Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, vol. 20
November 4, 1862
RH VOL. XX. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, - NO. 23
James White
ADVENT REVIEW,
AND SABBATH HERALD
[Graphic of the Ark of the Covenant with the inscription beneath,]
“And there was Seen in His Temple
the Ark of His Testament.”
“Here is the Patience of the Saints; Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.”
VOL. XX. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1862. - NO. 23.
The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY
The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association
TERMS.-Two Dollars a year, in advance. One Dollar to the poor and to those who subscribe one year on trial. Free to those unable to pay half price. Address ELDER JAMES WHITE, Battle Creek, Michigan. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.1
Time
TIME to me this truth has taught,
(’Tis a truth that’s worth revealing,)
More offend for want of thought,
Than from any want of feeling.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.2
If advice we would convey,
There’s a time we should convey it -
If we’ve but a word to say,
There’s a time in which to say it.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.3
Oft unknowingly the tongue
Touches on a chord so aching,
That a word or accent wrong,
Pains the heart almost to breaking.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.4
Many a tear of wounded pride,
Many a fault of human blindness,
Has been soothed or turned aside,
By a quiet voice of kindness.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.5
Many a beauteous flower decays,
Though we tend it e’er so much;
Something secret in it preys,
Which no human aid can touch.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.6
So in many a lovely breast,
Lies some canker-grief concealed,
That if touched is more oppressed,
Left unto itself is healed.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.7
Evidences of Christianity
BY MOSES HULL
CHAPTER VI
(Continued.) ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.8
The Jews. Take the prophecies concerning the Jews, read them and mark their fulfillment, though it should astonish you. Prophecies concerning the Jews are found in numerous places in the Old Testament; but those to which the reader is referred are found in Leviticus 26, and Deuteronomy 28, and 29. The reader is requested to carefully read all three of the above-named chapters. We have only room for a few short extracts. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.9
“And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. And upon them that are left alive of you, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies: and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall, when none pursueth.” Leviticus 26:31-36. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.10
Here are not less than six specifications, every one of which has been fulfilled. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.11
1. “I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation.” How literally this has been fulfilled, the infidel Volney shall tell. Ruins, book i: “Here, said I, here once flourished an opulent city; here was the seat of a powerful empire. Yes! these places, now so desert, were once animated by a living multitude; a busy crowd circulated in these streets now so solitary. Within these walls, where a mournful silence reigns, the noise of the arts and shouts of joy and festivity incessantly resounded. These piles of marble were regular palaces; these prostrate pillars adorned the majesty of temples; these ruined galleries surrounded public places. Here a numerous people assembled for the sacred duties of religion, or the anxious cares of their subsistence. Here industry, parent of enjoyment, collected the riches of all climates, and the purple of Tyre was exchanged for the precious thread of Serica; the soft tissues of Kachemire for the sumptuous tapestry of Lydia; the amber of the Baltic for the pearls and perfumes of Arabia; the gold of Ophir for the tin of Thule. And now a mournful skeleton is all that subsists of this powerful city! Naught remains of its vast domination, but a doubtful and empty remembrance! To the tumultuous throng which crowded under these porticoes has succeeded the solitude of death. The silence of the tomb is substituted for the bustle of public places. The opulence of a commercial city is changed into hideous poverty. The palaces of kings are become a den of wild beasts; flocks fold on the area of the temple, and unclean reptiles inhabit the sanctuary of the gods. Ah! how has so much glory been eclipsed? How have so many labors been annihilated? Thus perish the works of men, and thus do empires and nations disappear!” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.12
2. “And I will bring you land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.” Now hear the infidel Volney again bear witness to the truth of the prophetic word: “Alas! I have passed over this desolate land! I have visited the palaces once the theatre of so much splendor, and I beheld nothing but solitude and desolation. I sought the ancient inhabitants and their works, and could only find a faint trace, like that of the foot of a traveler over the sand. The temples are fallen, the palaces overthrown, the ports filled up, the cities destroyed, and the earth, stripped of inhabitants, seems a dreary burying-place. Great God! whence proceed such fatal revolutions? What causes have so altered the fortunes of these countries? Why are so many cities destroyed? Why has not this ancient population been reproduced and perpetuated? Thus absorbed in contemplation, a crowd of new reflections continually poured in upon my mind. Everything, continued I, confounds my reason, and fills my heart with trouble and uncertainty.” Book i. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.13
3. “And I will scatter you among the heathen.” Where are the Jews to-day? or rather, where are they not? Moses said, “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth to the other.” Deuteronomy 28:64. How true it is. The Jews are everywhere, and yet citizens nowhere. Not a nation in the world but that has them among them, and yet they have no national existence in the world. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.14
4. The Lord again says, through Moses, “Your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.” How long? Let the prophet like unto Moses answer. “And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:24. Jerusalem is yet trodden down. Sarabens, Tartars, Turks, and Gentiles from every nation of the earth, are fulfilling the prediction, and have been for almost eighteen hundred years. “Zion has been ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem has become heaps.” Micah 3:12. The Jews to-day despise in their hearts the name of the Roman soldier, Rufus, who ploughed up the very foundations of their city and temple. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.15
While on this point, I cannot forbear to notice an effort that has been made to prove our Saviour’s prediction false. He had said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Julian, the apostate emperor, declared his determination to rebuild the city, and thus prove the prediction of Jesus false. He united the wealth of the Romans with the zeal of the Jews, and though a large army was sent to guard the workmen, picks and spades of silver were to be used in doing the work, and ladies were there ready to carry off the rubbish in aprons of silk, yet they were compelled to yield to a mere formidable adversary than the Roman army had ever met. “Horrid balls of fire bursted out of the ground and compelled them to desist from building.” See Horne’s Introduction, vol. I, p.130, where ample references are given. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.16
5. “Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths as long as it lieth desolate.” The land to-day enjoys her sabbaths. Although parts of it are said to possess all of its original fertility, yet it is “trodden under foot” by the wandering Arabs and other Gentiles. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.17
6. “And upon them that are left alive of you, I will send a faintness into their hearts, in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall, when none pursueth.” How true! Find the Jew where you will, and you will find him engaged in some lucrative business, yet something that can be easily removed from one point to another. As above remarked, they are citizens nowhere. They have been driven from place to place, and are in daily expectation of being driven, until “the sound of a shaking leaf,“as it were, chases them. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.18
In Deuteronomy 28, the predictions concerning this people are no less decisive. In verse 37 Moses says, “And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word, among all nations, whither the Lord thy God shall lead thee.” The Jew is an astonishment. Go into almost any clothing-store in our large cities, and you will see a phenomenon for which you never can account, except from the Scriptures. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.19
There is the Jew preserving all the peculiarities possessed by his nation eighteen hundred years ago. How does it happen that for so long a period they have resisted all the customs of society, all the powers of persecution, and all other almost irresistible influences driving them toward amalgamation with the other nations of earth? ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.20
An able writer has said, “In the face of the power of the Chinese empire, in spite of the tortures of the Spanish inquisition, amid the chaos of African nationalities and the fusion of American democracy, in the plains of Australia, and in the streets of San Francisco, the religion, customs, and physiognomy, of the children of Israel are as distinct this day as they were three thousand years ago, when Moses wrote them in the Pentateuch, and Shishak painted them on the tombs of Medinet Abou. How does the infidel account for it? It will not do to allege the favorite story about purity of blood and Caucasian race; for the question is, How does it happen that this people, and this people alone, have kept the blood pure, while all other races are so mingled that no other race can be found pure on earth? Besides, lest any should suppose such a cause sufficient for their preservation, another nation descended from the same father and the same mother - the children of Jacob’s twin brother, have utterly perished, and there is not any remaining of the house of Esau. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 177.21
“Human sagacity, with all the facts before its face, cannot give any rational account of the causes of this anomaly. It cannot tell to-day, why this people exists separate from, and scattered through, all nations, from Kamschatka to New Zealand; how, then, could it foretell, three thousand years ago, this singular exception to all the laws of national existence? While the sun and moon endure, the nation of Israel shall exist as God’s witness to God’s word - an undeniable proof that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Fables of Infidelity, pp.149,150. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 178.1
But the Jew is not only an astonishment, but is actually a proverb and by-word among all nations. How often we hear of a person being as “rich as a Jew,”“swearing like a Jew,”“lying like a Jew,”etc. It is so among all nations. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 178.2
But Moses continues: “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favor to the young: and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: so that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.” Verses 49-57. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 178.3
In verses 64-66 he says, “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee: and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.1
Follow him on in this same unbroken discourse until you come to chap 29:23-25, and there you will read, “And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overflow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and in his wrath; even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.2
Now let the reader examine the history of the Jews as given by Josephus, and other historians of a later date, and see how remarkably every word of the above has been fulfilled. Horne sums it up as follows: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.3
“The twenty-eighth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy contains a series of most striking predictions relative to the Jews, which are fulfilling to this very day. Bp. Newton and Dr. Graves have shown its accomplishment at great length. To specify a very few particulars: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.4
“Moses foretold that they should be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth - ‘scattered among all people, from one end of the earth even unto the other - find no ease or rest - be oppressed and crushed always - be left few in number among the heathen - pine away in their iniquity in their enemies’ land - and become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word unto all nations.’ ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.5
