The Present Truth, vol. 10
September 6, 1894
“Front Page” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
“The meek will He guide in judgment; and the meek will He teach His way.” Psalm 25:9. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.1
But there is nobody who is naturally meek. “For 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. “Pride compasseth them about as a chain.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.2
Meekness can be learned only from Christ. He says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:28, 29. To be meek is to be like Christ. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.3
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22, 23. Meekness then is identical with perfect obedience to the law of God through the Spirit. It is the same thing as love, which “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own.” 1 Corinthians 13:4, 5. And “love is the fulfilling of the law.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.4
In Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. He is “the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:24. The Spirit of the Lord is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:2. Therefore he who learns of Christ, the meek and lowly One, and possesses the Spirit, whose fruit is meekness, must necessarily have sound wisdom and knowledge and discretion. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.5
We read, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Philippians 2:3. This is an exhortation to meekness, but how shall the thing be done? It is not an easy thing for a man to think others better than himself. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.6
The answer is indicated in Romans 12:3, where the exhortation is repeated: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), and the measure of faith which He has dealt to every man is “the faith of Jesus,” which of course carries with it His meekness. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.7
It is not possible that any man should of himself think others better than himself. But when God reveals Himself to him, and he realises his own sinfulness by contrast, it is impossible for him to imagine that any other can be as bad as he is. Thus he can, with Paul, declare himself to be the chief of sinners. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.8
There are very many who have this experience at times; to be continually in that condition is another matter. How can it be maintained? Only by “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher (Perfecter) of faith.” His faith, His trust in the Father, by which self was kept out of sight that the works might be seen to be only the Father’s, will work the same in us. Then may be fulfilled in weak men and women the words of Christ, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.” John 14:12. The power that can do those works through human agents, can also preserve in them the meekness that will not become puffed up by them. Thus meekness brings wisdom and power. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.9
“Possibilities of Deception” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
Some of the things into which self may enter and deceive the soul are mentioned by Paul in the first epistle to the Corinthians: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, 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 though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1, 2. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.10
The apostle does not say that faith, and the gift of prophecy, and all knowledge, can be possessed by a person without charity, for that would be manifestly impossible. Faith works by love (or charity) and all the gifts of God come through faith; hence faith and all the gifts are inseparable from charity. Galatians 5:6. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.11
But we may think that we have great faith, or the gift of prophecy, or some other gift, and that we are accomplishing a great work for the Lord, when it is only the work of self; or false prophets may arise, and show great signs and wonders, to deceive if possible even the very elect; and we must know that without charity all these manifestations are spurious. We are not to base our confidence upon these. Even “though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” The world would call this charity of a remarkable kind; but God, who looks at the heart, calls only that charity which has no taint of self. Not the love of self, but the love of God, is charity. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 561.12
“The Spiritualist Family” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
A new Spiritualist journal called The Unknown World, has just made its appearance. In order that our readers may know from its adherents just what Spiritualism embraces, we make the following extract from the prospectus of the journal, most of the words of which we think they will be able to comprehend:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.1
The department of occult science embraced by the present editorial scheme are: White and Black Magic, Necromancy, Divination, Astrology, Alchemy, Witchcraft, Crystallomancy, Elementals and Elementaries, the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, Esoteric, Freemasonry, the Mysteries, the Mystics, Hermetic Philosophy, the Arch?ology of the Secret Sciences. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.2
We do not know if the above is the whole of the Spiritualist family, but it is sufficiently large. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.3
“Missions and Tobacco” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
Do the members of the churches spend more money for tobacco than for foreign missions? A statement has been made by someone among the Baptists that they spend more for tobacco than for missions, and the London organ quotes the statement as possibly correct. And there is no reason for supposing the Baptists anymore given to the consumption of nicotine than others. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.4
In the Church Intelligencer, Archdeacon Collison writes from the North Pacific concerning his Indians:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.5
Almost all the young men have given up the habit of smoking. One of them, who had realised a profit of five dollars on the sale of tobacco in a small trading store kept by him, brought this money and gave it me to assist in the purchase of a new bell for our mission church. I would to God that our young men at home might be influenced to deny themselves and devote the money spent in smoking to the work of fulfilling our Lord’s command, the sending of the Gospel to every creature. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.6
Whatever men may say of the use of tobacco, it is surely a serious problem that is put before them in the suggestion that they who profess to acknowledge the Lord’s command are spending more in smoke than in sending the Gospel to the perishing. And others besides smokers may well ask whether they are not spending more money on needless luxuries than in the service of God. Statistics sometimes reveal surprising comparisons. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.7
