The Present Truth, vol. 9

June 15, 1893

“Front Page” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.” 1 Kings 10:16, 17. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.1

“And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all; and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house. And it was so, when the king went into the house of the Lord, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.” 1 Kings 14:25-28. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.2

In these passages there is contained the history of a great many people’s experience. Rehoboam had suffered the loss of the golden shields which his father had made, but he kept up appearances with brass. Perhaps he persuaded himself that brazen shields were as good as golden ones. No doubt they did look as well, if they were kept well rubbed up; but nevertheless the value was not there. In the same way many people who have had a real experience in the things of God, and who have allowed Satan to rob them of their treasure, have substituted the brass of formal profession for the pure gold of love and faith. It made as good a show, but they themselves were conscious, in spite of themselves, that the value was not there. The enemy also knows the difference between brass and gold. He will not attempt to rob one of his brazen substitute for gold. That is why one has so much easier a time when he allows Christian reality to degenerate into a mere form. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.3

But the case of Rehoboam with his brazen shields is more exactly paralleled by those who make their boast that they adhere closely to “the faith of our fathers.” Doubtless their fathers had real faith, and held much truth. But faith is something which cannot be transmitted from father to son, and so those who pride themselves on believing just what their fathers believed, are the possessors of merely sounding brass. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.4

This is the case with the “historic churches.” Men formulate creeds, and their followers are careful to believe just what the founders believed, and still more careful not to believe anything which they did not believe. The result is that they do not have the faith which the founders had. They have the words, but not the life. As brass will make even a more dazzling show than gold, so State churches, whose boast is their “historic” succession, exhibit a dazzling ceremonial in place of the substance. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.5

“‘The Day of Jesus Christ’” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. What the day of Christ is, may be learned from the apostle’s words in other places. In the same line as above, he says, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12. So it seems that there is a day so far above all other days, that is sufficiently designated as “that day.” In the fourth chapter of the same epistle, after speaking of his approaching end, and the good fight he had fought, he said, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” Verse 8. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.6

This verse, together with the first verse of the chapter, which says that the Lord, “the righteous Judge,” will judge the quick (living) and dead “at His appearing and His kingdom,” shows us that “the day of Christ,” is “that day,” when the work which God has begun will have been finished,-the coming of the Lord. That day is the one day toward which the eyes of all God’s people have been turned since the fall. It is the day which marks the consummation of the Christian’s hope. Let us note a few texts which show its importance. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.7

With what can we more naturally begin than with the words of Christ, “Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3. All that is contained in this promise we shall not search for now, but will be content for the present with the simple promise of His coming, and will read other texts which speak of it. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.8

Enoch, the seventh from Adam was a prophet, and spoke of the coming of the Lord. Speaking of the wicked, the Apostle Jude says, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14, 15. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.9

Since “the wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth” (Psalm 37:12), it follows that to execute judgment upon the wicked means the deliverance of the righteous. This is what is stated in the promise first quoted. So also we read, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:27, 28. So we have before us not only the fact that Christ is coming, but that His coming is to be the “second” coming; and that it is to be for the purpose of saving the righteous, and punishing the wicked. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 177.10

So again we read the words of Christ, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:27. And again, “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:12. The Lord is the righteous Judge, and at His appearing and His kingdom He is to judge the living and the dead; and therefore we are exhorted to “judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.1

The patriarch Job, in his deep affliction, was comforted by the thought of the coming of the Lord. He said, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand up at the last upon the earth; and after my skin hath been thus destroyed, yet from my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.” Job 19:25-27, R.V. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.2

In the Psalms the coming of the Lord is often mentioned, and always as a cause for rejoicing. For instance, “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord; for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth; He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth.” Psalm 96:11-13. “O sing unto the Lord a new song; for He hath done marvellous things; His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory. The Lord hath made known His salvation; His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of the heathen.... With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together. Before the Lord; for He cometh to judge the earth; with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity.” Psalm 98:1-9. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.3

Before the coming of the Lord His people shall suffer persecution at the hands of earthly governments, which assume the right to prescribe the religion of citizens. The church, making itself the head, in the place of Christ, will, through the State, dictate to man what form of religion they shall openly profess. This is now done to some extent in every country, and the thing is constantly growing. Thus they will virtually substitute another in the place of Christ, for men to worship. But the true saints of God will have nothing to do with the unholy alliance with the world. They will be sorely persecuted, but their hope will be in the coming of the Lord, who is to deliver them. “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” Isaiah 25:9. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.4

That event will be emphatically “the day of Christ,” for it will be the demonstration before all the world of His right to reign. When He was here the first time, He was “despised and rejected of men.” Isaiah 53:3. He had not where to lay His head. Then men esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, afflicted. But when He comes the second time, it will be as King of kings, and Lord of lords, and all men will know that the Father hath given Him the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession. Then rude soldiers bowed in mockery before Him, ridiculing His claim to be a king. But when He comes the second time, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10, 11. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.5

“He comes not an infant in Bethlehem born.
He comes not to lie in the manger;
He comes not again to be treated with scorn,
He comes not a shelterless stranger;
He comes not to Gethsemane,
To weep and sweat blood in the garden;
He comes not to die on the tree,
To purchase for rebels a pardon;
Oh, no; glory, bright glory
Environs Him now.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.6

“The Blessed Hope” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:11-13, R.V. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.7

In another article we have called attention to some of the texts which show a prominent place that the coming of the Lord occupies in the Scriptures. That event is the blessed hope. It is such, because it brings salvation to all the faithful. The grace of God has brought salvation to all men, and whosoever will may have it; but all that Christ has done for man would be of no value if it were not for His coming again. That coming brings everlasting salvation. It brings deliverance from death to all who have accepted deliverance from sin. For when the Lord comes the second time, the resurrection of the righteous dead occurs. To the Thessalonian brethren the Apostle Paul wrote:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.8

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede, or go before] them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.9

The Apostle Peter blesses God because He “according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5. The resurrection of Jesus carries with it the resurrection of all who believe in Him. Those who are baptized into Christ put on Christ, and then live in Him. Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3-8. Therefore since they live in Him, if they fall asleep, they sleep in Jesus, and so they will be brought with Him from the dead. Their resurrection is as sure as His. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.10

