January 21, 1862

RH VOL. XIX. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, - NO. 8

James White

ADVENT REVIEW,
AND SABBATH HERALD

[Graphic of the Ark of the Covenant with the inscription beneath,]
“And there was Seen in His Temple
the Ark of His Testament.”

“Here is the Patience of the Saints; Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.”
VOL. XIX. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, JANUARY 21, 1862. - NO. 8.

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald

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IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY
The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association

TERMS.-Two Dollars a year, in advance. One Dollar to the poor and to those who subscribe one year on trial. Free to those unable to pay half price. Address ELDER JAMES WHITE, Battle Creek, Michigan.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.1

History of the Sabbath (Continued.) THE SABBATH FROM DAVID TO NEHEMIAH

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WHEN we leave the books of Moses there is a long continued break in the history of the Sabbath. No mention of it is found in the book of Joshua, nor in that of Judges, nor in the book of Ruth, nor in that of first Samuel, nor in the book of second Samuel, nor in that of first Kings. It is not until we reach the book of second Kings [2 Kings 4:23] that the Sabbath is even mentioned. In the book of first Chronicles, however, which as a narrative is parallel to the two books of Samuel, the Sabbath is mentioned ^{11 Chronicles 9:32. It is true that this text relates to the order of things after the return from Babylon; yet we learn from verse 22, that this order was originally ordained by David and Samuel. See verses 1-32.} with reference to the events of David’s life. Yet this leaves a period of five hundred years, which the Bible passes in silence respecting the Sabbath.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.2

During this period we have a circumstantial history of the Hebrew people from their entrance into the promised land forward to the establishment of David as their king, embracing many particulars in the life of Joshua, of the elders and judges of Israel, of Gideon, of Barak, of Jepthah, of Samson, of Eli, of Naomi and Ruth, of Hannah and Samuel, of Saul, of Jonathan and of David. Yet in all this minute record we have no direct mention of the Sabbath.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.3

It is a favorite argument with anti-Sabbatarians in proof of the total neglect of the Sabbath in the patriarchal age, that the book of Genesis, which does give a distinct view of the origin of the Sabbath in Paradise, at the close of the first week of time, does not in recording the lives of the patriarchs, say anything relative to its observance. Yet in that one book are crowded the events of two thousand three hundred and seventy years. What then should they say of the fact that six successive books of the Bible, relating with comparative minuteness the events of five hundred years, and involving many circumstances that would call out a mention of the Sabbath, do not mention it at all? Does the silence of one book, which nevertheless does give the institution of the Sabbath at its very commencement, and which brings into its record almost twenty-four hundred years, prove that there were no Sabbath-keepers prior to Moses? What then is proved by the fact that six successive books of the Bible, confining themselves to the events of five hundred years, an average of less than one hundred years apiece, the whole period covered by them being about one-fifth that embraced in the book of Genesis, do nevertheless preserve total silence respecting the Sabbath?ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.4

No one will adduce this silence as evidence of total neglect of the Sabbath during this period; yet why should they not? Is it because that when the narrative after this long silence brings in the Sabbath again, it does this incidentally and not as a new institution? Precisely such is the case with the second mention of the Sabbath in the Mosaic record, that is, with its mention after the silence in Genesis. Compare these two cases: Exodus 16:23; 1 Chronicles 9:32. Is it because the fourth commandment had been given to the Hebrews whereas no such precept had previously been given to mankind? This answer cannot be admitted, for we have seen that the substance of the fourth commandment was given to the head of the human family; and it is certain that when the Hebrews came out of Egypt they were under obligation to keep the Sabbath in consequence of existing law. The argument therefore is certainly more conclusive that there were no Sabbath-keepers from Moses to David, than that there were none from Adam to Moses; yet no one will attempt to maintain the first position, however many there will be to affirm the latter.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.5

Several facts are narrated in the history of this period of five centuries, that have a claim to our notice. The first of these is found in the record of the siege of Jericho. Joshua 6. By the command of God the city was encompassed by the Hebrews each day for seven days; on the last day of the seven they encompassed it seven times, when by divine interposition the walls were thrown down before them and the city taken by assault. One day of this seven must have been the Sabbath of the Lord. Did not the people of God therefore violate the Sabbath in their acting thus? Let the following facts answer: 1. That which they did in this case was by direct command of God. 2. That which is forbidden in the fourth commandment is OUR OWN work: “Six days shalt thou labor and do ALL THY WORK; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” He who reserved the seventh day unto himself, had the right to require its appropriation to his service as he saw fit. 3. The act of encompassing the city was strictly as a religious procession. The ark of the covenant of the Lord was borne before the people; and before the ark went seven priests blowing with trumpets of rams’ horns. 4. Nor could the city have been very extensive, else the going round it seven times on the last day, and their having time left for its complete destruction, would have been impossible. 5. Nor can it be believed that the Hebrews, by God’s command carrying the ark before them, which contained simply the ten words of the Most High, were violating the fourth of those words, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” It is certain that one of those seven days on which they encompassed Jericho was the Sabbath: but there is no necessity for supposing this to have been the day in which the city was taken. Nor is this a reasonable conjecture when all the facts in the case are considered. On this incident Dr. Clarke remarks as follows:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.6

“It does not appear that there could be any breach in the Sabbath by the people simply going round the city, the ark in company, and the priests sounding the sacred trumpets. This was a mere religious procession, performed at the command of God in which no servile work was done.” See Dr. A. Clarke’s commentary on Joshua 6:15.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.7

At the word of Joshua it pleased God to arrest the earth in its revolutions and thus to cause the sun to remain stationary for a season, that the Canaanites might be overthrown before Israel. Did not this great miracle derange the Sabbath? Not at all; for the lengthening of one of the six days by God’s intervention, could not prevent the actual arrival of the seventh day, though it would delay it; nor could it destroy its identity. The case involves a difficulty for those who hold the theory that God sanctified the seventh part of time, and not the seventh day; for in this case the seventh part of time was not allotted to the Sabbath; but there is no difficulty involved for those who believe that God set apart the seventh day to be kept as it arrives, in memory of his own rest. One of the six days was allotted a greater length than ever before or since; yet this did not in the slightest degree conflict with the seventh day, which nevertheless did come. Moreover all this was while inspired men were upon the stage of action; and it was by the direct providence of God; and what is also to be particularly remembered, it was at a time when no one will deny that the fourth commandment was in full force.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.8

The case of David’s eating the shew-bread is worthy of notice, as it probably took place upon the Sabbath, and because it is cited by our Lord in a memorable conversation with the Pharisees. 1 Samuel 21:1-6; Matthew 12:34; Mark 2:25, 26; Luke 6:3, 4. The law of the shew-bread enjoined the setting forth of twelve loaves in the sanctuary upon the pure table before the Lord EVERY Sabbath. Leviticus 24:5-9; 1 Chronicles 9:32. When new bread was thus placed before the Lord each Sabbath, the old was taken away to be eaten by the priests. 1 Samuel 21:5, 6; Matthew 12:4. It appears that the shew-bread which was given to David had that day been taken from before the Lord to put hot bread in its place, and consequently that that day was the Sabbath. Thus when David asked bread the priest said, “There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread.” And David said, “The bread is in a manner common, especially (as the margin has it), when THIS DAY there is other sanctified in the vessel.” And so the sacred writer adds: “The priest gave him hallowed bread; for there was no bread there but the shew-bread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.” The circumstances of this case all favor the view that this was upon the Sabbath. 1. There was NO COMMON bread with the priest. This is not strange when it is remembered that the shew-bread was to be taken from before the Lord each Sabbath and eaten by the priests. 2. That the priest did not offer to prepare other bread, is not singular if it be understood that this was the Sabbath. 3. The surprise of the priest in meeting David may have been in part owing to the fact that it was the Sabbath. 4. This also may account for the detention of Doeg that day before the Lord. 5. When our Lord was called upon to pronounce upon the conduct of his disciples who had plucked and eaten the ears of corn upon the Sabbath to satisfy their hunger, he cited this case of David, and that of the priests offering sacrifices in the temple upon the Sabbath as justifying the disciples. There is a wonderful propriety and fitness in this citation, if it be understood that this act of David’s took place upon the Sabbath. It will be found to present the matter in a very different light from that in which anti-Sabbatarians present it.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 57.9

A distinction may be here pointed out which should never be lost sight of. The presentation of the shew-bread and the offering of burnt sacrifices upon the Sabbath as ordained in the ceremonial law, formed no part of the original Sabbatic institution. For the Sabbath was made before the fall of man; while burnt-offerings and ceremonial rites in the sanctuary were introduced in consequence of the fall. While these rites were in force they necessarily, to some extent, connected the Sabbath with the festivals of the Jews in which the like offerings were made. This is seen only in those scriptures which record the provision made for these offerings. 1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 8:13; 31:3; Nehemiah 10:31, 33; Ezekiel 45:17. When the ceremonial law was nailed to the cross, all the Jewish festivals ceased to exist; for they were ordained by it; but the abrogation of that law could only take away those rites which it had appended to the Sabbath, leaving the original institution precisely as it came at first from its author.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.1

