The Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, vol. 7
January 24, 1856
RH VOL. VII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY, - NO. 17
James White
THE ADVENT REVIEW,
AND SABBATH HERALD.
“Here is the Patience of the Saints; Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.”
VOL. VII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY, JANUARY 24, 1856. - NO.17.
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY
AT BATTLE CREEK, MICH.
BY HENRY LYON, CYRENIUS SMITH AND D. R. PALMER,
Publishing Committee.
URIAH SMITH, Resident Editor.
J. N. ANDREWS, JAMES WHITE, J. H. WAGGONER, R. F. COTTRELL, and STEPHEN PIERCE, Corresponding Editors.
Terms.-ONE DOLLAR FOR A VOLUME OF 26 NUMBERS. All communications, orders and remittances for the REVIEW AND HERALD should be addressed to URIAH SMITH, Battle Creek, Mich. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.1
THERE IS NEED OF LIGHT
THERE is need of light! there is need of light!
To scatter the gloom of Error’s night;
To cheer these darkened ways of ours,
Where the weeds are many, and few the flowers;
Since the partisan’s oath and the bigot’s zeal
Would force their creeds by the aid of steel.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.2
Since the banner of Peace is trailed in dust,
And the cannon thunders for Power and Lust,
And the orphan’s cry and the widow’s wail
Moan in the wave, and shriek in the gale;
Since Right is crushed by the heel of Might -
There is yet in the world a need of light.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.3
Since the rich man closes alike his door
And his heart, to the plea of the starving poor;
Since human beings are bought and sold
To quench the feverish thirst for gold.
And the Bible is quoted to prove it right -
There is need, O, is there not need of light?
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.4
Need of a light like that which shone
From the mount and cross, and where the stone
By the watching angels was rolled aside
From the grave of the risen Crucified;
A love and a light to burn and glow
Like Christ’s, in the hearts of all below.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.5
THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES
And the Deliverance and Restoration of the Remnant of Israel from the Seven Times, or 2520 years of Assyrian or Pagan and Papal Captivity considered.
BY H. EDSON
(Continued) ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.6
I anticipate that some may urge Daniel 7:21, 22, as an objection to the position set forth in this article, with respect to the deliverance of the saints in 1798 from under the Papal rule, and their rise, triumph, and prosperity during the 45 years, etc., by telling us that the little horn, Papacy, was to make war with the saints and prevail against them until ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.7
THE COMING OF THE ANCIENT OF DAYS
At the first view of the above text, there may be some seeming objection to our position; but when rightly compared with other portions of the inspired volume, the seeming objection will vanish. Facts are stubborn things to dispose of, and it is a fact, known, read, and admitted by all, that Protestants are no longer under the dictation of the Papal see, but are themselves in the ascendancy over the Catholics, and that the Catholics have not prevailed in war against the Protestants as a body since 1798. And furthermore, prophecy limits their prevailing against the saints, as predicted in Daniel 7:21, 22, to a time, times, and an half, or 42 months, 1260 years. Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 13:5, 7. See margin. To prevail signifies to have the advantage over, or the better of. See Judges 16:5; Genesis 49:26. See also Cruden. Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could NOT PREVAIL against it. Isaiah 7:1. See also 1 Samuel 17:9. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.8
Perhaps you may be ready to inquire, Did the Ancient of days come when the captivity of Zion was turned, when the seven times ended at the downfall of Papacy in the French revolution? In reply we say that the Ancient of days is God the Father. See Daniel 7:9, 13. And he does not come personally himself, even at the second advent, but he sends Jesus Christ. See Acts 3:20; Joel 3:13. When God set his hand the first time to recover his people from their Egyptian bondage, he said to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters; for I know their sorrows: and I am COME DOWN to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, etc. Exodus 3:7, 8. In other words, this was setting his hand the first time to recover them from their captivity in Egypt. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.9
The coming of the Ancient of days at the downfall of Papacy, [Daniel 7:21, 22,] I understand to be no more, nor less, than his setting his hand AGAIN the SECOND time to recover the remnant of his people out of the hand of the little horn, Papacy. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.10
At the first deliverance the Lord has represented himself as COME DOWN to deliver. The second deliverance is to be in like manner as the first. Isaiah [Chap 59:20,] in predicting this second deliverance says, “And the Redeemer shall COME TO ZION and UNTO them that turn from transgression, in Jacob.” Paul quotes this text and locates it where the fullness of the Gentiles is come in. See Romans 11:25, 26. This is identical with the coming of the Ancient of days. Daniel 7:21, 22. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.11
The Lord CAME DOWN to see the tower of Babel, to confound their language. The Lord appeared to Abraham when he was about to destroy the cities of the plain. Finally, whenever the Lord has particularly and signally favored his people, or even executed his judgments upon the wicked, it is represented as his COMING to them, or visiting them. See Exodus 3:7, 8, 16; 4:31; Isaiah 26:14; 29:6; Zechariah 10:3. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.12
It is worthy of note that this title, “Ancient of days,” is found only in Daniel 7; and that too in connection with the point of time predicted for him to set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people from their captivity under the Papal yoke. The Lord’s thus manifesting himself by this title at this point of time, seems directly calculated to carry the mind back to ancient time, where God set his hand the first time to recover his people from Egyptian bondage, and to call to mind the fact that he was their glorious and triumphant deliverer in ANCIENT DAYS. It is written, [Isaiah 46:9, 10,] “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else: I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.13
From the above facts it is evident that the Lord by manifesting himself by the title Ancient of days at the point where he set his hand the second time to turn the captivity of his people, has designed by this name or title to inspire faith and confidence not only in his ability, but in his faithfulness to perform his word, and that he will as assuredly perform the second recovery of his people at the appointed time as that he did the first in ANCIENT DAYS gone by. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.14
And this view of the matter is further sustained by reading Isaiah, chapters 51, and 52. These chapters contain a prophetic account of the second recovery now under consideration. Chap 51:9-11, contains a prophetic prayer for the Lord to set his hand again the second time to perform this second recovery of his people, in language as follows: “Awake awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord, awake, AS in the ANCIENT DAYS, in the generations of old art thou not it that hath cut Rahab (or Egypt; see, Psalm 89:10, margin) and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? (ANCIENTLY.) THEREFORE the redeemed of the Lord shall return (the second time) and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I, am he that comforteth you:” (when your appointed time is accomplished.) The above we deem sufficient on this point. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.15
We will notice one more objection and then the way will be prepared to enter upon the subject of the gathering predicted to be accomplished in the present dispensation of the fullness of times. The objection is that the dominion of the little horn, Papacy, is not taken away till ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.16
THE SITTING OF THE JUDGMENT. Daniel 7:26
We will commence our reply to this objection by quoting Isaiah 1:27. “Zion shall be redeemed with JUDGMENT, and her CONVERTS (or they that return of her, margin) with righteousness.” This text synchronizes with Jeremiah 15:21. “And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, (that wicked, or the man of sin; see 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8,) I will REDEEM thee out of the hand of the TERRIBLE.” The dreadful and terrible beast. Daniel 7:7. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 129.17
God spake to Abraham on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I JUDGE, said God, and after that shall they come forth and serve me in this place.” Acts 7:6, 7; Genesis 15:13, 14. Again it is written, [Exodus 6:6,] “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great JUDGMENTS.” And in like manner was the remnant redeemed when God set his hand again the second time to recover and redeem them out of the hand of their oppressors. Paul in speaking of the first recovery from Egyptian bondage says, Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of this world are come. And the trodden down host, the martyrs, were heard when the fifth seal was opened, crying with a loud voice, saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not JUDGE and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth, and it was said unto them that they must rest yet a little season till their fellow-servants that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. The appointed time for God to judge, etc., had not yet come; for some of understanding must fall, i.e., be killed as they were, even to the time of the end. Then God would JUDGE and avenge their blood on their oppressors. This I understand to be the judgment that sat when the dominion of the little horn, Papacy, was taken away to consume and to destroy it unto the end. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.1
It is apparent from this text that the judgment sits and the dominion of the Papacy was to be taken away a space of time before the end, for a consuming process follows and is continued to the end, when he is destroyed. And thus the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Syria is punished, and the glory of his high looks. See Daniel 7:20; 11:36; Isaiah 10:12. This is the consumption decreed which has overflown with righteousness. Isaiah 10:12, 22. Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, etc. Said Jesus, “My words they are spirit,” etc. It was the light of truth that began to shine out in the reformation that crippled the influence and power of Papacy; and since the time of the end, the Bible which was formerly suppressed, and kept from the people, has been brought out of its sackcloth covering by being translated into the different languages and circulated throughout the world. Also the books of Daniel’s and John’s visions have been unsealed and open, and the increase of knowledge in understanding of the same has revealed and exposed the corruptions of the Papal church, and thus the word of the Lord which is the spirit of his mouth has been consuming the power and dominion of the Man of Sin; and thus the consumption decreed has overflown with righteousness. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.2
This is also the righteousness with which Zion’s converts have been redeemed. Isaiah 1:27. It is written, [Acts 7:17,] But when the time of the promise drew nigh which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt. So also when the time of the promise drew nigh, that the Lord would set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people from spiritual, or antitypical Egypt, the people Israel began to grow and multiply by the reformation under Luther. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.3
The book of Revelation was as much a sealed book up to the time of the end as was the book of Daniel’s visions. Revelation 22:10, 11, were alike prophetically spoken, and can only apply after the time of the end arises. The dragon of Revelation 12, and the Papal beast of Chap. 13, symbolize the same as Daniel’s fourth beast with ten horns, and little horn that made war with the saints. Revelation 17 alone explains who THEY were that took away his dominion predicted in Daniel 7:26. To understand the prophetic periods of Revelation, is to understand those of Daniel’s visions; hence the book of Revelation was a sealed book until opened in connection with the book of Daniel’s visions at the time of the end. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.4
Said Jesus, the word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day. John 12:48. The books of Daniel’s and John’s visions contain the principal prophetic history of the wickedness of the Papal kingdom, and the predicted judgments which were to be inflicted upon the Papal nation when Jerusalem’s appointed time was accomplished; hence may be seen the necessity of these books being opened at that time. These two books constitute a very important portion of the two witnesses, or the two prophets which tormented them that dwell on the earth by smiting the earth with all plagues as often as they will. Revelation 11:3-10. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.5