And this is the Christian’s hope. It is “a lively hope.” It is this, and this alone, that is the God-given comfort for those who mourn for the dead. The Divine command is, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” No one has any authority to use any other words of comfort and peace, for there is PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.11

NO OTHER HOPE

Even as besides the name of Jesus “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), so there is no other time than the coming of the Lord and the resurrection, when that salvation is to be made complete. As already seen, it is only by the coming of the Lord that either the dead or the living can ever be with the Lord. Read the testimony of the Scriptures about this. There were some who said that there is no resurrection of the dead, and so the Apostle Paul wrote:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.12

“If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ; whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:13-18. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 178.13

This is according to the statement in Peter that it is by the resurrection of Christ that God has begotten us to a lively hope. Our resurrection depends on His resurrection; and that the resurrection is the sole hope of the Christian, is shown by the statement that if there is to be no resurrection our faith is vain. And in that case they who have fallen asleep in Christ would be perished. This shows that there is no other way of living with Christ, except by means of the resurrection of the dead, and the changing of the living, at the coming of the Lord. If the righteous who have died in past ages were now in heaven with the Lord, they would not be perished even if there were no resurrection. No matter how incomplete their condition, if they were in heaven they would be very far from perished, even if the resurrection never took place. But the Scripture says that if there were no resurrection they would be perished; and therefore we know that their future existence depends wholly on the resurrection. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.1

And the resurrection is only at the second coming of the Lord. In connection with the passage in 1 Thessalonians, read 1 Corinthians 15:51-54:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.2

“Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.3

The coming of the Lord marks the swallowing up of death; for all His people will then for ever be delivered from it, and death itself will be destroyed. 1 Corinthians 15:26; Revelation 20:14. That is the time of reward for the people of God. Jesus said: “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:12-14. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.4

A SURE HOPE

In the Christian’s hope there is no element of doubt or uncertainty. Sometimes people say that they hoped for a thing which they have no just reason to believe they will receive. That is not hope; it is simply desire. Hope, and especially the Christian’s hope, is based on a certainty. God has begotten us unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Therefore hope is as sure as the fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead. For the hope of the resurrection is based on the knowledge of the power of the resurrection. Paul’s desire was, “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” Philippians 3:10, 11. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.5

The “lively hope” to which God has begotten us is a living hope. It is a hope which the Spirit gives. It is by the Spirit that we are “sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30), which is the day of the resurrection; for we read, “If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11. And this Spirit is given to all who believe in Christ. Ephesians 1:13. To possess the Spirit of God is to know the power of the resurrection (Ephesians 1:17-20); for conversion is the experiencing of the power of the resurrection of Christ. Ephesians 2:2-5. This being made alive in Christ is the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 2:12, 13); and the resurrection of the dead at the last day is simply the application of the same power by which those who were dead in trespasses and sins have been saved from sin. The changing of this vile body at the coming of the Lord is “according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” Philippians 3:20, 21. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.6

Therefore it is that the Christian’s hope of the resurrection is a positive knowledge. It is the assurance that the life of Christ in man will triumph over death, even as it did in Christ Himself. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.7

THE HOPE OF THE AGES

As no name but that of Christ has ever been given among men for salvation, and as salvation is completed only at the coming of the Lord and the resurrection, even so the coming of the Lord and the resurrection has been the hope that has sustained the people of God ever since the fall. When he was before the council, the Apostle Paul declared, “For the hope of the resurrection of the dead I am called in question.” Acts 23:6. Still later, when before King Agrippa, he said, “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?” Acts 26:6-8. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.8

Here we learn that the resurrection of the dead was the hope of the “fathers” of the Jewish race. It is commonly thought that the ancient Jews had little or no knowledge of a future life, having at the best very vague and shallow ideas of the resurrection and immortality to be received at that time. But the Scriptures tell a far different story. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.9

The first explicit account of a promise to the fathers (although not by any means the first promise ever made), is that recorded in Genesis 12:1-3. Read the connection. This promise was referred to by Stephen when he gave his last testimony, in these words:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.10

“The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, He removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And He gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.” Acts 7:2-5. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.11

Note carefully that statement. God brought Abraham into the land, but gave him not so much inheritance in it as to set his foot on, and yet He had promised to give it to him and to his seed after him. Is there unrighteousness with God? Never. God cannot lie. Then how shall we understand this seeming failure of His promise? Just as Abraham did. Read how he looked at the matter:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.12

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 6:8-16. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 179.13

What does this mean? Simply this, that God did not promise the land of Canaan for a temporal inheritance, and that Abraham never expected such an inheritance. He did not expect to receive the possession at once, for the Lord had expressly told him that he should die before the inheritance was bestowed. Genesis 15:15, 16. Therefore Abraham was not disappointed when he came to die, but died in faith. In what did he have faith? He had faith in the resurrection, which he saw in Christ; for he saw the day of Christ, and was glad. John 8:56. This was the hope of the promise made of God unto the fathers, for which Paul was in bonds. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.1

Take the promise Abraham when he had offered up Isaac. God said “By Myself have I sworn, ... that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of His enemies.” Genesis 22:16, 17. This is one of the most comprehensive promises in the Bible; but a few texts will suffice to indicate how far-reaching it is. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.2

Note first that the seed of Abraham means first of all Christ. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.” Galatians 3:16. But this is not all, for it includes all who are Christ’s. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29. So when God said to Abraham, “Thy seed shall possess the gate of His enemies,” He told the complete triumph, not only of Christ, but of all the righteous, over all their foes. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.3

In Psalm 2:7-9 we read, “I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” So the promise to Abraham, that his seed should possess the gate of his enemies, meant nothing less than the complete possession of the whole earth by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the destruction of all the wicked. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.4

But the greatest enemy of all is death. Christ has conquered this enemy, for He says, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 1:18. Therefore Christ possesses the gate of His enemy. But that is not the complete fulfilment of the promise to Abraham, for those who trust God are the seed just the same as Christ. They are “heirs God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:17. So the promise will not be fulfilled until they, as well as Christ, possess the gate of their enemies. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26. This, as we have seen, is at the coming of the Lord. Therefore we learn that the promise to Abraham comprehended nothing less than the coming of the Lord, and the salvation of all the people of God, by resurrection and translation. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.5