The earliest reference to the Sabbath after the days of Moses is found in what David and Samuel ordained respecting the offices of the priests and Levites at the house of God. It is as follows:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.2

“And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the shew-bread to prepare it every Sabbath.” 1 Chronicles 9:32.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.3

It will be observed that this is only an incidental mention of the Sabbath. Such an allusion, occurring after so long a silence, is decisive proof that the Sabbath had not been forgotten or lost during the five centuries in which it had not been mentioned by the sacred historians. After this no direct mention of the Sabbath is found from the days of David to those of Elisha the prophet, a period of about one hundred and fifty years. Perhaps the ninety-second Psalm is an exception to this statement, as its title both in Hebrew and English declares that it was written for the Sabbath day; ^{1Cotton Mather says: “There is a psalm in the Bible whereof the title is, ‘A psalm or song for the Sabbath day.’ Now ‘tis a clause in that psalm, ‘O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are very deep.’ Psalm 92:5. That clause intimates what we should make the subject of our meditations on the Sabbath day. Our thoughts are to be on God’s works.” - Discourse on the Lord’s Day, p.30, 1703. And Hengstenberg says: “This psalm is according to the heading, ‘A song for the Sabbath day.’ The proper positive employment of the Sabbath appears here to be a thankful contemplation of the works of God, a devotional absorption in them which could only exist when ordinary occupations are laid aside.” - The Lord’s Day, pp.36,37.} and it is not improbable that it was composed by David, the sweet singer of Israel.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.4

The son of the Shunamite woman being dead she sought the prophet Elisha. Her husband not knowing that the child was dead, said to her:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.5

“Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.” 2 Kings 4:23.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.6

It is probable that the Sabbath of the Lord is here intended as it is thrice used in a like connection. Isaiah 66:23; Ezekiel 46:1; Amos 8:5. If this be correct, it shows that the Hebrews were accustomed to visit the prophets of God upon that day for divine instruction; a very good commentary upon the words used relative to gathering the manna: “Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” Exodus 16:29. Incidental allusion is made to the Sabbath at the accession of Jehoash to the throne of Judah (2 Kings 11:5-9; 2 Chronicles 23:4-8), about B. C. 778. In the reign of Uzziah the grandson of Jehoash, the prophet Amos, B. C. 787, uses the following language:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.7

“Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?” Amos 8:4-6.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.8

These words were spoken more directly concerning the ten tribes, and indicate the sad state of apostasy which soon after resulted in their overthrow as a people. About fifty years after this, at the close of the reign of Ahaz, another allusion to the Sabbath is found. 2 Kings 16:18. In the days of Hezekiah, about B. C. 712, the prophet Isaiah uses the following language in enforcing the Sabbath:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.9

“Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant, even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls, a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.” Isaiah 56:1-8.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.10

This prophecy presents several features of peculiar interest. 1. It pertains to a time when the salvation of God is near at hand. For the coming of this salvation see Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:9. 2. It most distinctly shows that the Sabbath is not a Jewish institution; for it pronounces a blessing upon that man without respect to nationality who shall keep the Sabbath; and it then particularizes the son of the stranger, that is the Gentile (Exodus 12:48, 49; Isaiah 14:1; Ephesians 2:12), and makes a peculiar promise to him if he will keep the Sabbath. 3. And this prophecy relates to Israel when they are outcasts, that is, when they are in their dispersion, promising to gather them, and others, that is, the Gentiles, with them. Of course the condition of being gathered to God’s holy mountain must be complied with, namely, to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants and to keep the Sabbath from polluting it. 4. And hence it follows that the Sabbath is not a local institution susceptible of being observed in the promised land alone, like the annual sabbaths, but one made for mankind and capable of being observed by the outcasts of Israel when scattered in every land under heaven. Deuteronomy 28:64; Luke 21:24. Isaiah again presents the Sabbath; and this he does in language most emphatically distinguishing it from all ceremonial institutions. Thus he says:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.11

“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13, 14.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.12

This language is an evangelical commentary upon the fourth commandment. It appends to it and exceeding great and precious promise that takes hold upon the land promised to Jacob, even the new earth. Matthew 8:11; Hebrews 11:8-16; Revelation 21.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.13

In the year B. C. 601, thirteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, God made to the Jewish people through Jeremiah the gracious offer, that if they would keep his Sabbath, their city should stand forever. At the same time he testified unto them that if they would not do this, their city should be utterly destroyed. Thus said the prophet:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.14

“Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: thus saith the Lord: Take heed to yourselves and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; ^{2On this text Dr. A. Clarke comments thus: “From this and the following verses we find the ruin of the Jews attributed to the breach of the Sabbath: as this led to a neglect of sacrifice, the ordinances of religion, and all public worship; so it necessarily brought with it all immortality. The breach of the Sabbath was that which let in upon them all the waters of God’s wrath.”} neither carry forth a burden (for an inspired commentary on this language, see Nehemiah 13:15-18) out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their necks stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction. ^{3This language strongly implies that the violation of the Sabbath had ever been general with the Hebrews. See Jeremiah 7:26-28.} And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise unto the house of the Lord. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” Jeremiah 17:20-27.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.15

This gracious offer of the Most High to his rebellious people was not regarded by them; for eight years after this Ezekiel testifies thus:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.16

“In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths.... Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.... Moreover this they have done unto me; they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.” Ezekiel 22:7, 8, 26; 23:38, 39.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.17

Idolatry and Sabbath-breaking which were besetting sins with the Hebrews in the wilderness, and which there laid the foundation for their dispersion from their own land (Ezekiel 20:23, 24; Deuteronomy 32:16-35), had ever cleaved unto them and now when their destruction was impending from the overwhelming power of the king of Babylon, they were so deeply attached to these and kindred sins, that they would not regard the voice of warning. Before entering the sanctuary of God upon his Sabbath, they first slew their own children in sacrifice to their idols! Ezekiel 23:38, 39. Thus iniquity came to its height, and wrath came upon them to the uttermost.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 58.18

“They mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the king of Persia.” 2 Chronicles 36:16-20.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.1

While the Hebrews were in captivity at Babylon, God made to them an offer of restoring them to their own land and giving them again a city and a temple under circumstances of wonderful glory. Ezekiel 40-48. The condition of that offer being disregarded (Ezekiel 43:7-11), the offered glory was never inherited by them. In this offer were several allusions to the Sabbath of the Lord, and also to the festivals of the Hebrews. Ezekiel 44:24; 45:17; 46:1, 3, 4, 12. One of these allusions is worthy of particular notice for the distinctness with which it discriminates between the Sabbath and the other days of the week:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.2

“Thus saith the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and the day of the new moon it shall be opened.” Ezekiel 46:1.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.3

Six days of the week are by divine inspiration called “the six working days;” the seventh is called the Sabbath of the Lord. Who shall dare confound this marked distinction?ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.4

After the Jews had returned from their captivity in Babylon, and had restored their temple and city, in a solemn assembly of the whole people they recount in an address to the Most High all the great events of God’s providence in their past history. Thus they testify respecting the Sabbath:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.5

“Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: and madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes and laws by the hand of Moses thy servant.” Nehemiah 9:13, 14.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.6

Thus were all the people reminded of the great events of mount Sinai - the giving of the ten words of the law of God, and the making known of his holy Sabbath. So deeply impressed was the whole congregation with the effect of their former disobedience, that they entered into a solemn covenant to obey God. Nehemiah 9:10. They pledged themselves to each other thus:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.7

“And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day; and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.” Nehemiah 10:31.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.8

In the absence of Nehemiah at the Persian court, this covenant was in part, at least, forgotten. Eleven years having elapsed, Nehemiah thus testifies concerning things at his return about B. C. 434:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.9

“In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath. And it came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, ^{1A few words relative to the time of beginning the Sabbath are here demanded. 1. The reckoning of the first week of time necessarily determines that of all succeeding weeks. The first division of the first day was night; and each day of the first week began with evening; the evening and the morning, an expression equivalent to the night and the day, constituted the twenty-four hours. Genesis 1. Hence, the first Sabbath began and ended with evening. 2. That the night is in the Scriptures reckoned a part of the day of twenty-four hours, is proved by many texts. Exodus 12:41, 42; 1 Samuel 26:7, 8; Luke 2:8-11; Mark 14:30; Luke 22:34, and many other testimonies. 3. The 2300 days, symbolizing 2300 years, are each constituted like the days of the first week of time. Daniel 8:14. The margin, which gives the literal Hebrew, calls each of these days an “evening morning.” 4. The statute defining the great day of atonement is absolutely decisive that the day begins with evening, and that the night is a part of the day. Leviticus 23:32. “It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even; from even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” 5. That evening is at sunset is abundantly proved by the following scriptures: Deuteronomy 16:6; Leviticus 22:6, 7; Deuteronomy 23:11; 24:13, 15; Joshua 8:29; 10:26, 27; Judges 14:18; 2 Samuel 3:35; 2 Chronicles 18:34; Matthew 8:16; Mark 1:32; Luke 4:40. But does not Nehemiah 13:19, conflict with this testimony, and indicate that the Sabbath did not begin until after dark? I think not. The text does not say, “When it began to be dark at Jerusalem before the Sabbath,” but it says, “When the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark.” If it be remembered that the gates of Jerusalem were placed under wide and high walls, it will not be found difficult to harmonize this text with the many here adduced, which prove that the day begins with sunset.} I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.” Nehemiah 13:15-22.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.10