“These predictions were literally fulfilled during the subjection of the Jews to the Chaldeans and Romans; and in later times, in all nations where they have been dispersed. Moses foretold that their enemies would besiege and take their cities; and this prophecy was fulfilled by Shishak, king of Egypt, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus Epiphanes, Sosius, and Herod, and finally by Titus. Though dispersed throughout all nations, they have remained distinct from them all; and notwithstanding the various oppressions and persecutions to which they have in every age been exposed in different parts of the world, “there is not a country on the face of the earth where the Jews are unknown. They are found alike in Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. They are citizens of the world, without a country. Neither mountains, nor rivers, nor deserts, nor oceans, which are the boundaries of other nations, have terminated their wanderings. They abound in Poland, in Holland, in Russia, and in Turkey. In Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and Britain, they are more thinly scattered. In Persia, China, and India, on the east and west of the Ganges. They are few in number among the heathen. They have trodden the snows of Siberia, and the sands of the burning desert; and the European traveler hears of their existence in the regions which he cannot reach, even in the very interior of Africa, south of Timbuctoo. From Moscow to Lisbon, from Japan to Britain, from Borneo to Archangel, from Hindoostan to Honduras, no inhabitant of any nation upon earth would be known in all the intervening regions but a Jew alone.”- Horne’s Introduction, p.123. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.6
“What a marvelous thing is this,“says Bishop Newton, “that after so many wars, battles, and sieges; after so many rebellions, massacres, and persecutions; after so many years of captivity, slavery, and misery; they are not destroyed utterly, and though scattered among all people, yet subsist a distinct people by themselves! Where is anything like this to be found in all the histories, and in all the nations, under the sun?” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.7
Again the same writer says, “What nation hath subsisted as a distinct people in their own country so long as these have done in their dispersion into all countries? And what a standing miracle is this, exhibited to the view and observation of the whole world! Here are instances of prophecies delivered above three thousand years ago, and yet, as we see, fulfilling in the world at this very time; and what stronger proof can we desire of the divine legation of Moses? How these instances may affect others, I know not; but as for myself, I must acknowledge they not only convince, but amaze and astonish me beyond expression.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.8
To specify and examine the fulfillment of every prediction in this chapter would be to write out the history of the Jews. A few examples must suffice: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.9
1. “And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.10
“This prediction,“says Benson, “was repeatedly fulfilled, especially when Vespasian and his son Titus begirt Jerusalem so closely that the besieged were reduced to a most grievous famine, which forced them, after they had eaten up their horses and other creatures, to eat even their own children, whom parents who had used to live delicately, Moses here foretells, should themselves eat up privately, and let none share with them.” Com. on Deuteronomy 28:53. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.11
2. “The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward the children which she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.” Take up Josephus’ Wars of the Jews and read carefully. We have only space to give a single extract. Book vi, chap. 3. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.12
“There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, her name was Mary; her father was Eleazer, of the village of Bethezub, which signifies the house of hyssop. She was eminent for her family and her wealth, and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude, and was with them besieged therein at this time. The other effects of this woman had been already seized upon; such, I mean, as she had brought with her out of Perea, and removed to the city. What she had treasured up besides, as also what food she had contrived to save, had been also carried off by the rapacious guards, who came every day running into her house for that purpose. This put the poor woman into a very great passion, and by the frequent reproaches and imprecations she cast at these rapacious villains, she had provoked them to anger against her; but none of them, either out of the indignation she had raised against herself, or out of the commiseration of her case, would take away her life: and if she found any food, she perceived her labors were for others, and not for herself: and it was now become impossible for her any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also her passion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itself; nor did she consult with anything but with her passion and the necessity she was in. She then attempted a most unnatural thing; and snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, ‘O thou miserable infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine, and this sedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our lives, we must be slaves! This famine also will destroy us even before that slavery comes upon us; yet are these seditious rogues more terrible than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets, and a by-word to the world, which is all that is now wanting to complete the calamities of us Jews.’ As soon as she had said this she slew her son; and then roasted him, and ate the one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this the seditious came in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her, that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not show them what food she had gotten ready. She replied that she had saved a very fine portion of it for them; and withal uncovered what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized with a horror and amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight; when she said to them, ‘This is mine own son; and what hath been done was mine own doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself! Do not you pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my sacrifice, as I have eaten the one half, let the rest be reserved for me also.’” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.13
The above is not an isolated case, as every reader of Josephus knows. As I compare page after page of such statements with the inspired prediction above quoted, I can but exclaim in the language of David, “Thy word is true from the beginning.” Psalm 119:160. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.14
But Moses proceeds: “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee: and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bond-men and bond-women, and no man shall buy you.” Verses 65-68. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.15
The Jews are now scattered among all nation, finding no ease or rest for the soles of their feet. They have a “trembling of heart, failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind.” At the destruction of Jerusalem they were sold into Egypt until the market was overstocked. They were crucified until no more timber could be found of which to make crosses. See Josephus’ Wars of the Jews, book vi. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.16
Moses goes on to describe the state of the land: Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? What meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers. Deuteronomy 29:24, 25. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.17
Now take up Volney’s Ruins, Book i, and read again, “Great God! from whence proceed such melancholy revolutions? For what cause is the fortune of these countries so strikingly changed? Why are so many cities destroyed? Why is not that ancient population reproduced and perpetuated? A mysterious God exercises his incomprehensible judgment. He has doubtless pronounced a secret malediction against the earth. He has struck with a curse the present race of men in revenge of past generations.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.18
(To be Continued.)
Avenging of the Elect
(Continued.) ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.19
DISTINGUISHING TRAITS AND TENDENCIES OF THE NOW GENERALLY PREVALENT DOCTRINE OF THE SECOND COMING
THE principal characteristic of the new doctrine is this: It separates the second advent one thousand years from the termination of the series of events which are now transpiring, and with which, in the prophecies, it is most manifestly connected. It virtually, and even necessarily makes all the warnings and admonitions to be looking for, and preparing for the coming of Christ utterly inapplicable to the generations now living, and applicable specifically and only to that last generation of men who will be found upon the earth at the close of the thousand years of universal righteousness and peace. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.20
With the now prevalent view, the very wickedness of the world, which shows that its cup of iniquity is rapidly filling up, and warns of coming judgment, is misinterpreted so as to mean exactly the opposite, and to show that the one thousand years that must first intervene have not yet even begun. Can this be denied? The entire influence of this extensive class of Bible truths which relate to the second coming of Christ, and which the common reader cannot fail to perceive, was consequently used by the inspired writers as a principal means of admonition and edification; this large class of truths which the prophets and apostles, and which our Lord himself deemed so essential to the faith and salvation of the Church, is now almost utterly lost in the principal branches of the great Christian family. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.21
True, we do make some use of these great and thrilling revelations, for they are so frequent and so prominent withal in the Scriptures, that it would be unwise to ignore them, and impolitic to deny them. But do we generally make use of them as the primitive Christians, and as the primitive Protestants did? Do we quote them and apply them heartily and without misgivings? Do not men of penetration easily discover our hesitancy and our inconsistency, even if we maintain the modern Whitbyan doctrine on this subject? Are we not in danger, in fact, of being suspected of gross insincerity in our use of these portions of the Scriptures, while we interpret them according to the present method? And must not this undeniable state of things, in respect - not to merely speculative and minor doctrines - but in respect to the most awful and important revelations in the whole Bible - must not this fearful indefiniteness and manifest inconsistency greatly cripple our endeavors to influence unconverted and unbelieving men, by the use of, not this class of revelations only, but also of all other portions of the Bible? ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.22
Probably ninety-nine in every hundred who first read or first hear the Scriptures which relate to the second advent, receive a distinct conviction that those portions were so framed and worded as intentionally to convey the impression, that the coming of the Lord might happen in their day, and ought, to be prepared for. Perhaps no one will be sufficiently unreasonable and reckless to deny the indisputable fact, that in all ages the impression produced upon the common mind by those portions of the Divine word were exactly the opposite of the impressions conveyed by the present prevailing view of the relation of the second advent to the millennium: the modern doctrine making the second advent to be post-millennial, and, consequently, not to be expected while wickedness and wretchedness continue in the world, and not until at least a thousand years of righteousness and peace have succeeded to the present unhappy condition of the race. Is there any use or reason in denying the manifest truth in respect to what the general impression has been, or in denying that it was the opposite of what the present millennial theory legitimately produces? Or can any one feel justified in affirming that the common conviction has not been produced by the letter and spirit of the Scriptures that relate to this subject? ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.23