Moreover, Abraham fully understood this, for He died in faith. He was content to be a sojourner and a stranger on earth all his life, “For he looked for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He desired a better country, that is, an heavenly. It was the hope of the resurrection that sustained him, and it was by that same hope that he overcame. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.6

Isaac and Jacob had the same faith, as we have read in the Epistle to the Hebrews. This enables us to understand better why Esau is called a “profane person” because he sold his birthright. When he came in from the field hungry and think, and asked Jacob to give him some of his pottage, Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.” “And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall this birthright do to me?” Genesis 25:29-32. And so he sold his birthright. How different was he from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They all died in faith, knowing that death would make no difference with the promise of God. They knew that the resurrection would give them the fulness of the inheritance. It was with the expectation of death, and the hope of the resurrection, that they received the promise. But Esau had no such faith. He did not believe in the resurrection, and had no hope in any promise that extended beyond this life. And so in the despair of unbelief he sold his birthright. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.7

THE SACRIFICES AND THE HOPE

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts.” Hebrews 11:4. In whom did Abel have faith? Only in Christ; for there is no other in whom to have faith. Faith begins and ends in Him. Moreover, Abel’s faith obtained witness for him that he was righteous; and there can be no real righteousness except “that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God by faith.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.8

Still further, it is not simply through faith in the death of Christ, that righteousness comes, but through faith in His resurrection. The Apostle Paul tells us that, as Abraham, so too us, righteousness will be imputed, “if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; and was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification.” Romans 4:24, 25. It is through the resurrection of Christ, therefore, that we are made righteous. We are reconciled to God by His death, and saved by His life. Romans 5:10. The Apostle Paul preached nothing but Christ and Him crucified, and he declared that the preaching of the cross is the Gospel; yet it was for preaching the resurrection through Jesus that he was condemned. This shows that the preaching of the cross includes the preaching of the resurrection. The cross means not only death, but the resurrection as well. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.9

He who believes in Christ’s death merely, does not have any saving faith. It is not a dead Saviour, but a living Saviour, that delivers us. Now all the sacrifices that, like Abel’s, were offered in faith, represented Christ. But such sacrifices of faith indicated not only the death of Christ, but His resurrection as well. We have seen that in the resurrection of Christ is contained the resurrection of all who believe in Him, and therefore all those who offered sacrifices in faith, thereby expressed their faith in the promises of God to Abraham and His seed, of an inheritance in the earth made new, and also showed their hope in the resurrection. Therefore when we say that all the sacrifices pointed to Christ, we do not mean simply that they pointed to the death of Christ, but that they pointed to His second coming in glory, to give His people an inheritance, by the resurrection of the dead and the translation of living. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.10

This is further shown by what the Apostle Paul says of the Lord’s Supper, which corresponds to the ancient sacrifices. The lamb slain represented the body and blood of the Lamb of God, and the bread and the wine represent the same thing. So the Apostle says, “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.” 1 Corinthians 11:26. The coming of the Lord and the resurrection is the grand consummation of the Christian’s hope. To that everything has reference, since none of the work of the Gospel will amount to anything without that. Without the resurrection of Christ His death would have profited nothing; and without His second coming His resurrection would have been in vain. But the resurrection of Christ carries with it the sure promise of His second coming; therefore every memorial of the death of the Lord must be also a pledge of His second coming. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.11

And so we learn that all of the patriarchs and prophets had but one hope, and that was in the coming of the Lord, and the resurrection, which should establish them in the kingdom promised to them that love the Lord. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” Ephesians 4:4. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 180.12

There were people in those days who did not perceive the significance of the sacrifices which they offered, even as there are multitudes of people in these days and who time after time eat the bread and drink the cup at the Lord’s Supper, without having any just sense of what they mean, but celebrate it as a mere church ceremony. We do not say that the Gospel is not clearly preached in these days, simply because some do not understand it, and so we are not justified in saying that the Gospel was not clearly made known in the days of the patriarchs, because some did not understand it then. It is most probable that fully as many grasped the real meaning of it then as now. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.1

More than this, there were many besides Esau, in those days, who did not believe, even as there are now, although they understood it was preached. It is in reminding us of the fact that there will be unbelievers in the last days, that the Apostle Peter shows us that the coming of the Lord was the hope of the fathers. He says that “there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3, 4. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.2

Thus we see that the promise to the fathers was the promise of the coming of the Lord. Some profess that they cannot see any prospect of the fulfilment of that event, but that is because they are willingly ignorant. The word of God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. That same word caused the destruction of the earth by the flood. The heavens and the earth which are now kept by the same word until the time of the end, when the wicked will be destroyed, at which time the earth will consume from the fires as it was when it was first created. This is that which was promised to the fathers, and so “we, according to His promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.3

“Science” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Here is what, according to our writer in the North American Review, “science” gives man in place of the religion of the Bible:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.4

“Science knows no other plan of redemption than the survival of the fittest, knows no other day of creation than this day, knows no other fall of man save the present daily fall of ignorance and vice, knows no heaven or hell save those we make for ourselves, and knows no immortality save the persistence of life and force, and, finally, knows no God save the infinite power that fills and floats all things.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.5

If this be the case, those who have heard Christ, “and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus,” must conclude that “science” doesn’t know anything. But science means knowledge, and there is such a thing as a positive knowledge; therefore we must conclude that the above is a statement of “science falsely so-called.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.6

“The Exhibition at Chicago” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Although the World’s Fair has been open but little over a month, and many of the exhibits are not even yet in place, it has already afforded much more of an exhibition than was ever designed by any of the originators of the scheme. If the exhibition in the next six months equals that of the past few months, it will be one of the most notable events in the history of the world. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.7