“Studies in Romans. Establishing the Law. Romans 3:27-31” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
We now come to the close of the third chapter of Romans. We found that righteousness is the free gift of God unto every one who believes. It is not that God gives a man righteousness as a reward for believing certain dogmas; the Gospel is something entirely different from that. It is this, that true faith has Christ alone as its object, and it brings Christ’s life actually into the heart; and therefore it must bring righteousness. This act of mercy on the part of God is eminently just, because in the first place the sin is against God, and he has a right to pass by offences against Him; and, further, it is just, because He gives His own life as an atonement for the sin, so that the majesty of the law is not only maintained, but is magnified. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10. God is just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. All righteousness is from Him alone. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.8
“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is He the God of the Jews only? is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also; seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.9
QUESTIONING THE TEXT
What have we previously learned as to the condition of all men? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.10
“Guilty before God.” “For all have sinned.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.11
What is God to them that believe? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.12
“The justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.13
How does He justify those who have sinned? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.14
“Freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.15
What righteousness does the man so justified have? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.16
“The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.17
Where is boasting then? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.18
“It is excluded.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.19
By what law? Of works? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.20
“Nay; but by the law of faith.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.21
What then is the conclusion? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.22
“Therefore we conclude that a man if justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.23
Is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not of the Gentiles also? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.24
“Yes, of the Gentiles also.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.25
What is the proof? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.26
“Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.27
Do we then make void the law through faith? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.28
“God forbid.” (Not by any means.) “Yea, we establish the law.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.29
No Boasting.-Since righteousness is a free gift of God through Jesus Christ, it is evident that no one can justly boast of any righteousness that he has. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9. “Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.30
What Boasting Proves.—“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. Boasting therefore is an evidence of a sinful heart. But suppose a man boasts of his righteousness, as, for instance, when a man says that he has lived without sin for so many years? “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8. But are not the grace and power of God manifested in Christ to cleanse and keep us from sin? Most certainly; but only when in humility we acknowledge that we are sinners. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. When we say that we have no sin, that very thing is evidence that we have; but when with faith in the word of the Lord we say that we are sinners, then the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. In the plan of salvation there is no place for human pride and boasting. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 562.31
No Boasting in Heaven.-The result of boasting in heaven is seen in the case of Satan. Once he was one of the covering cherubs above the throne of God. But he began to contemplate his own glory and goodness, and his fall was the consequence. “Thou hast sinned; therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Ezekiel 28:16, 17. If the saints after their translation should begin to boast of their sinlessness, they would be as bad as they ever were. But that will never be. All who are admitted to heaven will have fully learned the lesson that God is all and in all. There will not be a voice or a heart silent in the song of praise, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.1
The Law of Works.-The law of works does not exclude boasting. If a man were justified by works, he would have whereof to boast over another who had the same privilege, but did not use it. In that case the righteous could boast over the wicked; and people would continually be comparing themselves with one another to see who had done the most. The law of works is simply the ten commandments in form only. Compliance with the law of works enables one to appear outwardly righteous, while within he is full of corruption. Yet the one who follows the law of works is not always necessarily a hypocrite. He may have an earnest desire to keep the commandments, but may be deceived into thinking that he can work them out of himself. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.2
The Law of Faith.-This has for its object the same thing as the law of works, namely, the commandments of God, but the result is different. The law of works deceives a man with a form; the law of faith gives him the substance. The law of faith is the law “as it is in Jesus.” The one may be a sincere attempt to keep the law; the other is the actual accomplishment of that desire, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The ten commandments as given by the Lord are only a law of faith, since God never designed that they should be taken in any other way; and He never expected that anybody could get righteousness from them in any other way than by faith. The law of works is man’s perversion of the law of God. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.3
Faith Without Works.—“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Because there is no other means by which he could be justified! We have before seen that all men are sinners, and that no man has power in himself to perform the deeds of the law, no matter how strong his desires. “Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” Romans 2:13. But “by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20. Therefore whoever is justified, or made righteous at all, must be made righteous by faith alone, wholly apart from the deeds of the law. This is of universal application. It means that justification, first, last, and all the time, is by faith alone. The Christian cannot be justified by works any more than the sinner can be. No man can ever get so good and strong that his own deeds can justify him. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.4
