There is nothing more comforting to an individual who knows his own weakness and the limitations of his powers, than a belief in a supreme power and goodness, which watches over all things and attends to the wants of all living creatures. And there is nothing more comforting to one who holds this belief than to see, in the light of Divine revelation, the care of Him who is the embodiment of that power and goodness, for every one of His children here on earth.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 449.1

We live in a world of suffering and sorrow, and our eyes have become familiar to sights of poverty and distress of every kind. Yet God has not withdrawn His care from the world; He has not left His earthly children to take care of themselves. While they meet with experiences which try their faith, they are not left without the evidence of His guiding hand in all the darkness and difficulties of the way; and they may see, if they will, tokens of the abiding presence of that love which gave the Son of God to die upon the cross for their salvation.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 449.2

Our conceptions of things are so coloured by the false light of human ideas and human practices, that it is natural for us to think of God and His dealings with us much as if He were a man like ourselves, only a little higher up in the scale of being. As we seem to have come into the world by accident, and the care and attention which we receive from men comes by the accident of our association with them, so it seems to us that our relation to God is also accidental. Since we are here, He is obliged to take notice of us, and when He finds us in the midst of difficulty and danger, He helps us out, at other times leaving us to look out for ourselves. And perhaps we are all the time worrying about what we shall do in this or that difficulty that looms out before us, for fear if we trust to the Lord we may find Him unprepared for the emergency.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 449.3

With such a conception of God’s providence toward us, it is not surprising that we are so often afraid to trust Him. It would be different if we would take the view which is revealed to us in His word. Let us glance at some words of the Apostle Paul upon this point: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:3-6.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 449.4

Do we grasp the meaning of these words? If we do, we see that God thought of us before ever we thought of ourselves. He thought of us ages before we ever came into existence. His love and His care were exercised toward us before the foundation of the world! The Omniscient, looking ahead to the ages to come, down even to the scenes of the present hour, saw us, and chose us in Christ, adopting us into His royal family, making us sons and daughters of God! These were the conditions under which we were born into the world.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 449.5

God not only saw us before the foundation of the world, but He knew us by name. The Old Testament record furnishes an instance of God’s calling an individual by name long before that individual came into being. Isaiah 45:1-4: “Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.” This is a prophecy of the taking of Babylon by the Medo-Persian armies under the leadership of Cyrus and Darius. It was uttered about 712 years B.C., and the event which it foretells took place about 538 B.C. and thus king Cyrus, nearly 150 years before he was born, was called by name and “surnamed” by the God of heaven, for the sake of Israel His elect, who were to pass sixty years in Babylonish captivity. And surely God knows His own elect as well as those whom He uses as the instruments of their welfare.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 449.6

But who are the “elect” of God? The apostle says, “Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son;” and Peter tells us that the elect are “ elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:26; 1 Peter 1:2. Again we read that it is an “election of grace;” which grace is “given us in Christ Jesus.” Romans 11:5; 2 Timothy 1:9. The “calling” and “election” of God are in Christ. They apply not ... by ourselves, but only in Him and they apply to all that are in Him ... so “according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 3:11. It was the fulfilling of the “everlasting covenant” of grace, which from eternity provided for the acceptance of the sinner in Christ. If then we are in Christ we are numbered with God’s elect; and if we are out of Christ we should without delay come to Him, accepting the invitation given us; for it is to all, saying, “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 449.7

God not only saw before the world began, and sees us now, but He looks ahead and sees us in the ages to come; for we read that “God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7. God will show to “the principalities and powers” in heavenly places the wonderful riches of His grace, in taking from among frail, sinful, fallen men, those who in future ages will sit with Christ and share in the deliberations of heaven.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.1

Who will say, then, that they are here in this world to contend with chance or with fate. Is it not evident that in the Christian’s life at least, there is no such thing as chance. Certain it is that He who knew us and exercised His grace toward us before the foundation of the world, does not withdraw His love and care when we are here on the stage of action. He sees every event of our lives before it comes; and we are told that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28. All things must, therefore, be under His control and direction, even those events which seem the most strange and accidental. Let us, then, “trust in the Lord and do good”; let us “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him,” believing that He who began the work of grace toward us before the foundation of the world, will not fail now to carry it forward to a glorious completion.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.2

“Acquaintance with God” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

To mortal man is extended the honour of becoming acquainted with God. The highest being in the universe is willing to become acquainted with the weakest and most finite. He even desires that we should seek His acquaintance, and to this end has given us a revelation of Himself, adapted to our finite comprehension. Nor is this acquaintance to be like that of an earthly king with one of his subjects, or of some lord or great man with one who is poor and in humble station, who sees only his wealth and splendour and hears only his command; but it is to be the acquaintance of friends,-one which will reveal to us not only the majesty and greatness of God, but His love and mercy, and every attribute that He possesses. He is willing that we should know all that He is and all that He has. This is friendship in its highest and most intimate form.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.3

The prophet of olden time evidently understood this truth when he spoke the words, “Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace.” Job 22:21. But how can we become acquainted with Him? How can moral beings, shut out from His presence with capabilities infinitely lower than His, know Him who reigns in the heavens? To human wisdom this would seem impossible; but not so to the wisdom of God. By one of the most wonderful provisions of His grace, He has brought to us the knowledge of Himself. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians inquires, “Who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him?” But he adds, “We have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16. And this revelation comes to us through the agency of the Spirit.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.4

