THE Heruli were a Vandalic tribe of ancient Germany. The first historic mention of them is about the beginning of the third century. In the great movement of the Goths from the Baltic to the Black Sea, the Heruli and the Burgundians are particularly mentioned. (See Decline and Fall, chap. 10, par. 10, note.) They fixed their habitation on “the marsh lands near the Lake Meotis [Sea of Azov]; were renowned for their strength and agility; and the assistance of their light infantry was eagerly solicited, and highly esteemed, in all the wars of the barbarians.”—Id., chap. 25, par. 31.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.1

In the third naval expedition of the Goths, about A.D. 260, when Cyzicus was ruined; when Athens was sacked; when Greece was desolated; and when the temple of Diana at Ephesus was destroyed; the Heruli bore a most prominent part. Indeed it is stated by one historian—Syncellus—that this expedition “was undertaken by the Heruli” (Id., chap. 10, par. 37, note). And when the barbarian host had spread “the rage of war, both by land and by sea, from the eastern point of Sunium to the western coast of Epirus,” and had “advanced within sight of Italy;” and when the Emperor Gallienus “appeared in arms and checked the ardor of the enemy;” “Naulobatus, a chief of the Heruli, accepted an honorable capitulation; entered with a large body of his countrymen into the service of Rome; was invested with the ornaments of the consular dignity;” and so was the first barbarian that ever held the office of Roman consul.—Id., chap. 10, par. 38.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.2

When the great Hermanric—A.D. 331-361—subjected all the nations from the Black Sea to the Baltic, “the active spirit of the Heruli was subdued by the slow and steady perseverance of the Goths; and after a bloody action, in which the king was slain, the remains of that warlike tribe became a useful accession to the camp of Hermanric.”—Id., chap. 25, par. 31.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.3

When in A.D. 375-6, the nation of the Huns overran the Alani, subdued the Ostrogoths, and forced the Visigoths over the Danube, the Heruli retired from the coast of the Sea of Azov, into the forests of central Germany where we find them under the dominion of Attila; and when “the nations on the plain of Chálons,” the Heruli, under the standard of Attila, bore no interior part in that memorable conflict.—Id., chap. 35, par. 9.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.4

After the death of Attila, when the battle of Netad had restored to their independence the subject nations, a multitude of the youth of those nations enlisted in the service of the empire, and became “the defense and the terror of Italy,” and finally subverted the Western Empire. Gibbon says:—SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.5

“The nations who had asserted their independence after the death of Attila, were established, by the right of possession or conquest, in the boundless countries to the north of the Danube; or in the Roman provinces between the river and the Alps. But the bravest of their youth enlisted in the army of confederates, who formed the defense and the terror of Italy; and in this promiscuous multitude, the names of the Heruli, the Scyrri, the Alani, the Turcilingi, and the Rugians, appear to have predominated.”—Chap. 36, par. 28.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.6

In this “promiscuous multitude” the Heruli predominated, even above those tribes which were predominant, and being so conspicuous both in numbers and in valor, their name was given to the whole body of “confederates,” and the power which they soon established in Italy was called the kingdom of the Heruli. These confederates seem to have gone to Italy A.D. 454-456, for we find them already there in 457, when the Emperor Majorian, in preparing an expedition against the Vandals, was compelled to hire, in addition to them, “many thousands of their former comrades in the service of Attila.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.7

“Majorian, like the weakest of his predecessors, was reduced to the disgraceful expedient of substituting barbarian auxiliaries in the place of his unwarlike subjects; and his superior abilities could only be displayed in the vigor and dexterity with which he wielded a da erous instrument, so apt to recoil on the hand that used it. Besides the confederates, who were already engaged in the service of the empire, the fame of his liberality and valor attracted the nations of the Danube, the Borysthenes, and perhaps of the Tanais. Many thousands of the bravest subjects of Attila, the Gepidae, the Ostrogoths, the Rugians, the Burgundians, the Suevi, the Alani, assembled in the plains of Liguria; and their formidable strength was balanced by their mutual animosities.”—Id., chap. 36, par. 12.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.8

In the negotiations between Attila and Theodosius the younger, A.D. 446-448, Attila sent five or six successive embassies to the court of Constantinople, and the last two ambassadors were the fathers of the two men who were, respectively, the last Roman emperor of the West, and the first barbarian king of Italy.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.9