The ten horns of the Papal beast were dependent upon, and received their power and authority, their crown and thrones from the Papal head, from the Pope; and when his dominion was taken away, it was the overthrowing of the throne of kingdoms. Haggai 2:22. Hence all the Papal thrones dependent on the Papal head were in effect cast down with their head. And Buonaparte soon set himself to the work of displacing the kings set up by the Papal see, and set up in their stead those of his own choice. The thrones of the Papal kingdom were thus overthrown, or cast down when God began to JUDGE, and avenge the blood of his servants on them that dwelt on the earth, in answer to the prayer of the martyrs. See Revelation 6:9-11. These are the facts in history, and we shall not stop to prove that these were the thrones referred to in Daniel 7:9. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.6
The angel said to John while on the isle of Patmos, Come hither; I will shew thee the JUDGMENT of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. The angel showed John a woman, which symbolized the Papal church, seated upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns; the angel informed John that the ten horns or kings would hate the woman and make her desolate and naked, etc. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God should be fulfilled. This text does not embrace the fulfillment of all of God’s words, but only those words which predict the JUDGMENT of the Papal church. This was all that the angel had pledged himself to show John in this vision. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.7
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. To deprive the Papal church of this gaudy array, and her costly decoration, is what leaves her DESOLATE and NAKED, and is so far the JUDGMENT of the Papal church which the angel showed to John. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.8
This attire of the Papal church is not without its signification. The purple and scarlet color attire is the sign or emblem of being clothed with the civil power of state. This will appear from the following extracts: ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.9
Josiah Litch in his Prophetic Expositions, Vol. II, pp.84-86, in speaking of the first Catholic war, 508-18, gives the following from Gibbon: “The crown and mitre were staked on this momentous quarrel:” “and it nearly cost the emperor Anastasius his throne and his life.” Without his diadem, and in the posture of a suppliant, Anastasius appeared on the throne of the circus. The Catholics before his face rehearsed the genuine Trisagion; they exulted in the offer, which he proclaimed by the voice of a herald, of ABDICATING THE PURPLE; they listened to the admonition that since all could not reign they should previously agree in the choice of a sovereign.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.10
From the above we see that to abdicate the purple is to deprive one of the civil power of state. Our Saviour was by the Roman soldiers arrayed in a mock SCARLET robe and crown of thorns, who mockingly said, Hail, king of the Jews. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.11
An American clergyman who visited Rome, in describing his visit to the church of St. Gregory, describes the entrance of the pope into the church in the following language: “A venerable old man, clothed in SCARLET, attended by a large retinue, almost immediately entered, at whose approach the monks fell back with the most respectful deference. He had scarcely trod upon the threshhold before a dozen of his attendants gathered around him; some in SCARLET livery, others in rich canonicals, and others in military equipage, etc.” The spirit of Popery, in letters from a father to his children, pp.95,96. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.12
The pope has ever claimed the right of crowning and imparting civil power to kings. “Boethus, B. 13, of Scotland, p.788, speaks of the inauguration of the king: “A legate was sent by the pope with a sword and PURPLE hat.” The sword was the emblem of the military power, and the PURPLE hat the sign of the civil power imparted by the pope to the king. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.13
The purple and scarlet colored dress is the Roman sign or emblem of royalty. In 1798 the pope was compelled to abdicate the PURPLE when he signed his abdication with respect to his temporal power. In 1798, Buonaparte at the head of the French nation put on the SCARLET DRESS. The following is from Lockhart’s Napoleon, page 160. Lockhart after speaking of Napoleon’s removing the seat of government from the Louxembourg to the old palace of the Tuilleries, etc., says, “Shortly after this he (Buonaparte) appeared in his NEW OFFICIAL dress of RED SILK, and a black stock. Some one observed to him that this last article was out of keeping with the rest. No matter, replied he smiling, a small remnant of the military character will do us no harm.” One point we wish noted, viz., the Pope was deprived of his civil power and purple and scarlet dress in 1798 and Buonaparte puts it on in the following year, 1799. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.14
From 508 to 538 the supremacy of the Catholics and of the civil power of the west was invested in the person of Clovis, king of France. The following is from the Midnight Cry: “Constantine first abolished Paganism; it was restored under the Barbarians, and continued until their conversion to christianity. Clovis, king of France, was converted to the faith, A. D. 496, and embraced the Catholic faith, and obtained the title of “most christian king,” and “eldest son of the church,” the other kings were converted soon after, some to the Catholic, some to the Arian faith. The Ostrogoths of Rome embraced the Arian faith, as also the Vandals of Africa. In connection with this Arian government, the old Roman government still retained a hold in Rome under the consular dignity and power. Clovis from the time of his conversion devoted his time and energies to the extension of the Catholic faith; and carried forward his wars to that end. His last great battle was fought in the conquest of the Visgoths and their subjection to the faith IN 508; and on his return home he was met at the city of Tours, by the embassador of Anastasius, emperor of Constantinople, conferring on Clovis the insignia and title of CONSUL of ROME and patrician ... so that a Catholic king of the west for the first time, became the SUPREME Roman power in 508, A. D. This was the supremacy of Catholics, not of Popery. The supremacy of the pope was in 538.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.15
In 538 the Papal form of government was established by the decree of Justinian being carried into effect. This was the dragon giving his power, his seat, and great authority, to the Papal beast. This decree clothed the Pope, the head of the church, with the civil power and the PURPLE and SCARLET robe. The supremacy of the pope is limited in prophecy to 1260 years. Then the judgment was to sit and they should take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end. Add 1260 to 538 and it brings us to 1798. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.16
Dr. Adam Clarke says on this passage, [Daniel 7:26,] “In 1798 the French Republican army under general Berthier, entered Rome and ENTIRELY superseded the whole Papal power.” “On the 15th of February, 1798, the Papal government was ABOLISHED, Rome declared a Republic, five consuls, a senate, and tribunate composed the government of Rome. The pope signed his ABDICATION in reference to his temporal power, and was then carried to France where he died a prisoner, August 29th, 1799. Rotteck’s History of the world.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.17
From the above extracts from history it is seen that IN Clovis, king of France, was the supremacy of the Catholics, and in him was vested the civil power of state in the ten-horned kingdom of Rome from 508 up to 538. This power then passed into the hands of the pope who held it for 1260 years, up to 1798. The French then took back into their own hands the supremacy of the Roman kingdom which had passed from their hands into the hands of the pope just 1260 years previous. In 1798 the pope signed his abdication with respect to his civil power of state, in other words he abdicated the PURPLE. This act divested the church of Rome of the purple and scarlet robe, and also of the crown in which was set the gold and precious stones and pearls with which she was decked. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.18
From the fact of the purple and scarlet robe’s being literal and emblematical, I understand the gold, the precious stones, and pearls in the crown with which she was decked, and also the golden cup in her hand to be all literal and emblematical. The pope professes to fill the office of Christ in expiating sins. The golden cup I understand to be the golden censer in which the Roman high priest offers incense in their idolatrous worship; hence the golden cup is emblematical of her pretended high priesthood; and hence the woman’s attire, decoration, and her golden cup being all literal and emblematical, it argues that the name written in her forehead be also literal and emblematical; that is to say, allusive, or in other words significant or emblematical of her real character. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.19
The gold, the precious stones, and pearls set in the Pope’s crown might have been arranged in a hieroglyphical, which signifies emblematical or allusive, manner so as to read, Mystery Babylon, the great, the mother of harlots. That this was the case there is some evidence. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.20
The following is from the Advent Herald, under the head of “The pope the man of sin, and Rome the Babylon of the Apocalypse. Two lectures delivered on Tuesday, May 27th, and Thursday, May 29th, 1851, in Exeter hall, London, by Rev. J. Cumming, D. D. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 130.21
“The system is delineated in the passage I have read, as the ‘mystery of iniquity.’ ‘I heard the other day from a friend, that among the Arabs there was a system of what is called jewel writing - a sort of hieroglyphics, by which one could read the meaning conveyed by the arrangement and colors of jewels, as placed on a crown. I was told by him that the ancient tiara of the popes had jewels upon it, signifying in that mode of writing which a Jew who knew the secret was able to read, ‘Mystery Babylon, the great, the Mother of harlots.’ The Jews it is said thus arranged the precious stones, because they hated the pope as they hated him now.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.1
In 1798 the pope signed his abdication with respect to his temporal power; in other words, he abdicated the PURPLE. This left the church of Rome desolate and naked; stripped of her purple robe and civil power of state. The Papal government was abolished, and entirely superseded and the government of Rome re-organized, and the pope led a captive to France in 1798. In this history we find a perfect fulfillment of Daniel 7:26, and Revelation 13:10. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.2
The following year, 1799, Buonaparte, who was chief consul, put on the scarlet dress. He afterwards declared the temporal sovereignty of the pope wholly at an end, incorporating Rome with the French empire, declaring it to be his second city. He proceeded to the work of displacing the Papal kings set up by the pope, and set up in their stead those of his own choice, incorporating their territory with the French empire, declaring himself the inheritor of Caesar’s throne. Thus in the person of Buonaparte was then invested the supremacy of the Roman kingdom, and the supremacy of the Catholics; the same as it was in the person of Clovis, king of France, from 508 to 538; and Buonaparte never yielded that supremacy until he abdicated in favor of young Napoleon, his son. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.3
From the above facts it must be apparent to all, that in the French revolution the supremacy of the Roman government was re-organized and a new system or form of the government framed as really so as when the Papal form was established; consequently the Napoleon dynasty must necessarily constitute one of the seven heads of the beast or forms of universal supremacy. Note this point. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.4
During this revolution millions were slain upon the battle-field, and by the hand of the executioner. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.5
The following is from the history of the church by Goodrich. pp.183-4: ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.6
“The revolutionary torrent which was thus set in motion, destroyed law, government, and religion in France, and laid WASTE the ROMAN CHURCH BOTH there and in neighboring countries. Her priests were MASSACRED. Her silver shrines and saints were turned into money for the payment of troops, her bells were converted into cannon, and her churches and convents into barracks for soldiers. From the Atlantic to the Adriatic she presented but one APPALLING SPECTACLE. She had shed the blood of saints and prophets, and God now gave her blood to drink. A civil constitution was framed for the clergy, to which all were required to swear on pain of death or banishment. The great body refused, and priest and altar were overturned, and blood once esteemed sacred, flowed to the horses’ bridles. Such as could, escaped through a thousand dangers, and found in asylum in foreign countries. No tongue can tell THE WOES of the nation.” Marsh’s Eccl. Hist. p.300. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.7