How wonderful is the truth here brought to our view! We, who cannot know (as perhaps we would often like to know) the minds of one another, can know the mind of God! We do not need to know the minds of one another; it would be a great injury to us if we could, for we should lose all confidence in humanity. But knowing the mind of God, we know all that is good and pure and holy, all that is for our strength and hope and comfort. And so God has given us this wonderful insight into Himself. The apostle writes, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.... Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-12.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.5

Jesus has said, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things.” Revelation 21:7. And these things God has revealed to us by His Spirit, which “searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” It is not merely houses and lands and silver and gold that the saints are to inherit in the world to come. They will inherit also that which pertains to God Himself,-His mind and His nature; for the Spirit searcheth the deep things of God that it may reveal them unto us as among the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.6

The revelation of God is Christ. Christ gave Himself to us, and in accepting Him, we receive His mind and His Spirit. He is the express image of His Father. Hebrews 1:3. His mind is the mind of God. He is one with His Father. John 10:30. God is in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, and Christ is in the heart of the believer. 2 Corinthians 3:3; John 17:21, 23. Thus the same mind and the same spirit are in all three, and the individual no longer sees all things within the narrow realm and through the cloudy atmosphere of his own mind, but has rich glimpses into deep and glorious mysteries in the realms beyond.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.7

In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:3. To these treasures, therefore, we have access by having the mind of Christ. A limitless field is open before us, which we can never fully explore. There are no treasures of wisdom and knowledge outside of Him. Whether we look in the realm of nature or of human thought and life, we cannot grasp the truth concerning the things that we see, except as we view them in the light of the knowledge of Him who made all things, and by whose hand they are controlled and upheld. The atheist, as he looks into the heavens, sees only the operations and results of the law of nature working through a “nebular hypothesis;” but the devout astronomer explains, “O God, I think Thy thoughts after Thee.” To those who become acquainted with Him, God gives His thoughts. He withholds “no good thing from them that walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 450.8

In becoming acquainted with God, we become also acquainted with our self; and though the knowledge may not be pleasant to us, it is exceedingly profitable. While we compare ourselves with others around us, we are not wise, or at most are wise in our own conceits; but when we come to know God, we can view ourselves in the light of the true standard of perfection. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;” and God has said that only He can search and know it. And only as we see with the mind of Christ can we know the evil that is lurking there, waiting to accomplish our ruin.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.1

Acquaintance with God is beneficial in every way. The prophet understood this when he uttered the words which we have quoted, “Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace.” The knowledge of what He is to us and will do for us brings us perfect peace; for we know that He is for us, and “if God be for us, who can be against us?” “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.” Isaiah 26:3.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.2

Acquaintance with God is also our salvation. For said Jesus, “this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3. For the knowledge of God comes by Christ dwelling in us, “Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.3

Who will fail to avail themselves of the privilege of becoming acquainted with God? Who will prefer their own mind to His mind, their own wisdom to His wisdom? Who will not esteem it a high honour to be able to say, I know the God of Heaven? Let earthly potentates and great men seclude themselves and refuse their friendship and there acquaintance; we know One who is infinitely the superior of any man. We enjoy fellowship and communion with Him, and are on terms of the closest intimacy, even that of sons and daughters with their father. We do not care for the honour that comes from men. “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23, 24.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.4

Let it be our aim to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;” that in the day of His appearing, we may meet Him not as a stranger, but as a friend, as One whom we well know, and have earnestly longed to behold.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.5

“Holding the Winds” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Every one who keeps the run of current events must know of the tension that has for a long time existed in the mutual relations of the great powers of Europe. The most trivial circumstance, from a national point of view, such as a petty quarrel or even the indisposition of one man, among those who hold the reins of power, may, we are told, suffice to throw all Europe into desperate conflict. Just now the tension is very severe in the relations between Italy and France, and is said that those in high military circles look for a rupture to occur at any moment. On the military frontier, long lines of semi-belligerence stand facing each other, ready at a moment’s notice to spring forward and inaugurate a conflict into which all Europe will be drawn. And yet it is probable, as has already so often been the case, that the war cloud will pass over without any deadly discharge upon the earth, and the restless dogs of war, crouching in readiness for the spring, will settle down again and content themselves with glaring at each other across the line which keeps them apart.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.6

But why is this? Why the constant repetition of this curious phenomenon-now hardly regarded as curious because of its frequency-of relations strained almost to the point of rupture, yet meeting a relaxation just before the breaking point is reached; of war clouds rising as if to scatter death and destruction over a continent, and as suddenly disappearing again without a discharge of their light and thunder? That the phenomenon is a striking one, not known in the history of international relationships hitherto, cannot be denied. For a score of years Europe has been a vast armed camp, with her governments staggering under a constantly increasing military burden, so that peace itself is now more expensive than war was formerly,-and yet the war for which all have been straining every nerve in preparation, and has not occurred. People have grown accustomed to the sounding of the alarm, and now hear it with indifference. Some had even arrived at the conclusion that the world is going to adopt the rule of arbitration and other peaceful methods of settling international disputes, and thus war become a thing of the past.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.7

But there is a reason why these things have occurred as they have-a reason not understood by the world, but which makes all clear to the student of the inspired word. And let it be stated here that no one is prepared to understand the significance of the events either in the political or the religious world, who does not study the word of God. The political situation of to-day is thus foretold by the Apostle John, writing eighteen centuries, ago: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Revelation 7:1.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.8