The special exhibition to which we refer is the exhibition of religious bigotry. Very soon after the project of World’s Fair took definite shape, the question of whether or not it should be opened on Sunday was raised. That question furnished material for many sermons; and in Chicago it has been the leading topic in the pulpits for the last eighteen months. The question of individual salvation, by the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe,” has given place to the preaching of “another gospel, which is not another,” even the Gospel of force, which is the power of civil government to make all men appear religious in certain lines, whether they believe or not. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.8

The means by which the Congress of United States was induced to couple with its grant of two and a half million dollars, the condition that the gates of the exhibition should not be opened on Sunday, need not be related here. Suffice it to say that it was done only because an organisation composed mostly of ministers, made the Members of Congress believe that if they did not vote for Sunday-closing they would lose their seats. In consequence of the threats of professed followers of Christ, they were led to vote in open opposition to the Constitution which they had sworn to uphold. The first feature, therefore, is an exhibition of the fact that when the Church sets out on the career of dictating to the State, it will not stop for so small a thing as perjury. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.9

The gates of the Exposition were closed for Sunday. On the next Sunday they were opened, although the machinery was not in motion. Over 200,000 visitors entered on that day, and the general verdict was that “a more orderly assemblage of that magnitude was never seen in America.” No advocate of Sunday legislation has denied that fact. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.10

Still later the local directory voted by a very large majority to open the entire Exposition on Sundays, running the machinery no more than it is absolutely necessary. The resolution provided that “exhibitors and employés shall be relieved from duty, except so far as their presence is essential and necessary for the protection of property and the public peace; but all employés whose services are required Sunday shall be given one day of rest during each week.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.11

It was still further voted to return to the United States Government the money that it had granted to the Fair. It must be remembered that Congress did not enact a law requiring the gates to be closed on Sunday, but simply made the grant of money on condition that the gates should be shut on that day. If the directors accepted the money on those conditions, they of course bound themselves to keep the gates closed; but by voting to return the money, they freed themselves from the condition. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.12

Thus it will be seen that the recent action of the directors is fair and just. Nobody is obliged to work on Sunday, who does not wish to, and nobody is required to work more than six days in a week. So no just charge can be brought against them, of oppressing labourers, or of ignoring their conscientious scruples. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.13

It will be apparent to every candid observer, that in this action the observance of Sunday is not affected in the least. That is, everybody who thinks that Sunday ought to be observed as a day of rest, will be as free to rest as though the gates were shut. For those who are employed labour from choice, and of course none who have conscientious scruples about Sunday observance will attend on that day. Only those people will be in attendance at the fair, either as employés or visitors, who would be engaged in labour or amusement somewhere else, if the gates were shut. These are in brief, the facts in the case; and now for a further exhibition. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.14

SENSITIVE CONSCIENCES

As stated already, the opening of the gates and of the World’s Fair on Sunday does not affect the real status of Sunday observance. Those who are religiously inclined, and who look upon Sunday as a sacred day, are free to attend church as usual, and even more than usual. One would think that with this all ought to be satisfied. The opening of the gates, and the attendance of visitors, on Sunday, is simply an affair of those who do not regard Sunday observance as essential. They do not propose to interfere in the least with the rights of anyone else to rest and worship, and they rightly feel that as much liberty ought to be conceded to them. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 181.15

But this does not give satisfaction. A portion of the church people of Chicago and the rest of United States have determined that the gates of the Fair shall not be opened on Sunday. They are not willing to grant to others the liberty which they demand for themselves. They have persuaded themselves that they are prompted only by holy zeal for the Sunday; but inasmuch as the shutting of the gates of the Fair on Sunday will not in the least diminish the amount of pleasure seeking on that day; inasmuch as the shutting of the gates will have only the effect of driving the people to other and less reputable places of amusement, with which instruction is not combined, as it is in the Fair,-it looks very much as though the demand for the closing of the gates on Sunday is simply a manifestation of a dogged determination on the part of certain people to have their way, simply because it is their way. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.1

For example, one Chicago religious journal, said, before it had been decided to open the gates:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.2

“Two of the leading dailies have conceded that it would be unwise to oppose the conscience of the country on this question; and the gates were closed last Sunday.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.3

The same paper, after vote of the board of directors, characterised it as a “defiant action,” and spoke of “the resolution adopted in stupid defiance of the decent opinion of mankind.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.4

This is an exhibition of a grossly erroneous view of the function of conscience. The men who have voted to open the Fair on Sunday have not acted in defiance of their own conscience. Whether their action has been right or wrong makes no difference with fact. They have done what their own conscience approves. Then whose “conscience” have they “defied?” Why the “conscience” of those who think the Fair ought to be closed on Sunday. But that is impossible. One man cannot have conscience for another. God gives to every man conscience enough for himself, but not enough for two. “Why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?” 1 Corinthians 10:29. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.5

It is not conscience, but bigotry and pride of opinion, that is wounded by the action of another. In the Dark Ages the Waldenses “defied” the “conscience” of the Roman Catholic Church, and as a consequence they were almost exterminated. When people complain that their consciences are outraged by the action of others, there is danger near, if those people have any power. The kind of “conscience” that is hurt by the action of another, is the “conscience” that turns the rack and kindles the fires of persecution. It is in direct opposition to the mind of Christ, who said, “If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” John 12:47. It is therefore not a Christian conscience that talks about being defied because somebody else does not agree with it. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.6

He who says that his conscience is defied, and who would condemn another for disagreeing with him, sets himself up as the standard. His ideas are to be the rule not only for himself, but for all mankind. In short, he makes himself a pope. The World’s Fair, therefore, has already afforded an exhibition of popery in the United States, and it was there long before Satolli was made Papal delegate. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.7

“CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR”

But the Popes, whenever they have had the power, have always used force to compel others to conform to their consciences, and the American Papacy is true to the Papal traditions. As proof of this, read the following:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.8

“This telegram was sent to-day to John Willis Baer, general secretary of the Christian Endeavour Societies, to President Thomas W. Palmer of the World’s Columbian Commission: PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.9

One million and a half members of Christian Endeavour will stand by the Commissioners in bringing an injunction against President Higinbotham and Associates if they open the gates on Sunday. Have wired President Cleveland and Attorney-General New York Tribune, May 15. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.10