This was eating her flesh in the same sense that she had drunk the blood of the saints and prophets. And while the French were burning and destroying the Roman inquisitions, it is said that they sent home word that they were consuming the old carcass with a slow FIRE. And thus the Papal church was made desolate and naked and they ate her flesh and burned her with fire. And such was the JUDGMENT of the Papal church shown by the angel unto John; and thus in answer to the prayer of the martyrs also when the fifth seal was opened, [Revelation 6:9-11,] God did JUDGE and avenge their blood on their oppressors, when their appointed time was accomplished, and thus the judgment was set when they took away the dominion of the Papal horn. Daniel 7:26. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.8
The Napoleon dynasty and form of government was the successor of the Papal form. When the kings of Europe willingly permitted the French nation to take the Papal supremacy into its own hands, it was in fulfillment of Revelation 17:17. “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree and give THEIR KINGDOM unto the beast until the words of God be fulfilled;” that is to say, till the JUDGMENT was executed upon the Papal church in making her desolate and naked, etc. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.9
From this text we learn the stubborn fact that the ten-horned kingdom was given to that power which made the Papal church desolate and naked, which was none other than the French nation; hence there is no avoiding the conclusion that the Napoleon dynasty constituted the scarlet-colored beast with seven heads and ten horns; for it was the scarlet-colored beast to which the ten kings in their agreement, gave THEIR KINGDOM. See Revelation 17:3, 16, 17. As we have before intimated that when the ten kings of Europe willingly permitted the French nation to take the Papal supremacy, which was the supremacy of the ten-horned kingdom, into their own hands, it was the ten kings giving their (supreme) power and kingdom unto the scarlet beast. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.10
Another important fact is here worthy of notice; viz., that if the scarlet-colored beast symbolizes the Papal form of government during the 1260 years as has been supposed, then the above act of the ten kings would be their giving their Papal power and kingdom, to the Papal power and kingdom; or in other words, it would be the scarlet-colored beast giving his power and kingdom to himself; so we see this will not do; hence we are driven to the conclusion that the scarlet-colored beast with seven heads and ten horns, must symbolize the form of the Roman government which succeeded the Papal form, and can be none other than the Napoleon dynasty. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.11
It was the scarlet beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit. See Revelation 17:8. It was this beast that made war against the two witnesses. See Chap 11:3-14. This was the act of the French government in their attempt to extirpate the Bible and christianity from the world. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.12
Buonaparte in his official scarlet-colored dress, became emperor of the Roman ten-horned kingdom. He declared the temporal sovereignty of the pope wholly at an end, incorporating Rome with the French empire, declaring it to be his second city, and appointed a committee for the administration of the civil government. He pursued his onward progress in dethroning the Papal kings set up by the pope, and setting up in their stead those of his own choice, incorporating their territory with the French empire. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.13
But the sun of Napoleon’s glory soon reached its zenith and was destined to sink with greater rapidity. Its last glimmering rays died away upon the memorable plains of Waterloo. The great powers had formed an alliance against him, and when the sun of his glory was obscured, they convened a conference of the allied powers in 1815, and replaced the kings which Buonaparte had dethroned. They restored to the pope the civil authority over a small territory in Italy, and thus they bound up and slightly healed the deadly wound of the Papal head, that its life, like that of the three beasts of Daniel 7:12, might be prolonged for a season and time to be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.14
When the deadly wound was thus healed in 1815, the Napoleon dynasty then disappeared. Then would apply the words of the angel; viz., “The beast that thou sawest WAS and is not.” From 1815 to 1848-9, the Napoleon dynasty was not. But in the unparalleled revolution which swept over Europe like a mighty tornado in 1848-9, the Napoleon dynasty ascended out of the bottomless pit. But his career is short, his prophetic history is told in few words; viz., “And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition.” He is no sooner risen out of the pit than he is on the high road to perdition; and in spite of all his energies to avoid the mighty whirlpool, yet by the resistless power of an unseen hand he is already being drawn toward the mighty vortex where he will find himself in the battle-field of the great day of God Almighty, to be trodden in the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and thus be engulfed in the pit and dark night of “perdition;” and thus will end the Roman government and kingdom, when he ventures to make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome him; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.15
It may now be said, since 1848-9, of the beast that was, and then disappeared in 1815 and was not till 1848-9, that now he “yet is.” And this beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit and is now on the high road to perdition in the successive line of the heads, is the eighth, and is of the seven. This fact clearly reveals the first Napoleon dynasty, which was the predecessor of this eighth, to be the seventh head. The most common view has been that the Papal form of the Roman government constituted the seventh head of the Roman beast; but the angel said to John, “Five are fallen, one is, (that is the sixth,) and the other, (viz., the seventh,) is not yet come, and when he cometh he must continue a SHORT SPACE.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.16
Since the foundation of the world, there has no form of Universal supremacy existed or continued so long a space as the Papal; hence with no degree of propriety whatever can the language of the angel, [Revelation 17:10,] viz., “When he (the seventh head) cometh he must continue a SHORT SPACE,” be applied to the Papal head. But in the history of the Napoleon dynasty, we find a perfect fulfillment of this prophecy. The Napoleon dynasty continued but a short space: just long enough to accomplish the object for which it was raised up. Buonaparte was as really a subject of prophecy as was Cyrus the Persian; and accomplished the divine design for which he was raised up, as really as did Cyrus the king of Persia, in overthrowing the kingdom of Babylon. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.17
(To be Continued.)
Rules for Governing Children
I. Exercise your authority as seldom as possible, and, instead of, employ kind persuasion and deliberate reasoning; but, when you exercise it, make it irresistible. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.18
II. Be careful how you threaten, but never lie. Threaten seldom, but never fail to execute. The parent who is opened-mouthed to threaten, and threatens hastily, but is irresolute to punish, and, when the child is not subdued by the first threat, repeats it a half a dozen times with a voice of increased violence, and with as many shakes and twitches of the little culprit, will certainly possess no authority. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.19
III. Avoid tones and gestures expressive of agitation for trivial matters indicative of no depravity and indicating only the heedlessness or forgetfulness of children, or perhaps nothing more than is common to all young animals, a love to use their limbs. In all such cases the tones should be kind and persuasive, rather than authoritive; and the severity and even gravity of authority should be reserved exclusively for cases of disobedience or depravity, or for the prevention of serious evil. A perpetual fretting at children for little things, will inevitably harden their hearts, and totally destroy parental authority and influence. There never was a fretting parent, who often threatened and seldom performed, that had a particle of efficient government. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.20
FULLY EXPLAIN YOUR TEXT. - Mr. Wesley says, “The less knowledge you take for granted among uneducated people the better. Suppose you preach on the text, “Unless your righteousness exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.” - I beg you will not take it for granted that your hearers know what Pharisees are; for I met a person once, and who was quite a Bible reader, who described the Pharisees as a “little people, not positively wicked, but inclined to mischief. I could not imagine what the woman meant, till at last the truth flashed upon me. She took them for fairies!” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.21
RELIGION AT HOME. - ‘Let them learn first,” says Paul,” “to show piety at home.” Religion being in the family, the holiest sanctuary on earth is home. The family altar is more venerable than any altar in a cathedral. The education of the soul for eternity begins by the fireside. The principle of love, which is to be carried through the universe, is first unfolded in the family. - We learn to love God by loving our brothers, and sisters, and mother. That is, we exercise the same feeling which, in an exalted degree, is to be directed to God. So that it is true in a sense more familiar, and yet more comprehensive, than is commonly given to it: “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 131.22
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, FIFTH-DAY, JAN. 24, 1856
A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF THE SANCTUARY
As advocates of consistency, we feel compelled to notice any theory which presents a wide departure from, and a false application of, the teachings of sacred Scripture on Scripture subjects. On the subject of the Sanctuary we find a short article in the Christian Reformer, of Jan. 10th, by O. D. Gibson, which we will briefly notice, as we wish to present our readers with the various phases of thought that may exist on this important portion of present truth. We do not like to see people make this question altogether of the earth, earthy, nor altogether spiritual, and foggy. The view under consideration is a strange mixture of both, and very “comprehensive” inasmuch as it takes in both earth and heaven! We will present its main features by extracts from the article. It reads:- ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.1
“It seems from reading the 8th chap. of Daniel, that no one need mistake what is the Sanctuary, to which he is being instructed, ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.2
“This one was to be ‘trodden’ under foot by the wicked governments, symbolized in the vision. Hence the inquiry, How long the vision to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? The last horn power in the vision ‘magnified himself even to the prince of the host,’ and by him was the place of his sanctuary cast down, or trodden under foot. It is said of this same power, in the 7th chap., ‘And shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.’ ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.3
‘Now how long shall this treading down last, or continue. The wicked kingdoms of earth have trodden under foot the host or people of God - saints of the Most High, each in their turn, and also the sanctuary, the place of worship, or offering, which is neither at Jerusalem or in the mountains of Samaria, but in any and every place under heaven where there is any one of the host to offer praise from a sincere heart. ‘Unto 2300 days, and then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed.’ Of what shall it be cleansed? Of those wicked, cruel powers, or governments, which have oppressed and trodden it under foot, with its rightful heirs. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.4
“The earth, God’s sanctuary, Christ’s kingdom, is now cleansed out, and no more trodden under foot. Christ is the officiating high priest, of this host that worship in this down-trodden sanctuary. There was once a typical priesthood in the order of Aaron with a typical sanctuary and typical laws, but types were not to last always. Paul says, For the priesthood being changed there is of necessity a change of the law. Christ is the anti-typical High Priest; the new covenant, or gospel, is the anti-typical law. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.5
“Now what is the anti-typical Sanctuary? In order that some minds may grasp this truth let me explain the old tabernacle, or its main features. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.6
