THERE is just one more scripture, in the same line discussed last week, that we will notice in connection with the present order of things in this country and the world.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.1

THIS is the word spoken by the Lord himself, when he was upon the earth, in answer to the question by his disciples as to what should be the sign of his coming and the end of the world. He answered as follows: “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” Luke 21:25, 26.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.2

THE signs in the sun, and in the moon, and the stars, have long been in the past. The sun was to be darkened, and the moon to be turned to blood, and the stars were to fall from heaven, before the great and terrible day of the Lord should come. Joel 2:31, 32; Revelation 6:12-17. These signs in the sun and moon were fulfilled in the wonderful dark day of 1780. ^{1Dark Day, The, May 19, 1780, so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day, extending over all New England. In some places persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon in not known.—Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, in Explanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary, art., Dark Day.

The night succeeding that day (May 19, 1780) was of such pitchy darkness that in some instances horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service.—Stone’s History of Beverly (Mass.).} In November, 1833, the word was fulfilled which said the stars should fall from heaven, “even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” ^{2But the most sublime phenomenon of shooting stars, of which the world has furnished any record, was witnessed throughout the United States on the morning of the 13th of November 1833. The entire extent of this astonishing exhibition has not been precisely ascertained; but it covered no inconsiderable portion of the earth’s surface.—Burritt’s Geography of the Heavens, p. 163, ed., 1854.}AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.3

THESE signs are then long in the past, and from them it is evident that we are nearing the coming of the Lord. But there are other signs mentioned which are nearer to us than those—signs that are even right around us, and so persistently thrust before our eyes and upon our attention that it is impossible not to see them. There is upon the earth to-day such distress of nations with perplexity as never has been before. Nations have been distressed before, but not so greatly distressed, nor with perplexity. An individual of a nation may be distressed and may be able to see and find a way of escape; but when either an individul [sic.] or a nation is not only distressed but perplexed, then there is no knowing which way to turn. Each thing that is resorted to, to relieve the distress, only increases the perplexity. And this is precisely the condition in which the nations, as nations, and as governments, are to-day—through fear of war, through financial distress, through socialistic threats, and anarchistic explosions.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.4

IN view of all these things, and others which have been mentioned, men’s hearts are now, as never before, failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth. All these things are before us and around us. They have all come to pass and are here, and the very next thing that the Saviour mentions is this, “The powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:26, 27. So that after these there is no other sign given us of the coming of the Lord. For the shaking of the powers of heaven occurs in immediate connection with the coming of the Lord, so that this is not, in itself, a sign of the coming of the Lord, but is the convulsion of nature itself at the coming of the Lord. So that it is a literal truth that every sign which the Saviour gave in this list of signs of his coming, is either far in the past or is now passing before the eyes of all the people upon the earth. The next thing is the coming of the Lord himself.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.5

THE Saviour comments upon this and says: “And when these things begin to come to pass, than look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28. “So likewise ye when ye shall see all these things, know that it [margin “he”] is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:33. So that when the signs in the sun, and in the moon, and stars began to appear, then redemption drew nigh. Now, when we see not only that the signs in the sun, moon, and stars are all long in the past, but that the distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and waves roaring, and men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth, are passing in the presence of all the people—now, we know that he is near, even at the doors.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.6

AND this is the answer which the Lord has given to that question which every man is asking his neighbor,—What do these things mean? The word of God says that these things mean that the harvest is ripe, that the end is near, that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. And his counsel to all the people is, therefore, “Get ready! get ready! get ready!” “Stablish your hearts,” “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; ... and he shall be for a sanctuary;” “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh, and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” Luke 12:35, 36.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.7

“For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, WATCH.” Mark 13:34-37.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.8

NOR does the Lord leave men to themselves in this all-important matter of getting ready for his coming. He himself will fully prepare every soul for this great and glorious event, who will surrender himself to the Lord and to the working of his divine will. He has predestinated man to be conformed to the image of his Son. To this end he has called all men.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.9

Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together; who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22.AMS August 2, 1894, page 241.10

What does he say to do in order to be saved? “Look unto me and be ye saved.” “Look”!AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.1

