November 1, 1894
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November 1, 1894
“Front Page” The Present Truth 10, 44.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds.” Hebrews 1:1, 2.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.1
There are many incidental statements in these two verses, but there is only one main fact, and that is that God has spoken. He spoke in time past; He has spoken in these last days. He spoke in time past of the fathers; He has spoken in these last days to us. In time past He spoke by the prophets; in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.2
In many ways and manners has God spoken; but whether in times past, or in these last days; whether by the prophets, or by His Son, it was God who spoke. The voice of God is as clear in the prophets as in the sermon on the mount. It is but one voice. “This is the law and the prophets,” said the Saviour. The word spoken through the prophets,—Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah,—is the same as that spoken through Jesus of Nazareth, and has the same authority; and both are the same as that spoken by God’s own voice from Sinai.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.3
God has spoken to us. How can we know that He speaks to us?—In just the same way that we should know that anybody else speaks to us, namely, by listening. There is no other way. It is getting quite the custom for people to discuss the Bible, to find out if any part of it is the word of God, and how much. That is, men think that they will learn the voice of God by doing all the talking themselves. They drown His voice with the multitude of their own words. “Be still, and know that I am God,” says the Lord.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.4
Every man who will listen, will certainly know that it is the Lord who speaks. And the child may know as well as the man. The people who really listened to the word of God spoken by Jesus of Nazareth, had no difficulty in knowing whose word it was. Those who listened only to criticise, and to find occasion for multiplying their own words, naturally enough did not know that it was the word of God. But those who wished to know God’s word, in order that they might do it, knew for a certainty. These words were proved true: “If any man willeth to do His will, He shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” John 7:17.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.5
There are many people who did not know that the Bible is the word of God. They are not fighting it, but are simply in doubt about the matter. Unfortunately some of these, in their perplexity, go to men for enlightenment, and only have their doubts increased. No man, no matter how well he knows the word of God, can prove to another that it is the word of God. Much less can such a thing be done by one who himself has doubts about the Bible. Only let that doubting one come to the Bible with an open, unprejudiced mind, honestly desirous of knowing the word of God in truth, and he will soon know it for himself, so that he will not ask anybody to prove it for him. Neither will he be troubled by any other person’s doubts. He has the demonstration in his own soul. The Bible is its own evidence to him.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.6
One other thing we must notice in this connection, and that is that the text tells us that “in these last days” God has spoken to us by His Son. When Jesus was on earth, eighteen hundred years ago, it was the “last days.” The world was even then past its meridian. How much more emphatic, therefore, must the expression be in this time. We are now in the last days, and it therefore becomes us to listen most diligently and reverently to the words of Him that speaketh. “See that ye refused not Him that speaketh.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.7
“Weakness and Strength” The Present Truth 10, 44.
When men are strong then they are also weak; and they are weak in the very point wherein lies their strength. Were this not so, they would have something of their own wherein to glory. Men are very apt to pride themselves on their “strong points;” but such points are strong only in comparison with other points in their own character which are weaker. Compared with the power of the forces of evil, men have no strength, but can manifest only varying degrees of weakness.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.8
It is upon these “strong points” that men make their greatest moral failures. Peter’s strong point was his boldness; but behold him cowering in the judgment hall, afraid to confess his Lord! Solomon was the wisest man on the earth; but what more pitiable exhibition of folly could there be than the king of Israel surrounded by seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, hearkening to their counsel and leading the people of God into a idolatry! Moses’ strong point was his meekness; but we find him at Meribah saying to the multitude, “Hear now, ye rebels; must we bring you water out of this rock?”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 689.9
Men naturally trust in their “strong” points, and every man is weak when he trusts in himself. We speak about “guarding our weak points;” but our strong points need guarding just as much. Our weak points include our strong ones. We have nothing but weak points. Whatever point it is that we trust in, that point especially is weak. And we are not guarding the weak points unless we are guarding every point. But we must remember that it is not our resolutions, our will, or our vigilance that guards us, but our faith. “The shield of faith” is what quenches the fiery darts of the wicked. Ephesians 6:16. The armour that is prepared for us is not of human manufacture, but is such as God Himself has made in His own wisdom, and endowed with His own strength.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.1
But we need not be discouraged because we find ourselves weak where we had fancied ourselves strong, for our dependence is not self, but God; and depending on Him, we are strong where we are weak. This was the experience of Paul, as he wrote to the Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 12:10. We only need to unite our weakness to God’s strength. Then, like the apostle, we can “take pleasure in infirmities, and reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.2
God has to reveal to every man his weakness before He can save him. The devil, on the other hand, leads men to think themselves strong in order that, by trusting in themselves, they may fall and be ruined. When we feel strong, the admonition is, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12. But when we feel weak, too weak to do anything of ourselves, we are in a position to gain the victory. The danger is that we will not feel weak enough; for men in their weakest moments have strength enough to resist the Holy Spirit and prevent God from working in them. If we are weak enough to yield entirely to the Lord, we then, for those purposes for which we need strength, become as strong as the Lord Himself.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.3
“Studies in Romans. Crucified, Buried, and Raised. Romans 6:1-11” The Present Truth 10, 44.