Who indited the holy Scriptures, and gave to them their specific adaptations, knowing all the time how the common mind would in all ages, when left to its own exercise, be improved with the spirit and word of the holy book? Was it not the Wisdom that cannot err in its intentions, and cannot be delighted with error of any kind? Can it be that the Holy One has so framed his words to us, that the intelligent creatures that he has made and so wisely governed, almost universally receive a false impression of truths that were designed to be eminently instrumental in saving us and in keeping us safe? Is it the truth, or is it error, that makes us free? Did God intend to have the Scriptures understood, or did he purposely adapt them to mislead us on matters of vital interest? Or must we take the odious position of the apostate Romish Church, that the Scriptures were not designed and adapted to the people in general, but for the few indoctrinated and taught by the infallible man from whom all law and all authorized interpretations are to proceed? If it should be objected to this, that, according to the very statements herein made, the Scriptures have, whether from original intention or not, uniformly misimpressed the common mind in respect to the immediateness of the coming of the Lord, the explanation is very easy: The Scriptures nowhere intimate that the great event will be separated from the present by a long period of time, and another widely different state of things. The alarming fact, that Christ will come to a wicked and unprepared world, is so revealed that the common mind does not misinterpret the practical intention of revealing the fact, and at the same time withholding the knowledge of the time. When the Master of the house gives his charge to the servants and takes his departure, informing them that he will certainly return, but not choosing to inform them when, and bidding them to watch and prepare for his coming, “lest coming suddenly he find them sleeping,“those servants do not receive a false or injurious impression, who employ themselves diligently, and stand on the watch constantly, not knowing when their Lord will return, whether at evening, or at midnight, or in the morning. If they should even receive a false alarm, and find themselves for the time mistaken, it would not, or at least, it ought not to destroy the original and intended effect of the uncertainty of the Master’s return. But if the impression should obtain that the Lord did not design to return, and certainly would not, until they had all died, and a long interval had intervened, and a new set of servants had been raised up to take their place, we can easily perceive how this impression might be the means of all being overtaken by surprise, just in proportion as the impression was believed and cherished. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.24
If the Master had given them a charge to watch and be ready for his coming, because they knew not the time, and he might come and find them unprepared; and if his words were intended to produce a conviction of the truth in the case - that is, if no such interval would elapse, as must in the nature of the case certainly make the danger of unwatchfulness to belong, not to them, but to a company of servants that should succeed them - then in this case, we see distinctly how their misimpression might be fatal to them. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.25
Perhaps enough has been said about the impression which the language of the Scriptures is adapted to make upon the general mind; but we cannot dismiss this point without observing, that when we have succeeded by ingeniously theorizing and allegorizing these universal first convictions away, and thereby taught the world that the primary impressions uniformly produced by the spirit and letter of the Scriptures upon the common mind, are not only not reliable, but even uniformly deceptive, and therefore not worthy of being cherished and followed; - when we have succeeded in accomplishing this, what else have we done? Firstly, we have corrupted the virgin purity of conviction that divine truth never fails to produce in all unprejudiced and unsophisticated minds, when that truth is presented direct and simple, as God has given it to us. And we have thereby set the example, and encouraged the practice of dalliance with seductive speculations with other portions of divine truth, until perhaps all that is calculated to move the unconverted soul has utterly lost its intended influence. When the mind has once been seduced to part with its virgin purity of conviction in religious things, and abandons itself to the lawless wantonness of unrestrained indulgence in religious theorizing and fond speculations, we know not what wide departures from spiritual virtue we may have initiated by that first successful incitement to do violence to its instinctive sense of logical propriety. After this first violation of original purity of conviction the mind henceforth is not as it was before, and, without a miracle, can never be again. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.26
Secondly. In doing this we have encouraged a disposition to distrust all that the Scriptures appear to teach by its simple letter, so far as the simple letter teaches what may not be pleasing to carnal taste, or may not be conformable with the reasonings and ever changing speculations of men, and have proportionally encouraged the fatally-dangerous habit of hunting up and inventing ingenious methods of explaining away, and otherwise negativing all portions of divine truth that men may not wish to understand just as God has been pleased to reveal it. And who can calculate the fatal results of such a state of things, in embarrassing and defeating the legitimate influence of the simple truth as God has revealed it? What is Universalism but a second step in the same direction? What is rationalistic neology but the finishing step in the same career? ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.27
Furthermore, when we have succeeded in establishing the new methods of exegesis, and in counteracting the universal primary impression made upon all unsophisticated minds, we shall have accomplished one thing more - we shall have triumphantly proved, to the gratification of every blind papist, that the Scriptures were not designed and adapted to the common mind - that is, to the nineteen-twentieths of the people - but were intended for the few, the men of vast research and extensive information; we shall have demonstrated that the common mind is not to be intrusted with the pure Word of God, but needs to have its first, unbiassed, convictions corrected by the more skillful theories and riper judgments of acute philosophers and professional divines. In other words, we shall have virtually abandoned the old Protestant ground, in reference to the adaptation and utility of the Holy Scriptures for the people in general, and in reality assumed the true Romish position, that the Word of God is not to be trusted with the people, unless accompanied and guarded by the profound annotations and multitudinous traditions of councils, bishops, and popes. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.28
When we have succeeded in accomplishing all of this, and for the express purpose, too, of evading and correcting what seems to the common mind to be the evident intention and force of multitudes of passages which represent the second advent as premillennial, and of such a nature and of such relations to other events, that it may soon happen, and that all might be living in expectation of it; when we have done all this, to the injury of the minds that we would benefit, to the injury and crippling of our own influence, as candid and consistent persons; when we have in this way succeeded in convincing ourselves, and the Church, and the world, too, that Christ will not and cannot come, and therefore ought not to be expected, until a thousand years, at least, of general holiness and peace have passed away - need we do any thing more - can we do any thing more, to bring about the fulfillment of the startling predictions that Christ will come unexpectedly to a slumbering and sleeping Church, and to a guilty, unbelieving world? Is not this the true solution of the tremendous problem, how, with the doctrine believed, with the admonitions admitted, and the duty of constant watchfulness professedly complied with, yet, nevertheless, the coming of the Lord will be as a thief in the night, and as a snare, upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth? Reader, reflect; for your soul’s sake reflect on this momentous subject. - Buck. (To be Continued.) ARSH November 4, 1862, page 179.29
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1862.
JAMES WHITE, EDITOR
Thoughts on the Revelation
CHAPTER XII
VERSES 1-6. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a manchild, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.1
Definition of symbols. “A woman:“the true church. “The sun:“the light and glory of the gospel dispensation. “The moon:“the Mosaic dispensation. As the moon shines with a borrowed light derived from the sun, so the former dispensation, shone with a light borrowed from the present. There we had the type and shadow; here we have the antitype and substance. “A crown of twelve stars:“the twelve apostles. “A great red dragon:“Pagan Rome. “Heaven:“the space in which this representation was seen by the apostle. We do not understand that the events here represented to John took place in Heaven where God resides; for they are events which transpired on earth: but this scenic representation which passed before the eye of the prophet appeared in the region occupied by the sun, moon and stars, which we speak of as heaven. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.2
Verses 1, 2 cover a period of time commencing just previous to the opening of the present dispensation when the church was earnestly longing for and expecting the advent of the Messiah, and extending to the time of the full establishment of the gospel church with its crown of twelve apostles. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.3
The dragon drew a third part of the stars from heaven. If the twelve stars with which the woman is crowned denote the twelve apostles, rulers in the Christian church, then the stars thrown down by the dragon before his attempt to destroy the man-child, or before the Christian era, may denote a portion of the rulers of the Jewish people. Judea became a Roman province before the birth of the Messiah. The Jews had three classes of rulers: Kings, priests, and the Sanhedrim. A third of these, the Kings, were taken away by the Roman power. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.4
The dragon stood before the woman to devour her child. Rome in the person of Herod attempted to destroy Jesus Christ, when he sent forth and destroyed all the children of Bethlehem from two years old and under. The child which was born to the expectant desires of a waiting and watching church, was our adorable Redeemer, who is soon to rule the nations with a rod of iron. Herod could not destroy him. The combined powers of earth and hell could not overcome him; and though held for a time under the dominion of the grave, he rent its cruel bands, opened a way of life for the race, and was caught up to God and his throne, or ascended up to heaven in the sight of his disciples, leaving to them by the words of the angels, this sweetest of all his promises that like as he was taken away from them, so he would come again. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.5
And the church fled into the wilderness, at the time the papacy was established, in 538, where it was nourished by the word of God and the ministration of angels, during the long dark and bloody rule, of that power, 1260 years. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.6
Verses 7-12. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony: and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Wo to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea! for the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.7
The first six verses of this chapter as has been seen, take us down to the end of the papal supremacy in 1798. In the seventh verse it is equally plain that we are carried back into ages past. How far? Answer. To the time first introduced in the chapter - the days of the first advent. “And there was war in heaven.” The same heaven where the woman and the dragon were seen at first; but they were actors in scenes that took place here upon earth; hence we understand this war to be located in the same place. At what time? Ans. During the days of Christ’s ministry here upon earth. That Michael is Christ see Jude 9; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; John 5:28, 29; and that this was a special time of warfare between him and Satan, need not be argued. That the dragon here means Satan is plainly stated. The symbol is applied to Pagan Rome in verse 3, because that power was Satan’s prime agent in the events there introduced. Satan had looked forward to Christ’s mission to earth as his last chance of success to overthrow the plan of salvation. He came to him with specious temptations, in hope of overcoming him; he tried in various ways to destroy him during his ministry; and when he had succeeded in laying him in the tomb, he endeavored in malignant triumph to hold him there; but in every encounter, the Son of God came off triumphant. And he sends back this gracious promise to his faithful followers: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” This shows us that Jesus while on earth, waged a warfare, and obtained the victory. Satan saw his last effort fail, his last scheme miscarry. He had boasted that he would overcome the Son of God in his mission to earth, and thus render the plan of salvation an ignominious failure; and well he knew if he was foiled in this his last desperate effort to thwart the work of God, his last hope perished, and all was lost. See Spiritual Gifts, Vol. i, p.67. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.8
But in the language of scripture, “He prevailed not,“and well may the song be sung, “Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.9
At this point some may be ready to say, “I am not yet willing to give up my life-long view that this war in Heaven was when Satan first rebelled, and that the casting out took place at that time.” To this view there are some objections; and one is that just as soon as he saw that he was cast out, he turned his wrathful vengeance against the church which very soon fled into the wilderness. This war, and defeat of Satan could not therefore be his primeval fall from Heaven; for it took place not a great length of time before the woman went into the wilderness in 538. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.10
