The Bible Standard April 1906

8/3/2019 The Bible Standard April 1906

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VOL. 26. No. 4. AUCKLAND, N.Z., APRIL, I906. TWOPENCE.

C h~ m o n t h .

~~~~~-=~·i;HAT we are not yet done with inter-

national difficulties, nor past the pro-

bability of further fateful wars, is

testified to by our daily newspapers, which

record the progress of the diplomatic

discussion on the Morroecan question,

and now and again intimate that other

than a peaceful solution may be reached. In the Old

Country Earl Roberts .has entered upon a crusade,

urging the nation to be prepared for war. His experi-

ence in the Boer War taught him

that Britain was not so well pre-pared as had been supposed, and

this accounted -Iargcly for the

tremendous losses, and the great cost of the war. He

is making proposals which arc viewed by many thought-

ful people as equivalent to instituting conscription,

althouzh he vehemently declares that his scheme doesb .

not involve the idea. ·Why this desire for increase?

Militarism is a profession, and, apart from other con-

siderations, those who are connected with it naturally

view an things in the light of what is likeliest to con-

tribute to its interest. To allow it to sink into in-

significance, as would: be the case if universal peace were

probable, would bc to the disadvantage of the army,

and would not be acceptable to those who are in the

profession. On the other hand, tha~ .which will giv.e it.

more prominence adds to their POSItIon and standing.

Make fue army larger, add to the armaments, blazon

abroad the strength of your defence, and you thereby

add to the attractiveness of the profession. We are far

from saying that these things are ill! the mind of Earl

Roberts, but we are sure that he would, as a perfectly

natural thing, resent anything which would lessen the

importance of the army, ami would as nat~r~l1Y des.ire its

importance to be increased. Then, when It IS considered

'lA atio nal'{ [(ures t.

that advancement in rank is slow, save in war times,

you have the desire for war that position may be

secured. The theory, that to preserve peace we must be

ready for war, is the old time-worn plea which ser:es

its purpose at all times, and by its specious claim

heavier, and yet heavier, burdens are laid upon the

long-suffering people, whose only interest ill' war J ies in

supplying the blood that is shed, and to pay the cost of

the preparation and the aftermath.

A writer in the current number of The Quivl'r insists,

with much force, upon the necessity of cultivating C l

spirit of tr'lle patriotism .. He analyses the current con-

ceptions of patriotism, and shows that for the most

part they are false or incomplete,

because they omit the chief es-

sential. Thus :-Trne patriotism

is a complete love of courutry. It

takes note of man's entire nature, and seeks its weal.

You do not love your country unless, like the centurion

of the Gospels, you have a compassion for the lowliest

slave of the State, seeking a cure for the sickness thathad seized him; and also, like him, you have a respect

for the synagogue. A man is no patriot who ignores

the religions side of man's life, for he fails to provide

for the centre and motor of all moral life. These are

plain words, but they need saying. Shouting at public

meetings, and exaggerated talk about the supremacy of

our own flag, too frequently pass for patriotism. Men

need to be taken back to first principles, and taught

that patriotism is the love of one's country, and that

love is a deep and far-reaching thing, which is rooted in

God for its source, and spreads from that root to men.

-The Christian.

zrrueJP atrioti sm .

No little excitement has been caused in Protestant

circles by the abjuration of thc Protestant faith by the

Princess Ena upon her approaching marriage with the

Spanish monarch. As one paper remarks, it does seem

an outrage on the principles of

true religion that a young girl,

little more than a child, is

constrained to repudiate a nomi-

nal Protestantism for reasons that have nothing

to do with a real and spontaneous change of convic-

(to n"ersion ofJP rincess JE na.



50 THE BIBLE STANDARD APRIL, 1906.

tions. It is said -that the Pope made the change as easy

as possible, but the abjuration itself affords an indica-

tion of what Rome demands, and the view held regard-

ing all who differ from here claims. 'I'he formula of

abjuration thus reads :-"I, the undersigned, having

before my eyes the Most Holy Gospels, which I touch

with my hands, and knowing that none can be saved

without the Faith which the Holy Apostolic and Roman

Catholic Church holds, believes, preaches, and teaches,

against ,vhi'oh I .regret with pain to have gravely erred,

because born without. this Church, I have received or

believed doctrines contrary to its teaching, at this hour,

enlightened by Divine Grace, I profess to believe that

the Holy Apostolic and Roman Catholic Church is the

only and veritable Church established by Jesus Christ

on this earth, the Church to which I submit myself

with all my heart. I believe in all the articles which

She proposes for my belief, I reprove and condemn all

that She repmves and condemns, and I am ready to

observe all that She commands me."

Thc Auckland Sta» for March 14 contained an article

headed, "Mental, Moral, and Physical Effects of

Spiritism. An Bad." It is a thoughtful and temperate

pronouncement on a phase of religious life which is

very widely spread, and the indica-

tions are that it will be more

pervasive. The conclusions of the

writer of the article are con-

demnatory first on the sensible ground that there is no

proof that "the identity of the communicating intelli-

gence has been established." This, be it observed,

admits the reality of the phenomena, but asks proof

that the claims made as to persons communicating

should be established. Let us here say, such claims can-not be verified because the dead are dead. Spiritism in

its modern form builds upon the general belief of

man's conscious existence in the death-state, and then

professes to offer proof of human immortality. If man

is unconscious in the death-state, then he cannot com-

municate his experiences, or describe his condition, to

those who are alive. The recognition of this scientific

and Biblical fact would destroy Spiritism, at least in its

present form. 'I'he effect of the delusion upon those

who practise it is clearly, and with knowledge, stated,

and there are those in this colony who have come into

close enough contact with this thing to know that the

allegations are true. Other features set forth by the

writer are, the contradictory character of its revelations,and its tendency to subvert Christianity. "From per-

sonal letters which have reached me it is evident that

the writer had in each single instance lost his faith iru

Christianity."

Sptrttfsm a1Sat l U b tng .

Certainly, that is the unavoidable end. Consider the

fact that the Bible records the history of the story of

redemption, and that from the beginning the progress of

the plan to accomplish the end designed has been opposed

by Satanic agency; that in our

Saviour's day the keenest contest

was manifest. Nate, too, that, ac-

cording to the Apostle Paul, "thc

Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall

depart from the Iaith., givingheed to seducing spirits

and doctrines of demons," and it will be clear enough

why spiritism should lead to a. personal loss of interest

in Christianity, nay, why it should lead to its sub-

version. Bible denunciations of the practice of seeking

to spirits that "peep and mutter" are not wanting, and

if its teaching on this subject were heeded. and its clear

and emphatic declarations on man's nature and state

in death were believed rather than the vain imaginings

of erring humanity, there would be no place for this

fascinating and deadly belief of spiritism.

5t isS~ltanic.

The February issue of the Expository Times opens

with the staggering question, "Is it a mistake or is it a

mercy that church-going people do not read the Bible

carefully?" It proceeds to answer that a more careful

reading would discover it dis-

. crepancies, yet, in conclusion, as-

serts that the neglect to read is a

profound mistake, and much of

our ungodliness is due "toit, for "IVere they to read the

Bible carefully they would discover its contradictions-

and its Christ." On which we remark that this is not

quite to our standard of view. A close and careful

reading of the Bible would discover something- of the

great purpose of God in redemption, and this would

open out the position of Christ as Redeemer, and would

remove from the way many of the supposed dis-

crepancies, which would be shown not to exist in a trueand ordered appreciatioru of Bible dispensational

teaching. The point selected for illustration is that

concerning the coming- of Elijah. John the Baptist

denied to the Pharisees that he was Elijah, but the

Lord asserted, "If ye are willing to receive it, this is

Elijah which is to come." According to the writer re-

viewed, this is a clear contradiction. By him it is re-

moved by a virtual destruction of the prophecy in

Maluchi, which predicted Elijah's advent. He says,

"Malachi's promise is not the literal return' of Elijah."

Now let us note, whatever the application by OUrLord

of this passage to John, it is certain that He could' not

intend that John completely filled this prediction. That

the forerunner came in the "spirit and power ofElijah" is asserted, but it is also as definitely declared

that "John did no miracle." But the Pharisaic rulers

were not "willing to receive" him, and therefore the

Lord's careful statement leaves ample room for the

literal fulfilment of Malachi's prophecy, which specially

associates the advent of Elijah with the "great and

terrible day of the Lord." If this is allowed to drop

out of sight, then the key of interpretation to the

difficulty is lost.

f1Distalle orf1Dercp' ?



APRIJ~,1906. THE BIBLE STANDARD. 51

The followirug paragraph from a writer on prophecy

may be in place :-"One feature of the repentance and

conversion of Israel must bc briefly alluded to, viz., the

mission of Elijah to thc Jewish nation. The prediction

. , is plainly recorded in ~1al. iv. 5, 6.

The success of his efforts and the

timc of his coming are clearly

mentioned, and this prediction

cannot be regarded as fulfilled (excepting in spirit) in

John the Baptist. ,Elijah is a forerunner of the Second

Advent (the open Parousia), just as John was a fore-

runner of the First Advent (the public appearance of

the Messiah). Now, owing to the exceeding brevity of

the prophecy, where no details are given, we can only-

judging from thc general order and material given in

other places-hazard an opinion as to the time and

manner of Elijah's work. Down to the siege of J eru- '

salcm by Antichrist (Zech. xiv, 14, etc.), he has not

appeared, as is evidenced by the sad fate which has

overtaken Judah and his companions, but when the

city is taken, etc., then he comes to relieve the despair

of 'the residue of the people' who have not been driven

from the city. Thc words 'of hope imparted by him are

eagerly cherishcd; the descriptions of a speedy coming

Messiah, David's Son, as a Deliverer, are ardently con-

ternplated; and we may rcasona blv believe that by an

appeal to the prophets and the history of J esns, as well

as to their own past history as a nation, Elijah will

prove the Mes iahship of Jesus, and thus prepare the

way for the hearty reception of Jesus when He comes

to Mount Olivet with His saints. The personal ap-

pearance 0 :8 Jesus will confirm the mission of the

prophet. Then, again, he may be sent to the wilderness

to meet the ten tribes as a forerunmer, preparing then)

for Him who shall "plead with them face to face."Other missions, for aught we know, may be in store for

him in behalf of the nation, However we may locate

the exact pe-riod of 'his appearing and' work, o~e thing

is certain, that he will- bcan important agent in this

grand work of leading the nation to repentance."

lElijab

W m · come.

. "The Churches aI'13 a fa~lul'e." 80 says the man in

the street, and, in view of the revelations made in the

public press every now and then, we are not concerned

to deny the plain statement. Enough for us to know

and declare that Ohri~~tia,nity

never has been, and never will be,a failure, whatever may be the

condition of "the churches.' A

well-known monthly journal, Broad Vimvs, declares

that religious teachers are more taken up with

trivialities than with a living faith, and that the creeds

of to-day are dead. As one proof of the ~orrectness of

his statements, he instances the following :--

' t l U l b } 1 cnnrcbesjfatl.

"The Vicar of St. Colomb's, Notting Hill, infol'lllo~(lh.18con'

gn'gation one Sunday morning that he had been engaged in

pa-ayer with God on a subject of deep importanee, He

suggested that he had Divine guidance in reference t.hereto.

The subject was Eucharistic vestments. In the future, a,g the

result of his prayer, the Vicar announced that he would eele-

brate the Euch.arist in a chasuble instead of a surplice, and,

~1O doubt, .at 'lugh celebrations' he will be assisted by a deacon1Jl dalrnatic an:d. t.unicle."

Such folly has, unfortunately; its serious side, and it

shocks thoughtful minds. It would not be so bad if

thereby men were set to ask whether these things had

any connection with the Christianity of Christ and Hisapostle , but men are over prone to extremes, and seeing

such! trivialities put forward as religion, they close their

hearts altogether to the truth. No, excuse whatever can

be found 1'01' 'such .mummeoies on the part of those

calling themselves' "Christian teachers," who, indeed,

seem totally ignorant of the solemn fact that the trulv

spiritual- worship of God has to do with the inner ma~'

alone.-Oo'ntributed.

Certain theologians are now exercised over the ques-

tion, "Having lost tho fear of hell, why have we not

ga incd the hope of Heaven ?" Just so. From onereason or anothe-r the old conception 'of Hell as a place

of torment has dropped out 0 . £

the teaching of the churches. In

the majority of instances it has

gone because sentiment is against

it, not because men see there is Bible evidence against

it, but it has gone. Why has orthodoxy not succeeded

in making Heaven more attractive? The answer is not

far to. seek. The magazine from which we take the

question answers, "We' cannot make heaven attractive

cnough. For it needs the use of the imagination, its

vigorous, daring use," and "we do not know enough

about it." Now, to our thinking, we may shut out the

first sta tement from our consideration, as in matters

which make appeal to our hope we require something

more than imagination. Sober reality is far more

effective. The other statement is true. But we can

caITYit further, and say there is nothing at present for

us to know. There are heavenly pictures placed in the

Bible for our instruction, but as a hope for the future

-the Bible puts Earth, not. Heaven, as the Home of the

• Redeemed, and here its testimony is full, and upon the

sure basis of promise and prophecy we can build, and

imagination can lay on its glowing colours without the

fear that it may exceed its theme. When meru, sickened

and disgusted with human speculations on the future,

shall consent to turn to the purc and unalloyed Word ofGod, we shall no longer hear the doubtful and unsatis-

factory utterances about heaven for the redeemed,

either at death or beyond resurrection, but we shall hear

that there shall- be a "New Heaven and a New Earth,

wherein dwelleth righteousness."

'lR o 1bope

o f 1b ea"en.

All systems of idolatry and mythology, wherever met

with on the earth, socm to have one common origin.

'I'hat origin, misrepresented and distorted by the great



. . .THE BIBLE S~ANDARD. APRIL, 1906•

Adversary, to the destruction of the sons of men, is a

primal revelation to man of God's

purpose, and of His wavsof carry-

ing out that purpose. But when

it is asked, what." was this

first revelation? the true answer is not always

given. It need not be said that there is no

written record of it save in the Hebrew Scriptures, andthere, only as it touches the chosen nation, for to them

were entrusted the oracles of God. The researches of

many reverent inquirers, no less than the astronomical

records and references which have come down from past

ages, point to the probability, a probability so strong as

to be almost a certainty, that God's plan of salvation

was first "written in the stars," settled, as a silent but

significant morntor, in the heavens, that all the nations

m igh t be withou t excuse. No sooner was the great

chart revealed, than Satan, unable to destroy that re-

cord, set to work to so distort its teaching that his

dupes were lcd to worship the creature rather than the

Creator, wit.h the fearful result described in Rom, i.

And in "these last days" he is equally active in strivingto pervert the Wlritten Record. His aim ever is to de-

tract from the glory of God, to dishonour the Almighty,

and to draw men away from t.hat spiritual worship,

with which alone God is well pleased. All this through

his instruments, evil angels and men, although on

momentous occasions, as wit.h our Lord in the tempta-

tion, he may himself be chief actor. Earth is the scene

of ceaseless strife between good and evil, between right

and wrong, in manifold phases, but behind it. all lies

t.he Satanic effort to obscure the glory of God, 1 , 0 dis-

honour Him in the eyes of His creatures, The Ad-

versary's ways are subtle and insidious-in past ages

pervert.ing the starry record, in our days discrediting

the written Word ; and therefore it. is that. we cannot

be t.oocareful to walk worthily of our gracious Lord, t.o

honour God in all our ways, a.rutieipat.ing, in His

strength, and according to our small measure, the

Divine purpose, which is, "that in all things God may

be glorified through Jesus Christ." (1 Pet.. iv. 11).-

Contributed.

Ube D:lrilllal1R el'elatiolt .

•• •

•

My Christian friend, you are watched. The world is

watching you. Enemies are watching you. Sinners,

scoffers, sceptics, and hypocrites are watching you. And

if you go wrong, there are those that will rejoice at your

failure, and exult over your downfall. It will not harm

you to be watched, if you only watch yourself. You are

not to be dependent. upon sinners and scoffers to warn

you of danger, or persuade you to duty. You are to

"watch and pray, .lest you enter into temptation." No

person on earth has so great. an interest in your pros-

perity as yourself. And if you are led astray, or go

wrong, others may t.alk about it, but you must feel the

pain, and anguish, and sorrow, that comes from wrong-

doing. Hence it is your business to watch yourself, to

"watch unto prayer," and to maintain a life of constant

vigilance in the service of your Divine Master.-Sel .

..

"Soul" fn Scripture.

NEFHESI-I comes from a root. which means "to breathe;"

and it is the' word which the inspiring Spirit has se-

lected to apply to the life of any creature that. exhibits. .

that life by breathing, from the creeping animal up to

man. It simply denotes animal life, including animalpropensities and appetites. It is used many hundreds of

times in the Bible, and ill' the RV. it is rendered "crea-

ture, soul, person, dead body," and even by the personal

pronouns, as Gen. xxxvii. 21, "Let us not. kill him;"

literally, "Let. us not .kill his soul.' It. should be by

no means confounded with the spirit. of man; for in not

a single case throughout Holy Scripture is neph eeh. used

instead of nesluimah. or rooach ; alt.hough modern theolo-

gians are perpetually using "soul" and "spirit" as

interchangeable terms. In no single instance, either, do

the sacred oracles rest. the designed immortality of man

upon the fact. that he has a soul.. The sacred writers

are too sensibly and correctly taught to do this; anc1

the marvel is, that theologians; who profess to believe in

the Bible, should on this point teach the very opposite

to what their professed rule of faith teaches. If the

teaching of Mo cs is true, as undoubtedly it is, then the

uephesli or soul is not. the seat either of intellect or of

immortality, or of spiritual desire and experience;

though.iof course, jf a man were not a nephesh., that if;

if he were not a living creature, he could not. exhibit his

mental powers and operations, nor could he give out-

ward practical proof of the reality and forcc of his in-

ward spiritual life and experience. It is but. animal

life. No doubt, this, as well as all other kinds or exhibi-

tions of life, is begot.ten and sustained by t.he Spirit. of

Elohim; but. the nephesb. is not spirit. It is that whichthe neshamcli, or spirit, produced when it. was breathed

into man, but it is not. the spirit itself. The spirit of

man and the soul of man are as distinct as cause and

effect. Elohim breathed into man's nostrils the

neshamah of lives, and then he became a living creature.Man consists of three parts, spirit, and soul, and body;

and when the spirit is recalled from the body, then its

Iife ends, the body returns to the dust. as it was, and "the

spirit returns to God, who gave it." To confound the

soul and spirit, as our sermons, hymns, and some

prayers do, is not. only illogical, inexact. and contrary to

the inspired Word, but it. endangers the true interests

of man; for it imparts an erroneous admixture to al-

most all Christian doctrines, gives a tincture to theclear waters of life, and neutralises their effect. 'I'he

current view of pyschology was derived from Alexan-

drian philosophy; but. it now so completely permeates all

our theological literature and phraseology, that perhaps

neither it nor iJ:sallied errors will be rooted up till Elo-

him comes again to overturn all error and wrong. What-

ever may be said of the philosophers, it is most grievous

that divines will not learn revealed doctrine simply from

the Bible, but will mix up with it. the traditions of men.

-From "Genesis in Advance of Present Science."



APniL, i906. TIlE BIB L E STANbARD. 5 3

'---0-"~"-0-"~"-0-''2Prd

lEchoes from . "ITJ