The verses preceding this statement describe the coming of the great day of God’s wrath, when “the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man,” shall hide in the dens and caves, and say to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand.” We have reached the period of time just preceding this awful day, and now the “four angels” are “standing on the four corners of the earth,” holding the winds, that they may not blow upon the earth till the servants of God are sealed with His seal. There is a sealing work going on in the earth, and it is the work of God, and meanwhile nothing can take place which will interfere and cause it to stop. The world is not to be distracted by the blowing of the winds of strife, the convulsions of the nations of Europe. The servants of God are in those nations, and they must be sought out and sealed. So there have been momentary outbreaks and appearances of strife, but the great struggle has not yet come; there have been fitful gusts, but the hurricane wind has not yet blown. This is what the world has seen for a score of years in the past, and sees to-day.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 451.9

But sooner or later the storm will burst. The winds will not always be held. The sealing work will be completed and those who are the servants of God will be prepared for His appearing and the day of His wrath. Then the restraining power will be taken away, and a whirlwind of strife will be the result. We must not rest in the fancied security of those who dream of the extinguishment of war and an era of universal peace. “When they shall say, Peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Our safety now is in being numbered with the servants of God-those who “Keep the commandments of God and have the faith in Jesus” (Revelation 14:12)-and in receiving His seal-the mark of His authority-in our foreheads, that thus we may “be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:36.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.1

“Glorifying God” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Wonderful as it may seem, it lies in the power of feeble, finite man, to glorify God. He who is the King of kings, dwelling in light whereunto no man can approach, and before whom angels vail their eyes, can receive an augmentation of glory from mortal man! We do not know how this can be, but God Himself tells us that it is true. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me.” Psalm 50:23.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.2

All things were created for the glory of God. Revelation 4:11. Yet God is not arbitrary, but has made the glory of the Creator the highest happiness of those created. The apostle Peter tells us, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9. Though man is fallen, he has not lost the privilege of serving the original purpose of his creation. In one thing he can yet stand with the sinless throng in worlds above; he can do that which will glorify God; he can join in the great anthem of praise which myriad tongues, from realms beyond our sight, send forth to the great Creator.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.3

And God is glorified by the praise of our feeble tongues just as much as by the anthems of seraphim and cherubim; for it is not the might or the grandeur or the eloquence of the tribute that glorifies Him, but that which tells most of the power of Divine love. And man, to whom that love has been most revealed, is perhaps the best fitted of all to testify of that grace which is sufficient for all needs, and that power which is made perfect in weakness.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.4

“The Hope of Salvation” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The hope of salvation is the Christian’s helmet. The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Thessalonians, says, “Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation.” 1 Thessalonians 5:8. The purpose of the helmet is to guard the head. The mind of the Christian is to be fortified by firm belief in and expectation of salvation in the kingdom of God. With such a belief, his mind is guarded against being cast down in discouragement or despair by the attacks of the devil.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.5

Most people believe in salvation, but few, apparently, look upon it as something that is to become an actual reality in their lives. It is made altogether too much like a mere theory, to be spoken of in religious meetings, sung about and prayed over-something that exists, like the heaven of the popular imagination, “beyond the bounds of time and space.” It should be made a fact, future, it is true, so far as the kingdom is concerned, but no less real. It must be a fact, a reality, or it will not serve its purpose in the Christian warfare.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.6

Some, it may be, have more of a theory of salvation than a hope of it. They see the path that is cast up for the righteous to walk in, and it is high and very narrow. They see the standard of righteousness set up in the law of God, and it seems impossible of attainment. The frailties of the flesh press upon them so strongly that a perfect life seems altogether beyond their reach. And so it is to all, except to those who attain to it by faith; but these have not strong faith, and by their own powers they can make no progress. And so the “hope of salvation” is with them almost a dead hope. It is a theory rather than a fact. It is nothing that is able to keep them from having frequent attacks of despair.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.7

But the Apostle Peter says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3, 4. The hope of salvation is meant to be a “lively hope.” And when God asks us to have a lively hope of anything, He has made provision that we should have it. What God asks us to hope for, we can expect with certainty. We hear a great deal about the uncertainties of this mortal life. We hope for things, but we do not know that our hopes will be realised; we expect things, but we find ourselves disappointed. It has been said that the only thing certain to us are death and the Judgment. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ has added to these the certainty of salvation. He has made it certain that every man will be saved who will believe on Him. And thus salvation-eternal life in the kingdom of God, which is so much beyond all that we ever hope for in this life, is something of which we may be absolutely certain. God has not left us in any doubt upon this vital point. “For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee.... That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Hebrews 6:13-19.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.8

Let us then improve the privilege offered us, and make this hope a lively hope and a sure anchor of the soul. Let us remove it from the far-off realms of a theory, and bring it near into the realm of fact. Let us expect as much and more than we expect anything in this world. We are in the position of the children of Israel upon the borders of the promised land; let us profit by their experience. They received word that the cities were strong and “walled up to heaven,” and the inhabitants were giants before whom they themselves were as grasshoppers; and then they were seized with unbelief. There hope of entry into it was lost and they gave way to despair; and by their action made necessary the mournful record, “They to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 4. 6. The high walls that seemed to reach up to heaven represent to us the walls of doubt; the giants are the giants of unbelief. And as those walls and those giants fell then before the advance of faith, so they will fall now, however high and strong they may seem to us. Let us put on this helmet and move resolutely forward, knowing that “God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9. And like those to whom Peter wrote, it will be to us a hope “wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6, 7.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 452.9