The New York correspondent of the Christian World, writing of the probability that the gates would be opened said: PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.11

“Meanwhile the Christian Endeavour Societies have threatened a general boycott in the event of Sunday opening, and their example will probably be widely followed.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.12

The Christian Commonwealth seconds the motion saying:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.13

“Christians cannot possibly countenance such a wholesale desecration of the Lord’s day as would result by opening the Exhibition on Sundays. But it may be asked, can they help themselves? We answer, abstaining from any participation in the Exhibition at any time. Let Christian churches of the United States not only protest against the action of the committee, but utterly refuse to patronise the Exhibition until the resolution is rescinded, and it is then highly probable that the committee will come to their senses.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.14

That is what they propose to do, for President Bottsford, of the Massachusetts Sunday protective League has said: PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.15

“The League has sufficient funds at its disposal to set all the wheels of the State courts in motion in order to avert what it holds to be a desecration of the Sabbath.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.16

And the committee representing the National Council of Congregationalists has telegraphed their representative at Chicago to withdraw immediately the denominational exhibit, in case the Fair shall be opened on Sundays. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.17

But this is not all. No ordinary boycott is proposed. At the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance the following resolution was unanimously passed, and ordered telegraphed to Attorney-General Olney, at Washington:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.18

“The Evangelical Alliance of Boston and vicinity respectfully invokes the aid of the National Executive to prevent the Local Directory of the World’s Fair from opening its gates on Sunday in defiance of an act of Congress granted to petitioners representing 40,000,000 of the best citizens of the country. The nation rejoiced that President Cleveland forbade the proposed Sunday night inauguration festivities in the Treasury Building. The presence of the United States troops at Fort Sheridan holds Chicago Anarchists in check. Cannot the Administration notify the Directory that those troops will be properly used, if necessary, to maintain inviolate the nation’s authority, and keep the fair closed on the Lord’s Day?” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.19

That is high language. It is scarcely probable that in the present instance United States troops will be called out to enforce Sunday observance; but we see the temper of the churches on this subject. They are willing to shed blood, if necessary, to secure their ends in regard to Sunday. Now when we remember that the action of Congress was at there dictation, and that it has been demonstrated that the churches control Congress, and can get whatever they want, if they are united and in earnest, it will be seen that it is by no means a remote possibility that at sometime soon, if not now, not only the courts, but the army, may be called upon to enforce the observance of Sunday. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.20

There is no doubt but this is very vigorous endeavour, but it would puzzle one to show anything Christian in it. Christ said, “My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world then would My servants fight.” John 18:36. Therefore where we find religion that seeks to uphold itself by force, we may know that it is not the religion of Christ, but is of the world. But the religion of the world is paganism, and even such is that phase of religion which talks of the boycott, and of armed resistance. A single angel of heaven has more power than an entire army of men; and Jesus could at any time have summoned to aid more than twelve legions of angels; yet He never suggested the use of force to compel people to accept His teaching. On the contrary He forbade the lifting of a hand against His bitterest opposers, and refused to condemn the unbelievers. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.21

PAGANISM AGAINST CHRISTIANITY

In all this we have not raised the question of the correctness of Sunday observance. We wish simply to show the means by which it is sought to further the observance of the day. But we do not write for the purpose of censuring the people who advocate the use of those means; it is only that certain principles may stand out clearly before the reader. And there are some questions that must present themselves to the thoughtful observer. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.22

1. Suppose that the observance of Sunday is of Divine obligation,-that it is a necessary part of the religion of Christ; how much will the cause of religion be furthered by the steps that have been taken, and that are proposed? Suppose that the directors are compelled by force to shut the gates of the Exposition on Sunday, and the people are compelled to stay away; will that make them anymore Christian? Certainly not. Then what is gained? Nothing for the cause of Christianity, nothing in the line of saving souls, but much hatred to that form of religion which uses force. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.23

Not only is there stirred up hatred to that form of religion, but much hatred to Christianity, since the world in general takes it for granted that what professes to be Christianity is Christianity, and so they are led to think that Christianity is synonymous with bigotry. Therefore it is that we emphatically declare, on the authority of Christ Himself, that there is no Christianity in it. We have no ill-will to the men who are doing these things. We do not question their sincerity. We wish that we could avoid making any reference to their actions. But the cause of Christ is of more value than anything else, and we should be false to Him, and unfaithful to men, if we did not point out that there is no Christianity in force of any description. If we allow people to turn away from the instruction of God’s word, under the impression, that it sanctions such things, we should be guilty of their destruction. So we repeat that God is the God of peace, that Christ is the Prince of peace, and that His Gospel is the Gospel of peace. See Hebrews 13:20; Isaiah 9:6; Ephesians 6:15. Every lover of the Lord Jesus, no matter how highly he regards Sunday, ought to lift his voice in protest against the injustice that is being done to His name. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.24

2. Most important of all, Can the right ever be aided by wrong? Does error ever help the truth? Can truth be built up by falsehood? Can true peace ever be gained by war? No more than health can be built up through consumption, or wealth preserved by prodigality. Since the beginning of the world, there has never been an instance where force was called in to aid in the propagation of the truth. It is true that in numerous instances those against whom force has been brought to bear, because of their adherence to truth, have unwisely met force with resistance, to the great detriment of the truth, and of their own souls; but in no case have the possessors of truth ever sought to advance it by the sword. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.25

An illiterate shoemaker used to attend the theological discussions of the school-men. When asked what he could learn from them, since the discussions were carried on in Latin, which he did not understand, he replied that he could very easily tell which side was in error. And when asked how he could tell that, he replied, “By noticing which party gets angry.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.26

That principle will hold good in all cases. Apart from any statements as to the correctness of a position, we may know that it has no foundation in truth, if force is used to sustain it. And so, without going into the Sunday question at all we may know that it is not from God, from the simple fact that its adherents seek to maintain it by force. Boycotting and armed forces are of the world, and emanate from Satan, who is the god of this world. The fact that they are called in to the aid of Sunday observance, proves its connection with the religion of the world. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.27