“The two last ambassadors of the Huns, Orestes, a noble subject of the Pannonian province, and Edecon, a valiant chieftain of the tribe of the Scyrri, returned at the same time from Constantinople to the royal camp. Their obscure names were afterwards illustrated by the extraordinary fortune and the contrast of their sons; the two servants of Attila became the fathers of the last Roman emperor of the West, and of the first barbarian king of Italy.”—Id., chap. 34, par. 12.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.10

Following the example of the “confederates” Orestes also went to Italy, but not till A.D. 475.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.11

“The example of these warriors was imitated by Orestes, the son of Tatullus, and the father of the last Roman emperor of the West. Orestes, who has been already mentioned in this history, had never deserted his country. His birth and fortunes rendered him one of the most illustrious subjects of Pannonia. When that province was ceded to the Huns, he entered into the service of Attila, his lawful sovereign, obtained the office of his secretary, and was repeatedly sent ambassador to Constantinople, to represent the person, and signify the commands, of the imperious monarch. The death of that conqueror restored him to his freedom; and Orestes might honorably refuse either to follow the sons of Attila into the Scythian desert, or to obey the Ostrogoths, who had usurped the dominion of Pannonia. He preferred the service of the Italian princes, the successors of Valentinian; and as he possessed the qualifications of courage, industry, and experience, he advanced with rapid steps in the military profession, till he was elevated, by the favor of [the Emperor] Nepos himself, to the dignities of patrician, and master-general of the troops. These troops had been long accustomed to reverence the character and authority of Orestes, who affected their manners, conversed with them in their own language, and was intimately connected with their national chieftains, by long habits of familiarity and friendship. At his solicitation they rose in arms against the obscure Greek, who presumed to claim their obedience; and when Orestes, from some secret motive, declined the purple, they consented, with the same facility, to acknowledge his son Augustulus as the emperor of the West. By the abdication of Nepos, Orestes had now attained the summit of his ambitious hopes; but he soon discovered, before the end of the first year, that the lessons of perjury and ingratitude, which a rebel must inculcate, will be resorted to against himself; and that the precarious sovereign of Italy was only permitted to choose, whether he would be the slave, or the victim, of his barbarian mercenaries.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.12

“The dangerous alliance of these strangers had oppressed and insulted the last remains of Roman freedom and dignity. At each revolution, their pay and privileges were augmented; but their insolence increased in a still more extravagant degree; they envied the fortune of their brethren in Gaul, Spain, and Africa, whose victorious arms had acquired an independent and perpetual inheritance; and they insisted on their peremptory demand, that a third part of the lands of Italy should be immediately divided among them. Orestes, with a spirit, which, in another situation, might be entitled to our esteem, chose rather to encounter the rage of an armed multitude, than to subscribe the ruin of an innocent people. He rejected the audacious demand; and his refusal was favorable to the ambition of Odoacer; a bold barbarian, who assured his fellow-soldiers, that, if they dared to associate under his command, they might soon extort the justice which had been denied to their dutiful petitions. From all the camps and garrisons of Italy, the confederates, actuated by the same resentment and the same hopes, impatiently flocked to the standard of this popular leader; and the unfortunate patrician, overwhelmed by the torrent, hastily retreated to the strong city of Pavia, the episcopal seat of the holy Epiphanites. Pavia was immediately besieged, the fortifications were stormed, the town was pillaged; and although the bishop might labor, with much zeal and some success, to save the property of the church, and the chastity of female captives, the tumult could only be appeased by the execution of Orestes. His brother Paul was slain in an action near Ravenna; and the helpless Augustulus, who could no longer command the respect, was reduced to implore the clemency, of Odoacer.”—Id., chap. 36, par. 28.SITI September 16, 1886, page 564.13

“The Time of the Third Angel’s Message” The Signs of the Times 12, 36, pp. 567, 568.