“‘Christian’ Nations” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The idea that there are any Christian nations in the world in the sense of being governments which are actuated by the principles of Christianity, was rudely shattered by a Japanese Buddhist, in an address made at the World’s Parliament of Religions, at the World’s Fair. Kinza Ringe M. Harai (such was the speaker’s name) is a Japanese gentleman of learning and ability, a fluent speaker of English, and well informed in the ideas and practices of English-speaking people. In his address he said:-PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.1

“If any person should claim that there are many people in Japan who speak and write against Christianity, I am not a hypocrite, and I will frankly state that I was the first in my country who ever publicly attacked Christianity-no, not real Christianity but false Christianity; the wrongs done toward us by the people of Christendom. If any reprove the Japanese because they have had strong antichristian societies, I will honestly declare that I was the first in Japan who ever organised a society against Christianity-no, not against real Christianity, but to protect ourselves from false Christianity and the injustice which we receive from the people of Christendom.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.2

“One of the excuses offered by foreign nations is that our country is not yet civilised. Is it the principle of civilised law that the rights and profits of the so-called uncivilised or the weaker should be sacrificed? As I understand it, the spirit and the necessity of law is to protect the rights and welfare of the weaker against the aggression of the stronger; but I never learned in my studies of law that the weaker should be sacrificed for the stronger. Another kind of apology comes from the religious source, and the claim is made that the Japanese are idolaters and heathen.... Admitting, for the sake of argument, that we are idolaters and heathen, is it Christian morality to trample upon the rights and advantages of a non-Christian nation, colouring all their natural happiness with the dark stain of injustice? I read in the Bible, ‘Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also;’ but I cannot discover there is any passage which says, “Whosoever shall demand justice of thee, smite his right cheek, and when he turns, smite the other also.’ Again, I read in the Bible, ‘If any man will sue thee at law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also;’ but I cannot discover there any passage which says, ‘If thou shalt sue any man at the law, and take away his coat, let him give thee his cloak also.’ ...PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.3

We are very often called barbarians, and I have heard and read that Japanese are stubborn and cannot understand the truth of the Bible. I will admit that this is true in some sense, for though they admire the eloquence of the orator and wonder at his courage, though they approve his logical argument, yet they are very stubborn and will not join Christianity as long as they think it is a Western morality to preach one thing and practice another.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.4

All this the Japanese naturally charged to, or at least associate with, the religion which is supposed to dominate the western nations. If they were told the truth of the matter-that there is no such thing as a truly Christian government-there would be far less antagonism to Christianity roused in the minds of those who most need its truths.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.5

There is, indeed, not a nation upon the earth to-day that is actuated by any other motive than that of self. Their policy is, Let us lookout for self, self last, and self always. This is why one or another of the so-called Christian nations adopt the policy of “protection.” It matters not to the government of the United States that hundreds or thousands of people in England are thrown out of work and reduced to starvation by a law which places a prohibitive duty upon the importation of tin. It matters not to that government that it has closed its doors upon hundreds of millions of the human family, in China. When the poor and needy paupers come to its shores, it unceremoniously drives them back to the place whence they came. Is this Christianity? So also it matters not to the government of England that China is forced to accept the importation of a deadly drug that is fast slaving both the bodies and souls of millions of population. Is this Christianity? And these are only a few of many illustrations that might be given. And the same governments which do these things are, we are told, fitted to legislate on the subject of religion! Let us hope that the words of this outspoken Japanese may not be lost to the cause of complete separation between religion and civil government.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.6

“The Earth Shaken” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The latest deductions of seismic science seem to demonstrate that our globe is not the great mass of terra firma which it is popularly supposed to be; in fact, that it is susceptible to convulsions which shake its entire circumference. A writer in the Youth’s Companion says:—PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.7

“The astonishing tremors to which the solid shell of the earth is subject are only just beginning to be made apparent by the delicate instruments of modern science. It is now known that the effects of earthquakes reach hundreds and thousands of miles beyond the point at which they are perceptible to the unassisted human senses. In fact the shocks of severe earthquakes appear in some cases to be transmitted completely around the globe.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.8

A remarkable example of this occurred on July 28, 1889, and has only recently been brought to light. While examining the record of pendulum experiments at Potsdam, Herr Paschuitz happened to consult a volume of the publication of the seismological Society of Japan, an association for the study of earthquakes, and was surprised to find that a severe earthquake which had occurred at Kumamato on the date above mentioned coincided in time, allowance being made for transmission of the shock, with a double perturbation which had been noticed by the pendulum experimenters at Potsdam and Wilhelmshaven.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.9

The explanation of the double perturbation recorded in Germany is not the least interesting part of the story. It was interpreted to mean that the shock in Japan ran both ways around the globe, and as the perturbation which travelled westward had a shorter distance to go, it arrived at Potsdam about two hours and thirty-eight minutes sooner than did the perturbation which ran round the shell of the earth eastward.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.10

The distance along a great circle of the globe from Kumamato to Potsdam, reckoning toward the west, is about fifty-five hundred miles, while the distance along the same great circle reckoned the other way round is nineteen thousand five hundred miles. The average velocity with which the shock travelled in the earth was about seven thousand five hundred and eighty-seven feet to a second. This agrees very well with the velocity observed in some other similar cases.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.11

