April 18, 1899

“Editorial” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, p. 248.

“He comes not an infant in Bethlehem born;
He comes not to lie in a manger;
He comes not again to be treated with scorn;
He comes not a shelterless stranger;
He comes not to Gethsemane.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.1

To weep and sweat blood in the garden;
He comes not to die on the tree,
To purchase for rebels a pardon,—
O, no; glory,
Bright glory, environs him now.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.2

THE glory of Christ is light above the brightness of the sun: for of the New Jerusalem it is written: “The city had no need of the sun, ... to shine in it: for ... the Lamb is the light thereof.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.3

But when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, he comes not alone in his own glory, but also in the glory of “all the holy angels.” And when of only one angel it is said that “his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” (Matthew 28:3), what must be the glory of the scene where are all the holy angels resplendent—“ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” “an innumerable company”!ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.4

Yet when our Saviour comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, he comes not only in his own glory and in the glory of all the holy angels resplendent. Surely that would be “great glory;” but that is not all,—“O, no; glory,“—he comes also “in the glory of his Father.” Matthew 16:27. And the glory of his Father is, of course, far above the brightness of the sun; indeed, of the heavenly city, in the same connection as previously quoted, it is said that “the city had not need of the sun, ... to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.5

Therefore it is written that “the Son of man... shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:26.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.6

What a scene then awaits the eyes of those who are watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord,—the glory of all the holy angels, the glory of Christ above that of all the angels, and the glory of his Father also above all—all combined and intermingled in one heaven-covering scene of indescribable splendor!ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.7

And what will it be, to be there that day! And upon those who are prepared to see it, and to behold it, with joy, what can possibly be the effect, other than so to ravish them, so to fill them with perfect ecstasy, that they shall be literally translated?ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.8

And, woe worth the day! what can possibly be its effect upon those who are not prepared to see it in that day?—Plainly only that which is described,—so all-searching in its power, so all-terrifying in its splendor, that even a mountain to fall upon them to hide it, will be a relief.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.9

But to all who are waiting and watching for him the scene will be as beautiful and joyous as it will be glorious. Not only will his glory cover the heavens because of his majesty; but the earth will be full of his praise because of his beauty and the joy of all who behold it. Habakkuk 3:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:10.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.10

Thus “the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when” this our glorious “Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.11

Then too, and thus, in the light of that all-pervading glory, “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever;” yea, “there shall the righteous” even “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Daniel 12:3; Matthew 13:43.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.12

So he comes. He comes soon. For “he which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.13

And let every heart respond, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.14

“Editorial Note” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, p. 248.

“BE thou an example of the believers, ... in charity.” Charity, in the Bible, is but another word for love; it is the “bond of perfectness.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.15

The minister of the gospel is to be an example in that which is the bond of perfectness. Then perfectness must ever be kept before the minister—nothing but perfectness must be his standard—in all things.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.16

Such a condition, or state, can come only from a pure heat. “The pur in heart... shall see God,” not alone when he is revealed in the clouds of heaven with all his holy angels, but now. And when we see him, we shall be like him.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.17

When Christ comes in the clouds of heaven, we shall see him with open face, with all things rolled away. But even here, and now, if we continually hold God ever before our face, we shall be like him; because it is written, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” So as certainly as we behold God, and see only him, even now, we shall be like him.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.18

“Editorial Notes” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, p. 248.

THERE is a serious and very bothersome mistake, which is made by many persons.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.19

That mistake is made in thinking that when they are converted, their old sinful flesh is blotted out.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.20

In other words, they make the mistake of thinking that they are to be delivered from the flesh by having it taken away from them altogether.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.21

Then, when they find that this is not so, when they find that the same old flesh, with its inclinations, its besetments, and its enticements, is still there, they are not prepared for it, and so become discouraged, and are ready to think that they never were converted at all.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.22

And yet, if they would think a little, they ought to be able to see that that is all a mistake. Did you not have exactly the same body after you were converted that you had before? Was not that body composed of exactly the same material—the same flesh and bones and blood—after you were converted as that of which it was composed before? To these questions everybody will promptly say Yes. And plainly that is the truth.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.23

And now there are further questions: Was not that flesh also of exactly the same quality as before? Was it not still human flesh, natural flesh, as certainly as it was before?—To this also everybody will say Yes.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.24