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.2

When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the word was, “Look and life.” And whosoever looked was cured of the poisonous bites of the serpents. So he says to-day:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.3

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.4

If you are blind and cannot see, and therefore unable to look, then he comes to you and says:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.5

Hear, and your soul shall live. Isaiah 55:3.AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.6

If you are both blind and deaf, and can neither see nor hear, then he says:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.7

Speak ye unto the Rock.... and it shall give forth his water. And that Rock was Christ. Numbers 20:8; 1 Corinthians 10:4.AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.8

If you are blind, and deaf, and dumb, and can neither see, nor hear, nor speak, then he says:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.9

“O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8.AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.10

If you are blind, and deaf, and dumb, and have lost all sense of taste, and there is only one single faculty remaining, he says use that, andAMS August 2, 1894, page 242.11

Feel after him, and find him. Acts 17:27.AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.12

Thus the God of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, has brought his glorious salvation, his eternal salvation, within the reach of every individual in this world who can either see, or hear, or speak, or feel. And that is all he asks of you. That is God’s ways of salvation. Will you accept this salvation and so be justified by the Lord, and thus by him be prepared to be glorified at his glorious appearing which is now so near, and of which there are so many signs?AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.13

“There Are ‘Protestants’ and Protestants” American Sentinel 9, 31, pp. 242, 243.

ATJ

NOT everything that is called Protestant is such in reality. There are Protestants so-called, who are, unintentionally though it be, constantly strengthening the hands of Rome by the interests of their religion. How this is, appears in the following, from the Catholic Review, of July 14:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.1

The Rev. Mr. Buffum, of the Third Baptist Church, Greenville, Norwich, Conn., unintentionally supplies an unanswerable argument why there should be public Catholic schools. In a sermon preached in his church a few evenings ago before the anti-Catholic organization called the Order of United American Mechanics, he said concerning our public schools: “These are Protestant schools, for the nation if Protestants. These schools were made by the Bible and with the Bible. They suit seven out of eight of our people. Are they not good enough for the eighth man? Will you pull out the prop from beneath this magnificent structure simply to suit a foreign taste for the Romanesque? Why not bring in an element the Romanist cannot contend against—the Word of God? No teacher dominated by priests should teach in any public school. Catholics should not be elected to school boards. There should be no compromise. The battle will be fought to a finish.” If the present public schools are Protestant, why not then have enough public Catholics schools to educate the Catholic children? There are Protestant teachers in our common schools, Protestant preachers as superintendents, Protestant preachers in the boards of education, the Protestant edition of the Bible is read in many of them, Protestant histories are taught in them. Protestant hymns are sun and the Protestant version of the Lord’s Prayer is recited in some of them. These are facts. The public schools in many places are, as the Rev. Mr. Buffum says, Protestant schools. We will not object to that if, as an offset, we have public Catholic schools. Be just. Give us what you have. No inequality should be tolerated. No union of the State with the Protestant Church any more than with the Catholic Church, should be allowed. Let us have similar rights, similar privileges, similar duties—justice all around.AMS August 2, 1894, page 242.2

What can “Protestants” of the Buffum school answer to this papal challenge? If our public schools are indeed Protestant, does not justice demand that they be made at once purely secular, or else that there be established also Catholic, Jewish and Agnostic public schools? To ask such a question is to answer it: our public schools should be secular and nothing else.AMS August 2, 1894, page 243.1

“No Conscience in Sunday Keeping” American Sentinel 9, 31, p. 246.

