IN another place we shall have to give in full the history of Attila; here we can only give that portion which is essential to the understanding of the establishment of the independence of the Ostrogoths. Suffice it therefore, to say, in this place, that before the raid into Gaul, Attila had demanded the hand of the Princess Honoria—the daughter of Placidia sister to Valentinian III.—and his offer was rejected. The next year after the battle of Chalons he renewed his demand, and it being again rejected, he, A.D. 452, again took the field; passed the Alps; invaded Italy, ravaging the country as he went; took possession of the royal palace of Milan; and “declared his resolution of carrying his victorious arms to the gates of Tome.” Valentinian III. had fled to Rome, and it was there decided by him, the Senate, and the people, to send a “solemn and suppliant embassy,” headed by Pope Leo the Great, to deprecate the wrath of Attila. “The barbarian monarch listened with favorable, and even respectful attention; and the deliverance of Italy was purchased by the immense ransom, or dowry, of the Princess Honoria.”SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.1

“Before the king of the Huns evacuated Italy, he threatened to return more dreadful, and more implacable, if his bride, the princess Honoria, were not delivered to his ambassadors within the term stipulated by the treaty. Yet, in the mean while, Attila relieved his tender anxiety, by adding a beautiful maid, whose name was Ildico, to the list of his innumerable wives. Their marriage was celebrated with barbaric pomp and festivity,at his wooden palace beyond the Danube; and the monarch,oppressed with wine and sleep, retired at a late hour from the banquet to the nuptial bed. His attendants continued to respect his pleasures, or his repose, the greatest part of the ensuing day, till the unusual silence alarmed their fears and suspicions; and, after attempting to awaken Attila by loud and repeated cries, they at length broke into the royal apartment. They found the trembling bride sitting by the bedside, hiding her face with her veil, and lamenting her own danger, as well as the death [A.D. 453] of the king, who had expired during the night. An artery had suddenly burst: and as Attila lay in a supine posture, he was suffocated by a torrent of blood, which, instead of finding a passage through the nostrils, regurgitated into the lungs and stomach.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.2

“The revolution which subverted the empire of the Huns, established the fame of Attila, whose genius alone had sustained the huge and disjointed fabric. After his death, the boldest chieftains aspired to the rank of kings; the most powerful kings refused to acknowledge a superior; and the numerous sons, whom so many various mothers bore to the deceased monarch, divided and disputed, like a private inheritance, the sovereign command of the nations of Germany and Scythia. The bold Ardaric felt and represented the disgrace of this servile partition; and his subjects, the warlike Gepide, with the Ostrogoths, under the conduct of three valiant brothers, encouraged their allies to vindicate the rights of freedom and royalty. In a bloody and decisive conflict on the banks of the River Netad, in Pannonia, the lance of the Gepide, the sword of the Goths, the arrows of the Huns, the Suevic infantry, the light arms of the Heruli, and the heavy weapons of the Alani, encountered or supported each other; and the victory of the Ardaric was accompanied with the slaughter of thirty thousand of his enemies.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.3

“Ellac, the eldest son of Attila, lost his life and crown in the memorable battle of Netad: his early valor had raised him to the throne of the Acatzires, a Scythian people, whom he subdued; and his father, who loved the superior merit, would have envied the death of Ellac. His brother, Dengisich, with an army of Huns, still formidable in their flight and ruin, maintained his ground above fifteen years on the banks of the Danube. The palace of Attila, with the old country of Dacia, from the Carpathian hills to the Euxine, became the seat of a new power, which was erected by Ardaric, king of the Gepide. The Pannonian conquests from Vienna to Sirmium, were occupied by the Ostrogoths; and the settlements of the tribes, who had so bravely asserted their native freedom, were irregularly distributed, according to the measure of their respective strength.—Id., chap. 35, par. 15, 16.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.4

From their Pannonian possessions the Ostrogoths first exert and enlarge their power at the expense of the Eastern Empire; afterwards, in A.D. 488, they turn from that entirely, and enlarge their dominions toward the West.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.5