~~~=:~~EMEMBER JESUS CHRIST.

"Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed

of David, according to lily Gospel. "-2 Tim. ii. 8.

IN the days when men went abroad with a new mes-

sage of salvation, and called upon their hearers to ac-

cept the Lordship of the risen Jesus, an apostle foundit necessary to write to the faithful 'I'imothy to urge upon

him to "remember Jesus Christ." In these days, when

it seems that the freshness of the message has worn off,

and that Christianity palls, it is imperatively necessary

that those who believe that its pristine beauty is un-

dimmed should seek to call attention again to its bright,breezy, and invigorating qualities by pointing to its

central figure, and putting Him afresh iuto remem-

brance. I need this exhortation, I know, and I am

certain that you also need it. Our fellowship in the

Gospel is helpful and vigorous only as we hold Him in

memory, and, we may add, our work in the Gospel i

only effective as we put Him in the very forefront of

our message. Mark the connection of this passage.

Paul is in earnest that Timothy should be a strong,

valiant, enduring, patient workman, and to this end

he needs the strength which only grace in Christ Jesus

can supply; but these qualities require to be made use-

ful by a right knowledge of the Gospel which is to be

proclaimed, and that message must have certain facts

put forward persistently and powerfully.

Observe, first of all, the person to be remembered.

Turn where you will in the Scriptures, you will find

that every promise bearing interest to mankind centres

in a pcrson. Centuries and millennia pass by, and the

dispensations change. Details are imparted concerning

the outworking of the Divine purpose, but as each suc-

cessive unfoldment is made it must be noted that it is

one person, in whom everything centres, who is the

hope for man. In this Bible literature differs from all

other. Other teaching put" before its learners' and

readers principles to be obeyed, and high moral altitudes

to be attained, but the Bible stimulates hope and mouldsconduct by fixing thought and affection upon a Person;

and principles and morals are centred in Him.

