The Present Truth, vol. 11

May 9, 1895

“Front Page” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.1

What is truth? That is the question that Pilate asked Jesus. Unfortunately, like too many others, he did not wait to receive an answer. But we may hear the answer in Christ’s prayer for His disciples: “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth.” John 17:17. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.2

But Christ Himself is the Word, and He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6. He is made unto was “wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. So being sanctified through the truth is being sanctified through Christ, as He again says of His disciples: “I sanctify Myself, that they also might be truly sanctified.” John 17:19, margin. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.3

Christ is the Word; He is the truth; and He sanctifies all who believe Him. The Bible is also the Word of God, because the Spirit of Christ was in the men who wrote, testifying through them, and because the Scriptures testify of Christ. It is the truth, and it sanctifies, because Christ is in the Word, and believers find Him there. When Moses by the Spirit said that the Word is not far off, that we should need some one to go to heaven and bring it down, or to the deep and bring it up, that we might do it, he meant Christ, as we learn from Romans 10:6, 7. Christ cannot be separated from the Inspired Word. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.4

With these facts in mind, we may form a more correct idea of what it is to believe the truth and to be sanctified by it. It is a very common thing for people to get the idea that “the truth” consists in certain facts or points of doctrine, which have been set forth in the creeds and formulas of “the church.” Accordingly some men will hold to one set of ideas as “the truth,” and others to still different ones, just as they may regard one or another denomination as “the church.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.5

The ancient Jews “limited the Holy One of Israel;” and that is just what is done by those who hold such narrow views of “the truth.” The truth does not consist in a few points of doctrine, nor in anything that can be formulated by man, but in “all the fulness of God,” which is in Christ. It consists in “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” for all Scripture is profitable, and there is enough of it to make men perfect, “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.6

Only those will be lost who “received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10. Truth itself must be loved and received. It is not our ideas of truth that will save us, but the truth as it is in Jesus. Not our thoughts but God’s thoughts are the truth. We have no business to think anything different from what God’s Word says. It is to direct our thoughts. And since Christ cannot be divided, and partly believed and partly rejected, but must be accepted as a whole, so we must not expect to find sanctification in accepting some things that are true, and rejecting others. He who is satisfied with anything less than the whole truth, will at last find himself with no truth at all. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.7

“Our Inheritance” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The language of the Bible is that which the Holy Spirit puts into the mouths of men. Wherever we find an expression of hope and confidence in God, or the acknowledgment of any gifts from God, no matter by whom it is written, it is an inspired statement of what it is the privilege of every man to say. It is with this fact in mind that we should read the Scriptures. With it before us, let us read Psalm 16:5, 6:— PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.8

“The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup; thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.9

Think of those words, “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance.” Truly, that is “a goodly heritage.” Do you realise what it means? Surely it means nothing less than what the words say: that God Himself is our inheritance. “My heart and my flesh faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” Psalm 73:26. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.10

Our Saviour has taught us to call God “Our Father.” Of course no one will do this unless he believes the Lord; but it is the privilege of every one who believes the Lord to call God his Father, and to know that he is a son of God. Christ “came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:11, 12. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.11

In place of the word “power,” in this text, we have the marginal rendering, “ right or privilege.” Those who believe on the name of Christ have the privilege to become the sons of God. It is not simply the right to be called the sons, but the power actually to become sons. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” Romans 8:14-17. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 290.12

As stated above, we have not simply the privilege to be called the sons of God, but the right and power actually to be sons. The words “Father” and “son,” applied to God and us, are not simply empty terms, but expressions of actual fact. The relationship between believers in God is as real as that between children and earthly parents. Let us read a few texts on this point. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.1

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” 1 John 5:1. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:23. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.2

Again we are told that the Divine power of Jesus our Lord has “given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:3, 4. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.3

We are “by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), because as children of Adam we are partakers of fallen human nature. Every one may truly say, with the Apostle Paul, “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18), and with David, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5. “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. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.4

We find ourselves in this world with impulses to sin, which we are not able to resist. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. “For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Romans 7:14. To many it seems unjust that God should hold men accountable for their deeds, and should threaten punishment to the ungodly, since we are not responsible for being brought into the world, nor for the sin and weakness which we inherited from our ancestors. But such do not take into account the better inheritance which we have through the grace of God. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.5