“When the Hunnish Empire broke in pieces on the death of Attila [A.D. 453], the East-Goths recovered their full independence. They now entered into relations with the Empire, and settled on lands in Pannonia. During the greater part of the latter half of the fifth century, the East-Goths play in Southeastern Europe nearly the same part which the West-Goths played [there] in the century before. They were seen going to and fro in every conceivable relation of friendship and enmity with the Eastern Roman power, till, just as the West Goths had done before them, they pass from the East to the West.”—Encyclopedia Britannica, article Goths, par. 14.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.6

It was under the reign of the great Theodoric that the Ostrogothic power was extended into the West; and of the course of events from the establishment of their independence, up to his accession to the Gothic throne, A.D. 475, we read as follows:—SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.7

“Theodoric the Ostrogoth, the fourteenth in lineal descent of the royal line of the Amali, was born in the neighborhood of Vienna [A.D. 455] two years after the death of Attila. A recent victory had restored the independence of the Ostrogoths; and the three brothers, Walamir, Theodemir, and Widimir, who ruled that warlike nation with united counsels, had separately pitched their habitations in the fertile though desolate province of Pannonia. The Huns still threatened their revolted subjects, but their hasty attack was repelled by the single forces of Walamir, and the news of his victory reached the distant camp of his brother in the same auspicious moment that the favorite concubine of Theodemir was delivered of a son and heir. In the eighth year of his age, Theodoric was reluctantly yielded by his father to the public interest, as the pledge of an alliance which Leo, emperor of the East, had consented to purchase by an annual subsidy of three hundred pounds of gold. The royal hostage was educated at Constantinople with care and tenderness. His body was formed to all the exercises of war, his mind was expanded by the habits of liberal conversation; he frequented the schools of the most skillful masters; but he disdained or neglected the arts of Greece, and so ignorant did he always remain of the first elements of science, that a rude mark was contrived to represent the signature of the illiterate king of Italy.—The four first letters of his name (THEOSOD) were inscribed on a gold plated card when it was fixed on the paper, the king drew his pen through the intervals.—[Note.] As soon as he had attained the age of eighteen, he was restored to the wishes of the Ostrogoths, whom the emperor aspired to gain by liberality and confidence.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.8

“Walamir had fallen in battle; the youngest of the brothers, Widimir, had led away into Italy and Gaul an army of barbarians, and the whole nation acknowledged [A.D. 455-475] for their king the father of Theodoric. His ferocious subjects admired the strength and stature of their young prince; and he soon convinced them that he had not degenerated from the valor of his ancestors. At the head of six thousand volunteers, he secretly left the camp in quest of adventures, descended the Danube as far as Singidunum, or Belgrade, and soon returned to his father with the spoils of a Sarmatian king whom he had vanquished and slain. Such triumphs, however, were productive only of fame, and the invincible Ostrogoths were reduced to extreme distress by the want of clothing and food. They unanimously resolved to desert their Pannonian encampments, and boldly to advance into the warm and wealthy neighborhood of the Byzantine court, which already maintained in pride and luxury so many bands of confederate Goths. After proving, by some acts of hostility, that they could be dangerous, or at least troublesome, enemies, the Ostrogoths sold at a high price their reconciliation and fidelity, accepted a donative of lands and money, and were intrusted with the defense of the Lower Danube, under the command of Theodoric, who succeeded after his father’s death to the hereditary throne of the Amali.”—Decline and Fall, chap. 39, par. 2.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.9

Although Gibbon says they “resolved to desert their Pannonian encampments,” it must not be understood that this is spoken of the whole nation, nor that these renounced either their claim or their possessions there; because the history that follows as we shall see later, clearly shows that the Ostrogoths dwelt there and that their superior power was exercised and gratefully acknowledged over all Pannonia, during the whole fifty one-years’ reign of Theodoric. But before following the Ostrogoths further, we must find the remaining ones of the ten kingdoms.SITI September 2, 1886, page 532.10

“The Third Angel’s Message” The Signs of the Times 12, 34, pp. 535, 536.