Again, there seems to be a number of times when Satan has been or will be defeated or cast down. One was his first rejection from Heaven, another when Christ overcame him at his first advent, and there will be another in the future when he is cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up for a thousand years. And there seems to be a regular gradation in the limitation of his power each time. The first time, as we may plainly infer from certain scriptures, the contest was between him and God the Father. See Jude. The second time between him and Christ the Son. While the third time an angel suffices to accomplish the work of his humiliation. The war mentioned by the scripture in hand is between the Devil and Michael, Christ. The great effort of the former against the latter personally was during his mission here on earth; and Christ’s great victory over him personally was in that very contest. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.11
“Neither was their place found any more in heaven.” Heaven, we have seen, does not mean, in this chapter, the place which is the abode of God and his celestial messengers. We think it here denotes a condition rather than a place, and understand the expression to signify that they were here humiliated, and never to regain their former position. They had suffered a terrible defeat, which Christ described by saying, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” His hope which he had all along cherished of overcoming the Son of man when he took upon him our nature, had forever perished. His power was limited. He could no more aspire to a personal encounter with the Son of God, a power which hitherto had given, in a comparative degree, dignity and prestige to his position. Henceforth the church (the woman) is the object of his malice, and he resorts to all those nefarious means against her that would naturally characterize a baffled and homeless rage. See Spiritual Gifts, Vol. i, p.79. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.12
But hereupon a song is sung in heaven, “Now is come salvation,“etc. How is this, if these scenes are in the past? Had salvation and strength, and the Kingdom of God, and the power of his Christ then come? Ans. We understand this song to be sung in prospect. These things were made sure. The great victory had been won by Christ which put the question of their establishment forever at rest. Just as we read in other scriptures, “We have eternal life,“” We have redemption through his blood,“etc., as though we were actually now in possession of these blessings; whereas we only have them by faith, and the language is simply an assurance that they are forever sure to the final overcomers. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.13
The prophet then glances rapidly over the working of Satan from that time to the end, verses 11, 12, during which time the faithful “brethren” overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, while his wrath increases as his time grows short. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.14
Verses 13-17. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child. And to the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood, after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.15
But little comment is necessary on the verses last introduced. Suffice it to say that here we are again carried back to the time when Satan became fully aware that he had utterly failed in all his attempts against the Lord of glory in his earthly mission; and seeing this he turned with tenfold fury, as already noticed, upon the church which his antagonist had established. Then we have again brought to view the church in her wilderness state, a time, times and a half, 1260 years, verse 6, the flood of persecution which the Devil cast out after the church through the medium of the papacy, the help the church received from the Reformation, which being espoused by various princes and earthly powers, restrained the spirit and work of persecution, and finally the last assault of the dragon upon the commandment-keeping remnant, just in the future. It may be proper to notice that in this chapter three powers are made use of by the Devil to carry out his work, and hence are all spoken of as the dragon, he being the inspiring agent in them all. 1. Pagan Rome. 2. Papal Rome. 3. The two horned beast, Protestant America, which is the chief agent, as will hereafter appear, in making war upon those who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus. What the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus are, the readers of the Review, or, at least, all believers in the third message, already full well understand. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.16
THE SHINING ONES. - It is said that a pure diamond may be easily recognized by putting it under water, when it retains all its brilliancy while all other precious stones lose their peculiar appearance. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.17
Thus it is with the person who is made pure in the blood of Jesus. However deep the waters are which overflow his soul, still his light shines, showing the peculiar excellency of the Christian’s hope, and the power of divine grace. Of such it may be truly affirmed, “Ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 180.18
The Messages of Revelation 14:9-12
THIS message is given in prophecy as the last merciful warning to mankind. We need no doctor of divinity to tell us this. It is evident to every one who will think upon it. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.1
1. It is followed by the coming of Christ, as symbolized by one like the Son of man, seated upon the white cloud, with kingly crown and sickle, to gather the harvest of the earth. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.2
2. The terms of the message prove it to be the closing message of probation - a judgment message, by which the living at the advent will be judged. Wrath unmixed follows upon all that do not heed it, consequently there can be no later proclamation by which men can be saved. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.3
It is evident that when this message is proclaimed, there will be great danger that the very elect, if it were possible, should be seduced to worship the beast. Such a fearful warning and dreadful threatening indicate great danger. This shows that the mass of professed Christians of the last generation will be following some doctrine, custom, or tradition of the papacy; and that there must be a reform in respect to the false teaching of popery, to prepare the saints, living at that time, to be translated at the coming of Christ. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.4
The result of the message in developing a people that keep the commandments of God, proves, 1st, That previously they had not all been kept. “Here are they” does not indicate that it had, all the while, been common for Christians to keep all the commandments of God. 2nd. That they will be tested by the commandments of God as opposed to the worship of the beast. Before the test they are in error in respect to the commandments, after the test they are right upon them all. We need not labor to prove that the ten commandments are the commandments of God. The phrase must include the ten, whether it excludes others or not; and when coupled with the faith of Jesus, which embraces church ordinances, and all requirements peculiar to the faith of the gospel as a means of salvation from sin, it must mean the ten exclusively, for they embody all the great principles of right, and consequently detect every sin. To be wrong on these commandments, then, is to be in sin. Hence the propriety and the importance of this test. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.5
But upon what point in the commandments can the test come? Though some hold that it is impossible for Christians to be perfectly agreed upon the commandments, yet there is no disagreement in respect to nine of the ten. All are agreed that the nine are binding. They are also agreed in respect to their meaning. It is the Sabbath commandment alone upon which there is any disagreement; and lo! this is the plainest and most explicit of all the ten. It tells us to “remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.” It instructs us how to keep it, tells us which day is the Sabbath and why, and for what reason, it was instituted. Yet the disagreement is all upon this commandment, and consequently the test is upon this alone. Some say the day has been changed, others that the commandment has been abolished, while a few hold the commandment to be unchangeable and perpetual - the only position that can be harmonized with scripture or reason. It is evident that when the last message is proclaimed, the Sabbath question will be the test question. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.6
Just before the wrath is executed which is threatened in this last message, the servants of God are signed or sealed in their foreheads, to prepare them to stand in the great day of wrath. Revelation 7. In Exodus 31, and Ezekiel 20, the Sabbath is four times declared to be a sign between God and his people - a sign of the knowledge of the true God. The reason of this is obvious. The Sabbath commandment is the only one of the ten which distinguishes the giver of that law as the MAKER of all things. We might choose a crocodile for our god, and keep all the commandments, except the Sabbath, to him; but we cannot keep the Sabbath in honor of any but the Maker of the heavens and the earth. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.7
On the other hand, the papacy gives us a sign or mark of his authority and power to make laws, to bind men’s consciences, and command them under sin. What is it? In the language of an approved Roman Catholic writer, it is “the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday.” If the papal church did change the Sabbath into Sunday, as it claims, to keep its “Sunday” instead of the Sabbath, is an acknowledgment of its power and right to change the law of God, and an acceptance of its proffered mark of the same. Hence, those that keep all the commandments of God will not have the mark of the beast, and those that accept of the mark of the beast will not keep all the commandments of God. This is the test on the commandments. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.8
The faith of Jesus - the plan of salvation through Christ, and the ordinances of the Christian church, will be restored to primitive purity, under this last message. When this is done, baptism will commemorate the resurrection of Christ, as in primitive days, and there will be no farther need nor excuse for honoring the resurrection day of the Son at the expense and dishonor of the rest-day of the Father. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.9
Signs fulfilled declare the coming of Christ and the end of probationary time at hand. Several lines of consecutive prophecy have been all fulfilled, except the concluding act - the coming of Christ, the dashing in pieces of the nations, and the establishment of the kingdom of God, the everlasting kingdom. The events fulfilled are so many signs that the remaining great event will follow. To disbelieve the remaining event or events of a prophecy, is to disbelieve the prophecy; and to disbelieve the prophecy is to disbelieve God, the author of the prophecy. Therefore if you do not believe that the coming of Christ is at hand, you are in unbelief, and so far an infidel. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.10
“But,“says a friend, “I do believe that the coming of Christ is at hand. I am looking for that event continually.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.11
“You are! And what do you think about the third angel’s message?” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.12
“I don’t know anything about that, but I am looking for Christ almost daily, because so many signs have been fulfilled.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.13
You are a believer then, and not an infidel. But how is it that a believer ignores the third angel’s message? If it is infidelity to reject past fulfillments of prophecy, what is it to reject so solemn and important a message, which is so evidently placed before the coming of Christ! The word being true, he will never come till this message has been proclaimed with a loud voice. It is the most solemn and fearful prophetic message of the word of God. It is placed immediately preceding the coming of the Son of man. It will be the most thrilling, and all-important, all-absorbing truth for the people of that period of time; the great preparing truth, without which no living soul will be prepared to stand in that day. And yet men professing faith in the word of prophecy, tell us that they are expecting Christ immediately, ignoring, if not repudiating and virtually expunging from the word the only message that can prepare any one for that event. If this is not infidelity, what is? ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.14
But, says one, I believe this message has been fulfilled in the past. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.15
Then you believe that probation closed, and wrath unmingled came upon all those that rejected it, or neglected it in the past. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.16
Says another, I believe this message will be fulfilled after the coming of Christ. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.17
You must have some good reason for placing that after the coming of the Lord, which the word of inspiration has placed before that event. If your position is correct, the beast will be worshiped, and the unmixed wrath of God will be poured out after the beast has been destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.18