SAID the angel, “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:7. This refers to the last of the seven trumpet angels, and the third woe, and, as shown last week, was to come “quickly” after the ending of the sixth trumpet, and the second woe. Revelation 11:14. These being prophetic days—each day for a year—the expression means, In the years of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound. As will be seen further on, the seventh trumpet, and third woe, covers all the woe that will ever be on this earth from the time when this trumpet begins to sound. But the mystery of God is to be finished in the years when it begins—not at the latter part, nor at the end, but in the beginning. Whenever, therefore, the seventh angel begins to sound the finishing of the mystery of God is close at hand.SITI September 16, 1886, page 567.1

But what is the mystery of God? The mystery of God is the gospel. Proof: in Ephesians 3:3, Paul says, “By revelation he made known unto me the mystery.” And in Galatians 1:11, 12 he says, “The gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught I, but by revelation of Jesus Christ.” Here we have the statement that the gospel was given him by revelation, and also that by revelation there was made known to him “the mystery, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.... Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now .. might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.... That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Ephesians 3:3-11, 17-19; Colossians 2:9.SITI September 16, 1886, page 567.2

From these texts it is evident that the eternal purpose of God, which he purposed in Christ for us; that the unsearchable riches of Christ which are brought to the children of men; that the immeasureable love of Christ and of God for men; that the love of Christ and of God which passeth knowledge; is the mystery of God. But this is nothing else than the gospel. The preaching of the gospel is only the effort of God to reveal this mystery, and to bring its depths to the comprehension of men.SITI September 16, 1886, page 567.3

Again: in Ephesians 6:19, Paul calls preaching the making known the mystery of the gospel, saying: “Praying ... for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds.” To the Colossians likewise he said, “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.” Colossians 4:3. And to the Romans, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” Romans 16:25, 26. There can be no question that the mystery of God is the gospel of God, that the mystery of Christ is the gospel of Christ; for it is called the “gospel of God” as well as the “gospel of Christ,” 1 Peter 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:2, 9; 1 Timothy 1:11, and properly enough so, for Christ is “God with us,” Matthew 1:23, and “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19.SITI September 16, 1886, page 567.4

The mystery of God being the gospel, when the angel said that the mystery of God should be finished, it was but saying, according to these scriptures, that the gospel should be finished. Paul said that the gospel “is the power of God unto salvation;” therefore to say that the mystery of God—the gospel—should be finished is but to say that the power of God for the salvation of men will cease to be exercised. So then, according to the explanation given in these scriptures, the angel of Revelation 10:7 says, In the days—the years—of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the gospel should be finished, the power of God for the salvation of men shall cease to be exercised, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.SITI September 16, 1886, page 567.5

The sanctuary of the Levitical law was a figure of the sanctuary of the gospel. Hebrews 9:9, 11, 23. That was on earth, this is in Heaven; that was made with hands and pitched by man, this was made without hands and pitched by the Lord. Hebrews 9:9, 23, 24; 8:2; 9:11. The service of that sanctuary was by the men of the Levitical priesthood, and with the blood of beasts; the service of this sanctuary is by Christ the Lord, of the Melchizedic priesthood, and with the blood of Christ. Hebrews 7; 9:6, 9, 12-14, 22-26; 8:1. The service of that sanctuary was completed once a year; the service of this when completed is once for all. Hebrews 9:25, 25; 10:3, 10. The last work of the annual service in that sanctuary was upon what was called the day of atonement, and the service was called the cleansing of the sanctuary—the taking away of all the sins that had been conveyed into the sanctuary by the service of the priests at the confessions and sacrifices of the people during the year that then ended. Leviticus 23:27-32; 16:2-34. The last work of the once-for-all service of the heavenly sanctuary will be the great day of everlasting atonement, and the service will be to take away forever all the sins which have been borne by out High-priest, at our confession and the offering of Him by faith as our sacrifice, as he offers himself in fact in our behalf. This also is called the cleansing of, not the earthly, but the heavenly sanctuary. As the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was the last work for that year in behalf of that people, so the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary will be the last work forever in behalf of any people. As the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was the very last day of that annual round of service, so whenever the world shall have reached the time of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, the world will then have entered upon the very last days of the work of the gospel, and when the sanctuary shall—will “be finished as He hath declared to his servants the prophets.”SITI September 16, 1886, page 567.6