HAVING shown the manner of the impending restoration of the Papacy, and the inevitable result of it, namely, the renewal of the war upon the saints, and so the enforced worship of the beast; having shown the progress, and the assured prospect of success of the Religious Amendment movement to form a union of Church and State in the United States, and so to create an image to the beast, and to enforce here the worship of the beast and his image, even to the last extreme of civil pains; it now becomes necessary to inquire what is involved in this, and what it means to the people who are now living, and who will have an active part in the work, either for or against it.SITI September 2, 1886, page 535.1

This is clearly revealed. In Revelation 14:9-12 are these words: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”SITI September 2, 1886, page 535.2

This is the most dreadful warning that is found in the Bible. It is not alone that the worshipers of the beast and his image shall receive the punishment which is the common lot of all the wicked of all ages, but besides this they “shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.” That is, they shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God in this life, and then receive in the lake of fire the punishment which befalls all the wicked of all times. This it is that is pronounced by the word of God upon whosoever shall “worship the beast and his image;” while on the other hand, the powers represented by the beast and his image pronounce that whoever will not worship the beast and his image “should be killed.” The contest then will be no light one. It is either to yield to the power of man and suffer the wrath of God, or to brave the wrath of man even to the utmost, and by the power of God to obtain the victory over the beast and his image, and enjoy the everlasting salvation of God. All who do resist the wrath of these powers of earth will obtain the victory, and this salvation; for saith the prophet: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” Revelation 15:2.SITI September 2, 1886, page 535.3

But it may be asked, Can we be sure that this contest is yet in the future? We are well assured that we can. We shall give some reasons.SITI September 2, 1886, page 535.4

The warning says that “If any man shall worship the beast and his image.... the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” Revelation 14:9. Now Revelation 15:1 says, “I saw ... seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.” Notice the direct connection: In the seven last plagues is filled up the wrath of God; and whoever worships the beast and his image, shall drink of the wrath of God. Therefore, it is evident that they who worship the beast and his image are to suffer the seven last plagues. Note further, they are the seven last plagues. These plagues are the last that the world will ever see, at least in this life. This of itself shows that all this is yet future.SITI September 2, 1886, page 535.5

But there is more. Under the sixth plague the world is to be gathered “to the battle of the great day of God.” Revelation 16:12-14. And when the seventh is poured out, there comes “a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.... And there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great.... And the cities of the nations fell.... And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” Revelation 16:17-20. No one can possibly say but that these things are in the future.SITI September 2, 1886, page 535.6

But we have positive proof that they are yet future. This removing of the mountains and islands is referred to in Revelation 6:14-17 in these words: “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” With this agrees the word of Isaiah: “They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isaiah 2:19-21.SITI September 2, 1886, page 536.1

Most assuredly these things are yet future. But these things are only the terrors of the last of the seven plagues; the seven last plagues are the wine of the wrath of God; and whoever worships the beast and his image, suffers the seven last plagues,—the first one as well as the last one; for when the first angel of the seven poured out his vial, “there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.” Revelation 16:2. This then shows it to be certain that the worship of the beast and his image is yet future, and, consequently, that the contest over that question is yet future.SITI September 2, 1886, page 536.2

There is another line of argument that shows the same thing. By reference to Revelation 14:6-12 it will be seen that there are mentioned the messages of three angels in succession. The first one of the three says among other things, to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Following this one, there was another angel saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Then “the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image,” etc. And then following this third angel’s message, with only the intervention of a verse pronouncing a blessing upon the dead who die in the Lord from this time onward, we read: “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.”SITI September 2, 1886, page 536.3

Now this same Jesus, who comes thus upon the white cloud with the sharp sickle in his hand to reap the harvest of the earth, he himself said, “The harvest is the end of the world.” Matthew 13:39. Therefore it is plain that this third angel’s message is the last work of God that precedes the coming of Christ on the cloud of his glory, and the end of the world. But this message warns against the worship of the beast and his image, under penalty of the wine of the wrath of God, which is the seven last plagues. But the seven last plagues end, as we have shown, with the end of the world. This then shows that the enforcement of the worship of the beast and his image under the final penalty of death, will be the last oppression of the people of God that shall ever be seen. And this corresponds exactly with what we showed as the result of the restoration of the Papacy: He “made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”SITI September 2, 1886, page 536.4