In beginning the study of the sixth chapter of Romans, it must be remembered that we have but a continuation of the fifth. The subject of that chapter is superabounding grace, and the gift of life and righteousness by grace. As sinners we are enemies of God, but are reconciled, that is, freed from sin, by receiving the righteousness of Christ’s life, which has no limit. No matter how greatly the sin may abound, grace does much more abound; “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” This brings us to a consideration of the particulars of ourPTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.4
UNION WITH CHRIST
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection; knowing this, that our old man in crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him; knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:1-11.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.5
QUESTIONING THE TEXT
For what purpose did the law enter?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.6
“The law entered, that the offence might abound.” Romans 5:20.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.7
But what do we find when the offence abounds?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.8
“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Verse 21.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.9
“What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?’PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.10
“God forbid.” (Not by any means.)PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.11
And why not?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.12
“How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.13
If we have been baptized into Jesus Christ, into what were we baptized?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.14
“So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.15
What does baptism mean?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.16
“We are buried with Him by baptism into death.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.17
What further?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.18
“That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.19
If we have been “planted” together in the likeness of His death, what will surely follow?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.20
“We shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.21
What has taken place?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.22
“Our old man is crucified with Him.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.23
Why is the “old man” crucified with Christ?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.24
“That the body of sin might be destroyed.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.25
And what will be the result of that?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.26
“That henceforth we should not serve sin.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.27
From what is he that is dead free?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.28
“He that is dead is freed from sin.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.29
Of what may we be confident if we are dead with Christ?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.30
“That we shall also live with Him.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.31
Why have we this confidence?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.32
“Knowing that Christ been raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.33
Why not?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.34
“For in that He died, He died unto sin once.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.35
And what of His life?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.36
“In that He liveth, He liveth unto God.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.37
Therefore since we are dead and raised with Him, what must be the case with us?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.38
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead in deed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.39
An Important Question.—“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” The student will doubtless recall a similar question in the third chapter, verses 5, 7, and the answer in verses 6, 8. It is another form of the question, “Shall we do evil, that good may come?” The answer must be apparent to all, “Not by any means,” for this is really the force of the words improperly rendered, “God forbid.” Although grace superabounds where sin abounds, that is no reason why we should wilfully pile up the sin. That would be most emphatically to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 Corinthians 6:1.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.40
The Reason Why.—“How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” It is simply an impossibility, and there is really no question as to whether or not we may do it; for it is certain that if we are dead to sin, we can not live in it at the same time. A man can not at the same time be both dead and alive. Now the previous chapter has emphasised the fact that we are reconciled to God by the death of Christ, and are saved by his life. Reconciliation to God means being freed from sin; so that being “saved by His life” means that we have “passed from death unto life.” The life of sin that was enmity has been ended in the life of Christ.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 690.41
“Baptised into Jesus Christ.”-Baptism is the symbol of putting on Christ. “For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27. “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles.” 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.1
Where Christ Touches Us.-It is in death that we come into contact with Christ. He touches us at the lowest possible point. That is what makes our salvation so sure, and so sure for every one without any exception. Sin and sickness are tributary to death. Death is the sum of all the evils possible to man. It is the lowest depth, and it is there that Christ comes in contact with us. We become united to Him in death. As the greater includes the lesser, the fact that Christ humbled Himself even to death proves that there is no ill possible to us that He does not take upon Himself.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.2