Once has the solid surface of the earth yielded to the mighty forces within it, when “the fountains of the great deep were broken up,” and the waters leaped forth to meet the torrents descending from the opened “windows of heaven,” and formed within the flood by which the world that then was, perished; and we are told that “the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly man,” 2 Peter 3:7. Fountains of fire now lurk in the depths of the earth, ready to burst through its trembling surface to meet the fire from above, in that day of final reckoning when “Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and horrible tempests,” by which they will receive “the portion of their cup.” Psalm 11:6; Revelation 20:9.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 453.12

“Denominationalism and Foreign Missions” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

In His memorable prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, Jesus said: “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” John 17:21. Nearly nineteen hundred years later comes this comment on the words of Christ, from the lips of a prominent adherent of the Buddhist faith, Mr. H Dharmapala, given at the “Parliament of Religions” in Chicago:-PTUK October 19, 1893, page 454.1

“There are too many religions in the present day. Representatives of each urge our acceptance of their God. The Christian calls on us to accept his God; the Jew wants us to adore his God, and so on with the others. The result is we are puzzled which to accept. These conditions have led to much scepticism and materialism.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 454.2

As every one familiar with the history of foreign missionary effort knows, denominationalism has been and is now the bane of the missionary work. The professed followers of Christ have not been one as He wished, and the world has not believed that God has sent Him. Those who are one with Christ are one with each other, but His professed church have not been united to Him; the multiplicity of Christian sects is most certainly not the work of His Spirit. While therefore it is true that there are Christians in all these sects, it cannot be true, as some would have us believe, that all these sects are recognised by Him as parts of His church. In the Church of Christ there is unity. The apostles question to the Corinthians-“Is Christ divided?” can no more be answered in the affirmative now than it could in the days of Paul.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 454.3

“Feeding the Starved” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

While so much is being said to call attention to the urgent necessity of relief for the physical wants of men and women, it may be well to point out that there are other wants no less real than these, and no less clamorous for relief, although the dull ears of mortals are insensible to the sound. For those misfortunes which affect visibly the bodies of men, have their counterparts in the evils that fasten upon the soul. As there are around us the maimed, the halt, and the blind, the starving and the paralysed, physically, so there are also the spiritually and morally halt and blind, the starving and paralytic. There come dearths in the realm of spiritual things, just as there do in that of things material; only the minds of men are so dull and stupefied as regards the reality of spiritual needs that the dearth is often not perceived. A person will starve spiritually from a lack of spiritual food, but just as truly as he will starve physically from a lack of that which supplies the muscles and tissues of the body; only the one process is perhaps a little slower than the other. And spiritual starvation ends in death, just as physical starvation does. The individual becomes “dead in trespasses and sins.” Then indeed is his condition truly deplorable. While taking care for the wants of the body, we must not forget this great truth, that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 454.4

“‘Awake, Thou that Sleepest’” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

This is the call that is sounding to-day from the throne of Divine mercy, to the children of men. But it falls, for the most part, upon ears that are dull of hearing. We read in the book of Proverbs that “wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets; she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates; in the city she uttereth her words.” Proverbs 1:20, 21. But how many realise the fact and discern her voice? She says, “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at My reproof; behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you.” “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7. The voice of wisdom is the voice that calls men to turn to the Lord. Through the night of sin, to the myriads that lie in darkness and the shadow of death, but down by the stupor of sin, it calls, and its language is, “Awake, thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Ephesians 5:14.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 454.5

The world is asleep, and their sleep is as the sleep of death. The voice of wisdom calls, but they know it not; the hand of Mercy is reached down to save them, but they know not the day of their visitation. While their destiny is trembling in the balance, and the hours are burdened with the awful events which turn the scale for life or death, they are engaged in oblivious revelry or the pursuit of gain, like Belshazzar feasting with his lords, not knowing that he was the same night to be slain, and his kingdom given to another. Consider the case of Sodom. There was the wicked city wholly taken up with its vain and licentious pleasures, living its life of “pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness,” without a thought of righteousness or judgment to come; while the same day, only a few miles distant, the patriarch Abraham, with face bowed to the earth, was talking with the God of the universe, and saying, “Peradventure ten [righteous] shall be found there” and receiving the answer, “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.” But the ten were not found, and the wicked inhabitants were overtaken in a moment by “the vengeance of eternal fire.” Or consider that more momentous scene, many years later, in the garden of Gethsemane, where the Son of God, in human form, poured out the agony of His soul in prayer. There the awful burden of sin forced from His lips the words, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;” and if that prayer had been answered, the world would have been left to its fate. But while this momentous scene, upon the outcome of which its destiny hung, was taking place in Gethsemane, the world was asleep. The inhabitants of the earth were totally oblivious to the crisis which had come, in which their eternal destinies were involved. Even the three disciples, whom the Saviour had chosen to accompany him to the scene of His suffering, were wrapped in the same oblivious slumber; “for their eyes were heavy.” Only the inanimate trees and the watchers that looked down in pity from above, beheld at the scene when the iniquities of the world were laid on the world’s Redeemer. With men, there was no thought of the awful crisis that had been reached in the history of the human family. They slept, and rose and went about their accustomed rounds of duty or pleasure as if that night were like all others, and not darkened by a great tragedy in which every interest of their existence, both for time and eternity, was involved.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 454.6