ATJ

THE Christian Statesman, of July 7, says: “Men have no conscience, as we understand it, on the Sabbath question without the fourth commandment. It is not an ethical axiom that one day of the seven should be put to sacred uses. Conscience on such a question cannot exist without a ‘Thus saith the Lord.’” But what then becomes of conscience in the matter of Sunday observance? It is manifest that there can be no such thing, for there is absolutely no “Thus saith the Lord” for Sunday keeping, and the Statesman knows it.AMS August 2, 1894, page 246.1

But our contemporary continues: “Missionaries tell us that they find great difficulty in getting converts to observe the Sabbath [Sunday, the Statesman means], Bishop Thoburn says: ‘When a man becomes a Christian he knows, without five minutes’ teaching, that he must avoid all immoral practices, but he does not know that he must rest one day in seven.’ And how should he?” inquires the Statesman. “And how will the missionary undertake to strengthen his conscience on that important question? He must do it, of course, by means of the fourth commandment which says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’”AMS August 2, 1894, page 246.2

We want to ask, What, in the face of this statement of fact, becomes of the claim that Sunday is a civil institution, based, so far as the State is concerned, on the physical necessity of a day of rest? It is simply abandoned.AMS August 2, 1894, page 246.3

That which the Statesman asserts is absolutely true, except that the fourth commandment has nothing to do with Sunday. There is absolutely nothing in nature to give even a hint of one-seventh part of time for rest, much less any particular seventh part. Whole nations have risen, become strong and flourished for centuries without any knowledge of a weekly rest day; and nations exist to-day enjoying just as good health and living just as long without a regular weekly rest day as do those who observe Sunday most strictly. The whole physical necessity argument is a “pious” fraud, invented in this country to bolster up Sunday laws under a system of government in which Church and State is supposed to be absolutely divorced, and in which the highest lawmaking power is inhibited from making any “law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”AMS August 2, 1894, page 246.4

Let the Statesman never again attempt to justify Sunday laws upon other than strictly religious grounds.AMS August 2, 1894, page 246.5

“Back Page” American Sentinel 9, 31, p. 248.

ATJ

THE Christian Statesman says that the Government, by its mail contracts, requires “hundreds of thousands to set at naught the law of the Most High,” in the Sunday mail service. Will the Statesman please to be more definite and point out the divine law which prohibits the carrying of mail on Sunday? Our contemporary must realize that the claims of the Sunday Sabbath are at a great disadvantage because without the vestige of biblical authority. What would not the whole National Reform outfit give for one “Thus saith the Lord” for Sunday observance! But they have it not. The wealth of the world could not buy it, and so they must continue to steal the livery of heaven in which to serve the pagan Sunday. Oh, the wickedness of applying the fourth commandment to Sunday!AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.1

THE National Reform Association has one of its secretaries at Albany trying to secure the adoption of a so-called “Christian” preamble to the new constitution. The present preamble reads thus:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.2

We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this constitution.AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.3

It would seem that this ought to satisfy even a National Reformer, but it don’t, and so Mr. Weir, a citizen of Pennsylvania, wants this adopted in its stead:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.4

We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, as a Christian people in the name and by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, on whose shoulder is the government, do establish this constitution.AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.5

This is monstrous. To begin with, the people of this State are not, properly speaking, thankful to God for freedom; they are not, in any proper sense, a “Christian people;” and certainly as long as Tammany bears rule, the government of New York is not on Christ’s shoulder. Let no lie be incorporated into our fundamental law. Let the old preamble stand; or better yet, substitute this:—AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.6

We, the people of the State of New York, in order to secure to ourselves and our posterity the benefits of good and stable government, do establish this constitution.AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.7

AND now let the National Reformers rise up in their wrath and pronounce curses both loud and deep on the nation: the attorney for the District of Columbia has decided that ordinarily the word “daily” would not include Sunday, that being a dies non, but that in the matter of removing garbage it means just what it says. “Garbage is accumulated on Sunday as well as on other days,” writes Mr. Thomas, “and since its presence is just as objectionable to health on Sundays as on other days, the word ‘daily,’ it seems to me, must be considered as used in the contract with reference to the service to be performed, and must, therefore, in the nature of things, include Sundays.”AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.8

Now let Mr. Crafts declare that the nation cannot be preserved without religion, nor religion without the Sabbath, nor the Sabbath while the District of Columbia removes its garbage upon Sunday. Let Dr. George renew his onslaught on Congress, and let Joseph Cook expand his broad palm and closing his fingers one by one, clinch the Sunday argument in this most unhappy and inconclusive way.AMS August 2, 1894, page 248.9

July 26, 1894

August 9, 1894