Federal Council imposing penalties ranging from ten years’ imprisonment to penal servitude for life on persons making criminal use of explosives. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.30
-It is stated at Washington that President Cleveland has decided to veto the bill recently passed by Congress for coining the silver seigniorage,—a step which will probably disrupt the Democratic party in the Western States. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.31
-France has just been placed in direct telegraphic communication with New Caledonia, through the completion of the cable between that colony and Australia. The tariff between France and New Caledonia is fixed at 9f. 35c. per word. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.32
-An extraordinary story is told of the Crown jewels of King Theebaw, having been seized and hidden by two British soldiers during the war with Burmah in 1885. It is stated that, with the sanction of the authorities, one of the soldiers is now on his way to Burmah to discover the hidden treasure. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.33
-A despatch from Rome states that the Emperors William and Francis Joseph have telegraphed their thanks to the Pope for his encyclical to the Poles. Russia, on the other hand, is very dissatisfied with the publication of the encyclical, and M. Isvolski, the Russian semi-official agent to the Holy See, has not returned to Rome. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.34
-Information comes from Buenos Ayres to the effect that four cannons have been purchased there by the secret agents of a proposed revolutionary movement in Uruguay. Other munitions of war are now being negotiated for by the same persons. The movement is said to be in sympathy with Admiral de Mello’s insurgent party in Brazil. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.35
-A party of 334 trained boys and lads from Dr. Barnardo’s Homes, the first for the season, left London recently for Liverpool, en route for Canada. Including these Dr. Barnardo has now sent out 6,805 boys and girls to the Colonies, of whom 98 per cent. have hitherto acquitted themselves satisfactorily. Ninety of the present party are lads of over seventeen, who will go as settlers upon the industrial farm of 10,000 acres in Manitoba, now being developed in connection with the homes. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.36
-It is reported from San Salvador that ex-President Vasquez of Honduras is about to leave San Salvador, where he took refuge after his defeat by General Bonilla, for the United States. General Bonilla, the now President, is trying to organise the government on a firm basis. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.37
-A telegram from Warsaw announces a terrible disaster at a coal mine near Kaszeloff. One of the shafts collapsed, burying the miners who were at work below. Up to the present eleven bodies have been recovered, and a large number of men have been rescued in a seriously injured condition. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.38
-At the sitting of the Austrian Socialist Congress in Vienna a resolution was adopted in favour of the principle of a general strike, on the ground of universal suffrage, the measure of franchise reform proposed by the Government being declared to be insufficient. It was further resolved to leave the initiative in the agitation for an eight-hours day to the miners. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.39
-Private intelligence from Odessa states that numerous arrests continue to be made in that city, of students and others suspected of Nihilist tendencies. The arrests are always made at night. Domiciliary visits are frequent, especially to the lodgings occupied by the students of the university. At St. Petersburg, also, many arrests have been made for similar reasons. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.40
-A very stringent law as to the sale of intoxicants is in force in Nebraska, which provides that “the person licensed shall pay all damages that the community or individuals may sustain in consequence of such traffic; he shall support all paupers, widows, and orphans, and the expenses of all civil and criminal prosecutions, growing out of or justly attributed to his traffic in intoxicating drinks.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.41
-Cannibalism prevails, it is said, to a frightful extent on the right bank of the River Ubango, Africa. A priest reports that native slaves are brought to the market, and sold like butcher’s meat. Persons unable to purchase a whole slave buy an arm, or a leg, or the head, and mark it off with a piece of chalk, and when the whole of the unfortunate victim has been selected, he is killed, and the several portions distributed to the customers. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.42
-A letter from Kief to a correspondent of a London journal states that the official appointed to crush Stundism in the province of Kief, is actively engaged in hauling Stundists to trial. At his instigation, a peasant named Sylvester Mouzh, has been arrested, imprisoned, and sentenced to deprivation of all rights, and banishment to the Caucasus. Previous to his trial he was subjected to most barbarous treatment in prison. He was confined in a subterranean room or dungeon, in which lime had been scattered about. Lime is also said to have been placed in his food. His sufferings are described as terrible. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.43
-The Chronicle says: “The principal members of the new American Arctic expedition have reached this country, on their way to Norway. Their real departure for the “Frozen North” will be from Norway, and the route by Spitzbergen. The idea is to squeeze the undertaking into the space of one season-a “dash for the Polo.” At present the eternal desire to fathom the northern secret seems to have bred almost an epidemic of expeditions. Peary has gone into the ice from the American side, and Nansen in his Fram is somewhere under the aurora borealis. An English effort is to he headed by Mr. Jackson, so that altogether there will be four Arctic expeditions to occupy attention about the same time.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.44
-Mr. Naoroji, M.P., in a recent address to a crowded audience on “The wants of India,” said that the complaint of the people there was that they were not treated with the measure of justice which they as British subjects were entitled to. This was, he said, fully proved by the history of the last fifty years. In 1833 the people of India received a charter which expressly stated that they were to be treated as British subjects without any difference of creed, race, or colour. However, the Executive, or Board of Directors, instructed to carry out this proclamation, disregarded it altogether, and the position of the youths of India who were prepared to enter public offices was just as unsatisfactory as before. In 1845 another unsuccessful attempt was made to reinforce the pledges which had been so cruelly broken. The Indian people yearned for British citizenship, and until they became fully admitted into all its privileges and responsibilities, they would never remain satisfied. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 222.45
