The Cleansing of the Sanctuary

OR,

The Church of God in Type and Antitype, and

In Prophecy and Revelation

By

D. S. Warner

Author of “Bible Proofs of a Second Work,”

“Poems of Grace and Truth,” “Salvation, Present, Perfect,

Now or Never,” etc.,

and

H. M. Riggle

Author of “Two Works of Grace,” “The Kingdom of God and the One Thousand Years’ Reign,” “Religious Discussion,” “Bible Readings for Bible Students and for the Home and Fireside.”

“We behold wondrous things in thy law.”

FAITH PUBLISHING HOUSE

Digitally Published by

THE GOSPEL TRUTH

www.churchofgodeveninglight.com

Originally Published by

Gospel Trumpet Company

1903

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRESENT PUBLISHER’S FOREWORD

PREFACE

THE FIRST COVENANT SANCTUARY

The Destruction of Solomon’s Temple, and its Rebuilding Under Zerubbabel

The First Decree

The Second Decree

The Third Decree

The Fourth Decree

The Defiling of Zerubbabel’s Temple by the “Little Horn” of Daniel 8

The Rebuilding of the Temple by Herod, and its Final Destruction—The End of the Worldly Sanctuary

THE NEW COVENANT SANCTUARY

The Adventist Theory?

“What Is the Sanctuary of the New Covenant?”

The Sanctuary of the First Covenant as a  Type or Figure

The Court

First and Second Vail

The Golden Pillars

The Holy and Most Holy Place

The Brazen Altar

The Laver and Sea

Table of the Shew-Bread

The Golden Candlestick

The Golden Altar

The Ark of the Covenant

The Mercy Seat, and Cherubims of Glory

The Golden Pot of Manna

Aaron’s Rod That Budded

The Vessels of the Temple

The High Priest of Our Profession A Change of Priesthood and Law

How and When Christ Became Priest

When Did Christ Begin His Priestly Ministration?

The Lower Order of Christ’s Priesthood  and its Effects

How and When He Entered the Holiest

Our Royal Priest

The Royal Priesthood

When Was the Way Into the Holiest Made Known  To the Church?

The Church Proved to Be the Sanctuary by the Prophets

The True Temple of God

Does God Dwell in His Church on Earth?

THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH

The Divinity of the Church

The Church Is an Organic Structure

We Consider Next the Visibility of the Church

Oneness Is a Characteristic of God’s Church

Unity Is One Attribute of the Church

Complete Basis of Oneness

Universality

Exclusiveness

Holiness

Unchangeableness

Indestructibility

THE CONQUESTS AND VICTORIES OF THE CHURCH OF GOD

Over Sin, Death, And Satan, The Prince of Darkness

Paganism Under the Roman Power

Popery

The Humble Equality of the Apostolic Ministry

Protestantism

Downfall of Spiritual Babylon

Gog and Magog, or, The Final Conflict

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY

THE DAILY SACRIFICE

THE BOOK SEALED WITH SEVEN SEALS

THE ETERNAL HOME OF THE CHURCH

THE FINAL AND ETERNAL DOOM OF THE BEAST

PRESENT PUBLISHER’S FOREWORD

Year 1967

The reproduction of this excellent volume of Bible truth, first published in 1903 and out of print for many years, is in answer to the many requests which have come to us from those who still believe and appreciate the vital doctrines of the Church of God in type and antitype, and in prophecy and Revelation, which were set forth in the formative years of this “evening light” restoration movement.

This reprint edition is a photographic reproduction, page for page, of the original book, but each page has been reduced 10 per cent in size, yet the print remains very legible. No additions have been made except this “Foreword” and a list of other available books at the end of the volume. The imprint of the original publisher was deleted and ours substituted.

The study of the Church through the types and shadows of the Old Testament and tracing the antitype fulfillment in the New Testament is very interesting, inspiring and faith-building to the earnest seeker for truth. The sanctuary of the first covenant, being a “figure of the true,” meets its antitype in Christ and in His Church on earth in this gospel day. The conquests and victories of the Church of God as portrayed in prophecy and Revelation are unparalleled in the annals of history.

The perusal of these pages with the illumination of the Holy Spirit will open a great treasure house of rich gems of truth which are hid from the majority of people in the religious world. May God add His special blessing as the reader follows the unfolding redemptive plan for man and culminating in His triumphant Church of this dispensation, from which it will be ushered eternally into the immediate presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

—THE PUBLISHERS

Guthrie, Okla., 1967

PREFACE

Ever since I first read Bro. Warner’s manuscript on “The Cleansing of the Sanctuary,” I have felt a deep desire to see the precious and valuable light contained therein, shed upon the public. It being one of the last, and deepest works written by this departed saint, I am sure it will be intensely interesting, and very instructive to the body of Christ. Since Bro. Warner’s death, the light of truth has kept rapidly increasing, and many things that then seemed wrapped in mystery have since been made clear. This accounts for the necessity of revising the original manuscript. Bro. Warner’s death left the work far from complete. Feeling the hand of God upon me to this end, I, after much prayer, study, and hard labor, bestow the results upon the public without apology. As the reader will be interested to know just what part of the book was written by our departed brother, I will state that, beginning with the chapter, “The New Covenant Sanctuary” and ending with the heading, “Unchangeableness,” of the church is what was written by Bro. Warner. The reader will observe that I have added about one-half more to the book than what was originally written. This book will be found to contain many precious and deep truths not clearly brought out in any book yet published. A glance at the table of contents will give you a faint idea of the value of the precious jewels of truth contained in this work. With much holy love to all,

I am your sanctified brother in Christ,

H. M. Riggle

THE FIRST COVENANT SANCTUARY

A sanctuary denotes a place set apart, or separated. In Scripture it signifies a sacred or holy house, separated and set apart for the dwelling place of God, and a place of service and sacrifice unto him. It was his original plan, before the foundation of the world, to have a pure and holy people to serve him here upon earth. Accordingly we read that “he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” Eph. 1:4. God had designed to make the human heart his sanctuary upon earth; but through the fall the whole human family became corrupted by sin, for “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” By nature mankind were children of wrath. The human heart was deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Its thoughts and imaginations were only evil continually. It is also true that the legal sacrifices were not able to make a full atonement, were not able to purify the soul of man from sin: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Nay; those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually could not make the comers thereunto perfect. See Heb. 10:1. This being true, it was impossible for God to dwell in the human soul. The place of his sanctuary must be holy, and since all mankind were defiled and guilty before God, he could not dwell in their sinful hearts. Yet he desired to be among his people.

When he chose Israel for his peculiar people, and separated them unto himself, he desired to be with them. Thus it came to pass that God ordered Moses to build him a sanctuary, and sanctify it for his dwelling place. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: . . . And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” Ex. 25:8, 9. “The first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” Heb. 9:1. This tabernacle was the place of God’s residence as king of Israel, and he filled it with his glory. “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” Ex. 40:34, 35. Here is where the Jews offered their sacrifices and worshiped God. This building was constructed with extraordinary magnificence, and at a prodigious expense, so that it might be in some measure suitable to the dignity of the Great King of heaven, for whose palace it was designed; and to the value of those spiritual and eternal blessings, of which it was designed as a type or emblem.

The value of the gold and silver alone, used for this work, was immense, about £182,568 in English coin. See Ex. 38:24, 25. The building or tent was about 55 ft. long, 18 broad, and 18 high. As to its construction, see Ex. 26:18-29; 36:23-34. This sacred tent was divided into two apartments or rooms, by means of four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold. These stood in sockets of silver. Ex. 36:36. On these pillars was hung a vail. Ex. 26:31-36. There was also an outer vail—the first vail, or door. Ex. 36:37, 38. There were no windows in this tent; hence, a lamp was kept burning continually. There was also a court which surrounded this house. A further

description of this worldly sanctuary and its furniture is fully given in the following chapter, where all its types are considered.

This tabernacle was reared up the first day of the first month of the second year after the Israelites left Egypt. Ex. 40:17. When erected, it was anointed, together with its furniture, with holy oil (Ex. 40:9-11), and sanctified with blood. Heb. 9:21. When the King of heaven entered it, he sanctified it with his glory. This tabernacle was so constructed as to be taken to pieces and put together again, when occasion demanded it. It was designed to accompany the children of Israel in their journeys through the wilderness, until they entered the promised land. It will be seen in Numbers 4, that when the children of Israel moved from place to place the Levites took down the tent and carried it with them. Wherever they camped they pitched it in their midst. After Israel became settled in their land, and God had given them rest from their enemies, David desired to build a house for God’s dwelling place. This desire he expressed to Nathan, in the following words: “See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.” 2 Sam. 7:1, 2. Up to this time God had no settled house for his sanctuary, but “walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.” ver. 6. Yet God had not complained, nor found fault, ver. 7.

But when the children of Israel were now planted in the promised land, and God had fulfilled the covenant made to their fathers unto them, and chosen Jerusalem for his habitation, David desired a house to be built for his sanctuary. While David himself was not permitted to build this house, God made him the following promise: “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name.” 2 Sam. 7:12, 13. This was fulfilled in Solomon, who built the first temple at Jerusalem. Much of the material for this great house was prepared before David’s death, and the pattern was given him from God. 1 Chr. 28:19. The outline of the inner real house of God was similar to that of the original tabernacle pitched by Moses. The utensils for the sacred service were also the same as those used in the tabernacle, only several of them were larger, in proportion to the more spacious edifice to which they belonged. We will here insert the entire account of the building of this house by king Solomon.

“Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains. And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls. And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

“And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold. And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits; and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward. And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon. Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

“Moreover, he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about; ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: and it received and held three thousand baths. He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. And he made ten candlesticks of gold, according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left: and he made an hundred basons of gold.

“Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south. And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God: to wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars; and four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars. He made also bases; and lavers made he upon the bases; one sea, and twelve oxen under it. The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon, for the house of the Lord of bright brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.

“Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out. And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shew-bread was set; moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner, before the oracle, of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold; and the snuffers and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple were of gold.

“Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

“Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark, and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle, but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place; (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course; also the Levites, which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets;) it came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.” 2 Chr. 3, 4, 5 chapters.

In chapter six we have an account of the dedication of this temple by king Solomon.

“Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from, heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord.” 2 Chr. 7:1-4.

Thus we have given at some length the account of the building of the temple, or sanctuary of the Lord at Jerusalem. How God filled it with his glory, and the fire from heaven consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices. That ancient structure was but a shadow, a figure of a greater and more perfect temple, adorned with the beautiful grace of holiness. Thank God! in this latter temple our soul has found a place of rest. We will now briefly trace the history of that worldly sanctuary with its destructions, and defilements, its cleansings, and rebuildings, until we finally reach its end, as the sanctuary of the Lord, when Christ expired upon the cross, and its final destruction and overthrow by the Roman armies in A. D. 70.

The Destruction of Solomon’s Temple, and its Rebuilding Under Zerubbabel

The pristine splendor and glory of the temple lasted but thirty-three years, when it was plundered by Shishak, king of Egypt. 1 Kin. 14:25, 26; .2 Chr. 12:9. As long as Israel obeyed the Lord, and walked according to his commandments, he was pleased to dwell among them; and as long as he dwelt in their midst their enemies could not prevail against them. It would have been utterly impossible for the heathen to have entered the temple to defile or destroy it as long as the presence of the Lord filled it. But the Jews rebelled against God, and went into idolatry, until God had to forsake them. For example, during the reign of Rehoboam the children of Judah and Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. “For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also Sodomites in the land: and they [Judah and Israel] did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.” 1 Kin. .14:23, 24. This greatly displeased the Lord, insomuch that he moved out of his house and left it desolate. As soon as this occurred, Shishak, king of Egypt, came against Jerusalem, and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord.

From this time the Jews were subject to more or less wars and pillages from the heathen, until at length they became so corrupt that they themselves polluted the house of God. 2 Chr. 30:14-16. At this time Babylon was the ruling kingdom of the world, with Nebuchadnezzar, in the prime of life, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated upon its throne. He marched his legions to Jerusalem, hemmed in the city, destroyed the house of God, broke down the wall, and left the city a heap of ruins. He carried all the vessels of the house of God to Babylon and put them in the heathen temple. All the children of Israel who had escaped the sword were carried captive into Babylon. An account of this is given in 2 Kings 25:1-11; 2 Chronicles 36:1-20. Babylon at this time was the greatest city of the world. Surrounded by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high, and eighty-seven feet thick, with its hanging gardens, its luxuriant pleasure grounds, its magnificent buildings, and the river Euphrates flowing through its midst, it “was a wonderment to all nations. Such was “The glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,” when Daniel and the Hebrew captives entered its impregnable walls to serve for seventy years in its gorgeous palaces. There the children of Israel, oppressed more than cheered by the glory and prosperity of the land of their captivity, hung their harps upon the willows of the sparkling Euphrates, and wept when they remembered Zion.

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if 1 prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.”

Psa. 137:1-9.

Such was the distress of Israel in their captivity. Such was the calamity which befell this people because they disobeyed God. Israel was a type of the New Testament church. Her captivity in Babylon was typical of the captivity of the true Israel in spiritual Babylon during a greater part of the Christian era. Many great events occurred during those seventy years of captivity. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of earthly kingdoms, and the everlasting kingdom of heaven, which was interpreted by Daniel, who was made ruler over the whole province of Babylon. Dan. 2. The Hebrew children were delivered from the fiery furnace. Dan. 3. King Nebuchadnezzar was driven from men, and dwelt with the beasts of the earth seven years. Dan. 4. The Medes and Persians conquered Babylon and took the kingdom. Dan. 5. Daniel was delivered out of the lion’s den. Dan. 6. Daniel received great visions and revelations. Dan, 7, 8, 11, 12 chapters. Thus we see that God honored his people, and favored them during the years of their oppression. He also brought judgment upon their oppressors, and made their proud city a perpetual desolation. Long before her fall, the prophet Isaiah foretold it in the following words: “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there: and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures: and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.” Isa. 13:19-22.

All this came upon that city. In Jeremiah 50th and 51st chapters will be found a clear prophecy of the downfall of Babylon and the return of Israel to Zion, or Jerusalem.

The First Decree. The captivity began 606 B. C. and ended 536 B. C. In that year Cyrus, king of Persia, received a charge from the God of heaven to build the house of God at Jerusalem. He made a decree to the Jews, giving them permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Ezra 1:1-11; Ezra 6:3. In that year 42,360 Jews returned with Zerubbabel to rebuild the house of God. See Ezra 2:1-70; 3:1-7; Neh. 7:66. In the second year of their return Zerubbabel laid the foundation of the temple. Ezra 3:8-10. The exclamations of joy, which Israel uttered when the foundation was laid, are recorded in the following words: “And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy; so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.”

Ezra 3:11-13.

This return of Israel from Babylonish captivity is certainly a type of our return to Zion from the captivity in “Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”

Rev. 17:5; 18:1-5. At that time fleshly Israel went to literal Zion, or Jerusalem, weeping for joy. Jer. 50:4, 5; Jer. 31:1-9. And just so in these last days, spiritual Israel—the church—is returning, and coming to spiritual Zion “with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.” Isa. 35:10. And just as they laid the foundation amid loud shoutings of joy, so we to-day build upon the everlasting rock, the same foundation upon which the saints of yore were built; and as a result we cry aloud and shout his praise for joy.

By reading Ezra 5 it will be seen that the enemies of Israel caused them much trouble, and finally the work ceased. But in the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Ezra 5:1. See also Hag. 1st and 2nd chapters, and Zech. 1st and 2nd chapters. So Zerubbabel rose up with the Jews, and began in earnest to build the house of God: “and with them were the prophets of God helping them.” Ezra 5:2. Here they went to work under divine inspiration, and “the eye of their God was upon them,” that their enemies “could not cause them to cease,” and the work “goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.” ver. 5, 8. When asked who commanded them to build this house, they answered: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.” ver. 11.

How beautiful and wonderful the types of the old dispensation! This whole work was a clear type of the present great reform. In the beginning of the present reformation, the enemies of the Lord greatly hindered. It seemed many times that all efforts were frustrated. But, thank God! the prophets of the Lord rose up and began “blowing the trumpet in Zion,” sounding an alarm in the holy mountain, and hundreds and thousands rose up and began to build “in the temple of the Lord” (Zech. 6:15), and it “groweth unto an holy temple.” The eye of the Lord is upon us, and the work goeth on fast. Thank God! All hell cannot hinder. We are building in the same house a great King set up many years ago; namely, “the house of God, which is the church.”

The Second Decree. King Darius made a decree 519 B. C. for the speedy prosecution of the work until the house of God should be finished. Ezra 6:1-12. Under this decree the temple was completed. At its dedication the Jews offered one hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering twelve he goats. Ezra 6:15-19.

The Third Decree. In 457 B. C. king Artaxerxes made a decree to Ezra, a mighty priest of the law. Ezra 7:1-13. Among other things, the object of this decree was to beautify the house of the Lord, and an unlimited amount of treasure was granted for this purpose. He was granted the privilege to do whatever else seemed good unto him. It empowered him to ordain laws, set magistrates and judges, and execute punishment, even unto death; in fact, it was the command to restore the Jewish state, civil and ecclesiastical, according to their law and ancient customs. It was to restore Jerusalem. Ezra 7:11-28. Ezra understood this decree to include the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Ezra 9:9. It is the one referred to in Daniel 9:25. Ezra went up to Jerusalem and wrought a great reform among the Jews. All that he accomplished is not recorded in his book.

The Fourth Decree. In 445 Nehemiah went up to Jerusalem by permission of king Artaxerxes. Neh. 2:1-20. His work was principally rebuilding the walls, etc. He reigned over Jerusalem about twelve years. Thus we give in brief a history of the destruction of Solomon’s temple and its rebuilding under Zerubbabel.

The Defiling of Zerubbabel’s Temple by the “Little Horn” of Daniel 8

While Daniel was a captive in Babylon he received the remarkable vision recorded in this chapter. “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will and became great.” Dan. 8:1-4.

In the interpretation Gabriel informed Daniel that this ram with two horns represented “the kings of Media and Persia.” ver. 20. This kingdom was composed of two nationalities represented by the two horns. “But one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.” This was the Persian division. At first it was but an ally to the Medes, but afterward became the ruling element in the kingdom. The different directions which it was seen pushing, denote the directions in which the Medes and Persians carried their conquests. No earthly power could stand before them while they were marching to the exalted position to which the providence of God had

summoned them. They ruled over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces. Esther 1:1.

“And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.” Dan. 8:5-7.

Said the angel to Daniel: “The rough goat is the king [kingdom] of Grecia.” ver. 21. Grecia lay west of Persia; hence, came from the west. The great horn between the eyes of this goat, we are told, “is the first king.” ver. 21. This was Alexander the Great. Verses 6 and 7 give a clear account of the overthrow of the Persian empire by this general. The conquests of Alexander have no parallel in historic annals. It seems he conquered the whole world. It lay prostrate at his feet. But we are told that when this goat kingdom waxed very great, and strong, “The great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.” ver. 8. This refers to Alexander’s death when in the prime of life. Although he had conquered the world, he failed to conquer himself. He died a drunken sot. Well did Solomon say: “He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he which taketh a city.” The four notable horns which came up in his stead are interpreted to be “four kingdoms,” which were to “stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.” ver. 22.

At the death of Alexander it seemed for a short time that the kingdom would fall to pieces, but it soon consolidated into four divisions. Within fifteen years it was divided among his four leading generals. Cassander had Macedonia and Greece in the west; Lysimachus had Thrace and the parts of Asia on the Hellespont and Bosporus in the north; Ptolemy received Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine, and Celo Syria in the south; and Seleucus had Syria and all the rest of Alexander’s dominions in the east. These four divisions may be named, Macedonia, Thrace, Syria, and Egypt. “And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” ver. 9.

A mistake has been made in the past in confounding this little horn with that of chapter seven. The little horn brought to view in chapter seven, came up out of the fourth beast (Rome); came up among his ten horns, and subdued three. This can only refer to popery. But it will be seen that the little horn here brought to view came out of one of the four divisions of Grecia. This cannot be popery, nor yet Imperial Rome, as neither of these came out of Grecia. You may search all through the archives of history, but you cannot trace popery, nor the imperial head of the Roman empire, to Greece. Even the family of Agustus Caesar was not of Greek descent. Therefore we must look elsewhere for this little horn. Gabriel interprets it to be “a king of fierce countenance.” ver. 23. This implies that it refers to a certain individual-a king. But did such a king come out of one of the divisions of Grecia? History says, yes; (Antiochus Epiphanes) the Syrian king. He without doubt is the little horn in this vision. Antiochus was the eighth of twenty-six kings who ruled over the Syrian portion of Alexander’s empire. We will here quote from 1 Maccabees.

“And it happened, after that Alexander, son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece, and made many wars, and won many strongholds, and slew the kings of the earth, and went through to the ends of the earth, and took spoils of many nations, insomuch that the earth was quiet before him; whereupon he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up. And he gathered a mighty strong host, and ruled over countries, and nations, and kings, who became tributaries unto him. And after these things he fell sick, and perceived that he should die. Wherefore he called his servants, such as were honorable, and had been brought up with him from his youth, and parted his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive.

“So Alexander reigned twelve years, and then died. And his servants bare rule every one in his place. And after his death they all put crowns upon themselves; so did their sons after them many years: and evils were multiplied in the earth. And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been a hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.”

The leader will at once see the harmony between the language of Daniel 8:5-9, 21-23, and that quoted from 1 Maccabees. It will be seen that Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. In the prophecy it is recorded that “out of one of them [one of the four divisions of Grecia] came forth a little horn”—“a king of fierce countenance.” In the above quotation from Maccabees, we read, that “there came out of them [one of the four divisions of Grecia] a wicked root, Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes.” These are the same. As recorded in Daniel 8:9, this little horn was to wax great, “toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” “We will now prove that Antiochus fulfilled this prediction. (1) Toward the south—Egypt. “Now when the kingdom was established before Antiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt, that he might have the dominion of two realms. Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy, and made war against Ptolemee king of Egypt: but Ptolemee was afraid of him, and fled; and many were wounded to death. Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt, and he took the spoils thereof.”

(2) Toward the east. This was fulfilled in his conquests of Celo Syria and Persia. (3) And toward the pleasant land. This refers to Judea, or Palestine—“the glorious land.” Dan. 11:16, 41; Ezek. 20:6, 15; Jer. 3:19. Into it Antiochus made his inroad after his return from Egypt. By reference to the LXX it will be seen to read somewhat differently. “And out of one of them came forth one strong horn, and it grew very great toward the south, and toward the host. “Only the south and host are here spoken of. The “host” refers to the Jews in Palestine and Jerusalem—God’s people. The reading of the LXX harmonizes with the facts of history. Immediately after conquering Egypt, Antiochus went up against Israel and Jerusalem.

“And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude.” 1 Macc. 1:20. “At the same time that Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, had a quarrel with the sixth Ptolemy about his right to the whole country of Syria, a great sedition fell among the men of power in Judea, and they had a contention about obtaining the government; while each of those that were of dignity could not endure to be subject to their equals. However, Onias, one of the high priests, got the better, and cast the sons of Tobias out of the city; who fled to Antiochus, and besought him to make use of them for his leaders, and to make an expedition into Judea. The king being thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them, and came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy.” Josephus’ Wars of the Jews, Book I, Chap. I.

These facts of history, briefly stated, prove beyond question that Antiochus fulfilled the prophecy. We will now consider the things which this little horn was to accomplish.

“And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.” Dan. 8:10-12. I will here give the interpretation as rendered in the LXX. “And at the latter time of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king bold in countenance, and understanding riddles. And his power shall be great, and he shall destroy wonderfully, and prosper, and practise, and shall destroy mighty men, and the holy people. And the yoke of his chain shall prosper: there is craft in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by craft shall destroy many, and he shall stand up for the destruction of many, and shall crush them as eggs in his hand.”

Dan. 8:23-25, LXX.

Here is recorded a number of things this king was to accomplish. “Cast down the host and stamp upon them;” that is, “destroy mighty men, and the holy people.” He was to take away the daily sacrifice, cast down the sanctuary, or, as more properly rendered in the Septuagint Version, “The holy place shall be made desolate.” Did Antiochus do this? We will let the voice of history answer: Antiochus “came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude. . . . He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practise of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months. . . .

“Now Antiochus was not satisfied either with his unexpected taking of the city, or with its pillage, or with the great slaughter he made there; but being overcome with his violent passions, and remembering what he had suffered during the siege, he compelled the Jews to dissolve the laws of their country, and to keep their infants uncircumcised, and to sacrifice swine’s flesh upon the altar; against which they all opposed themselves, and the most approved among them were put to death. Baeehides also, who was sent to keep the fortresses, having these wicked commands, joined to his own natural barbarity, indulged all sorts of the extremest wickedness, and tormented the worthiest of the inhabitants, man by man, and threatened their city every day with open destruction, till at length he provoked the poor sufferers by the extremity of his wicked doings to avenge themselves.” Josephus’ Wars of the Jews, Book I,

Chap. I.

“King Antiochus returning out of Egypt, for fear of the Romans, made an expedition against the city of Jerusalem; and when he was there, in the hundred and forty-third year of the kingdom of the Seleucidae, he took the city without fighting, those of his own party opening the gates to him. And when he had gotten possession of Jerusalem, he slew many of the opposite party; and when he had plundered it of a great deal of money he returned to Antioch. Now it came to pass, after two years, in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of that month which is by us called Chasleu, and by the Macedonians Apelleus, in the hundred and fifty-third olympiad, that the king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession of the city by treachery; at which time he spared not so much as those that admitted him into it, on account of the riches that lay in the temple; but, led by his covetous inclination, (for he saw there was in it a great deal of gold, and many ornaments that had been dedicated to it of very great value,) and in order to plunder its wealth, he ventured to break the league he had made. So he left the temple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the golden altar [of incense], and table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of burnt-offering]; and did not abstain from even the vails, which were made of fine linen and scarlet. He also emptied it of its secret treasures, and left nothing at all remaining; and by this means cast the Jews into great lamentation, for he forbade them to offer those daily sacrifices which they used to offer to God, according to the law.

“And when he had pillaged the whole city, some of the inhabitants he slew, and some he carried captive, together with their wives and children, so that the multitude of those captives that were taken alive amounted to about ten thousand. He also burnt down the finest buildings; and when he had overthrown the city walls, he built a citadel in the lower part of the city, for the place was high, and overlooked the temple; on which account he fortified it with high walls and towers, and put into it a garrison of Macedonians. However, in that citadel dwelt the impious and wicked part of the [Jewish] multitude, from whom it proved that the citizens suffered many and sore calamities.

“And when the king had built an idol altar upon God’s altar, he slew swine upon it, and so offered a sacrifice neither according to the law, nor the Jewish religious worship in that country. He also compelled them to forsake the worship which they paid their own God, and to adore those whom he took to be gods; and made them build temples, and raise idol altars in every city and village, and offer swine upon them every day. He also commanded them not to circumcise their sons, and threatened to punish any that should be found to have transgressed his injunction.

“He also appointed overseers, who should compel them to do what he commanded. And indeed many Jews there were who complied with the king’s commands, either voluntarily, or out of fear of the penalty that was denounced. But the best men, and those of the noblest souls, did not regard him, but did pay a greater respect to the customs of their country than concern as to the punishment which he threatened to the disobedient; on which account they every day underwent great miseries and bitter torments; for they were whipped with rods, and their bodies were torn to pieces, and were crucified, while they were still alive, and breathed. They also strangled those women and their sons whom they had circumcised, as the king had appointed, hanging their sons about their necks as they were upon the crosses. And if there were any sacred book of the law found, it was destroyed, and those with whom they were found miserably perished also.” Josephus’ Antiq., Book XII, Chap. V, page 362 and 363.

“And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof. And the table of the shew-bread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials, and the censers of gold, and the vail, and the crowns, and the golden ornaments that were before the temple, all which he pulled off. He took also the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the hidden treasures which he found. And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoke very proudly. Therefore there was great mourning in Israel, in every place where they were; so that the princes and elders mourned, the virgins and young men were made feeble, and the beauty of women was changed. Every bridegroom took up lamentation, and she that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness. The land also was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of Jacob was covered with confusion.

“And after two years fully expired, the king sent his chief collector of tribute unto the cities of Juda, who came unto Jerusalem with a great multitude; and spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel. And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire and pulled down the houses and walls thereof on every side. But the women and children took they captive, and possessed the cattle. Then builded they the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with mighty towers, and made it a stronghold for them. And they put therein a sinful nation, wicked men, and fortified themselves’ therein. They stored it also with armor and victuals, and when they had gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem, they laid them up there, and so they became a sore snare: for it was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel. Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary and defiled it: insomuch that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them: whereupon the city was made a habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in her; and her own children left her. Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness, her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honor into

contempt. As had been her glory, so was her dishonor increased, and her excellency was turned into mourning.

“Moreover king Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one people, and every one should leave his laws: so all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the sabbath. For the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Juda, that they should follow the strange laws of the land, and forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and drink offerings, in the temple; and that they should profane the sabbaths and festival days: and pollute the sanctuary and holy people: set up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine’s flesh, and unclean beasts: that they should also leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness and profanation: to the end they might forget the law, and change all the ordinances. And whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said, he should die.

“In the selfsame manner wrote he to his whole kingdom, and appointed overseers over all the people, commanding the cities of Juda to sacrifice, city by city. Then many of the people were gathered unto them, to wit, every one that forsook the law; and so they committed evils in the land; and drove the Israelites into secret places, even wheresoever they could flee for succor. Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side; and burnt incense at the doors of their houses, and in the streets. And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which they found, they burnt them with fire. And wheresoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any consented to the law, the king’s commandment was, that they should put him to death. Thus did they by their authority unto the Israelites every month, to as many as were found in the cities.

“Now the five and twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was upon the altar of God. At which time according to the commandment they put to death certain women, that had caused their children to be circumcised. And they hanged the infants about their necks, and rifled their houses, and slew them that had circumcised them. Howbeit many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing. Wherefore they chose rather to die, that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the holy covenant: so then they died. And there was very great wrath upon Israel.”

1 Macc. 1:20-64.

“Now when this that was done came to the king’s ear, he thought that Judea had revolted: whereupon removing out of Egypt in a furious mind, he took the city by force of arms, and commanded his men of war not to spare such as they met, and to slay such as went up upon the houses. Thus there was killing of young and old, making away of men, women, and children, slaying of virgins and infants. And there were destroyed within three whole days fourscore thousand, whereof forty thousand were slain in the conflict; and no fewer sold than slain. Yet was he not content with this, but presumed to go into the most holy temple of all the world; Menelaus, that traitor to the laws, and to his own country, being his guide: and taking the holy vessels with polluted hands, and with profane hands pulling down the things that were dedicated by other kings to the augmentation and glory and honor of the place, he gave them away.” 2 Macc. 5:11-16.

“Not long after this the king sent an old man of Athens to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers, and not to live after the laws of God: and to pollute also the temple in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympius; and that in Garizim, of Jupiter the Defender of strangers, as they did desire that dwelt in the place. The coming in of this mischief was sore and grievous to the people: for the temple was filled with riot and reveling by the Gentiles, who dallied with harlots, and had to do with women within the circuit of the holy places, and besides that brought in things that were not lawful. The altar also was filled with profane things, which the law forbiddeth. Neither was it lawful for a man to keep sabbath days or ancient feasts, or to profess himself at all to be a Jew. And in the day of the king’s birth, every month they were brought by bitter constraint to eat of the sacrifices; and when the feast of Bacchus was kept, the Jews were compelled to go in procession to Bacchus, carrying ivy.

“Moreover, there went out a decree to the neighbor cities of the heathen, by the suggestion of Ptolemee, against the Jews, that they should observe the same fashions, and be partakers of their sacrifices: and whoso would not conform themselves to the manners of the Gentiles should be put to death. Then might a man have seen the present misery. For there were two women brought, who had circumcised their children; whom when they had openly led round about the city, the babes hanging at their breasts, they cast them down headlong from the wall. And others, that had run together into caves near by, to keep the sabbath day secretly, being discovered to Philip, were all burnt together, because they made a conscience to help themselves for the honor of the most sacred day.”

2 Macc. 6:1-11.

We have here quoted at some length from Josephus and Maccabees, to prove beyond disputation that all contained in the prophecy of Daniel 8 was fulfilled in Antiochus’ reign. Who can fail to see after reading the above, and then the prophecy, that they are the same. Antiochus entered the pleasant land, camped against the host at Jerusalem, captured the city, and slew a multitude with a great slaughter. He compelled the Jews to sacrifice swine’s flesh upon the altar, and commit all the abominations of the heathen. All who would not do this were slain. Thus the host was trampled under foot. He completely suspended the worship of God, and set up heathen worship in Jerusalem and Juda. He took away the daily sacrifice, and placed the abomination of desolation. He laid the sanctuary waste like a wilderness.

Mattathias thus describes the condition of things at this time: “And when he saw the blasphemies that were committed in Juda and Jerusalem, he said, Woe is me! Wherefore was I born to see this misery of my people, and of the holy city, and to dwell there, when it was delivered into the hand of the enemy, and the sanctuary into the hand of strangers? Her temple is become as a man without glory. Her glorious vessels are carried away into captivity, her infants are slain in the streets, her young men with the sword of the enemy. . . . Of a free woman she has become a bond-slave. And, behold, our sanctuary, even our beauty and our glory, is laid waste, and the Gentiles have profaned it.” 1 Macc. 2:1-12.

This awful work of Antiochus is a clear type of the great apostasy of the church during the Christian era. This Syrian king is a type of popery. Just as he trampled the host, defiled the temple, took away the daily sacrifice, placed the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem, so has popery and Protestant sectism trampled God’s spiritual host, defiled the spiritual sanctuary, taken away the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and set up a human abomination of desolation.

We will next consider the cleansing of Zerubbabel’s temple and the time allotted. “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:13, 14.