But the solemn message has been announced, and is now doing its fearful work. It has come in the order and place assigned it in the prophecy. The reason people do not see it and acknowledge it is, because they are not in harmony with the great test which it brings. But for this test, Adventists would believe this prophetic message just as they do any other prophecy of the kind. But your law-abolishing, no-Sabbath theory cannot be harmonized with the test on the commandments in this message. This is the reason you are not willing to have the message here, where God has placed it, and is fulfilling it. If he should hear your prayer, and put it over beyond the coming of Christ, into the “age to come,“you would not like it any better than you now do. The message would mean just what it does now. The worship and mark of the beast would be the same, and the test on the commandments would be the same. The message would cut up your theory just as it does now; and if you will not have it now, you would not receive it then. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.19
But the message is doing its work in harmony with the prophecy. That which has been a message in prospect for nearly eighteen hundred years, is now a message in fact. The Most High is redeeming his promise. All the prophecies are like promissory notes; and the Lord has never failed to meet each obligation as fast as they have become due, and never will. Men who will not believe when prophecy is fulfilled, are like those who will not give up a note when it is paid. Anciently God gave circumcision and the ceremonial law as a sign and pledge of his promise, to give Christ to the world, of the seed of Abraham. Time passed on, the obligation came due, and the promise was punctually fulfilled. But the Jews would not give up the note. They held fast the sign, and thus still claimed the promise made to Abraham, as being yet unfulfilled. Thus they proved themselves infidels. Payment has been made, the obligation canceled, whether they accept it or not, and it will not be fulfilled again to cure their unbelief. Should Christ come and die again, they would still be infidels. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.20
It is just so now. God is fulfilling his promises as they mature. In addition to all other signs in heaven and on earth, he has caused the first, the second, and the third angels’ messages to be announced in their order. Infidelity is left without excuse. The light upon the work of the beast is clear; being attested by scripture, its fulfillment in history and the claims of the papacy itself, not only that it has power to make laws to bind men’s consciences, and command them under sin, but that it is the author of the very change in question, the change of the Sabbath into Sunday, and as papists very truly say, “without any scriptural authority whatever.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.21
But still unbelief will not acknowledge that God is fulfilling his word. Men will not give him credit for the redemption of his promises, and would not, of course, should he repeat the fulfillment. This he can never do. He cannot deny himself. His word once fulfilled, is fulfilled forever. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.22
To deny that the third message is being fulfilled, is either to deny God’s providence in fulfilling his own word, or to deny the existence of facts which are forming a portion of the history of the present time. Could we take a stand-point in the future, and look back upon what God is now doing for this generation, and view the incurable unbelief of the mass of professed believers in the Bible, we should be astonished beyond measure. The unbelief of the Jewish people in the prophecies which they professed to believe, is truly a wonder; but what is that, compared with the present time, a time when the still increasing light of the prophetic word fulfilled, is illuminating our pathway, and showing us where we are in the foretold history of the course of time. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.23
Be entreated, dear reader, to believe God’s word, and give him credit for what he is now doing in fulfillment thereof. Do not attempt to remove the present message into the past or the future, but investigate its claims, and meet its just demands, while God, in his providence is causing it to be proclaimed. The Lord’s own time has come for its fulfillment, the work is being done, and when it is done, it will be done forever. You have no time to spend in ruinous delay, brooding over your doubts of God’s faithfulness. The last merciful warning is growing louder and louder, and soon it will be said, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” O let us escape the fate of the unbeliever and the transgressor. Let us not be left to mourn, when salvation’s gate is forever barred, that we might have entered, but we are too late! ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.24
R. F. COTTRELL.
THE HAPPY MAN. - If thou hast a Christ in thy heart, a Cross on thy shoulder, a World under thy feet, and a Heaven in thy view, thou art the happy man. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.25
Have only one entrance into your heart, and have that well fortified against all evil thoughts. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 181.26
Sacred Music
IT is said that the exile who chances to hear,
In the land of the stranger his own native tongue,
Or some strain that in childhood delighted his ear,
Though he listen with rapture yet weeps o’er the song.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.1
For then what bright visions appear to his view!
What scenes of enchantment rise quickly around!
The land where the first breath of freedom he drew,
His home, his loved kindred, he seems to have found!
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.2
But though sweet the delusion, not long can it last:
In a moment the lovely deceptions are flown:
With the sounds that produce them, too quickly they passed,
And the exile still finds himself sad and alone.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.3
And is not the Christian an exile on earth?
And is not sweet music the language of heaven?
Of that land whence the spirit received her high birth,
And from whence the bright grant of her freedom was given?
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.4
And thus, while he listens to anthems of praise,
Or some soft-stealing melody falls on his ear,
Those regions of joy he in spirit surveys,
And seems the sweet song of the ransomed to hear.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.5
Nay, he seems to have entered that haven of rest,
To have bidden farewell to temptations and woes:
Already he joins the bright bands of the blest,
Already partakes their eternal repose.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.6
But the charm is soon broken; the sounds die away;
No mandate, as yet, is sent down of release:
He mourns to perceive still so distant the day,
When his sufferings and labors forever shall cease.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.7
That day of delight, when an exile no more,
His country, his home, his loved friends he regains,
Tunes his harp to the chorus oft longed for before,
Where sorrow and sighing ne’er blend with the strains.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.8
Doings of the N. Y. Conference
AT Roosevelt, N. Y., evening after the Sabbath, Oct. 25, 1862, the N. Y. State Conference held its first business session. Prayer by Bro. Andrews. For the purpose of organization, Bro. J. N. Andrews was called to the chair, and J. M. Aldrich appointed Secretary. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.9
On motion of Bro. Cottrell, all brethren present in good standing with the body of S. D. Adventists were invited to take part in the business proceedings of the Conference. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.10
Moved by Bro. D. Arnold, and carried, that we now call for the representation of the different churches. In pursuance of this resolution, nearly all the churches in the State - whether organized or unorganized - duly responded by their delegates, and desired to become members of the State Conference. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.11
On motion of J. M. Aldrich, resolved that we now proceed to consider the applications of the various churches to become organized into a State Conference, and ascertain what churches are qualified therefor. After a careful examination of the standing and condition of the several churches, as presented to the conference by the delegates, the following named were deemed duly qualified for such organization, viz., Ulysses, Potter Co., Pa., Mixtown, Tioga Co., Pa., Willing, Catlin, Olcott, Somerset, Mill Grove, Eagle Harbor, Clarkson, Rochester, Kirkville, West Monroe, Grass River, Mannsville, Oswego, and Roosevelt, N. Y. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.12
On motion, Brn. J. N. Andrews, R. F. Cottrell, N. Fuller, S. B. Whitney, D. Arnold, and J. M. Aldrich were appointed a committee to draft necessary rules and regulations as the basis of organization, and for the government of the Conference when organized; also to prepare business for the further consideration of the Conference. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.13
Adjourned to meet at 8 1/2 o’clock first-day morning; whereupon the committee went into immediate session, and labored faithfully until sun-rising. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.14
At the hour appointed, Conference again convened, and the committee reported the following preamble and rules, which were adopted: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.15
Whereas, In view of the great work before us of keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and the truths connected with the third angel’s message, and the importance of order, union, and concentration of action in the dissemination of these truths, therefore, ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.16
Resolved, That the several churches assembled in Conference at Roosevelt, Oct. 26, 1862, which, after due examination, were deemed qualified for organization into a State Conference, be formed into an Association, to be called the New York State Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and to be governed by the following rules and regulations: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.17
RULE 1. The officers of the Conference shall be a President, Secretary, Treasurer, and a Conference committee of three, said officers to be chosen annually. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.18
RULE 2. The duties of the President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be such as usually pertain to those offices, and they shall make a faithful report to the Conference annually. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.19
RULE 3. It shall be the duty of the Conference committee to appoint the time and place of the annual Conferences, and to call special Conferences, whenever in their judgment it may be needful to do so; to take the general supervision of all tent operations, and property belonging to the Conference; to audit and settle accounts with ministers and others in the employ of the Conference, and to exercise general directory power in all matters which shall be for the advancement of the third angel’s message. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.20
RULE 4. It shall be the duty of the clerk of each church belonging to this Conference, to transmit to the Secretary thereof, before the first of January in each Conference year, the number of members in good standing in their respective churches, and also the amount of weekly receipts of systematic benevolence in each church; and it shall be the further duty of the Conference committee to ascertain as near as practicable, the amount of money needed for the current expenses of the year, and determine what percentage shall be needed of the S. B. fund therefor, and to return thereafter as soon as is practicable, to the several churches a statement, showing the amount of percentage due from them respectively, which amount should be paid over to the Treasurer, one half by the first of May, and the remainder by the first of September in each year. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.21
RULE 5. All duly accredited S. D. Adventist ministers that are located or may be laboring within the bounds of this Conference, shall be considered as belonging thereunto. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.22
RULE 6. The churches composing this Conference shall be represented in all meetings of the same by their duly authorized delegates, be the same more or less; provided however, each church to the number of fifteen members or under, shall have the privilege of casting but one vote, and one vote for every additional ten members. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.23
The Conference next proceeded to the election of officers, which resulted as follows: For President, D. Arnold, of Fulton, N. Y.; for Secretary, J. M. Aldrich, of Somerset, N. Y.; for Treasurer, J. B. Lamson, of Rochester, N. Y.; for Conference committee, J. M. Lindsay, of Olcott, N. Y., H. Hilliard, of Grass River, N. Y., and J. M. Aldrich, of Somerset, N. Y. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.24
The following resolutions were presented by the committee on business, and adopted by the Conference: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.25
Resolved, That this Conference determine who are the evangelical ministers within the bounds thereof, and that suitable credentials be given to the same, at this and each annual meeting hereafter. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.26