Baptised into His Death.—“So many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into His death.” And what is it to be baptised into His death?—Verse 10 tells us: “For in that He died, He died unto sin once.” He died unto sin, not His own, because He had none; but He “bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” 1 Peter 2:24. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” Isaiah 53:5. Since in that He died, He died unto sin, it follows that if we are baptised into His death, we also die to sin.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.3
A New Life.—“Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more.” “If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” It was impossible for the grave to hold Christ. Acts 2:24. Therefore, just as surely as we are baptised into the death of Christ, so surely shall we be raised from a life of sin to a life of righteousness in Him. “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.4
Crucifixion.-As Christ was crucified. Therefore, being baptised into His death means that we are crucified with Him. So we read, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20. Crucified, yet living, because crucified with Christ, and yet he lives. Christ said, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” John 14:19. How can we live a new life? We have no power at all of ourselves; but Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father; and in His prayer to the Father He said, “The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them.” John 17:22. Therefore, the power that raised Jesus from the dead is exercised to raise us from the death of sin. If we are willing to allow the old life to be crucified, we may be sure of the new.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.5
“Our Old Man” Crucified.-We shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. If we are crucified with Christ, our sins must also be crucified with Christ, for they are a part of us. Our sins were on Him as He was crucified, so of course our sins are crucified if we are crucified with Him. But here is a difference between us and our sins when crucified. We are crucified in order that we may live again; our sins are crucified in order that they may be destroyed. Christ is not “the minister of sin” (Galatians 2:17). It was the life of God that raised Him from the dead, and in that life there is no sin.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.6
A Separation.-The reader will notice that the separation from sin is in death. That is because death is in sin. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:15. Therefore nothing less than death will effect a separation. We could not separate ourselves from sin, because sin was our very life. If it had been possible for us to effect the destruction of sin, it could have been only by the giving up of our lives, and that would have been the end of us. That is why there will be no future for the wicked who die in their sins; their life having been given up, or rather taken from them, they are out of existence. But Christ had the power to lay down His life, and to take it again; and therefore when we lay down our lives in Him, we are raised again by His endless life. Remember that He does not give us our own life back again, but that He gives us His own life. In that life there never was a sin; and so it is that our crucifixion and resurrection with Him is the separation of sin from us. This thought must be borne in mind when we come to study the next chapter.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.7
Living with Him.—“Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. When shall we live with Him? Why, as soon as buried and risen with Him, of course. Our life with Christ in the world to come is assured to us only by our living with Him now in this world. We are separated from sin, by death with Him, in order that we may be joined to life in Him. The reader is asked to bear this in mind also until we come to the study of the next chapter.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.8
“Buried.”—“We are buried with Him by baptism into death.” Baptism, therefore, is burial. If people were content to follow the plain reading of the Scriptures, there never would be a question concerning “the mode of baptism.” No one from reading the Bible could ever get any other idea than that baptism is immersion. “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12. Baptism represents the death and resurrection of Christ, and by it we show our acceptance of His sacrifice; and the very act is an actual burial, in order to make the lesson the more impressive.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.9
Why the Change?—How is it that there has been a change from Scripture baptism to sprinkling? The answer is very easy. Baptism is a memorial of the resurrection of Christ. But “the church,” by which is meant the bishops who loved the praise of men more than the praise of God and who wished to curry favour with the “better class” of the heathen, adopted the pagan sun festival; and in order to appear to justify themselves in so doing, they claimed that the rising sun which was worshipped by the heathen was a symbol of the resurrection of “the Sun of Righteousness,” namely, Christ, and that by observing Sunday they were celebrating His resurrection. But they did not need two memorials of the resurrection, and so they dropped the one that the Lord had given. In order, however, not to appear to throw baptism away, they claimed that the heathen sprinkling with “holy water” which they very naturally adopted with the heathen sun festival, was the baptism enjoined in the Scriptures. The people trusted in the “fathers” instead of reading the Bible for themselves, and so it was very easy to make them believe that the Bible was obeyed. It is true that there are some who follow the word in regard to immersion, who also observe Sunday; but the two practices are inconsistent. The word is neglected in one particular in order to provide a memorial for an event which they already celebrate in accordance with the word. We are sorry to learn, what however might naturally be expected, that Scriptural baptism is falling into disuse among those who observe the first day of the week. It must be the case that sooner or later they will wholly give up one or the other.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 691.10
“Shutting Up Heaven” The Present Truth 10, 44.