The same sanctuary which Antiochus defiled is the one to be cleansed. Farther on in this book will be found “The Adventist theory.” They teach the disgusting theory that the cleansing of the sanctuary here referred to, is a cleansing in heaven, accomplished by Jesus Christ. The same was to begin in 1844. They endeavor to stretch out the 2,300 days to that time. Upon this calculation, U. Smith says the whole Advent movement is founded, and if not correct, “It is a fraud.” We shall clearly prove it to be so by the Word of God.

Had the inventors of the Adventist theory paused to consider the context of Daniel 8:14, they would surely have been ashamed to publish it. They apply the cleansing of the sanctuary at the expiration of 2,300 days, to a change of the Lord Jesus from the holy into the holiest of his supposed “literal structure” in heaven. But there is no hint of such a thing in all the lesson. No question had been asked as to how long it would be until Christ would shift from the first to the second apartment of his sanctuary in heaven or anywhere else. Had Daniel heard one saint speaking, or an angel inquiring how long it would be until Christ would pass into the most holy place of heaven, and begin to cleanse it from sins, then might U. Smith have coupled this theory on to the answer. But neither saints nor angels have conceived or uttered a thing so extremely ridiculous; nor is there a word in the Bible that intimates such a thing. The order of Christ’s priesthood was not at all in the conversation of the saints; and no question had been asked to draw out an answer in regard to it. But what was seen and heard in the vision?

The question related to the little horn—Antiochus—who took away the daily sacrifice, set up the transgression of desolation, and trod down the host and sanctuary. This is too plain to admit of any possible mistake as to what the sanctuary was that was to be cleansed. It were an utter confusion of words, if the answer to the question relates not to the same thing the question itself does. The inquiry of the saint was, how long this desolate state of the sanctuary and the holy people of God should continue; the answer was immediately given. By properly connecting the question and its answer all can see that the cleansing of the sanctuary was made necessary by the pollution and casting down of the same by the little horn. And of course the same sanctuary that was defiled and trodden under foot was to be cleansed at the end of the 2,300 days. And yet these blind guides locate the sanctuary in heaven, as if that little horn had actually entered that lofty habitation of God, and defiled it.

Is it possible that U. Smith could overlook the identity of the sanctuary in the question with that in the answer? But to admit that identity would utterly overthrow his theory. Therefore the sanctuary to be cleansed he says is in heaven. But how does he define the one that was trodden down? Now let that dark and deceptive sect hide her face with shame, while we expose her unscrupulous wresting of the Scriptures. After quoting from Ezekiel 21:25-27, 31, in “Thoughts on Daniel,” page 238 and 239, the writer remarks, “Here is the period of God’s indignation against his covenant people; the period during which the sanctuary and the host are to be trodden under foot. The diadem was removed, and the crown taken off, when Israel was subject to the kingdom of Babylon.” The utter crookedness of this teaching is its blending together prophecy that relates to the subjection of the Jews to the king of Babylon, and the very language of Daniel 8:9-13, which refers to the work of the little horn which came out of Grecia. Did Babylon come out of Grecia? U. Smith surely knew better when he penned the above. But such are the gross absurdities of that people who stand in the smoke of Sinai.

Is it possible that any man in his senses can read Daniel 8:9-13 and conclude that the sanctuary of which it was asked, how long its desolation should continue, refers to the Babylonian captivity, B. C. 606; and the sanctuary mentioned in verse 14, in direct answer to the question, refers to a literal structure in heaven? But such is the foolish and disgusting position in which U. Smith places himself, in his extreme zeal for his dark and worthless sect. Out of his own mouth we judge the man.

Daniel received this vision of the little horn while he was a captive in Babylon, and but a few years prior to the return of the captivity; therefore, the prophecy related to something future of his time. We have before clearly proved that the little horn was Antiochus, who defiled the sanctuary which Zerubbabel had built. Of course this work was a type of the work of the apostasy, and the cleansing of that ancient house, a type of the present cleansing of the church. But Adventist fiction teaches it was something defiled on earth, and cleansed in heaven.

Taking U. Smith’s teaching all together the sanctuary of

Daniel 8:13 is the Jews in their seventy years’ captivity, is the people of God under the oppression of the dark ages and yet being identical with verse 14, is something in heaven. Surely the children of the bondwoman are sons of confusion. He says, “The question [concerning the cleansing of the sanctuary] is one which is calculated to enlist our whole attention. It is one of deepest interest; for it pertains to the time when the heel of oppression shall be forever lifted from the host, the people of God.” Then it does not relate to a time when Christ is supposed to enter the holiest in heaven and begin to cleanse it out. It relates to a triumph of the people of God, after which “opposing powers shall no longer be able to pervert his worship”; then it is fulfilled here on earth, and not in heaven; for in that holy habitation “opposing powers” never entered and the worship of God is not perverted. Again, if the cleansing of the sanctuary, relates to the deliverance of the people of God from opposing powers, and the restoration of the true worship of God, then it did not occur October 22, 1844. For at that time no sanctuary was cleansed.

Having now clearly proved that the prophecy cannot refer to anything in heaven, and that the Advent theory is a fraud; we will next give some good reasons why it cannot apply to popery.

1. There is no hint that the 2,300 days apply to anything else than the exact length of time the horn was to continue, and the host and sanctuary should be trampled.

2. The 2,300 days must relate to the length of the triumph of the little horn that came out of the four—Antiochus Epiphanes.

3. Therefore it would not be proper to apply the 2,300 days to the triumph of Titus when he set up the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem.

4. For the same reason it could not be applied to the triumph of popery.

5. There is an evening and a morning connected with each of the 2,300 days. Dan. 8:14—margin, also LXX, and ver. 26. This clearly shows that they are natural days instead of so many years, as formerly supposed.

6. To suppose that they signify so many years, and apply them to the reign of popery, we must measure from a date several hundred years before popery arose. This is entirely incredible.

7. The 2,300 days cannot measure from a certain type to its antitype, for nothing of the kind is hinted at.

8. Popery may be considered an antitype of Antiochus’ triumph, but in that case we could make no antitypical application of the 2,300 days; for we should have to figure the beginning of the antitype before the type arose.

With these facts before us we are certain that the 2,300 days cannot apply to anything else than what the prophecy clearly states, the reign of the little horn—Antiochus—who trampled the host, took away the daily sacrifice, and set up the abomination of desolation. The abomination of desolation was set up in Jerusalem and the daily sacrifice taken away by king Antiochus in the 145th year and 15th day of the month Casleu, of the Grecian empire. “Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side; and burnt incense at the doors of their houses, and in the streets.” 1 Mace. 1:54, 55. Casleu is the ninth month. See 1 Macc. 4:52. This gives us the starting stake of Daniel 12:11. “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

We are to count 1,290 days from the setting up of the abomination of desolation, and taking away of the daily sacrifice. As seen above this occurred in the 145th year, 9th month, and 15th day of the month. 1,290 days from this date bring us to the 149th year, 4th month, and 15th day. Counting 30 days to the month, these years contain just 360 days. The 149th year was when Antiochus heard of the defeat of his armies by the armies of Israel, and he took sick, and died. See 1 Macc. 6:1-16. The 1,290 days measure from the setting up of the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem by Antiochus to the 149th year, 4th month, and 15th day, when he heard of the defeat of his army by the armies of Israel, which caused him to take his bed sick, and to repent of all the evil he had done against Judea and Jerusalem. See 1 Macc. 6:1-13; 2 Macc. 9:1-17.

After this Antiochus was sick many days. 1 Macc. 6:9. “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” Dan. 12:12. The setting up of the abomination of desolation is the starting point of both these periods. The 1,335 days bring us to the 30th day of the 5th month of the 149th year, which was the date of Antiochus’ death (1 Macc. 6:16), which marks the end of the little horn.

Now since we are commanded in Daniel 12:11 to count the 1,290 days from the setting up of the abomination, we figured these dates from the date given in 1 Maccabees 1:54, and find the end of the 1,290 days reaches to the 149th year, 4th month, and 15th day. And counting the 1,335 days from the same starting stake they reach to the 30th day of the 5th month of the 149th year; which is the year given in Maccabees 6:16 for the defeat of the army of Antiochus, and his sickness and death. Read carefully the 6tli chapter of Maccabees, and you will see clearly that the 1,290 days reach to the time when Antiochus received the news of the defeat of his army by the armies of Israel, which caused him to take to his bed sick, and to repent of all the evil he had done against Judea and Jerusalem. Verse 9 of this chapter says that he continued sick many days. The exact number of days is not given, but the 45 days added to 1,290 to make 1,335 days doubtless specify the number of the days of Antiochus’ sickness if the facts were known. And the 1,335 days beyond doubt reach to the death of Antiochus. This is highly probable since we have the testimony before us that Antiochus’ death occurred that year.

If we measure back from the 30th day of the 5th month of the 149th year 2,300 days we find their beginning on the 10th day of the 1st month of the 143d year, which is the year specified as the time when Antiochus inarched against Israel in 1 Maccabees 1:20. We believe this to be the true history of Antiochus, and a correct explanation of these three prophetic periods.

Summing up the foregoing facts, what have we? A king of fierce countenance came out of Grecia—Antiochus Epiphanes. He fulfilled the prophecy of the little horn which came out of one of the four. He did everything prophesied that the little horn would do. He marched his hosts to Jerusalem in the 143d year of the Grecian empire, in the 1st month and 10th day. 1 Macc. 1:20. He then began to trample the host of Israel under foot. Counting from this date, 2,300 days bring us to the 149th year, 5th month, and 20th day, when Antiochus died. 1 Macc. 6:16. This reaches to the end of the little horn who trampled the host and defiled the sanctuary.

There is also great reason to doubt the 2,400 days of our text of the LXX. The Alexandrian Version of the LXX has 2,300 days the same as the Hebrew, and none of the Church Fathers use 2,400 days—always 2,300 days. The Church Fathers also apply the little

horn to Antiochus, and they should be considered good authority for prophecies that met their fulfilment prior to their time.

Antiochus set up the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem in the 145th year, 9th month, and 15th day. 1 Macc. 1:54. From this date the 1,290 days of Daniel 12:11 reach to the time when Antiochus heard of the defeat of his army, took sick, and repented of the evil he had done. 1 Macc. 6:1-13. And the 1,335 days of Daniel 12:12 reach to the time of his death. 1 Macc. 6:16. Thus the little horn of Daniel 8, came to his end at the time appointed. We have yet to consider the cleansing of the sanctuary which Antiochus defiled. This work was accomplished by Judas Maccabeus.

“Then said Judas and his brethren, Behold our enemies are discomfited: let us go up to cleanse and dedicate the sanctuary. Upon this all the host assembled themselves together, and went up into mount Sion. And when they saw the sanctuary desolate, and the altar profaned, and the gates burned up, and shrubs growing in the courts as in a forest, or in one of the mountains, yea, and the priests’ chambers pulled down; they rent their clothes, and made great lamentation, and cast ashes upon their heads, and fell down flat to the ground upon their faces, and blew an alarm with the trumpets, and cried toward heaven. Then Judas appointed certain men to fight against those that were in the fortress, until he had cleansed the sanctuary. So he chose priests of blameless conversation, such as had pleasure in the law: who cleansed the sanctuary, and bare out the defiled stones unto an unclean place. And when as they consulted what to do with the altar of burnt offerings, which was profaned; they thought it best to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach to them, because the heathen had defiled it: wherefore they pulled it down, and laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to show what should be done with them. Then they took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the former; and made up the sanctuary, and the things that were within the temple, and hallowed the courts. They made also new holy vessels, and into the temple they brought the candlestick, and the altar of burnt offerings, and of incense, and the table. And upon the altar they burned incense, and the lamps that were upon the candlestick they lighted, that thy might give light in the temple. Furthermore they set the loaves upon the table, and spread out the vails, and finished all the works which they had begun to make.

“Now on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is called the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up betimes in the morning, and offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings, which they had made. Look, at what time and what day the heathen had profaned it, even in that was it dedicated with songs, and citherns, and harps, and cymbals. Then all the people fell upon their faces, worshiping and praising the God of heaven, who had given them good success.” 1 Macc. 4:36-55.

“Now Maccabeus and his company, the Lord guiding them, recovered the temple and the city: but the altars which the heathen had built in the open streets, and also the chapels, they pulled down. And having cleansed the temple, they made another altar, and striking stones they took fire out of them, and offered a sacrifice after two years, and set forth incense, and lights and shew-bread. When that was done, they fell flat down, and besought the Lord that they might come no more into such troubles; but if they sinned any more against him, that he himself would chasten them with mercy, and that they might not be delivered unto the blasphemous and barbarous nations. Now upon the same day that the strangers profaned the temple, on the very same day it was cleansed again, even the five and twentieth day of the same month, which is Casleu. And they kept eight days with gladness, as in the feast of the tabernacles, remembering that not long afore they had held the feast of the tabernacles, when as they wandered in the mountains and dens like beasts. Therefore they bare branches, and fair boughs, and palms also, and sang psalms unto him that had given them good success in cleansing his place. They ordained also by a common statute and decree, that every year those days should be kept of the whole nation of the Jews. And this was the end of Antiochus, called Epiphanes.” 2 Macc. 10:1-9. Thus the prophecy of Daniel 8th chapter was fulfilled. This whole work of defiling the temple Zerubbabel built, and the cleansing of the same, took place 170—164 B. C.

The Rebuilding of the Temple by Herod, and its Final Destruction—The End of the Worldly Sanctuary

About thirty-seven years before Christ, Herod resolved to rebuild and beautify the temple. See Josephus’ Antiq., Book XV, Chap. I, 11. He pulled down the temple Zerubbabel built, and erected one considerably larger. This last one was built of white marble, and was a temple of exquisite beauty. All the Jewish writers praise this temple for its beauty and the costliness of its workmanship. Even the disciples spoke to Jesus of the temple, “how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts.” Of it, Josephus says: Its appearance had everything that could strike the mind and astonish the sight. For it was on every side covered with solid plates of gold, so that when the sun rose upon it, it reflected such a strong and dazzling effulgence, that the eye of the beholder was obliged to turn away from it, being no more able to sustain the radiance than the splendor of the sun. But this temple appeared to strangers, when they were coming to it at a distance, like a mountain covered with snow; for as to those parts of it that were not gilt, they were exceeding white. Josephus’ Wars, Book V, Chap. V.

This was the temple at Jerusalem—the sanctuary of the Lord—at the time when Christ appeared among men to build its antitype. We will briefly consider its final destruction. While Daniel was confessing his sins and the sins of his people, he received the following revelation from Gabriel: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Dan. 9:24-27.

“Seventy weeks have been determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be ended, and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out the iniquities, and to make atonement for iniquities,

and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy. And thou shalt

know and understand, that from the going forth of the command for the answer and for the building of Jerusalem until Christ the Prince there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks: and then the time shall return, and the street shall be built, and the wall, and the times shall be exhausted. And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in him: and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall appoint the city to desolations. And one week shall establish the covenant with many: and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and drink offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be the abomination of desolations; and at the end of the time an end shall be put to the desolation.” Dan. 9:24-27, LXX.

This is an important prophecy, and one that may well attract our careful study and attention. The prophet, with a few strokes of his pencil, and a few dashes of his pen speaks volumes to us. Great and mighty events are couched in these few verses. The mission of Messiah and the end of the Jewish polity is foretold. The key to this time-prophecy is found in verse 25. “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem. In a previous chapter we have proved that this command refers to the one given to Ezra by king Artaxerxes.

Ezra 7:1-28. It will be seen that this command was to restore Jerusalem. Such was the decree given to Ezra. It empowered him to ordain laws, set magistrates and judges, and execute punishment even unto death; in fact, it was the command to restore the Jewish state, civil and ecclesiastical according to their law and ancient customs. It was to restore Jerusalem. The Jews desired to rebuild the city, and this decree gave them that privilege. Ezra understood this decree included the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Ezra 9:9. This command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was given 457 B. C. “Seventy weeks are determined.” Daniel used the week of years, so common in use among the Jews in his time. Therefore the seventy weeks equal four hundred and ninety years. Measuring four hundred and ninety years from 457 B. C., which is the date given to start from—when the command was given—they extend to A. D. 33. In other words, just four hundred and ninety years lay between

457 B. C. and A. D. 33.

However the work of restoring all things did not begin until the middle of the year 457 (Ezra 7:8), which would bring the four hundred and ninety years to the fall of A. D. 33, or about the middle of that year. “Seven weeks, and three score and two weeks.” Sixty-nine weeks, of this seventy, were to reach to “the Messiah the Prince.” This refers to Christ. Messiah (Hebrew), Christ (Greek), means anointed. “The anointed one” How and when was Jesus anointed? “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” Acts 10:38. “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21, 22. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Luke 4:18.

Here we have the exact time of the anointing of Jesus. At his baptism he was anointed the Messiah of the world, and entered his earthly ministry, because God had anointed him to preach the gospel—anointed him with the Holy Ghost. This is what is meant in Daniel’s vision by the words, “To anoint the Most Holy.” The common account called Anno Domini began when Christ was four years old. Luke informs us that Christ began to be about thirty years of age when baptized, and when he entered his ministry. Luke 3:21-23. This would make Christ’s baptism occur in A. D. 26. He was baptized in about the middle or latter part of A. D. 26. The seven weeks, and the three score and two weeks, which were to reach to Messiah, the anointed one, equal 69 weeks, or 483 years. Reckoning 483 years from 457 B. C. they reach to A. D. 26, to the anointing of the Most Holy—to Messiah the Prince. This leaves one week of seven years, to make up the seventy weeks.

We will now consider what was to be accomplished in this last week. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” Having seen that the 69 of the 70 weeks extend to the baptism of Jesus (A. D. 26), when he was anointed Messiah the Prince, and entered his earthly ministry, for the salvation of the world, the last week of the seventy must begin with A. D. 26, and extend to A. D. 33 just seven years—one week. During this week the covenant was to be confirmed with many. The covenant here referred to is the new covenant in Christ Jesus—“Grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ.”

Of this covenant Jeremiah thus prophesies: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer. 31:31-34.

The 69 weeks, 483 years end in A. D. 26 at Christ’s baptism. Here he was anointed to preach the gospel of the kingdom (Luke 3:21, 22; 4:18), to deliver the new covenant. Here he entered the ministry of salvation to men. Here the last week of the seventy began. Three and one-half years of that week were taken up in delivering the principles of that covenant. Then Christ died and dedicated this covenant with his own blood. His blood was shed: “The blood of the new testament, shed for many”; “The blood of the everlasting covenant. “Thus the covenant he delivered to the world was sealed with his own blood, and came into force at his death. There yet remains three and one-half years of this week to confirm that covenant to many. It is a fact that the first three and one-half years after Christ’s death were a marked epoch in spreading the gospel to all nations of the then known world. The word sounded out “to all the world.” Thousands upon thousands were saved through the blood of the covenant, and thus the covenant was confirmed to many.

The last week, as before observed, reaches from A. D. 26 to A. D. 33. Just seven years. This marks the end of the 70 weeks or 490 years. From the time the command went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, 457 B. C. to A. D. 33, is just 490 years. But we are not yet through with this last week. The greatest, and mightiest event that ever occurred in heaven or earth took place in that week. Thus saith the prophecy: “And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah he cut of, but not for himself.” Dan. 9:26. “And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Dan. 9:27. The reader will observe that the 69 weeks which were to extend to Messiah, are divided off as follows: “Seven weeks, three score and two weeks.” The first seven weeks, or 49 years extended from 457 B. C. to 408 B. C. This, no doubt, was the time that it took to complete the walls, streets, etc., which the prophecy says were finished “in troublous times.” From 408 B. C., where the first seven weeks ended, to the anointing of the Most Holy, was just three score and two weeks, or 434 years. After this, or, in the midst of the last week of the seventy, Messiah should be cut off. This refers to the death of Christ. Just three and one-half years after Jesus was anointed and entered his earthly ministry, he was cut off—crucified—for the sins of the whole world; right in the midst—middle—of the last week. Thus we stand in awe at the wonderful fulfilment of prophecy.

We will now consider what took place in the midst of this last week of the seventy, when Jesus—Messiah—was cut off, or died upon the cross. “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people.” Up to this time the Jews were the chosen people of God. But the moment Christ expired upon Calvary they ceased to be his special people. His blood was shed for the whole world. The way was now opened for all nations to come into covenant favor with God. The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile was broken down, and both were made one, were reconciled into one body by the cross: in whom “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free.” Col. 3:11. The distinction of Jew and Gentile was conceived in the covenant to Abraham, almost two thousand years before Christ. The Jew stood for Abraham’s nation. To them were given the “lively oracles, the covenants and promises.” They were favored above every nation upon earth. The Gentile is a cosmopolite—a citizen of any nation. Here, the Jews on one side, and Gentiles on the other, are placed in distinction and contrast. The Jews were God’s people, the Gentiles were “without God, and without hope in the world.” But after being severed by a special providence for so long a period of time, both meet in Messiah and are made one, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek. All nations thus saved through Christ’s blood constitute the seed of Abraham by promise, the “true Israel of God.”

“And upon thy holy city” God had said, “I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there.” 2 Chr. 6:6. After the children of Israel entered the land of promise, and God fulfilled his covenant to them, he desired a place among them for his dwelling place, and he chose Jerusalem. There the sanctuary was built, and there God dwelt For this reason it was denominated the holy city. There is where God met with, and answered the prayers of his people. They came to Jerusalem to worship. When a Jew at a distant point, prayed, he turned his face to Jerusalem. Even Daniel turned his face toward Jerusalem and prayed three times a day. That was a holy city, for God placed his name there and dwelt there. But the moment Christ expired upon the cross, the Lord took his name out of Jerusalem, and it lost its sacredness. It was no longer the holy city. The words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman were now fulfilled. “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:20-24.

Up to that time Jerusalem was the place to worship. But the moment Christ died, it ceased to be so, and now in every place, wherever two or three are gathered in his name, and worship him in spirit and in truth, there he is in the midst of them. Jerusalem, in this dispensation, is no more regarded by the God of heaven than London, New York, or any other city.

“To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins.” Christ by his death accomplished all this. He “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” “He hath washed us from our sins in his own precious blood,” and, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” Thus we obtain a perfect deliverance from all sin, reach the end of sin, and obtain an uttermost salvation. Not only are we delivered from all sin, but his abundant grace keeps us from committing sin. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” 1 John 3:9.

“To make reconciliation for iniquity.” Hear the fulfilment: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward ns, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” Rom. 5:6-11. “And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight” Col. 1:20-22.

“And to bring in everlasting righteousness.” This signifies a complete deliverance from sin, and a supply of grace to serve God “in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.” Luke 1:74, 75. Thus saith the Lord: “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Titus 2:11, 12.

“He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.” The sacrifices and oblations of the law were but types of Christ and his great atonement. Sacrifice generally signifies slaughter. Oblation, offering or present. So Christ offered his body, and presented it to God for a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the whole world. He was given as a sacrifice and oblation. His offering was perfect, and brought eternal redemption to the world. Hence, when he expired upon the cross, the sacrifices and oblations of the law ceased to be accepted of God. They were but types, and now were all fulfilled.

“And for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate.” This marks the end of the worldly sanctuary. The temple at Jerusalem was God’s sanctuary up to this time. But it belonged to the types and shadows of the old dispensation. Over five hundred years before Christ appeared, it was foretold that he would build the temple of the Lord. Zech. 6:12, 13. When he came upon earth, in fulfilment of the Old Testament predictions, he began building the temple, or new covenant sanctuary—the church of God. Just before he expired upon the cross, he uttered these words, “It is finished.” His death, the shedding of his blood, was the last thing necessary to complete the structure—to finish the house of God, “which is the church of the living God,” in which we are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. The antitype of the worldly sanctuary was now complete; hence, the shadow passed away and gave place to the substance. The moment Jesus expired, and the new covenant sanctuary was finished, “the vail of the temple [in Jerusalem] was rent in twain from top to bottom.” Mat. 27:51. God moved out of that earthly building, never more to dwell in temples made with hands. Their great house at Jerusalem was made desolate in fulfilment of Jesus’ own words in Luke 13:34, 35. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” The Jews would not be gathered under his wings, but filled up the cup of their iniquities by crucifying the Messiah. Their wickedness and abominations had reached to the full, and God forsook their house forever, and left it desolate. We will next consider what was to happen to the desolate sanctuary.

“He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Dan. 9:27. The consummation of a thing is the end of it. That worldly house was made desolate at Christ’s death, and was to remain so until its end, or final destruction; until “that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Something determined was to come upon the sanctuary and city. What was that? “And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” ver. 26, Common Version. “And he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall appoint the city to desolations.” ver. 26, LXX. This is a clear prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies. Jesus foretold it in the following language: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

Luke 19:41-44.

Vespasian was the tenth Caesar and Roman emperor, ruling from A. D. 70 to 79. Prior to A. D. 70 he carried his conquest into Judea, and laid the cities and countries waste. City after city fell into his hands, until at length the Jews gathered their hosts inside the walls of Jerusalem. In A. D. 70 Vespasian returned to Rome, and left the war in Judea to his son Titus. Titus, now in sole command, marched the Roman legions to Jerusalem, and hemmed the city in on all sides. The casting of a trench about her was literally fulfilled. Titus, having made several assaults upon the city without success, resolved to surround it with a wall, which was completed in three days. The wall was thirty-nine furlongs in length, and was strengthened with thirteen forts at proper distances, so that all hope of escape was cut off: none could escape, and no provision could be brought in. When this wall and trench were completed, they were enclosed on every side. This soon reduced the inhabitants to a most terrible distress by the famine which ensued.

It will be well worth the reader’s attention to read the whole account of that great tribulation as recorded by Josephus. Moses foretold this awful calamity which befell the Jewish nation as follows: “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young: and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: so that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.” Deut. 28:49-57.

We will here insert the following from Josephus, to show that the above was all fulfilled in the famine which ensued in the city: “So all hope of escaping was now cut off from the Jews, together with their liberty of going out of the city. Then did the famine widen its progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and families; the upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine, and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged; the children also and the young men wandered about the market-places like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead, wheresoever their misery seized them. As for burying them, those that were sick themselves were not able to do it; and those that were hearty and well were deterred from doing it by the great multitude of those dead bodies, and by the uncertainty there was how soon they should die themselves; for many died as they were burying others, and many went to their coffins before that fatal hour was come. Nor was there any lamentations made under these calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints; but the famine confounded all natural passions; for those who were just going to die looked upon those that were gone to rest before them with dry eyes and open mouths.

“A deep silence also, and a kind of deadly night, had seized upon the city; while yet the robbers were still more terrible than these miseries were themselves; for they brake open those houses which were no other than graves of dead bodies, and plundered them of what they had; and carrying off the coverings of their bodies, went out laughing, and tried the points of their swords in their dead bodies; and, in order to prove what metal they were made of, they thrust some of those through that still lay alive upon the ground; but for those that entreated them to lend them their right hand and their sword to dispatch them, they were too proud to grant their requests, and left them to be consumed by the famine.

“Now every one of these died with their eyes fixed upon the temple, and left the seditious alive behind them. Now the seditious at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their dead bodies. But afterwards, when they could not do that they had them cast down from the walls into the valleys beneath. However, when Titus, in going his rounds along those valleys, saw them full of dead bodies, and the thick putrefaction running about them, he gave a groan; and, spreading out his hands to heaven, called God to witness that this was not his doing; and such was the sad case of the city itself.” Josephus’ Wars, Book V, Chap. XII.

“Now of those that perished by famine in the city, the number was prodigious, and the miseries they underwent were unspeakable; for if so much as the shadow of any kind of food did anywhere appear, a war was commenced presently, and the dearest friends fell a fighting one with another about it, snatching from each other the most miserable supports of life. Nor would men believe that those who were dying had no food, but the robbers would search them when they were expiring, lest any one should have concealed food in their bosoms, and counterfeited dying; nay, these robbers gaped for want, and ran about stumbling and staggering along like mad dogs, and reeling against the doors of the houses like drunken men; they would also, in the great distress they were in, rush into the very same houses two or three times in one and the same day.

“Moreover, their hunger was so intolerable, that it obliged them to chew everything, while they gathered such things as the most, sordid animals would not touch, and endured to eat them; nor did they at length abstain from girdles and shoes; and the very leather which belonged to their shields they pulled off and gnawed: the very

wisps of old hay became food to some; and some gathered up fibres, and sold a very small weight of them for four Attic [drachmae].

“But why do I describe the shameless impudence that the famine brought on men in their eating inanimate things, while I am going to relate a matter of fact, the like to which no history relates, either among the Greeks or Barbarians! It is horrible to speak of it, and incredible when heard. I had indeed willingly omitted this calamity of ours, that I might not seem to deliver what is so portentous to posterity, but that I have innumerable witnesses to it in my own age; and besides, my country would have had little reason to thank me for suppressing the miseries that she underwent at this time.

“There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, her name was Mary; her father was Eleazar, of the village Bethezob, which signifies the house of hyssop. She was eminent for her family and her wealth, and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude, and was with them besieged therein at this time. The other effects of this woman had been already seized upon, such I mean as she had brought with her out of Perea, and removed to the city. What she had treasured up besides, as also what food she had contrived to save, had also been carried off by the rapacious guards, who came every day running into her house for that purpose. This put the poor woman into a very great passion, and by the frequent reproaches and imprecations she cast at these rapacious villians, she had provoked them to anger against her; but none of them, either out of indignation she had raised against herself, or out of commiseration of her case, would take away her life; and if she found any food, she perceived her labors were for others, and not for herself; and it was now become impossible for her any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also her passion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itself; nor did she consult with any thing but with her passion and the necessity she was in.

“She then attempted a most unnatural thing; and snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, ‘O thou miserable infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine, and this sedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our lives we must be slaves. This famine also will destroy us, even before that slavery comes upon us. Yet are these seditious rogues more terrible than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets, and a by-word to the world, which is all that is now wanting to complete the calamities of us Jews.’

“As soon as she had said this she slew her son, and then roasted him, and eat the one half of him and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this the seditious came in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not show them what food she had gotten ready. She replied that she had saved a very fine portion of it for them, and withal uncovered what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized with a horror and amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight, when she said to them, ‘This is mine own son, and what hath been done was mine own doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself! Do not you pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my sacrifice, as I have eaten the one half, let the rest be reserved for me also.’

“After which those men went out trembling, being never so much affrighted at any thing as they were at this, and with some difficulty they left the rest of that meat to the mother. Upon which the whole city was full of this horrid action immediately; and while everybody laid this miserable case before their own eyes, they trembled, as if this unheard-of action had been done by themselves. So those that were thus distressed by the famine were very desirous to die, and those already dead were esteemed happy, because they had not lived long enough either to hear or to see such miseries.” Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chap. III.

These few extracts from Josephus’ account give us a faint idea of what came upon that people. “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso read- eth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.”  Mat. 24:1, 2, 15-20.

The abomination of desolation is the supplanting of the true worship of God by pagan worship. It will be remembered that Antiochus placed the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem. This he did by abolishing the worship of Jehovah, and setting up heathen worship on the sacred ground of the temple; building an altar on top of God’s altar, and sacrificing swine’s flesh on the same. Just so did the Romans. “And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city, and upon the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings round about it, brought the ensigns to the temple, and set them over against the east gate; and there did they offer sacrifice to them, and there did they make Titus imperator with the greatest acclamations of joy.”—Josephus.

“Almost the entire religion of the Roman camp consisted in worshiping the ensigns, swearing by the ensigns, and preferring the ensigns before all other gods.”—Tertullian.

Thus the Romans did what Antiochus had done, supplanted the worship of God by heathen worship. They sacrificed to their standards, the standards of the very army which did desolate the city and sanctuary. This was truly an abomination of desolation. Jesus gave the church a sign by which they might know when the time had arrived for the city to be destroyed. By this sign they might know when to flee out of the doomed city and make their escape. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.”

Luke 21:20, 21.

Just as soon as the Roman armies were to appear, that was a sure sign for the disciples of Christ to flee out. This counsel was remembered by the Christians. Eusebius tells us that “all who believed in Christ left Jerusalem and fled to Pella, and other places beyond the river Jordan; and so they all marvelously escaped the general shipwreck of their country; not one of them perished.”

The Lord urged them to pray that their flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day. In the winter the hardness of the season, the condition of the roads, the shortness of the days, and the length of nights, would all be great impediments to their flight. On the Jewish sabbath the gates of all the cities and towns in every place were kept shut and barred, so that if their flight had been on a sabbath they could not have escaped, nor found admission in any place of security in the land.

God took care to provide for the escape of the Christians out of the awful calamity which befell the Jews. Prior to the time when Titus marched his hosts to the city, Cestius Gallus, the president of Syria, came against Jerusalem with a powerful army. He might have assaulted the city and taken it, and thereby put an end to the war; but without any just reason, and contrary to the expectation of all, he raised the siege and departed. Josephus remarks that at this time, “many of the principal Jewish people forsook the city as men do a sinking ship.” These evidently were the Christians, who understood from Jesus’ words that the desolation of the place was nigh. Jesus pitied such as would be with child, and gave suck in those days. Such would not be in a condition to escape; neither could they bear the miseries of the awful siege.

Daniel foretold these miseries as follows: “And there shall be a time of tribulation, such tribulation as has not been from a time that there was a nation on the earth until that time: at that time thy people shall be delivered, even every one that is written in the book.”

Dan. 12:1, LXX. This delivering of the people of God refers to their escape out of the city upon which this great tribulation was coming. Jesus used the same language as Daniel with reference to the destruction of the city: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Mat. 24:21, 22. “Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:21-24.