Faith and Works.-But that is not to say that works have nothing to do with faith. Justification means making just, or making righteous. Righteousness is right doing. Faith which justifies, therefore, is faith which makes a man a doer of the law, or, rather, which puts the doing of the law into him. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10. “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.” Titus 3:8. A man is not justified by faith and works, but by faith alone, which works. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.5
One God for All.-There is but “one God and Father of all.” Ephesians 4:6. He “hath made of one blood all nations of men,” “for we are also His offspring.” Acts 16:26, 28. “There is no respect of persons with God.” Romans 2:11. “In every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” Acts 10:35. The Scripture saith: “Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.” Romans 10:11, 12. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.6
One Means of Justification.-The fact that justification is only by faith, and that God “commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), shows that God regards Jew and Gentile alike. Nor is there any evidence that He ever did put any difference between them. A believing Gentile was always accounted righteous, and an unbelieving Jew was never considered by the Lord any better than any other unbeliever. Remember that Abraham, the father of the whole Jewish nation, was a Chaldean. The Jews were related to the Chaldeans who remained in their native land, just as surely as they were to one another in the land of Canaan. Unfortunately, they forgot this; but they are not the only ones in the world who have forgotten that all men are their brethren. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.7
In the statement, “It is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith,” there is no need of stumbling over the prepositions. Bear in mind how often we use the words “by” and “through” interchangeably, to indicate means, and there will be no difficulty. The emphatic word is “faith.” Both circumcision and uncircumcision are justified through, or by means of, faith. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.8
Making Void the Law.-Making void the law does not mean abolishing it. There is no question as to the perpetuity of the law. It is so plainly eternal that the apostle Paul never wastes space in arguing about it. The only question is as to how its claim may be satisfied. The Saviour said that the Jews made the commandment of God of none effect through their tradition. So far as they were concerned, they made it void. No man could by any action or lack of action abolish or in any way affect the law of God. But anybody may by his unbelief obliterate it from his own heart. The question then is, Do we by faith make the law of God of none effect? Or, more plainly still, Does faith lead to the transgression of the law? The answer is, “Not by any means.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.9
Establishing the Law.-That which has been said in regard to making void the law of God will apply here also. That is, no action of man can make the law anything different from what it actually is. It is the foundation of the throne of God, and as such it will ever abide, in spite of demons and men. But it is left for us to say whether or not we will have it obliterated from our hearts, or have it established there. If we choose to have it established in our hearts, we have only to accept Christ by faith. Faith brings Christ to dwell in the heart. Ephesians 3:17. The law of God is in the heart of Christ (Psalm 40:8), so that the faith which brings Christ into the heart establishes the law there. And since the law of God is the establishment of His throne, the faith which brings the law into the heart, enthrones God there. And thus it is that God works in men both to will and to do of His good pleasure. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 563.10
“‘Brain-Power’ of Plants” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
It is doubtless well know that it is very difficult to draw the line of division between plants and the lowest forms of animal life. Some so-called plants have the power of locomotion, and some things that are classed as animals are permanently fixed to one spot. The difference between the lowest forms of animals and plants is far less than the difference between many well-known animals, and so students are beginning to conclude that the difference between the animal and the vegetable kingdom is one of degree rather than of kind. The following from an article in the National Review emphasises this likeness:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.1
“The botanist of to-day seeks to unravel the mysteries of plant life. For him the plant is no longer an inanimate being, but stands revealed as an organism exhibiting animal functions, such as breathing, circulation of blood or sap, various complex movements, and sleeping, which are as certainly equally well defined as are the analogous traits in the existence of the animal. We have seen that all these functions in the animal kingdom cannot be performed except by the agency of the various nerves, etc., and that there must be a source of power behind the different nerve cells of which the brain is composed. The brain itself can, therefore, be looked upon as an intermediate motor which only serves for the more perfect transmission of impulse. This motor is absent in plants; but does it necessarily follow that the power or force itself is non-existent?—Certainly not. There is any amount of evidence to the contrary. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.2
“Some say that this power is merely instinct; but.... instinctive actions moved only in one direction, and cannot adapt themselves to circumstances. But all those who have studied the habits of plants know full well that they have the power of adapting themselves to circumstances, and have many movements and traits that are the very reverse of automatic. Numerous instances might be pointed out, in which not only are the signs of sensibility as fully developed in the plant as in the animal, but, as I have before hinted, many phases of animal life are exactly imitated. Take, for example, those wonderful plants, the mimosa, sensitive of the most delicate touch:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.3
“‘Weak with nice sense, the chaste mimosa stands;
From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands;
Oft as light clouds o’erpass the summer glade,
Alarmed, she trembles at the moving shade,
And feels alive through all her tender form,
The whispered murmurs of the gathering storm;
Shuts her sweet eyelids to the approaching ‘night,
And hails with freshened charms the rising light.’
PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.4
“The manner in which this plant closes its stalks and leaves at the approach of darkness, is very interesting. As the gloaming gently falls, the leaves move upward toward each other till they touch; the secondary leaf-stalks slowly droop till they are nearly parallel with the main leaf-stalks, which in their turn fall till they point to the ground. Thus it folds itself at the close of the day, and there is no doubt, if it were not allowed to sleep, it would, like ourselves, soon die. This is not only an example of the necessity of sleep for the repairing of nervous energy and recuperation of brain-power, but a proof of the existence of the same in the vegetable kingdom. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.5
“Then there are the carnivorous plants, the Venus’s fly trap (Dkonaea), for instance, which will digest raw beef as readily as its insect prey. From glands with which its leaf is provided, fluids are poured out which resemble the gastric juice of the animal stomach in its digestive properties. The matter of the insect’s body or meat is thus absorbed into the substance and tissues of the plant just as the food taken into the animal stomach is digested and becomes part of the animal fabric. In the animal, digestion can only be commenced by the brain-force acting by means of a nerve upon the gastric glands; we may, therefore, concede that it is the action of the same power in the plant that produces the same effect. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.6
“There is no structure in plants, so far as its functions are concerned, more wonderful than the tip of the radicle. The course pursued by other radicle in penetrating the ground must be determined by the tip. Darwin wrote: ‘It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the tip of the radicle, as it is, with such diverse kinds of sensitive dust, that acts like the brain of animals; the brain being seated within the extreme end of the body, receiving impressions from the sense organs, and directing the several movements.’” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.7
The writer next refers to the different directions invariably taken by the radicle and the plumule of sprouting seeds, as in the pea, the bean, etc., the radicle always going downward, and the plumule upward, and asks:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.8
“What causes the radicle to descend and the other to ascend? If the seed is so placed that the radicle comes out at the top, the result is the same; for the radicle immediately turns round and grows downward. It cannot be gravitation, although Darwin thought it was, because that would have the same effect upon the plumule. There can only be one reason, and that, the existence of a directing force, or brain-power. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.9
“A still more remarkable instance of intelligent plant movement is found in one of the lowest forms of the vegetable kingdom; namely, the Peronospora infestans, the well-known potato fungus. I need not go into the life-history of this plant, it being more especially in the spores that the existence of a power of movement according to circumstances is marked. When the spore-cases burst, a multitude of little bodies escape; if these bodies gain access to water, they develope a couple of curious little tails, and by means of these tails they swim about after the manner of tadpoles. Surely this is something higher than a mere automatic or instinctive movement.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.10
These are the facts. The question is, What do they teach? The evolutionist sees in them evidence that all life proceeds from a single germ, and that the highest forms of animal life are but the more complete maturity of the lowest forms. That is the same mistake that the ancient heathen made when they “changed the truth of God into a lie.” Instead of recognising the power of the Creator in the things that He had made, they looked upon them as virtually self-created. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 564.11
One thing these facts are designed to teach us, and that is that there is but one source of life for everything in the world. The living God is the source of all life. Not only do we “live, and move, and have our being,” but “in Him all things consist.” “Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be the glory for ever.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.1
The Lord, through the prophet, tells us that “all flesh is grass.” This is spoken with special reference to the frailty of man, and therein it shows the truth which we would point out, namely, that both plants and animals, including man, derive their life wholly from God. There is but one life in the universe,—the life of God,—but it is manifested in an infinite variety of ways, because God is infinite. The life of God in each created thing makes that thing just what God designed it to be. Men have resisted the gentle but powerful influences of the Life, and so have perverted it; but when they yield to it they become “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.2
Therefore that which our author calls “brain-power” in plants, is simply the evidence of the life of God, which is the source and preserver of all things. All have the same life, and yet are not developed one from another, but come from God who in the beginning made each creature “after its kind.” At His word they came into existence; by His word they are preserved. His word is life, “and this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.3
“God’s Appointment” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
God’s Appointment.-The Lord has made an appointment with all men; not an appointment with them in general, but with each one in particular. We read that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment” (Hebrews 9:27), but the appointment to death was made by man himself, and not by the Lord. God has appointed the Judgment, also, which all must attend, and which men naturally associate with the thought of Divine wrath. But there is an appointment that He has made with men, which they are at liberty to keep or to disregard; and that is an appointment to salvation. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9. The place of punishment-the lake of fire-is prepared not for man, but for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41. God’s will concerning men is that all of them should be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and this is His appointment with them. It is an appointment to meet Him, and He has designated the place; it is at the cross of Christ. All who will keep this appointment of the Lord’s will be saved. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.4
“The Fountain of Anarchy” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