The Catholic Times says of the Roman Catholic system of dealing with new converts, that such “converts are not admitted to baptism, but remain in the condition of ‘catechumens’ for six months or a year after they express the wish to be Christians,” and that “during this time they are not only instructed but made to practise the duties of their new religion, so far as they can be observed by one not yet baptized.” This is all very consistent with the idea that the “keys of heaven” have been delivered to the Church of Rome, so that it is at her option that men are shut out of heaven or let into it,—united to or severed from the body of which Christ is the Head. But imagine the Lord inviting and pleading with the sinner to come to Him and thus escape the wrath to come, and then when the sinner does come, holding him off for six months or a year before receiving him! Imagine the hope or comfort we should get from the parable of the prodigal son if a father had left the repentant prodigal wait outside for six months or a year, eating husks with the swine, before taking him in! What would be the fate of the poor would-be Christian who might happen to die during this period of waiting?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.1
And this is not all the doleful prospect; for during this time of waiting to be allowed to become a Christian he must “practise the duties” of his new religion, to prove that as a Christian he would be worthy of confidence! This throws Pharaoh’s order for the making of bricks without straw completely into the s...; for not only is no power furnished him with which to perform the duties of Christianity, but he cannot possibly get the power himself, however diligent and earnest his efforts to do so. The most he can do is to pretend to be what he is not, and thus make himself a hypocrite. Any person can make a hypocrite; but it requires the power of the Lord to make a Christian.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.2
Happily we are not left to grapple with such a doubtful prospect when we have signified our willingness to become Christians. No such doleful obscurity hangs over the pathway the Lord has marked out for our feet. It is found only in the pathway of salvation by works. The parable of the prodigal son tells us that “when He was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20. That is the Lord’s way of receiving sinners when they turn to Him. He does not wait for them to come all the way to Him, but while they are a great way off, He goes to meet them, and receives them graciously. “Why tarriest thou?” is the language of the Spirit to the penitent one; “arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 16:30-34.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.3
God’s plan of salvation does not put an individual on “six months’ suspicion” (as it has been appropriately termed) before allowing him to become a full Christian. It doesn’t require any proof from an individual to the Lord that He is a proper person for the Lord to accept. In God’s plan all persons are on probation from their youth, and all are “accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6. “Behold,” says Jesus, “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” Revelation 3:8. That door is the door of the sanctuary above, the abode of our great High Priest, who has entered into heaven, “now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Hebrews 9:24. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1, 2. No will but our own can shut us away from the life and the power that is in our Saviour Jesus Christ.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.4
“Which Will You Choose?” The Present Truth 10, 44.