As this oppression, this war with the saints, continues till the saints possess the kingdom, and as the saints possess the kingdom only at the coming of the Lord, this view not only answers to those scriptures which show that the third angel’s message reaches to the end of the world, but it answer perfectly to those scriptures which show the end of the beast and his image. Daniel 7:11 says: “I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” Paul says of the same power, the “mystery of iniquity,” “that Wicked,” “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8. And both Daniel and Paul are explained by Revelation 19:11-20: “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. 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. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.... 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 [the image to the beast, Revelation 13:12-14] 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.”SITI September 2, 1886, page 536.5

This shows that the beast and his image will be the last powers that will be on this earth, and that they will be living powers when Christ and the end of the world come. But the life of the image to the beast is given him that he “should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Revelation 13:15. He likewise “causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” Verse 12. And the beast on his own part is restored to power to make war on the saints till they possess the kingdom. All these facts fix the matter to an absolute certainty that the worship of the beast and his image, and the contest over the worship is yet future; and that that contest when it begins will continue till the end of the world, and will be decided only by the coming of the Lord in his glory, when the beast and his image will be given to the burning flame, and when those who shall have kept the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will, by the power of Christ, get the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, and will stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. J.SITI September 2, 1886, page 536.6

“Notes on the International Lesson. The Mission of the Spirit. John 14:5-20” The Signs of the Times 12, 34, pp. 538, 539.

(September 12. John 16:5-29.)

IN the promise of the Spirit, Jesus spoke of him as the Comforter. “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” John 14:16. “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.” Verse 26. “If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” It is by the Holy Spirit that the Lord comforts his disciples. Says Paul, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. Thus consolation abounds by the Holy Spirit which Christ sends. So his mission is:—SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.1

1. TO WITNESS of Christ. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” John 15:26. This Spirit is given only to those who are Christ’s. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.” Romans 8:9. “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.... even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.... If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” John 14:15-23. One part of the mission of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is to witness of the presence of God and of Christ with his disciples.SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.2

2. A WITNESS of the forgiveness of sins, and that thus we are the children of God. “The Holy Ghost also is a witness to us; for after that he had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;” then he said, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 10:15-17. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Romans 8:16.SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.3

3. AN earnest of our inheritance. “Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14. An earnest is “a part paid beforehand on a contract, as security for the whole.” God enters into covenant with men, and to those who will accept his Son, he promises an inheritance. But the time is not yet come when the inheritance can be given; it is not yet redeemed. So until that time does come, until it is redeemed, he gives to his people the Holy Spirit as the earnest, the security of the inheritance. Another definition is, that “an earnest gives assurance that more is coming of the same kind.” By receiving the Holy Spirit we become partakers of the divine nature, and by this “earnest” God gives assurance that more is coming of the same kind, even so much more, that, “when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.4

4. AS A guide into the truth. “But 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. The Holy Spirit then is to teach us the things that Christ has said. And as the Spirit of Christ spoke the Old Testament as well as the New (1 Peter 1:10-12), this is to say that the Holy Spirit is to teach us the word of God. This is confirmed by John 16:13. “Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” And as Jesus said, “Thy word is truth,” it is plain that the Spirit is to guide us into the word of God. Again, “He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” Verse 15. The Holy Spirit therefore, as teacher of the word of God, as guide into the word of God, is to take these things of God and show them unto us, to show us their breadth of meaning, that we may know how to apply them to our lives and conform our ways to them. Compare Psalm 119:18; Ephesians 1:17, 18; and Acts 26:18.SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.5