Now when, according to the Scriptures, should the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary begin? In Daniel 8:14, from a certain time, it is said, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” This also being prophetic time each day stands for a year, and is, therefore, two thousand and three hundred years. From what time? “From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” Daniel 9:25. Seventy weeks—four hundred and ninety years—were cut off from the two thousand three hundred, and appropriated to Daniel’s people, the Jews, and the beginning of the four hundred and ninety years is the beginning of the two thousand and three hundred. This beginning, as quoted above, was at the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, which was in the year 457 B.C. Ezra 7. Although Ezra with the decree, started from Babylon in the first month, it was not till the fifth month that he reached Jerusalem; and as the decree was to the treasurers “beyond the river” Euphrates and in Palestine, it was of no force till he reached that country, so about half the year was gone before the decree could be said to go forth to restore and to build the city, which would make it about the middle of the year 457, or really 456½ B.C. brings us to 2300—456½—1843½ after Christ. Eighteen hundred and forty-three and a half years after Christ carries us into the year 1844 A.D. Then it was, the angel said to Daniel, that the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary should be: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”SITI September 16, 1886, page 567.7

That this cannot be applied to the earthly sanctuary is made certain by the statement in Daniel 9:26, that after the cutting off of the Messiah, the people of the prince that should come (the Romans) “should destroy the city and the sanctuary,” and Christ said that when it should be destroyed Jerusalem should be trodden under foot of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luke 21:24. As that city and that sanctuary were to be destroyed, and were destroyed but a few years after the expiration of the four hundred and ninety years, it is impossible that that should be the sanctuary that was to be cleansed at the expiration of the two thousand and three hundred years. Consequently the sanctuary that was to be cleansed at the end of the two thousand and three hundred years was the heavenly sanctuary, because it is the only one that was then in existence. Therefore it is certain that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began in A.D. 1844. (For an extended and thorough treatment of the subject of the sanctuary and connected dates, see “The Sanctuary and its Cleansing,” for sale at this office.)SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.1

The cleansing of the sanctuary, the work of the atonement under the Levitical law, was a work of judgment. For said the scripture, “Whatsoever soul if be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.” Leviticus 23:29. Whoever did not make confession of sin that day could have no part in the atonement that was made that day; and when the sanctuary had been cleansed, and atonement made, he was to be cut off without mercy, he had no other chance, his probation was gone. So, likewise, in the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, in the atonement made once for all, whosoever shall not confess his sins, and be partakers of the intercession of Christ, can have no part in the atonement of Christ, and when that sanctuary shall have been cleansed, and that atonement made, he will be cut off without mercy, he will have no other opportunity, his probation will be ended. Of such it will be said, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.” No longer will the precious cleansing blood be applied. These are they who shall wring out and drink the dregs of the cup that is in the hand of the Lord (Psalm 75:8); these are they who “shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.” Revelation 14:10.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.2

This cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began in A.D. 1844, and in the very nature of the case must soon close. We are now living in the great day of atonement. Now is the time when it is urgent upon every soul to confess his sins, to put away all his transgressions, to be partaker of the intercession of Christ, to wash his robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. For soon the mystery of God will be finished, the work of the gospel will be closed, and the unmixed wrath of God and the Lamb will be poured upon all the wicked of the earth.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.3

Next week, if the Lord will, we shall gather together in one the evidences that now is the time of the Third Angel’s Message. The points which we have shown in this article and the one before it, were necessary to a clear understanding of the one which is to follow. J.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.4

“Significant Facts” The Signs of the Times 12, 36, p. 568.

THE Christian Statesman reports that the Church of the United Brethren has put a National Reform preacher into the field, Rev. R. Rock by name, and will support him; and that a preacher, Rev. J. P. Mills by name, from the Methodist Episcopal Church, will enter upon the National Reform work, on the same terms, about Sept. 1, 1886.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.1

The late General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church, by its Committee on National Reform, expressed its gratification “to learn that the presentation of the Christian theory of civil government by the advocates of National Reform, is educating the people to recognize that civil government is an ordinance of God; ... that Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, is ... the Ruler of nations, and has laid down in his word the fundamental enactments by which the enactments of our civil code are to be tested; and that this word ought to be recognized as the fundamental law of the Nation, and be incorporated into its very Constitution.” It regards “the continued advocacy of this Reform as imperatively necessary;” and by resolution commends “to the generous financial support of our people the secretaries and advocates of this movement.”SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.2