The Word of God brings to us exceeding great and precious promises. Faith in that Word effects a new birth for us, and we thus become sons of God, and partakers of the Divine nature. That is, just as by our natural birth we inherit the weakness and sin of human nature, so by our spiritual birth through the promises of God we inherit the righteousness and strength of the Divine nature. God is our Father indeed, and the new birth is a reality, and not a figure of speech. As by nature we inherit the tendencies and characteristics of our earthly parents, even so by grace we inherit the ways and nature of our heavenly Father. Is not that indeed “a goodly heritage”? PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.6

Think of the expression, “heirs of God.” That is, as the Psalmist said, the Lord is our inheritance. Not merely do we inherit His property, but we inherit Himself. He Himself is our portion. We receive God Himself. We draw our life from Him, and through faith partake of His Divine nature. God Himself is our portion and our inheritance, and that includes everything that is worth having here or hereafter. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.7

See how plainly this blessed truth is stated in the Scriptures. We know that we are born sinful, and have often felt discouraged because of it, and sometimes even inclined to reproach God for it; but let us instead thank God and take courage as we read: “As by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:18, 19. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.8

And again: “As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” Romans 6:19. That is to say, when we yield to God, His power works in us in just the same way that the power of sin worked in us by nature, only to a greater degree, “for if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.9

God does “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” His plan is to give us “an abundant entrance” into the kingdom. He does nothing by halves. As God is more powerful than Satan, so His righteousness is more powerful than sin, and so when we yield to Him the power that works good in us is stronger than the power that formerly worked evil in us. Surely we have no reason to waste time mourning over inherited tendencies to evil. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.10

And God is no respecter of persons. Jesus Christ tasted death for every man. The grace of God brings this salvation to all men. “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Christ is “the true Light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. He has not left a soul without excuse, because His grace is manifested in every soul. Although there is “no good thing” in the flesh, there is no man who is totally depraved, because the Spirit of God works in every heart. Generous and noble traits are seen in even the worst characters,—evidences of what God is anxious to do in them all the time if they will only let Him. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.11

The inheritance of righteousness is ours while we say further with the Psalmist, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:8. We are made partakers of the Divine nature, and changed into the Divine image, only while we steadfastly behold the glory of God; and this glory we find in His Word. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.12

“A glory in the Word we find
When grace restores our sight.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.13

Jesus Christ is “the only begotten Son of God.” But in Him “we have obtained an inheritance.” Ephesians 1:11. The Father hath bestowed the wonderful love upon us, “that we should be called the sons of God,” just the same as Christ Himself, so that we are “joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.” We may be in this world even as He is (1 John 4:17), and we may know that God loves us even as He loves Christ. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 291.14

Finally, we have our assurance made doubly sure when we remember that the language of the sixteenth psalm applies to Christ. We know this from the last verses, which are quoted and commented on in Acts 2:25-31. It is the language of Christ Himself, put by the Holy Spirit into the mouth of David. And so it is also the language of David, and if of David, then of every other man who has a mind to make it his own. In this we see that although Christ is the only begotten Son of God, before all things, and the Creator of all things, yet He identifies Himself with us, and us with Him. “As He is, so are we in this world.” He became man, being “in all things made like unto His brethren,” so that by the grace of God we have all the advantages that He has. Everything that Christ as the Son of God inherits from the Father, is ours in like measure, if we but receive Him by faith. “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 292.1

“The Life More Than Meat” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The Gospel is God’s good message to save men from sin. It is good tidings to the poor because it teaches them of the inheritance “reserved in heaven” for them, and brings to them the foretaste of the inheritance in a mind at peace with God, and contentment with such things as they may have in this world. Whether abounding or suffering need, there is still the joy of salvation from sin. The modern tendency to make the Gospel consist of a mere scheme for getting more of the things of this world is only Satan’s device to rob men of the joy that the true Gospel has for all, rich or poor, free or bond. Against this tendency the Chairman of the Baptist Union entered a protest in his annual address. He said:— PTUK May 9, 1895, page 292.2

There is a widespread conviction or sentiment that nothing more is needed for the redemption of society than a rearrangement of social conditions; salvation will be wrought by science and sanitation; the heart will be cleansed by an external application; lusts and envies, and hatreds, will cease when the body’s cravings are satisfied. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 292.3