Just here is where those fail who claim sanctification. Even granting, for the sake of the argument (and for that reason only), that they have received the Holy Spirit, instead of allowing him to fulfill his office of teacher of the word of God; instead of having him take the things of the word of God, and show unto them instead of allowing him to guide them into the word of God; they seek to make him the guide independent of the word of God; and not only that, but in many instances directly contrary to the plainly written word which he himself has spoken. Such spirit is not the Spirit of God, such is not his office; he is not divided against himself. Again, this makes him the end in stead of the means, which is to pervert the way of the Lord. In no single instance, in this connection, is he made the end; but in every instance he is set forth as the means by which we may reach the end which God has in view for us. And again, to make him the guide independent of the word, is to make him speak of (from) himself. But Christ plainly declares, “He shall not speak of [from] himself.” John 16:13.SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.6

5. TO CONVINCE of sin. “And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin.” Verse 8. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. And the Holy Spirit can convict no man of sin before God, except by the law of God, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20. And without conviction there can be no conversion. So the matter stands just thus: There can be no conversion without conviction; and there can be no conviction without the law; therefore, where the law of God is despised there can be no conversion; hence neither sanctification nor salvation, call it what they will.SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.7

6. TO CONVINCE of righteousness. He shall convince the world “of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.” “All unrighteousness is sin.” 1 John 5:17. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Righteousness is the opposite of unrighteousness. And as unrighteousness is transgression of the law, righteousness is obedience to the law, but this only through the faith and merit of Christ. Therefore, in convincing of righteousness, the Holy Spirit convince of obedience to the law of God, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.SITI September 2, 1886, page 538.8

7. TO CONVINCE of judgment. He shall convince the world “of judgment.” “As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law,” “in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” Romans 2:12, 16. “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:12. As, therefore, in the Judgment men’s acts are to be compared with the law of God, the office of the Holy Spirit in convincing of judgment is to enable us to see the law of God as it is, that we may have our transgressions washed away by the blood of Christ, and that we may obey the law as we ought; thus to convince us of judgment now while there is hope, that when we shall stand before the Judgment seat of Christ, our lives may be found in perfect harmony with the holy law of God, and that so we may stand in the judgment.SITI September 2, 1886, page 539.1

8. TO SHED abroad the love of God. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5. This again points directly to the law of God, and to the keeping of that law: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3.SITI September 2, 1886, page 539.2

By all these evidences we see that the office of the Holy Spirit, in every instance in the life of the Christian, is to spread the law and word of God before him, and to impress upon him the duty and knowledge of obedience. Additional evidence of this point is given by Peter. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the ... elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience.” 1 Peter 1:1, 2. This teaches plainly that the Holy Spirit is given to us to teach us to obey the written word of God, and, that true sanctification of the Spirit is unto obedience to that written word.SITI September 2, 1886, page 539.3

9. THIS also reveals to us another part of the mission of the Spirit. That is as the Sanctifier. A great deal is made nowadays of a certain kind of sanctification, but any sanctification that is not “unto obedience” to the law of God, is spurious sanctification; it is a deception and a snare.SITI September 2, 1886, page 539.4

CHRIST prayed, “Sanctify them through the truth,” and then immediately added, “Thy word is truth.” John 17:17. This shows that sanctification is through the word of God, but it can only be through the word of God by the aid of the Spirit. The text quoted just above from Peter, tells of sanctification of the Spirit “unto obedience.” Here we have another text from Peter on the same subject: “Seeing ye have purified [sanctified] your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.” 1 Peter 1:22. Men are elect through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, but they are not sanctified until they have obeyed the truth, the word of God, through the Spirit. The truth of God cannot be obeyed except through the Holy Spirit. The law of God is spiritual (Romans 7:14), the word of Christ is spirit (John 6:36), but man is carnal. Therefore “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Romans 8:7-9. The Holy Spirit is given to take away the carnal mind, and make us spiritually minded, that so we may discern the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-16), and thus he takes the things of God and shows them unto us. Thus by the Spirit of God, we can know our duty in the truth of God and then we can obey that truth through the Spirit, and so we are sanctified through the truth.SITI September 2, 1886, page 539.5

August 26, 1886

September 9, 1886