We live in an age when society and civil government have seriously to reckon with anarchy as one of the most formidable among the various foes arrayed against them. While there are comparatively few of avowed Anarchists in the world, and while these are undoubtedly abhorred and detested by the vast majority for their murderous counsels and deeds, the spirit of anarchy is, in various guises, spreading far and wide. The gigantic labour troubles which have been, and are now, so agitating some of the leading nations, furnish a vast hot-bed in which the seeds of anarchy spring up and develop with the most alarming rapidity; and these troubles, which give such an impetus to anarchy, show no tendency to diminish either in number or dimensions. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.5
The spirit that is behind all these manifestations, prompting the ones to produce them, is the spirit of self,—of disregarding the interests of others and seeking to promote the interests of self at their expense. Selfishness is the tap-root from which anarchy and all forms of social disturbances spring, and until this tap-root is destroyed it will be impossible to eradicate the things which grow out of it. And therefore it will be impossible ever to eradicate these evils by human laws, because no such law can touch the selfishness in a man’s heart. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.6
Selfishness is not, as a principle, contrary to the laws of man; but it is directly contrary to the law of God, for that law requires that a person should love the Lord with all his heart, mind, and strength, and his neighbour as himself. Matthew 22:36-40. The principle of anarchy, therefore, has its origin in disobedience to the law of God. And whatever tends to set aside that law, tends directly to the production of anarchy and disorder. These are facts which lie at the foundation of a correct understanding of the situation which confronts us, and of the outcome that is before us. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.7
If then anarchy is the result of disobedience to the Divine law, does it not follow that the governments of earth should work to suppress anarchy by enforcing the law of God? By no means; for that law is a law of love-supreme love to God, and unselfish love to men,—and only that power which can put love into the human heart and enforce the law which commands it. This no human power can do; for love is of God, and comes into the heart as the gift of God and not by the will of man. It comes by a voluntary opening of the heart to God and to His Spirit, so that God, who is love, can come in and dwell there; and not as the result of any compelling force. An individual could not compel himself to love, even should his mind consent to it and desire it; much less, then, could he be compelled to love by a law outside of himself, and acting against his will. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.8
No human efforts, therefore, can do anything toward fulfilling the law of God. Nor is any effort of man needed in this direction, for God Himself has made ample provision for enabling every person on earth to keep His law, through the grace which He gives to all men by the Gospel. Through faith the heart is opened to God to be His dwelling place, and only thus can that love which is the fulfilling of the law abide in the heart. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.9
But it does follow from the foregoing facts that every effort to set aside and nullify the law of God helps to produce the very evil which many who thus treat the Divine law are loudly crying against. For that law has been slighted and set aside by men, even by those who profess to be the servants of God and the followers of Jesus. By some of this class it is even declared that God’s law has been abolished,—that law which says, “Thou shalt not kill;” “Thou shalt not commit adultery;” and “Thou shalt not steal.”’ What effect can the preaching of the abolition of this law have upon men but to break down the barriers of moral restraint about them and give loose rein to all the evil tendencies of their hearts. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.10
Others preach that the law of God does not mean what it says, since, for example, it affirms that the seventh day-not the first-is the Sabbath, and also that the earth and all that in them is in six days; whereas the “higher” critics and the theologians all agree that the first day is the Sabbath, and that the heavens and the earth and all that in them is came by the process of evolution, through a long, indefinite period of time, covering millions of years. What effect can such preaching have other than to make men believe they cannot understand what the Lord has told them, and that they cannot be held strictly accountable for not fulfilling His word? All such preaching tends directly to make men disregard and treat with contempt the law of God, and thus to open wider the floodgates to lawlessness of every kind. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 565.11
This spirit which leads men thus to set aside the law of God, did not originate in the nineteenth century, nor did it find first lodgment in the hearts of any of those who have stood forth as Anarchists before the world, it originated with him who first spoke against the law of God and rose up in opposition to it; that is, the devil. He is a great Anarchist, and all lesser Anarchists but partake of his spirit. He is the lawless one, the originator of rebellion against law, and all whom he can inspire with his spirit are made lawless like himself. When a mighty angel in heaven, he sought to exalt himself to the place of God (Isaiah 14:12-14), thus striking directly against the law of supreme love to God. Being cast out of heaven he has carried on his “mystery of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7, R.V.) on the earth, by leading men to fight against the law of God and set it aside by their own commandments and traditions. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.1
Of this the Papacy affords a prominent example, with its “man of sin,” “who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4), and who claims the power and the right to change the law of God and substitute for it the law of man. This is anarchy in its worst form; and the spirit of the Papacy-the spirit of self-exaltation-is fast permeating all religious bodies throughout the world. Preaching self instead of Christ, and the word of man instead of the law of God,—this it is that has done more than anything else to let loose the lawlessness of the human heart and break down respect for all law, both human and Divine. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.2
It is the Spirit of God that is the restraining power in the earth, and not the laws or the authority of man. The Spirit of God restrains the wickedness of the human heart and also the “spiritual wickedness in high places,” so that the earth is not overwhelmed in a mighty flood of iniquity and ruin. But as men slight the mercy of God and resist His Spirit, this restraint is gradually withdrawn, and men are given over to their own evil lusts and the control of evil spirits, which will cause the most fearful scenes of lawlessness to be enacted. Human laws, however severe, will be powerless to stay the tide. The most they can do is to dam it up for a time, but the flood still flows on from its sources beyond the reach of human law, and sooner or later the barrier is swept away, and the ruin is worse than before. There is no safety for the world, but there is safety for individuals, and their only safety is in yielding to the control of the Spirit of God. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.3