On the top of these vain dreams there comes the clamour for a social gospel, though what that phrase means it is not always easy to define. The preacher is to put into the background the eternal truths that he may cater for temporal wants. He is “to forsake the Word of God and serve table;” he is to forget the soul’s hunger in speaking for the necessities of the body. He is to resign the prophet’s functions for the more popular arts of the demagogue. We are told even that if Christ were to come again He would come as a social reformer, as the champion of the labour party; to multiply loaves and double wages. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 292.4

And our answer to all this is that, if Christ were to come again, He would come as He came before, to deliver men from the bondage of the devil and to save people from their sins, whether poor people or rich people. He would compassionate now, as He did then, the sufferings, hunger, ignorance, and wants of the toiling, groaning multitude. He would appeal to those who love Him to busy themselves in relieving every kind of human need. But His great work would still be to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgment to come, to prove to men that the main cause of their misery is not in things external, but in their enmity to God and the evil of their own hearts, and to lift them up by faith, repentance, and regeneration to a new and happier life. And we cannot and dare not preach any other gospel. Our work is moral and not political. Our weapons are spiritual, not carnal. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 292.5

“The Sure Word. The ‘Beast’” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The “beast” against which the solemn, world-wide warning is given, as described in Revelation 14:9-11, is not first mentioned in connection with this message of the “third angel.” The prophet here speaks in reference to what has been introduced and described in the preceding chapters; the character and work of the “beast” are already before the eye when the message of the “third angel” is proclaimed. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.1

Turning therefore to the thirteenth chapter, we find a description, beginning with the first verse, of the rise of the “beast,” and the characteristics of its appearance. “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” The work and character of this beast are set forth in the verses which follow, to verse 11. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.2

In prophetic language, a beast is the symbol of an earthly government or power. This we are plainly told in the prophecy of Daniel. In the seventh chapter of that prophecy Daniel describes a vision given him, in which he saw “four great beasts,” concerning which the angel who explained the vision to him said, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings that shall arise out of the earth.” Verse 17. That they were not symbols of individuals but of kingdoms is evident from the words of the angel, “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.” Verse 23. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.3

In the eighth chapter of Daniel also are described a “ram” and “he goat,” of which it is said, “The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia, and the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.” Verses 20, 21. “That being broken,” the angel said, “whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.4

The beast which John saw arise out of the sea had many and diverse features. It had the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. If we are familiar with the prophecy of Daniel we shall note at once a connection between this description and that of certain beasts seen in a vision by that prophet. See Daniel 7. The prophet saw “four great beasts” come up out of the sea, the first of which was like a lion, the second like a bear, the third like a leopard, and the fourth “dreadful and terrible” and evidently quite dissimilar to all created beasts. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.5

As previously noted, the angel explained to Daniel that these great beasts were four kings, which should arise out of the earth; and that the fourth beast should be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which was to be “diverse from all kingdoms” and should “devour the whole earth,” and “tread it down and break it in pieces.” Verses 17, 23. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.6

In the second chapter of Daniel the four kingdoms are quite explicitly designated in Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Nebuchadnezzar (representing his kingdom was the head of gold of the great image (verse 38), and “after these,” said the prophet, “shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” The fourth kingdom, represented by the iron legs, should “be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things,” said Daniel “shall it break in pieces and bruise.” The description of the vision of chapter 7. states that the fourth beast had “great iron teeth,” and that “it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it.” Verse 7. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.7

These four great kingdoms, then began with the kingdom of Babylon which was ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. That kingdom was succeeded by the kingdom of Media and Persia. Daniel lived to see Babylon captured and the kingdom taken by “Darius the Median” (chap. 5:30, 31), and the beginning of “the reign of Cyrus the Persian” (chap. 6:28). Medo-Persia was succeeded by Grecia, with Alexander the Great at its head, and Grecia was succeeded by Rome. The overthrow of Medo-Persia by Grecia is described in the vision of chapter 8. as we have previously noticed. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.8

When Babylon was overthrown by Medo-Persia, “Darius the Median took the kingdom.” The kingdom of Medo-Persia ruled over all the territory of the kingdom of Babylon, and included all the people formerly subjects of it. The kingdom of Grecia, in turn extended over all the kingdom of Medo-Persia; and Rome embraced in her kingdom all the territory of the kingdom of Grecia. Each successive kingdom incorporated into itself all that had existed before it. Thus Rome, the fourth kingdom, and the strongest of all, included the three kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Grecia, symbolised respectively by the lion, the bear, and the leopard. This points very clearly to the identity of the beast of Revelation 13:1-13. It is a symbol of the great empire of Rome, which, first as a pagan kingdom under the C?sars, and again as a great spiritual empire—the Papal — has trodden down the earth, and broken the nations in pieces. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 293.9