Then also a still further question: It being the same flesh, and of the same quality,—it still being human flesh, natural flesh,—is it not also still just as certainly sinful flesh as it was before?ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.25

Just here is where creeps in the mistake of these many persons. To this last question they are inclined to think that the answer should be “No,” when it must be only a decided “Yes.” And this decided “Yes” must be maintained so long as we continue in this natural body.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.26

And when it is decided and constantly maintained that the flesh of the converted person is still sinful flesh, and only sinful flesh, he is so thoroughly convinced that in his flesh dwells no good thing that he will never allow a shadow of confidence in the flesh. And this being so, his sole dependence is upon something other than the flesh, even upon the Holy Spirit of God; his source of strength and hope is altogether exclusive of the flesh, even in Jesus Christ only. And being everlastingly watchful, suspicious, and thoroughly distrustful of the flesh, he never can expect any good thing from that source, and so is prepared by the power of God to beat back and crush down without mercy every impulse or suggestion that may arise from it; and so does not fail, does not become discouraged, but goes on from victory to victory and from strength to strength.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.27

Conversion, then, you see, does not put new flesh upon the old spirit; but a new Spirit within the old flesh. It does not propose to bring new flesh to the old mind; but a new mind to the old flesh. Deliverance and victory are not gained by having the human nature taken away; but by receiving the divine nature to subdue and have dominion over the human,—not by the taking away of the sinful flesh, but by the sending in of the sinless Spirit to conquer and condemn sin in the flesh.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.28

The Scripture does not say, Let this flesh be upon you, which was also upon Christ; but it does say, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.29

The Scripture does not say, Be ye transformed by the renewing of your flesh; but it does say, “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2. We shall be translated by the renewing of our flesh; but we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.30

The Lord Jesus took the same flesh and blood, the same human nature, that we have,—flesh just like our sinful flesh,—and because of sin, and by the power of the Spirit of God through the divine mind that was in him, “condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3. And therein is our deliverance (Romans 7:25), therein is our victory. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” “A new heart will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.31

Do not be discouraged at sight of sinfulness in the flesh. It is only in the light of the Spirit of God, and by the discernment of the mind of Christ, that you can see so much sinfulness in your flesh; and the more sinfulness you see in your flesh, the more of the Spirit of God you certainly have. This is a sure test. Then when you see sinfulness abundant in you, thank the Lord that you have so much of the Spirit of God that you can see so much of the sinfulness; and know of a surety that when sinfulness abounds, grace much more abounds in order that “as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 248.32

“The Perilous Times” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, pp. 249, 250.

DURING the last days of March there was held in Chicago a conference of Methodist preachers. At this conference Prof. Albion W. Small, head professor of sociology in the University of Chicago, and Judge E. W. Burke, of the Chicago bench, each read a paper on the present condition of society. These papers present a view so perfectly in accord with the scriptures that speak of these times that they should be read and studied by everybody. We therefore give them to our readers. We understand that both these gentlemen are members of the Methodist Church. Professor small said:—ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.1

I am spending my life in the study of sociology because I believe—and I see more and more reasons for the belief the longer I study—that the social system in which we live and move and have our being is so bad that nobody can tell the full measure of its iniquity. In this age of so-called democracy we are getting to be the thralls of the most relentless system of economic oligarchy that history thus far records. That capital from which most of us directly or indirectly get our bread and butter is becoming the most undemocratic, inhuman, and atheistic of all the heathen divinities. It breeds children only to devour the bodies of some and the souls of others, and to put out the spiritual eyesight of the rest. In spite of the historic campaigns for liberty, in spite of the achievements of Christianity, there has never been a time since Adam was born when the individual counted for so little or availed to little relatively as to-day.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.2

Compared with any worthy conception of what society must become if life is to be tolerable, the socialistic indictments against our civilization are essentially sound. As abstract propositions, these diagnoses expose, with approximate truth, the ghastly inequalities and injustices which our present social order sanctifies. It is a literal and cardinal fact that our present economic system cries to heaven for rectification. It stultifies human nature. It nullifies the purposes of God. The men who denounce present society have profound reason for their complaints. We are in the midst of the most bewildering labyrinth of social entanglements in which the human race has wandered up to date.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.3

