The Signs of the Times
September 20, 1899
The Outpouring of the Spirit
In Two Numbers—No. 1
“Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Just before He left them, Christ gave His disciples this promise of the Holy Spirit, and while the words were upon His lips, He ascended. A cloud of angels received Him, and escorted Him to the city of God. The disciples returned to Jerusalem, knowing now that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Their faith was unclouded, and they waited for the fulfilment of the promise, preparing themselves by prayer for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. ST September 20, 1899, par. 1
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” In that assembly there were mockers, who did not recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit, and they said, “These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words; for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 2
After the crucifixion of Christ, the disciples were a helpless, discouraged company,—as sheep without a shepherd. Their Master had been rejected, condemned, and nailed to the ignominious cross. Scornfully the Jewish priests and rulers had declared: “He saved others; Himself He can not save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 3
But the cross, that instrument of shame and torture, brought hope and salvation to the world. The disciples rallied; their hopelessness and helplessness left them. They were transformed in character, and united in bonds of Christian love. They were but humble men, without wealth, and with no weapon but the Word and Spirit of God, counted by the Jews as mere fishermen. Yet in Christ's strength they went forth to witness for the truth, and to triumph over all opposition. Clothed with the divine panoply, they went forth to tell the wonderful story of the manger and the cross. Without earthly honor or recognition, they were heroes of faith. From their lips came words of divine eloquence that shook the world. ST September 20, 1899, par. 4
Those who had rejected and crucified the Saviour expected to find the disciples discouraged and crestfallen, ready to disown their Lord. They heard with amazement the clear, bold testimony of the apostles, given under the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples worked and spoke as their Master had worked and spoken, and all who heard them said, “They have been with Jesus, and learned of Him.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 5
As the apostles went forth, preaching Jesus everywhere, they did many things that the Jewish rulers did not approve. The people brought their sick, and those vexed with unclean spirits, into the streets; crowds collected round them, and those who had been healed shouted the praises of God, and glorified the name of Him whom the Jews had condemned, crowned with thorns, and caused to be scourged and crucified. Jesus was now extolled above priest and ruler, and there was danger that the doctrines of the rabbis would be brought into disrepute, for the apostles were even declaring that Christ had risen from the dead. ST September 20, 1899, par. 6
The Jewish leaders thought themselves competent to decide what the apostles should do and teach, and they determined that their work must and should be stopped, for it was proving them (the rulers) guilty of the death of Jesus. They saw too that converts to the faith were multiplying. “Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees,” who hold that there will be no resurrection of the dead). The assertion made by the apostles that they had seen Jesus after His resurrection, and that He had ascended to heaven, overthrew the fundamental principles of the Sadducean doctrine. This was not to be allowed. Filled with indignation, the priests laid violent hands upon the apostles, and put them in the common prison. ST September 20, 1899, par. 7
The disciples were not intimidated or cast down by this treatment. The words of Christ, in His last lesson to them, were brought to their minds by the Holy Spirit: “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.” “They shall put you out of the synagogue; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” “These things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 8
In the Jewish nation those whom the Lord had made depositaries of truth, had proved unfaithful to their trust, and the Lord chose others to do His work. In their blindness these leaders gave full sway to what they called righteous indignation against the ones who were setting aside cherished fables. They would not admit that there was a possibility that they themselves did not rightly understand the Word, or that they had misinterpreted or misapplied the Scriptures. They acted like men who had lost their reason. What right have these men, they reasoned, some of them mere fishermen, to present ideas contrary to the doctrines which we teach the people? ST September 20, 1899, par. 9
The God of heaven sometimes commissions men to preach that which is contrary to established doctrines. Men in authority are not always to be obeyed, even tho they may profess to be teachers of Bible truth. By night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, and said to the disciples, “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” This command was obeyed by the apostles; “they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 10
In the meantime, “the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told, saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors; but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence; for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 11
“And when they had brought them, ... the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” The Spirit of the Lord moved upon Gamaliel, a Pharisee and doctor of the law, whose advice was, “Refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught, but if it be of God, ye can not overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 12
Yet the attributes of Satan so controlled the priests and rulers that, notwithstanding the wonderful miracles wrought by the apostles, they were so filled with prejudice and hatred that they could hardly be restrained. “When they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” ST September 20, 1899, par. 13
Mrs. E. G. White