Resolved, That we deem Brn. J. N. Andrews, N. Fuller, and R. F. Cottrell, approved evangelical ministers of this Conference, and that we give them suitable credentials. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.27
Resolved, That the Conference committee be authorized to exercise discretionary power in giving credentials to such ministers as have not already been approved by this Conference, and shall in the interval between this and the next meeting thereof, give evidence that they are laboring in the order of God. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.28
Resolved, That our ministers should make a written report at each annual Conference of the amount of their weekly labors during the Conference year, and also the entire amount of their receipts and expenditures during the same time. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.29
Resolved, That we deem the labors of Bro. J. N. Andrews necessary to the good of the cause of present truth in this State, and that we hereby tender him a hearty invitation to remove his family among us, and labor with us as the way may open, and also with the tent during the next tent season. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.30
Resolved, That we earnestly request Brn. James White, J. N. Loughborough, and John Byington - the Michigan Conference committee - to whom was referred the power of assigning to ministers their respective fields of labor, to provide in due season a messenger to labor in this State with Bro. Andrews during the next tent season. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.31
Resolved, That we recommend and invite Brn. Andrews and Fuller to labor at present in Central N. Y., if it shall appear to be duty, and the way properly opens for them so to do. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.32
Resolved, That we instruct the Conference committee to purchase a new tent, and man the same for operations next season, and pay the expense thereof from the funds of the Conference. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.33
Resolved, That we earnestly recommend those churches which have united with the Conference, and those churches and companies which have not yet thus united, but desire and intend so to do, to lose no time in getting S. B. thoroughly established among them; and that in view of the largely-increased amount of funds that will be necessary for the purchase of a new tent; and other immediate demands of the cause, we urgently enjoin upon them the necessity of being more than usually liberal in their subscriptions to the S. B. fund. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.34
Resolved, That we recommend to the several churches in Central N. Y. to establish monthly meetings among them, and that they hold the first meeting with the church at Roosevelt, on the first Sabbath in December; and also that we recommend the same to the churches in Northern N. Y., and that they hold the first meeting with the church at Norfolk, on the fourth Sabbath in November. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.35
Resolved, That the State Conference exercise a watch-care over the unorganized companies of believers and individuals within the bounds of the Conference, and recommend that they make haste to become organized, and unite with the Conference. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.36
Resolved, That while we pray for the restoration to the church of the gifts of the Spirit, we fully recognize the gift of prophecy, which has accompanied the message from its very rise. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.37
Resolved, That we request the labors of Bro. and Sr. White at the meetings of this Conference, and that we stand by them in the discharge of the duties and responsibilities which God has laid upon them. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.38
Moved and carried that the proceedings of this Conference be published in the Review. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.39
Adjourned sine die. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.40
Three sessions were occupied in the transaction of the proceedings above recorded. The discussion that took place during the passage of the foregoing resolutions was spirited and interesting, and some heart-searching and very affecting testimonies were given. Perfect harmony prevailed throughout the whole meeting. J. N. ANDREWS, Chairman. J. M. ALDRICH, Secretary. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.41
Business Proceedings of the Minnesota Conference. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.42
THE conference assembled for the transaction of business evening after the Sabbath, Oct. 4. Prayer by Bro. W. Morse. Elders present, Jno. Bostwick, W. Morse. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.43
The following churches were represented: Oronoco, Ashland, and Deerfield. An item of business with reference to W. M. Allen was disposed of. Report of the Tent finances was given by Bro. Bostwick, and accepted by vote of the conference. It was then ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.44
Voted, That the organized churches in the State shall constitute the Minnesota conference of Seventh-day Adventists. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.45
Moved, That a conference committee of three be chosen, and that said committee be composed of the following brethren, the first to act as chairman; viz., W. Morse, Elias Sanford, Ezra Odell. Carried. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.46
The advancement of the cause, and labor connected therewith, was next taken into consideration, and the following action taken: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.47
Whereas, Minnesota is, as we believe, a favorable field for labor, and, ARSH November 4, 1862, page 182.48
Whereas, Our present tent is unfit for service, therefore, ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.1
Resolved, That an effort be made to secure a serviceable tent for Minn., and labor from abroad to assist in preaching. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.2
Voted, That the conference committee is hereby directed to confer with Bro. White in relation to purchasing a new tent, or tent circle, and the probable cost, and report the result of their consultation at the next conference. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.3
By vote Eld. Jno. Bostwick was invited to become a member of this conference. It was also voted to give him credentials. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.4
The demands of the cause for the ensuing winter were next canvassed. At the request of the brethren, Bro. Bostwick decided to make Minnesota his field of labor during the winter. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.5
In connection with this it was ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.6
Moved, That this conference urge upon the churches and brethren generally throughout the State the necessity of promptly meeting the wants of the cause by systematic benevolence. Carried. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.7
It will be seen by reference to the action upon tent operations, that it is necessary we should hold a business conference the coming winter. Upon this the following was passed: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.8
Resolved, That the conference committee consult with Bro. White in relation to our next conference, and designate the time and place for holding the same. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.9
Adjourned sine die.
CALVIN KELSEY, Chairman.
F. W. MORSE, Secretary.
I am very sorry to hear that brethren were influenced to a rebellious spirit through their great confidence in me; and also, that, when I saw I was wrong and publicly renounced my position, their confidence did not continue. It is easier to lead people into wrong and rebellion than to lead them out of it. I am not conscious that I had a rebellious spirit at all. I am very sorry for my rash, inconsiderate act, and for my slowness in realizing its effects and striving to counteract them. Brethren, forgive me. And may God forgive me. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.10
R. F. COTTRELL.
The Cause in Allegany Co., N. Y
BRO. WHITE: As there has been no very definite report made recently of the State of the cause in Allegany Co., N. Y., I thought it might be proper to give a few facts in relation to the same. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.11
Some over a year ago, the brethren at the Nile Settlement, young in the faith, were destitute of a place for worship, and commenced to erect one, but did not feel able to do much. The brethren in other parts of the country united with them, when an opposing influence against organization came in and alienated the feelings of some. Knowing somewhat of the trials that awaited them, so different from their past trials, and their unprepared state to meet them, I united with them to plan and execute, as far as my then feeble health would admit. In November we organized a society according to the law of this State, to hold property in trust for the S. D. Adventist church. In May the house was completed in a neat and commodious manner, at which time a majority of the brethren were satisfied that nothing but a thorough church organization could save the church from destruction. Failing to obtain help from Bro. White or Cornell, we concluded to do what we could to right up ourselves, and appointed a general Bible-class in which was faithfully discussed the unity and perfection of the church and the means ordained of God to accomplish the work. The good Spirit attended the effort, and most all were blessed with the assurance that this move was in the right direction. The Testimonies to the Church had been previously read. After some facts were stated by those that had a personal knowledge of the effect of the development of the Spirit of prophecy among the S. D. Adventists, the visions were unanimously endorsed as bearing the divine impress, and coming from God. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.12
Aug. 10, the church was organized according to the plan laid down by the Battle Creek General Conference. Four have since been added, and others, we believe, are preparing to come. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.13
We bless the God of heaven for what church organization is doing for his poor despised people, and especially for those that were ensnared and bound by filthy habits and wicked fashions, but who now are free indeed, blessed with sweet, heavenly union with the body, anxious to act well their part in preparing to escape those things that are coming on the earth, and be translated at the return of our glorified Redeemer. E. L. BARR. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.14
P. S. Brn. S. Babcock and H. Burdick of Clymer, Pa., received notice of their being drafted last Sabbath, and left Tuesday for Wellsborough, and from there to Harrisburgh. Bro. Babcock is anxious to have his Review continued, so that his wife may forward it to him as often as she can. He was in haste for the church in his place to be organized, but knew not why, but now rejoices that it was done in season for him to leave his companion and dear children under the watchcare of a body so constituted that when one member suffers, all suffer with it. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.15
“War lifts his helmet to his brow,
O God, protect thy people now.”
E. L. B.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.16
LETTERS
“Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another.”
From Sister Martin
BRO. WHITE: I rejoice as I read the cheering news we receive weekly through the Review with regard to present truth. We rejoice to hear the cause is prospering and that the people of God are coming up on higher and holier ground; that the gifts are being prized and hold their proper place in the church; that organization has done well; that we are becoming more united. I do long to see the time when all will be one; when our dear Saviour’s own prayer will be answered; when his people will be one even as he and his Father are one. We are living in solemn times. It is time we had put away every thing that is not Christ like. O that we could fully realize our position and prepare for events we are just entering on. We have all an individual work to do, and should take great heed to the warnings of the apostle Peter; “Seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye be found of him without spot and blameless.” Let us take heed to those God has called to lead out in this great work of fitting up and preparing a people for the coming of the Lord. We do watch with the deepest interest the movements of the body. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.17
We have no preachers nor teachers but our Bible, with the Review and books; but we have all the same kind Father, the same compassionate Saviour to go to, and we have great reason to be thankful for what he has done for us. We are striving to lay aside every idol. We have given up tea and coffee and all useless ornaments. We have done what we could to prevail on our neighbors and friends to read our books. Some have read and acknowledged them good, but do not heed them. Others tell me they would not read for fear of becoming convinced. Some are investigating, and I do hope and pray may see the truth and obey it. I do hope God in his mercy will raise up a church here in Ireland. Surely we are for signs and wonders to those around us. There might be good done if there was any to preach the truth. I write this, knowing that some of the readers of the Review will like to know how we are doing in Ireland. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.18
Yours striving for the kingdom.