ILLS ADDED TO ILLS

At the same time these facts are wringing such involuntary cries of pain from some, and such artificial description and characterization from others, they are provoking others to bitter and violent denunciation, and inciting others to such visionary and vicious schemes of readjustment, that men who are both conscientious and clear-sighted find in these intellectual symptoms of our social disease an added complication and aggravation of the ills. There seems to be no practical alternative between, on the one hand, swelling the clamor of wild and incoherent revolt, and, on the other hand, giving one’s moral support to conservatism, most falsely and fatally so called, which intensifies the evils by denying that they exist.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.4

You are aware, as well as I, that there are clouds on the social horizon already bigger than a man’s hand, foretelling changes of which no one is wise enough to predict the end. If present tendencies continue, it will not be long before the man whose business it is to communicate ideas will be gagged by those who publish ideas, and the publishers will be shackled by the makers of paper, and the paper manufacturers will be held up by the transportation lines, and the transporters by the producers of steel, and the steel industries by the coal operators, and the coal miners by the oil producers, and the oil magnates by the stove makers, and the cook-stove men by the sugar trust, and the sugar interest by Wall street, and the stock-brokers by the labor unions, and the labor unions by the farmers, and the farmers—God help them—by everybody.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.5

TRUST-MAKERS BECOMING AFRAID

I am not throwing in your face the dust of my library. But if you will heed the symptoms from bank and office and factory and railroad head-quarters and daily press, you will discover that the very men who are making these combinations are beginning to be afraid of their own shadows. These very business men, who claim to have a monopoly of practical common sense, have involved themselves and all the rest of us in a grim tragedy of errors. They are already beginning to ask on the quiet how it is all to end. Whether they realize it or not, our vision of freedom is passing into the eclipse of universal corporate compulsion in the interest of capital. The march of human progress is getting reducible to marking time in the lock-step of capital’s chain-gang.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.6

If you should inquire in certain quarters, you would be told that there are in the United States a considerable number of good pugilists; that is, they fight strictly within the rules of the game. This does not prove, however, that pugilism is a good game. I have no doubt whatever that the vast majority of capitalists are good capitalists. They operate strictly within the rules of the game. Nevertheless, capitalism is not a good game, and it is our business to see the reason; namely, the whole program of our present civilization turns at last on the calculation of effects upon the accumulation of capital. A program fit for Christian civilization would turn rather on its effects upon the quality of men that civilization shall produce. We have turned moral values upside down. We are making men the means of making capital, whereas capital is only tolerable when it is simply a means of making men. It would make infinitely more for human weal if every dollar of wealth should be cleaned from the earth, if we could have instead of it industry and honesty and justice and love and faith, than to be led much further into this devil’s dance of capitalism.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.7

Judge Burke presented the case, as follows:—ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.8

The whole creation and all the manifestations of the spiritual, intellectual, and even the physical, forces are now in a transitional period as never before. Even trade and methods of business that have been pursuing their customary ways for centuries are paralyzing individual effort, and puzzling the lawmakers of the earth. Storm-centers of labor and capital are gathering over against each other, threatening the very integrity of the industrial firmament of man. The late appearances of the hitherto unsuspected intellectual and physical forces but add Titans of unknown strength to the conflict toward which all the world is consciously or unconsciously rushing. He who observes and reflects on matters of church and state feels this condition in the very pulsing ether, the like of which history does not disclose.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.9

No human wisdom can say what mean the great and increasing aggregations of capital, now sufficient to buy kingdoms. If these shall be arrayed against the empty hands of labor, then shall mass collide with mass, and who can predict the end thereof? I see no commandment spirit of compromise in these approaching and threatening avalanches, which seem destined to involve the whole social system in universal ruin before the young men of this audience become threescore and ten years of age; so that the church, as it passes into the twentieth century, meets a perfect whirlwind of world-forces which overwhelms the statesman, the philosopher, and the historian, and drives them back into the cave of Sinai, while the storms pass the bounds of know law, and rush on to a fate that makes the thoughtful tremble.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.10

Now, my friends, after much reflection, I do not believe it is the specific mission of the church to adjust men to the new conditions of life and action, or, in a temporal sense, to safety them against the Atlantic storms of capital and labor. These storms will be terrific, but they must come. They are brewed in the selfishness of the human heart, and each succeeding one shall prove more destructive than its predecessor, until the prince of darkness is chained. I believe the new conditions, which shall hurl us into the twentieth century, uncorrected by the gospel, shall forge unbreakable chains for the spirits, minds, and bodies of men. I know there is a charm in the power of union and in the exhibition of strength; but unless it is a union of strength uncemented with selfishness, it will crumble by whatsoever law it may have been formed.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 249.11