Some further points of similarity may be noted. In the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the fourth kingdom was shown divided into ten kingdoms (Daniel 2:41-44), and the fourth beast of Daniel 7., which was the fourth kingdom, had ten horns, and upon the horns ten crowns. Revelation 13:1. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 294.1

It has also an additional feature in its “seven heads.” The head is that which governs or directs the body. Rome has had various forms of government since it became a power in the earth. One of these heads was seen by the prophet to be “wounded to death,” which wound, as we learned from verse 14, was inflicted by the sword. Such a wound was given to the papal head, beginning in 1798, when the French general Berthier entered Rome with an army and took the Pope prisoner. From that time the power of the Papacy diminished until in 1870 the Pope’s temporal power was limited to the Vatican, and his influence among the nations was utterly gone. But the “deadly wound” was to be healed, and this we now see in a fair way of accomplishment. The growing prominence of the Pope in the political affairs of the world, within the last few years, is marvellous, and Protestants seem to be vying with Catholics and showing respect to him. At the present rate it cannot be long until all the world will wonder after the beast, saying, “Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 294.2

This beast received “his power and his seat, and great authority” from the “dragon.” The preceding chapter describes this “dragon,” and identifies it as the power which sought to destroy the infant Son of God. Verse 4. That attempt was made by Herod, the Roman governor of Judea. But Herod, and the pagan empire which he served, were agencies of Satan, through which he manifested his hatred and his power against Christ and His followers. The “dragon,” representing primarily the devil (verse 9) also stands for that which then visibly represented the devil’s power in his opposition to Christ, and through which his evil purposes were carried out. That was pagan Rome; and this power gave to the “beast” his “power, and his seat, and great authority.” This is exactly what was done for the Papacy when, by the removal of the pagan seat of the empire to Constantinople, Rome, the “eternal city,” with all the prestige and authority which were hers from having been for centuries the “mistress of the world,” became the seat of the Papacy. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 294.3

But this beast is still further identified by his character and the work which he does. “There was given him,” we read, “a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” Verses 5-7. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 294.4

The power which, above all others, has spoken blasphemies and overcome the saints is the papal power. It is the “man of sin” “who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4. The Pope claims titles and prerogatives which belong alone to God. Leo X. was “the Lion of the pride of Judah;” Leo XII., “the Lord our God.” Martin V. called himself “the most holy and most happy, who is the arbiter of heaven and the lord of the earth, .. the anointed of the Lord, the master of the universe, the father of the kings, the Light of the world.” One of the latest encyclicals of Leo XIII. is addressed “To the Princes and Peoples of the Universe;” and in it he says, “We hold the regency of God on earth;” that is to say, he governs in God’s minority, absence, or disability! for that is the office of the regent. He assumes to be infallible when he speaks “from the chair of blessed Peter” touching a doctrine of faith or morals. He claims the power to forgive sin. In brief, he sets himself forth as God on earth, a visible head to the Church, supplanting the invisible One who is the church’s real head, and who has said to His church, “Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 294.5

The Papacy has made “war with the saints” and “overcome them.” During the long dark period when it wielded temporal as well as spiritual power, it put to death scores of millions of “heretics,” employing in its terrible work the civil arm, and that instrument of its own creation, the Inquisition. The modern claim of Rome, that she has never persecuted, since it was the civil authority which passed and executed sentence of death upon the “heretics,” is as baseless as the claim made by the Jews that their ancestors did not persecute Jesus Christ, since He was put to death by the power of pagan Rome in the person of Pontius Pilate. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 295.1

This blasphemous and persecuting power was to continue “forty and two months,” three and one half years, or 1260 days (thirty days making a month by the ancient Bible reckoning). In prophetic language a “day” signifies a year. Ezekiel 4:6. The establishment of the Papacy as a kingdom possessing what it has ever claimed as its right-spiritual authority and temporal power-dates from the overthrow of the last of the temporal powers that opposed the claims of the Bishop of Rome, which was accomplished in A.D. 538. Previous to this the Emperor Justinian had declared the Bishop of Rome to be head over all the churches. But two Arian powers, the Vandals and Ostrogoths, still opposed the claims of the Papacy. A third Arian power, the Heruli, had been overthrown in A.D. 493. Justinian turned his arms against the two remaining powers, subduing the Vandals in 538, and the Goths, who held possession of Rome, in 538. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 295.2