Again, it must be noted that this personage has a

present position-He is "riscn from the dead." When

He is called to mind, this must be the fact which will

illumine His personality, and supply the light by means

of which He is seen, and give certainty to His claims.

He is the risen Christ. The angels at the tomb said,

"Why seek ye the living among the dead?" The fact

of the resurrection of Christ is the great message to be

delivered by His messengers wherever they go. It is

well that we speaf: of the death of Christ, and point

to the great sacrifice effected on Calvary ; but this were

no good news for man, if the resurrection from the dead

did not give it potency for the salvation of men. Much

may be called to remembrance of the life of our Lord

upon the earth. He may be followed in thought as He

walked through His native land uttering gracious words

and putting forth profoundest teaching, or we may

watch Him as He stood amidst the sick and helpless

and "healed them all." But that teaching and those

mighty works needed to be followed by the resurrection

from the dead to make the living message for us, and

to afford satisfactory pledge of a perfected redemption.

It will be generally conceded that this was a highly

important thing, and that more insistence should be

given to the fact of the Lord's resurrection in all our

preaching.

But there is another item in this passage that is

important. It comes last in the description, but its

importance is emphatically' taught by the words which

follow, "according to my Gospel." What is this item?

It is found in the words which assert that Jesus th«

Risen One is "of the seed of David." This was part

and parcel of the Gospel message which the noble logi-

cian-apostle carried to both Jeil' and Gentile. The per-

son Jesus, in whom God Lad placed the forgiveness of

sins, and made it certain and available to the sons of

men by the resurrection of Him throngh whom it i~

promised, who is the earnest and pledgc of immortality,

He-is also of the "seed of David."

1 " desire to point out that it is not the mere memorv

of a fact which is intended. That would be of litti~

value as a mind-strengthener, or as a heart-stimulus.

It is only as a fact is seen in relation to others that it

becomes of real value. In proportion to the numberand value of the ideas with which it is connected does

it come to its own. The statement that Hc is "of the

seed of David" is generally passed over as being of little

or no importance. It may be useful as showing the

genealogy of the Lord, but is not vital to the message

of salvation. Yet the Bible student will find that it

is a key which opens a vast array of revealed truth of

immense value to alL It is a statement which opens

out to us the great purpose of God, and indicates the

method whereby it shall bring peace' an cl gladness to

the world. If Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, is

the- sinner's hope, the fact that He is of the seed 'Of

Davicl widens that hope until it embraces the world ofmankind, and touches and cleanses the social and poli-

tical order. It is the term which belongs of right to

the message of the kingdom of God, and which carries

in itself the surety of the good time coming, when the

knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the

waters cover the sea. In a word, if tI1C fact of the

resurrection of the Lord is the heart of the Gospel mes-

sage, the other phase gives its circumference. It if;

the expression which links the Gospel of the present to

the Gospel of the past, It connects the exhortations to

a personal salvation to the magnificent prophecies which

•



54 THE BIBLE STANDARD. APRIL, 1906.

COD1DaSScleansed earth, and a universal, peaceful and

righteous rule. It calls attention to the historic pre-

paration, and to the unfolding of promise and prophecy,

and thus has a rightful place here from which it cannot

be ousted, save at the cost of robbing the Gospel of its

magnificent intent.It is a marvel to us that it should be so generally

ignored, and that men are content to preach the death

of Christ for sinners without carrying forward thc full

virtue of that gift of life to its consummation in the

answer to the prayer, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be

done on earth as it is done in heaven."

All early Gospel preaching made much of this im-

portant fact. Peter, in his opening sermon, is careful

to insist upon the Davidic descent of Christ, and in his

second discourse is as careful to insist that He is to

return. Observe it is the Son of David-the Christ-

who is to return. Indeed, the title given to the Lord,

"The Christ," obtains all its signification from the

promises in connection with the Davidic covenant, and

the prophetic pictures which centre upon "the branch

from the roots of the stock of J esse." Why arc not these

things spoken of in these days?

In 2 Sam xix. there is a story told belonging to the

life and times of King David. He had been for some

years upon the throne of Israel when his son Absalom,

conceiving himself to be badly treated, by craft and

guile won the hearts of the men of Israel from their

loyalty to his father. Large numbers of the people

flocked to the usurper, and David left Jerusalem. ThE!

usurper reigned, and the rightful monarch was in exile.

Presently a battle took place, the usulper was defeated,

and by the hand of Joab was slain. That victory left

the people of Israel in confusion. Their king was in

exile, and some initiative act was needed by which he

could be brought back in dignified fashion to his right-

ful position. The people say, "Why speak ye not a

word of bringing the king back?" Eventually he is

brought again to the position of kingly honour among

'his people. Why is it that to-day so little is heard of

.the return of the Christ? Could it not be said with

deep meaning to many a preacher, "Why speak ye not

. a word of bringing the King back?" It was but a day

.or two ago I was told by a minister that no one knows

anything at all about eschatology-the doctrine of the

last things-a most peculiar statement to come from a

professed Bible student and teacher. This message ofthe Lord's return, and the kingly rule which awaits Him

as David's seed, is an integral part of the Gospel, and

if this is not recognised, how can the Gospel in its

fulness be rightfully proclaimed? 'I'o omit it in study

or in teaching is to manifest a lamentable ignorance of

the ends for which redemption is designed.

The people of Israel saw that they were mistaken

. about Absalom, and now their hearts unite in one pur-

pose. All else was poor and paltry. One thought ab-

sorbed their attention. They wanted back their king.

, See how united these people were about it. If we

could but get the truth into our hearts of the Lord's

true dignity as the Christ of God, and sincerely be-

lieved in His return, we should be united in present

practical working fashion. The one hope would govern

and control all our actions. It is said that the Israel-

ites were all at strife! Of course; how could it b:

otherwise? Their King was absent. To-day, in theChurch, all is confusion, but the time is not far distant

when all this strife and confusion will cease, for He

will return. If while He tarries we could but see eye

to eye on His position, and the promises which are

centred in Him, there would be such a manifestation of

unity as would make the Church of God a power in

the spread of Divine truth, far greater than she has yet

seen. See how practical was the desire of the people

of Israel. They went forth to meet him. The hope

of the king's return got down into their feet and they

moved and acted. If the hope we profess ~s to be ~

vital thing with us, we must give it liberty to act in

us. Those who believe in the coming- of the Kinz

should be ready to go forth to meet Him. Life mustcorrespond with the hope.

In view of the general ignorance which prevails con-

cerning the royal rights of the Lord -Iesue, it is im-

perativs that those who have recognised them should

speak of them, and manifest that their faith is real and

practical. Churches have been founded, creeds and

confessions have been framed, but the royal dignity of

the Lord has had no place in them, or has been assigned

all unimportant position. The Gospel is now preached,

but it is without reference to His claims and to the

covenants of promise. Much is said of the example of

the SaVIOur, the purity of His teaching, but little is said

of His resurrection, and less of His royal claims. In

sermons and tracts, pamphlets and books, purporting to

set forth His claims upon the attention of men, these

great matters are generally ignored. It is high time that

those who love the Word should make it manifest that

they do remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead of

the seed of David. '

Because of the promises in the Word we must speak.

How often is the King that shall reign a theme of

divine communication to men? The prophets break

forth into transports of joy as they sec the coming of the

1\ ing. "This man," says Micah, "shall be our peace."

Says Jeremiah, "In His days Judah shall be saved, and

Israel shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby

He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness." ToMary the heavenly messenger gave the sure word,

"Thou shalt can His name Jesus. He shall be the 80n

of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto

Him the throne of His father David: and He shall

reign over the house of J acob for ever; and of His king-

dom there shall be no end" (Lu. i. 31-33). Promise

after promise might be cited, but let these suffice. God

has promised the dominion to His Son, and that fact is

part of the Gospel now to be believed, to be remembered,

and to be heralded.

It is true that man is now a sinruer; it is true that

Jesus died, and through that sacrifice comes the remis-



APRIL, 1906. THE BIBLE STA.NDARD. 55

SiOHof sins, but do not dream that this is all the Gospel.

Outside man's individual, moral, and physical require-

ments lie the vast extent of social and political needs-

a thousand and ono things which lie beyond the sphere

of social reform, and governmental legislation. Have

we a gospel which meets these things? Yes, we have.

It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, "risen from the dead, of

the seed of David." That is the message as furnished

in covenant and promise, which must be preached that

men may learn how the love of God, working through

wisdom, is broad as the needs of rnam , that He has

planned a glorious and Gael-like salvation, which will

gather together all things in Christ, who shall be

"King of kings, and Lord of lords."

In view of these things I urge the exhortation, "Re-

member Him." Remember that He is now the Living

One in resurrection life, the pledge and earnest of His

ability to give eternal life to as many as receive Him.

Remember that He is of the seed of David, through whom

all the divine purpose outlined in covenant, in promiseand in many a prediction, shall be accomplished. Let

that remembrance contribute to make us loyal workers

for Him in His absence, and ready for Him when He

shall appcar, that 'with our hearts aglow with e11-

thusiasm, and having put our house in order, we may

. stand jn His presence, not ashamed.

[An Address by the Editor.]

•• •

E l ~ /)ree""jfolb J D u t l ?

"For they themselves show of us what manner of en-

tering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to ('rOd

from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait

for His Son from heaven."-l Thess. i. 9, 10.

"TURN," "serve," "wait" -these words form the Divine

trinity of duty that made the Church at Thessalonica

the model that it was in all that goes to make a loyal,

sturdy, devout Christianity. We shall do well, in this

clay especially, to look into their noble example and to

follow it.

1. They "turned." Nat like a turn-style that turns

with everybody that comes along, as many people do in

their notions of things, but they turned with a holy

impulse and purpose. Like the needle to the pole, they

found the Object of their affections, and they were ever

afterward found headed that way. They "turned from

idols." They put their backs to them for good and all.

They never needed to look at them again, for the

thought of them was sickening enough. This is true

repentance-a turning to God from that which has

taken our affections from Him or absorbed them. Idols

are by no means extinct or obsolete, even in Christian

countries; they are here. It would be a lengthy list to

enumerate them. We need not specialise here, but leave

the reader to do his or her own thinking. Culture and

craving, art and appetite, have so linked them to hu-

manity that it requires more than human effort to turn

from them; it needs Divine assistance. But the Thessa-

lonians turned. They found a pivot to swing clear on,

somehow, and got so into gear that they never vacillated

or oscillated between right and wrong or pleasure and

duty after that. Any person 'Or thing loved more than

God is an idol, whether made and fostered in heathen-

dom or Christendom, whether crude or refined; and the

sooner we turn our backs upon them the better it will be

for us and the type of Christianity we represent. "Re-

member Lot's wife," who turned from Sodom and then

turned back again.