It may be true that the taskmaster in these modern days attempts to compel men to make brick without straw, not to punish men, but to save straw. Formerly it was oppression to gratify the passion for cruelty, while now it is oppression to gratify the passion for gold. Formerly the taskmaster was a human being with ship in hand, but now he stands with the inexorable forces of nature in his fist, against which no person, in his unaided strength, seems able to stand. But this modern taskmaster is destined to fail, and the David who shall slay this modern Goliath is the church of the twentieth century, not by matching force with force, but by using the weapons with which Christ has armed his followers.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.1

I deplore every worldly success of the church, whether it be the raising of $20,000,000 with which to curse the twentieth century church, or the building of many church edifices every time the earth revolves, if this success shall in the least lead men to forget the springs of true power in the church. We seem to be in times when the church may have money enough to convert the world. Forbid that it be enough to convert the church to the world. The church should not want one dollar of money except it first be sanctified.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.2

Recently I have noticed the threat from high sources that unless the rich laymen of the Methodist Church are admitted in equal representation as delegates to the next General Conference, they will withhold the $20,000,000 which the ambition of the church seeks for the first years of the coming century. Now, much as I favor equal representation in that august lawmaking body, may it never be realized, and perish the money of the rich, in the language of Peter, if it be given, even impliedly, as the consideration price of place and power in the church, and not as the free-will offering of grateful hearts purchased by the blood of Christ. The church, for many reasons, can not pay court to mere wealth or personal prestige. The poor do not understand the mission of the church when they demand that it feed them, and bitterly rail because it does not. But they are half right when the church recognizes men in the least degree because they possess wealth. The great masses of the people stand yonder, alienated from our churches, because the wedge of gold is hidden with us. It does the church no good; it empties our pews; it frosts our air.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.3

One of the closest observers of church life in our land, one who weighs his words, has written this month, for his widely read editorial column, that the moral tone of the church is unsatisfactory, and that many societies would be reduced to a few pious women, aged persons, and unsophisticated youth if the discipline enforced in the primitive church, or in the early days of English and American Methodism, were applied; that many official members never participated actively in the aggressive spiritual work of the church; that this religious and moral condition bodes no good; that in eight-seven cities in the United States, Methodism is scarcely holding its own, regardless of the increase of population, and of the fact that so many accessions are received by letter from country churches. He further says that divers superficial explanations are offered for this humiliating condition, but that whatever influence they may have, it is absolutely certain that if the laity and clergy were living according to the teachings of the New Testament, it could not be so.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.4

When such and alarm as this is sounded with the hammer of facts, beware, not of the rocks of the sea, but of the dangers on board. But in this very alarm lies the hope of safety. It shows that thoughtful Christian men are looking deep into the causes of the present conditions, and that they will be removed. This alarm is all the Lord wants, and in answer to prayer he will open the windows of heaven, and pour unnumbered blessings on the church of the twentieth century.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.5

Of course such plain talk as this has made no little stir among Methodists. Judge Burke’s last two sentences are seized and vigorously swung to hide the terrible force of the undeniable facts and inevitable tendencies portrayed in the bodies of the two papers. Professor Small’s paper is declared to be “pessimistic,” and the cry of despair; and those last two sentences of Judge Burke’s paper are all that can save it from the same fate as the other.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.6

Yet the Northwestern Christian Advocate acknowledges that “these conditions, in some respects, are not unlike those which brought about the overthrow and extinction of ancient civilizations.” This being so, then what can save this modern civilization from overthrow and extinction?ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.7

However, it is not correct to say that “in some respects” these conditions are not unlike, etc. In every material respect the conditions to-day are just like those which brought about the overthrow and extinction of ancient civilizations.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.8

It will not do to say that Christianity is here permeating all, to save society; whereas it was not so in the old civilizations. For the civilization of the Roman Empire was one of these which was overthrown and extinguished. And it must never be forgotten that it was the “Christian Roman civilization” that was overthrown and extinguished as the consequence of these conditions in that day. And just there lies another likeness in the conditions, the most dangerous, because the most hopeless. The popular Christianity of these days is precisely of the sort as was that of the days of the “Christian Roman civilization.” It was the form without the power. And consciously lacking in the power of the Spirit of God, it sought and obtained the power of the police, the power of the state, precisely as the popular Christianity of to-day is doing all over this “Christian” land and throughout this “Christian civilization.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.9