This scripture is an explicit testimony that the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews at Babylon was in consequence of their profanation of the Sabbath. It is a striking confirmation of the language of Jeremiah, already noticed, in which he testified to the Jews that if they would hallow the Sabbath, their city should stand forever; but that it should be utterly destroyed if they persisted in its profanation. Nehemiah bears testimony to the accomplishment of Jeremiah’s prediction concerning the violation of the Sabbath; and with his solemn appeal in its behalf ends the history of the Sabbath in the Old Testament.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.11

J. N. A.
(To be Continued.)

Evidences of Christianity BY MOSES HULL. (Continued.) CHAPTER III

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Integrity of the New Testament. - We have set out to prove that the religion of the Bible is from God. We found in the last chapter that the New Testament was written by its reputed authors. We now ask, Has it preserved its integrity? If we can ascertain that it has, we shall have made a good start toward proving the divinity of the Christian religion; but if we cannot, the labor of the preceding chapters is lost. For, though we prove the need of a revelation, and the apostolic origin of the New Testament, we have nothing of which to boast, if it be true that it has been corrupted in some succeeding century, so that we are not now in possession of the ideas designed to be conveyed by its original writers.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.12

We are aware that in proving the integrity of this book, we are going beyond what should be required of a defender of Christianity, but we wish not to “leave a stone unturned.” Opposers should show what errors have crept into the New Testament, and where. This they do not pretend to do. The most that they can say is that “the Bible has passed through so many hands that we cannot be certain that it is now what it was when it came from the hands of its authors.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.13

While there is no evidence that the New Testament has gone through any material change since it was written, the answer to such an assertion is complete. It is perfectly impossible that the New Testament should have been so corrupted as to destroy its original import, or that it should have gone through any material alteration, either in or since the days of the apostles. The argument that the New Testament has passed through so many different hands is rather an argument in favor of its integrity than against it. If it had not been in different hands as soon as written, it might possibly have been altered. I have shown that the custom of publicly reading the scriptures obtained in the early church, and that the epistles were read in the apostolic churches as well as “the other scriptures.” Colossians 4:16.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.14

Not only so, but the epistles of “our beloved brother Paul” were classed among “the other scriptures” in the days of the apostles. See 2 Peter 3:16. Christians prized them highly. As soon as they were written they were copied. Christians earnestly sought for and multiplied copies of them, carried them into distant countries, and esteemed them more sacred that the rich worldling does his deed to his large farm. Why should they not? The gospels and epistles were public documents, containing the history of their Master, together with sundry commandments and ordinances, in obedience to which men were daily “mortifying the deeds of the body” [Romans 8:13]; enduring the scoffs, sneers, and buffetings of their neighbors [1 Corinthians 4:11]; suffering trouble as evil-doers [2 Timothy 2:9; 1 Peter 3:16]; having their property confiscated [Hebrews 10:34]: and endangering their lives. 2 Corinthians 1:9.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.15

They contained the promises which moved them to serve God, and for the sake of which they suffered such things. They were daily read in families, expounded in their religious assemblies, quoted by writers, attacked by enemies, misconstrued by heretics and “grievous wolves,” and scrutinized by true Christians, lest heretics, in order to escape their denunciations, should alter the sacred text. In a short time their sound goes into all the earth. Romans 10:18. Copies are scattered far and near. They are translated into different languages before the close of the first century. Commentaries are written on them; catalogues of the authentic books are carefully made and circulated in order to prevent forgeries. Thus universal notoriety is given to all the books of the New Testament, almost as soon as they were written.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.16

Now we ask, How, under the circumstances, could the Scriptures be corrupted without detection and exposure? Is it possible that Christians would allow opposers to alter their public documents, which they esteemed more dear than life. Or, suppose Christians should undertake to corrupt their own sacred scriptures, would not opposers, who were not wanting in disposition or ability, have exposed their fraud? At least, would they not have preferred such a charge if they could have found ground upon which to predicate it?ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.17

Had one copy of the New Testament been corrupted, a discrepancy between that and others would have exposed the mistake at once. Hence if one copy was altered, all were, otherwise some unaltered copies would have reached us, or at least would have been noticed and quoted in ecclesiastical history. If a change was universally made, it must have been done by Christians, heretics, or hostile opposers.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 59.18

Is it credible to suppose that enemies unnoticed by Christians could have corrupted all the copies of scripture in the world, when they were so constantly read and revered and affectionately protected, when the enemies had not, and could not get, one-hundredth part of the copies in their possession?ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.1

Could any of the various sects of heretics have made the change, when, in addition to being watched by Christians, they were all eagerly watching each other, anxious to sustain a charge upon which to put others down and build themselves up. Supposing true Christians could have desired an alteration in their Scriptures, could they have accomplished such a task? Heretics on the one hand, and open enemies on the other, were all wide awake and watchful, with the Scriptures in their hands, ready to grasp the least pretext against the defenders of the Christian faith.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.2

He that believes that such a change could have been made without detection, believes in a great miracle than any recorded in the Bible, and that not only without evidence, but against all evidence. David Hume thought that no testimony could prove a miracle, but if infidels prove that the Scriptures have been corrupted, they prove a miracle without testimony.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.3

Let those who think it an easy matter to change public documents without detection undertake it. Let some southern politician change the Declaration of Independence, or some northern man try his hand at corrupting the Constitution of the United States, and see how far he will proceed without detection. Even if it were possible for the corruption to creep into every copy extant, thousands would detect it as soon as their eye would light upon it. Yet its chance to pass unnoticed would be infinitely greater than that of the New Testament.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.4

Just think of making a material alteration in a book translated into different languages, and transported almost “from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the end of the earth - into Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, etc.; committed to memory by thousands, and quoted by authors of the first three centuries, so that all of the New Testament except from six to twenty-six verses can be gathered from their writings.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.5

No wonder that St. Augustine, after thoroughly canvassing the subject, came to the conclusion that “The integrity of the books of any one history, however eminent, cannot be so completely kept as that of the canonical Scriptures, translated into so many languages, and kept by the people of every age; and yet, some there have been who have forged writings in the names of the apostles. In vain indeed, because that Scripture has been so esteemed, so celebrated, so known.” Lard., Vol. ii, p.594.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.6

Reasoning with an opposer the same writer says, “If any one should charge you with having interpolated some texts alleged by you, would you not immediately answer that it is impossible for you to do such a thing in books read by all Christians? And that if any such attempt had been made by you, it would have been presently discovered and defeated by comparing the ancient copies? Well then, for the same reason that the Scriptures cannot be corrupted by you, neither could they be corrupted by any other people.” Id. p.228.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.7

The agreement among existing manuscripts of the New Testament is an additional proof that they have not been corrupted. Upon this point Mr. Patterson says, “The genuineness of the New Testament which we now possess is abundantly proved by the comparison of over two thousand manuscripts from all parts of the world; scrutinized during a period of nearly a hundred years by the most critical scholars, so accurately that the variations of such things as would in English correspond to the crossing of a t, or the dotting of an i, have been carefully enumerated; yet the result of the whole of this searching scrutiny has been merely the suggesting of thirteen, or as later critics say, nine unimportant alterations in the received text, of the seven thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine verses of the New Testament. This is a fact utterly unexampled in the history of manuscripts.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.8

There are but six manuscripts of the Comedies of Terence, and these have not been copied once for every thousand times the New Testament has been transcribed, yet there are thirty thousand variations found in these six manuscripts, or an average of five thousand for each, and many of them seriously effect the sense. The average number of variations in the manuscripts of the New Testament examined, is not quite thirty for each, including all the trivialities already noticed.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.9

It is true that uninformed persons become alarmed when they hear infidels state that among the manuscripts collected by Griesbach, there were one hundred and fifty thousand various readings; but all cause for suspicion is allayed when we learn that there were nearly four hundred manuscripts from which these various readings were taken: not only so, but not one in a thousand makes any important variation of meaning. They consist almost entirely in mistakes of transcribers, such as the transposition or omission of letters, the changing of words in a sentence, or the use of certain words instead of others of a similar meaning. It is said that “the worst manuscript extant, if it were our only copy, would not change or pervert one single doctrine or precept.” I also have good authority to back me up, when I say that the difference in the manuscripts collated by Griesbach are no greater than the difference in the English Bibles printed in the last two hundred years. This being true, the worst manuscripts extant, neither obscure or render doubtful a single doctrine or precept of the New Testament.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.10

While the diversity of readings is not against the integrity of the New Testament, we believe that they are decidedly in its favor; for this difference is all-sufficient proof that our present manuscripts are copied from various manuscripts of ancient times, while the fact that the difference is so small, in our present copies, shows that the difference in the original manuscripts must have been inconsiderable. This shows that our present New Testament differs but little from the autographs of its original writers could they now be collected.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.11