No history can furnish us a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews: rapine, murder, famine, and pestilence within; fire and sword, and all the horrors of war without. Our Lord wept at the foresight of these calamities; and it is almost impossible for any humane person to read them, as recorded by the Jewish historian, without weeping also. These were the “days of vengeance, that all things which were written might be fulfilled.” All the calamities predicted by Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, and other prophets, as well as those predicted by our Savior, met in one common center, and were fulfilled in the most terrible manner on that generation. God sent vengeance and wrath upon that people for the blood they had shed. Josephus computes the number of those who perished in the siege at eleven hundred thousand. In the entire war about 1,357,660 were slaughtered. If it had continued much longer, no flesh would have been saved. The whole Jewish nation would have been wiped out of existence. But Jesus had said that “this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.” The generation of the Jews was to be preserved till the end. For this reason “those days were shortened.” The Lord overruled things insomuch that an elect seed was preserved. These were led captive into all nations. Even yet, to-day, the Jews are a scattered people among all nations. They long for a time to return and be recognized in their own land, but whether this desire will ever be realized, time alone will tell. Jerusalem was to be

trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

There are yet a few things I will mention, which will be of interest to the reader. Jesus foretold that prior to this awful destruction, there would be “fearful sights, and great signs from heaven.” Luke 21:11. We will here quote from Josephus, Book VI, Chap. V. “Thus were the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself; while they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation, but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to them. Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year.”

He further says that “at the ninth hour of the night, so great a. light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright daytime; which lasted for half an hour. . . . At the same festival also, a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple.

“Moreover the eastern gate of the inner [court of the] temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon, running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So those publicly declared that the signal foreshadowed the desolation that was coming upon them.

“Beside these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those who saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sunsetting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities.

“Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, ‘Let us remove hence.’

“But what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the son of Ananus, a plebeian and a husbandman, who, for four years before the war began, and at a time when the city was in very great peace and prosperity, came to that feast whereon it is our custom for every one to make tabernacles to God in the temple, began on a sudden to cry aloud,  “A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!’ ”

Josephus tells us, that though the magistrates endeavored by stripes and tortures to restrain him, yet he still cried with a mournful voice, “Woe, woe, to Jerusalem!” And this he continued to do for several years together, going about the walls and crying with a loud voice: “Woe, woe, to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!” And as he added, “Woe, woe, to myself!” a stone from some sling or engine struck him dead on the spot.

It is worthy of remark, that Josephus appeals to the testimony of others, who saw and heard these fearful things. Tacitus, a Roman historian, gives very nearly the same account as that of Josephus.

As to the high veneration which the Jews cherished for their temple, we quote the following from another writer: “Their reverence for the sacred edifice was such, that, rather than witness its defilement, they would cheerfully submit to death. They could not bear the least disrespectful or dishonorable thing said of it. The least injurious slight of it, real or apprehended, instantly awakened all the choler of a Jew, and was an affront never to be forgiven. Our Savior, in the course of his public instructions, happened to say, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ John 2:19. This was construed into a contemptuous disrespect, designedly thrown out against the temple; his words instantly descended into the hearts of the Jews, and kept rankling there for several years; for upon his trial, this declaration, which it was impossible for a Jew ever to forget, or to forgive, was alleged against him as the most atrocious guilt and impiety. Mat. 26:61. Nor was the rancor and virulence which this expression had occasioned, at all softened by all the affecting circumstances of that excruciating and wretched death they saw him die: even as he hung upon the cross, with triumph, scorn, and exultation, they upbraided him with it, contemptuously shaking their heads and saying: ‘Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself.’ Mat. 27:40.”

It is also true that when the Jews tried to condemn Stephen, they “set up false witnesses, which said, this man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place” (meaning the temple). Acts 6:13. This was blasphemy not to be pardoned; hence, they put the holy apostle to death. The same was true when the Jews accused Paul of taking Trophimus an Ephesian into the temple. They said, “He hath polluted this holy place.” This so incited them that they were ready to put him to death. See Acts 21:18-31. In their blind zeal for the worldly sanctuary, they could not discern the heavenly, which at that time was established in the earth.

But that splendid building, which was once the admiration and envy of the world, has forever passed away. According to our blessed Lord’s prediction, that there should not be left one stone upon another, that should not be thrown down, it was completely demolished by the Roman soldiers under Titus, A. D. 70, on the same month of the year, and on the same day of the month on which Solomon’s temple was destroyed by the Babylonians.

The above is a brief history of the old covenant sanctuary, of which we will speak more particularly in future chapters.

THE NEW COVENANT SANCTUARY

Were it not for the dark leaven of Adventism, a few plain scriptures were all that need be given to point out the sanctuary of the New Testament, for all spiritually minded readers are very naturally led to understand that God’s church is the sanctuary. But since those crafty “children of the bondwoman” have darkened counsel by their cunningly devised fables, the reader will please bear with us while we show clearly what the sanctuary is, and also remove the props of their babel structure, and let it fall to the ground. What then is

The Adventist Theory?

We will quote from U. Smith’s tract, “The Sanctuary and the Twenty-Three Hundred Days of Daniel,” and from his “Thoughts on Daniel.” We introduce the absurdities of that sect by this man, because he is one of their foremost writers. He says, “The Advent body were a unit, and their testimony shook the world.”—Sanc. page 10. Was that body the body of Christ, or one of the daughters of great Babylon? The body of Christ is the church (Eph. 1:22, 23; Col. 1:18, 24), “The pillar and ground of the truth,” and was called out of the world by the gospel of truth. How was this Advent body called out? What was her testimony? We turn to Smith and receive this answer: “A world-wide agitation of this question of Christ’s

immediate second coming called out hundreds of thousands of believers in the doctrine.”—Sanc. 10. The time of his coming was set for Oct 22, 1844. This was their testimony, and this cry called out that body. Was it true or false? Were their hopes realized in the “immediate coming of Christ”? Let the same writer answer:

“Suddenly their power was broken, their strength scattered, their ranks divided, and their testimony paralyzed. They passed the point of their expectation and realized not their hope. That a mistake had been made somewhere, none could deny. From that point, the history of the majority of that once happy, united people [happy in believing a delusion, and only united in the same] has been marked by discord, division, confusion, speculations, new mistakes, fresh disappointments, disintegration and apostasy. The world, without careful scrutiny looks complacently upon this result, and, relieved of its anxiety respecting the Lord’s coming, is wont to regard all classes of Adventists as only the remnants of an exploded delusion.”—Sanc. 10, 11.

This well describes the facts, not only as seen by the world, but also by men of God, who view the ruins with “careful scrutiny.” Here then we prove by their own witness that the Advent movement was animated by a false prediction, that their “body” was called out by a delusion, that their unity was based on a lie, and their explosion wrought the fruits of division, confusion and apostasy, all of which force the conclusion that the whole thing originated with the father of lies. In the language of U. Smith, “It must have been a mighty influence of some kind.” True; but we are told that Satan is “mighty,” and it may have been his influence. We have only to consider whether their “testimony,” and prediction that Christ would come on Oct 22, 1844, was true or false, to determine whether the excitement arising from it was of God, or of the devil; for God never moves out on a falsehood, nor invents a false alarm; but his Book ascribes to Satan the fatherhood of all lies. Therefore, the Adventist movement, having been created by a falsehood, must have been a “mighty influence of some” satanic kind. Such was its evident character while united on a wild fanaticism, and such it has remained since their false prediction failed. Says Smith:

“Let it be remembered that God cannot be the author of the confusion that has existed since that time in some branches of the Advent body.”—Sanc. 15. If he was not the author of the thing when united on an error, nor yet of its confusion after falling into fragments, we conclude that he never had anything to do with it. “The fruits of the Spirit are in all goodness,” and, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.” But what kind of fruit could be expected from a tree which took its root in the soil of error? Let us call your attention to two evils that have grown out of that sect, which are acknowledged in the quotations we have given from Smith. First, “apostasy.” We have been informed by men who witnessed the Miller excitement that, many who had been sincere Christians were carried away with this “wind of doctrine,” disposed of their homes, at a great sacrifice, neglected all temporal duties, and after they found themselves deceived, cast the blame upon the Bible, and apostatized.

Some time ago the conviction came clearly to our mind, that the Adventist commotion was specially invented by the devil as a false alarm of Christ’s second coming, well knowing that the reaction would involve the whole world in carnal indifference and deep slumber on the awful fact of his coming; to our astonishment we find U. Smith admitting that such was the very effect produced. In the words already quoted he says that the world is “relieved of its anxiety respecting the Lord’s coming.” That is a natural consequence, since one extreme generally follows another. Satan seems to have had some knowledge of the fact that the time drew near when God’s messengers would “run to and fro,” publishing salvation, announcing the signs of Christ’s coming, and gathering God’s holy remnant, ready for the Bridegroom’s coming. Therefore he prematurely moved a great excitement, based upon a set time that would soon betray all who were thereby carried away, and thus ease the whole world down into a deep slumber, only to be broken by the thunders of the judgment day. To illustrate the effect: Suppose the. people of a village are suddenly aroused from their sleep by the cry of fire. They rush forth into the streets, but, finding no fire, conclude they have been imposed upon by a false alarm. They retire with sullen feelings, not to be easily fooled again. Yea, they lie down and give themselves to slumber that is undisturbed by a similar report, even though it prove to be a true one that imperils their very lives. Just so the devil has sent out the false cry of Adventism, and a thousand other lying novelties, until the masses, disgusted and bewildered, have given themselves over to carnal indifference, and have, as it were, laid themselves down to sleep over the very fires of hell; and few can be waked by the awful trump of present truth. Oh, how dreadful the situation!

And after this great bubble of 1844 collapsed, Satan took an advanced step by organizing the confused throng on a no-soul-all-bondage creed, sending forth their teachers to deceive the nations, turning men away from the kingdom of heaven to the kingdom of legality, darkness and death. But confusion of face was upon them. They had deceived the people once, and how could they expect their confidence again? Some device must be sought out by which they could account for their failure, and, in some measure at least, escape the reproach of being false teachers. Because Christ did not come, and the earth was not cleansed at the time announced, Smith says, “It has led the majority, while divided on many other points, to agree on this, that the 2,300 days did not end in 1844. It has led them to make a full surrender of positions which were once acknowledged to be the ground and pillar of the Advent faith.”—Sanc. 18. Here it is confessed that their mere speculation on a point of prophecy was the pillar and ground of their sect. Had truth been their pillar and ground it would not have failed them. But while the majority left off this fanaticism, others sought out a new device. Their theory had been as follows: “The sanctuary is the earth, or at least some portion of the earth. Its cleansing is to be by fire. But the renovation of the earth is to take place only at the second coming of the Lord.”

—Sanc. 15. “The theory as held in 1844 consisted of two main propositions: (1) That the 2,300 days would end in 1844. (2) That the earth was the sanctuary then to be cleansed.”—page 16.

Such blindness betrays an utter absence of spiritual knowledge. Had they ever “sanctified the Lord God in their hearts,” they would have known the place of his sanctuary; but being earthly, their foolish minds worked for an earthly sanctuary. Instead of their crumbled pillar, they set up this, if possible, more ridiculous fabrication; namely, the earth is not the sanctuary, but it is something up in heaven. Having thus shifted the scene of cleansing to a realm that lies beyond human observation, they have this advantage; i. e., their second delusion is not exposed to general view as was the first. On this new fabrication they base a claim that “the calculation of the time was correct. In 1844 the great period of 2,300 years was finished, which marked the commencement of the work of cleansing the sanctuary.”—Sanc. 72. So we are told that in 1844 Christ began to clean out his sanctuary in heaven. And upon this disgusting theory Adventists hope to redeem themselves from the stigma of their past blunders. It is the only soul in their system; the only “remedy,” as Smith says, for the movement, which “has fallen into such misfortune and weakness.” “The sanctuary is the one subject that brings order out of all this chaos.”—Sanc. 11.

Again, “If we take the ground that the prophetic periods did not then expire, the whole work falls to the ground as wholly false and unscriptural. For if the termination of the prophetic period is yet future, another like movement is to transpire [God forbid], and the one we had was a counterfeit and a fraud. Then we must attribute to fanaticism that work.”—Sanc. page 74. On page 141 and 142 it is again conceded that if that time calculation was not correct, then, “the past Advent movement is all a failure. But if there is nothing to the past movement, there is certainly nothing to the present. “

Here then is the conclusion of the whole matter. It is virtually a confession that the sect has no other apology for its existence save the interpretation of certain prophecy, which, according to their discovery, has nothing to do with the salvation of men on earth, but relates exclusively to what is going on in heaven. It is a frank acknowledgement that there is no vital principle, nor regenerating element in the thing. If it did not hit that date all right it is “all a failure,” and there is “nothing to the past movement,” and “certainly nothing to the present.” In short, it has proved to be good for nothing. It neither possesses nor teaches any real salvation, and has never helped any one into the kingdom of heaven; therefore if its high assumption of wisdom and prophecy proves to be “fanaticism,” then the whole thing is a “counterfeit and a fraud.” The whole system then rests upon the single pivot that their application of time in Daniel 8:14 was correct. If this last shift is overthrown the entire superstructure, as Smith has admitted, “falls to the ground as wholly false and unscriptural.” And fall it must before the light of God’s truth. A certain calculation, and not Christ, is its foundation. The Lord pity the sect that rests upon such a precarious device. Surely you look in vain for deliverance to your imaginary sanctuary; for the hail of God’s Word will sweep it away. We shall prove that your second delusion is no better than the first.

First, then, we will examine their new invention that they have sought out. Briefly and fairly set forth it is this: The tabernacle and temple were God’s sanctuary during the first covenant. They were a type of the sanctuary under the present covenant, which is in heaven. When the Israelite brought a sacrifice to be offered by the priest according to the law, he did not receive a clear pardon for the sin he had committed. “But he was as yet only relatively or conditionally free. The law still held him, and unless its claims should be more directly satisfied, the remission of his sins would not be secured.”—Sanc. 133. The sinning Jew being only partially forgiven, we are told his sins were transferred from him to the sanctuary, and there kept on hand, as if they were ponderable things that could be done up in a package, labeled and stored away. “Their transfer,” says U. Smith, “from the sinner to the sanctuary was not the final disposition of them. They were not borne into the sanctuary either to remain there forever, or to be considered as blotted out and removed. But they were treated as still in existence, and as hateful and evil things.”—Sanc. 128. Then Advent fictions further inform us that on the great day of atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month of each year, all that large stock of sins that had accumulated against the repentant Jews during the year was brought out, laid on the scapegoat, and by him borne off into the wilderness and thus finally disposed of.

Then it is further stated that this round of ceremonies in the temple is a type of Christ’s high-priestly association in heaven. The interval between the annual days of atonement corresponds with Christ’s ministry from the time of his ascension until Oct. 22, 1844. And as the sins of the Jews were only relatively forgiven, laid up in the temple, so the sins of all who had believed on Christ from the beginning of the gospel until Oct. 22, 1844 had accumulated in the sanctuary in heaven. See “Thoughts on Daniel,” page 233. And on the above date Christ left the holy place of the sanctuary in heaven, entered the most holy and began to cleanse that sanctuary, as the last stage of his high-priestly office. And upon this beautiful story rests the entire fabric of Adventism. “For,” says Smith, “if the sanctuary is not. now being cleansed, the position and work of our Lord differs in no respect from what they have been the past years; and the past Advent movement is all a failure.” Sanc. page 141.

No wonder the new invention has been diligently sought out. It has been demonstrated in the nineteenth century that men become so intent on saving their own religion from disrepute that they forget that they have a soul to be saved from sin, and that there is a Christ who is able to save it. Who ever heard, or read in the Bible, that God partially forgave men’s sins? even the sins for which the guilty party had offered the required sacrifice? In Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 16, 18, you will find that when the Israelite trespassed against the law of God, he was required to bring a certain sacrifice, which the priest was to offer; and thus, it is stated on each several occasion, The priest “shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.” Not once does it state that it “shall be relatively forgiven him.” The priest shall offer the sacrifice there and then, and in so doing he “shall make an atonement for him,” “and it shall be forgiven him.” As sure as the atoning sacrifice was then offered, God declares their sin was at the instant forgiven. But Smith says, “The remission of his sins would not be secured;” “the law still held him” until the day of atonement. But God says the sacrifice offered for him made a full legal atonement for him, and actually secured his pardon on the spot.

God’s way is to forgive and remember no more our sins against us; and this was true in the legal, as well as in the present dispensation.

In the whole law of pardon under the Levitical priesthood, there is not one hint that sins were only relatively remitted, and not one word do we read about them being conveyed into the sanctuary. The Advents are entitled to a patent on that idea, for it wholly originated with them, and was never thought of before in heaven, nor on earth. They also originated the idea that the great day of atonement disposed of sins that had been previously remitted. The solemn services of that day are described in Leviticus 16. Several times in the chapter we are told that the sacrifice then offered was to cleanse the sanctuary, and had it been from sins transferred from pardoned sinners, it would doubtless have been somewhere recorded. Neither does the inspired record, by silence, give room for the new conjecture. Nay, we shall prove by plain statements in the divine record that the sanctuary was to be cleansed from the uncleanness of the people in the camp, and not from sins that had been “relatively pardoned,” and conveyed into the temple during the year. “And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.” Lev. 16:16. “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” Lev. 16:30.

It was because the sanctuary “remained among them in the midst of their uncleanness,” that this cleansing was necessary. The sin of the people which rested upon them, and not what had been conveyed from them into the holiest, required this annual atonement. Nothing is said in all God’s Book of cleansing the sanctuary of sins previously forgiven. It is only found in Smith’s book, and those of his fellows under the smoke of Sinai. If, as Adventism teaches, the sins of the pardoned Jews were conveyed into the holiest, during all the year, and not yet wholly forgiven, but “treated as hateful,” etc., and that has all been repeated in antitype, from the beginning of the gospel of Christ until Oct. 22, 1844, as their story runs, then it follows, as a result of that creed, that Christ never granted the complete pardon of a sinner prior to A. D. 1844. And every man who believed, realized, and testified that his sins were fully pardoned and all blotted out, was deceived.

Instead of having it done as David testified in Psalms 103:12—“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us”—they were only separated a few feet, and deposited in the holiest place. And in the case of the penitent believer in Christ, they were not blotted out, but conveyed to heaven, and laid up against him, and all those happy new-born souls that implicitly believed the testimony of the Spirit in their hearts—that their sins were wholly pardoned—were deceived by that testimony. And so it has been discovered in the nineteenth century, that the old prophet Jeremiah was badly mistaken when he represented God as saying, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer. 31:34. This novel creed dishonors God, and the plan of salvation, by teaching that he only “relatively” forgives, and for eighteen hundred years still remembered their sins against them. Such are the absurdities and abominable doctrines of confusion that men fall into when they try to invent props to sustain a false creed.

Hebrews 8:1, 2 is chiefly relied upon to prove that the sanctuary is up in heaven. The argument drawn from it is this: Christ is seated on the right hand of the throne in the heavens. Christ is a minister of the true sanctuary, which the Lord pitched, and not man; therefore that sanctuary is in heaven, and not on earth. But this is a false reasoning as we shall prove. First, before any force can be ascribed to it, the writer would have to prove that Christ is not omnipresent; that while seated on the right hand of the throne in the heavens, he is not also present in this world; that he does not dwell in his church on earth. And when Mr. Smith succeeds in disproving these things he will also have overdrawn the Bible; for such is clearly its teaching. The fact, therefore, that Christ ascended into heaven does not prove that his sanctuary is only in heaven. Neither does the scripture under consideration assert that the true sanctuary was pitched in heaven, though Smith repeatedly so words it.

We shall hereafter prove that Christ’s ministry is not a ceremonial routine in heaven, but a saving ministration on earth. He did not enter it after ascending into heaven, but “Christ being come an high priest of good things, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,” which he “entered by his own blood,” became a perfect Savior. Then follow the results of his high-priestly offering: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Heb. 9:11-14. So Christ came into this world, built his own sanctuary, and in it ministered salvation to men through his own blood. That Christ has entered heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God for us, is all true. He is there as our advocate with the Father. But it is also an indisputable fact that he dwells in his church on earth, and we shall establish the fact beyond the shadow of a doubt that his church is his sanctuary. Hence, the former fact does not disprove the latter, nor in the least affect it.

Another text from which the new theory is argued is

Revelation 11:19. We remark that heaven may properly be called the temple of God; and so is the whole universe, for he dwells everywhere. But distinctively, the sanctuary that is now being cleansed is not heaven, or anything in heaven, for there is nothing there needing cleansing. The temple of God opened in heaven is simply the true church of God brought to view in the heavenlies—the plane of heaven’s purity.

In the very next verses (Rev. 12:1, 2), a great wonder appears in heaven, a woman travailing in pain to be delivered. On these verses, Smith himself remarks: “We do not understand that the events here represented to John took place in heaven where God resides.”—“Thoughts,” 521. It is just as evident to our mind that the last verse of the preceding chapter does not refer to the place of God’s throne. But passing to verse 3 we read: “And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon.” “And there was war in heaven.” ver. 7. Surely heaven above is not the place of dragons, nor war. In verses 10-12 heaven is also used in connection with events that transpired on the earth. The chapter on the two witnesses will make this matter sufficiently plain. So the above proof-text fails to locate the New Testament sanctuary in heaven, and the argument that Smith draws from Revelation 11:19 he himself overthrows by his admission on 12:1.

Hebrews 9:22, 23 is another text used to locate the sanctuary in heaven. It reads as follows: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” The “heavenly things” he supposes to be the two apartments of the sanctuary up in heaven, corresponding with the two parts of the earthly temple. May the Lord pity such blindness and confusion! Why do men shut their eyes and guess at the sense of Scripture when the context furnishes a clear interpretation of its meaning? Perfected holiness, or purity, is the theme of this epistle. Not a cleansing up in heaven, where all is pure; but the cleansing of men’s hearts here on earth, which is much needed. This glorious plane of holiness was beyond the power of the law to give, for “the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did.” Heb. 7:19. This hope is Christ in us. He hath “obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also, he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” Heb. 8:6. Hence, the first covenant made on Sinai, and engraven on stone “decayeth and waxeth old, is ready to vanish away.” ver. 13.

Then follows a further comparison of things under the law with the priesthood of Christ in the ninth chapter, reaching a grand conclusion in verses 11-15. “Christ came by a greater and more perfect tabernacle;” “the blood of bulls and goats,” etc., “sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; but how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Now what were the patterns of the things in the heavens, and what the heavenly things, that were purified by better sacrifices than beasts that were offered by the law? Namely, the very things that had been spoken of. Two means and degrees of cleansing are set forth in verses 13, 14, and the same thing is alluded to again in verse 23. So the heavenly things are simply men and women who have received the “much more cleansing.” The legal cleansings by the blood of goats, etc., were patterns of the great salvation not yet revealed from heaven. Whereas those who have received the perfect purging of their conscience through the blood of

Christ, since he has offered himself without spot to God, are the “heavenly things” themselves. So called because cleansed by a sacrifice from heaven; because now raised up to sit with Christ “in the heavenlies.” Eph. 2: 6, Emphatic Diaglott. And they have “come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22), and “have tasted of the heavenly gift.” Heb. 6:4. Who are blessed “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Eph. 1:3. “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.” Eph. 3:10. Surely such as have been cleansed by a heavenly sacrifice have come to the “heavenly Jerusalem,” and are sitting with Christ in “heavenly places,” and are even blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, even God’s church, to whom is revealed the manifold wisdom of God in the heavenly—surely such are heavenly things.

All these scriptures join with the ninth of Hebrews and prove conclusively that the “heavenly things,” that have been cleansed by better sacrifices, are just what the writer of the epistle has there set forth; namely, men and women who had received the “much more” cleansing of the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9:22, 23 is simply a recapitulation of the same things taught in verses 13, 14. Thus the Word explains itself. Men and women are the heavenly things purified by the heavenly sacrifice. It cannot be denied that Christ is a heavenly being. But with “love made perfect,” “as he is so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. Then are we also of heavenly stamp. “For both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one” (Heb. 2:11); all on the plane of heaven’s purity, of heavenly character. Thus is the Advent refuge again overflowed by the torrents of truth.

Their next argument is drawn from Hebrews 8:5; 9:9, 23. It is this, that “the tabernacle was built after the pattern of another, a tabernacle up in heaven.” We may grant all this, and the Word of the Lord will show us plainly just what that glorious sanctuary is which cast its shadow from heaven upon earth in the form of the legal sanctuary. Of course the whole system of legal sacrifices, with the tabernacle, temple, and high priest, sustained the relation to Christ and his church of type and antitype. Jesus was a “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13:8. “In the beginning was the word.” Back at the foundation of the world, when man fell into sin, God predetermined the sacrifice of his Son for the world’s redemption; and what is foregone in the mind of God is a fact in his eternal counsel, as real as if already transpired.

But since Christ was slain from the foundation of the world, as a sacrifice and Savior, the church, being inseparable from his great plan of redemption, was also a fact coexisting with the death of his Son, in the eternal purpose of God, from the foundation of the world. So the church of the living God, the new Jerusalem, which, in the fulness of time came down from God out of heaven, was symbolized on earth by the temple, the pattern of that which was yet in heaven, long before its manifestation here below. It is a glorious truth, and one of the chief objects of the legal system, that God’s holy church, his Son the Redeemer thereof, and the atoning blood of its covenant, all prepared in the mind of God in his divine plan from the time man fell into sin, cast before their love-betokening shadow, to inspire hope of coming redemption. They were, indeed, the prototypes of the temple, its sacrifices and flowing blood. The tabernacle and temple—both the same in form, and in their typical relation to the church, and when therefore we speak of one in this relation, the other is equally included—were only object lessons on the church of God and the way of salvation. They were “a shadow of things to come,” but as a substance which casts a shadow must exist before the shadow, so the church of God and its sacrifice existed before their shadow on earth.

It is very easy, indeed, to comprehend now that the temple and its blood-sprinkling service were “the example and shadow of heavenly things,” of “things in the heavens,” when we consider that both the church and the slain Lamb of God came down from God out of heaven, and when we trace the beautiful similitude between the temple and God’s church. But there is not a sentence in the Bible which makes the tabernacle the shadow of another “literal sanctuary” in heaven, and distinct from God’s church. That whole theory is a myth of Adventist origin. And we have seen that the very texts relied upon by U. Smith, when interpreted in the light of divine truth, overthrow his Dagon. But we will not stop with them. In the name of Jesus we proceed to demolish the structure by the testimony of other scriptures.

It is impossible for men to weave a fabric and cover a fallacious creed, which the Word of God, if permitted to speak, will not tear away and expose the deception. Bear in mind, the U. Smith invention is this: “There is in heaven a real, literal sanctuary, the antitype of the earthly building.”—Sanc. page 151. Into the first apartment of this “literal” structure in heaven Christ entered at his ascension, and remained there until Oct. 22, 1844, when he passed on into the holiest, and began to cleanse it: yes, cleanse the most holy place in heaven from sin. For, says the doctrine of Adventism: “It is not accomplished with water, soap, sand, mops, and brushes. It is a cleansing accomplished with blood. But the use of blood is for the sake of remission, or forgiveness of sin, nothing else; hence, the cleansing is a cleansing from sin.”—Sanc. page 125. Who ever read of such a thing in the Bible? Surely this is a soul-sleeper’s dream, a disgusting fable. We will now proceed to plain texts of the Word, which prove it a lying device.

The Hebrew epistle dates A. D. 64. Its inspired writer informs us that Christ had already at. that time “entered into that within the vail.” 6:19, 20. There was in the earthly temple a beautiful vail that separated the holy and the holy of holies. To enter therefore within the vail is to enter the holiest place. There is no evading this fact. We, says the apostle, have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,” and “through the vail.” Heb. 10:19, 20. This nails the matter fast. “Within the vail,” where Christ, our high priest, had already entered in A. D. 64 is positively declared to be “within the holiest.” And this must allude to the “greater and more perfect tabernacle” by which Christ came, the house of God over which he is high priest, or in other words, the sanctuary of the new covenant. For into this we—all God’s people—have boldness to enter, but into the former only the high priest had access.

Again hear the word of the Lord: “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb. 9:11, 12.

In the verses preceding, the “worldly sanctuary” of the first covenant is set forth as a figure, and in the above words the substance or antitype is clearly defined as Christ’s more perfect tabernacle, into which he “entered” by his own blood, even into the “holy place.” The Emphatic Diaglott renders, “He entered once for all, into the holy places.” And U. Smith himself observes on this very passage in “Thoughts on Daniel,” page 174, he “entered by his own blood (ver. 12) into the holy place (where also the Greek has the plural—the holy places) having obtained eternal redemption for us. Of these heavenly, holy places, therefore, the first tabernacle was a figure for the time then present.” The parenthesis and all are his words. So according to the plural word hagia, and according to the Emphatic rendering, and U. Smith’s “Thoughts,” the holiest place in the present sanctuary of Christ is included in that which he had already entered before A. D. 64.

The very words that Smith brings forward to prove his theory positively overthrow it. But, having the vail over his eyes, he did not notice that Christ’s entrance to the holy places was, at the time of the inspired writing, a thing of the past. The testimony is, he “entered” before A. D. 64, and not that he shall enter in A. D. 1844. The Greek word is in the plural, and the Emphatic, other versions, and U. Smith, include within it both the holy and most holy. And this is proved in verse 25 of the same chapter: “As the high priest entered into the holy place every year with the blood of others.” The word holy is hagia, precisely the same as in verse 12, and is rendered “holies” in the direct from the Greek, and “holy places” in the Emphatic translation. So all can see that Christ had entered the holiest of his more perfect tabernacle before the epistle to the Hebrews was written, which holiest was foreshadowed by the most holy place of the first tabernacle, into which the high priest entered but once every year.

We repeat, that if that which the “high priest entered every year with blood” is indeed the holiest of all, as the whole record of the law proves, and the New Testament asserts, then “by his own blood” he—Christ, our glorious high priest—entered in once for all into the most holy place of his greater tabernacle; because both the annual entrance of the high priest, and that of Christ, once for all, are declared to be into the hagia—holies. And so the whole Adventist babel is demolished, as Smith has already confessed, that if Christ did not enter the holiest of his sanctuary in 1844, “then the Advent structure falls to the ground as wholly false and worthless.” But we have proved that he entered prior to A. D. 64. Hence, their babel is destroyed by the oracles of God, and by their own confession.

Paul says that the sanctuary of Moses was the sanctuary of the first covenant. It was, as we have seen, one of the chief features of that covenant. But that covenant has given place to the new. Jer. 31:31; Heb. 8:10-12. Under this new covenant we are now living. This is true of God’s spiritual children, but the Adventists, remaining under bondage to the law, have no part in the new covenant. Again, after quoting Hebrews 9:1, “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary,” he proceeds: “Paul is showing the relation which the two covenants sustain to each other; and the word also, shows that those things which he mentions pertain to both. One had ordinances of divine service; the other also had them. One had a sanctuary; the other also had a sanctuary. “The great question to which we have now come, and in which all the controversy is involved, is then simply this:

“What Is the Sanctuary of the New Covenant?”

He continues, “The sanctuary of the old covenant must bear the same relation to the new covenant which the old covenant itself bears to the new. And upon this point we suppose there is no controversy. All agree that they stand as type and antitype. The first was the type and shadow; this, the antitype and substance. The sanctuary of that dispensation was the type; the sanctuary of this, the antitype. But the sanctuary of that dispensation was the tabernacle

of Moses. Of what, then, was the tabernacle of Moses a type, figure; or shadow?”

We have thus quoted at length to show that U. Smith has himself laid a good strong foundation for the truth which we shall bring forward to overthrow his theory, and prove that the church of the living God is the sanctuary of this dispensation. Be it then remembered that the Adventists admit that whatever under the new covenant was typified by the tabernacle of the old, and whatever now takes the place of that tabernacle, is the sanctuary of this dispensation.

One more point of ground we wish to note, and that is that the tabernacle was “incorporated into the temple,” and both were the continuous sanctuary of the legal dispensation. See Sanc. page 92; “Thoughts on Daniel,” 171. It follows then that whatever now takes the place of either the tabernacle of Moses, or Solomon’s temple, is the sanctuary of the Lord and the antitype of the former structures. In other words, whatever is the temple of God now, is the sanctuary. With this much truth admitted it is an astonishing fact that U. Smith could shut his eyes and exclaim, “No sanctuary on earth; for since A. D. 70 there has been none here.” Again in “Thoughts,” page 176, this writer asserts that “whatever constitutes the sanctuary of the Bible must have some service connected with it which is called its cleansing. There is no account in the Bible of any work so named as pertaining to this earth, the land of Canaan, or the church.”

No promise in the Bible for the cleansing of the church? Oh, the blindness and thick darkness of Adventism! They are devoted to their new invention with such a blind zeal and infatuation that they set aside the crowning work of redemption, the chief object for which Christ laid down his life, namely, to sanctify and cleanse his church. In their Pharisaical zeal for their own sect they seem scarcely to have learned that God has a church. They read the Bible with such idolatrous devotion to their own inventions that they never see God’s ways.

It will be seen by the above words that the author had not the remotest conception of any cleansing, but a mere formal or ceremonial service. The idea of an actual cleansing from sin and unrighteousness is wholly left out of the question. The assertion that the Bible teaches no such thing as a cleansing of the church, betrays gross ignorance of the Word, or an unscrupulous attempt to hide the truth. We will just let one text of Scripture refute the Smithsonian falsehood.

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Eph. 5:25-27. Truly here is a glorious cleansing of the church; and it is something more than a mere ceremonial service. Can it be possible that a man of intelligence could overlook this great work in the plan of redemption, the chief object of the Savior’s death and shed blood, and the crowning work in God’s redeeming love? Yea, this very cleansing is just what Mr. Smith felt the need of when his heart breathed out its condition in these words found in “Thoughts on Daniel,” page 274: “Alas, for the evils of our nature which cut us off from this communion! Oh, for grace to overcome these, that we may enjoy this spiritual union here, and finally enter the glories of his presence at the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Now should that writer get the evils of his nature, the works of the devil, destroyed and cleansed out of his heart, it would upset his entire theory. He would soon find out that God has a sanctuary to dwell in here on earth. But notwithstanding it would burn up the entire heap of Advent rubbish, he would, with the apostle Paul (who also was zealous for the law in his day, that is before he became dead to the law, and married to Christ) count the great loss a happy gain, and praise God for salvation so as by fire. Amen. But, alas! the devotees of a blind god have no time to seek deliverance from the evil nature of their hearts, being ever busy about the props of their dark creed, and the defense of their confused sect. Surely that volume is but Smith’s “thoughts.” But God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways.”