From the most ancient times the sun god claimed the allegiance due to God alone, and the day of the sun stood as the rival of God’s holy day. It was the heathen Emperor Constantine, whose special divinity was the sun, who made the first law requiring the observance of “the venerable day of the sun.” By this act Church and State were united, or in other words, the union of paganism and Christianity was effected, and for the first time force was used in behalf of professed Christianity. Therefore in the World’s Fair we have already an exhibition of the spirit of Paganism, and that, too, long before the Parliament of Religions has assembled. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.28

It is therefore not a trivial matter that is being agitated in connection with the World’s Fair. It is the question that is as old as the fall, whether the peace of God or the enmity of Satan shall prevail. The final struggle of the conflict is just before us. The intimation that armed troops may be called out to defend the Pagan Sunday is only a foreshadowing of coming realities. But “when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” It will be demonstrated that the power of the Gospel of peace is greater than the power that error can muster. There can be no middle ground; every one who loves the Lord must declare his allegiance in no uncertain tones. And may there be many who read this paper who will say, in the Spirit that moved Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 182.29

“The Sabbath” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Rabbi Hirsch, of Chicago, having declared that the Romans were “a selfish perfidious, cruel, and superstitious race of barbarians,” a writer in a daily paper says, “We admit we owe much to the Jews-the Sabbath, for instance-but it must be allowed we Europeans also owe a little to the Romans.” But it would puzzle the writer to show any connection between the Jews and the day which the Europeans generally regard as the Sabbath. That which in Europe and America is generally kept in place of the Sabbath-namely, Sunday-is the seventh day of the week, and it is the day which the Jews observed, but we do not owe it to them. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord,” and it is He that gave it to man. Neither God nor the Jews had anything to do with giving the people the first day of the week as the Sabbath. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 184.1

“In Favour of Liberty” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

We are pleased to know that there are men in the Church of England, who do not think that the existence of the Christian religion depends on Government support, or from tithes wrung from unwilling contributors. The following, written to the Daily Chronicle, by the Rev. Prebendary Eyton; expresses the sentiments of not a few men:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 185.1

“There are some of us clergy, and, perhaps, some church wardens, who do not quite see the, force and reason of having our assent taken for granted, even by the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the question of the disestablishment of the Church in Wales. While on the one hand we entirely sympathise with the efforts which have been so splendidly made by the Welsh Church of late years to recover a position which the over-ruling power of English influence had caused her well-nigh to lose, while we deprecate the ruthless and reckless temper which has boo often characterised the attack made on her, yet we cannot hold that it is for her real advantage to continue to hold a position which must prejudice her spiritual claims. Though her case be very different from that of the Irish Church, the question put by Mr. Keble in reference to Irish disestablishment, “Is it not just?” still haunts the ear. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 185.2

“Were not the tithes granted to the Church on the understanding that the clergy ministered to the whole people, and if so large a mass of the people reject their ministrations, is it fair to go on exacting them for that purpose? Will not the Welsh Church be much stronger for her great spiritual work if she has to fall back on the tithes paid with good will by her own members, and gets rid of the suspicion of being, as a church, imposed by the English people on unwilling Wales? PTUK June 15, 1893, page 185.3

“We look in vain for any answer to such elementary questions among the fervid utterances of those who are claiming to speak for the whole Church of England on the question. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 185.4

“The object of this letter is only to protest against the assumption that every Churchman must be on one side in this matter. If that assumption continues to be made, we may be forced to some method of counteraction in the form of a public protest.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 185.5

“Death in India” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Death is a great enemy. How it makes our hearts ache to seek our loved ones cold and silent in death! How empty the house seems, after they have been laid away in the grave! How could we bear it without Jesus, and without the precious promises in His word? His words alone bring comfort. His presence alone satisfies our longings and fills the aching void in our hearts. On Jesus only can we roll off the heavy burden. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.1

There are people in India who know nothing of Jesus, and nothing of His word, and nothing of His power to help in such trying times. How much more sad death must be to them! PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.2

When their friends die, they generally burn them instead of burying them. “After the body has been burned they think the parts all join together and go through a river of mire and blood. When it gets to the other side of the river it must walk over ground like fiery hot copper, and finally lie down in a place full of sharp spikes. Then comes the judgment, when all the good deeds and all the bad ones committed by the dead man are added up. If there are more bad deeds than good ones, he will have to be born again at once in a lower animal; but if there are more good than bad, he goes to heaven for a little while, and then comes back to be born again in the something else. So there is no end to their misery even in heaven; the best they can hope for is a little rest before they begin again.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.3

They are taught, you see, that when their friends die they do not really die, but that they merely stop living in that body and go to live in some other body. If they are not very bad they think they will go into a nice animal-“a cow or sheep, or something of that kind; but if they are wicked, they go into such creatures as mice, or rats, or flies; and this does not happen only once, but again and again, till the soul has done more good things than wicked ones. This is why the Hindus will not eat meat; they are afraid of turning out the souls of their friends into a worse animal. “They do not dare to kill an ox, or cow, or monkey, or even a crow.” The crows are allowed to fly in and out of the houses just as they like, and to help themselves to anything that they want. Once a year the crows have a great feast, called ‘Ancestors’ Dinner,’ when the people pray to their dead relations to come and eat the good things they have made ready for them.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.4

“The Jains never eat or drink in the dark, for fear they might unconsciously swallow an insect, and thus cause pain to some departed human soul. Some Jains carry a broom to sweep the ground before they tread on it!” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.5

A baker is sometimes seen before his shop feeding twenty or thirty yellow street dogs. “The priests have told him that the soul of his father has gone into the body of a dog, so he feeds all, that his father may be sure of something to eat.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.6

“The soul has to pass out of body into another no less than eight million four hundred thousand times before it is thought to be quite free from sin.” “For all the wrong things they do or say they expect to be punished when their souls have gone into other bodies.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.7

“If a man loses his caste when he is dying, his soul would go after his death into the body of a very low animal, perhaps a rat, and then it would not be able to get back into another man after the rat died, but into the animal that comes next above a rat; for they think that the soul must go in regular order through all the animals, rats and cats and dogs and donkeys, and all the rest, until it gets up to a cow; and then from a cow to a man, and then back again into another animal, according as it behaves itself in its different bodies; so that losing your caste before you die means that your soul will have to begin its journey all over again.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.8