JANE MARTIN.
Tullyvine, Ballybay, Ireland.
From Bro. Bellamy
BRO. WHITE: For the first time I try to contribute a few lines to the pages of the Review as I many times have been encouraged by reading the cheering letters from brethren and sisters scattered abroad. I am striving to be an overcomer through the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. I am glad that the Lord ever permitted me to hear the sound of the third angel’s message and gave me a willing heart to turn my feet into his testimonies. Once his word was all a dark mystery to me. Now it is a glorious lamp to my feet and light to my path. I am trying to let its sacred truths have a sanctifying effect upon my daily walk and conversation. A few of us in this place are striving to go forward having union for our strength, love for our banner, and eternal life for our motto, while our watchword is, The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.19
Our hearts beat in unison with those in the third message: for we believe that the Lord is leading out a people zealous of good works and preparing them for translation. We want to go with the remnant to the kingdom. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.20
We are satisfied that we are living in a very important period of the world’s history, and we believe also, that we are living in the time when the last state of the church is being manifested. How important then it is that we heed fully the counsel of the faithful and true Witness. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.21
We have been striving to arise and come up to the help of the Lord, and, bless his holy name, we have had a refreshing season. The Lord has poured out his Spirit upon us and every soul has been encouraged to persevere. Pray for us that we may stand fast in the faith, and that there be no divisions among us. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.22
WM. BELLAMY.
Wellsville, N. Y.
Extracts from Letters
Bro. J. F. Hammond writes from Providence, R. I.: BRO. WHITE: I have been greatly delighted in reading the Review for a few weeks. It seems to grow more and more interesting to me. I was much pleased with your article on the war, and do not see how any one can misunderstand you or find fault with your view. Although I am too old to be subject to military duty, yet if I was not, I should feel to leave all with God. My confidence has not decreased in the power and goodness of God. If we faithfully and fully serve him, I believe he will not suffer his willing and obedient children to be brought into any place where he cannot be glorified. God suffered the three Hebrews to go into the burning fiery furnace but he was glorified in their going there, as also in the case of Daniel. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.23
Sister S. Philo writes from Bunker Hill, Mich.: I still cling to the faith, and by the grace of God I am bound for the kingdom. When I read the word of God and see the promises there are in it, it strengthens me and gives me courage. Our Saviour says, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.24
THE WEAKNESS OF THE UNION CAUSE. - Gov. Andrew, of Massachusetts, is reported to have said: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.25
“I have never believed it to be possible that this controversy should end, and peace resume her sway, till the dreadful iniquity of human bondage had been trodden beneath our feet. I believe it cannot, and I have noticed, my friends - although I am not superstitious I believe - that, from the day that our Government turned its back upon the proclamation of Gen. Hunter, the blessing of God has been withdrawn from our arms. We were marching on, conquering and to conquer; post after post had fallen before our victorious arms; but since that day I have seen no such victories.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.26
KEEPING PROMISES WITH CHILDREN. - A gentleman of nervous temperament once called on Dr. Dwight, President of Yale College. One of the Doctor’s boys was rather boisterous, and pestered the nervous gentleman somewhat, whereupon he said to him: “My boy, if you will keep still while I am talking to your father, I will give you a dollar.” Instantly the boy hushed down gently as a sleeping lamb. At the close of the gentleman’s remarks, he attempted to leave without giving the boy the dollar; but Dr. Dwight was too fast for him. He put a dollar into the man’s hand saying, “You promised my boy a dollar for good behavior. Give him that, as you promised. If, sir, we lie, our children will be liars also. - Sel. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.27
OBITUARY
DIED, in Elmore, Vt., Sept. 10, 1862, Willie H. W., son of Henry and Sarah A. Olmstead, aged 10 months and 20 days. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 183.28
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1862
N. Y. State Conference
THIS conference was held at Roosevelt, Oswego Co., Sept. 25, 26, according to previous appointment in the Review. The different churches in this State and Pennsylvania were as well represented as could be expected on so short a notice. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.1
We had the privilege of meeting, for the first time in this part of the State, our dear Bro. Eld. N. Fuller of Ulysses, Pa. He represented four churches, two in Pa. and two in the southern part of Western N. Y. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.2
Our meetings were deeply interesting, and we trust that the church in these States is beginning to rise. We were sorry that Bro. and Sr. White were not permitted to meet with us to aid in our work of organization, but still we trust we have made a beginning which will prove the beginning of better days for the cause in these States. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.3
There was great unanimity on the subject of organization. All seemed to feel the necessity and importance of it. The business was transacted in the most harmonious manner, the expressions taken by vote were unanimous without exception, or, if not unanimous, without a dissenting voice. The report of the business proceedings will show what rules and resolutions were adopted. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.4
May the blessing of heaven attend our efforts to come fully into order, so that it may be with us as with the little army of Gideon, which “stood every man in his place, round about the camp” of the Midianites. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.5
R. F. COTTRELL.
An Infidel Blunder - St. Paul’s Bay
WE suppose this is the bay in the northern part of the celebrated Bay of Naples, near where Paul and his fellow prisoners landed at Puteoli, when on their way to Rome. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.6
We lately heard a very curious blunder that an infidel sea captain made in regard to Paul’s voyage. This Infidel was conversing with a clergyman, and expressing his disbelief of the Bible, because there were so many errors in it. The clergyman wished him to mention one. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.7
“Well,“said he, “there is one statement in the account of Paul’s voyage, that is enough to convince me that the Bible can’t be true - that it is a fiction.” ” What is it?” inquired the clergyman. “Why, it says, ‘And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence we fetched a compass aboard and came to Rhegium.’”” Now,“said he, “that was long before the compass was discovered, and that shows that the Bible is not true, but that it was entirely made up.” ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.8
Now every Sabbath-school scholar can see that this infidel made a gross blunder in reading the Bible. It does not say that they “fetched a compass aboard,“but that they “fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium,“that is, they made a circuit from Syracuse and came to Rhegium. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.9
Now, children, be careful how you read the Bible. How many have doubts about the word of God, on account of their own blunders in reading it. - Sel. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.10
APPOINTMENTS
PROVIDENCE permitting there will be a meeting of Seventh-day Adventists in Lisbon, Linn Co. Iowa, commencing November 28th 1862, at six o’clock P. M. and continuing over Sabbath. The church at Fairview and Marion, are cordially invited to attend. As we understand that Bro. M. E. Cornell is in Northern Iowa, we extend our invitation to him, hoping that he will meet with us. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.11
By order of the church.
J. T. MITCHELL.
PROVIDENCE permitting Bro. Goodenough and I will meet with the churches in Wis. as follows: Marquette, Nov. 15 and 16, Mackford, 22 and 23; Mauston, 29 and 30. Meetings to commence at each place on Friday evening. We hope to meet all the lonely ones in reach of these meetings. As an agent for the Review and Instructor I would like to have all who possibly can, pay up their indebtedness for the same.
ISAAC SANBORN.
ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.12
Quarterly Meetings
THE Michigan Conference Committee appoint Quarterly meetings as follows: ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.13
| Monterey, | Nov. 8,9. |
| Wright, | ” 15,16. |
| Greenville, | ” 22,23. |
| Where Bro. E. S. Griggs may appoint, | ” 29,30. |
| Lapeer, | Dec. 6,7. |
| Where Eld. Lawrence may appoint, | ” 13,14. |
| Tompkins, | ” 20,21. |
| Hanover, | ” 27,28. |
| Parkville, | Jan. 3,4. |
| Where Bro. Harvey, Ind., may appoint, | ” 10,11. |
| Charlotte, Eaton Co., | ” 17,18. |
One or more of the Committee will be in attendance at these Quarterly meetings. Should any changes be necessary in the appointments, they will be made in season to save disappointment. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.14
| JAMES WHITE, | ] | Michigan |
| J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH, | ] | Conference |
| JOHN BYINGTON. | ] | Committee |
Elders J. N. Loughborough and John Byington will meet with the church at Bowne, Thursday, Nov. 13, at 10 A. M. Lowell, Sabbath and first-day, 15 and 16. CON. COM. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.15
Business Department
Business Notes
Joseph Denny: Where is your Review sent? ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.16
Who is it? Some person writes from Mantorville, inclosing $2 for Review, but signs no name. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.17
A. Abbey: You are credited with $7,50. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.18
E. S. Griggs: The address of J. P. Hunt, is drawer 5983, Chicago, Ills. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.19
Receipts FOR REVIEW AND HERALD
Annexed to each receipt in the following list, is the Volume and Number of the REVIEW AND HERALD to which the money receipted pays. If money for the paper is not in due time acknowledged, immediate notice of the omission should then be given. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.20
W. Vancil for M. S. Hitchcock 0,50,xx,1. D. Evans 2,00,xxi,1. J. Whitenack 1,00,xxi,1. E. Barnum 1,00,xx,7. T. Crouch 2,00,xxii,28. J. F. Carman 1,00,xxii,1. C. Smith 1,00,xxii,18. George Johnson 2,00,xxiii,1. Harriet Shaver 0,50,xxii,1. H. Smith 0,50,xxi,1. Mrs. O. J. Dayton 1,00,xxi,17. C. G. Langdon 2,00,xxii,1. J. N. Cunningham M. D. 2,50,xx,21. Rachel Fessenden 2,00,xxii,8. F. Moorman 2,50,xxii,20. S. A. Street 1,10,xxi,15. R. Smith 2,00,xxii,13. E. Temple 1,88,xxiii,1. G. Smith 1,00,xix,1. Lucia Morris 2,00,xxiii,24. Louisa M. Gates 2,00,xxiii,1. M. Osborn 1,00,xxi,1. E. A. Claflin 1,50,xxii,1. A. Jones 4,00,xx,19. E. E. Jones for A. D. Jones 1,00,xxii,28. C. J. Mack 2,00,xxii,1. A. A. Marks 1,00,xxi,1. A. A. Marks for L. Marks 1,00,xxii,1. E. Brackett 1,00,xxii,1. Wm. Smith 1,00,xxii,1. Mrs. J. C. Parker 1,00,xxi,13. Deacon J. M. Mills 1,00,xx,1. J. S. Mills 1,00,xxii,7. A. S. Gillett 2,00,xxiii,5. B. F. Brockway 2,00,xx,10. J. Sanders 2,00,xvii,1. Geo. Sanders 2,50,xviii,14. Ch. at Hanover for B. A. Phillips 5,00,xxiii,1. R. Hoag 1,75,xxi,20. R. C. Hunnewell 2,00,xxii,20. F. F. Lamoreaux 1,00,xxii,1. J. T. Rogers 1,00,xx,1. R. G. Curtis 1,00,xxi,1. James Baker 2,50,xxii,17. F. B. Miller 2,25,xxiii,1. Mrs. M. Ashbaugh 3,70,xxiv,1. W. Livingston 1,00,xx,1. A. Abbey 2,00,xxii,1. A. Seymour 3,00,xxii,23. C. Bailey 3,00,xxi,1. Fanny Hall 1,00,xxii,1. H. H. Wilcox 2,00,xxii,14. Emily Wilcox 2,00,xxiii,19. E. Davis 1,00,xx,1. M. M. Leach 3,00,xxiii,1. Martha A. White 2,00,xxiii,18. Alvira Mullen 2,00,xx,28. R. Griggs 1,00,xxiii,1. J. H. Park 1,00,xxi,1. A. Reedson 2,00,xx,23. G. A. Turrey 1,00,xxi,1. M. A. Crary 2,00,xxii,20. J. Rawson 3,00,xxii,21. S. B. Craig 3,00,xxiii,1. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.21
For Shares in Publishing Association
Geo. Johnson $10. James Harvey $40. Almond S. Gillet $20. Delilah Gillet $10. Daniel Carpenter $10. A. Abbey $1. A. P. Lawton $10. J. A. Lawton $10. Emily Wilcox $10. V. O. Edson $10. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.22
Donations to Publishing Association
Julia King $1. Thomas Demmon $2. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.23
Cash Received on Account
S. A. Street for I. D. Van Horn 75c, for J. B. Frisbie 15c. I. Sanborn $2. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.24
Books Sent By Mail
E. Temple $1,88. A. D. Jones $1,12. S. Howland $1. L. Green $2,17. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.25
PUBLICATIONS
The law requires the pre-payment of postage on all transient publications, at the rates of one cent an ounce for Books and Pamphlets, and one-half cent an ounce for Tracts, in packages of eight ounces or more. Those who order Pamphlets and Tracts to be sent by mail, will please send enough to pre-pay postage. Orders, to secure attention, must be accompanied with the cash. Address ELDER JAMES WHITE, Battle Creek, Michigan. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.26
| Price. | Postage. | |||
| cts. | cts. | |||
| History of the Sabbath, (in paper covers), | 30 | 10 | ||
| The Three Angels of Revelation 14:6-12, particularly | ||||
| the Third Angel’s Message, and the Two-horned | ||||
| Beast, | 15 | 4 | ||
| Sabbath Tracts, numbers one, two, three, and | ||||
| four, | 15 | 4 | ||
| Hope of the Gospel, or Immortality the gift | ||||
| of God, | 15 | 4 | ||
| Which? Mortal or Immortal? or an inquiry | ||||
| into the present constitution and future | ||||
| condition of man, | 15 | 4 | ||
| Modern Spiritualism; its Nature and Tendency, | 15 | 4 | ||
| The Kingdom of God; a Refutation of the | ||||
| doctrine called, Age to Come, | 15 | 4 | ||
| Miraculous Powers, | 15 | 4 | ||
| Pauline Theology, or the Christian Doctrine | ||||
| of Future Punishment, as taught in the | ||||
| epistles of Paul, | 15 | 4 | ||
| Review of Seymour. His Fifty Questions | ||||
| Answered, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Prophecy of Daniel: The Four Universal | ||||
| Kingdoms, the Sanctuary and Twenty-three | ||||
| Hundred Days, | 10 | 3 | ||
| The Saints’ Inheritance. The Immortal | ||||
| Kingdom located on the New Earth, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Signs of the Times, showing that the Second | ||||
| Coming of Christ is at the door, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Law of God. The testimony of both Testaments, | ||||
| showing its origin and perpetuity, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Vindication of the true Sabbath, by J. W. | ||||
| Morton, late Missionary to Hayti, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Review of Springer on the Sabbath, Law of | ||||
| God, and first day of the week, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Facts for the Times. Extracts from the | ||||
| writings of eminent authors, Ancient and | ||||
| Modern, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Miscellany. Seven Tracts in one book on the | ||||
| Second Advent and the Sabbath, | 10 | 3 | ||
| Christian Baptism. Its Nature, Subjects and | ||||
| Design, | 10 | 3 | ||
| The Seven Trumpets. The Sounding of the | ||||
| Seven Trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9, | 10 | 2 | ||
| The Fate of the Transgressor, or a short | ||||
| argument on the First and Second Deaths, | 5 | 2 | ||
| Matthew 24. A Brief Exposition of the | ||||
| Chapter, | 5 | 2 | ||
| Assistant. The Bible Student’s Assistant, | ||||
| or a Compend of Scripture references, | 5 | 1 | ||
| Truth Found. A short argument for the | ||||
| Sabbath, with an Appendix,“ The Sabbath not | ||||
| a Type,“ | 5 | 1 | ||
| The Two Laws and Two Covenants, | 5 | 1 | ||
| An Appeal for the restoration of the Bible | ||||
| Sabbath in an address to the Baptists, | 5 | 1 | ||
| Review of Crozier on the Institution, Design, | ||||
| and Abolition of the Seventh-day Sabbath, | 5 | 1 | ||
| Review of Fillio. A reply to a series of | ||||
| discourses delivered by him in Battle Creek | ||||
| on the Sabbath question, | 5 | 1 | ||
| Brown’s Experience in relation to entire | ||||
| consecration and the Second Advent, | 5 | 1 | ||
| Report of General Conference held in Battle | ||||
| Creek, June 1859, Address on Systematic | ||||
| Benevolence, etc., | 5 | 1 | ||
| Sabbath Poem. A Word for the Sabbath, or | ||||
| False Theories Exposed, | 5 | 1 | ||
| Illustrated Review. A Double Number of the | ||||
| REVIEW AND HERALD Illustrated, | 5 | 1 | ||
| Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the | ||||
| Fourth Commandment - Apostasy and perils of | ||||
| the last days, | 5 | 1 | ||
| The same in German, | 5 | 1 | ||
| ” ” ” Holland, | 5 | 1 | ||
| French. A Pamphlet on the Sabbath, | 5 | 1 | ||
| ” ” ” Daniel 2 and 7, | 5 | 1 |
ONE CENT TRACTS. Who Changed the Sabbath? - Unity of the Church - Spiritual Gifts - Law of God, by Wesley - Appeal to men of reason on Immortality - Much in Little - Truth - Death and Burial - Preach the Word - Personality of God. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.27
TWO CENT TRACTS. Dobney on the Law - Infidelity and Spiritualism - Mark of the Beast. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.28
English Bibles
WE have on hand a good assortment of English Bibles, which we sell at the prices given below. The size is indicated by the amount of postage. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.29
| Diamond, Marg. Ref. | Calf binding. | $1,25, | Post | 12 cts. |
| Pearl, Ref. after verse, | “ ” | $2,00, | “ | 15 ” |
| Nonpareil,“ ” | Calf binding, | $2,00, | “ | 21 ” |
| “ Ref. after verse | Morocco ” | $2,75, | “ | 21 ” |
| Minion,“ ” “ | ” ” | $3,00, | “ | 26 ” |
Bound Books
The figures set to the following Bound Books include both the price of the Book and the postage, ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.30
| The Hymn Book, containing 464 pages and 122 | |
| pieces of music, | 80 cts. |
| History of the Sabbath, in one volume, bound - | |
| Part I, Bible History - Part II, Secular | |
| History, | 60 ” |
| Spiritual Gifts Vol. I, or the Great | |
| Controversy between Christ and his angels, | |
| and Satan and his angels, | 50 ” |
| Spiritual Gifts Vol. II. Experience, Views | |
| and Incidents in connection with the Third | |
| Message, | 50 ” |
| Scripture Doctrine of Future Punishment. | |
| By H. H. Dobney, Baptist Minister of England, | 75 ” |
Home Here and Home in Heaven, with other poems. This work embraces all those sweet and Scriptural poems written by Annie R. Smith, from the time she embraced the third message till she fell asleep in Jesus. Price 25 cents. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.31
The Chart. A Pictorial Illustration of the Visions of Daniel and John 20 by 25 inches. Price 15 cents. On rollers, post-paid, 75 cts. ARSH November 4, 1862, page 184.32