But let us come right to the question, What is the antitype of the ancient temple? What has now taken the place of that sanctuary of the first covenant? The writer above alluded to, admits the fact that the former was a type or shadow of the present, and so teaches the Word. In Hebrews 9:1 the apostle tells us, “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” He proceeds to describe the same, and then says in verse 9, “Which was a figure for the time then present,” etc. In

Hebrews 10:1 we read that the whole law system with its many sacrifices, was a “shadow of good things to come.” In

Colossians 2:14-17 we are told that the legal rites, sabbaths, etc., were “a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

By which we clearly see that these services of the first covenant were types and shadows of good things that were to appear with the coming of Christ, in the covenant of which he is mediator. Yea, it is plainly stated that the first tabernacle was a shadow of the true, the greater tabernacle not made with hands. Heb. 9:24.

But let us return to Hebrews 9:9, “Which [tabernacle, or legal sanctuary] was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.” But, passing over from the law to the gospel, from type to antitype, in verse 11 he continues, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.” And, true to the figure of the high priest, who entered by the blood into the holiest once a year, “He entered in once [for all] into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” ver. 12. So we see that Christ our high priest had already entered the holiest in his more perfect tabernacle at the time that epistle was written in A. D. 64.

The writer continues right on treating on the superior priesthood, covenant, and tabernacle of this dispensation. “And having a high priest over the house of God,” etc. 10:21. The greater tabernacle of the second covenant, in which Christ now officiates as high priest, is declared to be the house of God. Now we have but to ascertain what the house of God is, and the important question is settled. And here we have the desired information. After giving Timothy instructions relative to the church, the apostle adds: “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” 1 Tim. 3:14, 15.

Plenty of other scriptures teach the same thing, but we will not bring them forward here. But the few links of divine truth we have now put together make a chain that no man can break. The “worldly sanctuary” of the law was a type of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and over which he is now high priest. But that more perfect tabernacle is declared to be the house of God, and “the house of God is the church of the living God.” Then the church of the living God is the sanctuary of this dispensation.

The Sanctuary of the First Covenant as a

Type or Figure

As the tabernacle and temple shadow forth’ worlds of precious truth respecting Christ, his great salvation, and glorious church, let us enter these sacred places and gather the gold, rubies, and pearls that were treasured up there for us. Let us go in and feast our souls upon the rich things that were hidden from the eyes of the high priest who sprinkled the typical blood upon its holy altars and mercy seat and burned incense there unto the Most High God. They “could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.” They but dimly saw the great antitype of all their sacrifices. A holy secret was hidden within the beautiful curtains of the tabernacle, which has only been made known to us, who stand to-day in the awful presence of God, within the holiest of his more perfect house. And now, since the vail of mystery is drawn aside, and we have “come to the innumerable company of angels,” that once spread their wings in symbolic cherubims on the vail of the temple, and over the priest’s head, let us go back and carefully view that ancient depository of the entire gospel system. Yea, and such we will indeed find it.

Here we have an outline of the tabernacle of the first covenant, with one side drawn up revealing the principal articles of furniture in the center and in the holy places. This structure, both in the tabernacle and temple form, we have seen, is a type or shadow of God’s church. If so, all that pertained to it have their spiritual counterpart in the present sanctuary of the Lord. Let us therefore trace this analogy as pointed out in the Scriptures. First in order comes the court.

The Court

It was 100 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 5 cubits high. In it waited the Levites who assisted the priests. Lev. 6:16, 18; 1 Chr. 23:28. Into this court the children of Israel in general seemed to have access. 2 Chr. 23:5; 24:21; Jer. 32:12. Into it came the Israelite with his sacrifice for sin offerings, etc. Psa. 96:8. In Revelation 11:2 the court was to be left out of the measurement of the temple of God, “For it is given unto the Gentiles.” But this is while “the holy city,” God’s church, was “trodden under foot of the Gentiles,” sinners.

All things taken into consideration, the court represents, now under the new covenant, the state of the convicted, the penitent, and all such as have in some measure espoused the cause of Christ our high priest, but have not yet really entered by faith into the holy places of the church. Like the Levites, they can minister unto the real kings and priests, the saved and sanctified children of God, and in many respects they have really approached the church of God, and the Christian character, and occupy a sort of intervening space between the walls of salvation and the careless unawakened world. Conviction and good desires have already separated them from the profane and wicked, while they yet lack an actual induction into the fold by the washing of regeneration.

Next we will look for the spiritual significance of the first and second vail.

First and Second Vail

In the tabernacle there were two successive vails. The first separated between the court and the holy place (Heb. 9:2, 3), the second hung between the holy and the holiest of all. But the second was more particularly called the vail. See Ex. 26: 35. When this temporary sanctuary was supplanted by the temple, the massive walls of stone took the place of the first vail, and the walls of the tabernacle round about, leaving only one vail to conceal the presence of God in the most holy place. Hence, when the temple is alluded to only one vail is spoken of: “The vail of the temple.”

Mat. 27:51. What do these two successive entrances shadow forth? If, as we have already shown, the tabernacle and temple are figures of the church of God, then it follows that whatever we must pass through in order to enter the church must be the antitype of the stone wall and the vail, through which the priests entered the holy places of the worldly sanctuary.

But through what do we now enter into the church? Thus saith the Lord: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in he shall be saved.” John 10:9. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Eph. 2:18. “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” Eph. 3:12. So Christ takes the place of the vail and wall through which the legal sanctuary was entered. The above scriptures clearly lead to that conclusion. But we have even a positive testimony to that effect. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Heb. 10:19-22.

“Through the vail, that is to say his flesh.” Is not this perfectly clear that Christ’s body was the antitype of the vail of the temple? Hence, when his body was offered up for the sins of the world, “the vail of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom,” announcing the fact that his death on the cross gives us “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,” and “through the vail, that is to say, his flesh.”

But it is clearly seen that only the inner vail is alluded to in the above passage. Of what then was the first vail a figure? We answer, Of Christ also. The access through the inner vail is into perfected holiness. But it is also through Christ that sinners have admittance into justification, the pardoned state. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” Acts 13:38. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Eph. 1:7; also Col. 1:14.

In Romans 5:1, 2 we have the antitype of both vails clearly set forth as Christ himself. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Through Christ Jesus and by faith we enter into justification, and have peace with God. “By whom [the same Christ Jesus] we also have access [a second access] by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” The first entrance into the temple of God is justification; the second is into the standing grace, or what the same apostle describes as the divine work of “establishing your hearts unblamable in holiness.” 1 Thes. 3:13. So Christ is both the “author and finisher of our faith,” the first and second vail of the house of God.

The vail of the temple, as we have seen, foreshadowed the flesh or body of Christ. But there is a close relation between the literal body of Christ and his spiritual body, the church. Both are his body, and they are the same in moral character, pure and holy. In fact the Scriptures warrant the assertion that the church is substantially a continuation of Christ on earth, both in spirit and in flesh, only in an extended manifestation; for “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” 1 Cor. 6:17. And we are also “members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” Eph. 5:30. Therefore that which is a type of the physical body of Christ will also bear a typical relation to something in the church, his spiritual body. We have already seen that the inspired apostle hangs that beautiful vail in God’s church between the grace of justification and that of entire sanctification. And, pointing to the rent that was made when Christ “gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor,” he says to his brethren in the holy place, Ye have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”

Here again we see that the sacred things of the legal sanctuary have their negative in the church of the Lord Jesus, the vail representing both the physical body of Christ, and the point of distinction and separation between holiness attained in regeneration, and perfected holiness in the second grace. Both Jerusalem and the temple were figures of the church. The wall about the former symbolized salvation. Isa. 26:1; 60:18. Therefore so did the wall of the temple. Hence, says the Lord, “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” John 10:9.

The Golden Pillars

The beautiful curtains of the tabernacle were suspended upon pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold, and set in sockets of silver. The front end, or door of the tent, was hung on five of these gold covered pillars. Ex. 26:37. The fine linen vail which hung before the most holy place was mounted upon four, all covered in gold and set in silver. Ex. 26:32.

Hiram of Tyre cast for Solomon’s temple two brass pillars of great dimensions. They were each eighteen cubits high, or twenty-four feet. “And a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.” They were then four cubits or six feet in diameter and eighteen feet in circumference. 1 Kin. 7:15. Besides these there were many other pillars which supported the great structure of the temple. “He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty-five pillars.” 1 Kin. 7:2, 3.

Now where shall we look for the antitype of these pillars? In heaven, or on earth? On going to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas found three of them there in the character of James, Cephas, and John. “And when James, Cephas, and John who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.” Gal. 2:9. Not only were these three pillars, but they freely acknowledged Paul and Barnabas as their fellow peers in the true sanctuary or temple of God. Neither yet is the honored position of a pillar in the house of God confined to the apostles. Nay, but, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which, cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Rev. 3:12. Whosoever overcometh is made a pillar. Upon all who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, i. e., are sanctified wholly, the Lord fears not to place weighty responsibilities in his spiritual sanctuary. They become pillars, holding up the interests of Zion, and bearing upon their shoulders with Christ the weight of the temple. Upon Paul came daily the care of all the churches. Not only does the pillar denote strength, upholding, but the temple resting upon it keeps it steadfastly to its place. So we hear one of these pillars saying, “None of these things move me.”

All overcomers are pillars; that is, all who are wholly sanctified, having loved not their lives unto the death. “And he shall go no more out,” is established in Christ. “And I will write upon him the name of my God” (then he is sealed unto God forever), “and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which came down from God out of heaven.” This, we learn in Hebrews 12:22, 23, is the church of the first-born. So all the overcomers, the wholly sanctified and established in God, are pillars in his temple here on earth. Yea, the church of the living God is the pillar and ground of the truth. 1 Tim. 3:15. No doubt this language was derived from the typical sanctuary with its numerous pillars.

There is something beautiful in the figure of the pomegranates and lily work on the chapiters of the pillars of the temple. Chapiters mean crowns. So all God’s overcomers, or pillars, are crowned with the fruits of holiness, and adorned with pure white lilies of the beautiful graces of holiness. Oh, who will be a pillar in the temple of God?

The Holy and Most Holy Place

The spiritual significance of these are already anticipated by what has been said of the two vails. They show two successive works of grace; the two apartments, the corresponding states resulting therefrom. If there were not two degrees of salvation, two planes of Christian experience, the two parts of the temple would find nothing corresponding therewith in the church. But the whole New Testament teaches the two distinct stages of divine grace in the “spiritual house,” in exact parallel with its shadow and figure. The first disciples of Christ believed in him, and were born of God. John 1:12, 13. They were the Lord’s. John 17:9, 10. Therefore they had the Spirit of Christ (Gal. 4:6); for “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Rom. 8:9. Hence, they “followed him in the regeneration.” Mat. 19:28.

And yet they were promised the gift of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, as a new and second experience. John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7, 13. Christ prayed the Father to sanctify them. John 17:17. They received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2. They were then purified, sanctified entirely. Acts 15:8, 9; Rom. 15:16. Hence, they first entered the holy place, or were justified, and subsequently passed on into the holiest of all; namely, were sanctified wholly.

The two successive degrees of divine grace are also seen in the Acts. Philip preached Christ to the city of Samaria (Acts 8:5), the people gave heed to the gospel (verse 6), they “believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus,” and “were baptized.” ver. 12. Even unclean spirits came out of many, and there was great joy in that city. ver. 7, 8. They had passed the first vail into justification, and as a second experience they subsequently received the Holy Spirit, the sanctifier, ver. 14-16. Here were then two experiences of divine grace, and salvation. And we read how the Lord commissioned Paul to preach the gospel, to open the eyes of the blind, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. See Acts 26:18. Here are again two successive entrances; first, through Christ into justification; second, through him into sanctification.

The Roman brethren were “among the called of Jesus Christ,” and had a very commendable faith (Rom. 1:6, 8), and yet the apostle longed to see them and impart unto them some spiritual gift, to the end they might be established. This he wished to do by preaching unto them the gospel, wherein “is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith,” showing that the righteousness of God is attained by a second plane of faith.

The Corinthian brethren had been soundly converted (1 Cor. 1:4-7), were babes in Christ, and yet carnal. 1 Cor. 3:1. They were also reproved for sectish strife, subverting the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, and for other inconsistencies. Of all this they repented and cleared themselves. 2 Cor. 7:8-11. They were then all clear in their first love again. Therefore the apostle wishes and commands their perfection in holiness (2 Cor. 7:1; 13:9, 11); that is, he wished them to enter into that within the vail, into the holiest of all.

The Thessalonians “knew their election of God,” had “received the Word in much affliction [persecution] with joy of the Holy Ghost,” and had a very exemplary faith and zeal. 1 Thes. 1:3-6. They had also stood firm in the Lord Jesus up to the time of the writing of that epistle unto them (1 Thes. 3:6, 7), yet they had not entered into the most holy state. Therefore the apostle prayed night and day, that God would “establish their hearts unblamable in holiness.” 3:10, 13. “For,” says he, “this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” 4:3. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” 5:23, 24. Here are clearly two measures of grace taught, corresponding with the holy and the most holy of that

sanctuary, which was a shadow and figure of the true. One vail they had already passed, a second they were urged to enter.

We will now pass to the epistle to the Hebrews. Here we have an inexhaustible mine of truth bearing directly on this subject. Perfection is the doctrine of this precious epistle from beginning to end, and, being addressed to Hebrews, it employs such illustrations and arguments as they were familiar with. In chapters 3 and 4 the spiritual counterpart of Egypt, the wilderness, and Canaan are clearly traced; and the converted Hebrews are described as being in the antitype wilderness. And they are warned not to follow the example of unbelief set by their ancient brethren, who failed to enter the promised land, but died in the wilderness. They were admonished to urgently press their way into holiness, the Canaan rest, which is now preached unto us by the gospel. Heb. 4:1, 2. Yea, saith the apostle, “Let us labor [properly hasten] therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” 4:11.

This gospel rest lay beyond their rudimentary experience of justification, and yet this side of heaven; for “we which have believed do enter into rest” (4:3), i.e., do now enter in.

“And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Heb. 6:11, 12. The full assurance of hope is the summit of holiness; the inherited promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost. See Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 5; Gal. 3:16-18. This most holy place in the house of God, over which Christ is now high priest, they are further encouraged to enter in verses 17 to 20. Read it. There is a refuge for our souls, a hope set before us. To this refuge, says the apostle, we have fled to lay hold upon the hope. This refuge is the fold of Christ, the church of the living God. Unto this “lively hope,” Peter says, we are begotten. But after entering the refuge and laying hold upon the hope which is an anchor to the soul, the same “entereth into that within the vail.” That is, being born again, born into God’s church, we have hope, and the hope possessed enables us to enter into the holiest of all.

The same thing is taught in Hebrews 7:19. “The law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God.” Having the hope in us we enter into the very presence of God in the holiest of all. This is an exact parallel with 1 John 3:3: “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” First, possess the hope; second, enter perfection—pure even as Christ is pure—which is entering into that within the vail. And God is so specially solicitous that all his children should attain unto this most holy place that he, “willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath.” The promise, we have seen, is the gift of the Holy Ghost, the sanctifier. Who are the heirs of that promise? Ans.—“If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:29. This is plain truth. First, we become heirs of the inheritance by giving ourselves to Christ and receiving the spirit of adoption; “For if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.” In other words, we are born into the divine family, by which we become legal heirs to the inheritance our heavenly Father has willed us: “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” 1 Thes. 4:3. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Heb. 10:10. So the promised inheritance of which we become heirs by being Christ’s, and that which is found within the second vail, is entire sanctification, a state typified by the inner place of the first covenant temple.

In chapters 9 and 10 the tabernacle is set before them, and from it is drawn a precious object lesson on salvation. In chapter 9:1-3 the worldly tabernacle of the first covenant is described: the first apartment, which is called the sanctuary, and after the second vail “the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all.” “Which was a figure for the time then present.” ver. 9. A figure of what?

Ans.—“The figure of the true;” i.e., the true sanctuary. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands.” ver. 11. This all proves that the legal sanctuary was a figure of the true tabernacle by which Christ came.

Notice the language. Adventism teaches that Christ’s tabernacle is in heaven, and that he did not enter it until after his ascension into heaven. But the Word says, “Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle.” That is, he came into the world saving souls by his true tabernacle. As the sinning Israelite was required to bring a sin offering to the “worldly sanctuary,” and the priests were to offer the same, and thereby “make an atonement for him,” and then the law said, “It shall be forgiven him,” so Jesus came into the world, built his own church, and to its altar invites sinners to approach, and by the blood and sacrifice of his greater and more perfect tabernacle he saves their souls. Remember his true sanctuary is associated with his coming into the world, and not with his ascension into heaven. This is beautifully seen in verses 13, 14.

“For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: [Here are the sacrifices, the blood, and the legal purification of the “figure of the true” tabernacle.] how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Here is the sacrifice, the precious blood, and the “much more,” the actual inner cleansing that takes place at the perfect tabernacle by which Christ came into the world to save lost men and women.

The first apartment of the legal tabernacle was called the “holy,” and persons who confessed Christ, “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession,” were called “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.” Heb. 3:1. This shows that they were in the holy of our High Priest’s more perfect tabernacle. And after the writer of the Hebrew epistle had set forth the superior priesthood, covenant, tabernacle, sacrifice, blood and cleansing of the present dispensation, and showed how that “the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did,” and commanded those in the “first principles of the doctrine of Christ” to “go on to perfection” (6:1), and announced the fact that “by one offering he [Christ] hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us” (10:14, 15), the apostle makes a forcible application of the whole lesson in these words: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Heb. 10:19-22.

So we see clearly that the successive vails, the holy and holiest, the blood and sacrifices of the legal sanctuary, all foreshadow Jesus Christ, his church, and the process of salvation now carried on where Christ and sinners meet at the threshold of the church, and believers through their new-born hope pass on into the holiest, to that within the vail. How perfectly this explodes the foundation of the Advent sect. Instead of the sanctuary of Christ being in heaven, and only entered by him, the inspired apostle assured those “holy” (justified) brethren they “have therefore [because Christ perfects forever them that are sanctified], brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus;” “through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near.” If this does not teach that the blood and sacrifice of our High Priest admits us now and here into the holiest of his sanctuary, then language is of no use, and words convey no definite ideas.

But before they were eligible to this holiest of all, they had become “brethren,” were born into the family of God, and bad their “hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and their bodies washed with pure water.” This is equivalent to saying they had obtained a good conscience, and were justified and innocent before God. Praise God for the perfect symbol of salvation found in the holy and most holy places of the worldly sanctuary of the first covenant! And everlasting thanksgiving and praises to the mediator of the new covenant, who has fulfilled this beautiful picture in us, by bringing us by his own blood into the holy, and then into the most holy place of his greater and more perfect tabernacle, the “house of God,” “which is the church of the living God.” The great truths of Revelation relating to uttermost salvation are always matters of mere speculation and opinion by all who have never entered into the secret of the Lord within the beautiful vail, and very generally their conclusions and applications woefully miss the mark. But to those who have fully obeyed the gospel, and gone on to perfection, or, in symbolic words, have entered into that within the vail—to all such, we say, these beautiful shadows in the law are interpreted by the light of God in their hearts, are positively known by an actual experience in their souls. The same fact holds good in every branch of knowledge that may be acquired by people and infallible tests. All that lies beyond our experience is involved in conjecture and mere speculation, but that which has been proved by actual test and experience becomes positive knowledge. Therefore, with meekness and godly reverence, we testify that, over sixteen years ago, we passed “into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh.” Therefore we speak from actual experience, and that which we have known and seen declare we unto you; and, withal, that only which the pure Word teaches. [1]

The Brazen Altar

By reference to our cut of the tabernacle it will be seen that the brazen altar stood in the court. For a description of it we cite

Exodus 27:1, 2: “And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.” This was the altar of burnt offerings. In Exodus 30:18 we are told that the laver stood “between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar.” Again we read: “And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.” Ex. 40:6, 7. This is all plain enough. The “tent of the congregation” means the holy or first apartment of the tabernacle. Both the altar of burnt offerings and the laver were before that first vail, which would be in the east end of the court, between its entrance and the first vail. But the laver was situated between the altar of burnt offerings and the tabernacle of the congregation, that is, nearest the first vail.

The court, we have seen, represents the position of convicted and penitent sinners. As therefore the Israelite who had sinned and done somewhat against the law of his God, brought his sin offering to the brazen altar within the court and thereby received an atonement for all his sin, and it was there forgiven him, so sinners now approach the church of God by repentance, and there they find an altar of mercy, where they offer themselves dead in trespasses and sins, and there they plead the merits of Christ’s sacrifice and blood, the means of their acceptance with him; and as it was said to the Jew who brought a proper offering for his sins, so it is said to the penitent, “Thy sins are forgiven thee;” and “being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In other words, we pass into the holy place of the house of God; for all who are saved become kings and priests unto God. In this particular the type and antitype correspond; as only the priests entered the temple of the first covenant, so all who are in the spiritual sanctuary of God are a royal priesthood. Further references will be made to the spiritual lessons in the brazen altar in connection with the golden altar, and in the priesthood of Jesus.

The Laver and Sea

“Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.” Ex. 30:18-21. “And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Ex. 38:8. Under the gospel the entire church is not only “built up a spiritual house,” but is also “a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” 1 Pet. 2:5. And as the priests were required to wash their hands and their feet at the laver before entering into the tabernacle, so no one can now enter the greater and more perfect tabernacle of Christ without the “washing of regeneration.” This we prove by the following facts. First, the disciples of Christ followed him in the regenerated state. Mat. 19:28. Second, regeneration is a “washing.” Titus 3:5. Now by what had they been washed or regenerated? Third, the Lord himself answers and settles this question in John 15:3. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” He also alluded to that laver as a figure of regeneration when he said, “Ye are clean through the word.” You have come to the laver, or “bath of regeneration.”—Emphatic Diaglott. So translating Titus 3:5—and so passed into the holy place of the new covenant sanctuary.

But as we pass from the tabernacle to the temple, the laver is changed into a still more beautiful figure of the gospel of Christ. It was supplanted by “a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim; . . . and five cubits the height thereof, and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under it was the similitude of oxen.”

2 Chr. 4:2, 3. “It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.” ver. 4.

Now if all that pertained to that ancient sanctuary was a shadow of things to come in Christ’s greater sanctuary, there is certainly some lesson of divine truth to be found in those twelve oxen. If the water of that laver and sea represented the gospel, then the oxen would naturally represent the bearers of the gospel. First, then the twelve oxen foreshadowed the twelve apostles, and likewise the whole living ministry of the gospel dispensation. But does Cod choose the ox as a symbol of his preachers? Indeed, their fidelity to their masters, obedience and endurance as patient toilers, gospel preachers do well in imitating. Speaking of the duty of supporting the ministry, the apostle Paul says, “It is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God care for oxen? or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written.” The application of the figure is this, “That they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” 1 Cor. 9:9-14.

How beautiful this lesson! This true and humble animal is then a figure of God’s ministers. As they were to have the privilege of eating corn when employed in treading out the same, so the ministry should have their needs supplied by those among whom they labor in the Lord. As the capacious water rested upon the similitude of oxen, so the water of life is. borne to all the world by the true and humble ministers of the gospel of Christ. As the twelve oxen faced east, west, north, and south, .so the messengers oi divine mercy go forth in every direction “from the rivers to the ends of the earth.” This exalted typical use of the ox, is, no doubt, referred to in Isaiah 32:20. “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.”

To sow beside all waters, evidently means to scatter the gospel seeds of life far and wide, to plant the saving truth of God everywhere in this broad earth, and to do this a man need not travel in person around the globe, but he can accomplish the glorious end, and inherit the blessing attached thereto, by sending thither the feet of the ox and the ass; namely, by providing the means to convey God’s ministers to the ends of the earth, and thus by proxy sow beside all waters. The ass, another strong and enduring burden-bearer, is included in the figure by the prophet. These two rather stupid appearing domestic animals, would hardly be accepted by the heady, haughty, self-sufficient (?) ministers of apostate religion as proper representatives of their exalted, empty dignity. And, in fact, there is no agreement between these Babylon functionaries and the humble servants of man, which have been chosen of God as symbols of his ministry; because the former are chiefly ornamental, and the latter are wholly useful. The former set themselves up to be served by men, the latter are toiling servants of men. But the true and humble ministry of Jesus Christ, who make themselves the servants of men for their profit, and who are willing to abound in labors, and yet fare on but little, and that plain and simple, these we say, despise not their divinely chosen type, but earnestly pray God for grace to render them worthy of the same. Amen.

Taking it all together the laver was typical of the washing of regeneration effected by the gospel preached (John 15:3), and by the blood of Jesus. Rev. 1:5. “He hath washed us from our sins in his own precious blood.” Having now taken our lessons from that which we find in the court, let us enter the first vail, or within the temple proper, and learn some of the mysteries of redemption that have been hidden there in the long ages of the past. First we come to the

Table of the Shew-Bread

It was a gold covered table in the holy place, upon which was kept for sacrificial purpose “the continual shew-bread.” 2 Chr. 2:4. It was required to be kept fresh every sabbath. 1 Chr. 9:32. Now this, like everything else in the temple, was a shadow of some good thing in the sanctuary of Christ’s priesthood. But where, again we ask, shall we look for its antitype, in heaven, or on earth? [This bread typified the spiritual food which the souls of the newly regenerated feast upon. Jesus said, “I am that bread of life.” “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.” John 6:48, 51. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Mat. 4:4); namely, new-born babes, which desire the sincere milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby. 1 Pet. 2:2. The old prophet speaks of it thus: “Thy words were found and I did eat them.” “Eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Isa. 55:2. H. M. R.]

The Golden Candlestick

This seven-branched golden lamp stood in the holy place. Heb. 9:2. It is described as follows: “And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.” Ex. 25:31-33. Observe it is called one candlestick. Though having seven branches, it was all one piece of beaten gold.

[This candlestick was a clear type of the light of regeneration. “That ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Pet. 2:9. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”

1 John 5:1. “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light.”

1 John 2:10. “Ye are all the children of light.” 1 Thes. 5:5. “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” Eph. 5:8. Such are partakers of the inheritance “of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12), because the day star has arisen in their hearts (2 Pet. 1:19), Jesus “the light of the world.” The lamp in that ancient room was made to burn continually. So the Lord has become “our everlasting light.” The soul of the sinner is enveloped in darkness, but when such enter the holy place, their darkness is turned into light. Yea, their pathway becomes a shining light, which shines more and more unto the perfect day. H. M. R.]

The Golden Altar

We have seen that before the first vail of the tabernacle, and just outside the entrance of the temple, there was located in the court the altar of burnt offerings, and the laver or sea. To this altar in the court the sinning Jew brought his offering and obtained pardon; and there, in the antitype sanctuary, Jesus meets the penitent sinner and forgives all his sins. The laver also represents the place of the “washing of regeneration.” The altar in the court represents the point of penitent surrender; the laver, that of the cleansing away of his sins. There is great accuracy in the order of their location, as surrender naturally precedes pardon. So the altar, the place of offering himself dead in sins, comes first, and the laver, where his sins are purged, comes next, and as a result he enters the fold of Christ.

Having now entered the holy place of the “worldly sanctuary”, we find a second altar. Thus it is described and located: “And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.” Ex. 30:1-3, 6, 7. “And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail.” Ex. 40:26.

Though this altar was much smaller than the one in the court, being only one cubit square, while the other was five cubits, it was far more precious, being all covered with gold. As the former altar was “put by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation” (Ex. 40:29), indicating that the sprinkled blood there admits into the holy place, so the altar of incense stood immediately before the second vail, showing that the perfect offering there enters into that within the vail, even into the most holy place. These two altars really represent Christ. As he is our salvation the whole figure of the way of salvation finds its fulfilment in him. Hence, he answered to the two vails, to the passover lamb, and to the sacrifices of the tabernacle, generally to the high priest, and to many other things in the law.

He is the first altar, because it is only on Christ, his merits, and sacrifice, that the penitent sinner finds acceptance with God. He is also the golden altar in the holy place of the house of God. It, as well as the brazen altar, “shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth it is made holy;” an “altar that sanctifieth the gift.” Mat. 23:19. The altar sanctifies the gift; and “Jesus Christ, that he might sanctify the people suffered without the gate. “Is he not then our altar? Whatsoever toucheth it is made holy. Ex. 29:37. “And as many as touched [him] were made perfectly whole.” Mat. 14:36. Bless his holy name! Oh, how beautiful and glorious those shadows of good things to come to those who have received the good things themselves, even the blessing of a pure heart through the blood of him who is both our sacrifice and high priest! The shadows were of the law. Heb. 10:1. “The body is of Christ.” Col. 2:17.

Two altars in the “shadow of the true” sanctuary must denote two successive offerings of ourselves unto God in the process of our redemption. Do we find that idea in the new covenant way of salvation? Let us see. The first disciples of our Lord had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. On him, as their altar of mercy, they had found favor with God, and the pardon of sins that were past. But were they required to make themselves a second offering to God? Yea, “For,” saith the Lord, “every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.” Mark 9:49, 50. Just prior to those words the Savior taught the disciples the strong doctrine of having their “right eye plucked out,” the right hand and the right foot severed. This has reference to the destruction of inbred sin, that evil nature that we brought with us into the world, and which is a part of man’s being as a fallen creature, just as much as are the most precious members of our physical body. This inbred sin inclines to make certain objects of unholy affections as dear to us, and as painful to cut off, as the members of our natural body. Moreover it is the source of offense, an occasion of stumbling, and must therefore be destroyed in order to the reign of perfect peace within, and one with another.

But how will it be accomplished? The Savior thus explains the process. Namely, “For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.” “Have salt in yourselves.” Does not this clearly imply that these disciples should make themselves a sacrifice, and that in so doing they would be “salted with fire,” and “have salt in themselves?” And, true to the promise, on the day of Pentecost they were salted with the fire of the Holy Spirit. But did they then make themselves an offering and sacrifice to God? We will prove that they did. Peter, who was one of that number, testifies that God put no difference between them that received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the Gentiles who purified their hearts by faith at the house of Cornelius, “Giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us.” Acts 15:7-9. What is the important work wrought by the reception of the Holy Spirit? It “purified their hearts”; namely, “being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” Rom. 15:16. But upon what condition were they accepted and sanctified? Namely, that they had to make themselves an offering, a sacrifice to God. “That the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” And as there was no difference between their sanctification and that of the hundred and twenty who received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they also became a sacrifice, acceptable unto God, as their Lord and Master had taught them in Mark 9. But under the law the idea of sacrifice, is inseparable from an altar, and so we see that the two altars in the figure of the true sanctuary are a perfect shadow of the two consecrations, which admit, first, the sinner into justification; second, the believer into perfect holiness.

These two distinct offerings are both seen in Romans 6:19: “For as ye have yielded your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” They had yielded their members once, when in the condition of sin and iniquity, and now, since by a profession of Christ, they had become “servants to righteousness,” they were required to yield their members unto holiness. It is true the above words are quite ambiguous, and for this reason we would not cite them as proof of the above position, were it not that other translations render the passage much more clear. The Emphatic Diaglott, for instance, makes it very plain. “For as you presented your members enslaved to impurity and iniquity, so now present your members bound for righteousness for sanctification.” Two moral states are described, and in both conditions a presentation or offering of themselves is taught. In the state of bondage to sin, they had already presented themselves, and of course received pardon. The second presentation was now urged upon them, and the object was “for sanctification.” The word “present” in both instances is from parastesati, and is the same as is used in Romans 12:1, where the apostle beseeches them again: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” A transformation and renewal is the result of this offering of self unto God a living sacrifice. The renewal is seen in Titus 3:5 to be subsequent to regeneration, and by the Holy Spirit; and in Colossians 3:10 and Ephesians 4:23, 24, the renewal restores the soul in the image of God, which is righteousness and true holiness. The fact that the brethren were to present themselves a sacrifice already “holy,” proves that they had touched the first altar, which also makes holy in the sense of justifying.

Now we confidently affirm that, since the apostle as well as Christ taught that the brethren, who were already justified, should present themselves as a sacrifice to God, it proves that there are two offerings of ourselves to God; first as a sinner obtaining pardon, second as a believer unto entire sanctification. And, furthermore, since this second consecration is repeatedly termed an offering, a sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, it is good evidence that these two successive offerings of ourselves were foreshadowed by the two altars which stood before the first and second vail. Why should the New Testament employ the same language in describing these two consecrations that the Old does in speaking of the sacrifices and offerings of the temple, if those sacrifices were not shadows and figures of the latter?

Again, we ask, how are we to trace the relation between type and antitype in the old and new covenants, if not by observing when the elements of the new are clothed in language descriptive of their correspondents in the law of shadows? For instance, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” Is this not a sufficient evidence to all Bible readers that the Lamb of God was the substance of the paschal shadow? In the same way the antitype of a hundred things is intimated to us in the holy Book. So likewise, when our giving of self and all to God “for sanctification” is called an “offering up” (Romans 15:16), a “sacrifice” (Mark 9:49), “a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), surely nothing more is needed to establish the fact that it is the antitype of some of those sacrifices of the legal sanctuary which were a figure for the time then present. Other scriptural proofs might be added, but they will come in and testify when we follow our High Priest in his holy and most holy ministration. Having now applied the blood to our hearts at the golden altar, and entered into that within the vail, our hearts and minds are awed in solemn reverence before the visible presence of the holy God of heaven. Everything with which our eyes here meet impresses the mind that this is the dwelling place of the great Jehovah. In the midst of this most sacred inner temple stands

The Ark of the Covenant

Thus it is described: “And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.” Ex. 25:10, 11.