Some of the present readers of PRESENT TRUTH will remember that some months ago an article, or rather a combination of articles, appeared, with the general title, “The Sin of Witchcraft.” The matter was afterwards published in the form of a tract, which we commend to our readers for perusal and distribution. It can be obtained at the office of PRESENT TRUTH, 59, Paternoster Row, E.C.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.5
The little pamphlet has attracted the attention of the editor of a leading Spiritualist paper, called Light, and he has given it an extended notice. The notice is so perfect an illustration of some of the things set forth in the pamphlet, that we quote a few extracts from it. We hope that it may cause serious thought on the part of many.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.6
The reviewer acccepts the definition that “the whole of Spiritualism is summed up in the belief that man has a conscious existence in death-that, in fact, there is no death, because man has life in himself.” We call special attention to this statement of what Spiritualism is, because there are thousands of people who think that they disbelieve Spiritualism, who nevertheless heartily believe the above statement.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.7
That such people will sooner or later be obliged to revise their belief, or else openly to accept Spiritualism, is a fact clearly seen by Spiritualists. Our reviewer agrees with the statement of the pamphlet, that “Through the prevalence of the doctrine of the natural immortality of man... the churches are being permeated with Spiritualism.” He says, “Once grant that the secret of human life is in the immortal spirit, all that we contend for must follow-in time.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.8
“ANCIENT AGNOSTICISM”
All that we are concerned with, in our dealing with the teaching of Spiritualism, is to show that it is in open and positive antagonism to the Bible. With those who reject the Bible we have no controversy. We have no burden to defend the Bible itself; it is its own defender. All that we wish to have made plain is the fact that nobody can believe both the Bible and Spiritualism. Whoever accepts the doctrine of Spiritualism must reject the Bible. They who cling to the Bible as the word of God must renounce Spiritualism from beginning to end.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 692.9
This is sufficiently proved by the review itself. Some of the texts which teach that at death man really dies, that is, loses feeling, knowledge and thought, such as Psalm 146:3, 4; 115:17; Isaiah 38:18, 19; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6; Job 14:1, 2, 7-12, 21; James 4:14, are cited from the pamphlet. Of some of them the application is denied, and of the others the writer says that they are “the expressions of an ancient agnosticism which we surely ought to outgrow, and not to imitate.” The only way that Spiritualists can hold their position is by denying the Bible; and recollect that their position is simply this, that men at death enter upon a higher life than before. Our readers may decide for themselves whether they will stick to the Bible, or to the doctrine that the dead are conscious; but they must know that they cannot hold to both.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.1
“A MONSTROUS SUPERFLUITY”
The reviewer has fully comprehended the teaching of the pamphlet, that “the devil’s great original falsehood is the teaching of the doctrine of innate or natural immortality,” and that in that lie Spiritualism is summed up. Of this he says:—PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.2
This may seem monstrous, but the whole pamphlet is built upon it, as we shall see. It may be thought that this is only one man’s eccentricity, but we believe that the main thought of the pamphlet is very largely held [not so largely as it ought to be. Ed. P.T.], and that, anyhow, it logically follows from the old doctrine of the general resurrection. At the present moment we are face to face with a huge inconsistency. The truly spiritual thought, that at death we pass into spirit life, in the full possession of more than our present powers, is rapidly taking possession of all the churches: it is in the air, and it is irresistible. And yet it co-exists with the doctrine of the resurrection of the body,—a monstrous superfluity. The crash is not yet; but it must come, and the writer of this pamphlet, with his grim logic, may, and we hope will help it on.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.3
This is the way Spiritualism stands related to the doctrine of the resurrection. Spiritualists consider it “a monstrous superfluity.” Now all who read the Bible know that the resurrection is set forth as the hope of the Gospel. The apostle tells us in the fifteenth of 1 Corinthians that if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not raised, and that if Christ be not raised, then there is no hope for any. Spiritualism, therefore, denies the resurrection of Christ, and so the entire Gospel.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.4
Remember that Spiritualism is nothing more than the belief in natural immortality and that the dead have a conscious existence. Now if this were true, then indeed the resurrection would be a superfluity; for if the dead are alive, there is no possibility of a resurrection. We ask our readers to choose between the two things. Which shall it be, the Bible and the resurrection, or the theory that there is no death?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.5
LIFE AND IMMORTALITY
Since Spiritualism is from first to last a denial of the Bible and of the Gospel, it is not at all surprising that its adherents are in the dark as to Gospel truths. The misapprehension in the following paragraph, however, is so common that we quote it in order to point out the truth. Following the paragraph last quoted, the reviewer says:—PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.6