Many of the people in South India, you remember, worship demons, which they think are the spirits of very wicked men who have died. They live in fear of them all the time. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.9

The Mohammedans think that “an angel is in every man’s grave, waiting for him, and as soon as he is buried the angel tells him that two examiners are coming to him, they ask him whether he believes in God and in Mohammed; if he says, yes, then they comfort him; but if he says, no, they torment him. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.10

“The soul does not go to heaven until the resurrection day; where it does go depends upon how good it has been; if the man was very holy, his soul will go to Paradise, to be with the prophets; if not quite good enough for that, it will go into a green bird, and live with the martyrs; if only a common sort of a believer, it will either stay near the grave, or with Adam, in what is called lowest heaven, or in a well, until the trumpet sounds at the resurrection day. The souls of those who do not believe in Mohammed, have to bear terrible sufferings all the time until the resurrection day. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.11

“When that day comes, all the dead bodies will rise, and their souls will go into them, after which they all will go to sleep till judgment has been passed upon them. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.12

“Then everyone in turn has to walk over a tiny bridge, as fine as a hair, and sharp as a sword; the good people get over it very nicely, but the wicked ones tumble off and fall into hell, which is underneath. If they are Mohammedans, they will come out again someday, and go to heaven; but if not, they must stay there always.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.13

“The Parsees suppose that there is a particular dog in the spirit world, that takes care of the souls of dead people, and keeps the evil spirits from hurting them, especially on the fourth day after death, when they are judged.” For three days the spirit of the dead man is supposed to hover about the Tower of Silence, where he is left for the vultures to eat. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.14

Oh, that these poor souls knew of the sweet peace and comfort found in our blessed Bible. Let us go to it ourselves in every time of trouble, then we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble and know not of Jesus, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 187.15

“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

-Cholera is reported at Bussorah and Amarah, on the River Tigris. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.1

-Another goldfield has been discovered in Burmah. It is said to extend over an area of 900 square miles. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.2

-Sixty-four men were drowned while lightening the ship Germania during the recent cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.3

-It is estimated that from 40,000 to 50,000 slaves are yearly carried away captive from Zanzibar and neighbouring ports. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.4

-In the Metropolis the shelters of the Salvation Army provide for upwards of 4,000 homeless men and women every night. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.5

-The Russian Government has decided to suppress at an early date the Jewish Consistories in Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.6

-Under a new edict, Jews in Russia who are received into the Russian Church must take the Christian name of their godfathers, PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.7

-The Social Democrats in Germany have candidates in 856 out of 897 electoral districts, for the coming election. In Berlin there are sixty-nice socialist candidates. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.8

-A report from Odessa states that no fewer than 15,000 prisoners, exclusive of women and children, are to be dispatched in 82 parties from the forwarding prisons at Moscow to Siberia via Nijni-Novgorod, Perm, and Tiumen. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.9

-Afghanistan, it is said, has 6,000,000 people, and one missionary; Annum has 5,000,000 and only Roman Catholic missionaries; India has one missionary to 275,000 people; Persia one to 300,000; Thibet one to 2,000,000. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.10

-Professor Garner, who went to Africa to study monkey language, claims that he has already written down a vocabulary of nearly 200 monkey words, and that there are not more than twenty or thirty words more in the monkey language. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.11

-An untamed swallow which had its nest in a farm near Roubaix was lately caught and taken in a cage to Paris, where it was released. It returned to its nest in 90 minutes, having accomplished a distance of 250 kilometres, or over two miles a minute. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.12

-The Corinth Canal, which will be opened in a month, is about four miles in length, 71 feet wide, and 26 feet deep. It will materially reduce the length of voyages between Western Europe and the ports of the east coast of Greece, Turkey, and the Black Sea. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.13

-The town in England best provided with places of worship is the ancient one of Rochdale, where there are 145 churches and chapels. Fifty belong to the Church of England and 95 to the Nonconformists. The Church of England accommodates 24,449, and the Nonconformists 61,850 persons in sittings. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.14

-During the month of March there were eighteen cases of suicide and eighty-two attempts at suicide, in the German Army. No other comment is needed as to the condition of the army. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.15

-Advices received by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society from Morocco, show that there is no diminution in the slave trade in Morocco, batches of girls being frequently publicly sold in Tangier and other towns. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.16

-One of the leaders of the Free Church of Scotland speaking in the General Assembly in Edinburgh, recently, said: “Instead of disestablishing the Church of Scotland, let us Free Kirk men strive for the fusion of all the Scottish Presbyterian Churches in one great National Church, tolerant, cultured, unchained by merely abstract dogmas.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.17

-A St. Petersburg telegram states that a “scientific” expedition, consisting of a captain, a lieutenant, eight soldiers, and three volunteers, will depart about the middle of this month on a journey of exploration through several provinces of the Chinese Empire. It is undoubtedly in the interest of the “science” of extending Russian territory. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.18

-A dispatch of May 29, says: “Enormous tracts of country are now submerged in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The inhabitants of the lowlands have been driven from their homes, and many people had been for days on the verge of starvation before assistance could reach them. Thousands of cattle and sheep have perished, and great damage has been done to property. The rivers are still rising.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.19

-An interesting test of a new system of lighthouse signals was recently made off New Haven, Connecticut. By an ingenious combination of the usual lighthouse lenses and light, together with a system of shutters, the lighthouse keeper is able to throw any number agreed upon to represent a given harbour to great distances in a horizontal plane. A reference to a “port book” shows the master of a vessel his location beyond doubt. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.20

-The Pope has granted the private request made by Cardinal Vaughan, Archbishop of Westminster, when in Rome, asking that St, Peter might be made the Patron Saint of England. A solemn ceremony, placing England under the protection of St. Peter, will take place at the Oratory, Brampton, in the beginning of July. Of course Peter being dead, is perfectly unconscious of this bit of nonsense; but taking the Romish supposition that he is still alive, think of the presumption of the Pope in assuming that Peter is subject to his orders, and will meekly assume the oversight of any country the Pope may allot to him. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.21