Let all who desire to see their fellow-beings saved from the tide of anarchy and ruin raise their voices earnestly and fearlessly in advocating the claims of the law of God and teaching men to reverence and obey it, laying aside opposing doctrines and traditions of men. Loyalty to the law and government of God should be the watchword now for all who profess His name. And this loyalty is represented by a living faith in His word. Everything that rests not upon this word is anarchy, either open or disguised; and every person who takes not his stand upon that word is arrayed with the forces of anarchy, and will involve himself in its ruin. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.4
“Jews and Israelites” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
A strange misapprehension has arisen in the minds of many concerning the promises of God to Israel. An idea has gained currency that the Jews and Israelites are two distinct peoples, and that when we read in the Bible about a Jew, it is a gross error to speak of him as an Israelite. There is no need of any controversy or speculation over the matter, when we read the truth so plainly in the Scriptures. Let us note a few texts. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.5
In Romans 3:1, 2 we read, “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Here we learn that the law was given to the Jews. But we read in Exodus 19:1, 2, that it was the children of Israel that camped before the mount in the third month after their departure from Egypt; and in Malachi 4:4 we read, “Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel.” And again in 2 Corinthians 3:13, 14, that Moses put a veil upon his face when he came down from the mount, on account of the blindness of the minds of the children of Israel, which blindness remains unto this day. In the case of the giving of the law, therefore, we see that the terms “Jews” and “children of Israel” are used interchangeably. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.6
Again, when the Apostle Paul had been seized by the Roman soldiers, and was about to be scourged, he said in reply to the centurion’s question as to who he was, “I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus.” Acts 21:39. He also said that he and Peter were “Jews by nature,” as distinguished from Gentiles. Galatians 2:15. And yet he said, “I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Romans 11:1. The Jew and the Israelite are one and the same man. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.7
When the angel foretold the birth of Jesus, he said, “The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever: and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32, 33. But David reigned over all Israel, and Jacob is Israel, so that reigning over the house of Jacob means reigning over the house of Israel. Thus we read, “And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.8
“The twelve tribes of Israel” are often mentioned in the Scriptures, referring to the twelve sons of Jacob, who is also called Israel. The city of the saints of God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down from God out of heaven, will have on its twelve gates twelve names, “which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” Revelation 21:12. This shows that all who have right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city will be Israelites. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.9
That this is so may be further seen from the meaning of the name Israel, and the reason why it was given. When the Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel, He gave as the reason for the change, “For as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Genesis 32:28. Israel, therefore, means one who prevails, an overcomer. Now read the words of the Lord, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” Revelation 3:21. None but overcomers will enter the kingdom of God. They will all be princes, sons of God. That is, they will all be Israelites. None but Israelites will be in the kingdom of Christ, for He is the King of Israel; yet men will be there “of all nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues,” because “God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 566.10
This definition of Israel corresponds exactly to the description of true Jews. The Israelite is the one who prevails, and the power by which he prevails is the power of the Spirit. He is one in whom is no guile. John 1:47. So likewise “he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 567.1
It is true that after the death of Solomon the kingdom was divided, and the two divisions were known as the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel; nevertheless they were all Israel, and the two kingdoms were embraced in “the twelve tribes of Israel.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 567.2
The facts are, therefore, that the people who are now generally known as Jews, are the same as those who in Scripture are called both Jews and Israelites. Those terms are used, however, much the same as the words “church” and “Christian” are used. That is, they are used to designate the people who profess to serve the Lord, although their profession may be a false one. As the real christians are those who love and serve the Lord, no matter by what name they are known, so the real Jews or Israelites are and always were those who “worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh;” and it matters not in what country they may live, nor what their birth may be. The tabernacle of David, that is fallen down, is to be built up again by the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. See Acts 15:14-18. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 567.3
When men cease to be “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,” they become “fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:12-20. The branches from the wild olive tree are grafted into the tame olive tree, and partake of its fatness, but only by faith. In like manner the natural branches which were broken off because of unbelief, are grafted in again, “if they abide not in unbelief.” “And so all Israel shall be saved.” How?—By the uniting of both Jews and Gentiles to the body of Christ by faith. This thing is certain, that whether we use the term Jews or Israelites, they are the descendants of Abraham: “and if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 567.4
“Resolutions” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
The New York Observer has the following on the resolutions which it is so convenient for most people to make as a substitute for action:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.1