Thus was “taken out of the way” that which “hindered,” and “that wicked,” the “man of sin,” was “revealed,” and left in undisputed supremacy at Rome, where, ever since the removal of the seat of the empire to the East by Constantine, he had been centring upon himself, as its chief person, the glory and prestige which still clung to the “eternal city.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 295.3

From this date 1260 years reaches to the year 1798; at that date the “forty and two months” end. And in that year, as we have noticed, the French general Berthier entered Rome with an army, took the Pope prisoner, and carried him into exile, where he died. From that day the temporal power of the Pope has waned, until, as he now complains, he is but “the prisoner of the Vatican.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 295.4

Such are the fulfilments of history which identify the power designated by the remarkable symbol introduced in the thirteenth of Revelation. It is seen first to be a symbol of Rome; and then, by its character and work, to designate Rome in its Papal form,—that great spiritual kingdom which was to rule over men with greater power and authority than pagan Rome had known. And this is the power-the “beast”—after which the world wonders, and against which the warning is given, “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 295.5

“The Leper’s Friend” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

A writer who describes a visit to one of the leper hospitals of Jamaica, in the West Indies, draws from it an encouraging lesson; for the Lord treats the leprosy of sin as the leprosy of the flesh:— PTUK May 9, 1895, page 296.1

A more pitiful, loathsome sight we never beheld. There were patients with fingers gone, some with portions of their feet missing, and others with faces one mass of revolting decay. One boy was treating his own decaying foot with a cleansing wash and then applying a balsam. We knew then and now, as never before, what the leprosy of the Bible means. Instinctively we turned away from disease and affliction which it was not within our power to relieve. In Jamaica the leper is free to go whither he will. He can remain at this hospital and be made comfortable as long as he chooses so to do, but if he desires to return to home and friends there is no constraint put upon him. The impressions made upon us by our visit to this colony of lepers are imperishable. We find our thought returning to the subject again and again, and particularly as Illustrative of the outgoing love and tender compassion of the Saviour of men for the leper. The Jew proscribed the leper, and the only attention shown him was the eagerness with which he was shunned. It was a violation of the Jewish law for a Hebrew to touch a leper. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 296.2

“‘Room for the leper, room!’ And as he came
The cry passed on: ‘Room for the leper, room!’
‘Room for the leper!’ And aside they stood-
Matron and child, and pitiless manhood, all
Who met him on his way-and let him pass.
And onward through the open gate he came,
A leper with the ashes on his brow,
Sackcloth about his loins, and on his lip
A covering, stepping painfully and slow,
And with a difficult utterance, like one
Whose heart is with an iron nerve put down,
Crying, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 297.1

But there was one heart so large that it could not be hedged in, in its ministry, by any ecclesiastical tenet or conventional custom. There was one hand so pure that it could not contract defilement. And so Jesus approached the sufferer, put His own tender hand upon that leprous flesh, and with the calmness of the conqueror, but with the might of God, said, “Be thou clean!” and his leprosy left him for ever. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 297.2

“A Continuous Miracle” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Many there are who say that if they could only see a miracle wrought, they would believe; and yet they are surrounded on every side by the miraculous working of God’s power—as wondrously exhibited in sustaining as in creating—“so that they are without excuse.” The poet Longfellow has truly and beautifully said:— PTUK May 9, 1895, page 300.1

“Ah, how wonderful is the advent of spring-the great annual miracle of the blossoming of Aaron’s rod, repeated on myriads and myriads of branches!-the gentle progression and growth of herbs, flowers, trees-gentle and yet irrepressible-which no force can stay, no violence restrain, like love, that wins its way and cannot be withstood by any human power, because itself is a Divine power. If spring came but once in a century, instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change! But now the silent succession suggests nothing but a necessity. To most men, only the cessation of the miracle would be miraculous, and the perpetual exercise of God’s power seems less wonderful than its withdrawal would be.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 300.2