To an ark is always attached the idea of safety, of protection, and preservation. And so all the epistles urge the converts on to perfection, or entire sanctification, as the most sure refuge of the soul, as the place where men are able to stand against all the wiles of the devil, and triumph over all the billows of sin. Thanks be to God for this place of the divine ark, where “we are dead and our lives are hid with Christ in God.” On Christ our golden altar we died to sin, and then emerging into the holiest, which is filled with the divine presence, we are necessarily enveloped in him.

It is called the ark of the covenant, doubtless because the tables of the “first covenant” were deposited in it. But that covenant, as U. Smith has admitted, is a type of the new covenant. Therefore according to the figure, we do not reach the place of the new covenant written in our heart until we enter the holiest of the true sanctuary, which the Lord pitched. And, true to the shadow, we read, “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” Heb. 10:14-16.

By his one offering the “High Priest over the house of God,” “perfects forever them that are sanctified”; and of this perfection “the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us.” So it is an attainment in this life, and also all who possess the same know it. Moreover, when the Holy Spirit sanctifies the heart and witnesses to that fact, he also writes the new covenant of our God in our minds, and puts it in our hearts. So the covenant was hid in the holiest of the shadow, and in the true sanctuary the new covenant is also written in our hearts as we enter its most holy place. Yea, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psa. 119:11. Here again we see the harmony of type and antitype, of the shadow and its substance.

The Mercy Seat, and Cherubims of Glory

“And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.”

Ex. 25:17, 21. “And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.” Ex. 37:6. “And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.” Ex. 25:18-20, 22. [As observed in the foot-note, under “The Holy and Most Holy place,” the holy of holies in the New Testament sanctuary is sanctified Christians; therefore, in some particular, the antitypes of the furniture of that inner room are located in the hearts of those who have reached the plane of perfect holiness. The mercy seat was located upon the ark of the covenant, beneath the cherubims of glory. Upon this mercy seat God sat, and communed with the people. “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims.” Ex. 25:22. “The Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims.” 1 Sam. 4:4. “Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.” Psa. 80:1. “I will appear in a cloud upon the mercy seat.” Lev. 16:2. “He sitteth between the cherubims.” Psa. 99:1.

From the foregoing scriptures we clearly learn that God sat upon the mercy seat in that inner court. It was the place of his rest, and there he communed with the high priest and people. Since we who are sanctified compose the holiest of all in the spiritual house, God’s dwelling place must be in our hearts. But does God dwell in the hearts of his people? Thus saith the Lord, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16. Ye are the temple of God; . . . for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3: l6, 17. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” Eph. 3:17. “Christ liveth in me.” Gal. 2:20. “The Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” 1 Cor. 3:16. Thus we see the perfect antitype of the worldly sanctuary again fulfilled in the church of God. The triune God now dwells in his people, and thus they are filled “with all the fulness of God.” Since God dwells in our hearts we “commune with our own hearts,” and are filled with his glory. When God came down into that inner room he filled it with his glory. “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Ex. 40:34, 35. “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.” 2 Chr. 7:1.

How wonderfully this prefigures the fulness of perfect redemption, “the salvation of Jesus Christ with eternal glory;” the “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” And this glory is found within the second vail, in the holiest of all, for “we all with open face [the vail parted] beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18. “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” John 17:22. Oh, the unspeakable fulness of glory—the eternal weight of glory—how it thrills this soul of mine! That glory that once so filled the temple in Jerusalem that the priest could not minister now fills this temple of mine. The great God, whom the heavens cannot contain—his glory which makes that world glitter, now fills this humble heart. Dear reader, this is yours to enjoy, and without it, you will fall in the great day of his coming and judgment. But while we have now considered this phase of the spiritual fulfilment, there are many other precious lessons as follows. H. M. R.]

A seat denotes a place of rest. There was no seat, lounge, or bed, in the holy place; nothing that suggested a place to tarry, to turn aside and repose. Nay, entering that first vail, a solemn charge greets our ears: “Go on to perfection.” That imperative command directs the eye straight forward to the golden altar, and to the rent in the vail. “Go on unto perfection.” Heb. 6:1. “And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” ver. 11, 12. But what is the full assurance, or crowning point of our hope in the way of salvation? Ans.—“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail.” ver. 11). That is, all attainments below entire sanctification are transition grounds, and no place to rest or settle down upon. In verse 17 that within the vail is said to be that “promise” to which the seed of Abraham were heirs. That was the land of Canaan. Gen.16 :3. But this numerous seed of Abraham are a spiritual seed. See

Rom. 9:7, 8; 4:16; Gal. 3:7, 29. And the seed to whom the promise was made being spiritual, the promise itself must be a spiritual inheritance; for God never yet gave any man the literal land of Canaan because he was “Christ’s.” By reference to Acts 20:32; 26:18; Eph. 1:10, 18; Col. 1:12; Gal. 3:14, we find that the promised inheritance is the full possession of the Holy Spirit, which is the wholly sanctified state. This line of precious truth, here but briefly introduced, opens up the antitypical meaning of Egypt, the wilderness and Canaan. The first denotes the thralldom of sin; the second, the babe state of justification; and the third, entire sanctification; while the passage of the Red Sea and Jordan are figures of two successive and divine works of grace, corresponding with the first and second vails of the tabernacle. Now the wilderness, or babe state, where inbred sin is not destroyed, and therefore strife and division likely to arise, and which is the plane of all sect confusion, the prophet says “is not your rest”; therefore “arise ye and depart.” Micah 2:10.

Using the wilderness and Canaan in their spiritual light, and beholding the Hebrew Christians yet in the antitype wilderness, the author of that epistle cries aloud and warns them not to act out the figure of literal Israel, who, when they heard the orders to go over and possess the land “did provoke” God by disobeying. Therefore, “To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation.” Heb. 3:15. “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it” Heb. 4:1. “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Heb. 4:11. It was a rest they had not yet found in the holy place, for they were “holy brethren.” Heb. 3:1. Nor is it that which is reserved in heaven for us: “For we which have believed do enter into rest.” 4:3. It is a present experience, and the entire epistle points to its goal in perfection through the sanctifying spirit, and the all-cleansing blood of Christ. Oh, blessed “mercy seat”! Oh, blissful rest from all inward sin, from all disturbing foes! Not only does this rest denote pure, deep inward tranquility, but it is the summit of perfected holiness, the consummation of salvation in the freedom from all sin and unrighteousness. While our knowledge and wisdom, the graces of holiness, and our usefulness, are still susceptible of continual enlargement, the work of our deliverance from sin is consummated: “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Here then the redeemed soul sits down on the “mercy seat” with Christ, and is thus hid with Christ in God, forever to enjoy God, and to adore his infinite mercy in both washing us from our sins, and destroying the inborn evil nature out of our entire being, and filling all with his own holy nature. Oh, what rest, what boundless rest we here have found! Yea, it is even God’s own rest, as we shall see in connection with the cherubims that stand upon it.

These cherubims seem to have been made of pure gold. But after the temple was built others were made for the “inner house of God” that were much larger. They were made of olive trees, and overlaid with gold, as we see in the following description: “And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub: and five cubits the other wing of the cherub, from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.” 1 Kin. 6:23, 24, 27, 28. The same dimensions are given them in 2 Chronicles 3:10-13. In the above scripture they were placed “within the inner house”; in Chronicles they were placed “in the most holy house.” Just think of the awful grandeur of these golden angels. Their stature ten cubits, or fifteen feet. Their wings each five cubits, or seven and one-half feet, extending north and south from the center of the most holy, even to the wall thereof.

The Scriptures forcibly impress our mind that these cherubims, or symbolized angels, were the visible tokens of the invisible God. Heaven is both the place of God’s throne and the abode of angels. So to us God and the angels are associated together. Both God and angels are spirits; but infinite wisdom has never given any form or figure to denote the Divine Being, lest men should worship the mere shape by which God was represented to them. But God gave men visible expression of angelic being, and associates his invisible presence with the same; hence, we frequently read of the “angel of the Lord.” And speaking of his children, thus saith God: “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” Isa. 63:9. He the Most High, “redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old:” and yet it is recorded that the “angel of his presence saved them.” So God and the angel of the Lord are inseparably associated. God saved Israel, but angels are the chosen heralds and tokens of his presence. How often, even in these days, have angels appeared to holy saints, especially when nearing the celestial world; and in all such instances the glory of God and his presence was manifest in their consciousness; while only angels appeared to their vision. David thus testifies: “The Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psa. 34:6-8. Here the angel of the Lord and the Lord himself are mingled together. “The angel of the Lord encampeth round” his people. And again he saith, “I will encamp about mine house.”

Zech. 9:8. Yea, “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever.”

Psa. 125:2.

Oh, for the wisdom that cometh from above to set forth “the beauty of the Lord,” and the glory of his most holy temple! How shall we speak of thy very sacred and precious presence, and outspread wings of love and mercy, which our soul hath indeed found and experienced within thy awful inner church? Truly, O Lord! our inner man can behold and enjoy far more of thyself, and of thy heavenly truth, than the poor speech of our outer man can express.

These angelic similitudes which spread forth their great wings in the holiest place were the tokens of the divine presence. A few more scriptures make this plain. “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” Psa. 17:8. “How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” Psa. 36:7.

Where else would David get the idea of the “shadow of thy wings,” if he did not get it from the shadow cast by the golden angels of his presence in the holiest place? For “the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings”; and as a result “they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house [‘which is the church of the living God’]; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.” Surely David had here an inspired glimpse of the root and fatness, “the riches of the glory of his [Christ’s] inheritance in the saints.” Jesus told the Jews that, had they harkened unto him then had their peace flown as a river. But thank God! “Unto us who believe he is precious.” He is rivers of peace, “rivers of divine pleasure” in our hearts. Only the wholly sanctified filled with the Spirit enjoy the ecstatic river of pleasures, and abundant satisfaction described above. And so David’s words direct our minds right into the holiest of Christ’s “greater and more perfect tabernacle,” where we trust under the shadow of his wings, beautifully symbolized by the wings of the golden cherubims in the worldly sanctuary. And, bless the Lord, O my soul! we are “abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house,” and the “river of thy pleasures.” For the Lord hath said, “My peace give I unto you,” “My joy I give unto you.” Amen. Lord, thou hast even thus dealt bountifully with thy servants.

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.”

Psa. 27:4, 5. “Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge.” Psa. 57:1.“Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” Psa. 31:20. “I will abide in thy tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.” Psa. 61:4. Here again is prophetic speech. Under the shadowy wings that were spread forth in the legal tabernacle only the high priest could enter. Also that tabernacle passed away. But here is another tabernacle that shall abide forever, the greater and more perfect one of this dispensation, where are the wings of God’s own love and mercy spread, and where, according to the above prediction, we may all take refuge.

“Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.” Psa. 63:7. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psa. 91:1. “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. “Psa. 91:4. Oh, how precious these words! To whatever extent they were realized by David, they surely have their more perfect fulfilment in the most holy place of the new covenant house of God. “His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” “But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Yea, he is the truth and we “are complete in him.” The secret place of the Most High, undoubtedly, had reference to the holy presence of God “within the vail,” into which we have fled to take refuge. That the language was drawn from the shadowy sanctuary of the law, there is no doubt; but that its real fulfilment is in the inner temple of the spiritual house of God is an evident fact, because no one was allowed to abide in the inner chamber of the earthly structure. Only one day in the entire year could a human being enter there, and then but one man. But thank God! we can dwell forever in the secret of his presence, and abide under the shadow of his wings. Does not this prove that the cherubims which spread their wings of gold in that temple, which has perished, foreshadowed the presence of the holy one of Israel in the midst of his “lively stone” temple, which shall endure forever? Behold, our God has come with “healing in his wings,” and he has suddenly entered his temple, and shall dwell in the midst of his people forever, and be their God, and they shall he his people. Amen.

We have said that the presence of God was associated with, and betokened by the cherubims. Let us more fully prove the fact, and also gather what that preaches to us.

“And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.” Num. 7:89. He heard a voice upon the mercy seat from between the cherubims. Passing to the next verse we read: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,” etc. So it was the voice of the Lord that was heard from off the mercy seat, between the cherubims. Is that where God dwelt? “So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims.” 1 Sam. 4:4. “The ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.” 2 Sam. 6:2.

Here are three scriptures that show that God dwelt upon the mercy seat, even between the cherubims. Now what does all this foreshadow? Namely, the place in the true sanctuary where we enter into his own rest; for, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. “But how do we reach that secret place of God’s rest? We have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh. “Through the offering of his body and the application of his blood we enter the holiest of the “true sanctuary.” “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin;” therefore the holiest place of God’s rest into which we enter is heart purity; and only they that are dead with Christ, “dead indeed to sin” and “free from sin,” are “hid with Christ in God.” “There [between the cherubims] was the hiding of his power.” And “Christ is the wisdom of God, and the power of God.” So there was the hiding-place of Christ, and we are “hid with Christ in God.” So where God rested in the worldly sanctuary, and continues to rest in the true tabernacle, “which the Lord pitched and not man,” we also enter into his rest. “And to whom sware he, that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?” “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Heb. 3:18; 4:1. So we are to enter into the rest of him who “dwelt between the cherubims”; yea, enter now (Heb. 4:3); and this rest is our entire sanctification or perfection. This positively proves that the holy place of the golden cherubims was not a type of a literal structure up in heaven into which only Christ entered, and that not until A. D. 1844.

What a striking picture of the saving presence of our glorious High Priest in the house of God we see in Exodus 25:20, 21—“And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.” “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony.” ver. 22.

A wholly sanctified church is the chosen dwelling place of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And where it is assembled, with God thus in the midst, is the most propitious spot on earth for a sinner to seek God. While it is true that men may seek and find mercy anywhere, it is also true that they “shall come bowing down at the soles of thy feet.” It is also true that a convicted and truly penitent soul naturally inclines to the holy people for help in seeking God. God is in the midst of them. There his salvation shines forth, and why should they not be helped there to find his favor more than elsewhere?

So that ancient holy place, where God dwelt between the cherubims, and communed with his priests, represented the state of perfected holiness, the rest of God, into which we enter and have fellowship and communion with him. And the “mercy seat” and “throne of grace” were so named because in the midst of the holy people of God is the most gracious place for sinners to bow and seek mercy from God, and where his gracious voice is heard speaking the pardon of all their sins, and where their redeemed souls rise from the bondage of guilt to reign on the “throne of grace”; and where the divine wings of infinite love, mercy, and protection are always spread over those that abide in the hiding-place of his mighty keeping power. Oh, bless God forever and ever!

Once more while the golden angels betoken the divine presence in his church, another glorious truth was thereby symbolized. And here we remind the reader that the two angelic symbols that stood upon the ends of the mercy seat were not the only cherubic wings that hovered about that secret place. They were woven in the curtains of the tabernacle. “And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.” Ex. 36:8.

Their celestial wings adorned the beautiful vail of the tabernacle. “And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work.” Their cunningly-wrought figures also appeared on the vail of the temple. “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.” 2 Cor. 3:14. Upon the walls of the temple without and within, these heavenly bodies were skillfully carved round about the entire building. “And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.” 1 Kin. 6:29. “He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.” 2 Chr. 3:7. Holy angels also guarded the entrance of that wonderful gold lined temple: they were carved upon the doors. “The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.” 1 Kin. 6:32-35.

Thus all around, without and within that ancient abode of God, the similitude of heavenly beings greeted the eye. So in treading its sacred courts the throng of celestial wings that silently hovered around must have impressed the mind with the feeling that a person was moving in the midst of the society of heaven. What, we ask, was all this to image forth in the true sanctuary of God? In a very few words the inspired writer of the epistle to the Hebrews answers this question. “But ye are come to . . .  an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born which are written in heaven,” “and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.”

So in the new-covenant church of the Lord Jesus, we have come to “an innumerable company of angels.” The kingdom that Christ set up on earth is repeatedly called the “kingdom of heaven.” The church is the bride, the Lamb’s wife, the new Jerusalem which cometh down from God out of heaven. See Rev. 21st chapter. The household of God is all one family in heaven and earth. See Eph. 3:15. This brings us into fraternal union with all the angels in heaven. All angels are holy; Jesus is prince of the angels. Both are on the same moral plane of holiness. And “both he [Christ] that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one.” Heb. 2:11. Brought into oneness with Christ, we are one with all the angels of heaven. When God brought his Son into the world, he gave orders: “Let all the angels of God worship him.” Heb. 1:6. And saith the apostle, “We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” 1 Cor. 4:9. In short, we would say that the Holy Spirit dispensation restores man back to the plane of the divine image, to the plane of the holiness of God and all angels, and thus restores him to the society of God and the angels in heaven. Hence the great mystery of God’s will, which was hid in the ages gone by, he has now made known to us; namely, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” Eph. 1:10. And the apostle continues, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.” Christ does not save men on earth to a lower plane than heaven itself. Hence, all things gathered into Christ, both in heaven and on earth, are gathered into one. Therefore his kingdom is the kingdom of heaven. The reign and spirit, and life and righteousness of heaven extended to earth, and all in its glorious holy mount are in perfect harmony and fellowship and communion with heaven—with all the holy angels whose abode is about the throne of God. And God’s church, being one family with the angels of heaven, who ‘are all ministering spirits unto the heirs of salvation’ (Heb. 1:14), was strikingly typified by the earthly temple which was everywhere adorned with the heavenly cherubims. So the temple with its many shadowing angelic wings, which was a figure for the time then present, finds its perfect antitype in the church of the first-born, which has “come to an innumerable company of angels.” Amen.

But now let us look within the sacred ark, and receive what instructions are there deposited for us. First there are the tables of the covenant. Heb. 9:4. But having called attention to these in connection with the ark of the covenant, we will proceed to open

The Golden Pot of Manna

“And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.” Ex. 16:33. “Wherein was the golden pot that had manna.” Heb. 9:4 After the children of Israel departed out of the land of Egypt they soon found themselves in an uncultivated wilderness. And they were scarcely through praising God for their miraculous deliverance from Pharaoh, when they began to forbode starvation, and to murmur against Moses and against God, forgetting that he who had opened the waters for their escape could also miraculously feed them. The Lord rebuked their sin and sent them bread from heaven. “And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.” Ex. 16:14, 15.

Here is an entirely new article of food; something never eaten in Egypt. It was something directly given them from God, and “the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” ver. 31. This manna evidently refers to the joys of justification and the spiritual food the justified feast upon, as its spiritual substance or antitype. It had to be gathered fresh every morning; for, with the exception of the sabbath, it spoiled if they attempted to keep it over for use the second day; all of which suggested the idea that it was a mere temporary provision, and not the permanent food. “They did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan,” “until they came to a land inhabited.”

The very first time the manna fell about the camp of Israel, the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to “fill an omer of it to keep for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness”; “And lay it up before the Lord.” “So Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.” Ex. 16:32, 33, 34. Now if all these things were a “shadow,” “a figure of the true” sanctuary, and that is the church of the living God, there must be something therein which serves as an antitype of this omer of manna. Not until the deep mysteries of the kingdom of heaven were unveiled to John’s vision on the isle of Patmos was the key given to this figure. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”

Rev. 2:17.

They who are sanctified wholly in Christ Jesus, and illuminated by the Spirit perceive that all these promises made to the overcomers in the church are fulfilled in the glorious experience and graces of perfected holiness. The manna that fell in the wilderness represented the joys of justifying grace. But it was a very unenduring provision; it very quickly spoiled, and had to be gathered again. So justification is not the establishing grace; it is a mere transition ground. While yet in this wilderness or babe state, men’s happiness is much like the sunshine and shadows of an April day. The consciousness of pardon and sonship often pours down its golden sunshine in the soul, and brings it happy hours; but the presence of the old evil nature in turn rises up as a cloud over the spiritual horizon. But the manna that was carried into the holiest and laid up there was preserved by the power of God: it did not spoil. So when justification is carried forward into entire sanctification, thank God, its joys endure forever. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone.” White denotes holiness—purity; a stone is a solid enduring substance. This also pictures the everlasting bliss of holiness. “And in that stone a new name written;” Christ in the new experience—Christ our sanctification. “Which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it.” How true! how true! surely no man knows either the grace of justification, or the glory of holiness, saving he that receiveth it in his heart by experience. The overcomer is blessed with “hidden manna.” Yes, holiness is a hidden treasure. “Hid from the eyes of the wise and prudent.” Luke 10:21. It is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen (Job 28:7); namely, that which no unclean spirit can take in and enjoy. Paul said, “We speak wisdom among them that are perfect.” Of course he would preach perfect holiness to those in the experience, for they always appreciate such preaching; while to the unsanctified Corinthians he could not speak “as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” 1 Cor. 3:1.

But what was the wisdom that the apostle preached to the perfect? He thus describes it:              “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” 1 Cor. 2:7. This hidden wisdom is nothing less than the hidden manna; that with which he fed the perfect. He said he spoke wisdom—the hidden wisdom among them that are perfect. But the perfect are the wholly sanctified (Heb. 10:14); and the sanctified are those who have entered “into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say his flesh.” Heb. 10:19, 20. So then God gives the overcomers to eat of the hidden manna, by bringing them into the hidden place, into “the secret place of his pavilion.” “There was the hiding of his power.” Bless God! We are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God—hid from all danger; therefore in vain have the wicked “taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.” Psa. 83:3.

The overcomers eat of the hidden manna. But what is it to be an overcomer? First, “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:5. Yea, “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.” 1 John 5:4.

Overcomes what? “The world.” “Overcomes evil with good.” Rom. 12:21. Overcomes evil spirits. “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God,” “is the spirit of antichrist.” “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them.” 1 John 4:3, 4. Overcome the devil himself.

Rev. 12:11.

How do they overcome? “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4. “And they overcame him [the dragon power] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Rev. 12:11.

When do they overcome? All the above scriptures clearly answer, Now; here in this world. They overcome by faith, and “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Rom. 10:17. Now it is in this world that the gospel is preached, and not in the next. So we believe now and here, and overcome the world while here in the world.

We overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony. But it is here that that blood was shed, and only here in probation can its virtues be applied to the heart; and as for our testimony, surely it would overcome nothing in heaven, where there is no evil to overcome. But all the martyrs and saints of God have overcome the world, the flesh and the devil by confessing Christ before their persecutors, and in the face of wicked men and tempting devils, “resisting him steadfastly in the faith.” Finally to be an overcomer we must lay down our very lives. Not only the martyrs, but every sanctified soul must “love not their lives unto the death.” “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:11. It is a fact that only “he that is dead is free from sin.” And this does not mean people whose bodies lie in their graves. But the apostle adds, “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” Rom. 6:7, 8. Yea, we that are alive in our bodies have already lost our lives in becoming overcomers.

Now this whole process of reaching the plane of eternal triumph is nothing more nor less than the work of our entire sanctification. We overcome by faith, and we are sanctified by faith. Acts 26:18. We overcome by the blood of Christ. “Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” Heb. 13:12. Only a believer who is born of God can become an overcomer; and no person can be wholly sanctified without being born again. To become an overcomer we must love not our lives to the very death, and the same conditions must be met in order to obtain entire sanctification. We must “render our bodies a living sacrifice unto God,” in order to prove the perfect and acceptable will of God. “And this is his will even our sanctification.”

So when we compare spiritual things with spiritual, and interpret truth by the light of truth, we arrive at the understanding that the promise to eat of the hidden manna is a participation of all the blessedness found in the grace of entire sanctification. Since, as we have proved, the holiest place of our present sanctuary is the grace of entire sanctification, the manna hidden therein must mean the rich blessing of entire sanctification. How wonderfully all the precious truth of God links together. To be an overcomer and to be wholly sanctified are one and the same thing. But sanctification was typified by the holiest place of the first covenant: there also the golden pot of manna was hidden away. And Christ, speaking under the new covenant, says he will give him that overcometh, him that

enters into perfect holiness, to eat of the hidden manna; namely, the blessedness found in the holiest of the true sanctuary.

That the privilege of eating this hidden manna is not deferred until we reach heaven is evident from the fact that we have boldness to enter there now; and, in fact, “we that believe do enter in,” and do feast upon the precious bread of heaven. The hidden manna is identical with “the hidden wisdom,” and Paul already preached that among them that were perfect. Yes, even to the perfect; for they only have the promise of the hidden manna; and the Lord continues to fulfil his promise to thus feast the overcomers by his sanctified ministry, as well as directly by his Word and Spirit.

Again we call attention to an important point of analogy in this, that the golden pot was filled with the manna that first fell, so no person can enter the holiest place unless he possesses “his first love.” Nothing but the first manna was brought into the holiest place, and nothing but that same clear justification that was experienced when first our sins were washed away will pass into perfected holiness. If that has become diminished or sullied, there must first be a “cleansing of ourselves,” as in the case of the Corinthians. Repentance of all subversions of the ordinances, sectism, or any other inconsistency will restore the first manna, after which we can pass on into perfection. See 2 Cor. 7:8-11.

One more point of beautiful spiritual truth connected with this lesson we must not pass by. While the children of Israel were yet in Egypt they lived off the natural products of the earth; but in the wilderness they were fed by supernatural means, by bread from heaven. And when they at last reached the land of corn and wine, their wants were again supplied abundantly from the natural products of the land. Just so the sinner lives in and practises sin as the natural outflow of his depraved mind and heart. The justified urge their way on in the service of God, often doing duty in direct opposition to their remaining unsanctified nature. It is a fact that their obedience to God is largely against natural inclinations, and is stimulated into action by the aid of powerful motives, such as the desire to get to heaven, etc. But when he reaches the land of spiritual Beulah, having died to sin, and cast off the old Adam nature in the Jordan of death, and having now put on the perfect divine nature, his service to God becomes perfectly free, natural and spontaneous. The sinner serves sin naturally, drifting at ease in the tide of a fallen or second nature. The justified, by the help of the implanted grace, serve God across the grain of that fallen nature. And the sanctified wholly serve God naturally; i. e., being restored to this first or original nature of holiness and sweetly moving along upon the crystal tide of Heaven’s love and peace. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Last in the ark remains to be studied is Aaron’s rod that budded.

Aaron’s Rod That Budded

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” Num. 17:1-8. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.” Num. 17:10.

That wonderful almond rod was deposited in the ark according to the above directions, and there preserved. Heb. 9:4. It appears that it was known that someone must be chosen from among the tribes to be high priest. And their unsanctified hearts vied with each other for the honor of this high office, and this jealousy and unholy rivalry actually broke out in the wicked murmurings in the camp. So the all-wise God put an end to this murmuring by the test with the rods, as above stated, making choice of his high priest by the manifestation of a miracle. It is marvelous how everything in this inner temple reflected the glory and beauty of holiness.

Two beautiful lessons may be drawn from the above miracle. First, Aaron’s rod was a mere dry stick, perhaps a walking-cane. It had been cut off from its trunk, and so, of course, was dead and fruitless. But being brought into the most holy place, and placed in the ark of the covenant, in one short night, behold, it revived, put forth leaves and blossoms, and actually bore almonds. And so the man who, like his master, is accounted but a “root out of dry ground,” but a dead stick, cut off from society, persecuted, and supposed to be utterly killed and ruined by the vilest slanders, yet if he be actually in the holiest place of the “house of God, which is the church of the living God,” and really hid away in the golden ark of the testimony, and covered with the wings of God’s presence, behold, his heart is still fresh and verdant with joy and peace, and when all apparent hopes of fruitfulness are cut off, behold! he suddenly blooms in unexpected usefulness, and his life brings forth the beautiful fruits of holiness. Amen.

Again, the manner of selecting Aaron for his sacred calling, is a glorious picture of God’s New Testament ministers, and the test of their call to that exalted office. In sectarian formality, as also in the world, men enter the list as candidates for all honorable positions; and through the spirit of jealousy, and rivalry; they strive, and use every electioneering strategy, and thus win the red tape, and lord it over God’s children; and by virtue of their craftily attained office demand subjection and remuneration from them, whether they possess any fruits of the Spirit or not; whether they are of any profit, or an actual nuisance. But in God’s church it is not so. No one is a minister of God unless he has the Word to minister, and no one has the Word of truth who has not the Spirit of truth; for only by the Spirit is the knowledge of the Word. “But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, neither indeed can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned.” Not he who desires the office of a bishop, or aspires to the ministry for the glory of self, and the gratification of pride or ambition, shall be thus acknowledged, or even tolerated. But he who humbles himself shall be exalted. He who is servant of all shall be your minister. He who bears the actual fruits of the gospel is acknowledged as put in possession of the gospel. He who possesses the Holy Spirit illumination, and all the precious graces of holiness, and whose life and labors bud, blossom, and actually bring forth the precious fruits of salvation—he is a chosen vessel unto the Lord, a high priest in his kingdom of kings and priests. Not by their credentials, but, “by their fruits ye shall know them.” The living fruits alone settle the question and cut off all strife and murmuring, and announce the priests of our God in his kingdom of grace.

The Vessels of the Temple

This beautiful point of analogy we must not pass by. There were in the temple a great many vessels; many of them were of gold and silver. Ezra gives us an inventory of those carried by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon, and returned again by order of Cyrus. “And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred.” Ezra 1:9-11. There is no evidence, nor likelihood that this comprised all the vessels of the temple. Why this enormous number of vessels? It is scarcely possible to conceive how so many could be put into actual use. When we consider that the holiest object of that whole temple was to serve as a “figure for the time then present,” “a shadow of good things to come,” and when we understand what good things they are which were typically introduced by all these vessels, we cease to wonder at their prodigious number. Of what, then, were they a figure? Thank God! the Book of all wisdom unlocks the mystery. An open door is now before us. It is “the tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man;” “The church of the first-born.” Let us enter and he will show us the beautiful vessels of his new covenant sanctuary. We come first to Paul, the holy and faithful apostle. “The Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:” Acts. 9:15.

The apostle will now become our escort and show us other vessels. Hear ye him: “And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.” Rom. 9:23, 24. “Even us,” saith he, are the vessels of mercy, prepared unto glory. Yea, all who have been saved by the mercy of God are the vessels of Christ’s ministry in his present sanctuary. And extolling the great value, and preciousness of the contents of those vessels in contrast with the insignificant vessels themselves, he says: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Cor. 4:7. “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” 2 Tim. 2:20, 21. “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.” 1 Thes. 4:3, 4.

All these vessels in God’s house, to be real vessels of honor and suited to the Master’s use, must be wholly sanctified. Here we see that all that sanctification of vessels, so extensive under the law, looked forward to, and taught the glorious lesson of the perfect sanctification of God’s people, as they now enter into that within the holiest of his church. Into these sacred vessels God stores his grace, love, and power; his life, joy, and everlasting peace. And in them he bears the treasure of the gospel to the nations of the earth. To hold some comparison with the spiritual seed of Abraham, who was said to be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and as the sand upon the seashore, it was necessary that they should be multiplied into thousands. And should their antitype only include the New Testament ministry, their great numbers would still be needed: for, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” Psa. 68:11.

So, beloved reader, we might extend our investigations to every object of the temple, and find it all copied from, and illustrative of the sacred elements of the church. In fact, we have gone all through the old tabernacle and temple, with Jesus and his faithful apostle as our escorts, while they have highly entertained us by giving the spiritual lessons that each object was designed to teach and show forth. Everything we have met with here they tell us is a shadow which meets its substance in the present living temple of God. Thanks be to God for the bright line of truth in the analogy which lies between the material sanctuary, and the house of God, over which Christ is high priest.

If, indeed, as we have seen the two apartments of the temple, the vail that separates them, the walls, the pillars, the two altars, the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, the ark of the testimony, and all its hidden contents, the mercy seat, and golden cherubims that stood over it, and even the thousands of vessels—if, we say, all these have their antitype in the church of the living God, and so the voice of inspiration abundantly teaches us, what remains to serve as a single shadow of Smith’s ideal literal structure in heaven? Then, indeed, that newly invented device has neither actual substance nor shadow, save the dark shadows that continually hang over the moral and mental sky of Adventism. It cannot be denied, except by contradicting the Word, that the finger of God points to the church as the place where all the symbolism of the legal temple is fulfilled. And not in a single instance do the inspired records trace the shadows of that second place to a literal structure in heaven distinct from the church.

But we are not yet through gathering the precious gold that was stored away in the old sanctuary. We have reviewed its various objects, but let us now return and study its holy services as figures of the true and saving services in the gospel temple. In both its sacrifices and officiating high priest, we behold Jesus and his faithful apostles as our escorts.

The High Priest of Our Profession

A Change of Priesthood and Law

“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” Heb. 7:12.

In ushering in the gospel dispensation there was a radical change, both of the priesthood and of the law. The change of the priesthood was from the Aaronic order to the High Priest of our profession—Christ Jesus. The change of the law was not a modification of the ten-commandment covenant made on Sinai, but the abolition of that covenant, and the setting up of Christ’s kingdom under his own perfect law. The first covenant or law was given on mount Sinai, and was written in tables of stone, and contained the ten commandments, and no more, which the following scriptures positively prove: Deut. 5:2-5; Ex. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 9:9, 11; 10:4; 1 Kings 8:21; Heb. 9:4.

This law covenant was not separated from the rites that pertained to it—the latter abolished and the former retained—as false teachers assert, but both stand and fall together; and he that is under the law, is under a curse if he violates any part of it. See Gal. 3:10. But the ten-commandment covenant was only to remain until Christ, the seed, came. Gal. 3:17, 19. Therefore the ten-commandment law was ended—abolished—by the Lord Jesus. Gal. 3:23-25; Gal. 4:21-26; Rom. 6:14, 15; 7:4, 6; 2 Cor. 3:6-18. That which was “written and engraven in stone was glorious”; and “that which was glorious was abolished.”