“It was longer than wide, divided into two rooms and a curtain, called a veil, hung as the partition between. The first of these rooms was called the sanctuary; into this room went the high priest every day, offering sacrifices and ministrations. See Hebrews 9. The second room, within, or beyond this veil, was called the holy of holies; into this room the high priest went only once a year and always alone, to carry the blood of the sacrifices and sprinkle before the mercy seat to make atonement for the sins of the people. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.7
“Now if I can understand Paul, he makes the anti-typical tabernacle to be earth and heaven, with a veil between. Earth the first room or sanctuary. Heaven the second, or holy of holies. Christ, our high priest, has offered himself a sacrifice for sins once for all, and has gone into the holy of holies, or heaven itself, to carry and present his own blood before the mercy seat. Inasmuch as the high priest in the type offered his sacrifices in the sanctuary, and passed from thence through the veil into the holy place, so Christ offered himself in the first room of God’s great tabernacle and has gone within the veil into the second room or heaven itself.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.8
It seems hardly necessary to reply to the ideas above set forth, and in doing so we are aware that we should only be using arguments that have been an hundred times repeated. A few words must therefore suffice. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.9
Much stress is laid upon the phrase “trodden under foot;” and the writer concludes therefore that the Sanctuary must be something that the literal feet of literal men, can literally tramp upon. Here he makes the first departure from just conclusions. We are not to determine what the Sanctuary is from the fact that it is to be trodden under foot; but first let the Bible tell us what the Sanctuary is, and then we will determine from its teaching what the treading under foot is. But let us look further at this point which is so much harped upon by our opponents. Suppose the earth or the land of Palestine is the Sanctuary, which the treading under foot is supposed to prove, and we inquire, Is the treading it under foot, the literal treading upon it by men? No one will contend for a moment that it is, when brought right to the point at issue. What then is it? Why, the desolating and desecrating it. All then must admit that the treading under foot is a figure; and being a figure we can as well apply it to a Sanctuary in heaven as to one on earth. Thus we can take this objection out of the mouths of our opponents from their own confession. Jesus is the minister of the heavenly Sanctuary; and which is the most consistent, to speak of treading under foot the Sanctuary, or its minister? yet the Bible speaks of treading under foot the Son of God, the minister of the Sanctuary; [Hebrews 10:27;] and we say therefore that to speak of treading under foot the heavenly Sanctuary, in the same sense, is both scriptural and reasonable. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.10
How Bro. G. gets such an “understanding” of Paul as to think that he makes the antitypical tabernacle to be earth and heaven, he does not tell us. Paul refers us to the true tabernacle in heaven, only, as the Sanctuary of the new covenant. Hebrews 8:1-5; 9:23. He speaks of the first covenant, and tells us of its “worldly sanctuary;” and from that he points to the true Sanctuary above which the Lord pitched and not man. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.11
It is admitted above that the first tabernacle was typical; but the writer does not tell us by what analogy that building erected by Moses, thirty cubits long and twelve wide, could be a type of both earth and heaven. That tabernacle, with all its instruments, was made according to the pattern shown Moses; [Exodus 25:9, 40; Hebrews 8:5;] but can we suppose that the earth was shown him as the pattern of the first apartment, and heaven as that of the second?! and if this were so, of what would the golden candlestick, the table of shew bread, and the golden altar of incense be typical? There is no shadow of consistency in such a position, and we see not how any one can “grasp” it. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.12
It is said that the Sanctuary is to be cleansed “of those wicked, cruel powers, or governments which have oppressed and trodden it under foot with its rightful heirs;” but if those who entertain such a view would examine their subject they would learn that the cleansing of the Sanctuary is not of such a nature: it is cleansed by means of blood, and not by the destruction of the wicked: [Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9:22, 23:] it is cleansed of sin, and not of sinners. Sinners are never permitted to inhabit God’s Sanctuary. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.13
The idea that the sanctuary is any and everywhere where there is an honest worshiper, is sufficiently disproved by the fact that although there were synagogues, places of worship, scattered throughout Judea, there was nevertheless the sanctuary at Jerusalem. So there is now, though the worshipers are scattered up and down the land, a true Sanctuary in heaven. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.14
O. D. Gibson says that Christ performed a part of his ministry on earth, the “first room” of the great tabernacle; but Paul says of Christ, “If he were on earth he WOULD NOT BE A PRIEST.” Hebrews 8:4. This is a fact that should be well borne in mind: Christ performs no part of his priesthood on the earth; which again is conclusive proof that the earth can have no claim of being the Sanctuary. We are glad to have him admit that the tabernacle or sanctuary of the first covenant, was a type of that of the second: so far he appears to be hovering around on the borders of truth; but we are surprised at his antitype. On a subject of such moment as the Sanctuary, around which cluster our eternal interests, and with which is connected almost every branch of present truth, it is important that we have correct ideas. With these few thoughts we submit the subject to our readers to be carried out as much farther as they choose in their own minds. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.15
WHEN WILL THE NATIONS BE DASHED IN PIECES?
THE Saviour foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and her children, and declared it was because they knew not the time of her visitation. Luke 19:41-44. By this we are to judge that they might have known the time. God never visits a nation or an age in judgment without first warning them of the impending danger. So it was with the Antediluvians, the Sodomites, the Egyptians, the Ninevites, and the Jews. And by these examples we learn, also, that it is not necessary in these warnings that all become convinced of the danger; (for some will not believe;) but it has always been deemed sufficient in the development of God’s plan, when those who tremble at his word, and are willing to believe, have been so fully warned that they might have an opportunity to escape. Such was the warning to Noah, to Lot, to the Hebrews, to the people of Nineveh, and to those Jews who believed the preaching of Christ and his apostles. The others of these several ages, having had the same warning, “knew not” till their destruction came upon them. There was no necessity for the ignorance of Jerusalem, for God had spoken of the judgments to be visited upon sins such as hers, by all the prophets, beginning with Moses, who had forewarned them of these very things. See Matthew 21:33-45. Thus in all cases God’s throne is clear, and they who sin alone have to bear their iniquity. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.16
Jerusalem might have known, and knowing, might have averted the impending judgment; for Jesus declared his willingness, yea, his desire often to have gathered her children, but they rejected his offers of mercy. Matthew 23:37. But there was one class who were especially guilty, and more than all others deserving of the wrath which fell upon that guilty nation; to wit, those who were instructed in the word of the Lord, but had “taken away the key of knowledge;” who would neither enter in themselves, nor suffer others who were willing to enter in. Luke 11:52. Their guilt was like that of the watchman at whose hand the Lord will require the blood of those who fall unwarned. Ezekiel 3:17-20. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.17
Another destruction, great and terrible, is spoken of in God’s word; and it becomes all who have any regard for the word, and the salvation of themselves and their fellow-men, to inquire, against whom the threatenings are pronounced, and at what time they are to be executed. If these judgments be proclaimed, and yet it be not known whether they are near or far off; whether at the coming of Christ or one thousand years subsequent to his coming; or whether the destruction will overtake few or many, the trumpet will then give an uncertain sound, and “who shall prepare himself to the battle?” These different views are being proclaimed; and if the destruction will not take place till a long time after the coming of Christ, or if there be many that will escape that destruction, then those who proclaim the judgments of God as soon coming on “all flesh,” or all the unrighteous of earth, are found “false witnesses of God.” But if this latter view be truth - if the wrath of God is speedily to be poured out on all the inhabitants of the earth who are not “Christ’s at his coming,” then those who put afar off the evil day, or promise a way of escape other than that offered through repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, are taking away the key of knowledge, and at their hands will be required the blood of those who fall without a warning. Thus it is manifest that, in either case, it is important that we know “what is truth,” and that, knowing, we faithfully proclaim it. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.18
From all that is said in the Bible respecting the teachings of false prophets, we should be very careful to avoid crying Peace, when the Lord has said, There is no peace. This has been the characteristic of false prophets in all ages, and is to be a prominent delusion in the last days. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” There will be those in the last days who will cry peace and safety: but instead of peace there will be war, and instead of safety there will be a snare. Therefore, Zion’s watchmen are directed to “Sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2:1. The people are summoned to hear this alarm as follows: “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies; he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.” Isaiah 34:1, 2. This day is spoken of by all the prophets. Says one, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zephaniah 1:14-18. Again in the same book it is said: “My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” Chap 3:8. Another prophet says, “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Isaiah 13:6, 9. The Lord says by the same prophet, “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.” Chap 24:1, 3. Jeremiah gives an account of this destruction more fully and emphatic than those already quoted, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to drink unto whom the Lord had sent me: to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Shesbach shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; YE SHALL CERTAINLY DRINK. For lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried, they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:15-33. It has been supposed that some nations will escape, but such a supposition is here contradicted; the language is clear and definite - the destruction will be universal and utter; and that it will include the heathen, is plainly stated by the prophets. “Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, wo worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.” Ezekiel 30:2, 3. Another prophet says, “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen.” Obadiah 15. And another: “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; Beat your plough-shares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” Joel 3:9-12. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 132.19
Now that there is to be, at some period of time, an utter destruction of all the inhabitants of the earth, no one who reads the prophecies will deny; and it is most evident that the scriptures here quoted plainly teach it. Had we the privilege of framing the testimony to our own liking, it would be impossible to present it in language more clear and emphatic. I will now notice a few points in these passages which will serve the twofold purpose of showing the identity of these with certain events spoken of in the New Testament, and of locating the chronology of these judgments, or fixing the time of their execution. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.1
1. This warning is given - not because the day of the Lord is nearly expired, nor yet because it is come - but because the day of the Lord is coming; it is near and hasteth greatly; therefore the people are warned of those events which are to transpire when that day is ushered in. This alone is sufficient to show that these judgments are identical with those spoken of in Revelation, which will be inflicted in connection with the coming of the Son of man. See the promise to the Philadelphia church, which will exist at the time of his coming: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 3:10-11. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.2