The human eye cannot see life nor the machinery of its operations, but the “invisible things” of God, the workings of His life, “are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal Godhead.” And God’s power is thus manifested to all in the world in order that men may believe that it is His life at work, and believing, find salvation. For the power that causes the roots to grow, and the flower to unfold, is the same that gives us breath and life; and when it is allowed to work in us as fully as in the flowers and all unresisting creation, it will clothe the character with the “beauty of holiness,” as surely as it clothes the flowers with a glory surpassing Solomon’s. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 300.3

“News of the Week” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

-There is a serious outbreak of cholera at Mecca. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.1

-A Munich doctor claims to have found a remedy for cancer, in the blood serum of sheep. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.2

-A new photograph of the heavens which is being prepared by London, Berlin, and Parisian astronomers shows 68,000,000 stars. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.3

-War is threatened upon the British settlements on Lake Nyassa by the chief Zarifa. He has moved to the lake with a large number of armed followers. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.4

-Venezuela is said to be getting ready for an expected war with England, which, should it come, will probably be a repetition of what has transpired between England and Nicaragua. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.5

-The highest point over attained by man above the earth was reached on the 4th of last December, by Dr. Berson, a Gorman balloonist, who ascended in a little over two hours to a height of pearly six miles. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.6

-The son of the Amer of Afghanistan is on his way to England, with a retinue of ninety servants and followers, which will probably make the prince’s visit more expensive than pleasurable to Her Majesty’s Government. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.7

-Recently at Westminster an aged woman was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment for fortune-telling, her rooms having been besieged all day long by crowds of young women anxious to secure her supposed services in that capacity. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.8

-Intense distress is said to prevail in the city of Laibach, Austria, recently visited by several sharp earthquakes. The entail tremors still continue in mild form, and in their state of fear and uncertainty the people seem unable to recover from their helpless condition. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.9

-The Cuban insurrection still goes on in the form of a “guerilla” warfare between the rebellious natives and the troops, which Is attended with a display of much barbarity. The tide of success seems to be toward the government forces. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.10

-The Papal Nuncio at the Austro-Hungarian Court has been recently on a lecturing tour through the country in the interests of papal principles regarding the subject of Church and State. In this he is deemed by the authorities to have exceeded his powers of office, and an explanation has been demanded from the Pope. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.11

-Sher Afzul, the Chitral conspirator, has been captured by the Khan of Dir, and brought into the British camp, together with about 2,000 prisoners, men, women, and children, who were in a half-starved condition. The expedition has added a largo tract of country to the British possessions in Asia. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.12

-Through the bursting of a great dam, April 27, the waters of the Bousey Reservoir rushed down the valley of the Avi?re, in the French Department of the Voeges, with tremendous volume and force. Whole villages were swept away, and considerably more than a hundred persons are known to have been drowned. The estimated value of property destroyed is about ?2,000,000. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.13

-A mining prospector who has lately returned to Prescott, Arizona, from a three months sojourn in one of the most remote and retired portions of the territory, announces that he made it discovery of wonderful prehistoric remains in the region which he visited. Everywhere were traces of human habitations on hill and in valley. In one place is a street three miles long and sixty feet wide, straight, smooth, and lined throughout by ruins. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.14

-The triple alliance of European powers which are protesting against the treaty of peace secured by Japan from China, presents some rather curious and unstable features, showing, as it does, France allied with her old enemy, Germany, and Germany joined with the Muscovite ally of France. Already public opinion in France and Germany is declaring against such a combination against Japan, under the conviction that their countries ate to be made the cat’s-paws of Russia. Meanwhile England is said to be negotiating with the United States for a mutual understanding favourable to a friendly attitude toward Japan. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 302.15

“Back Page” The Present Truth 11, 19.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The issues of the year 1894 from the British and Foreign Bible Society amounted to 3,837,222 copies of Bibles, Testaments, and portions. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.1

Discussing the Pope’s letter to the English people, and its probable results, the Spectator says:— PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.2

To almost all of us we hope it will bring a cordial feeling that, after all, the Pope is a good, and a sincere, and a very devout man, and no more the Man of Sin or Antichrist, or the Beast in the Revelation, than he is the direct mouthpiece of our Lord. It will, we think and hope, tend to produce a friendly and cordial relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the various English Protestant Churches. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.3

The determination of the Papacy to secure an extension of its political power is shown again in Hungary, where the Papal Nuncio at Vienna has been carrying on a regular campaign against the Hungarian Government, and has succeeded in precipitating a grave crisis. The Vatican is constantly proclaiming that its kingdom, unlike Christ’s, is of this world. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.4