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
“Our noisy Protestants” is the way in which an organ of the High Church phrases its contempt for the other wing of the Church of England. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.1
The latest thing in societies is a “Society for Obtaining Apostolic Power.” The minimum subscription is only one shilling a year. “Apostolic power” at a shilling a year is decidedly cheap; that is, the power is cheap; the price is too much. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.2
It has been decided by the Pittsburg (U.S.A.) Board of Education that the wearing of any dress distinctive of any religious order by any of the teachers in the schools, during school hours, is sectarian, and as such is forbidden by the Constitution of the State. In consequence of this, the nuns who had been appointed as teachers, have resigned. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.3
It is stated on what is claimed to be good authority, that Queen Margherita “attributes most of Italy’s misfortunes to the sacrilege of despoiling the Sovereign Pontiff of his possessions and authority in Rome, and earnestly desires to see a reconciliation take place between the Vatican and Quirinal.” Whether the statement is true or not, it is certain to be made the most of towards restoring the Papacy to its former temporal power. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.4
And the eunuch desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him, and explain to him the Gospel; but Philip said, “You must excuse me; I should like very much to preach to you, but I left home in a great hurry, and have no surplice with me;” and so the eunuch went on his way in ignorance of Christ. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.5
That was not the way that Philip the evangelist did, but here is what we read in one of the letters of Phillips Brooks, written from Trichinipalli, India:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.6
This morning I went to an early service and saw the grave of Bishop Heber in the chancel. I was going to preach for the minister this evening, but he could not find a surplice of decent length, and it had to be given up. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.7
When Paul wrote, “Be instant in season, out of season,” he did not mean that Timothy should always have a surplice in his bag, but that he should always have the word of God in his heart. Those who cannot preach except in clothing of a certain style, lack something of being perfect followers of Him who preached from a fisherman’s boat, and by the wayside. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.8
In all the praise of Neal Dow’s temperance principles, there is one point that is not much spoken of. Thirty-five years ago he was in the habit of drinking strong tea, and at that time he suffered, very naturally, from severe headaches. He gave up the tea, and his headaches vanished. Why is it that the temperance people who are justly praising his temperant life, do not note his abstinence from alcoholic liquor? Is it because tea is a stimulant that they are more partial to than they are to alcohol? PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.9
In writing of Nebuchadnezzar’s fury at the three Hebrews who would not worship his image, Alexander McLaren has well said: “He is not the only instance of apparent religious zeal, which is at the bottom nothing but masterfulness. ‘You shall worship my god, not because he is God, but because he is mine.’ That is the real meaning of a great deal which calls itself ‘zeal for the Lord.’ The zealot’s own will, opinions, fancies, are crammed down other people’s throats, and the insult in not thinking or worshipping as he does, is worse in his eyes than the offence against God.” PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.10
“Child Slaughter” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
Child Slaughter.-In the Review of the Churches, Archdeacon Farrar appeals in behalf of the work and funds of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The slaughter of children is the most heart-chilling practice in civilised or uncivilised paganism. The testimony of coroners, justices, and workers among the poor is that the system of child insurance is a fruitful source of crime against children. It has been asserted, and the Archdeacon credits it, that a thousand children a year are murdered for insurance money. Added to this is the neglect and cruelty not due to monetary considerations. Under this head the rich as well as the poor are offenders. In the Society’s annual report it is stated as follows:— PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.11
The habitations of the poor, as a class, do not one whit more deserve to be called “habitations of cruelty” than do the habitations of the rich; and never does the drunkard surpass, seldom is he deliberate enough to equal, in diabolical inventiveness the cruelties of the sober. The society’s work has rendered it clear that education, rank, and practice of religious rites are fully compatible with even fervour and devotion in cruelty to children. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.12
The last sentence reminds one of the third of 2 Timothy, where the Apostle Paul mentions the sins which were to be especially prominent in the last days, even among professors of religion, “having a form of godliness.” “Without natural affection,” “fierce,” are terms which officially describe the unnatural parents who torture the little ones. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.13
“A Worthy Ambition” The Present Truth 10, 14.
E. J. Waggoner
A Worthy Ambition.-It is a fact that we are exhorted in the Scriptures to be ambitious. The word ambition is very generally associated with an evil disposition. We think of an Alexander or a C?sar, thirsting for dominion, or a Hildebrand grasping for combined ecclesiastical and temporal sovereignty. The ordinary ambition is simply the clamour of self and passion. It aims to secure place or wealth, or to be thought well of by men, or to be the leader of a regiment of followers, however small and insignificant. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.14
The ambition recommended in the letter to the Thessalonians is of a different character. “But we exhort you, brethren, that ye abound more and more; and that ye be ambitious to be quiet.” 1 Thessalonians 4:10, 11, margin of R.V. This is a rare ambition, and very often we need a great deal of it in order to rest in quietness and confidence. The person who would advance Christ’s kingdom in the cause of truth, must learn how to be quiet in season, as well as how to speak in season. PTUK April 5, 1894, page 224.15