2. The alarm is sounded when a great battle, or universal war, is pending. The Revelator says, in the time of the sixth plague, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.” Again the warning is given in the next verse, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth.” Revelation 16:13-15. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.3
3. They shall certainly drink; even if they refuse, their refusal is of no avail - it is too late. This must be identical with the threatenings of the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14:9-12, which refer to the plagues, (under which the battle occurs,) in which it is said they “shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture in the cup of his indignation.” By comparing the scriptures we find that Ezekiel 9, is a parallel to these, where an order is given to those who have the slaughter weapons: “Let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity. Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women.” Verses 5, 6. These all directly refer to the time when the Saviour ceases to plead with the Father in behalf of sinful men, and judgment without mercy is made manifest. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.4
4. The voice of God is heard from on high in the midst of these awful scenes. In the description which I have quoted from the prophet Jeremiah it is said, “The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.” Jeremiah 25:30. Says John, “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done.” Revelation 16:17. When Joel foretold the gathering of “all nations,” and “all the heathen,” to the valley of Jehoshaphat, he added, “The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake.” Joel 3:15, 16. All will allow that the pouring out of the seventh vial or plague, when the voice of God is heard, is in immediate connection with the coming of Christ; that this description of Joel is very applicable to the same time and event is evident, because with the uttering of the voice of God and the shaking of the heavens and the earth, are connected the signs of Christ’s coming. The words of the Saviour are, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” Matthew 24:29, 30. The prophet says it is the voice of God from on high that shakes “the powers of the heavens,” and with this agree the words of the Apostle: “For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only but also heaven. Hebrews 12:25, 26. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.5
5. When this destruction falls upon the world, God’s people will be delivered. It has been claimed that there are exceptions to these general declarations, which is only true if the righteous can be said to form an exceptional class. But I think the term is not strictly applicable - instead of their being exceptions to these declarations, they form a separate class to whom these declarations can in no wise apply. There are two, and only two, classes - the righteous and the wicked. The scriptures do not teach that there is a class between those who are under the law and those under grace; there can be no medium between condemnation and justification. I know of none who stand free from condemnation but those who are justified; and I cannot conceive how any can be justified except through faith in Christ. See Romans 3, 5 and 6. And if vengeance be taken “on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” of course those only will escape who know God and obey the gospel. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.6
When the Lord says “he will plead with all flesh,” it is to “give them that are wicked to the sword.” Jeremiah 25:31. He will “lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Isaiah 13:9. Though the land be desolate, only the sinners will be destroyed. Again, when the earth is utterly emptied, “the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left.” Isaiah 24:6. Who the few men are may be learned from verses 13, 14: “When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive-tree, and as the gleaning-grapes when the vintage is done. THEY shall lift up their voice, THEY shall sing for the majesty of the Lord.” The righteous will sing their triumph, as is shown in Revelation 15. These “few men” are not “left” upon the earth, else the earth would not be made waste and “utterly emptied,” but they are left from the burning. The prophet Joel says, “the Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem: and the heavens and the earth shall shake.” Jeremiah says he shall shout against all the inhabitants of the land; and Joel adds, “But the Lord shall be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Daniel had a view of the same overthrow of the nations, and to him the angel said, “There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1. This is when Michael stands up or reigns. It is evident that this deliverance takes place at the coming of Christ, and not at any subsequent time. Although there may be no dissent from this view, I will notice a few parallel texts from the New Testament. Says Paul: “It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you: and to you, who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God,” etc. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8. In his first epistle to the same church he offers words of comfort; that when the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, the righteous dead, them which sleep in Jesus, shall arise, and the living be changed, and all caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and so ever be with him. He adds, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. With “the times and the seasons” of which he speaks, he has here inseparably connected certain events; to wit, the coming of the day of the Lord, the descent of the Lord himself, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the change of the living, their ascension to meet the Lord in the air, and the destruction of those who say Peace and safety, are those who are appointed to wrath. Verse 9. At the coming of Christ the wheat and tares (righteous and wicked) are gathered, the first in the Lord’s garner the second in bundles to be burned. Matthew 13:24-30; also 24:31; Revelation 14:14-20. Many others might be noticed, but these must suffice for the present. J. H. W. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.7
(To be Continued.) ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.8
On the margin of last week’s paper was marked the indebtedness of all those subscribers who will be owing the Office at the close of this Volume. The sums marked are what are due at the close of Vol. VII. If any mistakes were made in this matter, they will be gladly corrected. The Publishing Committee are depending on these sums to meet the expenses of the remaining nine Nos. of this Vol. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 133.9
THE LAND OF LIGHT
TUNE. - “Old Folks at Home.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.1
UP to a land of light we’re going -
Joys, joys are there;
Where pain and sorrow no more knowing,
We shall its glories share.
Soon shall we hail the radiant dawning
Of endless day -
E’en now the light of that glad morning,
Breaks o’er the shadowy way.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.2
CHORUS. - There beside Life’s flowing river,
And Life’s fadeless tree,
We shall inherit joys for ever,
Joys that are boundless and free.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.3
No earthly charm may then allure us,
Or lead astray;
Since all its faded hopes assure us,
They too shall vanish away.
In heaven only can our treasure
Be laid secure;
There only may we seek for pleasure,
Holy, immortal and pure.
CHORUS.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.4
Then let no toiling heart grow weary,
Or fainting be:
Soon we’ll forget our exile dreary,
Joyous in victory
There where our heart’s affections center
Around the throne;
Those pearly mansions soon we’ll enter,
And be for ever at home.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.5
CHORUS. - Then beside Life’s flowing river,
And Life’s fadeless tree,
We shall inherit joys for ever,
Joys that are boundless and free. U. S.
ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.6
Communication from Bro. Cornell
BRO. SMITH:- I embrace the present opportunity to inform you of the success of the truth in Allegan Co., Mich. We commenced lectures in the court-house in the village of Allegan, Sunday evening, Jan. 6th, and continued until Jan. 14th. The weather for three or four days was very unfavorable. There was a continued fall of snow with fierce winds, and the cold most intense. The thermometer ranging from 10 to 14 deg. below zero. Notwithstanding, there was a steady attendance of from 100 to 150 persons. The interest was good and increased every evening. The weather toward the last being more favorable, the house was filled to its utmost capacity. The majority acknowledged that they heard the truth and a few decided to keep the Sabbath. Three have subscribed for the Review; and others purpose to send for it soon. A Bro. and Sr. Pierce who rejoiced in the first message in 1843, heard of the meetings and came six and a half miles to hear, the first evening. They were interested and refused to go home. At the close of the second lecture, Sr. P. pressed her way through the crowd to the stand, and reaching out her hand said with much earnestness, “I believe I can call you brother; what you have said sounds like the truth.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.7
I learned they had heard Bro. Miller in 1843, in Pennfield, N. Y., and there embraced the doctrine of Christ’s soon coming. In May, 1844, they moved to Michigan, and have always believed that God was in that movement. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.8
An incident that occurred the next Fall after their arrival here, as near as they can now recollect, about the first of October, had a tendency to greatly strengthen their faith in the near coming of Christ. It was about five o’clock, P. M., when their little boy five years old that happened to be out in front of their dwelling called out, “O mother, mother, look here!” Sr. P. looked and there was a streak of light of dazzling brightness about ten feet long, resembling a rope filled with short crooks. It was lowering down from the clouds until it was as low as the tops of the trees. Sr. P. gives a vivid description of its exceeding brightness, and the boy (now grown up) remembers it well and speaks of its being very wonderful. Sr. P.’s first impression was that it was a sign of the last days and she began to call to her neighbor just across the road to come and see; (she had talked to the family much about Christ’s coming, but they would not believe, and she thought this sign would convince them;) but as soon as she began to call, the sign began to move upward, and when high up in the region of the clouds it was formed into letters, distinctly spelling the word, OCTOBER; there was something more on the line which they were trying to read when it vanished just before the family across the way came out to see. Sr. P. says she thought it was a fulfillment of the prophecy, “There shall be signs in the heavens above,” etc.;” and for some time she longed to see some of the Advent messengers to tell them about it. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.9
Bro. and Sr. P. seemed to be greatly rejoiced to hear an explanation of the passing of the time in 1844, the Sanctuary etc. At the earnest solicitation of Bro. and Sr. P., and others, we sent an appointment to their town for Wednesday evening following, and Tuesday morning took stage for Pine Creek, eight miles distant, and then walked two miles to a Bro. Geo. Leighton’s. Bro. and Sr. L. had not seen an Adventist for four years. They were filled with gladness and seemed much encouraged while we explained from the chart our present position. Bro. L. was reading the Prophetic Expositor, and furnishing it for Eld. Buck, a Baptist minister, in Otsego village, four miles distant. Eld. B. is favorable to the doctrine of “life only through Christ;” but upon other sentiments of the Expositor, he, as well as Bro. L., look with suspicion, regarding them as contrary to the truth. In the afternoon, Bro. L. accompanied me to Eld. Buck’s, where we spent the evening conversing upon several great truths. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.10
Eld. B. wished me to give notice for a course of lectures in Otsego - said he would do all he could to get the consent of the trustees to open the Baptist house. We expect to commence there next week. Between nine and ten o’clock in the evening I returned with Bro. L. and found Sr. L. awaiting our return to hear more about the truth; and we talked until twelve o’clock. The Lord greatly blessed us in prayer, and we retired. The next morning we conversed on the truth till ten o’clock and at eleven I took the stage again for Allegan. Here I found Bro. Pierce waiting to take me up to the appointment, Wednesday evening. There are several important openings about here. Calls are very urgent. Very many have supplied themselves with books on the truth, and we trust the seed sown will bring forth abundant fruit. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.11
M. E. CORNELL.
Monterey, Jan. 17th, 1856.