And so it ever is with those who sleep when they should awake to spiritual things. They know not the day of their visitation. The crisis comes when their destiny for eternity will be decided, and they perceive it not. Like the blind inhabitants of Jerusalem spending in self-righteous ease the last day before the Divine judgment was pronounced upon the city, or the licentious Sodomites feasting and revelling through the very hours when the question of their doom was being decided, these sleeping ones pass on and know not their position untll their fate comes upon them. Then their eyes are opened, but the awakening comes too late.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 454.7

So it may be with us who live in the world to-day; for there is a spiritual crisis which must come to us as well as to those that have lived before us, a time when the decision must be made for us, as it has been for the destiny of others. And how near that hour may be, who can tell? How far off are we from the day of our visitation? We cannot do better than to turn to the words of Paul in the exhortation given on this point in his epistle to the Romans: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” It is not necessary that the crisis should overtake us asleep. The apostle says, “Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6. Let us “awake to righteousness, and sin not.” 1 Corinthians 15:34. The righteousness of Christ is offered to us, and will be ours if we awake and grasp it. That is the light which Christ will give to those that awake and “arise from the dead.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 455.1

But if we heed not the call of wisdom, if we hear not her voice saying, “Turn you at My reproof,” the day will surely come when we will hear her saying, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all My counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me; for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” Proverbs 1:24-29. “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 455.2

“Man proposes, but God disposes.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 455.3

“A Lesson from the Flowers” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“Consider the lillies: ... if God so clothes the grass of the field, ... shall He not much more clothe you?” Matthew 6:28-32.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.1

Last week we learned a very important lesson from the grass. Every time we look at it God silently whispers through it, Do not be proud. Do not be proud.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.2

Our best Friend is grieved when we think of ourselves and forget Him. He has made and placed on every side of us wonderful things, not only for our pleasure but to remind us of Him-to teach us of His power and love, and of our need of Him. He is our Teacher; we are His people; and the whole heavens and earth is our schoolroom. Above us, beneath us, and all are around us, His own dear hand has scattered the lessons that He would have us learn. If we search, we shall find them in the Bible, in the grass, flowers, and trees; in the insects, birds, and animals; and in the air, and clouds, and sky. When we look at any of these things we should say, Lord, what would you have me learn from this? Help me to understand what it is. Then we should study and watch it and think about it; and He will make us understand.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.3

God will teach us many things through the flowers alone, if we but listen to His still small voice. He speaks to us through the buttercups and daisies, through the modest violet, the sweet-scented pink, the blue-eyed for-get-me-not, the friendly-faced pansy, and the beautiful roses; through the geraniums, and all their pink and scarlet glory, and through the golden-hearted lily.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.4

Listen to what Jesus once said about the lilies. He asks the people why they spent so much anxious thought, and so much of their time upon their clothes? He said: “Consider [think about] the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.5

It grieves God when we spend so much time in thinking about our clothes, and in trying to dress up so very nicely our poor frail bodies. It looks as though we could not take time for Jesus, for fear we should have to go without clothes. He says that that poor little lily out yonder in the field is dressed more beautifully than you can possibly dress yourself-no matter how hard you work or how much time you spend. You would please God more if you would spend more time in seeking the inward adorning-“the ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit”-a pure and humble heart. This, He says, is worth a great deal more in God’s sight, than the outward adorning and costly clothing. Just listen what He promises. He says to seek first the beautiful garment of God’s righteousness-a garment of purity for the heart-and try to lead others to God; and all these other things, such as food and clothing, will be added unto you. You need not fear, then, that you will have no food or clothing, if you spend a little time in thinking about and trying to please Jesus. “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” Matthew 6:32. “He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7), even more than for the lilies, and will not suffer you to want if you serve and trust Him.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.6

In another place in the Bible Jesus says: “I am the lily of the valley.” Then, as you look at the lily with its golden heart and raiment of purity, think of Jesus, the purest and best of all the lilies that ever grew upon this earth. Remember that He whispers to you through the lilies, and this is what He says: “I care for the lily, but I care for you more; I clothed the lily in its robe of snowy white, but I’ll wash away your sins and clothe your heart in a robe more pure, even in my own pure robe of righteousness-if you will let Me. Do not be afraid to spend time to read your Bible and pray, and obey Me, for, remember, I care for you; you shall not want.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.7

1. Do you go to school?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.8

2. What schools should we all attend every day? The school of Christ.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.9

3. Then who will be our Teacher?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.10

4. What is the school-room?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.11

5. Where are the lessons that we should learn?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.12

6. Who placed them there for us?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.13

7. If we never notice the things that He has made, or think about them, can we learn the lessons?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.14

8. How can we learn from these things the lessons that He would have us learn?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.15

9. What lesson did we learn last week from the grass?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.16

10. How does it cause our best Friend to feel when we think of ourselves and forget Him?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.17

11. How does it cause Him to feel when we spend more time in thinking of our clothes than we do in serving Him?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.18

12. How does it look? As though we were afraid we’d have no clothes if we should take time for Jesus.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.19

13. What little flower is clothed more beautifully that we can ever clothe ourselves?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.20

14. Who gave it its beautiful dress?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.21

15. For which does God care more, the lily or you?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.22

16. Then do you think that He would forget to give you what you need when you love and obey Him?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.23