But if this writer does not believe in natural immortality, how does he bring immortality in? In some way which we do not understand, he (and he is one of many) believes in immortal life only for those who are “in Christ,” whatever that may mean. He plainly says, “None can see life and immortality except those who accept Christ and the Gospel.” He does not give any explanation, and we are left to assume that in some subtle way the believer is transformed. From being a mortal creature, he is changed into an immortal one, subject, we presume, to relapses-mortal in 1894, immortal in 1895, and mortal again in 1896.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.7
Will the reader note the following points?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.8
1. Immortality is bestowed at the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the righteous dead, and then only. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. The believer in Christ is as mortal to-day as any sinner. Immortality is to be “put on,” only when the Lord comes to raise the dead. But once possessed, it is never lost.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.9
2. We do not presume to give any explanation of this change. It is “a mystery.” To know the fact is sufficient; we could not understand the manner of its accomplishments, if it could be told us, because it is the product of infinite power. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes, He will “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” Philippians 3:21.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.10
3. Eternal life and immortality are not identical. Although immortality is not conferred upon any until the resurrection of the just, eternal life is the possession of every believer. “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” 1 John 5:11. “Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee; as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh He that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou has given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ who Thou hast sent.” John 17:1-3. The life of Jesus is to be “manifest in our mortal flesh.” 2 Corinthians 4:11.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.11
4. This is eternal life which is the possession of the believer in Christ, is simply the power of God working in him “both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. We are saved from sin by “the power of an endless life.” This life is not inherent in the believer, but is in Christ, and is the possession of the believer only as his faith brings Christ to dwell in his heart. “He that hath the Son hath the life, and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not the life.” 1 John 5:12, R.V.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.12
Here again we are obliged to say that we cannot explain. It is as subtle a mystery as is the way in which the sun and rain give life to plants, or the food that we eat enables us to think and act. But anyone who believes is as conscious of the power of the life as he is that he breathes. We can only say, Taste and see.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.13
ANGELS AND MEN
Another error which so many professed Christians hold in common with professed Spiritualists, is that there is no distinction between men and angels; that angels are simply dead man. Thus the reviewer says:—PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.14
What dismal infatuation is it that leads so many people to slam the door in the faces of those who come from the other side, or to see only “devil” when, surely, to say the least of it, a good God would let good angels go where devils are allowed to prowl! Is it possible to believe that God’s human race is infested with demoniacal influences only, and that our Creator and Providence permits us to be the fools and victims of a conscious hellish fraud?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.15
The good God does not leave men to the influence of the devil, without the help of good angels. But angels are beings far superior to man. Angels existed before the earth was created, and “shouted for joy” at its creation. Job 38:7. An angel never was a man, and no man can ever become an angel. The most that is promised to those who gain the world to come, is that they shall be “equal unto the angels,” in that they cannot die anymore. Luke 20:36.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 693.16
The human race is not “infested with demoniacal influences only,” but God has sent to this earth legions of “angels that excel in strength,” who are “sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Hebrews 1:14.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 694.1
Neither has He left men to be the victims of fraud. “By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Psalm 17:4. The Lord has not left men to wander in the dark, but has given His word as a light. None will be deceived except those who receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved thereby. We write for the purpose of calling the attention of those who acknowledge the Bible to be the truth of God, to the light which it gives. The basis of Spiritualism is that man has life and immortality in himself. This is directly opposed to God’s word which is the source of light; and therefore those who accept the doctrine of natural immortality, are turning from light to darkness, and inviting deception. And when men turn away from the truth of the Bible, they must necessarily turn away from the morality of the Bible. Which will you choose-the word of God, or the devices of men?PTUK November 1, 1894, page 694.2
“An Indian Lourdes” The Present Truth 10, 44.