The Ocean Grove Assembly set apart Wednesday, July 21, as National Reform Day, which, say the Statesman, “will afford a fine audience of the best people, without effort or cost on the part of the friends of the cause.” Likewise the Chautauqua Assembly management granted the morning and afternoon sessions of Friday, July 23, to National Reform. This the Statesman correctly called “another magnificent opportunity for the presentation of the principles of the National Reform Association.”SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.3

Nor is this all. For more than a year the National Reform party has been specially and assiduously courting the National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and it has succeeded in so far rhyming itself into these ladies’ favor that we are quite certain it will never reason itself out again. Joint conventions are now being held by the two bodies, and we see their vital union virtually consummated. Already in their joint convention held at Canonsburg, Pa., May 19, an address of welcome was delivered “by Mrs. Rev. J. F. Hill, in which the oneness of the two organizations was very ably set forth.” Miss Willard, Mrs. Woodbridge, Mrs. Bateham, Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, Mrs. West, and Mrs. Hoffman, are all Vice-Presidents of the National Reform Association. Mrs. Woodbridge made a straight-out National Reform speech both at Ocean Grove and at Chautauqua, on the occasions referred to above.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.4

Besides this Mrs. Woodbridge was appointed by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, to carry to the Cleveland Convention of the Knights of Labor, last May, “the salutations of the Union, and a brief argument in behalf of the cause of temperance”; but the lady allowed her National Reform zeal to carry her beyond her appointed mission and she closed her speech to the Assembly with these words:—SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.5

“Thus would the National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union join hands with the Knights of Labor in placing this ‘Government upon the shoulders of Him who is Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,’ and in crowning Christ, our Lord, as the Ruler of nations.”SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.6

This the Christian Statesman pronounces a “cause for rejoicing,” and “an especial gratification to the friends of National Reform.”—See Statesman June 8, 1886.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.7

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union has done noble work, in which we have rejoiced and should ever rejoice, while she kept in the line of her legitimate and chartered work. But just as soon as she proposes to sell herself to work the iniquity of lifting the National Reform party into power in its union of Church and State, and the establishment of its hierarchy in this country, then we are prepared to write of her, “The glory is departed.”SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.8

The Prohibition Party also is coming up to the work. The New Jersey Prohibition Convention, and that of Washington County, Pa., adopted resolutions which the Statesman says read like the resolutions of a National Reform Convention. The Maine Prohibitionists declare that “we aim, in a word, at the application of Christian principles to political life.... The application of Christian principles to polities would secure an equal voice, without regard to sex, in making laws which all must alike obey.” The Illinois platform declares that, “We reverently recognize the supreme authority of Almighty God.... We regard the Christian Sabbath as a boon so valuable to humanity, that the State cannot be true to its trusts which neglects to guard it from desecration.”SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.9

The Reformed Presbyterian Church, which from the beginning has borne the National Reform party upon her sides and dandled it upon her knees, contributed to the work last year “almost $7,000;” and at its late Synod, held at Rochester, New York, it recommended “that the sum of $10,000 be raised for the treasury of the National Reform Association, by the churches under the care of this Synod,” the coming year.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.10

Besides all these distinct organizations, the churches, as such, almost all favor it; and the National Reformers are willing, if not anxious, to make advances even to the Catholic Church to gain her favor—and they will get it. Now we say: With the general breaking up of parties, and the casting about for new issues upon which to catch the votes of the multitude, let this movement be agitated for but a very few years at most, and then brought to a vote upon some one leading question under which can be veiled the real issue, and we should like to see the one who can show what is to hinder the success of the National Reform movement, and in that the union of Church and State with all that that involves as the ultimate result.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.11

In view of these facts, which simply show the fast-growing power, and the wide-spreading influence of the National Reform movement, we submit to any candid mind whether the AMERICAN SENTINEL has not a mission, in its determined opposition to that movement. Do we not well to expose the fallacies, to lay bare the sophistries, and to uncover the insidious iniquity of this scheme of Church and State? Do we not well to call the attention of the American people to this menace to human liberty and human right? We know precisely what it is about which we are talking. We know exactly what we are doing. But we very much fear that the American people will not realize till it is too late, the danger that lies in the National Reform movement. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” but Americans have forgotten it. May God help the people to awake and be vigilant.—American Sentinel.SITI September 16, 1886, page 568.12

September 9, 1886

September 23, 1886