2. They "served." They "served the living and true

God." About all some seem to think of to-clay is'to be

ministered unto. If the pastor does not call at their

house about 80 often, then they will omit their calls at

his church. Unless they are petted and praised to their

satisfaction, then they are "not appreciated," and off

they go. The benefits of being a church member is their

guide or animus, instead of what they should do to bene-

fit the church. Now, 'One who serves God is one whoworks for and with Him. He is a servant; and a servant

is not supposed to pick his work, nor try to please anyone

save him whom he is called to serve. And he is not an

eye-servant-working when he thinks the overseer is

looking, and loafing when he is absent. The true and

faithful servant loves to serve his master, whetherprc-

sent or absent, and will always be found at his post o-f

duty when able to be there. If the mass served the

living and true God as they-do the god of mammon, how

Christianity would abound !

3. 'I'hey "waited for His 'Son from heaven." They

waited because they lookecl for and expected Him. No

one waits for another, or for that not looked for or ex-

pected. Is this expectation still generally entertained?

The Church at 'I'hessalonica waited for the return of the

Son of God who went away. Will He find an expectant

Church at His return? They waited for Him, but it

was not the inertia of a dead halt; they served-they

worked-c-as they waited. It was the wait of expectation,

but not of idleness or inertia. The best attitude of this

Divine expectation is one of service-to occupy till "He

comes-working for Him and His glory,' and not for

self or for personal gain or aggrandisement. "Unto them

that look for Him shall He appear the second time with-

out sin [or a sin offering] unto salvation." "Looking

for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing."

C. E. Copp in Messiah's Advocate.•• •

"Conscience is like an eye--it needs the light to see

clearly."

"As the sun returns to the East so let our patience

be renewed with the dawn," is the counsel of a cheerful

writer. Patience with ourselves, with others, with the

tangled knots and unsolved problems 'Oflife grows sadly

worn with many a day's strain upon it, but there is mar-

vellous healing in night and rest. Every healthful soul

should find itself braver, kind er, truer, with the coming

of each fresh morning, which is a God-given chance to

begin again.-Forward.



THE BIBLE STANDARD APRIL, 190tl.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

THE MONTH.. .. ..

"SOUf./' IN" SCRIPl'UHE ..

,ECHOES ~"H.Ol\lWI<:ST STREET

A TJlHEE·FOLI) DUTY ••

ASSOCIATION NOTES

A PROLIFIC 'I"F:XI' .. ..

MISSIONARY THEOLOGY ..

Tall SEC01<D COMING

ROME'S PRESENT Qpl'OI~';'UNI~:Y .. ..

THE HOME CIRCLE-IN QUgs'J' 0" Tlw'J'H

CnURCH AND MISSION Nrcws

'CHRISTIAN BAND

~rl[J]; LITTLE G [RL ~'Nn 'l;~IE ·M:U{1\f~\·LAD~·

TI<":ASUREIt'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

IMPARTIAL llroGH.APlIY ..

'BEI'OND TD·DAY

PAGE

49-52

52

53-55

55

56

56

57·-59

59-60

60

61-62

63

G 3

63

63

G · I

64

~ (b~ 6ibl~ S t a n d a r d ./ ~Y'0""

MONTHTLY ORGAN

OF THE

D ew Zealanll E\langelistit a!lll "publ ication Jhsot iatloa.

EDITED BY GEORGE ALDRIDGE,

ASSISTED BY SPECIAL CONTRnHJTroN~.

,"." The 11~tlitorwh;.1Ie3 it to be understood that, while he exercises a :";llllcrnl ~11f'P,T-

'~~.10n over t11~ut-tieles nnd Correspondence nppcn r ing ill the STAKD.UW, rcspunai-

bl lity for aentrmenta expressed rests upon the individual writer.

BaaociatiolllHotea.

• .

JTelegram~ t.o the Editor should be addressed to Rocky

Nook, as this JS the nearest office to his residence.

The West Street Sunday School had a Missionarv

Sunclay on Sunday, March 25, and conbcibuted tile SU~l

of £3 10s. to the Edgehill Fund, Two sisters have re-ll;itted to t~e fl~nd the sum of 5s. and £1 respectively.

'lhese contributions are gratefully acknowledged by theEditor. .

Two numbers of the Paith J,ibl'a1'I/ arc to hand from

the Faith Press Co.: neither of which, w e regret to say,

w!; can commend with any heartiness. The first is by

Pastor Brookman, of Toronto, on "The Future of the

N on-Elect Dead," in which he advocates grounds for

the belie~ th~t in a resurrection-state the vast majority

of n~ankmd m all ages will have ani opportunity of

hearing under better conditions- than now obtain the

Gospel of salvation. A reading of this book has left in

mind a stronger impression of the author's failure to

substantiate his views than was made in a short com-

versation with him, in which this matter was intro-

du~~. Th~ book. is lacking in the supply of any

positive Scripture IIIfavour of the view taught ; it does

not take into sufficient account the fact of present re-

sponsibility; nor does it give any reason, and certainly

no Scripture, to show why man's present state does not

. afford him a sufficient probation for the possession of

eternal life. In common with Millennial Dawn

theories, it appeals largely to sentiment, and seeks to

force a few passages to express what they do not actually

say. Wheru for these theories there is a "Thus saith. the

Lord," and that positive opposing testimonies are to be

understood in its light, then will' be time enough for

us to give our adhesion to them. Till then, we must

follow where God's Worcl, unmistakeable and clear,

leads us, and, in that way, we find, no such delusive

hopes. The pamphlet is sold from Colston House, Mal-

vern, at one shilling in paper covers, cloth two shillings.

The other pamphlet is sold at one penny, and contains

a series of questions and answers, in the form of a con-

versation, on "Non-Eternity, the Devil's Gospel, ancl

the Plague." Much that is said is excellent, but the

fly in the ointment is the belief of the author in "a soul

which survives the death of the body." The author is

emancipated from the old beliefs of natural im-

mortality and eternal misery, but there is another step

ere he can be said to be out of the mire of tradition.

• • •a 1f)rolific '{te~t.

WI-nm D. L. Moody was in Great Britain, he met agreen-looking fellow who wanted to return with him

to America "to preach." Henry Moorhouse looked as

though that ought' to be his last thought. At all

events, Mr. Moody did not care to take any risk, and

slipped away without letting the young man know of

his departure. It was not long, however, before

Moorhouse landed in New York. He sent a letter to

Moody, saying that he wanted to come to Chicago and

preach for him. Mr. Moody answered him coldly;

but as the yOUllg foreigner insisted on coming, an

appointment was reluctantly made for two evenings.

Young Moorhouse took for his text John iii. 16: "Goel

so loved the world," etc. He preached a wonderful

sermon. The next ~ight he took the same text. He

went from Genesis to Revelation, and showed the

amazing love of God for this lost world. By that time

there was such melting power that everybody wanted

to hear him. On Sunday night he took the same text

and swayed the multitudes. _ ight after night the

crowds increased, and he continued to stri kc higher,

richer chords, until he had preached seven sermons

from that inexhaustible text.

It was a revelation to Mr. Moody. He saw God in a

new light, and preached a different gospel from that

time. In closing the seventh sermon, -Mr. Moorhouse

said: "For seven nights 1have been trying to tell you

how much God loved you, but this stammering tongueof mine will not let me. If I could ascend Jacob's lad-

der and ask Gabriel, 'who stands in the presence of the

Almighty, to tell me, how much love God the Father

has for this poor lost world, all that Gabrial could say

would bc, 'God so loved the world, that He gave His

only b(~gotten SOIl, that whosoever bclieveth in Him

should not perish, but have everlasting life.' "-Bel,

• • •Anxiety is the stuff from which some people make

their crosses, but they are not crucified to the world who

carry them.



.APRIL, 1906. THE BIBLE STANDARD. 5 7

f1 N ss io na r} ? U b eo lo g} ?

"REGARD these heathen 'only as souls' . When

death comes we leave our bodies and go somewhere else.

. . . 'I'he body is the sheath of the soul. I think of

that empty sheath I saw, and wonder where the soul

has flown. It has gone, but where? . . . Pray for

them as souls who must live eternally somewhere. .

Soul after soul passes out alone into eternity.

Our aim is great; it is India for Christ. Our

prayers are for the evangelisation of the world.

o for the fire to set the whole alight, and melt us all

into one mighty Holy Ghost. . I shivered as if

standing in the neighbourhood of hell, for she is tied

indeed, tied with ropes Satan twisted in his cruellest

hour in hell. And she asked, 'Do they never have holi-

days in hell ?' "

These are sentences taken from a recently-published

book, entitled "Things As They Are," written by Amy

Wilson-Carmichael, an Indian missionary. The pub-

lished price of the book is only eighteenpence, and it isworthy of perusal by all who would have an adequate

conception of one of the dark sides of Heathendom and

the true nature of idolatry. During the perusal of thc

thirty-two chapters ~the teaching of which is driven

home by thirty-three most striking photo. illustrations),

there has been ringing in our ears those staggcring words

of Paul, written nineteen centuries ago, which are re-

corded in Romans i. 24-32, and which may be summed

up in that line from the epistle to the Ephesians, "The

things which are done by them in secret, it is a shame

even to speak of."

We cannot too strongly recommend Miss Carmichael's

book, as she writes from the point of an eye-witness.The writer of this artiele can bear his testimony that

there is no exaggeration in what is here testified, having

himself and wife resided in India as missionaries, and

personally seen that which is as bad, if not worse, than

is here depicted, and which cannot be conveyed in print

to a gencral public. But, having said thus much, we

must take serious exception to the missionary theology

as set forth in the above sentences, which are fairly rep-

resentative of the mind of the so-called "orthodox" mis-

sionary.

Five great errors underlie missionary theology: (1)

That man is, "or has, an immortal soul; (2) that the

person-or soul-of an unrepentant heathen passes

alive to "somewhere else" after the body is dead; (3)

that eternal torments is the fate of heathcndom ; (4) thc

present existence of a locality called "hell," which is the

dwelling-place, and where is the throne, of Satan; (5)

that the result of the labours of Christian missionaries

is to be the conversion of the world and a millennial age

of peace and prosperity. It is marvellous that with such

a fivefold burden to carry the missionaries have gained

any footing at all in heathen lands. The apostles of old

went forth to their labours with no such incubus on

their shoulders. 'The message of those inspired men to

the heathen was, "You are perishing 'mortals ; at death

you return to the dust; but there will be a resurrection

of the dead, to be followed by judgment, and-after

few or many stripes-a second death. In the name of

J esus Christ, the Son of God, we offer you forgiveness

of all. your sins, an escape from 'the wrath to come,' a

part in a first or special resurrection, and a glorious

immortality." It is noteworthy that in his epistles the

great apostle to the Gentiles never once uses the word

"hell," or any equivalent for the word, as the name of

a fiery abode where now Satan dwells, and in which now

multitudes of the lost are' suffering pain. (The hell-fire

of which our Lord so solemnly speaks is connected with

the [uiure, and will not exist till the "latter days.")