OBITUARY
DIED of the Small Pox, in Middletown, Conn., Nov. 18th, 1855, Dea. E. L. H. Chamberlain, aged 57 years. His sickness was distressing but short, having lived but nine days from the commencement of the disease. His affectionate and interesting little daughter, Alice Starr, died on the 8th Dec. following, with the same disease, and is now sleeping by his side. His afflicted companion and large family of interesting children are thus suddenly bereaved, and left to mourn the loss of an affectionate husband, a kind and tender father, child and sister. The church of God in Conn. has also lost one of their most estimable members. Since 1842 his house has been open for religious meetings, and also to receive and comfort the servants of God. Himself and companion were among the first in Conn. to commence keeping the Bible Sabbath, since which he has united his means with other dear brethren, to advance the suffering cause of God. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.12
Says a dear brother who staid by him to minister unto him in his sickness and death: “his family and their daily wants gave him much anxiety, but the cause of God was uppermost in the closing scene, and occupied his mind till the last. When asked by his companion if he felt the Lord would save him, he said, “YES, I DO!” and several times expressed himself thus: “I am going and shall RISE SOON.” Thus his afflicted companion and bereaved children, and brethren in the Lord mourn not as those who have no hope. JOSEPH BATES. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.13
P. S. The letter from Conn. giving me some of the particulars of the suffering and death of our beloved Bro. C., did not come to hand until this P. M. This is the cause of the delay. J. B. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.14
DIED in Brewer, Maine, July 30th, Mary Abby Elizabeth, the fourth and only daughter of Ephraim and Malinda Davis, aged three years and five months. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.15
“So fades the lovely blooming flower.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.16
Again has the last enemy been suffered to visit the dwelling of our dear Bro. and Sr. and make all sorrowful within. May the blessed hope sustain them while they pass through tribulation’s dark flood, and that voice from heaven [Jeremiah 31:16, 17] fall with sweet accents upon their ears, and prove a balm to soothe their sorrows until our glorious King returns to the everlasting joy of his waiting people, and unlocks the dark mansions of the tomb, and brings forth those loved ones that now sleep in Jesus. E. L. BARR. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.17
COMMUNICATIONS
From Bro. Bates
BRO. SMITH. - On my way from Battle Creek to Chicago, Ill. Dec. 31st, after running about 70 miles, all of a sudden we were rushing from our seats in confusion and dismay by the cars being thrown from the track. My first business after recovering my balance was to assist in extinguishing the fire which had been thrown from the stove by the justling of the cars. This done, we ascertained that no one was seriously injured, and also, that the cause of our disaster was owing to one of the rails breaking away from the track under us. On further inquiry we learned that the engine with her tender by some unaccountable means broke loose from her load of cars and baggage without losing her position on the track, and passed on some distance ahead of us, leaving the baggage and forward cars plunged into the bank “jostled one against another in the broad way.” In this cheerless position in the woods we continued from about 7 P. M. until after mid-night when we were exchanged for another load of passengers bound east, and by the good hand of the Lord arrived safely in Chicago, Ill. in time for breakfast. If the locomotive had not broken from the passenger train at the instant it did, the consequence would undoubtedly have been sad indeed. I feel that I am under renewed obligations to the Lord for his preserving mercies. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.18
On the 3rd Inst. I reached this place, and have held several meetings in different districts, and spent two Sabbaths in meeting with Bro. Phelps and the church in this vicinity. I am now on my way to Lake Mills to hold meetings in that vicinity. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.19
JOSEPH BATES.
Hebron, Jefferson, Co., Wis.
From Bro. Dorcas
BRO. SMITH:- It is now Winter, cold, frosty, bleak Winter. The thermometer ranges, from 25, above, to the same degree below zero! and my sympathies are moved within me for the inmates of many a miserable hut. But this is not the worst feature of the case: the thick, dark, winter of prejudice, and superstition has commenced in all its fearfulness to sweep over the land! and its chilling influence is every where felt. But in the midst of these unpleasant circumstances, we may freely indulge the hope, that Summer, beautiful, delightful, blooming Summer, will soon be here. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.20
In a late tour, of about three weeks, I have had an opportunity to learn many things; for I went out with the chart, and a pretty good supply of books upon the subjects of the Sabbath and Sanctuary, with the express design to learn the minds of the people, to impart instruction, and to scatter the means of information among the people. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.21
Among the encouraging things that I learned, were these; that, amidst all the opposition of friends, and ministers, there are some honest souls who are determined to investigate these subjects, of which we speak, for themselves; and take the Bible for their rule. My visits, exhortations, and labors in general, were kindly received, and many scenes occurred that I shall never forget. May the day be hastened when all the destitute shall be supplied, not only with the Word of life, but with the true knowledge of it. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.22
A word in relation to the cause or church, in this State. It is generally known, I presume that Bro. G. W. Holt has come into this field of labor. But such has been the feeble state of his health, most of the time he has been here, with the addition of an afflicted family, to some extent, he has not been able to do much in the way of preaching. Though so far as he has been able to get out, his labors have been very acceptable to the lovers of truth. And had it not been for a distracted state of things, in the main body of the church in this state, much good, no doubt, might still have been accomplished. But as it was, but little comparatively has been done. But upon the whole we have reason to thank God, and take courage; seeing that through the mercy of God, and the careful, and well timed work of Bro. Holt, we have now a release from those grievous trials, and are restored again to union and love, and I humbly trust to a corresponding zeal for the promotion of the present truth. As to myself, dear Bro. I can say, that I am measurably recovered from the effects of the severe trials through which I have recently passed in relation to the visions, and Age to come. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.23
I would say to our much esteemed Bro. Bates through the Review,) that I received his kind letter, and know not how to be grateful enough for his kind care for me; that I follow his advice, with grateful recollections of past instructions. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 134.24
Yours in hope of the perfecting of the saints. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.1
JESSE DORCAS.
Freemont, Ohio. Jan., 9th, 1856.
From Bro. Lawrence
BRO. SMITH:- I would like to say to the brethren through the Review, that I humbly trust my heart is in unison with the remnant at large. My views and feelings have been so correctly and definitely expressed of late by those who have written for the Review that I only need to express my confidence in the way God is leading his people, and my determination to endure with my brethren the “fiery trial” unto the end, and so share with the overcomers, all things embraced in the promise. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.2
It is my prayer that all of us professing the “present truth,” may keep the sayings of Jesus more fully, and thus be prepared to bear a clear testimony while proclaiming the last message of mercy. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.3
HORACE W. LAWRENCE.
Bangor, N. Y., Jan. 10th, 1856.
From Bro. Kimball
BRO. SMITH:- I esteem the Review and Herald as a messenger of mercy from the Most Holy. It is meat in due season and the only source of light to the remnant, except the Bible, that comes through the printing-press. I love the spirit of the paper, and hope it will be sustained. Notwithstanding the great opposition we meet with from a cold, formal church, and the wicked world, I was one among the number who believed in the coming of the Lord in 1843, and heard the Midnight Cry in 1844; also obeyed the Second Angel’s Message of “Come out of her my people.” I then left the old church, never to return to it again. While wandering in distress, and almost ready to sink in despair as Peter was - O that Arm! Glory to God - the Third Angel’s Message and Sabbath came up at the right time. My wife and two daughters and self have taken hold of this work in earnest. Thanks be to God for the instrument sent. Bro. Chamberlain, who now sleeps in Jesus, was instrumental, also Brn. Bates and Barr, who came and pitched their Tent on our land. Great good was done in the name of the Lord. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.4
Bro. Barr is now with us, giving meat in due season, and strength to the things that are ready to perish. His coming is a matter of rejoicing to us. I believe the signs of the times indicate that soon the angel will give the loud cry to the one on the white cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. It becomes us as children of God, and members of the little flock, to be taught of the Lord how to manage our temporal affairs as well as spiritual. The injunction of our Saviour must be obeyed. “Hear him.” “Sell that ye have.” Luke 12:33. When? Especially now, when we are waiting to go to the marriage supper. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.5
We are also to become a peculiar people, zealous of good works. I intend to hold myself in readiness to obey. Since coming on to the Third Angel’s Message and Sabbath, I found myself in the habitual use of that weed that is so much used by the ungodly. I have now laid it aside by the help of the Lord, as I hope and trust for ever, and thus far the work is well done. The Lord did not bring us out to become defiled. I would recommend to my good brethren who indulge in the use of Tobacco to give it up at once, by the help of the Lord you will overcome. He does not say, he that overcometh shall have right to the Tobacco plant. No, no. Something better - right to the tree of life. I am glad this subject has been laid before us by the Review, It is a subject of great importance, for I believe we cannot be made the jewels of the Lord and indulge in such like habits. We see the splendid synagogues of Babylon furnished with costly carpeting and varnished spit-boxes to accommodate those members who take their Gospel and Tobacco all down at the same time. We cannot serve God and Mammon. I must close, by saying, I heartily approve of the doings of the Battle Creek conference and by the help of the Lord I will assist the dear brethren in their plans to send out the last Message of Mercy to a fallen world. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.6
Yours in hope. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.7
ASA KIMBALL.