“The priesthood being changed there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” How changed? Read Heb. 7:18, 19, 22. Namely, the old covenant—the ten commandments—was “disannulled.” Read Heb. 8:6-10, 13. The old “vanished away.” Read Heb. 9:13-20.

Christ is “the mediator of the New Testament,” to save men who “were under the first testament.” Here the old, or first testament, and the new, or second testament are spoken of. Now read Heb. 10:14, 15. “He [Christ himself] took away the first,” i. e., the Old Testament, that he might establish the second, the New Testament. This is plain enough for all who are not so blinded by their own idolatry that they cannot believe the Word of God. The Lord Jesus took away the first covenant, the ten commandments that were written in stone, that he might establish the New Testament, which was dedicated in his own blood. Luke 22:20. For this reason there is not one command in all the New Testament for the observance of Saturday as sabbath, nor is there a single example of the church of God meeting on that day. With these few thoughts on the change of the law, we will return to the change of the priesthood. First we enquire,

How and When Christ Became Priest

“If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law—And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: (for those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec:) by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Heb. 7:11-26.

There is an old superstitious falsehood recorded in nearly all the theology of that part of Babylon confusion that hold sprinkling for baptism, and frequently asserted by a traditional ministry, that Christ was baptized to induct him into the priesthood. The above scriptures show the nude absurdity and falsehood of the old fable. First, Christ was not of the tribe eligible to the Aaronic priesthood. Second, the ordinance of baptism sustains no resemblance to the rites of priestly initiation. Third, Christ was not made a priest after the Aaronic order, but after the order of Melchisedec. Fourth, it is positively asserted that he was not made a priest “after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” That is, he was not made a priest by any ceremonial process. Fifth, “Those priests [the Aaronic] were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.”

There is a beautiful lesson in the chosen figure of Christ’s priesthood. “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem,” was also, “priest of the Most High God. . . . First being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.” Heb. 7:1, 2. What a beautiful type of our “great High Priest,” who is also King of righteousness, and King of peace. He puts his redeemed on the throne of righteousness, and is in us the fountain of peace. Perfection was not attainable through the Levitical priesthood, hence the necessity that another priest should arise, who is after a different order. Hence both the priesthood and the law were changed, there being a “disannulling of the commandment [the law] going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.” ver. 11, 18. The Sinaitic law was abolished, and, “by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.” “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did.” ver. 22, 19. “Wherefore [thank God!] he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.” ver. 25.

Christ was made priest by the oath of God. As he informs us in Psalms 110:4, “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” “And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” Heb. 5:4, 5, 6. This language certainly implies that Christ did not take the honor upon himself to be a priest, but God so declared him the day he was begotten.

When Did Christ Begin His Priestly Ministration?

Evidently when he began to administer the gospel of mercy and pardon unto men. U. Smith asserts that Christ could not be a priest until he entered heaven, basing his argument upon Hebrews 8:4. But the whole connection clearly shows that this simply means, he could not officiate in the Levitical order, there being priests who regularly filled that line, and he not being of the Aaronic tribe. But we shall prove that he did serve as priest in antitype of the legal priesthood while he dwelt on earth. He “came by a greater and more perfect tabernacle.” He came saving men into his new covenant sanctuary when he began his ministry. “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14, 15. “Preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, and saying: The time is fulfilled and the kingdom is at hand.” This is a clear unmistakable announcement that the kingdom of God was set up at that time. “The time is fulfilled” surely means that the time preannounced in prophecy that the kingdom of God should appear, is now due, and according to prediction, the kingdom is at hand. The language alludes to the Words of God by the mouth of Daniel 2:44. “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.”

The above words of Daniel and those of Christ in Mark announce an entire change in the dispensation of God, the transition point from the temporary to the final economy of divine grace; from the law to the gospel; from the shadow to the substance. Therefore, since the kingdom and church of God, which was the prototype of the temple and antitype of its priesthood, had also appeared in the person of Christ, the head of the new order, it is true there was a lapping over of the two priesthoods, as we shall hereafter show. But the glorious priest of the new dispensation had appeared. The sanctuary of the new covenant was now open. Repentance towards God, and faith in Christ Jesus, were announced by his forerunner, and by the Lord himself, as the conditions of expiation and admission into the true sanctuary by which he came.

Not only did Christ serve as a priest, ministering mercy to the penitent, but he also offered up sacrifices here on earth. “For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.” Heb. 8:3. “As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” Heb. 5:6, 7. “Thou art a priest,” and it is expressly declared that in the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears. So while incarnate on earth he offered to God the incense and sacrifice of prayer, as the merciful high priest of all humanity. The Aaronic priesthood, and the temple in which they served were inseparable; therefore, the great antitype of that priesthood having appeared, the antitype of their sanctuary was also present. In other words, if Christ officiated here on earth as priest, fulfilling the figure of those priests of the law, then his sanctuary must also have been in some sense set up on earth, in fulfilment of the legal sanctuary which was a figure of the true. This conclusion is evident.

But let us further trace the high-priestly steps of Jesus. The night before he was crucified we hear him pouring out his heart in prayer, as an offering of incense to the Father, in the seventeenth chapter of John. But he offered up to God for a lost world the greatest sacrifice in his possession. “He offered up himself.” Heb. 7:27. Yea, “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.” Eph. 5:2. Oh, blessed be the name of him who is both our high priest and sacrifice, and, who, “now once in the end of the world hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Heb. 9:26. Again we repeat, if he offered sacrifices here on earth, even the crowning sacrifice of his own body, blood, and life upon the altar of his infinite love, and for the redemption of this lost world, then his sanctuary was also set up here on earth. As the sacrifices of the typical priesthood were associated with the shadowy sanctuary, the sacrifices of Christ also show the presence of the true sanctuary; otherwise there would be no agreement between the shadow and its substance. But he “came by a greater and more perfect sanctuary.” He came into the world saving men by and into his sanctuary. Yea, he was so far from sacrificing exclusively in heaven, that he only offered priestly offerings here on earth. “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God.” Heb. 10:11, 12. “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Heb. 1:3.

Jesus ceased to stand in the attitude of a priest engaged in actual offerings after he ascended to heaven, but having offered one sacrifice, which atoned for all mankind, and purchased the full redemption of all who came to God by him, he ceased from any further priestly offerings, and sat down to intercede for men, and to bestow on all who seek him the benefit of his finished sacrifice. He now ministers salvation from his throne in heaven. He is the minister both of justification and sanctification, the holy places of his sanctuary upon earth; hence, is our everlasting high priest. Yet he made all his sacrificial offerings here on earth, where he pitched his true sanctuary. And though he is seated at the right hand of God, as mediator, he also dwells in his church. Hence, says the apostle, “Having an high priest over the house of God,” which is the church of God, we are told to draw nigh to God by him, even into the holiest.

The Lower Order of Christ’s Priesthood

and its Effects

Christ, the “High Priest of our profession,” is the antitype of the entire priesthood of the law. While in the flesh, he by his ministry of the gospel, and the offering up of prayers and tears filled the figure of the temple service at the brazen altar, and in the first apartment of the temple. During this sacrifice of prayers, strong cries, and tears, he had power and authority on earth to forgive sins. Hence, we read, “Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” Mat. 9:2. And when certain scribes in their hearts accused him of blasphemy, “Jesus knowing their thoughts,” assured them that he had so expressed himself, “that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.” ver. 6. The same power on earth to forgive sins is recorded in Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24; also in Luke 7:47, and in other records of this holy priesthood on earth. But he ministered more than mere remission of sins. To Nicodemus he introduced the wonderful mystery of the new birth (John 3): “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” This radical coming forth into newness of life is declared the condition of induction into his kingdom. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.” Yea, verily, “Except a man be born of water [the word of God] and of the Spirit, he can not enter the kingdom of God.” John testifies that this miraculous transformation actually took place in those who believed on him. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sous of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12, 13.

Christ also recognized this change as having taken place in his disciples. They “followed him in the regeneration.” Mat. 19:28. This shows that his act of pardon really purged their hearts from an evil conscience, and wrought a radical moral transformation. We see his priestly ministration of pardon strikingly foreshadowed in the service of the common priests of the first covenant in Leviticus, chapters 4 and 5, where the Israelite that had committed certain sins was required to bring a “sin offering into the door of the temple of the congregation before the Lord,” which the priests offered for their various trespasses; and each time it is said, “The priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.” This service of the common priests strikingly typified Christ’s ministry while in the flesh. Both secured pardon. And as those common priests only entered into the first apartment of the temple, so Christ officiated in the holy, or first apartment of his greater and more perfect tabernacle. “It shall be forgiven him,” said the common priest at the door of the first tabernacle. “Thy sins are forgiven,” said our High Priest to the penitent sinner at the threshold of his spiritual tabernacle not made with hands.

The highest attainment under the law was that of pardon, or justification; which is a legal term, and means to stand clearly absolved by the law. But since the fall of man he has inherited an inward sinful bent, hence he needs something beyond the expiation of his sins. To perfect again his inward character before God, he needs the purification of his nature. This the law could not do; for, “The law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we [now under the priesthood of Jesus] draw nigh to God.” Heb. 7:19. This better hope is “Christ in us the hope of glory.” Col. 1:27. The pardon granted at the brazen altar very clearly shadowed forth Christ forgiving sinners that bow at the door of his kingdom. But connected with the high priestly offerings on the great day of atonement, when he entered the holiest of all, there was a symbolic cleansing, the cleansing of the sanctuary, which beautifully prefigured the higher work of Christ cleansing and sanctifying the church, after he had himself entered the holiest of his tabernacle with his own blood. As the common priests could not enter the holiest of all, where a symbolic cleansing was announced as a result of the high priest’s offering, so neither could Christ conduct those for whom he officiated unto perfection, the holiest state of the tabernacle, until he himself was “made perfect through suffering.” To the high priest it was said, “Come not into the holiest without blood, lest ye die;” and which “they entered not without blood.” And, agreeable to the figure, Christ could not enter the holiest place of his sanctuary until the shedding of his blood. Nor could he till then lead the disciples to the highest plane of perfection, as he confessed in the following scriptures: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” John 16:12, 13. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” John 16:7. “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they

that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7:38, 39.

“The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by the Lord Jesus Christ.” Truth, it is here seen, expresses the elements of the new order, “The church of the living God, which is the pillar and ground of the truth.” But into the most holy place of the great tabernacle of truth Christ could not conduct his disciples before crucified and glorified. They could not receive the truth respecting the wholly sanctified state until, by his high-priestly offering, and his shed blood, they should receive the Holy Spirit the sanctifier; which before his death and triumphant ascension had not been given to any. Therefore it was needful that Christ should be taken from his disciples, pass the portals of death, and ascend to heaven, before he could perfect those that came to God by him. It is therefore an important question

How and When He Entered the Holiest

We have already proved that the passage of our High Priest from the holy into the most holy of his sanctuary was not delayed until A.D. 1844, as Advent legendary teaches.

“And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” Heb. 5:4-10. “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.” Heb. 8:1-5. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Heb. 9:24.

As before observed, Christ, being the antitype of the Levitical priesthood, offered up sacrifices while here upon earth. Finally he offered up himself a sacrifice for the world, and was made perfect through suffering. Then he ascended into heaven, which to him might properly be termed the holiest place. On the mediatorial throne he began to minister in his high-priestly office to his church upon earth; which is the sanctuary. From Hebrews 9:24 some have inferred that the Jewish tabernacle was a type of heaven; but no such idea is conveyed. Hebrews 9:24 properly rendered reads as follows: “For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, the figures of the true ones, but into heaven itself.” He shows that Christ did not enter into the literal holy places in Moses’ tabernacle, which were types of the true holy places in the New Testament church—justification and sanctification—but into heaven itself. The church of God upon earth is the true sanctuary, and in it Christ ministers from his high priestly throne on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. So when Christ ascended into heaven he entered the holiest—our everlasting high priest to minister salvation to humanity throughout this dispensation. “He shall be a priest upon his throne,” said the prophet; and now we “come boldly to his throne of grace, and find mercy, and grace to help in time of need.” While the above texts clearly sustain this view, yet it can be said in a sense that Christ entered the holiest when his blood was shed upon Calvary’s cross.

After describing the sanctuary of the first covenant and informing us that it was a figure of another, the true sanctuary, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews points out the antitype as follows: “But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb. 9:11, 12. This holy place directly rendered from the Greek is the “holies,” or holy places. We have already seen that U. Smith admits that this verse includes the most holy place. The entrance of Christ into the most holy of his sanctuary is conditional upon the shedding of his blood. As already observed, he came into the world to save the lost by his greater sanctuary, instead of having a temple awaiting his return to heaven. The sacrifice of himself for our sins and the shedding of his blood took him into the holiest. Having previously officiated under the example and shadow of the common priests, he was now “made perfect by suffering,” and therefore proceeded to minister according to the type of the high priest in the holiest. His entry into the holiest, in this sense, was into his perfected priesthood, into the conditions of a perfect Savior. The high priest first sprinkled the blood at the brazen altar, where the common priests also daily officiated; from that point he entered the holy place, sprinkled the blood on the golden altar, and continued his service on into the holiest of all. And, true to this figure, for the time then present, Jesus passed on from power on earth to “forgive sins,” to power and authority to “minister the Spirit,” and through his shed blood sanctify wholly the living vessels of his holy temple. So he offered the incense of prayer before he was made perfect, and procured pardon to all who believed on him. But, “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.” Eph. 5:2. And through his suffering on the cross he became a perfect Savior. “Being made perfect he became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.”

Until “the vail, that is to say his flesh,” was rent, Christ was shrouded in mystery, even to his disciples; but after he had entered the conditions of a perfect Savior, and by the shedding of his blood procured unto the church the gift of the Holy Spirit, the mystery was solved, and, for the first time, the illuminated disciples saw Jesus clearly, and fully comprehended his mission on earth. Bless his holy name forever!

“As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” Heb. 5:6-10. Here we have both orders of his priesthood clearly revealed. Note carefully the language. As a priest “in the days of his flesh, when he offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears.” Next we are told of “the things which he suffered, by which being made perfect, “he became the author of eternal salvation”; namely, was now qualified and empowered to lead men and women into the most holy state of a completed salvation. And being now advanced to this highest plane of his ministry, which was typical of the high priest of the law, he, too, is “called of God a high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” First, as “priest,” he officiated “in the days of his flesh”; then by his suffering unto death he became a perfect Savior, and was called of God an high priest, and entered heaven to minister through all time in his church upon earth.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” Heb. 2:9-12.

The first work of gospel grace makes us sons of God. There is glory in that experience. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18. From a first plane of glory, we are changed into a second, even into the glory of the image of the Lord, and this change is wrought “by the Spirit of the Lord,” and is defined in the text above as being the grace of sanctification. After speaking of bringing many sons unto glory, the apostle adds: “For both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one;” and this happy state of things takes place “in the midst of the church.” But before Christ, the great captain of our salvation, could bring his disciples into this glory of sanctification, he had to be made perfect through suffering. He had to become a perfect Savior before he could lead his followers unto perfection; or, as he expressed it, “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:19. The captain, or leader, of our salvation was made perfect, that we through him might also be made perfect. And thus he has brought many sons unto glory, the glory of his own holiness.

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” Heb. 6:19, 20.

“Which hope [received in regeneration] we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made an high priest forever.” Thank God for the plain and beautiful truth! As only the high priest entered within the vail, so when Christ entered the holiest of his sanctuary, he entered a high priest. Returning to Hebrews 6:18-20, observe that it is recorded that Christ had already entered into the holiest before A. D. 64, the date of that epistle; and that his sanctuary is not in heaven, and exclusively entered by himself, but is the refuge of our soul; and that he having led the way into the holiest, we also do enter into that within the vail. So, by the uniform voice of Scripture, his passage from the holy into the most holy, was his advancement to the power and authority of a perfect Savior, as well as his ascension into heaven itself.

We conclude this part of his priesthood by citing you to Hebrews 9:11-14 as rendered in the Emphatic Diaglott “But Christ having become a high priest of the future good things, by means of the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation; he entered once for all, into the holy places, not indeed by means of the blood of goats and of bullocks, but by means of his own blood, having found aionian redemption. For if the blood of goats and of bulls, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the polluted, cleanses for the purification of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of the anointed one, who, through an aionian Spirit, offered himself spotless to God, cleanse your conscience from works of death, for the service of the living God?” So now speakest thou plainly! Christ having become a high priest, by means of a greater and more perfect tabernacle, “he entered [notice, he entered in the past] once for all into the holy places,” or into the holy of holies. But how did he enter? Hear the answer. “By means of his own blood.” As a result of his perfect sacrifice, and his entrance into the holiest, the blood of his everlasting covenant now cleanseth our conscience from works of death, which is a real inner and a much more perfect cleansing than that of the blood of the legal offerings, which were shadows of the real. This salvation of God’s children into the moral nature and character of Christ is in many different ways affirmed in the Scriptures: “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified.” John 17:19. “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Pet. 1:16. “Every one that is perfect shall be as his Master.” Luke 6:40. “As he is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. Pure “even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3. “Righteous, even as he is righteous.” ver. 7. “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them.” John 17:22. Thus, “bringing many sons unto glory.” Heb. 2:10. “Which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” 1 John 2:8. “My joy fulfilled in themselves.” John 17:13. “My peace I give unto you.” John 14:27. We fill the “measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Eph. 4:13. “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace [grace upon grace].” John 1:16. We have entered into his rest

(Heb. 4:1, 5), and “sit together in heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6); “walk even as he walked.” 1 John 2:6. “We have the mind of Christ.”

1 Cor. 2:16. Moreover he saith, “The works that I do shall he do also.” John 14:12.

All these scriptures show that the captain of our salvation, having first been “made perfect through suffering,” and thus entered into that within the vail of his own sanctuary, has led his holy saints into the same state of purity, peace, love, and joy that compose his holy character. This is the “glory that followed” the suffering of Christ, which the prophets could not understand, and even the angels desired to look into. 1 Pet 1:10-12. This is the “mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God.” Eph. 3:9;

Eph. 1:9-11.

The solemn and impressive service of the most sacred day of all the great feasts of the law are recorded in Leviticus 16. We have seen in the 4th and 5th chapters of Leviticus that the sin offerings of the common priests all the year round made an atonement for transgressions and secured pardon. But on this solemn day an atonement was made “for the holy place.” Lev. 16:16. As an effect of the high-priestly offering, the sanctuary and the people were cleansed, and hallowed—made holy. Lev. 16:19, 30, 33. The high priest sprinkled the blood upon the brazen altar, and offered sacrifice there; thence proceeded to the golden altar in the holy place, sprinkled the typical blood and offered incense upon the same; then, passing the second vail, he reached the climax of his course in the holiest place, where he also sprinkled the blood, and with it touched the horns of the altar. So the mercy-speaking blood was his passport all along the course of his sublime service, from the court to the inner sanctuary of God’s awful visible presence. All this was a striking similitude of the more precious blood, and sacrifice and holy priesthood of the Son of God. These speak with the voice of love divine, and lay hold upon the conscience of the sinner in the dark outer world, melt his heart, atone for his transgressions and by pardon and regeneration admit him into the holy place; and when reaching the golden altar and second vail of Christ’s sanctuary, he is purged and sanctified wholly from inbred sin. Thus he is conducted by the transforming grace of God through the different stages from an alien into the church which is the temple of God, and from glory to glory, into the perfected holiness; where he is arrayed in white, enveloped in the divine presence and filled with his glory. And, true to the high-priestly figure, every advance step was made by the blood of Christ, and by the regenerating and sanctifying presence and power of Christ himself, who “ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you.” Gal. 3:5.

How beautiful and sublimely true all these legal types point to their counterpart in Christ Jesus, and the operation of his saving grace. So Christ, who was born a priest of the order of Melchisedec, came by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, offered up prayers and tears, and by means of his blood entered the holiest place, having, by the sacrifice of himself “obtained eternal redemption for us.” There he finished the sacrificial part of his high-priestly office, and “is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And we having followed our forerunner into that within the vail (Heb. 6:19, 20) have indeed entered into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say his flesh. Heb. 10:19, 20. Here we have entered into “his rest.” Heb. 4:1, 3. This perfect sabbath of the soul was beautifully typified by the very sacred sabbath of the law in which the high priest annually entered into the most holy place. On that day it was commanded that “ye do no work at all.” “It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you.” Lev. 16:29, 31. Oh, how sweet and glorious this typical rest is fulfilled in the hearts of all who have entered the eternal sabbath of holiness and perfected love! Let us notice another striking figure of our great day of atonement, as seen in the annual day of atonement. “And he [the high priest] shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.” Lev. 16:7-10.

Observe that these two goats are coupled together as one complete sacrifice, and the part that each filled was essential to symbolize the lesson intended. The lot fell upon the one for the Lord; and that one was offered up for a sin offering. This signifies that in the love and providence of God the lot fell upon Christ, “who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God.” But what is shadowed forth by the other, which Aaron “presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement with him,” and upon the head of which he placed his hands and there laid the sins of the people and let him go into the wilderness, into “the land of separation”? What does this teach? The gross darkness and spiritual ignorance of Adventism teaches that this scapegoat represents the devil. But if that were so, the devil must in some sense atone for our sins, and therefore be a means of our salvation. But it would appear that this modern sect place their hope of atonement between Christ and the devil, not knowing certainly to which they belong.

By reference to Leviticus 16:5, it will be seen that these two goats were “for a sin offering,” both together constituting one “offering”; and in verse 10 the one that was sent away alive is specially declared to be for “an atonement.” Now it is very evident that these two goats together constitute a striking figure of Christ our atoning sacrifice. The one slain meets its antitype in the death of Christ; the one sent away shows him that “liveth again.” As the antitype of the first, he “bore our sins in his own body on the cross.” As that of the second, he lives to take them away. The first part of the atoning sacrifice points to the death of Christ for our sins, the second to him actually taking them away, to be remembered against us no more forever. As the scapegoat bore the sins of the children of Israel into a “land of separation” [see Lev. 16:22 in margin], so Christ has “separated our sins from us as far as the cast is from the west.” There is no doubt in our mind that various expressions in the New Testament took their form from this beautiful type of Christ. Such as, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.” Heb. 9:28. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins.” 1 John 3:5. Who but blind men cannot see in such scriptures the antitype of the one twofold “sin offering” of Leviticus 16:5? Ah, it is Christ that hath died to procure, and lives to administer salvation. Without his death we would have no sacrifice for our sins; without his life no Savior. This twofold saving power and authority of Christ is clearly recognized in Romans 5:10: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

The death of Christ on our behalf secures a free pardon of all our sins. But it is the living Christ who enters, wholly sanctifies, and ever preserves these temples holy unto God. Should it be objected that the lamb is the more general type of “Christ our passover,” and that the goat is used to represent the sinner (see Mat. 25:33), we have but to remind you that God “hath made him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor. 5:21. We being sinners, he became a substitute and victim for us; was “numbered among the transgressors” in order to save transgressors. Just so was he lifted up in type in the form of a brazen serpent to heal men from the bite of the deadly serpent.

The legal atonement that was made by the sin offering of one goat, and the bearing away of the sins of Israel by the other, being a type of Christ bearing our sins in his own body on the cross on the great day of the world’s redemption, it follows according to the type that on the day of his crucifixion he entered into the most holy place of his perfect sanctuary; and later entered heaven itself, our everlasting High Priest. As the high priest ‘entered with blood of others’ into the most holy place on that day of atonement, necessarily on the antitype of that day when Christ, our high priest and sacrifice, was offered without spot to God, he also “by his own blood entered in once” for all into the holies of his new covenant sanctuary, which is the house of God, the church of the living God. The fact that he entered by his blood also suggests that he entered in when his precious blood was shed. This is seen to be positively true when we remember that his entrance into the holy of holies was, as we have already proved, entering the conditions of a perfect Savior. And it is expressly declared that he was made perfect through sufferings. Heb. 2:9, 10. Hence, when he suffered on the cross he reached the perfect summit of his high-priestly power and authority, the most holy place.

Observe again how it is expressly said that Christ entered not in “by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood.” Undoubtedly, there is here a direct allusion to the blood of the same sacrifices by which the high priest entered into the most holy place (see Lev. 16:3, 5, 6).; thus comparing the entrance of the high priest of the law and that of our High Priest, the Lord Jesus, as type and antitype, and clearly proving that as they entered with the blood of those sacrifices, he entered with his blood. This fact is noticed by Doddridge in his translations and paraphrase, as follows: “Neither doth he expiate the guilt of his people by presenting before God the blood of goats, and of calves, and of young bullocks, which were the noblest sacrifices the high priest presented in the day of atonement; but if as by the efficacy of his own blood . . . that he hath entered once for all into the holy place.”

Another fact is of vital importance. In Hebrews 9:12 the verb “entered” is in the aorist tense; which signifies that his entrance was a speedy consummated action, and one never to be repeated. The peculiar force of this Greek tense is clearly brought out in about all translations. It is rendered, Christ “entered once for all into the most holy place,” by A. Layman, and Wakefield. “Entered once for all into the holy places.”—Emphatic Diaglott. “Entered once for all into the most holy.”—H. T. Anderson. “Entered once for all into the holies.”—Rotherham. “Entered once for all into the holy place.”—Doddridge. “Entered in once for all into the holy place.”—Revised Version. “Entered once for all.”—Dean Alford. “Entered in once.”—Common Version. This holies U. Smith admits refers to the holiest of all in the present sanctuary of Christ. All these translations, bringing out the force of the original text, prove positively that Christ had already entered therein, and that the entrance was once for all, never to be repeated. So this utterly overthrows the U. Smith theory of his entrance in 1844, and it agrees with all the Scripture, that the church is his sanctuary, into the holiest of which he led the way, entering by his blood and consecrating the way in for us, and is now set down upon a mediatorial throne, from which he officiates in his New Testament church.

Our Royal Priest

That Christ ascended to heaven in person is clearly taught in the Scriptures. But that he returned in the power of the Holy Spirit, together with the Father, and that all three have taken up their abode in the church is equally true. See John 14:18-23. In heaven he is represented as “forever sat down on the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:12); but in his holy temple on earth, i.e., in his church, we find him carrying on the sacred functions of his high-priestly office. Not that he continues to offer sacrifices for his sins and for the sins of the people, like the priests of the law, for he never had sin; and for the sins of the whole world, he has made one all-sufficient sacrifice, the virtue of which extends to the end of time. But he is, nevertheless, a minister of the true sanctuary, officiating at the head of an extensive priesthood in his sanctuary on earth. As we have seen in Zechariah 6:13, “He shall build the temple of the Lord: and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne,” i. e., “holiness” (Psa. 47:8), which “becometh thy house”; and he shall be a priest upon his throne (Zech. 6:13); that is, both king and priest. A few texts will be sufficient to prove that he is in the midst of his church ministering salvation to all who seek the favor of God.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Mat. 18:20. He had been giving directions how to proceed with an offending brother. The last extremity was, tell it unto the church. If he refused to hear the church, “Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” And if they felt the need of counseling him in order to proceed with authority in such cases, “I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Here is Christ our high priest in the midst of his church, dispensing judgment and mercy through his subordinate priests. Paul recognizes his presence in a similar case.

“In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Cor. 5:4, 5. So God’s people have power to bind men on earth, and they are bound in heaven; because, with the all-wise Christ in their midst, their judgment is not man’s judgment, but that of him “who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:6. Even “the same God which worketh all [things] in all.” 1 Cor. 12:6. “Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring Christ up again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart,” etc. Rom. 10:6-8. Though Christ’s spirit did descend into Hades, it did not remain there. Though he is in heaven in his personal presence, yet as the living almighty Savior, as the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, and to which our faith must be directed for salvation, he is near us. Hence, our faith need not explore the world of spirits, nor yet scale the lofty heavens to find Christ: but he is accessible anywhere here on earth: especially is he present where two or three have assembled in his name.

“For he testifieth, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” Heb. 7:17. “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7:24, 25.

Do you not see, dear reader, that his present high-priestly services consist in the actual salvation of all souls that come to God by him? Where the work of salvation is being effected, there is our High Priest at work applying the virtues of his shed blood to the saving of the soul. “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry.” Heb. 8:6. Where does he carry it on? Where is his sanctuary? Here is a direct answer: “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Gal. 3:5. This was about twenty-eight years after his bodily ascension to heaven; but as the glorious high priest of the new covenant he was still, and we may say is yet, working miracles, and ministering this Holy Spirit in our midst. Compared with the high priest of the law, he has “obtained a more excellent ministry,” which includes the ministry of the Spirit, the working of miracles, and the salvation of souls which he is carrying on here among men. This is just where he has promised in prophecy to place his sanctuary and abide with us forever; therefore to deny that Christ our high priest carries on his most excellent ministry in our midst, is to contradict the Word.

Read again the comparison of the law priesthood and sanctuary with that of Christ. God lived in the sanctuary of the first covenant, and there his favor was sought through the priests and their sacrifices. Agreeable to this figure, we now, and here on earth, draw near to God in his new covenant sanctuary, the church of the first-born. To poor lost sinners our great High Priest stands in the door of his holy sanctuary saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Mat. 11:28. Over the door of his sanctuary stand the beautiful and gracious words, “Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” To the “holy brethren” (Heb. 3:1.), or the justified, he says, by the mouth of his apostle, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh: and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart.” Heb. 10:19-22. Is not all this very plain? We are invited to proceed from the holy into the most holy, within the vail, through the ministry of Christ, who is a high priest over the house of God, which is the church of the living God. As pictured in illustrated Bibles and described in Exodus 28:4, the garments for Aaron were a long linen robe and coat with a girdle. Just so John saw the “Son of man,” “the first and the last” in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. Here we see Christ officiating in the midst of his church, which was represented by the golden candlesticks, in the holy garments of a high priest. How beautifully this pictures Christ our high priest ministering in his church the manifold grace of God.

The Royal Priesthood

Who minister about holy things under Christ the chief shepherd. We have already by one small word overthrown the Advent structure, i. e., this word “entered.” Now we will again prove their theory false by the scriptures that show the sanctuary of this dispensation is not located in heaven, and exclusively entered by Christ; but that all the children of God have access even into the most holy place of the same, and actually become priests together with Christ in this world. According to the figure of the true sanctuary, none but the priests could enter the temple of God. But Christ, “having obtained a more excellent ministry, which is established upon better promises,” admits all the comers thereunto right into his glorious sanctuary. Nevertheless the figure mentioned corresponds with the substance; for, behold, all the children of God become priests as they wash themselves in the “laver of regeneration,” and “are clean through the word spoken unto them” by the High Priest of our most holy profession. By the Scriptures it has already been shown that the disciples of Christ do enter his sanctuary, and even follow the captain of their salvation into the most holy place thereof. But the reader will please bear with us while we in this connection briefly cite some of the beautiful testimony on this point.

“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.” Heb. 2:10, 11. Thus it is rendered by Charles Thomson, an American translator, who lived at the beginning of last century: “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, when bringing many sons to glory, to make the leader of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who sanctified and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: I will declare thy name to my brethren. In the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.” This includes verse 12. We quote yet from Rotherham: “For it was becoming in him for the sake of whom are the all things, and through means of whom are the all things, when many sons unto glory he would lead, that this princely leader of their salvation, he should through sufferings make complete. For both he who sanctifies and they who are being sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: I will declare thy name unto my brethren, amidst an assembly will I sing praises unto thee.” The idea is this: Christ, becoming a complete Savior through his suffering, and death, now leads the sons of God into glory, which is explained as the sanctified state. And there in the midst of his church or assembly he praises God the Father, and recognizes the redeemed as his brothers; and as we shall see elsewhere, they are kings and priests with him in one royal priesthood. Thus saith the Lord: “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” John 17:22. By the effects of his glory and that of sanctification, it can readily be seen they are identical. Both produce perfect oneness. This State we have seen was typified by the holiest place of the temple. Therefore Christ leads his disciples into the most holy of his true sanctuary, which is the substance of the Mosaic shadow.

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” Heb. 6:19, 20. The hope we have by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, “entereth”—a present fact in those who have fled for refuge to the same—“entereth into that within the vail; whither the forerunner [the captain or leader of our salvation] is for us entered, even Jesus made an high priest.” He entered through suffering, and his entrance makes, or ranks him a high priest; and into this most sacred place the hope we have in him admits us. First, we possess the hope; second, enter into that within the vail. This agrees with the testimony of John, the beloved disciple, who says: “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3. Enter into his own moral condition. First, the hope, then go on to perfect purity, or enter into that within the vail. The language not only positively proves that Christ has already entered once for all into the most holy of his sanctuary, but that his sanctified believers have also followed him into the same inner temple; therefore it refutes both the time calculation of Adventism and their location of the present sanctuary of the Lord.

But we will listen to one more testimony from this profound treatise on perfected holiness. Heb. 10:14—“For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” The next verses affirm that that experience is here and now attained and witnessed to by the Holy Spirit, who also writes the new covenant laws in our hearts and minds, in view of which provisions of divine grace the writer extends the following invitation to those converted Hebrews:

“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” Heb. 10:12-19.

The Lord Jesus being now our high priest over his sanctuary, which is the “house of God,” and having “entered in once for all into the holy place,” and “consecrated this way for us,” we also have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” Therefore, says the apostle, “Let us draw near with a true heart.” To say the least, this language positively proves that the sanctuary of this dispensation is not up in heaven. Yea, and it also proves that Christ entered to consecrate a way for our entrance, and through the cleansing blood, we actually have boldness to enter the holiest. And, in all love and meekness, we testify that the high priest of our profession, the Lord Jesus, has actually taken us into “his rest,” “in the secret of his pavilion.” Amen.

But do we have a part in the priestly services of this spiritual temple? Yes, such is indeed the high calling of all the saints of the Most High God on earth. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 2:5. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Pet. 2:9.