Another proof of the integrity of the New Testament is found in its agreement with the numerous quotations made from it in the writings of ancient Christians, and with ancient translations. I have before remarked that nearly all of the New Testament could be gathered from quotations made from it by writers of the first three centuries. These quotations agree precisely with the corresponding parts of our New Testament. For an abundance of evidence on this point, the reader is referred to Alexander’s Evidences, pp.266-302.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.12

We now possess in various languages, translations of the New Testament reaching as far back as the first century. I will only refer to one. The old Syriac version called “Peshito,” is considered to have been made before the close of the first century. In the second it was in general circulation. It is said that “it was never brought into contact with our copies of the New Testament, because not known in Europe until the sixteenth century; though handed down by a line of tradition perfectly independent of, and unknown to, that by which our Greek Testament was received, yet when the two come to be compared, the text of one was almost an exact version of the text of the other. The difference was altogether unimportant. So clearly and impressibly has divine providence attested the integrity of our beloved Scriptures.” M’Ilvaine, pp.127-8.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.13

Mr. Campbell briefly sums up the argument for the integrity of the New Testament in the following language:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.14

“That the Scriptures of the New Testament are now read in language communicating substantially all the same ideas originally expressed in them, appears from the quotations found in the works of these first advocates of the Christian cause. To prevent the alteration or interpolation of these documents, the various sects which soon sprung up, afforded every sort of safeguard. Various sectaries arose under the influence of the Oriental philosophy, who rather engrafted Christianity upon their philosophy, than embraced Christianity as an entirely new system. The Platonic philosophy became the parent of many sects. The Platonists began to expound the Scriptures philosophically, and this led to many factions among the Christians. Each party soon got into the practice of quoting the Scriptures to prove its own tenets. The opposing party narrowly scrutinized these quotations. This prevented the corruption of the text. And thus by that government which from evil still educes good, the very heresies themselves which disturbed the peace and retarded the progress of Christianity, became the guardians of the integrity and purity of the text.” - Debate with Owen, p.273.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.15

How good the Lord is to give us such a bright evidence of the integrity of his word. We are now as undoubtedly in possession of genuine copies of the New Testament, as written by the cotemporaries of Jesus Christ, as if we had the autographs of its writers. We shall next inquire into the truth of its narrative.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.16

(To be continued.)

THE REVIEW AND HERALD

No Authorcode

“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, JAN. 21, 1862.
JAMES WHITE, EDITOR

PAUL NOT AGAINST PAUL

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UNBELIEF finds many contradictions in the holy Scriptures. Faith searches for a harmony, and finds it. The epistles of Paul embrace much in few words, hence we do not find every idea introduced by the apostle so explained and guarded as to give the skeptic no chance to doubt. He would take advantage of this, and even seek to make Paul appear against Paul.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.17

The skeptic feels confident that he finds Paul against Paul in Galatians 6:1-5. For in verse 2 the apostle says, Bear ye one another’s burdens, and in verse 5 he says, Every man shall bear his own burden. If we take these two expressions separated from their connections, one is against the other. But if we view them with their connections, there is harmony. We will now notice them with their connections.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.18

Verses 1, 2. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.19

In examining these precious words of Paul we would remark,ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.20

1. That the duty to bear one another’s burdens, mentioned in verse 2, is under the peculiar circumstances stated in verse 1. When a brother is overtaken in a fault, and loses his confidence and spiritual strength, then he needs the assistance of others to bear his burdens until he is restored.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.21

2. That it is the duty of those only who are spiritual to engage in the work of restoring the brother who is overtaken in a fault. Take care, unconsecrated brother, how you meddle with the faults of the erring, lest you make matters worse.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.22

3. That this work is to be done in the spirit of meekness. Then only those who are really meek can do it. Even the spiritual should try their own spirits, and know that they are in a state of mind where they can in the spirit of meekness put the shoulder under a fallen brother’s burden and bear it for him till he gets strength to stand.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.23

4. That the spiritual brother while bearing a fallen brother’s burden may be benefited by the consideration that he, too, is liable to be tempted. This shows that the best are in danger, hence the necessity of watchfulness and prayer.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.24

5. That it is evident that the injunction, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, does not apply to all circumstances; but only under the circumstances specified, namely, when a brother is overtaken in a fault.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.25

6. That the “law of Christ” here mentioned does not mean a code given by Jesus Christ; but the principle exhibited in the mission and ministry of Christ. (There are other places where the word law does not refer to a code of precepts. See Romans 7:21, 23; 8:2.) Not one selfish act was seen in the life of Christ. It was disinterested benevolence that moved him in pity, when our first parents were overtaken in a fault, to bear the burden for them and the race. We fulfill, or carry out, this principle, when we bear a fallen brother’s burden in laboring to restore him. “Love one another as I have loved you.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 60.26

Verses 3-5. “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.1

In reference to these words of the apostle we would remark that they do not apply to any peculiar circumstances, but have a general application to all christians, during the whole period of their probation, while forming characters for everlasting life. “let every man prove his own work,” is the cutting admonition of the apostle. This is an individual work. Every man must deny himself and bear the cross. Every man must pray for himself, watch for himself, and overcome for himself. Every man’s works are written, and in the judgment he must stand for himself. In this sense every man must bear his own burden. The injunction, then, “bear ye one another’s burdens,” is an exception to this general rule, only under the circumstances mentioned, namely, when a brother in a fault needs restoring. When restored, he must double his diligence to redeem the time. His fall has weakened him, hence a double watch, and to be more frequent in prayer, is necessary. Be not deceived by a false idea of the expression, “bear ye one another’s burdens,” as if one might be borne to the kingdom of God on the shoulders of others. “For every man shall bear his own burdens.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.2

THOUGHTS ON THE GREAT BATTLE

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IN view of the civil war of the States, and the warlike attitude of other nations, the question is sometimes asked, “Is not the battle of that great day of God Almighty commencing?” We wish to offer a few thoughts upon the battle of that great day, which may lead to a more thorough investigation, and a better understanding of this subject.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.3

We have probably entered but the threshhold of our own national difficulties. American soil may yet be drenched with human blood. Evil may go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind be raised up from the coasts of the earth, till all nations become imbrued in the horrors of war, yet in all this we do not see the battle of that great day of God Almighty.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.4

The special preparations for that battle do not commence until the time of the pouring out of the sixth vial. “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:12-14.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.5

The spirits of devils are now being manifested in what is called Spiritualism, which is filling the world with skepticism in reference to the sacred Scriptures; but the time for them to “go forth” to gather the kings of the earth and the whole world to the battle of that great day, is yet future. As to the place of gathering, we only wish to say at this time that we think there are good reasons to locate it where Christ makes his descent at his second coming.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.6

Revelation 19:11-14. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called, The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.7

The person described is the Son of God. The armies of heaven which followed him are the angels. An army of horsemen is here used to represent the majestic approach of Christ to this earth, accompanied by the host of heaven.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.8

Verses 15, 16. “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.9

Compare with this, Chap 17:13, 14. “These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen and faithful.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.10

Here, then, the great battle is fought, and there is no proof that a gun is to be fired. The power by which Christ and his army overcome is represented by a sharp sword going out of the great Leader’s mouth. This power is also spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:8: “Whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Again, Chap 1:7, 8: “When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This last quotation does not say that the world will be on fire when Jesus is revealed from heaven; but it declares that Jesus and the mighty angels will be revealed in flaming fire, which fire, we understand represents the dreadful burning glory of an angry God which attends the army of heaven. Here is unquenchable fire.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.11

Verses 17, 18. “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” It will not do to carry this battle down to the close of the one thousand years of Chap. 20, unless it can first be proved that there will be horses there, which we think no one will attempt to do. This battle, then, is at the second advent of Christ.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.12

Verses 19-21. “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.13

Here it is seen that the great battle is not between nation and nation; but between earth and heaven. Satan wishes to make another attack on Jesus Christ. He musters the fallen spirits of his command, and they go forth to the kings of the earth, and the whole world, to gather them to battle. The King of kings overcomes, and destroys all his enemies.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.14

The beast and false prophet are said to be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. This cannot mean a second destruction; but the intensity of that burning power which is to consume the wicked, is here represented by a lake of fire burning with brimstone.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.15

A thousand years later, and there is another display of the wrath of God, which accomplishes the second death. See Chap. 20. That also is represented by a lake of fire and brimstone. This is the same as the fire from God out of heaven, or the chapter teaches two second deaths. This we will now show. Verse 9. “And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” This, it will be admitted, is the second death. Verse 14. “And Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” As there cannot be two such deaths, it follows that the fire from God out of heaven, is the same as the lake of fire and brimstone.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.16

Satan is to make two especial attacks on Jesus Christ. One at his second coming, which is called “the battle of that great day of God Almighty,” the other at the end of the one thousand years. He is met each time by displays of the power of the great and dreadful God. Each manifestation of that power which is to destroy the wicked, is represented by a lake of fire.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.17