The close resemblance between Romanism and some of the pagan religions is seen in a great variety of practices. A member of the Telegu mission gives a description of the making of a Hindu shrine, and the use made of it, which reads like a sketch of a Lourdes or a St. Winifride’s Well. No one can doubt the sincerity of thousands of the devotees of either religion who patronise these shrines, but the worship can scarcely be said to be much less idolatrous in one case than in the other. No one who believes in Jesus Christ can doubt His power to save men physically now, even as He sustains all physical life every moment; and multitudes of believers know that power of bodily help by experience. But the Roman Catholic shrine, with its theatrical display and merchandise of religious things, exalts the creature above Christ just as this Hindu shrine does. A poor woman had died of the cholera, and was denied a burial in the village, her body being cast out near the jungle, with earth thrown over it.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 696.1
About three months afterwards, says the writer, a very superstitious man, one of the potters of the village, on returning home one evening, reported that as he was passing the place where the woman had been buried, he heard a voice, as if it were her spirit, saying that if he would clear away the cactus and build her a proper tomb he would be cured of a disease from which he was suffering. As soon as he told his foolish fancy or wilful falsehood, it was believed, and those who heard it told it to others. And the next day they went to the place and began clearing the ground, and brought stones and mortar, and built a tomb over the remains of the woman. And soon people began to flock to the place from all quarters, to be cured of their infirmities and diseases. The blind, the lame, the lepers, those who were supposed to be possessed by evil spirits, and all sorts of ailing ones, came to worship. Most of them could not tell what they worshipped, whether it was the grave or the body or the spirit of the deceased woman, and when questioned they would say they came because others came, and they did as others did.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 696.2
So rapidly did the superstition spread that within a few weeks thousands were coming, not only sick people, but also their relatives and friends, and multitudes more out of mere curiosity, and all sorts of tramps and adventurers, fortune tellers, jugglers, acrobats, religious beggars, etc. People came hundreds of miles, Hindus of all castes, and Mohammedans, rich people and poor, old and young. Within a month or six weeks from the time the folly commenced, the crowds had increased so that there were ten thousand people there at one time. Shopkeepers set up booths made of mats for the sale of supplies for the worshippers, peddlers of all sorts of trinkets flocked to the place, and side-shows of various kinds were started.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 696.3
The great majority of the worshippers were women, and the manner of their worship was as follows: They first went to the place where the woman died, under the mango tree, and there each one paid a small fee, equal to about one-third of a penny. The money was received by two men, who sat there for that purpose, and it was placed in safe keeping by the village officials. The promoters of the worship had taken the clothes of the dead woman, or at least what they said were her clothes, and tied them up in a bundle and hung them on the tree under which she died. And they had also the old dirty, ragged palmleaf mat on which she lay when dying. After the worshippers had paid their fee, they first walked round the tree several times with clasped hands and bowed heads, and then devoutly pressed their foreheads against the bundle of clothes and kissed them, and then walked round the old mat and bowed reverently to it, and, coming to the spot where the body of the woman had lain as soon as she was dead, each one took up a pinch of earth from the place and put it in her mouth and swallowed it.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 696.4
“Keep at It” The Present Truth 10, 44.
One of the first lessons that we need to learn is to keep doing the little things, to go on learning the simple lessons one by one, until time and patience give us the victory. You may have heard of the old castle that was taken by a single gun.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 701.1
The attacking force had only one gun, and it seemed hopeless to try to take the castle; but one soldier said: “I will show you how we can take the castle.” And he pointed the cannon to one spot and fired, and kept on all day, never moving the cannon. About nightfall there were a few grains of sand knocked off the wall. He did the same the next day and the next. By and by the stones began to come away, and by steadily working his gun for one week, he made a hole in that castle wall big enough for the army to walk through.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 701.2
“Food and Intemperance” The Present Truth 10, 44.
A great amount of intemperance in drinking is due to bad cooking, we are told by many who have studied the subject of dietetics and temperance. Highly seasoned and stimulating foods foster the appetite for higher stimulants, and thus at his mother’s table many a boy may acquire the craving for alcoholic stimulants. Poorly prepared meals may also drive men to the public-house. “We are convinced,” says a writer in the Newcastle Chronicle, “that an indulgence in strong liquors is largely created by the monotonous and uninviting meals provided for the sustenance of the majority of working men. Pork pies, sausage meat, herrings, and other such edibles, prepared hastily and with primitive culinary science by the housewife, or bought (to save trouble) from the pork-shop ready cooked, are certainly calculated to engender a thirst not usually slaked by water. If women were to learn something of cooking and understand how to make the appetising soups and little dishes which promote such happiness among corresponding classes on the Continent, there would be less drinking and drunkenness in this country. Cooking takes time and care, and is not to be done by one who suddenly, in the middle of an interesting exchange of confidences, realises that it is nearly twelve, and that her ‘man’ will want his dinner. The hasty herring, the badly prepared ‘bit of something’ is the result, and the result is also indifference to food on the part of the diner, and the subsequent flight to alcohol as a compensation.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.1
“News of the Week” The Present Truth 10, 44.