In the first of these texts we sustain two relations to the sanctuary of the Lord Jesus. We, as lively stones, are the material composing the house, and also the holy priesthood that officiate therein. In the second text we are declared to be “a royal priesthood”; that is, a priesthood of kings; or as translated by Rotherham, “Ye are a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, an holy nation, a people for an acquisition, to the end that the excellencies ye may tell forth of him who Out of darkness called you into his marvelous light.” As Christ was typified by the high priest of the law, the priesthood associated with him also had their type in the legal priesthood. As that typical priesthood was inseparable from the temple, the royal priesthood must, according to the figure, also have a temple for divine service. And how could God’s people be “an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” here on earth, if the only sanctuary, or temple of priestly service were in heaven? Here is positive evidence that the temple of God is on earth and is the church. “Upon this rock,” said Jesus, “I will build my church;” and the apostle Paul testified that “ye are God’s building;” “Ye also are builded together for a habitation of God.” The testimony of inspiration is the same in Peter. The Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherham, and Dean Alford translate, “A spiritual house for a holy priesthood.” That would reduce the sense to the single idea that the church is a spiritual house built for a holy priesthood, and would not designate who the priesthood are. But with that rendering it would still be plain, since the ninth verse positively points out the church as being the priesthood. But the Greek text does not warrant the insertion of the word “for.” And the direct from the Greek text in the Emphatic Diaglott is, “A house spiritual, a priesthood holy.” Wakefield translates as follows: “Ye also, as lively stones being built up, are a spiritual temple, and an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices,” etc.

In any, and in all translations, 1 Peter 2:5, 9 establish beyond the shadow of a doubt the fact that God’s church is both his sanctuary in this dispensation, and in connection with Christ our high priest, constitutes his present priesthood. “Royal priesthood” is an order of priests who are also kings; and such, indeed, are the saints of God. John to the seven churches which are in Asia, writes: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 1:5, 6. So the church of the first-born have not taken this honor upon themselves to be priests: but he that has washed us in his own blood has made us “kings and priests unto God.” And observe John spoke not this of people in heaven, nor yet of a millennial age to come on earth; but he testified that Christ had washed us in his own blood, and made us—namely himself and the church of God in Asia—“kings and priests unto God.” Amen. We joyfully join with the Revelator in the same testimony, and in ascribing to him who washed us, “Glory and dominion forever and ever. “

In Revelation, chapter 5, the great plan of salvation is presented as a book sealed with seven seals. At first “no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.” ver. 3. Because of this John wept. “But one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” ver. 5. Then he beheld a “Lamb as it had been slain,” “and he came and took the book,” “and they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Rev. 5:9, 10.

Here is the new song of redemption just breaking forth upon the earth; and in the very first outburst of praises to God, after men experienced the fact that they were returned to God by the blood of the Lamb, they confessed that they had been made kings and priests, and that they should reign on the earth. It cannot be denied that this exalted privilege is here described as having been attained at the very opening of the plan of salvation, and not after the present dispensation shall have ended in a thousand years’ literal reign of Christ, as some blind guides imagine. The assertion that such as are washed in the blood of Christ have become kings and priests unto God is the same in import as that of Peter, “A royal priesthood,” a kingly priesthood.

This spiritual priesthood was clearly predicted in Old Testament prophecy. Isaiah 61 begins with these words, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek,” etc. These words, Christ said, were fulfilled in his ministry. Luke 4:18-21. “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes. . . . And they shall build the old wastes . . . and strangers shall stand and feed your flocks . . . but ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.” Isa. 61:3-6. “Who can reconcile this with the Advent theory of no sanctuary on earth since A. D. 70? No priest in this dispensation but Christ, and he only officiating in heaven? The above priesthood is clearly pointed out as the ministers of the gospel of Christ after he came and opened the kingdom of heaven to the Gentiles. So one great office of the priests of this dispensation is to “stand and feed the flocks” of the Lord.

But the Levitical shadow of the new covenant priesthood would require a sanctuary for the place of their service. This we have seen; Jesus built the “house of God, which is the church of the living God.” The figure also demands that sacrifices be offered in it, and Jesus our great high priest did so, finally offering his own body. But if the priesthood of this dispensation includes those washed in the blood of Christ, they, too, must have somewhat to offer; and so they do. Having washed themselves in the “bath of regeneration,” as the priests of the law were required to wash before entering the temple, they enter the temple of God and are ready to serve as priests of God. What was, and still is, the first offerings required? Ans.—The “fruits meet for repentance” (Mat. 3:8); the fruits of a new life in Christ (John 15:2), or, “The first-fruits of the Spirit.” Rom. 8:23. This is to be promptly followed by the entire, and once for all, offering of self unto God for the fire of entire sanctification. Jesus himself said unto such as had followed him in the regeneration, “Every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.” Mark 9:49. And that his disciples and all men might know that he was referring to an experience that awaited them, and all who believe upon him to this day, he said in verse 50, “Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.” This proves that they were yet to make a sacrificial offering of themselves wholly to God, and in so doing be salted with the fire of the Holy Spirit. This same fire was promised to the believers in connection with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. See Mat. 3:11; Luke 3:16. Fire and salt are two potent figures of the Holy Spirit. The former represents his purging, purifying power, the second his preserving virtue. From the lips of Christ we learn what was intended by the imperative command in Leviticus 2:13 as follows: “And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.” Also Numbers 18:19: “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute forever: it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee.” While all the sacrifices of the law pointed to Christ, many of them also teach the offerings we are required to make to God. All the “offerings of the holy things” were to be salted. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1. The meat offering was “holy,” being a lamb or calf without blemish, as required by the law. The justified child of God is also holy in this respect that he stands clear by the law of God, having had all his sins remitted.

“Neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking,” says the law of shadows. “Every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt;” and, “Have salt in yourselves,” says the law of Christ, in whom we have the substance of all shadows. Col. 2:17. No doubt the salt prescribed by law was called the “salt of the covenant,” because it will be seen in Hebrews 10:14-16 that when the Lord perfects us in entire sanctification, the Holy Spirit, who is both the fire and salt in the sanctuary of the Lord Jesus, writes the laws of the new covenant in our hearts and minds. This is the real “covenant of salt forever.” “With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.” What a beautiful figure of this fact that all our services to God, all our offerings of thanks, and sacrifices of praise, must be in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Having seen that both Christ and the inspired apostle demanded a sacrificial offering of ourselves, holy, acceptable unto God in order to our entire sanctification, let us see what other “spiritual sacrifices” we offer to God in the “spiritual house” of his present temple. For instead of a “literal structure” in heaven, as taught in the fables of Adventism, the sanctuary of God is composed of his saints, “as lively stones, built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

Let us inquire what offerings now antitype the incense offered at the golden altar. We find the idea of acceptable prayer to God associated with those sweet incense odors. Hence said David, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Psa. 141:2. This clearly shows that our prayers ascend out of a pure heart to God, from his temple which is “a house of prayer,” as pictured by the odors that arose from the tabernacle of the first covenant. Blending the type of antitype, we are told, “The whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense,” and to Zacharias, who offered the sweet incense, “there appeared an angel of the Lord.” Luke 1:10, 11.

“And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” Rev. 8:3. Here again prayer and incense are mingled together, and in Revelation 5:8, the “golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints,” showing their typical relation. This is a plain statement, but it is not enough to offer the incense of prayer. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom.” Here are three kinds of offerings predicted; namely, gold, incense, and praise. “They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord.” Isa. 60:6. Incense is sweet, but the priests of God cannot live on it. Some more substantial offerings are needed along with your incense of prayer. “They shall bring gold and incense.” If you hoard up and lavish upon self the former, you will hear him saying, Presume not to offer to God the latter, or, “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me.” Isa. 1:13. As God gets his people threshed and separated out from the chaff and straw of Babylon he says, “I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.” Micah 4:13. Have you allowed the Lord to do this with your substance and gain? If not: we fear that you are not yet fully threshed and winnowed out for him.

“And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.” Ex. 30:7, 8. When he dressed the lamps in the morning and when he lit the lamps in the evening, he must burn sweet incense. Just so our morning and evening devotions are very essentially connected with the keeping of our lamps trimmed and burning. It is very probable the morning incense continued to send up its odors until it was rekindled in the evening: hence it was “a perpetual incense before the Lord.” How beautifully this agrees with the law of the present sanctuary, that we should be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18); “Pray without ceasing.”

1 Thes. 5:17.

The incense odors were produced by means of fire and sweet spices. The fire denotes the Holy Spirit. “I will pray in the Spirit.” “We know not what things to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit helpeth our infirmities.” Just as essential as fire was to send up incense unto the Lord, so is the Spirit of God to indite and give wings to our prayers. The spices may represent both our desires and the promises of God. “Where these two blend together there only wants the Spirit’s fire to kindle desire into prayer that will arise as incense to God.

What a striking and glorious figure the first coming of this fire upon the altar of God was of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For it was not a common fire kindled with earthly combustibles. But when the tabernacle was finished, and the first sacrifice laid upon its altar, we are told, “There came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces.” Lev. 9:24. So likewise when the temple was reared, and took the place of that temporary sanctuary of the wilderness, and Solomon had finished his earnest dedicatory prayer, and the first sacrifice was already placed upon the altar of burnt offerings, behold, “When Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering, and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.” 2 Chr. 7:1. “And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.” ver. 3.

Can any one place this scene by the side of that described in Acts second chapter, and fail to see their agreement as type and antitype? First, Solomon was, in his erections of the temple, a type of Christ, who built the church. Second, when he finished his prayer the fire came from heaven. So Christ said, “I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever: even the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16, 17. Third, the sacrifices were all placed on the altar, before the fire came, and in the “spiritual house” there were about one hundred and twenty sacrifices all waiting to be “salted with fire,” according to the promise of their Lord. Fourth, Solomon had finished the temple, and Jesus, too, had called his ecclesia out of the world, gave them his perfect law, and upon the cross said, “It is finished.” Fifth, when the fire came and burned the sacrifice, “the glory of the Lord filled the house.” Jesus also prayed for the church, saying: “The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them.” And when the Holy Spirit came as a mighty rushing wind, his sanctifying glory “filled all the house where they were sitting.” Sixth, we understand that when that fire came from heaven, it rested constantly upon the two altars of the temple. The first to consume the burnt offerings, the second to burn incense. And thank God, the “Comforter,” whom Jesus sent, he said, was to “abide with you forever.” And the seventh and final point of analogy we may here mention is this: that all sacrifices were to be offered to God by means of that fire from heaven: and so it is in the kingdom of heaven. He that worships God “must worship him in spirit and in truth.” No other fire was allowed in the temple, but the heavenly; so no other spirit must inspire our devotions to God, but that heavenly flame of love that Jesus sheds abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

“Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon.” Ex. 30:9. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” Lev. 10:1, 2. The “strange incense,” we see was caused by “strange fire.” This represents prayer or praise that is moved by some other spirit than that of the true fire of God, the Holy Spirit; some unseemly devotion arises from the spices of unholy desire, and the wild-fire of will-worship, self-righteousness, or fanaticism. Upon all who are led of Satan to thus offer wild incense by means of wild-fire, the true fire of God goes forth and devours them. Then let us be honest in the sight of God, and guard against every hypocritical prayer, and every worked-up shout of empty praise; for, “God knoweth all hearts and understandeth the imagination of the thoughts.” Only fire that comes down from heaven can burn the incense of prayer and praise that will ascend to heaven.

“But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.” Phil. 4:18. Here we find the offering of our means on the altar of his cause, is even compared with the delightful odors that arose from the altar of incense and filled the temple. Truly with such sacrifices God is well pleased. They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praise of “the Lord.” Our means, our prayers, and our praises must all be offered to God together to be acceptable. If in a covetous heart the former is withheld, from the lips of such the incense of prayer and praise, instead of a sweet odor become a stench in the nostrils of God. Hence we read: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Heb. 13:15, 16. All the offerings of the first temple were real financial sacrifices. The tenth of all their increase, the choicest of all their herds, and the fatted calves of their stalls, with the finest of the wheat, the law of that first covenant exacted all the year round. Compared with the grace and glory that has come to us through the sacrifice of our Great Passover, and the “more excellent ministry” of our High Priest, the returns for all the expenses of that burdensome law are as nothing; and yet our service to God is almost an expenseless thing as compared with theirs. Instead of many burnt offerings of sheep and oxen, “we render the calves of our lips.”

Hos. 14:2. Instead of a literal temple adorned with the accumulated gold of a nation, we worship God in a “spiritual house,” adorned with the beauty of holiness, and set with the precious jewels of Heaven’s graces. Instead of every male member being compelled to go up to old Jerusalem three times a year, we find the new Jerusalem in every clime. God himself is to our soul “as a little sanctuary” in every country (Eze. 11:16); and there can we “worship him in spirit and in truth.”

In fact, the law of Moses bound many grievous burdens, and was a “yoke which our fathers could not bear”; but Jesus says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” “His commandments are not grievous,” but all his law is liberty. Behold the blessedness of his service, and yet how cheap when compared with the law which Christ nailed to the cross, and took away. No tithing, no toll, tribute, or tax is laid upon us. But he that has given his own Son, and with him freely all things, simply says, “Give as you purpose in your own heart.” Though the earth is mine and the fulness thereof, I will not exact of thee, but “the Lord loveth a cheerful giver.” “And he that soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully.” Shall we who have received this great salvation without money and without price, bring no fruit of the land as a thank offering unto the Lord? To him that asks so little, shall wicked ingratitude give nothing? If the royal priests “have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?” “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?” Thus were the priests of the law fed from things offered by the people on the altar. But have we no altar? Yea, “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.” Heb. 13: 10. Therefore from the above cited shadow, i. e., “They which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar,” he passes to the substance in the next verse, and says: “Even so hath the Lord ordained, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” 1 Cor. 9:14. So we have under the new covenant a sanctuary of living stones, a high priest made “after the power of an endless life,” a “royal priesthood,” altar, and sacrifices, all complete in Christ and his holy church on earth.

These “spiritual sacrifices” are often spoken of in the Psalms of David and in the prophets in such language as the following: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psa. 51:17. “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.” Psa. 4:5. “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.” Psa. 107:21, 22. “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.” Psa. 116:17. “Therefore will I offer in this tabernacle sacrifices of joy.” Psa. 27:6.

This must be prophetic of the royal priests of this dispensation, for David had no right to enter, much less offer sacrifices in the “worldly sanctuary” that has, with its covenant, passed away. And in prediction of the very work that is going on at this time, the gathering of all God’s elect into the “one body” and original fold of Christ, calling all nations into the valley of judgment, where he sits to judge the heathen (Gentiles) round about (Joel 3 and Mat. 24:31-33)—in prediction, we say, of this present work, David utters the following words: “The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Psa. 50:1-5. Three things are prominent in this picture. “Out of Zion [God’s church], the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.” God gets a perfect remnant to shine out of, then judgment goes forth to all that profess to be his people in all the earth, even “from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.” And the same angels that fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, people and tongue, while judging everything out of harmony with God, gather together unto him all his true saints that have made a covenant with him by sacrifice; having rendered their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, they are gathered unto him in these last days, ready for his coming.

So then we have found a sanctuary, priesthood, and sacrifices continuing under the new covenant. But these all imply one altar. Have we that also? Yea, “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.” Heb. 13:10. What our altar is is clearly shown in the verses that follow. Christ is set forth as our great expiating sacrifice, and also our sanctifying altar. “Let us go forth, therefore, unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.” ver. 13. As he was crucified without the camp of formal religion, so, if we would render our bodies a living sacrifice to God, and be crucified with him, we must likewise withdraw ourselves from all the world. We must go forth unto him our altar, and there be offered up to God. “By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips.” ver. 15. As the legal offerings were only sanctified by the altar upon which they were offered to God, so it is by Christ that our soul and body are sanctified, and our sacrifice of praise acceptable unto God. He is our altar, hence also it is definitely stated that we are “an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” As the ancient priests lived of the offerings of the altar, so, thanks be to our heavenly Father, we all being holy priests have an altar from which we obtain all things for soul and body.

“In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.” Isa. 19:19, 20. This altar can only mean Christ. It was predicted as something then in the future, hence not that of the temple, which was then in existence, and located only at Jerusalem. With this altar prophecy associates “a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.” It would appear that the apostle had reference to this very prediction when he called “the church of the living God the pillar and the ground of the truth.” Here is the temple in which stands our altar of sacrifice and sweet incense. “An altar to the Lord,” and “a pillar to the Lord,” is none other than “the Lord’s Christ” and his church. “And it shall be a sign and for a witness unto the Lord.” Whether this relates to the altar or to the pillar, the language does not certainly determine, but Christ is “for a sign which shall be spoken against” (Luke 2:34), and he is also the “faithful witness”; and so is the church God’s witness to the ends of the earth. This altar is clearly located under the present dispensation of grace by the announcement connected therewith, that “he will send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.” This can be none other than the “Mighty to save.” It is a fact clearly seen in Scripture that Egypt, as well as Canaan, and the wilderness, has a spiritual significance. It denotes the sinner’s state. So just where Egypt ends God’s church is entered; hence, the “pillar is at the border thereof.” But if Egypt be taken literally, the great savior is sent to it as much as to any other nation, and in it did the apostles publish the great salvation, so fulfilling the prediction.

Much of the 56th chapter of Isaiah relates to Christ and his salvation, and the present dispensation of grace. “Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.” ver. 1. “Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” ver. 5-7.

Under the law only the priests had liberty to enter God’s temple, but into the house of God there is access for all who take hold of his covenant. Under the old covenant only the tribe that God chose were permitted to enter and serve as priests in his temple. But now “an open door is set before” all that “choose the things that please me.” ver. 4. “Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters,” “an everlasting name.” The name of sons and daughters, our present privilege, exceeds the highest favor under the law; but the Lord confers a name better still. What is it? Undoubtedly it refers to the name that expresses that higher and most glorious relation, yea more, even the “bride the Lamb’s wife.” Though Christ called the temple a “house of prayer for all nations,” the descriptions agree still more fully with his church, the antitype of the temple. Of those that the Lord brings to his holy mountain, and makes joyful in his spiritual house of prayer, he says: “Their burnt offerings [devotions offered by the fire of the Holy Spirit] and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar.” Thus the bride of Christ, and holy priesthood, have in God’s house, an altar in this dispensation. In fact, this is clearly implied in all those scriptures that teach we are a holy priesthood, and do offer to God spiritual sacrifices; and this altar is Christ. Did Christ then offer sacrifices to the Father upon himself as the altar? Yes; his sacrifice of prayers, and tears, and his own body, were all accepted upon the merits of his own spotless righteousness. But our devotions are only offered in his name, sanctified in his blood, and accepted upon the altar of his righteousness.

As the typical altar of the law was “sanctified,” and hence was “an altar most holy” (Ex. 29:37), so was Christ, the antitype, who is our altar, also sanctified with his own blood. Heb. 10:29. After the legal altar was sanctified it was announced that “whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.” Ex. 29:37. What but Jesus, the uttermost Savior, could be the antitype of such an altar? Who but he can make us holy? Hence after announcing that “we have an altar” (Heb. 13:10), our attention is called to the place where the bodies of the beasts were “burned without the camp,” “whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priests” (ver. 11), which is a striking figure of Christ, crucified without the city; but his blood enters and consecrates for us a new and living way into the holiest of all. And his body having been offered for us, he becomes an altar of merit upon which we may offer ourselves to God and be wholly sanctified. “Wherefore Jesus also [like the beasts that were burned outside the camp] that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the camp.” ver. 12.

Who can fail to trace the typical relation between the sanctified altar of the worldly sanctuary and Christ? It was an altar “most holy”; so is Christ. It “sanctified the gift”; so does Christ sanctify wholly all who present themselves to God a living sacrifice upon the merits of his blood and righteousness. He is to us the brazen altar, where his “power on earth to forgive sins” admits us into his sanctuary; and he is our golden altar, where, with the incense of praise, we render our bodies a living sacrifice, and the second application of the blood purifies our nature and passes us unto that within the second vail. And, behold, he is our mercy seat, where we enter the perfect rest under the shadow of the Almighty.

But can we actually prove this? Thank God, the Word makes it very clear. In 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 and Romans 3:25, Christ is set forth as “the propitiation for our sins.” Now the original word for propitiation is hilasmos, that which appeases and expiates. The same word is translated “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5: “And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat”—hilastesios. The use of the word here shows it to be the mercy seat, and yet in other places it is rendered “propitiation,” and applied to Christ. What a beautiful picture the two altars and the sacred rest beneath the outstretched wings of the golden cherubims present of our adorable Savior, who pardons, cleanses, and then takes us into his own sweet rest, in the holiest of his beautiful sanctuary. Oh, the inexpressible bliss and glory of this inner sanctuary, where all sin is dead, and we are hid with Christ in God! This is that which was spoken of by the mouth of the prophet: “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

Isa. 26:1-3. That day has come; and that city is God’s church. Salvation is her walls; and in her the righteous nations, the justified who keep the truth, have an inner gate opened to their soul through the second vail, into that most holy rest, here called “perfect peace,” where they are stayed on Christ, their mercy seat, by a living trust in him. In the margin this perfect peace is rendered, “Peace, peace.” Entering the first gate of the holy place they obtain “peace with God.” But entering the second gate they obtain in addition “the peace of God.” “Peace, peace,” oh, how sacred! Peace, in its second and full degree, within the second vail.

Christ entered the most holy of his sanctuary when he shed his blood and laid down his life for the world. But he entered not to abide there alone. His blood consecrated the way for us to follow him into that inner abode of the Most High. The question then arises,

When Was the Way Into the Holiest Made Known

To the Church?

Here is the answer: “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing.” Heb. 9:8.

It was thus rendered by A. Layman: “The Holy Spirit thus signifying to us that the way into the most holy place is not yet laid open, while the first tabernacle still subsisted.”

“The Holy Spirit signifying this, that the way into the most holy place is not yet laid open while the first tabernacle yet standeth.”

—Wakefield.

“The Holy Spirit plainly showing this, that the way into the holies was not yet manifest while the tabernacle hath a standing.”

—Charles Thomson.

“The Holy Spirit showing this, that the way into the holies [a contraction of holy of holies, denoting the second, or most holy place] has not yet been brought to view, while the first tabernacle has a standing.”—Emphatic Diaglott.

It was probably because the temple was not destroyed until a few years after the writing of this epistle, that some of these translators thought it necessary to render, “while the tabernacle hath a standing,” “has a standing,” and not as the common version, “was yet standing.” But the direct from the Greek is as follows: “This showing of the Spirit of the holy, not yet to have been manifested the of the holies way, while of the first tabernacle having a standing.” This is all in the past tense.

This verse was a mystery unto us until the same Holy Spirit who made known the way unto the holiest, suddenly revealed the meaning unto our mind. Christ came by his greater and more perfect tabernacle, and for a space of three and a half years preached his own everlasting gospel. But while he was thus promulgating the laws of his kingdom, the first covenant was yet also in force, and the legal tabernacle service yet had a standing. But in the death of Christ, our passover, the types and shadows of the law met their great antitype, and vanished before the sunlight of the new dispensation. At that very point the whole legal system was nailed to the cross and taken away. Col. 2:14. Then the temple services ended in the plan of God and had no more a standing. Then Christ passed into the holiest, and when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit came, the way into the holiest of all was made known unto the church, the royal priesthood. Though the kingdom of heaven had appeared, and men had pressed into it, and followed Christ in the regeneration, the baptism of the Holy Spirit signalized the time when the way into the holiest was made known to his disciples.

What sense could be derived from the above text if the Advent theory were correct? As soon as the first tabernacle had served its time, and was supplanted by “the true,” and the Holy Spirit was given, as the climax of the new dispensation, then the “way into the holiest was made manifest,” “was laid open,” “brought to view.” Were the sanctuary in heaven and no one to enter it but Christ, and he not into the holiest until 1844, then there were no unfolding to view the way into the holiest at the coming of the Holy Spirit. But when we receive the testimony of the Word that the church of God is the temple of the present dispensation, then all the Scriptures link together in beautiful harmony, and no text need be wrested or explained away.

Now the holiest of all is laid open. In the law sanctuary that place was a profound secret. It was guarded with the penalty of death. No one might presume to enter except the high priest, and even his sacred gown and breastplate, with its Urim and Thummim, could not shield him from the penalty of death, were he to enter thereat any other time than upon the annual great day of atonement; or were he to enter without blood, or without the noise of the bells upon the skirts of his garments. Thus was God shut in from man’s gaze, and man shut out from his awful presence, until the death of Christ rent the vail; until his perfect sacrifice for our sins satisfied the demands of justice, and brought in everlasting righteousness. Then we were brought nigh by the precious blood of the Lamb, through whom we have now received the atonement. This is the “mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God” (Eph. 3:9); namely, “That, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth.” Eph. 1:10. This glorious coming in unto God, and God coming into and making his abode with us is now realized in the present sanctuary of God in which the redeemed have found perfect “fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” In the law sanctuary God was hid; in the gospel sanctuary he is manifest, his glory shining out through every living stone of the building (according to its shadow).

Approaching this holy temple we first come to the brazen altar. That signifies that our salvation must begin with sacrifice. “Deny thyself,” saith the Lord. Next in order we approach the laver. This, we have seen, represents the Word of God and the blood of Christ, which is able to save the soul. A beautiful point is added to the figure by the fact recorded in Exodus 38:8, that this laver was made of “the looking-glasses of the women.” In the margin, “brazen glasses.” In ancient times mirrors were made of polished plates of brass, etc. That looking-glass laver and its water is a striking figure of the gospel of Christ, which is the glass in which we both see ourselves, and the water in which we wash away our sins. This admits us into the holy place, where we approach the golden altar of incense. At the former altar we offered ourselves without any praises, dead in sins; but here we already bring the fruit and incense of praise. Luke 24:52, 53.

Here the complete cleansing is effected, and we enter the second vail. The sprinkled blood of the high priest marked our progress from the court into this most holy place. He “sprinkled the blood seven times before the Lord” at the first altar. Lev. 4:6. Seven denotes perfection, therefore shows our perfect justification by the precious blood of Christ. And though our consecration and purification are perfected by the golden altar, there is a positive part to entire sanctification; we must be filled with all the fulness of God, as well as emptied of self and all unrighteousness. Therefore the high priest, on the great day of atonement, was required to “take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.” Lev. 16:14. Here enveloped in the divine glory, in the holy presence of the Most High, the symbolic blood is again sprinkled seven times, denoting our perfect sanctification. Thus we are saved by two perfect works of divine grace, neither of which can ever be more perfect. Through all eternity a soul will never be more completely pardoned of past sins than in the instant of his adoption into the divine family. And “by one offering he hath perfected forever [the purification of] them that are sanctified; whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us.”

Heb. 10:14, 15, as translated by Conybeare and Howson. Oh, the beauty and the glory of the two perfections, the all-pardoning justification, and the restored image of God in absolute purification, where the soul sinks into eternal rest in the bosom of love.

The Church Proved to Be the Sanctuary by the Prophets

The voice of prophecy is very clear on this point. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer. 31:31-34. Here are two covenants spoken of. One was made with Israel in the day that God took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. This covenant is declared to have been the ten commandments written in the tables of stone. See Deut. 5:2-22; Ex. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 9:9, 11; 1 Kin. 8:21; Heb. 9:4.

But another covenant God would make with Israel, namely the spiritual seed of Abraham (see Gal. 3:7, 29), and this latter was to be written in the heart instead of upon stone. Turning to Hebrews chapters 7 to 10 we find these two covenants clearly taught, compared and contrasted. Christ is declared to be “a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched.” Heb. 8:2. “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” ver. 6. This new covenant was enacted, we are told, because of the insufficiency of the former, ver. 7. “For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” ver. 8. The writer quotes the entire passage we have given above from Jeremiah 31, relating to this new covenant, and concludes the chapter by saying, “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which deeayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” ver. 13. And in 10:9 we are plainly told that Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, took away that old, decaying covenant, that he might establish the second; namely, the one that is written in our hearts.

Now let us see what further took place when Christ came and established that new covenant in the hearts of his people.

“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.” Ezek. 37:26-28.

Behold he then set his sanctuary in the midst of his people forevermore, and as the tabernacle was “a shadow of the true sanctuary,” he calls the latter his tabernacle. “My tabernacle shall be with them:” yea, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” This we see fulfilled under the gospel of Christ. 2 Cor. 6:16-18. “And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel [the spiritual Israel or church] when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forever.” This proves that his sanctuary is not pitched in heaven, but here on earth, where even the heathen round about behold and confess that God does sanctify his people, when his sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forever. In the above prophecy of Jeremiah and Ezekiel we have the very substance of the Hebrew epistle, an old and a new covenant. One had been made shortly after Israel was led out of Egypt, and it was written on stone and was a temporary law. A new covenant was to be made between God and his people, which was to be his final and everlasting covenant; and it was to be written in our hearts. Under the coming covenant, as well as under the one that was then in force, there was to be a sanctuary which the Lord designates as, “My tabernacle,” which means his dwelling place. This latter sanctuary was to supplant the former, as the new covenant done away with the old; so we read in the epistle to the Hebrews of an old and a new covenant—the former engraved in stone, the latter in our hearts. Jesus took away the first covenant that he might establish the second. 10:9. Under the former covenant there was a “worldly sanctuary,” but under the priesthood of Christ there is a “greater and more perfect tabernacle.” It is called “the house of God” (Heb. 10:21); and the “house of God is the church of the living God.”

1 Tim. 3:15. In this new covenant sanctuary or church he dwells in the midst of his people here on earth.

As the word sanctuary means a dwelling place for the Most High God, and such is his church, it follows that the church is his sanctuary. In Hebrews 3:2-6 both shadow and substance are placed side by side. The former was denominated Moses’ house because he was the mediator of that covenant. “But Christ as a son over his own house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope, firm unto the end.” So instead of the Lord God forsaking the earth at the close of the Jewish age and transition from the first to the second covenant, under this “everlasting covenant of peace,” he “set his sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore.” “My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” And that is not in heaven, but here on earth, where even the heathen behold the sanctifying glory of God manifest in his people. Nor can it be applied to the “worldly sanctuary” of the first covenant, for that was in existence when this was predicted as then yet future.

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.” Psa. 27:4-6.

This desire can only relate to, and find its fruition in the new covenant sanctuary, the church of God. Its ideal was not drawn from the legal sanctuary, for no one could dwell therein, and in the secret place of its pavilion no one could enter but one man, and that was but one day in the whole year. But as the Psalms breathe the very spirit of the present dispensation, and sparkle all through with prophecies relating to Christ and his perfect sanctuary, here is a beautiful description of the latter. It is called “the house of the Lord.” So is the sanctuary of the Lord called “the house of God” (Heb. 10:21), which is defined as “the church of the living God.” But Christ our high priest having “obtained a more excellent ministry [than that of Aaron], by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” Heb. 8:6. In many things this superiority is seen; one of which is here spoken of as the privilege of entering right into the house of the Lord, and dwelling there all the days of our life; yea, even abide in the secret, or holiest of his tabernacle. This privilege, thank God, we enjoy now in his church.

The pavilion for which David here prayed is called the “house of the Lord,” “his tabernacle,” and “his temple”; and by the Spirit of the Lord in his heart he could feel the coming joy and glory of the “spiritual house” of God. “Therefore,” said he, “I will offer in his tabernacle sacrifice of joy: 1 will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.” David had no part in offering sacrifices in the law sanctuary, but as Christ said, “Abraham saw my day and rejoiced,” so did David; and his desire to offer sacrifice of joy in God’s holy temple was realized in his converted posterity under the gospel of Christ. How beautifully David’s ideal coincides with the New Testament sanctuary. His inspired vision saw and rejoiced in a temple commodious enough for all God’s people to dwell in, and continually “behold the beauty of the Lord”: instead of lambs, goats, etc., therein “offer the sacrifices of joy, and sing praises unto the Lord.” Wherefore says the apostle, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 2:5. And “blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee.” Psa. 84:4. And in fulfilment of the prediction of David, we hear Paul saying, “By him [Christ] therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,” etc. (Heb. 13:15), for “in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.” Psa. 29:9. It was also the coming glory of this holy temple which inspired the 134th Psalm. “Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” ver. 1, 2.

But before we pass the former prophecy, two more beautiful points must be considered. In this spiritual house, “He shall set me up upon a rock.” “And now shall mine head be lifted up among my enemies round about.” The first is explained thus: “Who is a rock save our God!” 2 Sam. 22:32. “To whom coming as unto a living stone . . . ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.” 1 Pet. 2:4, 5. The second proves that this temple of God is built right here on earth, for in heaven there are no enemies round about. So this temple does not refer to U. Smith’s imaginary one in heaven, nor to the worldly sanctuary, but the specifications are found in the church of the living God built on the rock of ages.

“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.” Psa. 46:4-6. This city is the church of the firstborn. Isa. 26:1; Mat. 5:14. The river is salvation, which does indeed make glad all the city of God. And this city is the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. Yea, “God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved: God shall help her.” “The heathen raged,” etc. Who cannot see that this city, divine help, and the rage of the heathen against her is all true of God’s church here on earth? Hence, also she is spoken of in the feminine gender, being the bride of Christ.

“Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Isa. 8:13, 14. That this “rock of offense” is Christ, many scriptures make plain. 1 Peter 2:8 is sufficient to identify the two, where he is declared to be the very “rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word.” “And he shall be for a sanctuary.” How then, it may be asked, is the church his sanctuary? The Scriptures are at hand to answer. While he built the church, he is in a sense identical with the church. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 the church is set forth as containing many members in one body, and that body is Christ. In verse 27, it is said, “Ye are the body of Christ;” and in verse 28 that Christ’s body is called the church. So while the church is God’s house and dwelling place, we can also say of him, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” Psa. 90:1. The Lord is our sanctuary, and we also ‘sanctify the Lord God in our heart.’ “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” 1 John 4:13. Therefore such as know not that God has a dwelling place or sanctuary on earth, it is because they are without his Spirit. But, bless his holy name! “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.” ver. 16.