And since the conditions to-day, as to popular Christianity and all, are so entirely like those which brought about the overthrow and extinction of that latest of the old civilizations, what but sheer wilfulness can it be that recognizes the likeness in the conditions, and yet refuses to admit that the consequences and end of the conditions must be the same?ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.10

This would all be plain enough even if the facts were all that there is in view. But in addition to the forceful lesson of the facts, the Scriptures, with one voice, and that the voice of God, declare that it is all true; and that the civilization of to-day is to be carried to inevitable overthrow and extinction, as certainly, and by the like evils, as were the ancient civilizations.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.11

Along with the two papers quoted read 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13; Luke 21:25-27; James 5:1-8; and every one will do well to read these papers over thus several times; for they give the signs of this time so plainly and so forcibly that no one who has any thought of looking for the Lord’s coming can fail to be instructed by the truth as so set forth.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.12

“Get read, get ready, get ready.” Are you read, are you waiting, for him?ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.13

“Editorial Bite” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, p. 250.

LOVE not the world. It is an enemy to God, and throws off his laws and authority. It is an enemy of Christ, and crucified him. It is an enemy to Christians, and persecutes them. It is an enemy to truth, and follows falsehood. It is an enemy to virtue, and encourages vice.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.1

“The Present Truth in England” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, pp. 250, 251.

ALL who read the General Conference Bulletin will remember that it was voted at the late General Conference to start a fund in the REVIEW, to aid the circulation of the Present Truth, published in London.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.1

The facts concerning the paper are, in brief, these: Inasmuch as there are not “pound rates” for publishers in England, all papers are received week by week through an agent. Newspapers, and religious papers that have a regular denominational constituency, and are consequently sought after, are readily disposed of through stationers. The case with Present Truth, however, is different. It is a pioneer, carrying important but unpopular truth to those who know nothing of this truth, and therefore it must be carried to them. Each copy of the paper must be carried to the reader each week by a canvasser, just the same as subscription books are delivered in this country.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.2

Further: the paper, a sixteen-page weekly, sells for a penny, two cents, and the price can by no possibility be increased. It costs practically half this sum to produce the paper, using the utmost economy. To make the paper what it should be in appearance, more money ought to be spent on its production; but the publishers have not felt at liberty to do this. Lack of means has made it necessary to exercise the greatest economy, which has really been to the detriment of the paper.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.3

Still further: those who carry the papers to the readers, and canvass for new patrons, must receive a support. Therefore the publishers have supplied the paper to regular agents at one farthing a copy, leaving them three farthings (one cent and a half) as profit on each paper, out of which they must pay transportation. Thus it will be seen that the office of publication receives for the paper just one half the cost of its production, entailing a constant loss.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.4

The proposed fund is not, however, for the purpose of reimbursing the office to any extent whatever. That loss will still be borne as a missionary enterprise. The object of the fund is to assist in increasing the circulation of the paper, which is the chief agent, and a most efficient one, in promulgating the truths of the third angel’s message in Great Britain.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.5

A moment’s thought will enable any one to see that at a cent and a half a copy, one must sell a great many papers in order to get a support, especially if he has a family. To deliver three hundred papers a week, and to do sufficient canvassing to make good the places of those who keep dropping off, requires an immense amount of work; and if one does it, he receives, at the most, making no allowance for transportation and losses, only four dollars and a half; and there are comparatively few who can do as well as this. A few shillings each week given to such ones would enable them to keep in the field, when without it, they would be obliged to abandon the work, and the cause would be the loser. But the office of publication can not furnish this aid, in addition to the loss that it already sustains. The fund under consideration is for the purpose of giving the canvassers this necessary assistance, and of assisting others to take up the work. It is proposed also to improve the appearance of the paper, thus indirectly assisting the canvasser, by making the paper more attractive.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 250.6