Poor weak human nature ever feels that it has done something when it has resolved. We have enjoyed many a good meeting thoroughly up to the moment when some speaker has sought to concentrate it all in half a dozen Wheresos, and a series of Resolved’s. We could furnish a cart-load of gold-framed resolutions, did we know of any demand for the article. The resolutions are not brand-new, but they are just as good as new, for they have positively never been used. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.2
“News of the Week” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
-In Hungary 100 soldiers were prostrated by sunstroke during the military man?uvres. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.3
-Behauzin, the ex-King of Dahomey, it is reported, is about to embrace the Roman Catholic faith. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.4
-After heavy fighting in the Transvaal, the Kaffirs have been defeated and are now suing for peace. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.5
-An inventor claims to have produced a perpendicular paddle capable of propelling steamers fifty miles an hour. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.6
-A panic has been caused amongst the Christian population of Cyprus by the withdrawal of the British garrison. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.7
-The annual International Peace Congress began its annual session at Antwerp Aug. 29. Representatives were present from Great Britain and the United States. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.8
-A wealthy Jewish farmer and his whole family of eight persons were murdered at the village of Boschewin, in Austria. The crime seems to have been the result of race hatred. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.9
-One hundred armed peasants stormed a castle in the Russian township of Crottnign, because the eerier had made a distraint upon certain tenants, and seized thirty head of cattle. The attacking party were beaten old. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.10
-Artificial birds for the adornment (?) of ladies head gear are now made in such perfection, from the feathers obtained from poulterers, that it is to be difficult to distinguish them from nature, either in shape, size, or colour. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.11
-Further particulars of the fighting near Ping Yang, in Korea, are given from Chinese native sources, according to which the Japanese suffered very heavily, and were completely routed by General Yeh. The Koreans, it is said, flocked to the Chinese standard. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.12
-The Bible, Education Council has issued a manifesto to the School Board electors of London in favour of the maintenance of the compromise of 1871. The signatories include Archdeacons Farrar and Sinclair, and clergymen and ministers of various denominations. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.13
-Telegrams from Sebastopol report that a terrible hurricane has passed over the Sea of Azoff. In some places the sea invaded the land, and entire villages wore swept away by the waves. Several steamers with their crows have been lost. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.14
-A Roman Catholic cathedral is to be built in London, close by Westminster Abbey, at a cost of ?280,000. It will be 350 feet long, 170 foot wide, and 100 feet high, and will accommodate 10,000 persona. There will he also a monastery in one part for monks and “lay brethren.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.15
-Two youths, while ascending the Ort Alp, in the Austrian Tyrol, without a guide, fell over a precipice 400ft. high. One of them was killed on the spot, while the other remained suspended to a birch tree for seventeen hours, when he was rescued alive from his perilous position. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.16
-The scheme for tunnelling through the Simplon has been approved by the Swiss Federal Council. It will take five and a half years to complete with a single line of rails, and will coat 54,000,000 francs. The construction will admit of a second line of rails being added later. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.17
-Another earthquake shock of short duration was felt in Greece on the morning of August 26. The disturbance was felt at Athens, Corinth, Vastizza, Zante, Thebes, Chalets, and Atalanti. At some of these places the inhabitants were terror-stricken, and fled from the houses in panic. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.18
-According to official despatches the Dutch troops in the East Indies have suffered a serious reverse, the whole force being cut up in detachments by the Lombok natives. Several gnus were loft behind, and the Dutch remnant made for the coast, whore they were under the protection of the fleet. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.19
-A demonstration against the House of Lords, organised by the National League for the Abolition of the House of Lords, was held in Hyde Para Aug. 26, and was attended by about 60,000 parsons. Speaking took place from eleven plat-forms, at each of which a resolution demanding the abolition of the Second Chamber was carried by acclamation. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.20
-According to the latest mail advices from Cuba, brigandage has again broken out in the island. Nineteen persons have been murdered by the brigands, who have, moreover, caused a dynamite explosion and kidnapped six of the wealthier inhabitants. The authorities are organising the dispatch of military detachments against the chief robber bands. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.21
-In Austria tobacco of all forms is a Government monopoly, and the Government makes enormous profits out of the cigarettes alone. In 1893 there were 1,416,600,917 sold, and in the first quarter of 1894 forty-four million more cigarettes were sold than in the same quarter of last year. In the course of last year twelve million florins were spent in cigarettes alone in Austria. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.22
-The Anarchists are still busily at work in the capitals of Europe. In Bedweis, Bohemia, an Anarchist plot has been discovered. Eight Anarchists had planned the robbing of a rich church at Gutwasser, containing the shrine visited by the Corodo pilgrims, in order to furnish Anarchist with the necessary funds for carrying out their nefarious designs. The plot was discovered just in time. The Vienna police are in possession of exact knowledge relating to many complicated Anachist plots in Austria. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.23
-A terrible storm raged on the awning of Aug. 27 at Laurahutte, Silesia, and in the surrounding country. Thousands of windows were smashed by hailstones, which wore of astonishing size, and fell in dense showers. Large trees were torn up by the roots, and chimneys without number were blown down. Much other damage was also done. The wind blew with such terrific force that some railway carriages standing on the line were swept along the track at great speed, and three workmen were run over before they had time to escape. Two persons were killed by lightning. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 574.24