So, if you please, there are two lakes of fire, one at each end of the one thousand years, instead of one lake, burning a thousand years, or as many say, to all eternity. Hence the text, “And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are” [were, Macknight], does not prove that the beast and false prophet [chap 19:20] had been burning there a thousand years, but merely that the Devil suffers what the beast and false prophet did one thousand years before. Thank Heaven, sin and all sinners, whether they be fallen men or fallen angels, will come to an end, and God will have a clean universe.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.18

THE TWO WITNESSES

JWe

(Concluded.)ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.19

CONCERNING the witnesses we read [verses 9, 10], “And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations (that is, they of other nations), shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.” Although the French Revolution continued some six or seven years, there was only about three and a half years of this time that they warred against the Bible. During the time of this warfare their great effort was to destroy the Bible, religion, and all who dared to speak in favor of either; but in the last portion of the revolution we find some of those very persons speaking in its favor, as was the case with Robespierre. Toward the end of the three and a half years (that is, in 1794) he made a speech in the National Convention of France, in which he plead for the existence of a supreme being, and at the close of his speech the two following articles were unanimously passed by the Convention:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.20

“Art. 1. The French people acknowledges the existence of the Supreme Being, etc.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.21

“Art. 2. It acknowledges that the worship most worthy of the Supreme Being is the practice of the duties of man.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.22

From that day the words, virtue, and supreme being, were in every mouth. Instead of the inscription, To Reason, placed upon the fronts of the churches, there was now inscribed, To the Supreme Being. Thiers’ French Rev. Vol. iii, pp.13-15.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.23

From that point commenced a turn of affairs in France. About one year from that time, i.e., at the close of the three and a half years, they permitted the priests to return to their churches, and the people to have the Bible again.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.24

During this three and a half years’ warfare, other nations, seeing the sad course the French were taking, would not join in with it, but kept the Scriptures sacredly, and after this war on the witnesses was ended, assisted in the work of exalting them. An attempt was made to draw England, America, and other countries into the same views of this matter as those of the French. Paine, for this purpose, sent 14000 copies of his work against the Bible into England. Gibbon, Hume, Voltaire, and others, exerted their influence in the same direction, but all without the desired effect. The nations would not join in the work of exterminating the Bible. Although they beheld it dead in the streets of France, they kept it from being exterminated, or “put in graves.” The English, fearing the awful results of the deistical principles that were gaining ground in France, made a strenuous effort to introduce the word of God among them, and for this purpose organized the French Bible Society, May, 1792, just at the time the Revolution broke out. “The Revolutionary war put a period to all communication between the countries. The funds remitted were lost. ‘We have lived in times,’ said the printer, still alive in 1801, ‘which have destroyed everything, overturned everything, and all must begin afresh.’” Anderson’s Annals of the Eng. Bible, pp.498,499. Shortly after this, i.e., in 1804, they did indeed begin anew, and organized The British and Foreign Bible Society, which has circulated millions of copies of the Scriptures in France.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.25

In verse 10 we get a further account of the time in which these witnesses were slain. “And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” There are three points in the above verse that will claim our attention. 1. Rejoicing. 2. Making merry, and 3. Sending the gifts. This is all done by those who had been “tormented” by the witnesses. It will of course apply to the French people. That they had been “tormented” by the witnesses, is evident from the statement of Callot-d’ Herbois, that “religion” was the only obstacle to the triumph of the worship of reason. Their war was of course against the object of their hatred and trouble, and that was the Bible.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 61.26

But before passing further with this subject, it may be well to notice an objection that is sometimes urged against this application of the slaying of the witnesses. That is, this warfare was mostly on the Catholic church, and it cannot be that such a warfare fulfilled this scripture, as that is an apostate church.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.1

I reply, 1. That this war was made against all religion, but directly against the Bible; so it fell on Papists and Protestants alike. 2. If it were true that it was Papists alone who were the religionists of France, and suffered in that struggle, it would be in that church alone that the witnesses could be found in France. On the Catholics, then, would be the place to strike an effective blow to kill the witnesses.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.2

But to return to the course of those who killed the witnesses. This war, as already stated, was for the extermination of the Bible. “Never let it be forgotten that before the Revolution of 1792, the promoters of infidelity in France are stated to have raised among themselves, and spent, a sum equal to nine hundred thousand pounds in one year, nay, again and again, in purchasing, printing, and dispersing books, to corrupt the minds of the people, and prepare them for desperate measures!” Anderson’s Annals of the Eng. Bible, p.494.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.3

“The way for such a revolution was prepared by the writings of Voltaire, Mirabeau, Diderst, Helvetius, D’Alembert, Condorcet, Rosseau, and others of the same stamp, in which they endeavored to disseminate principles subversive both of natural and revealed religion. Revelation was not only impugned, but entirely set aside; the Deity was banished from the universe, and an imaginary phantom, under the name of the goddess of Reason, substituted in its place.... The carved work of all religious belief and moral practice was boldly cut down by Carnot, Robespierre, and their atheistical associates. Nature was investigated by pretended philosophers, only with a view to darken the mind, to prevent mankind from considering anything as real but what the band could grasp or the corporeal eye perceive.” Dick on the Improvement of Society, p.154.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.4

It is said that those who slew the witnesses rejoiced and made merry. This is apparent from the account of the Festival of Reason. “They went in procession to the Convention, and the rabble, indulging their fondness for the burlesque, caricatured in the most ludicrous manner the ceremonies of religion, and took as much delight in profaning, as they had done in celebrating them. Men, wearing sursplices and copes, came singing hallelujahs, and dancing Carmagnole, to the bar of the Convention. There they deposited the host, the boxes in which it was kept, and the statues of gold and silver. They made burlesque speeches, and sometimes addressed the most singular apostrophes to the saints themselves. ‘O you!’ exclaimed a deputation from St. Denis, ‘O you, instruments of fanaticism, blessed saints of all kinds, be at length patriots, rise en masse, serve the country by going to the mint to be melted, and give us in this world that felicity which you wanted to obtain for us in the other!’ These scenes of merriment were followed all at once by scenes of reverence and devotion.... A festival was instituted for all the Decades, ^{1“The month consisted of thirty days; it was divided into three portions of ten days each, called decades, instead of the four weeks. The tenth day of each decade was dedicated to rest, and superceded the former Sunday. Thus there was one day of rest less in the month.... The day was divided according to the decimal system into ten parts or hours, these into ten others, and so on. But not to attempt too much this latter reform was postponed for one year.” Thiers’ French Rev. Vol. ii, pp.364,365.} to supersede the Catholic ceremonies of Sunday.... The first Festival of Reason was held with pomp on the 20th of Brumaire (the 10th of November).... A young woman represented the goddess of Reason. She was the wife of Memore, the printer, one of the friends of Vincent, Ronain, Chaumetie, Herbert, and the like. She was dressed in a white drapery; a mantle of azure blue hung from her shoulders. Her flowing hair was covered with the cap of liberty. She sat on an antique seat, entwined with ivy, and borne by four citizens. Young girls dressed in white, and crowned with roses, preceded and followed the goddess. Then came the busts of Lepelletier and Marat, musicians, troops, and all the armed sections. Speeches were delivered, and hymns sung, in the Temple of Reason. They then proceeded to the Convention, and Chaumatte spoke in these terms:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.5

“‘Legislators! Fanaticism has given way to reason. Its bleared eyes could not endure the brilliancy of the light. This day an immense concourse has assembled beneath those gothic vaults, which, for the first time, re-echoed the truth. There the French have celebrated the only true worship, that of liberty, that of reason. There we have formed wishes for the prosperity of the arms of the republic. There we have abandoned inanimate idols for reason, for that animated image, the master-piece of nature.’ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.6

“As he uttered these words, Chaumette pointed to the living goddess of Reason. The young and beautiful woman descended from her seat and went up to the president, who gave her the fraternal kiss, amid universal bravoes and shouts of The Republic forever! Reason forever! Down with fanaticism!” Thiers’ French Rev. Vol. ii, pp.369-371.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.7

Such is a sample only of the scenes of rejoicing and merriment that they indulged in.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.8

“And they shall send gifts one to another.” It is a striking fact that those who were the prime movers and executioners in the September massacre of 1792, actually received gifts of large sums of money for their services by which they had struck terror into all religionists. From Sept. 2 to 7, they put to death 9,000 victims. The Commune paid, Sept. 4, the sum of 1463 livres as a present to these terrorists. Thiers’ French Rev. Vol. i, pp.361,365.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.9

The scenes of horror that filled France during this reign of terror far exceeded anything of the kind in the annals of history. “While infidelity was enthroned in power, it wielded the sword of vengeance with infernal ferocity against the priests of the Romish church, who were butchered wherever found, hunted as wild beasts, frequently roasted alive, or drowned in hundreds together, without either accusation or trial. At Nantez, no less than 360 priests were shot, and 460 drowned. In one night 48 were shut up in a barge and drowned in the Loire; 292 priests were massacred during the bloody scenes of the 10th of August and the 22nd of September, 1792; and 1135 were guillotined under the government of the National Convention, from the month of September, 1792, till the end of 1795, besides vast numbers, hunted by the infidel republicans like owls and partridges, who perished in different ways throughout the provinces of France.” Dick on Diffusion of Knowledge, p.155.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.10