From the Government revenue returns it appears that the use of tobacco increases three times as fast as the population. The use of coffee is diminishing, but that of tea is vastly increasing. While this helps the revenue, it means the deterioration of the people. It would be well if men would heed Goldsmith’s warning about the land PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.5

“Where wealth accumulates, and men decay.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.6

Some one, speaking of Seventh-day Adventists and their agitation of the Sabbath question, has said: “by all means let them have their Sabbath, and don’t let them take ours away from us.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.7

We have no wish to deprive anyone of anything which he wishes to keep. We would not, even if we had the power, make the slightest move towards preventing anybody from keeping Sunday. Our object is simply this: To set before the people the truth in regard to the Sabbath and the Sunday; to show on what foundation each stands,—that the Sabbath rests on the Word of God, while the Sunday-sabbath comes from men alone, having no connection whatever with God and the Bible. Having done that, we leave the case with them, simply saying, Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.8

An edition of the Four Gospels in four penny parts has been published by Mr. W. Walters, 84, St. Paul’s churchyard, London. Each part is illustrated by original sketches of scenes in the Holy Land, and has a very inviting appearance. This edition of the Gospels will surely be appreciated by those desiring them in parts for distribution. The publisher will send a specimen set on receipt of six-pence in stamps. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.9

The only perfect and absolutely effective law against evil is the law of God. No evil can survive when brought in contact with that, and sooner or later all evil will be brought in contact with it and destroyed; but what we should do is to let all the evil within us be brought in contact with the law now, by being taken away from us through faith in Christ. “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ” gives freedom from sin and death. Romans 8:2. But if we do not allow God to separate the evil from us now, the law of God will destroy us with it at the last day. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.10

In the life of Christ in the flesh we behold power given unto men. That was what the multitude saw when Christ healed a man sick of the palsy (Matthew 9:8), and that is what the eye of faith beholds to-day. Christ was God in human flesh; but God in human flesh is not confined to a single manifestation. In Jesus of Nazareth all of humanity was glorified. In His life was shown the power, the grace and glory, attainable by humanity, both then and now, when “the faith in Jesus” has made the temple of the human body a perfect dwelling-place for God. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.11

No one can read the daily papers without remarking the suddenness with which complications spring up among the nations. They arise in out of the way corners of the earth, and the whole surface of political society appears to be in a ferment. The prophet pictures such a condition of affairs in Revelation 11:18: “And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” These are the events connected with the coming of the Lord. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.12

The following are some of our contemporaries in other countries devoted to the same work in which the PRESENT TRUTH is engaged: Les Signes des Temps (French) and Herold der Wahrheit (German), published in Basel, Switzerland; Tidens Tecken, Stockholm, Sweden; Tidernes Tegn, Norway; Bible Echo, Melbourne, Australia; Signs of the Times, California; Sentinel, New York; Advent Review, Michigan. In the States there are also publish the following journals in foreign languages for the many thousands who still hold to their native tongues: Christlicher Hausfreund (Germany), Evangeliets Sendebud (Danish), Evangeliebode (Dutch), Zion’s Vaktare (Swedish). PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.13

The Belfast Witness is the organ of Irish Presbyterianism, and therefore our readers in Ireland will be interested in the following admission made in a book review:— PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.14

The dropping of the seventh-day Sabbath and the substitution of the Lord’s Day was an innovation accomplished by the Church with sufficient reason, but without any scriptural command. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.15

The inconsistency of the assumption that Sunday is properly called the Lord’s Day is shown by the further statement that it is true that “there is no New Testament precept to observe the first day.” Thus it is acknowledged that the Scriptures, which furnish the man of God “unto all good works,” say nothing whatever of keeping Sunday, and therefore this cannot be a good work. Of course it cannot be; for the “innovation” was accomplished by that mystery of iniquity which had already begun its evil work in the apostles’ days. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.16

The late Professor Bishoff, of the University of St. Petersburg, says the Echo, left a sad memorial of his greatness. He had opposed the admission of female students into the University on the ground that a woman’s brain being much smaller than a man’s, it was not fair to put her on equal footing with her superior. When Bishoff’s brain was examined, it was found to weigh less than the average woman’s. PTUK May 9, 1895, page 304.17