Hampton, Ct.
Extracts of Letters
Bro. Geo. P. Cushman writes from Vt.:- “Micah 3:8, with the two following verses was the foundation of a few remarks by an Advent Herald minister. ‘Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.’ As he presented a subject entirely new from what I expected, I wanted to copy down a few ideas that he advanced. The whole tenor of his discourse went to show that this enemy was the Papacy persecuting the Church. I admit it was the Papacy at a certain period. But to the point. He quoted Revelation 14:6, 7, ‘Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment has come. This judgment, was the judgment of Papacy. The Second Angel followed. This was in the days of Luther. Well, he made out these three Messages to have been fulfilled centuries ago, in connection with the vials and seven last plagues. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.8
“We had a New-Time minister who made quite a stir. They seem to carry quite an influence. A number have fallen in with his views. Anything seemingly but the Third Angel’s Message. They will embrace anything almost sooner than that. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.9
“I like the Review. It makes our pathway clear. I hope it will continue to be a beacon light to the remnant. I am not privileged with meeting with those of like precious faith, but I often think of them. I should rejoice to have some one come this way with the present truth, but I will try to hold on by the grace of God till deliverance comes.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.10
Bro. E. Pratt Writes from Hartland N. Y.:- “I feel as though the little remnant should be awake, watching unto prayer, having their loins girded about with truth; for we are living in perilous times.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.11
Bro. W. L. Saxby writes from Springfield, Mass., Jan. 13th, 1856:- “The little church in this place are in full fellowship with the Review. They are all agreed on sunset time.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.12
Extracts
BRO. SMITH:- I have recently received precious letters from dear brethren and sisters, from which I give the following extracts for the Review: ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.13
Bro. Dexter Daniels writes from New Boston, Mass., that he has of late been to Norfolk, Conn. “One sister was all that kept the Sabbath in that vicinity when I first went there, but now there are five others decided to keep the true Sabbath under the Third Angel’s Message. They seem to be happy in the truth. I wish that there was some good messenger here that would do justice to the message; but I will do what I can in the name of Jesus. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.14
“The whole community seem to be in commotion about the Sabbath. I will try to live more to the glory of God in future. I want the Spirit. I know without it I am nothing. I am too easily overcome. I pray for strength to overcome all my besetments. I know it is those that overcome the world and the flesh, that are to inherit all things. No others are to enter the holy City.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.15
Bro. Elmer writes from Ashfield:- “I do praise the Lord that in this time of great deception of the enemy, we have a test-book, the Bible, with which to try the spirits. I believe that the cause of God is about to rise, and I mean by the grace of God to rise with it, and show by my daily walk and conversation that I believe what I profess, that Jesus is soon coming.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.16
“Sister P. M. Bates, of Fairhaven, writes:- “I find I am quite too low in interest and feeling, and have drunk too deeply of that apathy and indifference which I fear has been so prevalent among the remnant. O that we may all heed the warning from the holy Sanctuary and repent in dust and ashes; be found “seeking meekness and righteousness,” knowing there is a possibility that we may be hid in the day of his anger. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.17
“How good the Lord is to admonish and correct us. Why not let us (with the multitude around us) go on groping our way in darkness? The reason is obvious: We have the truth. He is leading a people, he will guide and guard. Though unworthy, I do hope to be found among that people. I feel very much confirmed in the belief that God is working for us. Praise his holy name. While we are scattered abroad, let us pray for each other and wrestle with God.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.18
Sister Frances Howland of Topsham, Me., writes: “I do not feel like giving up the truth, or going back to the world. I know that we are the Lord’s people, and the only ones that have the truth, and I desire so to live here that I may enjoy their presence in the new earth. I fear many times lest I fall out by the way, and miss heaven at last; yet I will strive anew to serve the Lord and have a closer walk with God.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.19
Bro. J. F. Byington writes from Lisbon Centre: “I have thought perhaps you might think that of late my love for the truth had grown cold, and that the world was finding a large place in my heart; and after having started in the narrow way I had not love enough for the salvation of my soul to finish the christian course. I have a great many fears for myself; but my daily prayer is that I may be kept in the path of truth and be found in the way of my duty. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.20
“When I think of the past blessings I have enjoyed, in being brought into the truth, I sometimes think I feel thankful for the past; yet again I feel to reproach myself that my time has not been better improved. But the past is past. What now concerns me is the present and future. I want to strive for a home in the kingdom. It is the prayer of my soul daily that the Lord will direct my goings, and that I may be a faithful servant. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.21
“I have watched the movements of things which have concerned the truth, and have had a feeling heart for those who have taken an active part to labor in this work. And when I have known that trial after trial, severe indeed, had to be borne by those of worn out bodies, I have felt to say, Let me share a part too. I know I am but a mere speck, but if I am only faithful to my heavenly Father, I may be instrumental of a little good. While I have seen the cause rather decline, I have thought of the prayers you have offered, of the groans and sighs you have uttered, and of the hope that has encouraged you on, and have known that indeed you must have much to bear in this trying time. I hope and pray that you may have strength for every time of need. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.22
“I am this Winter teaching school. It is a question with me daily, am I in the way of my duty? If I am, it is enough. If not, my prayer is that I may know it, and find the right path. If I were seeking the world, and a good name in it, I should enjoy myself this Winter where I am. But every week there is a sign to show to what class I belong. I can say I am thankful for the Sabbath, and that I have no desire to go with the multitude in the broad way. The blessed hope looks good to me.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.23
Sister Drew of South Pultney, N. Y., writes:- “Last Sabbath we had a very good, free time. The Lord blest us. We were much encouraged to press our way through the trials and opposition we are called to pass through. My trust is in the Lord. Bro. Loughborough has been here and given us some light on the commencement of the Sabbath. I believe that it is true. I think the Lord has somewhat revived his people in this place. I hope we shall yet see better days. We are passing through fiery trials. I earnestly desire to do the will of God in all things, and keep his commandments, that I may be found without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, at the appearing of Christ. We will hold on to the arm of God a little longer, and we shall meet in the kingdom of God.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.24
Sister Locke writes from Salem:- “There is an increasing desire among the Brn. here, to obtain full salvation from sin. We have had a good meeting on the Sabbath that is now passed, praised be the Lord. Truly, Jesus was in our midst by his Spirit. Dear Sister, pray for the little few in Salem, that we may become perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. We are striving for the kingdom.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.25
Sister Frances Bragg writes from Lake Mills, Wis.: “We were settled in our little room here just as the Sabbath commenced. We had a very peaceful time through the entire day. Felt the sweet blessing of God resting upon us. We felt some freedom the evening we left you, and my strength of body and peace of mind increased all the way. On our way from Battle Creek we felt some little increase of confidence in God. Felt the need of a deeper work wrought in the soul, and some thirsting after righteousness. I want that love which casteth out all fear, save that of offending my heavenly Father and his children. The Lord has been very good to us. He has a tender care for us, the weakest of his people. Our stay with you and family was blest to us. I felt encouraged to trust my heavenly Father, who has done so much for, and still has a tender regard for us. I will believe he will lead us all the way through. I need more strength of body to act my part in life. Why not ask him for it? I do sometimes believe he will impart strength of body and clearness of mind, that I may serve him acceptably. But very many times my spirit sinks. I desire your prayers in my behalf that I may enter more fully into the work of the Lord, and throw myself upon his mercy.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.26
Bro. J. T. Orton, of Rochester, N. Y., writes:- “It was refreshing to hear that the Lord has set you free. While the Lord is working for you there, he is working for us here. We have been trying to get into the work of God, where we could ask for the things we wanted and believe we should receive them. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.27
“I think I can say the Lord is truly working for us in Rochester. We have had sweet seasons. Our numbers are few, yet the Lord heard our prayers and sent down his Holy Spirit. I hope you will remember us at the throne of grace, that our faith fail not. I am satisfied that if ever I go through the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem, I must live more of a guarded, watchful, holy life. I hope to have grace and strength from on high to help me overcome. We were glad to hear you had so good a time at the Conference, and that you were agreed as to the commencement of the Sabbath. It looks clear to me.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 135.28
Sister Ashley, of Dartsmouth, Mass., writes:- “I have not forgotten the many precious seasons we have had when the Lord heard and answered your prayers for me, and we were blest and comforted together. Those precious seasons come up fresh to my mind of late. I am now keeping house in the same quiet dwelling where I used to, years ago, where the Lord magnified his goodness and mercy in taking care of me and my children; and I trust the same providential care has been, and still is, over us. But the Lord’s arm is not shortened that he cannot save, nor his ear heavy that he cannot hear. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.1
“God hears and answers prayer. He knoweth the wants of all his creatures, and I will trust him, for his goodness is great. I will trust him for his goodness and mercy to his people. He has not forsaken and left them in darkness, but is still giving them light and truth. I thank the Lord for the light on the time for commencing the Sabbath. To my mind it harmonizes perfectly with the Bible. Receiving this light and truth brings a rich blessing to my soul, for which I praise the name of the Lord. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.2
“I love the Review. To me it is a precious sheet, filled with precious food. I am glad we can have it every week. I am glad too that it is better established, and that you are relieved from the too heavy burdens that you have had to bear. May the Lord indeed bless you abundantly, and sustain you under every trial, is my desire.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.3
Sister Collins of Dartsmouth, Mass., writes:- “I love my fellow-soldiers of the cross of Christ traveling to a better world than this, “where the wicked will cease from troubling, and the weary be at rest.” I expect if faithful we soon shall be there. The signs of the times tell us that Christ is coming. He says, Now learn a parable of the fig-tree. We are to know it as plain as we are to know that Summer is nigh. O, I thank the Lord for the truth. It shines more and more, and it will. Praise the Lord, there is no mistake about it. I have thought much of late where it says, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.4
“I think we are to know that we are very nigh the end of all things. I thank and praise my heavenly Father for the time to commence the Sabbath. I praise the Lord that his power is manifested in his church among his saints. I stand unmoved by what is going on around me. The way of the Lord is a straight forward course. I am glad the Lord has had such a special care for me, so unworthy. He has saved me out of many snares that Satan has laid. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.5
“I have been able by the grace of God to receive the light of truth as it comes. None in this place have given up the Sabbath. But some I hope will see and feel the need of more consecration. I hope and pray that God will work and bring them up on high and holy ground. This world has no charms for me. I am a stranger, weary sometimes of my Master’s so long delay; but I expect that the wheels of time will soon roll round, when our Saviour will appear. I hope to meet you on mount Zion with all the redeemed.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.6
Cheering communications from the scattered flock, breathing the spirit of Jesus, help to make the Review interesting to the remnant. God is reviving his fainting people, and it will cheer the hearts of the waiting ones everywhere to read in the Review the testimonies of many witnesses, who may freely speak of their conflicts, their victories, their joys and hopes of future glory. We hope the liberty we have taken with letters from dear friends will not afflict any. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.7