And he forewarned that the heathen world will abso- .

lutely reject Christ and His offer. India and China will

belong to the mighty Devil to the end of this age, until

the Almighty Son of God shall return, and by His won-

drous power subjugate all things to Himself. Till then,

the one and only mission of the missionaries is to be the

means of gathering out of He-athendom such as in God's

inscrutable wisdom shall be saved.'I'he preaching of the Gospel is no failure because it

has not yet evangelised and converted a world. The

purposes of God are being accomplished. 'I'he working

of the Holy Spirit has accompanied the preaching, and

"a great multitude whom no man can number" have

repented and been converted. Let us never forget this

is God's world, and age follows age according to the

Divine arrangement. You and I arc not responsible for

the present unhappy state of things. And, moreover,

we have enough burdens of our own to bear without gra-

tuitously adding that of the duty to rid the world of sin

and $atan anti. the curse which afflicts it. In God's

time. mankind will be saved, but we must wait God'stime. And the Holy Spirit expressly tells us that God

will not pour forth a universal blessing upon the world

during the absence of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ,

whom mankind, as a race, have rejected. True, I am

my brother's keeper, and it is my bounden duty to do all

I can to bless him-the inhabitants of the world being

the extent of my brotherhood, But the Divine revelation

warns me beforehand that the majority of my fallen

brethren do not wish to be raised up, that they will resent

my interference, and that in the long run they will pre-

vail against me. Africa is not stretching out hands to-

wards God, and China and India are not saying, "Coma

over and help us." On the contrary, Japan, for instance,

as a nation, deliberately rejects Christianity. Christ's

religion, as set forth by the apostle Paul, the he-athen

world is ignorant of; the travesty of the modern mis-

sionary is the only presentation of it they have received.

Christianity, split into a hundred sects, each jealous of

and anathematising the others, they regard as a played-

out religion, whose only hope is that by a happy evolu-

tion it may be resolved into some other and more accept-

able form. Did not a puzzled Japanese a short while

ago suggest that the missionaries should return to theirown countries and settle their doctrinal differences, and

afterwards, as one Church, and with one voice, deliver



58 THE BIBLE STANDARD. APRIL, 1906.

their message to the outside world? Even Miss Car-

michael, in her book, speaks of the Anglican ritualistic

missionary in India with his cross cs and candles and

incense, and complains that the Hiridoo pleads as an

excuse for his idolatrous ceremonies the example and

sanction of these High Church missionaries!

It will require the personal presence of Jesus Christand the strength of His Almighty power to take prisoner

and shut up in prison the "god of this world, the mighty

prince of the power of the air," who, with "the spiritual

hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places," stands be-

hind and backs up the heathen world against the efforts

of Christian missionaries. Till Satan is chained (Rev.

xx. L) there will be no wide-world outpouring 'Of the

Holy Spirit or yielding of a world's homage to the Son

of God. It is in "the last days" of this dispensation,

synchronous with most startling events, that the words of

the prophet J oel shall be fulfilled, of which a foretaste

was experienced on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 17),

and the demonstration of the Spirit's power be mani-

fested. Missionary societies must not claim to do a work

to which they are not appointed. I read in the British

Wee k'Zy, received by the last mail, that "the great subject

of prayer (for the week of prayer commencing J'anuary

9, arranged by the American Evangelical Alliance) is

the speedy conversion of the world to Christ." Nothing

but deferred hope which maketh the heart sick, and

causes deep disappointment, can be the result. Why

does not the Christian Church as a whole send up a

mighty cry to God for the return of the Lord Jesus

Ohrist ? Because the Church has no such desire. Not

long since an eminent Wesleyan minister, before a Lon-

don audience, declared that it would be a public calamity

if Christ were to reappear at Jerusalem, for then Hewould be only a local Christ, whereas now He belongs to

all Christendom. 'I'he words of the Laodicean Church

(Rev. iii. 17) come to mind, "I am rich, and have need

of nothing"-no, not even need for the return of the

Saviour of the world, for, given "more men and more

money," missionary effort shall yet save the world. But,

as matter of fact, missionary enterprise is notoriously so

unsuccessful in its efforts to capture a heathen world,

and is therefore the cause of much scepticism among

professedly Christian folk, who ask, "When shall you

attain the goal of your oft-repeated hopes? Two thou-

sand years have elapsed since your Great Master died

on Calvary ; what progress have you made with your

task ?" In China and India alone there are ab-out

700,000,000 of human beings. And after two thousand

years since the Lord's commission to preach was given

there are thirty-one modern missionary societies in the

field to-day, and in those two Empires probably 100,000

professed converts, and, maybe, a surrounding Chris-

tianised population of, say, 250,000. At this rate of

progress, when will those two nations be evangelised?

For such results as these we bless God, for every con-

version is attributable to the direct influencing of the

Holy Spirit. But surely there is some apparent defi-

ciency in the power of modern Christianity. Where is

the arm that smote Rahab? Where is the power of truth

and grace that smote the philosophies and idolatries of

the Medi terranean countries in the apostolic age, and

shook the whole of Europe and Asia in a single genera-

tion? Is not one reason for this apparent failure that

a wrong ideal has been set up, that an end never contem-

plated by Divine wisdom has been sought, and that doe-trincs repugnant to common sense and contrary to the

teaching of the \Nord of God are preached to the people?

There is no doubt that there exists much scepticism

within the Christian Church as to the theory on which

Christian missions are established. The men who

founded the Baptist, the Independent, and the Episcopal

missions at the close of the eighteenth century were men

of devoted piety and heroic faith, but who accepted with-

out doubt the doctrine of Protestantism as fixed in the

sixteenth century Reformation. And the underlying

foundation 'Of Protestant theology is a belief in the

natural immortality of the soul, and the consequent

destiny of mankind either to eternal misery or eternal

joy. All early missionaries believed with Carey, who

wrote that "all the unsaved of the heathen are destined

to eternal misery." And this is still the understood creed

of all missionary societies. It must not be denied in

missionary speech or sermon. The missionary students

are supposed to believe it. The directors of the societies

are suppose d to believe it. The missionaries are suppo sed

to believe it. No young man, however distinguished his

capabilities, who openly assailed this doctrine, would be

sent forth by any society. Any missionary publicly deny-

ing it would be instantly recalled. But there has been

an immense revolution in opinion as to the probable

destiny of the ignorant, idolatrous nations of the earth,

and it is doubtful how many of the secretaries, directors,and 'Officials of missionary societies, or tutors of mission

colleges, would to-day give unfeigned assent and consent

to the opinion on this question of the founders of our

missionary societies. If pressed for a direct statement

of personal opinion, it is questionable as to how many

direct; answers would be given. Men nowadays have

their doubts, their special theories of relief, their larger

hopes, their schemes for universal restoration. Some

hold that Scripture gives room for several opposite

theories, some trust in future purgatories, or they wholly

repudiate and openly denounce and assail the old mis-

sionary doctrine, and believe with us that they who have

"sinned without law" and lead impenitent lives under

heathen darkness shall "perish without law" (Rem. ii.

12), dying a second death after "few stripes," while "in

every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteous-

ness is acceptable to Him" (Acts x. 35). But whatever

the view held, all who dissent from the orthodox mission-

my theology do so because it cannot possibly be true that

the God of Infinite Justice, Boundless Wisdom, Irre-

sistible Power, and Eternal Love will consign to eternal

torment the countless multitudes of the heathen, who

have been born in error, bred up in superstition, and died

in total ignorance of the true Gospel, or in rejection or a

Gospel which did not "commend itself to their con-



.-~

APRIL, 1906. .THE BIBLE STANDARD. 59

science" (2 Cor. iv. 2; v. 11), or was very imperfectly

understood.

It. may be noted as 1 1 symptom of the disorder corn-

plained of, that the annual reports (some of which nQW

lie before me) of the Missionary Societies c10'not con-

ta in clear and definite speech concerning future retribu-

tion. The work of missions might almost be taken torefer to Rome movement for man's temporal salvation.

Surely if everlasting suffering is the destiny of heathen-

dom, this distressful truth should be kept well to the

front in order to stimulate the Christian Church t :

"rescue the never-dying.'

Let the Gospel bc preached in India and China as the

message of life to the dead, as the promise of im-

mortality in body and soul. Let it be preached that

"the times of ignorance a gracious God overlooked, but

now He commandeth men everywhere to repent, because

He has appointed a clay im which He will judge the

world by the man whom He hath ordained" Let the

absolute necessity of the resurrection of the dead in

order to future life be clearly set forth, and the cer-

tainty and absolute justice of future retribution. Let

the promised return of tlle Christ, who is the appointed

Saviour of the world, have great prominence in the

teaching, as f 1 1 R O the glorious truths concerning His mil-

lennial reign, and there is more likelihood of the stit-r-

necked pagans of Asia and Africa being converted to

the si de of the truth. 'I'his is a gospel that will com-

mend itself to the reason and conscience of men-the

love of Goc1so real as to win all hearts capable of love,

while the terror of a future punishment so real and

understandable and not contrarv to common sense, will

alarm, even if / t cloes not vanqui~h the resistance of the

heathen.We need to get back again to the belief of the

Apostles and their followers in the first years o~ tl:e

Christian revelation, which was that an eternal life ]S

not the naturalmhcritance of all men. but the free gift

of God through Christ, and that "turning from idols to

serve a living and true God," we must also "wait for His

Son from Heaven" (1 Thess. i. 9-10), even Jesus, who,

at the time of His glorious advent, shall call us from

our graves and apportion to each a place in His King-

dom (Matt. xix. 23-29). But even this teaching will

nut convert the heathen world. To the end of this age

the experience of Paul will be that of every Christian

tea eher, "some believed the things which were spoken,

and some believec1 not" (Acts xxviii. 24).

Rotorua. C. C. BROWN.

• • •If we have no interest in individuals, says an ex-

change, we have no interest in Christ, and he who waits

till he can save many souls will never save one sou1.-

Ram's u-.«

Prayer is the key of the day and the lock of the night.

v V e should every clay begin and end, bid ourselves good

morning and good night, with prayer. This will make

our labour prosperous and our rest sweet.-Berkeley.

Ube 5econb <!ol1tino.

"Bohold t He cometh wi Lh clouds , and every eye sha ll see

Hi 111, and they also which pierced Him; and all k indrcds of

till' earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen."-Rev.

i. 7.