17. Which does He say for us to seek first, the outward adorning, or inward adorning?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.24

18. What is this inward adorning which God prizes so much more highly than outward adorning and costly clothing? 1 Peter 3:3, 4.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.25

19. If we take time to seek this shall we not be in danger of having no food and clothing?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.26

20. Who knows that we need such things?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.27

21. What precious promise does He make about it? Matthew 6:33.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.28

22. What did Jesus once say about the lilies? Matthew 6:28-33.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.29

23. Who cares for them and gives them their beautiful clothing?PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.30

24. What should you remember every time you see a lily? Jesus, the purest of all lilies, cares for the lily, but He cares for me more. He gave the lily its robe of purity, but He will make me pure like Him if I ask Him; then I’ll be purer than this lily.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.31

25. And what does the Lord promise to the pure in heart? Matthew 5:8.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 461.32

“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

-The health of Prince Bismarck is said to be improving; also that of Ferdinand de Lesseps.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.1

-The schooner, Star of the Ocean, from Shields to Ramsgate, was run clown by a steamer off the North Foreland, and six lives are supposed to have been lost.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.2

-An attempt is being made in Hampshire to weld the Free Churches together into one strong association. Meetings of delegates are being held in the chief district centres.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.3

-It is telegraphed from New York that an English syndicate has purchased the Lower Californian peninsula from the Republic of Mexico. It will be annexed to the United States.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.4

-A conference of French Socialists was in Paris Oct. 7. It is attended by eighty-five delegates, representing 419 groups, and included some Socialist members of the Chamber of Deputies.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.5

-The war in Morocco seems likely to subside as suddenly as it commenced. There has been no resumption of fighting at Melilla, and the Moorish tribes are said to be divided on the subject of continuing hostilities.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.6

-The Sunday-closing question is being fought over again in connection with the prospective midwinter fair at San Francisco, Cal., at which it is proposed to have on exhibition many of the exhibits now at the Fair in Chicago.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.7

-Some fishermen on the Gulf of Riga have picked up a bottle, which had been washed ashore, containing a message from one of those who went down in the Russian warship Roosalka, in which it is stated that the vessel had run aground.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.8

-The new session of lectures and classes in connection with the Oxford Extension Delegacy is just commencing, arrangements having been already made for 179 courses of lectures, to be delivered at 149 different centres in every part of England.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.9

-Spain is still troubled with Anarchists. An announcement that a body of the latter intended to make an attack upon Xeres caused considerable alarm in that town. Nothing, however, transpired, and several well-known Anarchists were arrested.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.10

-By the breaking out of a fire at the barracks at Roslavi, in the Russian government of Smolensk, twenty-eight soldiers were burned to death, and eleven others, who escaped by jumping out of the window, are not likely to live, owing to the injuries they sustained.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.11

-Cholera has again appeared at Grimsby. The Local Government Board’s report states that since the 6th inst. five cases of a choleraic nature, two of them fatal, have been recorded at that place, and one fatal ease of cholera is reported to have taken place at Rawmarsh, near Rotherham.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.12

-Signs of the end of the great coal strike and lockout are becoming visible, and victory seems to be turning on the side of the miners. Many thousands of the latter have gone back to work at the old rate of wages. The result is largely due to the generous sympathy shown by the public in contributing to the support of the men and their families.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.13

-Active hostilities have been begun in South Africa, the initiative having been taken by the Matabele, who are supposed to have broken loose from the restraining hand of their king Lobengula. A Cape Town telegram says it is expected that the combined British forces will proceed to Buluwayo and make a simultaneous attack on Lobengula’s kraal. It is not thought that the campaign will last more than a month.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.14

-Oct. 9 was “Chicago day” at the World’s Fair, being the anniversary of the great fire in 1871. Nearly 800,000 persons passed through the gates. A number of accidents are reported, owing to the tremendous increase in the traffic, several people having been killed and some thirty injured by being struck by grip-cars and other vehicles, or crushed in the crowd. Terrible scenes resulting from the crowding took place at night.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.15

-A Nonconfomist house-to-house visitation is now in progress at Leeds, and is exported to be completed on Oct. 20. One or two of the churches are not participating in the work, having already carried out a visitation in their own districts, and the Unitarians have not been invited to join in the movement. The visitor’s card of introduction bears the intimation that “this visitation is undertaken with a sincere desire to extend the religion of Jesus Christ in the community. It is entirely unsectarian in character.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.16

-No decided change in affairs is reported from the Brazilian insurrection, but the probability of ultimate success seems to lie with the insurgents. Manifestoes have been issued by President Peixoto and Admiral de Mello. The former is understood to infer that if the elections to Congress go against him he will bow to the will of the country, while the insurgent Admiral declares that in the event of his success he will adhere rigidly to Republican institutions and forms of government. He also defends, at considerable length, the line of action he has taken up, and charges President Poixoto with violating the Constitution.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 462.17

“Back Page” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The question of religious education in the public schools is being forced upon the attention of the London School Board. A deputation of Primitive Methodists have waited on the Board and declared that the present unsettled state of the question is due to the High Church party, who are trying to insert into the public-school system the thin edge of a wedge which would force upon it an intolerable religious test. The Chronicle says (and very truthfully), “It is too late in the day to have any ‘ism’ whatever taught in the public schools at public expense.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.1