-An epidemic of diphtheria is raging at Trieste. All the public schools have been closed.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.2
-A movement is on foot in Birmingham to inaugurate an “Old-Age Pensions League.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.3
-Masked and armed men made an unsuccessful attempt to murder ex-President Harrison.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.4
-Two hundred and sixty persons are reported to have lost their lives in the recent earthquake in Japan.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.5
-Sixteen women, while unloading coke at a wharf in Bilbao, were precipitated into the water and drowned.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.6
-Three barbers were fined at Warrington for shaving customers on the Sunday, “the same not being a work of necessity.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.7
-Terrific thunderstorms with enormous hailstones have done great damage in portions of Austria, Spain and Servia.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.8
-Five negroes were lynched in South Carolina for the supposed murder of a county treasurer. The negroes were tracked by bloodhounds.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.9
-To a correspondent who visited him at Val sin a short time since, Bismarck said: “I shall never enter public life of any kind again. I am out of harness for ever.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.10
-A naphtha spring in America became ignited, seventeen workmen being engulfed in a sea of fire.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.11
-The Paris Exhibition of 1900 is to eclipse all its predecessors. It is to contain at telescope which (it is said) “will enable people to distinguish the inhabitants, if any, of the moon.”PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.12
-Robbers continue to coolly board trains in America, and make off with the valuables. As the crime is one against inter-state commerce, it will probably be dealt with by a law of Congress.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.13
-A German pianist in London, at a public exhibition, will attempt to play or thirty hours, without once taking his hands from the keys. He purposes playing 400 difficult musical compositions from memory.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.14
-A sensation has been drooled in English naval and government circles by the action of the French cruiser Forfait, which stopped act English ship on the high seas and compelled lion to show her colours.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.15
-On arrival at Southampton the American line steamship Paris reported that she had been in collision, eighty miles off Scilly, with an unknown vessel, which is believed to have sunk with the loss of all hands.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.16
-The deaths to India from wild beasts and snakes are on the increase. In twelve months, exclusive of snake-bites, wild animate, principally tigers, caused the deaths of 2,804 persons, and 90,253 head of cattle.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.17
-An explosion of firedamp occurred early on the morning of the 20th in one of the pits of the Anina collieries in Hungary. Fifteen dead bodies and twenty injured miners have already been brought to the surface.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.18
-A boiler explosion took place on the French cruiser Aréthuse at Brest, and according to a telegram from that town six were killed and twenty injured. The official account, as telegraphed from Paris, states that four were killed and six injured.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.19
-The Italian Government recently decided to suppress all Socialist Societies in Italy, and on the 22nd inst. put their decision into offset. A manlier of Socialist journals were suppressed. Much excitement prevails attiring the Socialists, but no trouble is anticipated.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.20
-Signor Crispi and his house in Rome are carefully guarded. Twelve detectives, eight policemen in uniform, and two to follow Signor Crispi’s carriage when driving out, are under the direction of an inspector, and dedicated to the service of the Prime Minister.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.21
-Several peasants belonging to a village in the province of Viatka, Russia, are suspected of practising pagan rites, and are charged with murdering a man with the object of offering him in sacrifice to their deities. The case will be brought before the authorities for trial.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.22
-During the work of clearing a military magazine at Rio de Janeiro a soldier dropped one of the shells, which in bursting caused the explosion of ten dynamite cartridges. A crowd had collected to view the work, and sixty persons are stated to have been killed on the spot.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.23
-Niagara is already in harness and made to drive mills. It is now proposed to utilise in a similiar way the fall of water from the southern end of Lake Windermere, which is described as equal to 40,000 indicated horse-power, being the best piece of water-power in England.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.24
-Letters from Constantinople represent that city as being, at the present time subjected to a rigorous regime of repression, in obedience to instructions from the Palace, which is a prey to suspicions of all kinds. The censorship over newspapers and publications of all sorts is most severe.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.25
-More than twelve years ago Marguerite Bouyenval, a French lady living in Paris, gave birth to a child, following which, from a sudden fright, hysteria ensued, and then coma, from which, though alive to-day, she has never been roused. She is fed on milk and peptone, and removed once a day from one bed to another.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.26
-The inoculation treatment for diphtheria has keen a great success in Trieste. Dr. Roux, the discoverer of the remedy, cannot supply she serum fast enough. He takes it from horses, several of which he keeps for the purpose. A horse which for three years has been supplying serum, is said to be in excellent health. A useful, lazy career, he says, is thus opened up for lame but healthy horses.PTUK November 1, 1894, page 702.27