1. May the Holy Spirit help us while we rememberthat OLlT Lord Jesus 'CIJrist comes!

The announcement is thought worthy of a note of

admiration. As the .Latins would say, there is all

"Ecce" placed here-"Behold! He c0111etl1." As in the

old books printers put hands in the margin, pointing

to special passages, such is this "Behold!" It is a N ot«

Bene calling upon us to note well what wc are reading.

Here is something which we arc to hold and behold. We

now hear a voice crying, "Come and sec!" That same

Jesus who went up from Olivet into heaven is coming

again to earLhin like manner as His disciples saw lIim

go up into heaven. Comb and behold this great sight ..

11 Cl-Cl' there was a thing ill the world worth looking at,it is this. Hearken to the midnight cry, "Behold, the

Bridegroom cometh !" It has practically to do with you.

"Go ye forth to meet Him."

'I'his coming is to be zealously proclaimed, for .Iohn

does not merely say, "He corncth," but he vigorously

cries, "Behold! He cometh." Just as the herald of a

king prefaces his message by a trumpet blast that calls

attention, so John cries, "Behold!". He throws his

heart into the announcement. He proclaims it loudly,

he proclaims it solemnly, and he proclaims it with au-

thority: "Behold! He cometh."

And next, it is to be unquestionably asserted. "Be-

hold! He cometh." It is not "Perhaps He will come,"

nor, "Peradventure He may yet appear." "Beholcl! He

corneth" should be dogmatically asserted as an absolute

certainty, which has been realised by the -heart of the

man who proclaims it. "Behold! He cometh." All the

prophets sa}' that He will come. From Enoch down to

the last that spoke by inspiration, they declare, "The

Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints." All

the promises are travailing with this prognostication,

"BpI101d! He cometh." We have His own Word for it,

and this makes assurance doubly sure. He has told us

that He will come again. He has .often assured His

disciples that if He went away from them He would

come again to them; and He left us the Lord's Supper

as a parting token, to 'be observed until He comes. As'Often as we break bread, we are minded of the fact that,

though it is a blessed ordinance, yet it is a temporary

one, and will cease to be celebrated when our absent

Lord is once again present with us.

His saints shall be caught up together with Him in

the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; but to those who'

sha 1 1 remain on earth the clouds shall turn their black-

ncss and horror of darkness. Then shall the impeni-

tent behold this dread vision-the Son of man coming

in the clouds of heaven.

2. Our second head is: Our Lord's coming will he

seen of all.



.APR iL , 1906.6 0 T H E BIBLE STA~bARb.

"Behold! He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall

see Him, and they also which pierced Him." I gather

from this expression, first, that it will be a literal ap-

pearing, and an actual sight. If the second advent was

to be a spiritual manifestation, to be perceived by the

mind of men, the phraseology would be, "Every mind

shall perceive Him." But it is not so; we read, "Every

eye shall sce Him." Now, the mind can behold the

spiritual, but the eye can only see that which is dis-

tinctly material and visible. The Lord Jesus Christ

will not come spiritually, for in that sense He is always

here; but He \vill come really and substantially, for

every eye shall see Him, even those unspiritual eyes

which gazed on Him with hatc and pierced Him. The

Lord Jesus shall come to the earth a second time, as

literally as He has come a first time. The same Christ.

who ate a piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb,

after He had risen from the dead, the same who said,

"Handle Me, and see, for [} spirit hath not flesh and

bones, as ye see Me have"-this same Jesus, with a

material body, is to come in the clouds of heaven. Inthe same manner as He went up, He shall come clown.

He shall be literally seen. The words cannot be hon-

estly read in any other way. Note well that He is to

be seen W all kinds of living men; every eye shall i>ec

Him; the king and the peasant, the most learned, and

the most ignorant. Those that were blind before shall

sce when H e appears.

3. My third head is a painful onc: His coming will

cause great sorrow.

What does the text say about His coming? "All

kindrcds of the earth shall wail because of Him." "All

kindreds of the earth." Then this sorrow will be very

general. You thought, perhaps, that when Christ came,

He would come to a glad world, welcoming Him with

.son and music. You thought that there might be

a few ung~dly persons who would be destroyed with

the breath of His mouth, but that the bulk of mankind

would receive Him with delight. See how different-

"all kindreds of the earth," that is, all sorts of men,

men out of all nations and kindreds and tongues shall

weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth at His coming.

Ob, sirs, this is a sad outlook! We have no smooth

things to prophesy. What think you of this? . . . .

Will your voice De heard in that wailing? Will your

heart be breaking in that general dismay? How will

you escape? If you are one of the kindrcds of the

earth, and remain impenitent, you will wail with therest of them. .

Then it'is quite clear that men will not be universally

converted when Christ comes; because, if they were so,

they would not wail. If you joy in Him now, you shall

much more rejoice in Him in that day; but if you will

have cause to wail at His coming, it will be well to wail

at once. It is quite certain that when Jesus comes in

those latter clays, men will not be expecting great things

of Him. You know the talk they have nowadays, "a

larger hope." To-day they deceive the people with the

idle dream of repentance and restoration after death, a

fiction unsupported by the least tittle of Scripture. If

these kindreds of the earth expected that when Christ

would come they would all die out and cease to be, they

would rejoice that thereby they escaped the wrath of

God. Oh, no! It is because His coming to the im-

penitent is black with blank despair that they will wail

because of Him. "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and

ye perish from the way, when His' wrath is kindled but

a little. Blessed arc all they that put their trust in

Him."-REv. C. H. SPURGEON,in Kingdom Tidings.

• • •"/Rome's U )resent @pportunit}?

IT is not an accident that Romc is busy just now.

Rome knows how to take a' chance. After the Reforma-

tion it seemed as if Home's day was past. And yet she

still is here. How did that happen? Mixed up with the

Reformation there was unhappily much that was worldly

and time-serving. And when once the first fine glow

of spiritual enthusiasm was over, those whose interests

were simply worldly lapsed into indifference, and the

religious men gave themselves over to theological wrang-ling. Rome saw her chance, braced herself for the

struggle, and recovered much lost ground.

In the present day there has been a great deal of

mental quickening showing itself in science, discovery,

criticism, commerce, culture. But to some extent re-

action has set in. There arc symptoms that look like

exhaustion. Men ure tempted to rest on their oars. Here

is Home's chance. She cuts in to lull them to sleep, and

then, Jike a Delilah, shears them of the locks of their

strength. In the protest against mere intellectualism in

religion, she poses as the representative of Faith; and

men, mistaking for faith a mere helpless 'surrender of

the intellect to an imperious dictator, vield to her seduc-

t i've pretensions and airs. It is always in a time of men-

tal and spiritual decay that Rome makes progress. She

is content to accept the form for the reality, and, in her

formalities, to provide a passable substitute for the

exercises of spiritual religion. When once men discover

that, they see more clearly than ever that the best anti-

dote to Romanism is no aping of her ways, no borrow-

ing of her weapons, but zealous effort to revive and

foster the spirit of true religion.

Men in whom is the true spirit of faith will never be

tempted to accept Rome's hollow counterfeit for it. Men

who know that God is a Spirit know aJso that they who

worship must worship in spirit and in truth, Men who

know that pure and undcfile.I religion before God, eventhe Father, is to visit the fatherless and the widows in

their affliction and to keep themselves un spotted from

the world, will never be imposed on by Rome's divorce

between the religious life and the sacred discharge of

our daily c1uties, "in the world, yet not of it." And in

proportion as they cultivate personal relation with Jesus

Christ, the risen' Saviour, as their Redeemer, Master,

and Friend, they will resent and refuse all claims or

pretensions of priest or Pope to come between them-

selves and Him.-By Rev. R. J. Drumrnorul, D.D.,

Edinburgh.



.APRIl" 1906. THE BIBLE STANDARD. • 6r

t •••••• * • •• •••.•.••• .• •• !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(b~ f i o m ~ £Irdtx x r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r x r••••••••••••••••••••• 4 • 4

511 G2,ll est o f 'U:rutb.

CHAPTER H.

In the conversation with his uncle,

Philip Bayreuth had indicated that Mil-

lennial Dawn teaching was likely to

cause trouble in the little church at

Brenton, as one brother, having become

enamoured of the views, had determined

to introduce them to the meeting. This

brothel', John Baker by name, was a man

of fair education, and had occupied posi-

tions of trust in the church. Coming

into the fellowship from one of th»

orthodox churches, he had accepted the

teaching of Life in Ohrist with cnthusi-

asm, and had pressed his new beliefs

with more fervour of'terrti mes than

knowledge. - No one could question hi,

sincerity, although sometimes his breth-

ren wished he were not so ready to adoptthe new things he heard. Hitherto, how-

ever, he had worked amicably with all,

as a large amount of liberty was granted

on matters that did not atfect the essen-

tials of unity.

The colporteur for the new literature

had called at the residence of 1\1r. Baker

one evening when the good man was at

home, and had won an acceptance for

his books by showing that Life only in

Ohrist was ta.ught in them. Not sup·

posing it possible that any volumes

teaching this could set forth ILny serious

error, the entire set had been read, and

their contents accepted as a whole. Oc-

casion had been taken 'to become inti-

mate with the colporteur, with the result

that IL regular meeting for the study orthe "Dawn" views was now held at the

residence of Mr. Baker. Some of the

members of the little church had been

persuaded to attend, with one or two

others belonging to other communions,

and these were being duly instructed in -

the salient featur-es of the new teaching.

It was about two days after the visit

of Philip to his Uncle Keith, that on

his way to business he was joined by Mr.

Baker, also on his way to his daily duties

in town. With the eagerness of a new

convert, Baker at once commenced to

speak of the fresh light he had received,

and stated that if when he saw the truth

of Life only in Ohrist he had received

great help, the new teaching had brought

him much more. He had now, not a few

scattered rays of light, but the whole

field was covered with sunshine. Philip

heard him quietly, and, thinking an im-

pression had been made, Baker invited

him to attend at his house that evening

to hear one who knew a great deal more

than any teacher in the Brenton church.

This was the first intimation that had

reached Philip of this class, and he at

first felt that he could not attend a meet-

ing held by members to advocate views

opposed to the belief of the church, when,

according to the Confession of that body,

opportunity was afforded for the presen·

tat ion and testing of all professed trutbs

at the regular meetings of the Bible

Class. However, he told Baker that he

would think about it, and in the course

of the day determined that he would at-

tend and, in all fairness, listen to what

might be advanced, for, if he was in

error, and truth was obtainable, he

argued that, though the method was un-

satisfactory, yet he ought to seize the

opportunity presented to obtain it.

At the appointed hour he presented

himself at Mr. Baker's residence, and, on

entering, found that seven persons were

aitt.inz at the table, the colporteur occu-

pying s » the position of teacher. A Bible

specially got up with marginal refer-

ences to "Dawn" volumes and other pub-

lications, was before him, and the six

volumes were piled up close to hand.