“Apostolic Succession” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Apostolic Succession.-The Rev. J. Guinness Rogers, in a recent sermon, had this to say on the subject of “apostolic succession,” in allusion to claims put forth by a prominent speaker at the Church Congress:-PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.2

“What is this apostolic succession? Mr. Gore appeals to the epistle of Ignatius, the apostle of Clement, the record of the second century tradition as represented by Hegesippus and Irenaeus, and asks how in face of them any one can doubt the immense strength of the doctrine of apostolic succession. What do I care for the apostles of Clement or Ignatius, or the traditions of the second century, they are only valuable as historic records of the state of the Church at that period, and as showing the rapidity and ease with which it had lost its pristine beauty and lost its first love. They are no more guides to my faith than the words of Rev. Chas. Gore himself!PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.3

“When he appeals to the Acts of the Apostles and the pastoral epistles, however, it is a different thing, and my reply to, ‘How anyone can read them and find in them any warrant for the doctrine of the apostolic succession, or the exclusive rights of an episcopal organisation, I am at a loss to understand. It is not there, and was only manufactured by the fathers of the second century.’”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.4

This is the simple truth about this much-mooted question. “Apostolic succession” can no more have been handed down from the apostolic days to ours by men, than could the faith and righteousness of Abraham be handed down from his time to the Christian era by means of a literal descent. The Pharisees put as much confidence in the virtue of Abrahamic succession, if we may so speak, as is put now by some who partake of their characteristics, in “apostolic” succession; but the truth is that the faith and love necessary to make one an acceptable labourer for God, are the gifts of God, who Himself calls His servants, as He did Paul, and gives them the true commission of the Holy Spirit.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.5

“Mr. Moody Expects a Smash-up” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The great evangelist, D. L. Moody, has written to the Independent (New York City) his reply to the question (asked him by that journal), “Is the world growing better?” His view of the subject is one of English-speaking people in all lands. He says:-PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.6

“In reply to your question, ‘Is the world growing better?’ I would say that God has a plan in the history of this world, and He is constantly carrying it out. The Gospel has converting power, and wherever it goes men are being converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel also has an elevating influence in many ways upon those who do not accept it.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.7

“While all this is true, on the other hand, men who reject the truth grow worse and worse, and we see the development of the kingdom of darkness going on side by side with the development of the kingdom of light. The facts which every one who is not blinded by prejudice must see about him on every hand, as well as the teaching of Scripture, clearly indicate that “in the last days perilous times shall come.” There is every indication that the present dispensation will end in a great smash-up; but I believe that out of that smash-up the most glorious age of the world’s history will come. So I look into the future, not with despair, but with unbounded delight.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.8

The last two sentences are somewhat vague and ambiguous; perhaps purposely so. But the fact that one of so wide an acquaintance with the ways of God and of men, looks for this dispensation to end in a general smash-up, should lead to a closer investigation of the subject in the light of the prophetic word. And if his view of the approaching catastrophe is that held by the Apostle Peter and other inspired writers, it may well be said that out of it the most glorious age in earth’s history will come; for out of it will come “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” See 2 Peter 3:3-13. And we may well “look into the future with unbounded delight,” for that is only to fulfil the Saviour’s words, “When these things begin to come to pass, then looked up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.9

“Cannot Be Harmonised” The Present Truth 9, 29.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Cannot Be Harmonised.-A leading religious journal in the United States professes to be greatly puzzled by the fact that while people there “have listened to beautiful addresses in Chicago [at the Catholic Congress] by Cardinal Gibbons and Bishop Keane and Archbishop Ireland and dozens of other distinguished representative Catholics, telling us about the liberality of the Pope and his sympathy with free institutions, his love for republics and the freedom of the American Catholic Church,” the Papacy still perpetuates the institution of the Index Expurgatorius, which, by a deliverance from “his holiness” published last July, excludes from all Catholic homes several copies of The Nineteenth Century Magazine, since they contain some articles which the pontiff and his associates have seen fit to proscribe. The directions aforesaid read as follows:-PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.10

“Therefore, let no one of whatever rank or condition dare in future either to publish or to read or to keep those above-mentioned condemned and proscribed works; but let him deliver them over to the local bishops or to the inquisitors of heretical doctrine, under the penalties which have been proscribed by the Index of Forbidden Books.”PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.11

But why will any sensible person undertake to harmonise the beautiful talk which we listened to from Catholic prelates, about the pope’s love of freedom and the liberality and humanity of the Catholic Church, with facts of this nature which ever and anon come to light? Why will not people believe that “actions speak louder than words,” even the words of a Catholic cardinal or Archbishop? The Index Expurgatorius of Rome used to contain not only the names of books, but the names of persons, and would to-day if she had any means of making the theory practical. How can a pope who makes no protest against intolerance of Protestant worship in Spain, the oppression and hatred manifested toward it in Austria, the killing of Protestants by Catholic mobs in Mexico and the countries of South America, the exclusion of Protestant missionaries from Ecuador, and the mental and moral degradation of the masses in all of them, when a word from him would be powerful to check such bigotry,-how can he allow all this without a protest and yet be the liberal and benevolent father, the friend of democracy and lover of popular rule, which the smooth-tongued prelates would have us think? When they have satisfactorily answered this question, it will be time to put some faith in their representations.PTUK October 19, 1893, page 464.12

October 12, 1893

October 26, 1893