E. G. WHITE.
“Humility and patience are the surest proofs of the increase of love.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.8
“The bearing with men, and suffering evils in meekness and silence is a grand part of the Christian’s life.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.9
“One of the greatest evidences of God’s love to those that love him, is to send afflictions with grace to bear them.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.10
“Let all you speak and do, show that you are little, and base, and mean, and vile, in your own eyes.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.11
“You are in danger of enthusiasm every hour, if you depart never so little from Scripture.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.12
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., JAN. 24, 1856
SOME half dozen of our subscribers have ordered their papers discontinued, assigning as a reason that “the Review refuses to publish the truth relative to the time and place of the kingdom of God.” This is entirely a mistake. The sole reason why the REVIEW has been silent on this question is on account of the compromise entered into at El Dorado, Wis., in June, 1854, between Brn. Stephenson and Hall, and Bro. White, as has already been stated in the paper. But since this compromise has been pronounced “null and void” by the “party of the first part,” it can certainly influence us no longer; and we intend therefore to bring out the “truth” on this question fully and fearlessly in the REVIEW. We therefore still continue the papers to those brethren above mentioned. And we will here add that we shall not discontinue any papers for the above named reason, till this subject is fully brought out, unless there is a positive refusal to read. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.13
We now invite especial attention to the articles lately published on the Second Advent, and the article entitled “When will the Nations be dashed in pieces?” commenced in this No. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.14
The remainder of Bro. Waggoner’s article on the Sabbath, entitled, “The Truth Found,” etc., is this week deferred to make room for other matter. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.15
“Come Over and Help us!”
THE calls for light upon the great subjects of “present truth,” are many and urgent. The way is open in very many places in this State, as well as others, for those who “preach the Word,” to get large, attentive, and even anxious congregations to hear. Many become convinced we have the truth, and a few believe and obey. And while the Macedonian cry is heard from all quarters, “Come over and help us,” those who love the cause of truth, and hope for its advancement and triumph, can but mourn that so few preachers are in the field with the armor on. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.16
Some are going the old rounds where they have spent much time for several years, and where but little can be done besides preaching to the churches that have not lived out half they have already heard, while others are called to labor with Churches on account of distracting influences being among them, and still others are at home, bound with cares, or want of means. How long will these things be so? When will those churches that have had time to learn the truth, and their duty, and to obtain strength to continue in union, love and good works, learn to stand alone in Christ, and cease to call God’s servants from their work in the wide harvest-field to labor in sadness for them, and help them out of trials, into which some stand ready to fall. O, when will all of God’s servants be ready to say, “Here am I, send me,” and as they go forth weeping, with an humble zeal, and trust in God, be urged onward to their work by the Church with their means, their sympathy, and prayers? We hope the time is not far distant when the Church will arise and shine in strength and beauty, and be indeed a light to the world. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.17
Bro. M. E. Cornell has just returned from a few days labor, where fifteen subscribed for the REVIEW, and where many publications were called for, and calls came to him from several places around, “Come over and help us.” Much labor is now needed in that vicinity. Cannot Bro. E. Everts visit us, and labor a few weeks with Bro. C.? ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.18
Bro. and Sr. Richmond, of Green Bush, Clin. Co., have visited us, and fed on the Word. Bro. R. stated that he had not heard a gospel sermon worthy of the name, for fifteen years, till he came among us. He says, “The people want to hear” - “Come over and help us.” He left a most urgent request for Bro. Waggoner to visit his place, and call on his way on Ora B. Stiles, St. John’s Depot. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.19
Bro. and Sr. Perkins write from Mt. Clemens, Mich:- ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.20
“We thank you for the Review which you have sent us, and rejoice in the truth it so fearlessly advocates. We love it for its separating, practical truths which are so much needed at the present time by the remnant. Of that little number we earnestly desire to be found. But we find ourselves almost alone in this part of the vineyard. Will Bro. Bates make his way to this part this Winter, and preach to us the Word of life; for we only get through the soul-refreshing pages of the Review. May the Lord direct you in your arduous duties, and may we all be kept unto eternal life.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.21
Bro. Wm. S. Ingraham writes from Roulett, Penn.:- “I am laboring in new fields the most of my time, and get but little for my labor. God is still moving on the hearts of some to seek the truth. Last evening I reviewed a no-Sabbath sermon, delivered yesterday by Eld. Evens, a Baptist preacher, a man that has been successful in spreading the no-law heresy, but yesterday met with a disappointment. I trust all his arguments were met with the spirit of meekness, It took me three hours to meet every point. The result was, two came out on the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and others were ready to confess the truth. God is able to make the least like David, and upset the wisdom of men, and bring down the Goliaths to the ground. Praise his name.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.22
The truth never seemed so clear and mighty as now. The people who have not heard and stumbled at the cross, never seemed so anxious to hear as now. But the Church, though reviving, is still worldly, loving this present world, faint and drowsy. God help her to arise and shine. O when will Apostolic faith, works, humility and zeal be revived in the Church? We think the Churches should not require labor of the few preachers in the field, but make one united effort to send them out into new fields where the calls are heard, “Come over and help us.” J. W. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.23
Re-Baptism
I SEE it stated as a fact in history, that the Jews not only circumcised those who were converted to their religion, from among the heathen, but also baptized them. I had thought the origin of baptism in the Church of God was with John the Baptist. Dr. Clarke in his closing remarks on the gospel by Mark, has the following words from another author: ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.24
“But yet the first use of baptism was not exhibited at that time, meaning John’s time; for baptism very many centuries back had been both known and received in most frequent use among the Jews; and for the very same end as it now obtains among Christians; namely, that by it proselytes might be admitted into the Church; and hence it was called baptism for proselytism,“ ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.25
The same author quotes a Jewish author who says, “Whensoever any heathen will betake himself and be joined to the covenant of Israel, and place himself under the wings of the Divine Majesty, and take the yoke of the law upon him, voluntary circumcision, baptism and oblation are required.” The same author refers to the requirement of God of the Jews at Mt. Sinai, to sanctify themselves and wash their clothes as the origin of baptism. Now if these are facts, it is certain there was re-baptism under the same dispensation or covenant; for John and his subjects kept the ceremonial law. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.26
JOHN BYINGTON.
Buck’s Bridge, N. Y., Jan. 14th, 1856.
Prayer
BRO. SMITH:- Permit me through the Review to ask one or two questions on the subject of prayer. Our Saviour says, “When thou prayest enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.27
Now does this precept of our Saviour require us to leave other employment, and the company of others and go into some secret place and spend a portion of our time in prayer? If so, should we not have set times every day for that object; and if so, if neglected, we cannot be keeping the Faith of Jesus. Do all our brethren and sisters do it? Watching unto prayer is the life of the Christian. JOHN BYINGTON. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.28
APPOINTMENTS
PROVIDENCE permitting, we will meet with the brethren as follows - ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.29
Berkshire Vt., Jan. 26th and 27th. Eaton, C. E., where the brethren may appoint, February 2nd and 3rd. Sutton, Vt., 9th and 10th. C. W. SPERRY, A. S. HUTCHINS. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.30
BRN. Bingham and Arnold:- Your Communications relative to the Gifts will be noticed next week. J. W. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.31
Business
R. F. Cottrell:- The book is received, and safely deposited in our private drawer. We will use it as occasion requires. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.32
A. Ross:- You ordered the REVIEW sent to B. A. Phillips, Gilbertville, to which place it has been sent. We now change the address as you direct. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.33
C. A. Osgood:- Your last remittance pays to Vol. ix. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.34
S. W. Rhodes:- Your letter contained but one dollar. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.35
D. Eaton:- You had paid to Vol. ix, No. 18. We send the books, and apply the remainder to meet the expenses of establishing the press in this place. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.36
L. B. Green:- We have never received the letter you speak of, containing $1 for books. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.37
Receipts
P Smith, M Curtis, J E Tilton, I Root, H Bingham, L C Young, S. D Hall, E Degarmo, C A Osgood, A friend, H A Hannaford, Wm Harris, J G Whipple, S Cronkright, J Bendon, J N Andrews, C Franke, A R Andrews, R Harrison, F Pierce, S Howard, S Rumery Amanda Stone, Wm Pierce, O McOmber, Dr H S Lay, J Russ, O B Jones, H Kenyon, D C Kenyon, J H White, each $1. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.38
D Goodenough, L Sheldon, each $2. Mrs D Bronson, D R Palmer, each $3. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.39
TO SEND REVIEW TO THE POOR. - A B Pearsall, S W Rhodes, each $1. ARSH January 24, 1856, page 136.40