The thesis of the colporteur that night

was, "God's plan of salvation for the

race of Adam is to extend to each mem-

ber of it, during the millennium, the

offer' of eternal life upon the t r111Sof

the new covenant scaled for all with the

precious blood of the Lamb_' Phi lip

listened attentively to all that was ad-

vanced, but noted that the t9acher very

slavishly copicd what was sa id by Rus-

sell, even citing texts of Scripture in

the same peculiar manner, torn from-

the context, and with bracketed remarks

which changed considerably the exact

reading of some of th c pa<lsagC's. .At the

close Philip said:

"I have followed you very closely, sir,

in your remarks; but I have failed to

hear one direct passage in favour of your.

view. Is there such a statement?'

"No," replied the colporteur; "I can-

not give you a direct assertion from the

Bible, but there are many texts from

which the only conclusion to be drawn is

favourable to the position."

"But that," said Philip, "is buildingon inference, a very doubtful thing to

do; for those who advocate another view

may claim the inference in their favour,

whereas a direct statement is an end of

controversy. No theologian of repute

should build his teachings upon infer-

ences. Dr. Angus, in his Bible Hand-

book, has remarked, 'Deductions drawn

by reason from propositions founded on

the statements of Scripture are not to be

deemed inspired unless those deductions

are themselves revealed.' And another

writer says, 'Inferences from Scripture

that appear to be strictly legitimate must

be received with the greatest caution, or,

rat her, decidedly rejected, except as they

are supported by explicit Scripture de-

clarations.' Failure to produce a posi-

tive text is failure to supply a 'reason

for the hope that is in you.' Your view

teaches a future probation, on the

around that all men have not now a pro-

bation for life. I should like, with your

permission, to make a statement or two,

and will ask for your consideration of

them:

"( 1) Scripture knows of but two

cla-sses of men according to a-moral stand-

ard. These are variously named 'godly

and ungodly,' 'righteous and wicked,' 'sin-

ners and saints.' This implies a stand-

ard of reference, and finds no room for :1

third class, who may be neither 'godly

nor ungodly,' etc.

"(2) To men, wherever found, when-

ever any message from God reaches them,

the demand is made, 'Repent,' a demand

ihat is in agreement with the classifiea-

t.cn thus given. The 'righteous' are

those who conform to a divine standard,

the 'wicked' are those who do not so con-form, and the two terms cover the race.

"( 3) Inconformity with these findings,

the message in each dispensation carries

with it the alternative of 'life' or 'death.'

"The classification shows present char-

acter, in reference to a divine standard;

this means present responsibility; pre·

sent responsibility implies future judg-

ment, and the various messages sent to

the s.ms of men teach that the issues of

the coming judgment on mankind are life

or dea.th."

"But;' objected the colporteur, "you

have alrea-dy asserted the futility of in-

f'ercnce, and now you are putting forth

purely inferential statements."

"T beg your pa-rdon," said Philip; "1

have not cited passages, as I should have

. to put in the whole Bible as my proof.You know perfectly well that what 1

have said is true, and there is no need

for me to give the numerous texts which

so classify men, nor is there any need

to show that on the forefront of every

message of grace to men Gocl ]illaces the

cal l 'Repent,' nor is there need that I

should cite the texts which put as re-

sults 'life' or 'death.' .A theory which

sets these matters aside can hardly

claim accept» nee, and if it fails to con-

sider them it does not show worthiness

for consideration. But, let me further

add:

" (4) Your theory affirms that this fu-

ture probation for every son of Adam

takes place during the millennium. Do

you know of a single passage of Scrip-

ture which asserts the resurrection of the

race before the millennium?"

"No," replied the colporteur, "there is

no such definite passage."

"Well is there one which asserts such

resurrection during its progress?"

"N 0, there is not."

"Well, then, you assume one of these

two things, and that the assumption is

worthless is evident from the fact that

Scripture emphatically affirms that the

race is not raised until the close of the

millennium-'The rest of the dead lived

not until the thousand years should be

finished.' Mr. Russell says, 'One state-

ment of God is as true and as firm a.

foundation for faith ILSa hundred.' Thereis the sta-tement! Now, tell me, if the

'rest of the dead' are not raised until the

close of the millennial period, how can

'each member of the race of Adam, dur-

ing the m illen niu III , hav~ tl!~, offer of

eternal life ~xtended to him t

"Ah," said the colporteur, "that is a

very strong conclusion if it were built

upon Scripture, but you ought to know

that that verse is spurious, and you have

built upon a fraud!"

"Spurious!" cried Philip, utterly as-

tonishcd ; "but it 'is here," and he held

up his copy of the Revised Bible.



THE BIBLE STANDARD. APRIL, 1906.

"Yes, I admit that is there, but the

best scholarship agrees that the verso is

spurious, and ought not to be in Scrip-

turo. But I understood from some of

your remarks that you had read these

volumes. You have not read very care-

fully, or you would have noticed the

clinching evidence of its falsity," and

he handed oyer Volume 1. and pointed

to the note at the foot of page 288.

"I remember now," answered Philip,

feeling that. he was trapped, "but Ifailed to attach the importance to the

note that evidently belongs to it, for if

that is true, then, of course, my argu-

ment founded llpon it is useless. But

this is a matter I must further exam-

ine."

With a smile of confidence the eolpor-

. teur closed the discussion, and Phi lip

left the meeting feeling very much con-

fused at the turn events had taken.

Fortunately, he knew that ho had op-

porlunity to test this matter, and the

next morning he sent a note to an old

friend, a sk ing if 1 1 . 1 : ' would allow him to

mal«: a c ,d I that even ing on •• matter of

importn ncc. The person written to had

been formerly the principal of a large

college, but was now retired f rorn activeduty by reason of age. He was, perhaps,

the best-informed man in Brcnton 011

matters of classical and literary import-

ance, and was no weakling in legitimate

Biblical cl¥ticism. On more than one

occasion he had been helpful to Phi lip,

and his assistance was the more heartily

rendered because of the personal interest

he took in a young man so eager for

knowledg-e.

The old professor received Philip with

a genial g'reeting, and invited him into

his study, where Philip soon .put the

matter in question before him. He had

brought with him che volume with the

note, and the professor asked him to read

it. So he read, "In this verse the words

'But the rest of the dead lived not again

until the thousand years were finished,'

are spurious. They are not found in the

oldest and most reliahle Greek MSS., the

Si naiic. Vatican Nos, 1200 and llGO, nor

the Syriae MS. The words in-

dicated probably crept into the text by

accident in the fifth century, for no MS.

of earlier date (eit-her Greek or Syriae)

contains this clause."

As he read the countenance of his aged

friend changed considerably, and he said,

sternly, "Either Mr. Russell is ignorant,

and makes serious statements without

due invest.igat.ion, or he knows the truth,

and, feeling the passage in his way, hopes

to secure support by trading on the ig-

norance of his followers."

"But," said Philip, "can you give me

the evidence that this statement is in-

accurate 1 "

"Certainly I can. Here," said he,

pointing to a row of volumes occupying

one of the shelves of his extensive li-

brary, "are several critical editions of the

Greek Testament-Griesbach, Scholz.

Wcvmout.li'a 'Resultant,' Westcott and

lfo~t, and the very latest by Dr. Nestle,

of DIm, a volume adopted by the British

and Foreign Bible Society. All these in-

sert the passage, as you may see by a

personal investigation," and the old

gentleman lifted down the volumes as he

spoke and placed them on the table.

,.Hrre they are, representing the best

modern scholarship, and they all accept

this passage, and give no hint that there

is a shade of doubt about it."

"That is very strong evidence," said

Philip, "but still there is the statementmade by Mr. Russell, and repeated to me

last night by his agent, regarding the

manuscripts.""Here," said the professor, "are Scrive-

ners 'Introduction' and Dr. Mitchells

'Critical Handbook,' both recognised au-

thorities on the manuscripts, and from

these Iwill answer the statement made.

Please follow my statement closely, and

you may verify it from these hooks .

"( 1) It is quite true that it is omit-

ted from the Sinaitic MS., but Dr. 'I'is-

chendorf, the discoverer of that MS., ftt.-

tached no importance to the omission,

and Westcott and Hort say of the ~IS.,

'The singular readings arc very nu mer-

ous, especially in the Apocalypse, and

scarcely ever commend Lherusclves on in-

terna] grounds.'

"(2) That the Vatican MS., o. 1200,

does nut contain it is also true, butwhe-n 1 tell you that the oiiginul lV r p "

ends at Hebrews ix. 4 you will not be

surprised at the omission.

" (3) And the ancient Syriac does not

contain the Book of Revelation. If, as

is probable, Mr. Russell refers to the

Codex Ephraemi, then its transcription

of the Apocalypse ends with chapter xix.

5 ."

. "Now, let me ask you, how was it pos-

siblc for the text in question to appear

in either of the 1 \ '1 " 8 . ci ted ?"

"There is one other MB. mentioned bv

Mr. Russcl l, Va,t. No. 1160_ What ~f

that?"

"Well. that is excluded from the 'an-

cient' list insisted on by hi m, because

it is a cursive MS. belonging to the l:3th

century, and I am not able to say jnore

nhaul it. But there is one th ing to add,

and that is that the Alexandrian MS., of

equal value to the Sinaitic and the Va-

tican, does contain the verse. This

MS. is assigned to the beginning or

middle of the fifth century, but Scrivener

&ayR, 'It may be referred even to the end

ot the fourth century, and is certa.inlv

not much later.' Here, then, is the evi-

cl-nee on which you may judge the value

of the sta ternent made as to the spurious

character of the verse. That it is a

genuine passage is established beyond

all reasonable cavil, and the evidence

given will show you on which side is the

scholarship."

"Thanks very much," said Philip.

"'There is just one other matter which

occurs to me. When this matter was in-

troduced by our friend the colporteur he

assured me that Dr. 'I'ischendorf had

cal lcd this verse 'a mere error,' and he

referred me to the 'I'auchni tz edition of

the English New Testament."

"A mere error?" said the professor.

"An error of what? Of omission or of

insertion ?"

"An error of insertion, of course," said

l'llilip.

"Indeed, then I fear he had not read

h is authority very closely. Let me read

you what the Doctor says," and, taking

th,' book from its place on the shelf, he

read, "Many obvious blunders which

arc found in the MSS. arc passed over

in silence. But others, evidently wrong,

a re so denoted by the words, 'an error' or

'a mere error.'" "Now, let us turn to

the passage and note the footnote in

which he savs 'S om. a mere error.' So

that it is its omission in the Sinaitie~\IR. which is the error. Your friend

does not read very critically, I fear."

"1 quite agree with you," said Philip."I am vpry much obliged to you for the

trouble you have taken, and for the satis-

factory evidence you have supplied."