This is purely missionary work, as the Present Truth circulates among those who know not the message. Already the number sold each week amounts to twenty copies for each Seventh-day Adventist in the United Kingdom. The number of papers that may be sold each week is limited only by the number of workers that can be kept in the field. Here is one of the grandest openings for missionary work, at trifling cost; for there is no other means by which so much good can be done at so little cost as by assisting in the circulation of this paper, which is struggling under difficulties such as no other paper published by this denomination has ever had to meet. Who will esteem it a privilege to aid in this good and important work? Send in your names and your money without delay, for “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.1

We know that there are in the United States many persons who came here from England; and who, since coming, have received the precious truth of the third angel’s message. Here is an opportunity to give, in the very best way, their friends in England the chance also to know this blessed truth. Shall we not receive from these, especially liberal contributions for the circulation of the Present Truth, which is indeed present truth, in England? And while it is expected that these will especially be interested in this, of course all others are invited to contribute to this good work.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.2

Forward your contributions to the REVIEW AND HERALD, and they will be acknowledged in the paper.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.3

“To Correspondents” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, p. 251.

1. WHEN writing to the REVIEW for information on matters of interest to yourself, send stamp for reply. This may seem a small thing to soe, but it would not if they could see the number of letters received here entirely unconnected with this paper or its work.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.1

2. Do not ask questions out of curiosity, or to get the editor “cornered.” He is not afraid of the corner, but has no time to spend in speculation on irrelevant queries not connected with practical things. And it is a fact that the vast majority of the questions received at this Office are of no practical value, however fully they might be answered.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.2

3. Above all, do not ask questions to get answers that will enable you to triumph over an opponent. Avoid having opponents.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.3

4. Do not send questions like this: “Please harmonize Acts 9:7 with chapter 22:9.” This very question has been received several times lately. Think enough on your question to enable you at least to state the difficulties that present themselves to your mind. They will vanish in most cases after you have done this. A little thought in this case would show that the first passage proves that the men with Paul heard the sounds, but saw no man; and the more explicit account of the same circumstance, in the twenty-second chapter, gives the additional information that while the men saw the light, they did not understand the words spoken. We often use the same expression the same way. We say truthfully, “We heard them talking in the next room,” while the subject of the conversation was unknown. With equal veracity we often say to one addressing us, “I did not hear what you said.”ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.4

If difficulties present themselves to you concerning the truthfulness of God’s word, remember the danger connected with the cherishing of doubts. Honestly ask God for guidance; and study, not to find errors, but to learn the truth. Remember “the Bible is its own interpreter.” If for some reason you are unable to comprehend the revelations of Scripture, seek for the Spirit of revelation (Ephesians 1:17); and “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 251.5

“Back Page” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 16, p. 256.

IT is most gratifying to see the new spirit that characterizes the preaching of Dr. Parkhurst, of New York City, who made such a furor three or four years ago as a political reformer. On a recent Sunday he took for his text the story of Peter attempting to defend Christ with his sword when the Lord was seized by a mob. Speaking of the present-day methods of backing up the so-called gospel with bullets, he said:—ARSH April 18, 1899, page 256.1

If you put cold lead into a man’s heart for the sake of trying to civilize him, his children may be pardoned for receiving with only chill cordiality the gospel you undertake to put in their hearts for the purpose of Christianizing them. If Jesus had gone armed, it would have been a confession his part that the brute force of the visible world is more than a match for the spirit power of the invisible world. You can not make a man believe in God if you do not convince him that you believe in God yourself. Peter, by brandishing his sword, denied the divinity of Jesus. And any other man cheapens God when he goes about to yoke God’s Spirit alongside of carnal contrivances. It is the absence of such carnal contrivance that explains the rapid extension of Christianity during the first three centuries of our own era. God worked mightily because he had no backing. Up to that time, armies and navies were on the side of the pagans. Christianity is never so powerful as when it is unprotected, and evangelization that depends upon soldiers and gunboats has no future.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 256.2

We wish all the other National Reformers would profit by this experience and preaching. But the danger is that they will never learn at all. Evangelization always leads to civilization, but so-called civilization can not bring evangelization. By carrying schools, arts, trade, and manufacture among people who are now savage, the quality of their deviltry may be refined, but they are no more Christians than before. When Christianity begins to lean on anything but God, its divine vitality leaves it. Amid the wickedness of the Roman Empire, the cause of Christ prospered wonderfully till an attempt to make it the state religion developed that monstrous counterfeit, the papacy. What is needed to carry Christianity to heathen lands is God and missionaries. God is ready.ARSH April 18, 1899, page 256.3