Thiers says: “The number of persons guillotined during the reign of terror in France was 1,022,351. This does not include the massacre at Versailles, at the Abbaye, the Carinelite, or other prisons, on Sept. 2, the victims Glaciere of Avignon, those shot at Toulon and Marseilles, or the persons slain in the little town of Bedoin, the whole population of which perished.” Thiers’ French Rev. Vol. iii, p.106.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.11

Dr. Dick, in speaking of the results of this Revolution, says: “Such was the rapidity with which the work of destruction was carried on, that within the short space of ten years, not less than three millions of human beings (one-half more than the whole population of Scotland) are supposed to have perished in that country alone, chiefly through the influence of immoral principles, and the seductions of a false philosophy.” Dick’s Improvement of Society, p.154.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.12

Concerning the winding up of this scene we read, [Revelation 11:11]. “And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” Almost simultaneously with the close of the French Revolution, Bible societies were organized, and the Scriptures have spread with that rapidity that in all civilized countries the before obscured, or sackcloth covered, witnesses may be read by every family. The Scriptures are so within the reach of all that their prominent position is represented by their ascension to heaven “in a cloud.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.13

“Their enemies beheld them.” Yes, even infidel France, with all her boasted statements that she should destroy religion, has had to behold the world-wide spread of the Bible.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.14

Verse 13. “And the same hour was there a great earthquake,” representing the great political revolution of France, which shook many portions of the government of the Old World. “And the tenth part of the city fell.” This city is the same as the woman of Revelation 17, the Papal church. France was one of the ten original divisions of Western Rome, which had been given into the hands of the Papal church by the decree of Justinian in 1798. By the breaking out of this Revolution one of the ten parts of the Catholic hierarchy was destroyed, here represented by a “tenth part of the city” falling. “And in the earthquake were slain of men (margin, names of men, titles) seven thousand.” This Revolution was a war on titles, as the following will show: “At the same moment a member proposed to abolish the titles of count, marquis, baron, etc.; to prohibit liveries; in short, to suppress all hereditary titles.” “Its first decree relative to the ceremonial, abolished the titles of sire, and majesty, usually given to the king.” Thiers’ French Rev. Vol. i, pp.150,201. It has been estimated that something like 7000 titles were destroyed in that Revolution, which had as its object to bring all down upon a level. In the massacres of Aug. 10, and Sept. 2, 1792, the watchword of the rabble was, “Down with the Aristocrats!” meaning all those who hitherto had had any titles of distinction or of office.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.15

“And the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” Many who were zealous in this Revolution saw the folly of their course and endorsed the Bible; and even “Callot-d’ Herbois died calling on that very God whom he had impiously blasphemed.” Thiers’ French Rev. Vol. iii, p.221. Note. I am inclined to think, however, that “the remnant” has reference to the other nine parts of the city; that is, to the same as the nations, etc., who would not suffer the witnesses to be buried. These rejoiced when they saw the horrid scene end, and the word of God exalted.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.16

Here we behold another striking evidence that God is the author of the prophecy, Revelation, in the accurate fulfillment of these predictions concerning the treatment of his word. “The third woe cometh quickly,” is the language that follows this prophecy. That woe is now doubtless coming on the earth. National calamities are increasing. “Evil is going forth from nation to nation.” Nations are commencing to understand what is meant by being “distressed with perplexity.” Soon the nations will be angry, and God’s wrath come as marked out under the seventh trumpet. Lord, arouse thy people for the conflict, for it is surely coming, and that speedily.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.17

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

OBJECTIONS TO THE VISIONS

JWe

BRO. WHITE: If the visions are to be made a test of christian fellowship, as appears from Bro. Loughborough’s remarks in reply to Bro. L., Vol. xviii, No. 23, then I deem it necessary to ask a few questions, also a little explanation upon one or two points, in order if possible that some objections may be removed from my mind. Otherwise it seems that I shall be compelled to remain outside. In relation to the visions I would say that I have never opposed them, neither have I believed them fully, for the following reason, viz., I fail to discover in some instances a harmony between them and the Bible.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.18

Permit me to give one or two extracts from sister White’s Experience and Views, which have been, and still are, stumbling-blocks in the way, not only with myself, but with others, of receiving the visions as of heavenly origin. On page 27 is the following: “My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as used to be. I looked, but could not see it; for the time for their salvation is past.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.19

The sentiment contained in these three short lines has served as a preventive against my receiving the visions. It is plain that according to the above view there have been no true conversions for the past twelve years, at least. I find upon examination that this view was in perfect harmony with the views of many of the leading men in the Advent ranks at that time, who believed in the shut door. I will here give an extract from the pen of Wm. Miller:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 62.20

“We have done our work in warning sinners, and in trying to awake a formal church. God in his providence has shut the door; we can only stir one another up to be patient, and be diligent to make our calling and election sure. We are now living in the time specified in Malachi 3:18; also Daniel 12:10; Revelation 22:10-12. In this passage we can not help but see that a little while before Christ should come there would be a separation between the just and unjust, the righteous and wicked, between those who love his appearing and those who hate it. And never since the days of the apostles has there been such a division line drawn as was drawn about the 10th or 23rd day of the 7th Jewish month. Since that time they say they have no confidence in us. We have now need of patience after we have done the will of God that we may receive the promise.” Advent Herald, Dec. 11, 1844.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.1

Now it is not strange that men should err in relation to this matter, being human; but it is strange that a divine revelation from heaven should prove untrue. If you, or any other one, can give a satisfactory explanation of the above view, you will by so doing remove one great objection from my mind.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.2

I wish to notice one point more. On page 34, same book, I read thus: “Then the saints used their wings and mounted to the top of the wall of the city,” etc. Here the saints are represented as having wings. Now if this is in harmony with the word, I say, Amen; but what saith the Lord? Genesis 1:26, 27. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.” See also Genesis 5:1; 9:6; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.3

Here then is positive proof that God has no wings, and it is quite certain that Christ had no wings while here upon earth, and he is to come in like manner as he went away. Now if the Father and Son have no wings, will the saints be like them, or will they have wings and be unlike them? Let the apostle answer. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2. In conclusion I wish to ask the following questions:ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.4

1. Has not God always had a true church upon earth? If so, have the signs spoken of in Mark 16:17, 18, followed true believers since the days of the apostles?ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.5

2. If the gifts which were placed in the church more than eighteen hundred years since were to continue to the end, how does it happen that in following the history of the church from the apostles’ days down to the present time, we find no record of the gifts being manifest among God’s people? Have we any account of there being any workers of miracles since the days of the apostles? As I claim to be an honest seeker after truth, I trust you will esteem it a privilege to notice the points herein mentioned through the Review.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.6

Yours in search of light and truth.
W. H. BALL.
Washington, N. H.

P. S. It is thought by some that you will reduce my letter to ashes instead of giving it a place in the columns of the Review, therefore I would say that it is my request that you publish it entire in the Review. But should you not feel disposed so to do, you will please return it immediately, as I shall consider it duty to send it to some other paper for publication.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.7

W. H. B.

REPLY

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Before answering the objections you urge against the visions, there is one unpleasant feature in your letter which does not deserve to pass unnoticed. Your ostensible object in writing your article is to get light, as you profess to be an honest seeker after truth; and yet in closing you request the communication, if it is not published, to be returned immediately, as you consider it duty to send it to some other paper for publication. These declarations do not go well together. If your sole object is to get light on the subject, why do you consider it duty to send it to some other paper for publication? Do you expect to get that light from any other paper? You certainly cannot. Your sending it to some other paper would therefore be for the sake of exposing to the world what you consider the falsity of the visions; it would be for the sake of gratifying a spirit which we fear is very nearly allied to a spirit spoken of in Revelation 12:17, and which is by nothing else so much enraged as by the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy. I shall be most happy to learn that in all this I misjudge; but till this motive is expressly disclaimed, no other intent can be attributed to the threat which your letter contains.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.8

Your first objection is taken from page 27 of Experience and Views. Let us quote the whole paragraph, that we may have it before us: “I saw that the mysterious signs and wonders, and false reformations, would increase and spread. The reformations that were shown me were not reformations from error to truth. My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as used to be. I looked, but could not see it; for the time for their salvation is past.”ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.9

It is here declared that false reformations would increase and spread. This view was given March 24, 1849; and it was not till 1858, about nine years after, that the great tornado of false reformation swept over this country and extended even to other lands. Now how was it known in 1849 that these reformations would increase and spread? Could it be ascertained from any human wisdom? Could human shrewdness and foresight determine this point? Yet the prediction was given, and has been strikingly fulfilled before our eyes; and those who reject the visions, instead of uniformly passing unnoticed such points as these, and grasping after the seeming objections, would do well to first satisfy themselves and us, by what means this was foretold. When a prediction that goes beyond all human calculation and foresight, is accurately fulfilled, we have one of the signs that the prophecy is given of God. And yet in the very paragraph containing such an evidence of the authenticity of the visions, an objection is drawn against them. Let us go on and see if the objection really exists.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.10