"You are quite welcome," -said the

aged scholar; "but may I add for your

further help that lhr passage does not

sta nd alone. It is the only one which

gives Lhe measure of time ela.psing be-

tween the two resurrections, but it is

not the only one which teaches such a

period. If you will carefully read 1 Cor.

xv, 22-24 you will see that there is

'order' in resurrection. Christ the first-

fruits, then they that arc Christ's at Ilis

corni ng, then the end. Thus thrre arcthree successive ranks in rnsu rreet.io n,

and the period between the second and

third is marked off for us by this pas-

sage in the Revelation as a thousand

years."

The interesting conversation closed

then, and Philip left his venerable friend

with much gratitude for the kindness

which had helped him at a point where

he was personally helpless.

Short ly after this Ph ilip again visited

1\1r. Baker's house, and laid before the

attendants at the class the evidence he

had procured from the professor. It

made no impression on Mr. Baker, who,

indeed, seemed quite incapable of appre-

ciating the evidence given, and looked

to the colporteur, who remarked to

Phil ip : "Then you still bold that the pas-

sage is ge]]Llne ?"

"Certainly," he replied. "\Vhat other

call 1 do? 1 cannot set my opinion in a

matter of this kind against ascertained

knowledge." .

"Oh, it does not matter, because we

have an exposi Lion of this verse which

quite puts it, on our side."

"Yes, so I see," said Ph ilip, "but it

Dlay not he out of place to remark that

this is a matter you ought to be sure

about. If Lhe verse is spurious, as Mr.

Russell affirms several times in his

volumes, it does not require an exposi-

tion. On the other hand, if it requires

a special exposition, then it is genuine.

1 think you ought to choose what course

you will adopt. You cannot hold both

positions. Choose one and let us deal

with it. If you admit its genuineness,

then I will say that for your special ex-

position you have not the slightest war-

rant in Scripture."

But the colporteur would not take a

definite position, and when the meeting

closed Phi lip felt that in this matter

the advocates of Millenn ia l Dawn had a

very weak case indeed.



APRIl" 1906. THE BIBLE STAN DARD

Aucrn.AxD.-The series of addresses

on the "Millennium According to Scrip-

ture" was brought to a close on Sunday

evening, March 11. Larg s congregationshave been in attendaanee to hear this

entra ncing theme, the lecturer sparing

110pains to make the matter clear, and

so present ing it that the interest of the

hearers was aroused. We trust that tbegood seed sown will bring forth full frui t-

age.

Sunday, February 25: We had with us

this morning Bro. Phipps, his wife. and

two daughters, from Adelaide. These

were received into fellowship on the fol-

lowing Sunday; so also was Bro. Nei lson,of Dunedin. On the above evening, 25th

February, the subject was "The Dispen-

sation of the Fulness of the Times."

March 4: "When God Shall be All inAll."

March 11: "Church Union in the Light

of the Glorious Future."

Sunday, March 18: We had with us

this morning Bro. and Sister Battson,

of the Thames. In the evening Bro. Alrl-

ridge commenced a series of addresses on

"Tho Science of Salvation." The speaker

disclaimed any intention of using this

os a fancy title, but desired to show that

ascertoined facts constituted true science,

and tha t in this "Salvation" was bar-

monious, This being the opening ad-

dress, several portions of Scripture wen

read to show that the word "power" is

intended to convey the idea of force,

quoting Paul, "I am not ashamed of the

Gospel, for it is the power of God unto

salvation." Notwithstanding other at-tractions, there was a goodly number

present, and, let us hope, all were bene

fited.

The Bible Class, for some reason, is

not well attended. This is very discour-

aging to the' Class generally, and to OUr

131'0.Aldridge in particular. A good deal

of time must be taken up preparing the

lesson. The series of expositions of

"Paul's Letter to the Hebrews" was

brought to a close on Wednesday even-

ing, March 14. During the coarse the

great necessity of rightly dividing the

word of truth was pointed ·out. It was

insisted tha t special care should be taken

to distinguish between the di ff'erent dis-

pensations and those to whom the letters

were addressed. The topics were as Iol-Iows i-e-Wednesday evening, February 2R,

"The New Covenant," "Without the

Camp," "Our Place in the Covenant;"

on Wednesday evening, March 21, a

course of lectures was commenced on

"The Sermon on the Mount." W.G.

TIIAMEs.-On March 4th we had Sis.

Rogers with us in fellowship. We are

always pleased to have any of our breth-

ren and sisters in Christ join with us.

We would be further pleased if we could

have these visits more frequently.

March 5th we had our annual Sunday

School treat, and a most enjoyable day

was spent with the united Sunday

Schools of the Thames. We went by

train to Omahau, and both children and

parents thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

It is the intention of the. officers of the

Church to proceed with the work of re-

covering the Pollen Street Lecture Hall,

though they have only half the amount

of money in hand required. It is pro-

posed to spend the amount in hand, and

complete the work as the funds come in.

DUNEDIN.-Our Sunday services are

always well attended, although we do not

get many strangers, being conducted, as

usual, by the brethren. Since our last

report we have had the pleasure of hav-

ing several of our friends from other

parts with us. On Sunday, January 21st,

we had Pastor and Sister Lees, of Ade-

laide. Bro. Lees gave an address at the

morning service, which was much appre·

elated. We were very sorry arrangements

could not be made in time for our Bro.

and Sister to have stayed longer with us.

Although the time was so short, we felt

we were parting with old friends when

we wished them "Good-bye." We also

had Bros. Grigg and C. Aldridge with us

during the month. Visits such as these

from those who are one with us in the

faith seem to keep us in touch and draw

us closer to each other, although we arc

separated by miles of land and water.

We are sorry to say we had to say "good-

bye" to one of our esteemed members,

131'0. Neilson, who has left our city to

reside with his daughter in Auckland.

Although we miss him, we know he will

have a warm welcome from the West

Street people, and will feel quite at home

with them. Greetings to all the brethren.

S.L.• I •

t!be ':!Little l5irl an o tbe !l~/lrl1l/lla()e.

A little maid, of mien sedate,

One morn with salt her porridge ate,

Which such a thirst provoked that she

Drank deep of her well-sugared tea;

Then, nodding of her curly head,

"My ten's so nioe nnd sweet," she said.

Mamma, who heard, no comment made,

But spread some toast with marmalade,

And gave it to her pet to eat

Just as a very special treat.

Missie devoured, with eager HiI',

The luscious and unwonted fare,

And when, right soon, she'd ate it up,

Tasted once more her sugared cup.

But now, behold! The tot is seen

\Yith strangely wry and altered mien,

And, as her mouth's small corners lower,

She cries, "Jly tea's so d1 'effu ~ SOU1 '."

Ma stooped and kissed the curly head,

Then, to improve th' oceasion. said,

"Those who would have their tea taste

sweet

Unsweetened food before must eat,

Nor their cloyed palates spoil and jade

With luscious stuff like marmalade."

MORAL.

Hard work's the one true preparation

That lends enjoyment to vacation.

To those whose lives are always play

A holiday's no holiday.

AUCKLA:I'D.-The subject of "The Sec-

ond Coming" was spoken of 011 the 26th

of February at an open-air meeting by

our Bros. Page, Firth, and G. Aldridge.

We were pleased that the attendance at

this meeting was better tban at the pre-

ceding open-air. On Monday, March 5th,

a paper, entitled "Wonders of the Deep."

was written and read by Bro. H. Ald-

ridge. There was a fair gathering, and

the paper seemed appreciated by those

present, as it opened out some of the

ways of God little considered by UR.

Monday, March 12th, another open-air

meeting was held the attendance at

which was very good. The subject of

the addresses was "Immortality," and the

theme WHShandled by Bros. White, Gar-

rr-tt, and L. Falkner. The speakers seem-

ed to have a lot to say about their sub-

ject, as the meeting was a very lengthy

one. We hope that at all these meetings

some good seed may fall and in due time

spring up in harvest to the glory of God.R.A.

• • •ij;rea5I1rer'l3 'ElcI t 1I0\\?[e~o men ts,

TO MARCH 16, IDOG.•

Staudord Subs.: Xlcssrs. D. Mitchell,

Henry \\'anl, H. \Yagslaff, J. P. Mayr,

L. n. \\'yaLt, s. Applelon, W. Slllith,

l\lark Hallard, Frank Ba lla rd, A. W.

'I'houip on, J. H. Parke, J. Scott, L. BRtt-

ing, . T . Osborne, B. Lund, Geo. J. Men-

zies, J. Muir, Geo. Dawson, G20. Ogston,

Greaves, W. A. Smith, M. Robertson,

Geo. Duthie, M. J. Rogers, W. 13IRkey,

T. N. Ba ker, E. ~1cDell, W. H. \Vain-

house, Wi ll iams, Ashley, Armstrong, H.

Edwards, W. Gibson, Harper, Ol iverVeaic, Christy, ,1. Pa rnell , F. B. Hughcs,

W. S. Hughes, R. Wright, W. G. Rothe,

C. W. Cropp, J. Dixon, Otto WaIter, S.

JUcld, A. Harrow, J. \Valker, H. lIewin,Andrcw Ling, John Cavil!, Eo Le Roy,

Tonki nson, D. Sornervi lle, Geo. Aldriclge,

Battson, J. Day, R. Flanagan, J. \~Jood-

ward, E. Cooke, H. Coop, J. R. Wheeler,

Lush, Pyno, C. Ludwig, J. Salt, A. Lang,

Eel\\'. Best ie, \V 111 . Hales, C. Neilsen, J.

Moorc, W. Hood, D. Donaldson, Duncdi n

Church, Mesdames Coleman, \V. Stoupes,

J. Carr, G. Parker, Waterhouse, Martin,

Beccrof t, C. G. Bormann, Robt. Cl ay. G.

B. Touchett, R. Noble, K J. Cropp, Bar-

ker, Green, H. M. Trace, Nowell, Hutt.on,

Jno. Playford .•

1 1 ssooiation. Sube.: Iesda mes Dickson,

lIeron, E. J. Cropp, Green, :Miss A.

Green, Messrs. Perey King. \Y. J. Wild,

G. A. Green, W. E. Mason, R. Logan, J.

Oaradus, Alex. Page, \1'. E. Gibson, sen.,

\V. Gibson, jun., Heron, E. H. Falkncr,

C. C. Brown, L. \Vilcock, D. Donu.ldson,

A. Skea.tes, T. P. Judkins, A. Thomson,

H. Aldridge, VI. Buchanan, S. H. Grecn,

Church of Christ, West Street, Church

of Christ, New Plymouth, Church of

Christ, Thames, Church of Christ, Wa ib i,

ALEX. PAGE, 'I'reasurcr.

The Bible Standard April 1906

Documents

Transcript of The Bible Standard April 1906