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
The operations of the British and Foreign Bible Society have been prohibited in the Russian province of Kieff. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.1
Enemies of the Gospel in China are renewing the agitation against foreigners, and outrages are reported from various mission stations. It is only in the Gospel that men apprehend the truth that God hath made of one blood all nations of men. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.2
The appeal of the manager of our Central European publishing house, whose prosecution for Sunday labour we reported a week ago, came from the Court of Appeals Basel (Switzerland) last week, and the decision of the lower court was sustained. Opportunity was given for appeal to the Supreme Court, which was taken. In our next we will give a summary of the appeal laid before the court. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.3
While affirming the decision under the unjust religious law, the judges evidently were not at ease in using the law to try to compel a man to violate his conscience in the name of religion, and indulged in some amusing theological arguments. Thus the force of attempting to make men religious by law, which has been played ever since the rise of the Papacy, still goes on. The Gospel invites: The law of men would compel; but the Gospel will triumph in the end, for it is the power of God. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.4
An Odessa correspondent reports the rise of a strangely fanatical sect in one of the Volga provinces. Russia is full of religious fanaticism. This follows repression and intolerance in the religious world, as surely as Nihilism follows despotism. Those real Protestants, however, as the Stundists and others, to whom the ecclesiastical rulers charged all the religious difficulties in Russia, are the very ones who cannot be led into either fanaticism or rebellion. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.5
The unsettled condition of affairs in all nations is evidently only the beginning of such conditions as our Lord referred to in His instructions regarding the days of His second advent. The perplexity and lack of confidence in the business world is a striking comment on Luke 21:25, 26. A London banker said the other day that in all his forty years banking experience he had never seen the bank rate so low as now, one-half per cent. People who have money fear to invest it as freely as formerly. It is a good time to lay up gold and silver where moth and rust does not corrupt, and where there is no danger of losing it. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.6
The Gospel is making its way among the people in China, notwithstanding the powers arrayed against it. “I could walk,” says a missionary, “from Canton to Shanghai, over a hundred miles, not walking more than twenty miles a day, and could sleep every night in a village or town that has a little Christian community.” PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.7
“Examine Yourselves” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
Examine Yourselves.-From Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (last chapter) we learn that they at one time sought a proof that Christ was speaking in Paul to them. The apostle answered them, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” The trouble was not with Paul, but with them. If they had been in the faith, they would not have been seeking a proof of Paul’s apostleship. When we are not right ourselves, we begin at once to question whether others are right. But the important question is not, Is Christ in him? but, Is Christ in me? If he is in me, I shall know His voice whenever I hear it; but if He is not in me, I cannot possibly find out whether or not He is in anyone else. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.8
“Is it ‘Pleasant’?” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
In the editorial columns of Light, a Spiritualist paper, we find the following paragraph:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.9
It is pleasant to know, on the high authority of M. Chatulets, that certain African tribes hitherto regarded barbarous idolaters, or fetish worshippers, are genuine Theists, with a very strong tinge of Spiritualism of a low order. Their supposed idols are really talismans or charms, usually believed to be vehicles of spirit-influence. They believe in minor deities just as the ancient Greeks or Romans did, though many of them are of a less poetic kind. The spirits are regarded as the representatives of natural forces, who act like men in the matter of likes and dislikes. They are open to entreaty, and can be propitiated with bribes in the form of sacrifices. Their priests or mediators are simply mediums, and their main act of worship is the attempt to secure the good-will of the spirits. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.10
This is an admission from the parties themselves, of what we have often stated, namely, that Spiritualism is identical with heathenism. Some readers will say, “Well, what of that? we don’t know anything about Spiritualism, and are not at all concerned with it.” Not so fast. There is something more to this which may not be so “pleasant” to the reader as to the editor of Light. We hope it will not be. It is this:— PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.11
On the authority of Spiritualists themselves, “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.” This is Spiritualism, and Spiritualism is heathenism. We will not trace the line any further, but will commend it to our friends who think that men have by nature life in themselves, irrespective of their character or of their relation to Christ. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.12
“God or Man?” The Present Truth 10, 36.
E. J. Waggoner
Men who have any convictions to follow are liable to be called upon to choose between God or man wherever any body of religionists have control of the civil power. In the Review of the Churches we are told of intolerance in Germany, under the Lutherans, who doubtless are nonetheless vigorous in denouncing the persecution of their co-religionists in the Baltic provinces at the hands of the Russian Church. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.13
In Dresden Baptists are denied the right of public worship, and are threatened with fire or imprisonment if they announce their hopes of worship at the entrance to their meeting places. Nevertheless they go on with their services. Pastor and people are convinced “they ought to obey God rather than men,” and they are resolved to do so at all risks. PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.14
There is of course no chance here for the charge that the Baptists are disturbing anyone, except as some men are disturbed because someone differs from them. It is simply a set of men who have the power of the law saying to others, We will make you conform to our religious opinions and practices, or punish you. In what respect is such Lutheranism less papal in its spirit than Romanism? PTUK September 6, 1894, page 576.15