“The reformations that were shown me were not reformations from error to truth.” No Sabbath-keeper will dispute this. In none of the popular reformations and revivals that we have lately witnessed has there been a turning from error to truth. We all know this. Let it be noticed that the language does not say that it was shown that there could be no reformations from error to truth, but only that those that were shown were not such. Now, bearing in mind the fact that the scene of vision is one of the false revivals of these last days, let us read on: “My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as used to be. I looked, but could not see it.” Now, who was it that did not have travail of soul for sinners as formerly? Answer, Those engaged in these false revivals. And here again, we appeal to the objector’s own observation for the truth of this. We all know that these revivals were not characterized by that travail of soul for sinners that distinguished such movements previous to the fall of Babylon. But why did they not have travail of soul for sinners? The answer is, Because the time for their salvation is past. Whose salvation? Not that of sinners in general, but of those who were engaged in carrying on these revivals. This is the idea the language is intended to convey; and it expressed a solemn truth which is no less true to-day than it was then. The difficulty with this testimony lies in making the word “their,” refer to sinners in general, whereas it refers, not to them, but to the false revivalists, who, as already seen, constituted the object of the view. To say that they did not have travail of soul for sinners, because the time for the salvation of all sinners was past, is the same as to say that if the time for the salvation of sinners had not been past, those that were carrying on these false revivals would have had a travail of soul for them. But it is unreasonable to suppose that false revivalists, who were destitute of the Spirit and power of God themselves, and laboring under a complete deception of Satan, would have a travail of soul for sinners under any circumstances; and the reason is given: not because the time for the salvation of sinners in general is past, but because the time for their own salvation is past; because they have rejected light and truth, and are given over to strong delusion.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.11

This is expressed in a preceding paragraph of the same vision, which seems to be treating especially of the working of Satan. Page 26, first paragraph: “I saw that Satan was working through agents in a number of ways. He was at work through ministers who have rejected the truth and are given over to strong delusions to believe a lie, that they might be damned.” These, with others, were the prime movers in the late reformations; these are the ones who did not have travail of soul for sinners; these are they whose time of salvation is past. This is abundantly explained in Supplement to Experience and Views, page 4. We believe there are thousands upon thousands of such all over the land.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.12

Your quotation from Wm. Miller does not prove the point you have in view; for I understand that Wm. Miller never believed in the shut door in the extreme sense of that phrase. He says: “We have done our work in warning sinners and trying to awake a formal church. God in his providence has shut the door.” The door of what? Why, the door against any further efforts in that direction, This was emphatically the case. Look at the circumstances of that time. All eyes were intently fixed upon the tenth day of the seventh month, when believers, as they had declared to the world, were expecting to realize their hope. The time came, and passed. What then could they do? Was it any use for them to go on, and try to arouse the world again on that message? Not a particle. The work for the world, on that message and movement, was done. God in his providence had shut the door - the door of effort, the door of utterance [Colossians 4:8]; for the world, in the language of the extract, had lost confidence in them, and hence all they could do, was to stir each other up to be patient and diligent, till God should make known the further counsels of his will concerning them.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.13

But that a change did take place in 1844 in the formal churches affecting their prospects of salvation, none can deny who have any confidence in the second angel’s message. That message might not inappropriately be called, the shut-door message. It declared that Babylon had fallen. What was meant by that fall? Did it mean that they were on the same footing in regard to their eternal prospects? No: it meant that they had experienced a moral change for the worse; that the great mass of them had made a final rejection of truth, and had hopelessly shut their ears to its entreaties and claims. It is true that God has a people there after that event; but they are as the “few berries in the uppermost boughs,” or as “the gleaning grapes, when the vintage is done;” and they are summoned of heaven to leave her fatal communion. Revelation 18:4.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.14

Your second objection is drawn from page 34, which speaks of the saints’ having wings. What is the trouble here? Certainly it does not seem that people could object to having wings, in itself considered; at least, I should not, if that is to be the order in the glorious restitution that is promised. But it is claimed that it does not agree with the Bible, as God and Christ have no wings, and we are to be like them. Question. Will men resemble God and Christ any more than the angels do? It would be a singular position to say that they will. But angels have wings. See Isaiah 6:2; Ezekiel 1:6; Daniel 9:21, etc. Moreover, while it is said that we shall be like the Son of man [1 John 3:2], it is also said that we shall be as the angels. Matthew 22:30. From this it appears that the addition of wings to our existing list of members, would not interfere with that sense in which we are now in the likeness of God and the Son of man. If any think it would, they must reconcile the scriptures which state that we shall be as the angels who have wings, as well as that we shall be like the Son of man, who, it is claimed, does not have them.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.15

But the prophet expressly declares that the saints in the immortal state will have wings. Isaiah 40:31. “They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” That this chapter carries us over into the immortal state, and is to be interpreted literally, there is abundant proof. It brings us to the time when the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him; when his reward is with him and his work before him. Verse 10. It brings us to the time when princes shall be brought to nothing, the judges of the earth shall be as vanity, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. Verses 23, 24. It is when the youth and young men [that know not God] shall faint, be weary and utterly fall. These are scenes connected with the coming of Christ and the destruction of his enemies; and it is then that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they, in the immortal state, shall mount up with wings as eagles. Mark, it does not say that they shall mount up as with wings of eagles; but, they shall mount up with wings as the eagles mount. This testimony is decisive on this point.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 63.16

What you say of the perpetuity of the gifts and signs being manifested from the apostles’ days to the present time, opens a new field, into which space will not allow us to enter largely in this article. You ask how it happens that in following the history of the church from the apostles’ days down to the present time, we find no record of the gifts being manifest among God’s people. Have you followed the history of the church from the apostles’ days down to the present? Have you a minute and accurate history of the true people of God from that time to this, so that if there had been any such things you would have found it recorded? If you have such a history you have what we have never yet heard of. The fact is, no records have been left by which we can trace this matter in every age of the church. Those who have left on record an account of the times in which they lived, were not the sincere and devoted christians, but those who were proud and vain, and ambitious of literary distinction. “It is recorded by Dr. Delahogue, on the authority of Eusebius, that the fathers who were really most fitted to be the luminaries of the age in which they lived, were too busy in preparing their flocks for martyrdom to commit anything to writing;” and the fact that the church dwelt for 1260 years in the wilderness, is a sufficient reason for our not having a full account of all its internal experiences and history. Consequently nothing can be based on the assumption that we have all the history of the church from the time of the apostles down. The New Testament plainly teaches that the gifts were set in the church till we reach the perfect state. Christ promised to be with his people even to the end of the world; and if, at any period, the church has not been in a condition to exercise these gifts, it only follows that she has not always lived up to her privilege.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.1

In your second letter you introduce another point, as follows: “Again, on page 45 is the following: ‘I saw if any hold on to their property, and do not inquire duty of the Lord, he would not make duty known,’ etc. I wish to inquire if the Lord has not already made duty known in relation to our property in his blessed book?” The Lord in his word has laid down certain general principles to govern us in the management of our property; but particular duties rest upon us at particular times; and on these we want light, and should consequently inquire of the Lord. This vision explains itself a few lines further on: “I saw that God did not require all of his people to dispose of their property at the same time, but in a time of need he would teach them, if they desired to be taught, when to sell, and how much to sell.” These are the points upon which it is desirable that duty should be made known; but information on these points the Bible does not furnish us.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.2

According to the principle involved in the above inquiry, prayer is of no use; and all the petitions that we offer up to the Lord, to guide and direct us, give us wisdom, make duty known before us, etc., are altogether useless, for all is made known in his blessed book. But few, we have charity to believe, will be willing to commit themselves to such a position as this.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.3

Having now answered your objections, one fact may be appropriately stated in closing: it is that those who decide against these manifestations, sooner or later take such a course as to place themselves beyond the utmost limits of the fellowship of this people. There is a lesson involved in this which all who wish to maintain their connection with the church of Sabbath-keepers, would, before taking their stand against them, do well to consider.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.4

U. S.

QUESTIONS

JWe

IF the two-horned beast applies to the United States, and the civil and ecclesiastical powers are represented by the two horns, how must a church be organized to form a part of one of those horns?ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.5

A. S. H.

ANSWER. Anti-scripturally.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.6

Is it according to your rules for members of your church to allow their children to dress in all the gaudy fashions of the world, and attend balls and frolics? If you please, publish an answer in the Review.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.7

One who is not an Adventist, but keeps the Sabbath and believes in keeping all of God’s commandments. JASON BRUNDAGE.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.8

ANSWER. No!ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.9

Who reported S. C. Wellcome at the Office as being a corrupt man? I have been told that that was the case, and that was the reason why his letters were not published in the Review.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.10

G. W. PERRY.

ANSWER. No one has thus reported. We have published much from Bro. W. If we have not published all, it is probably for similar reasons that we have not published all that others have sent to us. - ED.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.11

PROVIDENCE favoring, I will hold meetings with the brethren in Ohio as follows —ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.12

Ayersville, Jan. 29 and 30; Gilboa Feb. 1 and 2; Cass the 3rd, (evening); Lovett’s Grove the 5th, (evening); Green Spring 8 and 9.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.13