-One of the counsel for the Chinese Government in the recent case brought in the Supreme Court of the United States, to test the constitutionality of the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act, says that the ultimatum of the Chinese Government has already been sent to Washington. He says that “it informs the Government of the United States that if the provisions of the Geary Law are carried out, all diplomatic and commercial relations between the two countries will come to an end, and the American citizens now in China will be asked to quit the country.” This is no more than might be expected. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.22

-Hardly a week passes without some Lutheran pastor being imprisoned or removed from office for alleged offences against the Russian Church. Stundists and other Non-conformists also continue to be persecuted in the interior of Russia. The Volskoi Vyestnik states that a few days ago a Molokan, or evangelical dissenter, named Stephen Generaldi, was sentenced by the Kazan District Court, for “heresy” and proselytising, to the loss of all civil lights, confiscation of property, and to banishment to the Province of Transcauasia. If the principle of State religion be correct, then all this persecution is justified. Russia is simply acting consistently with the idea that religion is an affair of the State. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 190.23

“Back Page” The Present Truth 9, 12.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

After the next number, the PRESENT TRUTH will be published weekly, instead of fortnightly, as heretofore. We are sure that this change will give satisfaction to all who have been receiving its visits regularly. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.1

In this number of the PRESENT TRUTH we have called attention to the boycott which some zealous religious, both in the Old World and in the New, have called for against the World’s Fair at Chicago, because it is open on Sunday. In the next number, if the Lord will, we shall compare this with a few boycotts of ancient times. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.2

The warden of the Central Prison at Toronto says in his report to the Ontario Government that “of 25,000 children brought to Canada by Miss MacPherson, Dr. Barnardo, Mr. Quarrier, and others, from Great Britain, only three per cent. have lapsed into crime.” When we remember from what these children are rescued, this report speaks volumes for the value of the training given them. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.3

In a recent interview, Mr. Moody made the following statement in connection with the account of his work in Great Britain:- PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.4

“The Nonconformists are not flourishing. They have not been faithfully preaching the Word, and are being crowded to the wall. Unitarianism has crept in, and growth and prosperity have dropped out. The influence of the Established Church is overshadowing. Men of wealth and ambition go into it, because it means position and honour.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.5

It is reported that the recent harsh measures against the Stundists in Russia have in several places had the desired effect, that of bringing them back into the Russian Church. Great popular rejoicings are alleged to have taken place at Kanev, where 130 Stundists, including several leaders, have recanted. That is the rejoicing of a political party that has gained a number of voters from the opposition, and not at all like the rejoicing that there is in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.6

“And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2. This is true nonconformity. The only thing to which a man is not to conform, is the world. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27. Christ said of His disciples, “They are not of this world, even as I am not of the world.” John 17:16. He was the great Non-conformist. No one need feel ashamed to be one with Him. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.7

A much more sensible contest than that which took place last winter between Berlin and Vienna, has just been concluded. Then horses were ridden to death by unfeeling cavalry officers; this time it was a walking competition. Fifteen men made the trip, two of whom being known as vegetarians, were the cause of much sport to their companions. Nevertheless they kept on their way, subsisting on bread and apples, and drinking only water, with a result that they arrived at the journey’s end so far ahead of their flesh-eating fellows that there was really no competition. And yet people think that it is necessary to eat flesh in order to have strength. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.8

When a crime has been committed, such as murder, theft, adultery, etc., the first thought of the natural man is of disgust or contempt towards the culprit, and a more or less clearly defined feeling of satisfaction with himself for being free from such vices. But the enlightened man will take a far different view. He will realise that those crimes are the natural product of the human heart; “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. Therefore instead of a feeling of self-satisfaction, he will have a feeling of humility, knowing that what he sees is but a manifestation of the nature that is in him. In every criminal the Christian will see himself, and will be led to trust more fully in the Saviour for deliverance from the evil nature which is common to all men. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.9

The Echo, referring to Dr. B. W. Richardson’s proposal that sheep, calves, and pigs be slaughtered by electricity, or else that they be rendered insensible to the knife by means of a mixture of chloroform and coal gas, says: “But is not the whole thing, from beginning to end, from conception to execution, a huge mistake? The system of breeding animals to slaughter them-and to slaughter them to eat them-grew out of barbarism, and will pass away with barbarism, as sure as cannibalism was first condemned, and then abandoned. In proportion as men and women are cultured, refined, elevated, the slaughter-house will be avoided.” We agree with the sentiment, although we do not believe the slaughter of animals for food will ever cease in this present world. On the contrary the slaughter of animals will increase, and, in the same proportion, human life will be lightly regarded. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.10

The Congregational ministers of Boston (U.S.A.) and vicinity, have adopted the following resolution: “That consistency requires that all those who have conscientiously opposed the opening of the World’s Fair on the Lord’s Day, should refuse to patronise the exhibition so long as Sunday opening continues.” PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.11

Consistency requires nothing of the kind. If it did, it would also require them never to patronise the railways; it would require them never to travel on a steamboat; it would lead them never to ride on a tram car. Least of all does consistency require them to seek to enter the Fair by inducing others to stay away. Not only does consistency not demand the boycott, but Christianity positively forbids it. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.12

The Congregationalist (Boston, U.S.A.) Notes the greatly increased circulation of Sunday newspapers, and complains that they go throughout the country, “invading every town and competing with the churches of every, even the smallest community.” This discloses the secret of the desire to suppress the Sunday newspaper, together with all Sunday labour and amusement. It competes with the churches, therefore it must be suppressed by law. But suppose that everything which is a competitor of the church were suppressed, what would be the use of the existence of the church? Its only object is to hold forth the word of light and life in the darkness of the world. Darkness is always opposed to light, but it is the business of light to dispel the darkness. What would be thought of the proprietors of an electric light establishment, who should beg to have darkness done away with, so that their light might have a fair chance? One of the worst features of the churchly clamour for religious legislation is the fact that it indicates diminishing vitality on the part of the churches. They want the State to do their work for them. But although “the church” as an institution, loses all its power, it still remains a fact that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. PTUK June 15, 1893, page 192.13