M. E. CORNELL.

Business Department

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Business Notes

John A. Hardy: Where is your Review sent?ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.14

E. D. Belden: The $2 you sent pays you to No. 4, Vol. xviii.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.15

I. A. Smith: We have no books of the kind you mention.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.16

Nathan Davis: Your paper has been sent regularly from the Office. We send the back Nos. of this Vol. again.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.17

Ira Lake: The amount of your indebtedness for the Review & Herald is $1.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.18

J. F. Hammond: We sent the hymn book to Providence, R. I.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.19

Receipts FOR REVIEW AND HERALD

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Annexed to each receipt in the following list, is the Volume and Number of the ‘Review and Herald’ to which the money receipted pays. If money for the paper is not in due time acknowledged, immediate notice of the omission should be given.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.20

A. A. Marks 1,00,xix,1. E. Trumbull 0,50,xix,1. P. Folsom 2,00,xx,1. J. L. Edgar 1,00,xvi,1. E. A. Averill 2,00,xx,1. H. Hilliard 0,50,xxi,14. H. Kenyon 2,00,xxi,14. J. S. Day, for M. A. Tanner 0,50,xx,1. E. Green 0,25,xix,14. M. Kittle 1,00,xix,14. M. Fifield 2,00,xxi,1. E. P. Giles 1,00,xx,1. Nathan Davis 1,00,xix,1. I. D. Perry 1,00,xix,1. J. Carter 1,00,xx,1. W. Caviness 0,90,xx,4. D. Hewitt 1,00,xx,1. R. Godsmark 1,00,xx,1. A friend 1,00,xxi,1. H. Smith 2,00,xx,9. E. Whitaker 1,00,xx,1. S. N. Haskell, for W. Perrin, 0,50,xx,1. E. D. Belden 2,00,xviii,4. J. Brinkerhoff 2,00,xx,7. C. H. T. St. Clair 1,00,xx,1. J. Evans 1,00,xix,7. L. C. Tolhurst 0,75,xx,1. W. Barnette, for James Day, 0,50,xx,1. W. Barnette 1,50,xviii,6. C. Colson 1,00,xx,1. W. Goodale 1,00,xx,1. S. Kingston 3,00,xxi,1. S. R. Nichols 2,00,xxiv,1. Betsey Bryant, for Sarah W. Chase 1,00,xxii,8. Lebbeus Drew 2,00,xx,14. H. J. Kittle 1,00,xx,1. W. F. Crous 1,00,xx,1. O. Davis 1,00,xx,18. J. L. Prescott 2,00,xviii,19. J. H. Lonsdale 1,00,xx,1. W. G. Kendall 1,20,xx,6. R. N. Chaffee 1,80,xvii,1. L. Pinkerton 2,00,xix,1. L. Lathrop 2,00,xxi,1.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.21

For Review to Poor

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S. Kingston $1.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.22

For Shares in Publishing Association

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A. P. Kenyon $10. M. Kittle $10. J. Shepley $7.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.23

Donations to Publishing Association

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Ch. at Monterey, Mich., $55. Ch. at Allegan, Mich., $28. Betsey Bryant $2.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.24

Books Sent by Mail

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Dr. J. Hull $1,40. H. Hilliard 80c. J. T. Orton 75c. J. B. Lamson 90c. Mattie Wells 44c. W. Caviness 20c. R. J. Lawrence 25c. Wm. Potter 25c. I. A. Smith $2. H. Moore 30c. S. N. Haskell 15c. W. Miller 15c. Mrs. L. C. Tolhurst 60c. S. Kingston $1. W. H. Slown 10c. O. Davis $1,50. J. F. Hammond $1,20. W. G. Kendall 60c. R. N. Chaffee 80c. Wm. S. Ingraham $1,20.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.25

Cash Received on Account

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H. Kenyon (E. W. S.) $5. M. M. Edmunds (E. W. S.) $3. Ellen S. Edmunds (E. W. S.) $1. D. E. Gardner (E. W. S.) $1. A. S. Hutchins $20.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.26

PUBLICATIONS

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The New Hymn Book, containing 464 pages and 122 pieces of music,	80 cts.
History of the Sabbath, in one volume, bound - Part I, Bible History - Part II, Secular History,	60 “
Sabbath Tracts, Nos. 1-4. This work presents a condensed view of the entire Sabbath question,	15 “
The Three Angels of Revelation 14:6-12, particularly the Third Angel’s Message, and the Two-horned Beast,	15 “
Hope of the Gospel, or Immortality the gift of God,	15 “
Which? Mortal or Immortal? or an inquiry into the present constitution and future condition of man,	15 “
Modern Spiritualism; its Nature and Tendency. This book should be in the hands of every family, as a warning against Spiritualism,	15 “
The Kingdom of God. A Refutation of the doctrine, called Age to Come,	15 “
Pauline Theology, or the Christian Doctrine of Future Punishment, as taught in the epistles of Paul,	15 “
Prophecy of Daniel. The Four Universal Kingdoms, The Sanctuary and Twenty-three Hundred Days,	10 “
The Saints’ Inheritance. The Immortal Kingdom located on the New Earth,	10 “
Signs of the Times, showing that the Second Coming of Christ is at the Door,	10 “
Law of God. The testimony of both Testaments, showing its origin and perpetuity,	10 “
Vindication of the true Sabbath, by J. W. Morton, late Missionary to Hayti,	10 “
Review of Springer on the Sabbath, Law of God and first day of the week,	10 “
Facts for the Times. Extracts from the writings of eminent authors Ancient and Modern,	10 “
Miscellany. Seven Tracts in one book on the Second Advent and the Sabbath,	10 “
The Seven Trumpets. The Sounding of the Seven Trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9,	10 “
Christian Baptism. Its Nature, Subjects and Design,	10 “
Assistant. The Bible Student’s Assistant, or a Compend of Scripture references,	5 “
The Fate of the Transgressor, or a short argument on the First and Second Deaths,	5 “
Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment - Apostasy and perils of the last days,	5 “
Truth Found. A short argument for the Sabbath, with an Appendix, “The Sabbath not a Type,“	5 “
An Appeal for the restoration of the Bible Sabbath in an address to the Baptists,	5 “
Review of Crozier on the Institution, Design and Abolition of the Seventh-day Sabbath,	5 “
Review of Fillio. A reply to a series of discourses delivered by him in Battle Creek on the Sabbath question,	5 “
Brown’s Experience in relation to Entire Consecration and the Second Advent,	5 “
Report of General Conference held in Battle Creek, June 1859, Address on Systematic Benevolence, etc.,	5 “
Sabbath Poem. A Word for the Sabbath, or False Theories Exposed,	5 “
Illustrated Review. A Double Number of the REVIEW AND HERALD Illustrated,	5 “
Spiritual Gifts Vol. I, or the Great Controversy between Christ and his angels, and Satan and his angels,	50 “
Spiritual Gifts Vol. II. Experience, Views and Incidents in connection with the Third Message,	50 “
Scripture Doctrine of Future Punishment. An Argument by H. H. Dobney, Baptist Minister of England,	75 “
Debt and Grace as related to the Doctrine of Future Punishment, by C. F. Hudson,	100 “
Voice of the Church on the Coming and Kingdom of the Redeemer. A History of the doctrine,	100 “

PENNY TRACTS. Who Changed the Sabbath? - Unity of the Church - Spiritual Gifts - Judson’s Letter on Dress - Law of God, by Dobney (2 cts.) - Law of God by Wesley - Appeal to men of reason on Immortality - Much in Little - Truth - Death and Burial - Preach the Word.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.27

These tracts can be sent, post-paid, in packages of not less than twenty-five.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.28

Home Here and Home in Heaven, with other poems. This work embraces all those sweet and Scriptural poems written by Annie R. Smith, from the time she embraced the third message till she fell asleep in Jesus. Price 25 cents.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.29

The Chart. A Pictorial Illustration of the Visions of Daniel and John 20 by 25 inches. Price 15 cents. On rollers, post-paid, 75 cts.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.30

German. Das Wesen des Sabbaths und unsere Verpflichtung auf ihn nach dem Vierten Gebote. A Tract of 80 pp., a Translation of Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment. Price 10 cents.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.31

Holland. De Natuur en Verbinding van den Sabbath volgens het vierde Gebodt. Translated from the same as the German. Price 10 cents.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.32

French. Le Sabbat de la Bible. A Tract on the Sabbath of 32 pp. Price 5 cents.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.33

La Grande Statue de Daniel II, et les Quatre Betes Symboliques, et quelques remarques sur la Seconde Venue de Christ, et sur le Cinquieme Royaume Universel. A Tract of 32 pp. on the Prophecies. Price 5 cents.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.34

These publications will be sent by mail, post-paid, at their respective prices. When ordered by the quantity, not less than $5 worth, one-third will be deducted from these prices on Pamphlets and Tracts, and one-fourth on bound Books. In this case, postage added, if sent by mail. Orders, to insure attention, must be accompanied with the cash, unless special arrangements be made. Address Elder JAMES WHITE, Battle Creek Michigan.ARSH January 21, 1862, page 64.35