“And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.” Isa. 4:6. This tabernacle cannot allude to the “worldly sanctuary,” that was then in existence, for it was predicted as something yet to come. Neither can it be located in heaven, because there is no “heat” of trial, nor storm, and flood of satanic wrath, or temptation to be sheltered from. What then is this covert but the church of the living God, into which we “have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Heb. 6:18.

In Isaiah 60 we have a glowing picture of the first coming of Christ into this dark world. “Arise, shine,” the poet cries, “for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” ver. 1.

“Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” ver. 5. “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.” ver. 11. These verses need no explanation. They clearly foretell the conversion of the Gentiles, who, in verse 8, fly down to the Christian ark “whose gates shall be open continually.”

“The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.” ver. 13. “Glory of Lebanon, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box-tree” refer to noble and stately characters, who are, by the grace of God, brought and builded into this holy temple, which God himself fitly frames together. “To beautify the place of my sanctuary: and I will make the place of my feet glorious.” Does not this positively prove the church of God is his sanctuary? It cannot be applied in any possible sense to the literal temple at Jerusalem, for it is clearly associated with the conversion of the Gentiles, when that temple was abandoned and men worshiped God in spirit and in truth, but neither at Jerusalem nor at Samaria. This sanctuary is the place of his feet, and thus saith the Lord to his church: “I will dwell in you and walk in you,” and “where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst.” The next verse also clearly shows that it is not up in heaven, but where penitents bow and seek God. “And all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet.”

“And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zech. 6:12, 13. The man that is the BRANCH, can only mean Christ. In Jeremiah 23:5, 6, he is called “a righteous Branch,” and “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” See also Zechariah 3:8. “And he [the BRANCH, The Lord Our Righteousness] shall build the temple, the temple of the Lord.” What temple? Namely, “Ye are God’s building.” 1 Cor. 3:9. “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we.” Heb. 3:6. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16. And this temple he does indeed build. “Upon this rock I will build my church.” “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Eph. 2:21, 22. This is “the tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man.” “Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne.” Zech. 6:13. His throne of holiness. Psa. 47:8. “Holiness becometh thine house,” thy church. Here he rules by the scepter of his truth. This same reign of Christ in his temple is seen in Isaiah 32:1, 2: “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. “Surely that place of wind, tempest, and drought is not up in heaven, but here on earth. So when Christ came and founded his church he built his temple and dwells in the same here among men, and to him indeed be all the glory. Amen.

These few citations sufficiently give us the voice of prophecy on this subject. They all point to a temple and sanctuary of the new covenant built on earth by the Lord Jesus when he took away the first covenant and established the second: and the positive and uniform testimony of the New Testament is that the temple which he built in fulfilment of those predictions is the “church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

The True Temple of God

We have now gone through the ancient tabernacle and temple, the sanctuary of the first covenant, and “figure of the true,” and beheld every part of it; and everything pertaining to it meets its antitype in Christ and in his church on earth; even the priesthood of this dispensation is God’s royal saints. The linen gown of the olden priests was a type of our spotless robes of righteousness; their helmet, our salvation; their breastplate, our righteousness; their Urim and Thummim, the “bright and morning star” in our soul; and the “perfection of beauty, God shines out of Zion, the church of the first-born. But let us now seal up this matter with a few positive declarations of divine testimony. The sanctuary of the law covenant was a figure of the sanctuary of the new covenant. “On this point,” says U. Smith, “we suppose there is no controversy. All agree that they stand as type and antitype. The sanctuary of that dispensation was the type, the sanctuary of this the antitype.” This is an important admission. With this fact acknowledged the question asked by the same writer is easily answered, “What is the sanctuary of the new covenant?” It may be answered thus: Whatever, under the new covenant, takes the place of, and is the antitype of the temple, is the sanctuary under the present dispensation. Or still more simple, Whatever is now the temple of God, is his sanctuary. And thus the Word of truth points out:

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:17. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Cor. 6:19. “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Eph. 2:19-22. “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Rev. 3:6. “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Rev. 3:12. As the ancient temple was God’s sanctuary, the church being called his temple, must be his present sanctuary. There Young’s Bible translation renders 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 as follows: “Have ye not known that ye are a sanctuary of God, and the Spirit of God doth dwell in you? If any one the sanctuary of God doth waste, him shall God waste; for the sanctuary of God is holy, the which ye are.” Here the word is from naos, defined “a dwelling place, inner sanctuary.” So God’s church is called his sanctuary.

Here are six positive declarations that the temple of God is his church, right here in the world. Nothing can be plainer than this fact.

Again, the ancient sanctuary was called the house of God. Whatever, therefore, is the house of God or his building now is his present sanctuary. And thus we read:

“For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” 1 Cor. 3:9. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 2:5: “For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.” Heb. 3:3. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Mat. 16:18. “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” Heb. 3:6. “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” 1 Tim. 3:15.

Here again are six positive testimonies that God’s present house or sanctuary is his church. If the testimony of two witnesses is true, who can set aside or overthrow the united testimony of twelve declarations of the inspired Word of God? And this temple or “spiritual house” of God is positively declared to be the sanctuary of Christ. Hence we read: “And having a high priest over the house of God” (Heb. 10:21), “whose house are we” (3:6); which house he built. 3:3. Hence he is “a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8:2. Then the house which Christ built, which he called “my church,” and this writer of Hebrews designates as “his own house,” is positively declared to be the present “sanctuary, the true temple,” in contradistinction of that which was only the shadow. And the shadow agrees with the substance in every lineament. The first was holy, so also the second. God was the designer of the first, so was he of the second. The first was his dwelling place, and likewise the church is a “habitation of God through the Spirit.” The first sanctuary was a place to offer daily sacrifices; and the church is a “spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices.” God sent down the fire from heaven upon the altars of the first sanctuary, and so sent the fire of the Holy Spirit, and filled his New Testament sanctuary. And so we might wind our way back, through all the beautiful objects we have so long been looking upon, and again complete them as shadow and substance in the ancient and present sanctuary of the Most High God. But this is not necessary. Already we have taken much pains and heaped up scripture in great abundance to establish the new covenant sanctuary, because we believe the explanation of the worlds of truth contained in that temple of shadows will prove instructive and profitable: but more especially it is important that we understand what that structure is. Hence we have given place to the abundance of scripture which prove in so many ways that the church of the living God is his

present sanctuary, and so settled this fact beyond the possibility of a doubt.

Does God Dwell in His Church on Earth?

Says U. Smith, “According to Webster, Walker, Cruden, and the Bible, the term sanctuary is defined to mean, A holy place, a sacred place, a dwelling place for the Most High.”—Sanc. 112. Correct. Then if the church of God is his sanctuary it must answer to these qualities. Is the church a holy place? Yea, “Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever.” Psa. 93:5. She is the “mountain of his holiness.” Psa. 48:1. The habitation of his holiness. Isa. 63:15. The very courts of his holiness. Isa. 62:9. In her God sits upon the throne of his holiness. Psa. 47:8. Upon mount Zion there shall be holiness. Obad. 17. And mount Zion is the “church of the first-born.” Heb. 12:22, 23. The church is compared to a vine. John 15. Christ is the root and trunk, and all who believe in him are the branches; and “if the root be holy, so are the branches” (Rom. 11:16); not simply should be, but absolutely are holy. There is not an unholy member in the church of God, nor can there be. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

1 Pet. 2:5. She is a “holy nation.” ver. 9. The church is then a holy place, hence also a sacred place.

But is it also the “dwelling place of the Most High”? If so, it answers in full the description of God’s sanctuary. Says U. Smith, “It had been announced through the prophet that then (i. e., Oct. 22, 1844) the sanctuary should be cleansed. What sanctuary? and where? No sanctuary on earth; for since A. D. 70 there has been none.” In various other sayings they teach the gloomy doctrine that, in this dispensation God has withdrawn from earth to heaven, and has no dwelling place here among men. This only proves that that blinded people have never found the Lord, have not entered his holy temple, and are “without God and without hope in the world.” But the God of the Bible is not without a sanctuary on earth. “For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” 1 Cor. 3:9. What house did he build? Ans.—“Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell [Hades] shall not prevail against it.” Mat. 16:18. One of the most glorious things announced in prophecy, foreshadowed in the types, and now enjoyed by the redeemed children of God, is this fact: “The tabernacle of God is among men.” This is the summit and the crowning glory of the present dispensation of the Holy Spirit. The real presence of God in his church is the substance and joyful realization of that which his abode in the tabernacle and temple was but a faint type. This we shall prove by the Scriptures.

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isa. 7:14. What does this title signify? An answer is found in Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

“And the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.” Isa. 8:8. What is the breadth of his land? Thus saith the Lord, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Psa. 2:8. The whole earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. And blessed be he who cometh in the name of “God with us.” What a dark, blind conception of the church men must have who see not God dwelling and walking within her sacred courts. No sanctuary or temple of God on earth, say the Adventists. Then the Lord did not include that sect when he said, “For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16. Behold now has come to pass the time when God dwells in his people, and in his church, as never before. This is the peculiar heritage of the present dispensation. No prophecy more animated the devout Jew than the announcement that in the last days God would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh; when the holy fire would overleap the prophetic rank, “and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” And now the long expected time drew nigh, and the Son of God announced, “Not many days hence ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” “I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever: even the Spirit of truth.” So this glorious third person was to come and abide in the church forever. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” Christ the second person also returned in the spirit: “And my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” According to the promises of Christ the whole trinity was to make the church his abode. Was it fulfilled? Let us search the inspired record and see. That this was all fulfilled on the day of Pentecost no one can deny. Let the apostles of the Lamb bear witness.

Did the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ move into the church as the Lord promised? Yes. “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16. “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:6.

And she is likewise the dwelling place of the Son of God. “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Eph. 1:22, 23. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.”

Eph. 3:17. This indwelling of Christ is not only a sacred privilege, but it is an absolute necessity; therefore “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Cor. 13:5.

The Holy Spirit also comes and now dwells in the true sanctuary or church of the living God. “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” John 14:17.

Then the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the whole trinity have sanctified the church of the living God for their dwelling place. Hence it is written, “That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Eph. 3:19.

The God of all grace and glory dwells in his church in a twofold manner. First, each individual member is a temple of God. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor. 6:19, 20. “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16. By the personal indwelling of Christ in each member of his body he is our individual Savior, sanctifier and preserver from all sin. Praise his name!

Second, the Most High God also dwells in the body collective, who, altogether constitute his one house and sanctuary. Many scriptures show this fact, of which the two following are so clear and conclusive that they suffice: ”Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Eph. 2:19-22.

By means of this general indwelling fulness of God in his “spiritual house,” he organizes and tempers the body together, preserves it in perfect peace and harmony, and also operates effectually in convicting and saving such as come under her influence; thus making “increase in the body to the edifying of itself in love.”

As God does not dwell in a divided heart, so he cannot properly dwell in, and effectually work through a divided people. We can only keep the Spirit in the body by “keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.” Therefore the confused and disintegrated factions of sectism cannot be the temple of God, nor afford a congenial home for the Spirit. No one of them is the church, nor do all together constitute that holy temple; but the “spiritual house” of God is made up of the spiritual. In other words, the church of the living God includes all the saved in Christ. All such, as lively stones, are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.

A beautiful representation of God and Christ dwelling in the church is also seen in the vision of John, in which he beheld “seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.” Rev. 1:12, 13. John was informed by the voice of him whom he beheld in the midst of the seven branches of the candlestick, that the “seven candlesticks are the seven churches.” ver. 20. In the holiest of all the more awful presence of God was visible, which denotes that the pure in heart—those who have entered to that within the second vail—see God and are filled with all his fulness.

The church of the living God is then the sanctuary that is to be cleansed; which cleansing is the antitype of that of Zerubbabel’s temple as already considered. Cleansed from all sin and unrighteousness, and from all rubbish of creeds, traditions, and inventions of sectism which the dark ages of the past have heaped upon her, and which the people have been blindly educated to identify with her. But all this wood, hay, and stubble, the fire of holiness is consuming; and the temple of God appears in view again in her primitive glory. Amen.

THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH

Before we pass on to the cleansing and reappearance of the divine ecclesia, let us stand on the summit of present truth and point our telescope back over the mists and clouds that move along at our feet, and over the 1,260 years of utter night that extend far beyond, even into the third century. And, there on the mountains of God’s own holiness view the temple of God, resplendent with the morning light of his own glory. Behold, her light is as the sun: she is all fair, the city of the great king. That golden city is the primitive church.

As set forth in the oracles of God, we find her prominent attributes to be the following: (1) Divinity, (2) Organization, (3) Visibility, (4) Oneness, (5) Unity, (6) Universality, (7) Exclusiveness, (8) Holiness, (9) Unchangeableness, (10) Indestructibility. First, then, leaning upon the wisdom that cometh from above, we will endeavor to set forth the divinity of the church.

The Divinity of the Church

She is of divine origin. Her inception coexisted in the mind of God with that of the plan of salvation. Her origin being the immediate result of redemption, was inseparable from it. And since, therefore in the counsel and good purpose of God, Christ was a “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), the church redeemed through his blood also stood before the divine

mind parallel with the gift of his Son. Of that holy institution, we have seen, he cast a beautiful shadow upon the earth, in the form of the temple and all its contents. And, after “Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after,” in due time, “Christ, as a son over his own house,” appeared, and he built this beautiful church of the living God. He adorned her foundations and walls with the pure gold of his heavenly love, and set them with the precious stones of his graces and gifts; he adorned her pillars with the robes of his righteousness; and in her he sheds the light of his own glory. She is from heaven and all her members are born of God. Along with Christ her life and head, she is the gift of infinite love. She is “God’s building,” chosen of him for his own dwelling place; and where he spreads a continual feast of love for all his heaven-born children. The divine Son purchased her with his own blood. Acts 20: 28. Yea, he “gave himself” for her to be his own bride (Eph. 5:25); built her upon the rock. Mat. 16:18. As the “true tabernacle” of present divine testimony, The Lord pitched her and not man. Heb. 8:2. As the house of God, he that buildeth all things in her is God. Heb. 3:4. As the beloved city, she “hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11:10. Her foundation is Jesus Christ the divine Savior. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Her life and light is the “eternal Spirit.” Her creed is the pure Word of God. Thus spake God by the mouth of his servant Moses: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Deut.18:18, 19.

This is fulfilled in his Son as the apostle testifies. Acts 3:22, 23. God here announces that he would put his words in the mouth of this prophet; and when he came, he testified, saying, “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” John 14:10. Therefore; “God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” Heb.l:1, 2. This adorable Christ, came into the world, and delivered the perfect laws of his kingdom, and when about to finish his mission on earth he said, “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them.” John 17:8. And when he sent forth his ministers to preach his gospel to every creature, he commissioned them to make disciples in all nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Mat. 28:19, 20.

Thus we see that Christ Jesus spoke all the words that the Father “put into his mouth,” and all that he had commanded him to speak; and the Son likewise commissioned his apostles to publish all that, and only that, which he gave them. Therefore, “All Scripture divinely inspired, is indeed profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for that discipline which is in righteousness; so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly fitted for every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:16, 17, Emphatic Diaglott. God, the Father, is then the source of this new covenant, Jesus Christ the mediator of the same. Its object is the “conviction” of men in sin, and the teaching, correction in discipline in righteousness, of all the saints of God, and the result is, by means of it they are perfect. As divinely inspired discipline, it corrects every error, and teaches every obligation of righteousness in all our relations to God and to man.

By means of this perfect law the man of God—every man of God—may be perfect, and thoroughly furnished in all that pertains to a life of righteousness; and fully instructed in every good work. So, if the Scriptures of divine truth are unsuited, or insufficient, as a discipline for any people, it would indeed appear that such are not men of God. The creeds that men have multiplied in the earth testify against themselves and in favor of this divine Book of discipline. They very generally confess the Word of God is the only inspired and infallible rule of faith and practise; “So that whatever can not be read therein, nor proved thereby it is not necessary to receive or believe,” so they say. Yet, they impose upon their unwary joiners heaps of forms, traditions, and rules having no place in the inspired discipline of the divine church. God’s church is a “spiritual house,” and to her was given a spiritual law; but earth-born associations, even though called churches, are earthly in their tendency, therefore cannot be governed by a spiritual law, hence they have made their own laws, and amend them to their own option. But the divine and heavenly law of the Lord is well suited, yea, perfect in all its doctrines and ordinances, as the discipline of the church that is indeed of God adapted to all the conditions of the saved, and perfect in all ages of this dispensation.

Her government is divine, not only in the legislative, as we have just seen, but likewise, in its judicial and executive departments. “The government shall be upon his shoulder. Isa. 9:6. “And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” Micah 4:8. “He is the head of the body, the church . . . that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Col. 1:18. A divine government in the highest sense. A theocracy not only appointed by, but administered of God. Even “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:6. “It is the same God which worketh all in all.”

1 Cor. 12:6. He chooses men for elders, and deacons, as “governments” and “helps,” but these, as well as all the members of the body, have no right or power to act, except as “it is God that worketh in them.” If, therefore, they teach or exhort, it is by his Spirit dwelling in them. If through them judgment is dealt out, it is not “man’s judgment,” but his that dwelleth in them. So her government is indeed all divine; yea, it is indeed a government of God, working all things in all the members.

Her walls are salvation. Isa. 26:1; 60:18. “Behold, God is my salvation.” Isa. 12:2. Therefore her walls are also divine. She has a divine door, even Jesus Christ himself. John 10:7, 9.

Having been purchased, founded and built of God, he claims in her the exclusive right of proprietorship. She is not “our church,” but “God’s building,” divinely owned, and his glory he will not give to another.

Her members are all the sons of God and bear his holy image.

The Lord is her everlasting light, and God himself the glory in the midst of her.

She is even divinely named: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” Eph. 3:14, 15. And let not men or devils presume to characterize her by names of blasphemy which they invent. Behold, she is all divine.

The Church Is an Organic Structure

Therefore when men charge us with discarding all organization, they either knowingly or wilfully misrepresent us. As the Word teaches so we teach. The church that Jesus purchased with his own blood, he also “built” (Mat. 16:18); that is, organized. “In whom [Christ] all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple unto the Lord.” Eph. 2:21. These scriptures and many others clearly set forth the church of God as a symmetrical, and perfectly organized structure. Of this fact there is no question; but with regard to who holds the prerogative of organizing the body, all do not so well agree.

The general teaching in sectarian theology is that God only saves and gathers men out of the world into a general mass, and that it is the duty of ministers to form the material thus provided into organic form. But we teach that God who saves men into his church, also forms them in due order, and really organizes the church himself. As to which position is correct we will now appeal to the Word. A few texts will be sufficient to settle the question. The church, we have seen, is a building, a house; that is, an organic structure. Now it must be apparent to all that whoever is the architect and builder of a house organizes the same. But “he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.” And “he that built all things is God.” Heb. 3:3, 4. “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” 1 Cor. 12:18. “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,” etc. ver. 28. To furnish with organs, “built,” “compact,” “fitly framed together,” and to “temper the body together,” covers all that is included in the word organize. And, “All these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:31. Yea, “It is the same God which worketh all in all.” 1 Cor. 12:6. He then, through the Spirit, is the organizer of his own church.

We Consider Next the Visibility of the Church

“But these people [it is alleged against the saints of the Most High God] do not believe in a visible, organized church.” This, again, is an untruthful statement. That glorious temple, built by the invisible God, is the visible church. She is “the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hid.” Mat. 5:14. Though the wind is an invisible power, its effects are very perceptible to the eye. So the invisible hand of God builds the structure, and organizes the body of his church on earth, which is seen of all. The confused tradition is generally circulated by sectarians, in defense of their own rival organizations, that the constitution of sects is essential to the visible manifestation of the church. But “sect” is a portion “cut off.” Is there any sense, reason, or divine truth in the teaching, that an invisible body is made visible by cutting a portion from it? None of the present sects came into existence till that of Rome in the latter part of the third century. Was God’s church an invisible thing on earth for nearly three hundred years? And, who can affirm that the multitude of Protestant sects have made visible the church of God, from which they are severed by their peculiar creeds and doctrines? Nay, we affirm in the presence of the Judge of all men, and with a clear consciousness of his truth to support the proposition, that the creation of the sects of Christendom have had exactly the opposite effect.

Their traditions have made of no effect the Word of God. Their confusing creeds, heaps of rubbish, and interminable machinery, have utterly subverted, and well-nigh hid out of sight the church that Jesus built on earth. As the historian D’Aubigne has faithfully recorded, when in the third century an “earthly association,” “an external organization was gradually substituted for the interior and spiritual communion which is the essence of the religion of God,” then, “The living church retired gradually within the lonely sanctuary of a few solitary hearts.” That is, the real church of God, retired almost from view, because of the outspread pomp of the false.

So then men’s sects do not make visible God’s church: but on the contrary they obstruct her life, and obscure her glory. These are facts of history that no honest, intelligent man can deny. The babel of human sects have long obscured the sight of the church of the first-born. Until the evening light revealed the true church, as she shone out in the morning of the dispensation, everybody looked upon the man-built substitutes as the divine church, and the body of Christ, which only is the church, was scarcely discerned at all. But visibility is a natural characteristic of the church of God. Though organized by the invisible Spirit, she is composed of men and women who are as visible now as they were when they were in the kingdom of darkness.

While the kingdom of God is substantially the same as his church, the former only relates to the spiritual leaven and unseen power of God that transforms the hearts of men into righteousness and fills them with all joy and peace in believing. Hence, it “cometh not with observation.” The church, on the contrary, is the assembly of the saved, the household of God. It includes the bodies of the saints no less than the “hidden man of the heart.” “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?” 1 Cor. 6:15. And Christ, his body, and the church, are all identical in 1 Cor. 12:12, 13, 27, 28. So it is in our physical bodies that we compose the assembly of God. Hence, she is a visible ecclesia. A house, a vine, a family, the human body, “an army with banners,” “a light,” “the moon,” “a mountain,” and “a city set upon a hill,” are the most common figures of the church; and surely all these denote visibility. God’s ministers are not invisible agents, neither did Barnabas and Paul assemble a whole year with something they saw not, with unseen spirits, at Antioch, when “a whole year they assembled themselves with the church.” Acts 11:26. Neither had the church become visible by the organization of any sect, for none then existed.

This whole conception of God’s invisible church on earth is a superstition of the dark ages. A falsehood, devised by Satan to justify the rival headship of the pope, and the formation of all the Protestant rival bodies. The Scriptures teach that Christ only is the head of the church, and he himself the door, and that God sets the members into the body. But this leaves the Roman hierarchy without a head, and the Protestant sects without a member; therefore, Satan puts this lie into the mouth of the papists, “Christ is the head of the invisible church, and the pope of the visible;” and this falsehood into the Protestant creed, “God takes into his invisible body, and we admit members into the visible church. “

It is true that the world cannot see the head of the church, as do the Christians, for he manifests himself unto the latter as he does not unto the former; but they can see the children of God, and they are the body of Christ, the church. “Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” 1 John 3:6. This, again, explains why the masses of the sects do not discern Christ, nor his church. It is because they are sinners and Satan blinds their eyes to their condition, by telling them that Christ and his church are invisible.

Again, the class-book of God’s church is not here on earth, nor seen by natural eyes. But notwithstanding this, the spiritual “see to read their title clear,” and know their names are written there. To hypocrites and formalists this is all invisible, hence, they console themselves by being written in a class-book on earth which they can look upon with sinful eyes and handle with unclean hands. What God has to say about them you will find in Jeremiah 17:13.

The divine church, without any tampering by man, is a visible and glorious city of God on earth. Yea, so very visible that it is even the light of the world.

Oneness Is a Characteristic of God’s Church

As there is but “one God, and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all,” so likewise there is but “one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” It was the purpose of God to save both Jews and Gentiles through the gospel of his Son. Now there was a great gulf of prejudice and vast separation in sentiment and education existing between these two classes; and it might very reasonably be thought that characters so remote from each other could never be blended together in one body, and live agreeably under one faith. Did therefore, the Lord indulge their alienation from each other, and their extreme peculiarities, by providing a separate fold for each? Nay, says the Great Teacher, “Other sheep I have [Gentiles], which are not of this fold: [not Jews] them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” John 10:16.

These antipodes of humanity, if saved at all, must be brought together into one fold. Which then was required to surrender his position to the other? The answer is, “He put no difference between us and them.” “But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin.” The apostle confessed they were no better than they, the Gentiles. Neither one had to come over to the other, but both to God through Christ Jesus; and here is the beautiful result: “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.” Eph. 2:14-16. Then, for all the saved of the nations of the earth, God has provided but “one fold,” “one body,” “one new man, so making peace.” In it are peacefully blended together men of the most widely conflicting idiosyncrasies, and races of the most opposite customs and religions. Of course, these are all removed by the transforming grace of God, and all are conformed to the image of his Son, and all become “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:26, 28. Since, therefore, the infinite grace of God is manifestly sufficient to mold all men into one harmonious body, there is no need of but one church of the living God. Every description of the church shows that it is but one. Every relation that she sustains to her God demands that she be one. Accordingly, we are told that Christ “is the head of the body, the church.” Therefore as there is but one head, there can be but one body.

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. But now are they many members, yet but one body.” 1 Cor. 12:12, 13, 20. “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” Rom. 12:4, 5. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Col. 3:15.

These and many similar scriptures, declare in the most positive terms that God acknowledges but one body. There is but one true church or assembly, just as there is but one God, one true God. Since we are called of Christ into one body, the call to join various bodies must proceed from antichrist. There is absolutely but one body, and one Christ its head.

Again, the church, or divine congregation, sustains the relation to Christ that a wife does to her husband. “And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.” “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Cor. 11:2. “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom.” John 3:29. “For thy maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.” Isa. 54:5. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Rev. 19:7, 8.

Here are six texts establishing this beautiful relation between Christ and his church. To admit, therefore, the idea of more than one church, would impute to Christ the sin of polygamy. A shocking blasphemy!

But again we find the divine ecclesia recognized as his own family, his household. “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” Eph. 3:15. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Eph. 2:19. Since no man can have two families—unless it be a case of living in adultery, having two women, and two homes, which were an abomination in the sight of God—therefore God has but one church, which is the holy family; and according to every description of her she must be but one. While there is a large sisterhood of apostate organizations, the bride of Christ is without a sister. Thus saith the divine husband, “My dove,

my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother.”

S. of Sol. 6:9.

Why then, someone may ask, do we read of churches in the plural number? It is true the word church frequently appears in the plural; but a little attention to the word will convince any honest mind that the church of God is only plural in its diversified geographical location, but in a variety of faiths and orders, never. Accordingly, the word never occurs in the plural except when speaking of God’s assembly located in several cities, or in various localities throughout a country or province. For example:

“Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified.” Acts 9:31.

“And he went through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches.” Acts 15:41.

“As I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Cor. 4:17.

“As I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.” 1 Cor. 16:1.

“And so ordain I in all churches.” 1 Cor. 7:17.

“The churches of Asia salute you.” 1 Cor. 16:19.

“They returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch;

. . . and when they had ordained them elders in every church.”

Acts 14:21, 23.

In all the above instances, the word “churches” refers to the congregations of God located at various places throughout one or more countries, except the last, where it refers to the congregation in three different cities. That these churches were not separate sects is clear from the fact that they were all combined under the same rule of ministry. One inspired apostle enjoined rules upon them all; but we all know that no bishop of one sect has jurisdiction over another ecclesiastical order. By means of any complete concordance you may see that church is never once in the plural number when referring to the disciples of Christ in any one city. No matter how large the city and how numerous the believers, there is but one church of God in it. Hence, we read, “The church that was at Antioch.” “The church of God which is at Corinth.” 1 Cor. 1:2. “The church of the Thessalonians.” 1 Thes. 1:1. “Unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” Rev. 1:11.

Thus you see there was only one church in one city; and the seven churches of Asia, so often appealed to in apology for men’s sects, were not seven sects in one town, but God’s one community located in seven cities. There is, we repeat again, not a single instance in the New Testament of more than one congregation of God in one place or city. Not one exception, where the word is plural, but what it alludes to a plurality of locations where the church exists, and not a plurality of denominations. Indeed, according to every characteristic of the divine fold, she is but one body in heaven and earth, composed of all those who are saved; and but one in her manifestation in any one place, composed of all in that place who are saved in Christ Jesus. And though under the apostasy there are to-day many bodies, many towering steeples, and rival altars, in every town and city, God’s Word is just as true to-day as when written by the inspiration of the apostles, and there is but one body in Christ. Rom. 12:4, 5. Yea, there is but one body universal in Christ, and but one body in Christ in Chicago, New York, or in any city on earth. Therefore, if “God be true and every man a liar,” it follows that the multitude of bodies seen in these last days occupying the same place, are not in Christ, not the one body of Christ. However, we frequently admit that individuals, who through erroneous education, dwell in these manifold factions, and also sincerely abide in Christ, are in the one body of Christ, notwithstanding their sect relationship; which, however, they are always ready to abandon when they properly discern the divine body into which God set them, and the rival character of the sect into which they are taken by man. The church of God is one in heaven and on earth, hence she is necessarily one holy family wherever she appears on earth.

Unity Is One Attribute of the Church

We have just seen that God’s church is one fold, one family, one body. We shall next prove from the Scriptures that her divine author demands perfect harmony in all her members, has fully provided for that unity, and forbids all divisions. The community of God is not only one body, but all divisions of that one body are condemned in the strongest terms. Let us hear the great Founder, as he pours out his heart in prayer to the Father, while already suffering the inward pains of death in behalf of his dearly purchased church.

“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.” John 17:11.

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” ver. 20, 21.

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” ver. 23.

Three times over he earnestly implores the Father that all who believe on him, through the Word of God, which has come down to us from the hands of the apostles, should be one, yea, one, even as he himself and the Father are one. Are we Christians if we respect not those deep heart yearnings of Christ? Do we care for the salvation of this lost world if we are indifferent about this heavenly unity, which the “wisdom of God” foresaw, and declared essential to their faith in the divine mission of Christ on earth? The Lord knew very well that the citadel of the human soul is under the control of reason, and can admit nothing without the control of that high functionary. He also perceived that reason must pronounce division, discord, and all strife and confusion, inconsistent with a religion professed as emanating from God. Hence, that earnest and thrice repeated prayer, that we should all be one as he and the Father are one, that the world might believe that he was really sent from heaven to save men from their sins.

The language virtually implies that if this holy unity is not seen by the world in the professed family of God, unbelief would possess their hearts, and his death on their behalf would be largely frustrated. And have not his anticipations proved sadly true? Behold, the world is to-day rushing on to hell; and ever since strife and division has broken the sweet “one accord” of the primitive church, the gospel has been comparatively powerless to convict of sin and the judgment, and turn the souls of men from the ways of death. There is then a solemn and awful weight of importance connected with this divine unity. For this cause there is perhaps no one thing more frequently enjoined in the New Testament than the oneness of all believers; no evil more peremptorily forbidden than that of schisms; and no sin more strongly denounced than that of “causing division.” The apostles of the Lord, walking in the spirit and footsteps of their

Master, continued the same earnest appeal for the unity of all who profess the name of Christ.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Cor. 1:10. “For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28. “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Phil. 1:27. “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Phil. 2:2. “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 15:5, 6. “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” Acts 4:32.

Here are five more positive commands in the law of God declaring the children of God to be “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment,” that they “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” “That ye be like-minded, being of one accord;” not likeminded according to some man’s mind or creed; not according to the mind of the flesh, nor yet the edicts of some conference of preachers, but, “Likeminded one to another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God.” An earnest admonition is, “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you.” For a refutation of the false statement that people cannot see eye to eye; and for the confirmation of the Word and grace of God; and the encouragement of God’s saints in all subsequent time, it is recorded that “the multitude of them that believed, were of one heart and one soul.” Not simply a few were enabled to come into this unity for which Christ prayed, but the whole multitude of believers, and they numbered thousands. Now we confidently affirm that the same salvation will produce the same fruits to-day.

Not only did the apostles follow their teacher and Lord in demanding perfect unity in all believers, but they also show a holy abhorrence of all divisions. Accordingly, we are told that “God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body.” 1 Cor. 12:24, 25.

Here is a direct prohibition of all schisms, or divisions in the body of Christ. By the standard of truth all divisions among Christians are sinful. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Rom. 16:17, 18. “A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.” Titus 3:10, 11. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Pet. 2:1-3.

It will be observed, in these texts we have classified together as all the same, “a man that causes divisions,” and “a heretic,” and such as bring in heresies. And now we shall prove the position correct. The word hairesis is a Greek term, found ten times in the New Testament. In the following instances the word is rendered sect: Acts 5:17; 15:5; 24:5; 26:5 and 28:22. In the first, second, and fourth instances it is applied to the sect of the Pharisees. In the third and fifth, the Jews, ignorant of the true and universal character of God’s church, called it a sect, the sect of the Nazarenes. As the disciples were nearly all from the Jewish nation, it is very natural that they should be looked upon as another sect of that nation. In all these instances it is clearly seen that hairesis is correctly rendered sect, which signifies a faction.

There are five more instances of hairesis in the Greek New Testament, which are not translated, we may say, at all, but transferred with the slight change of form into heresy, and heretic. They are the following: Acts 24:14; 1 Cor. 11:19; Gal. 5:20; 2 Pet. 2:1; and in Titus 3:10, where the word is hairetekos, referring to the sectarian instead of the sect. The word in Acts, “After the way which they call heresy,” is translated sect by Rotherham, Wakefield, A. Layman, Chas. Thomson, H. T. Anderson, Bible Union, Emphatic Diaglott, Young and the New Version. 1 Corinthians 11:19—“For there must also be heresies among you,” is rendered sects by Thomson, Anderson, Bible Union, and Young; “parties” by Rotherham; “factions,” Emphatic Diaglott. The passage in Galatians 5:20, “heresies,” is rendered sects by Thomson, Anderson, Bible Union, and Young; “parties,” Rotherham; “factions,” Diaglott; “divisions,” New Version. The word “heresies” in 2 Peter 2 is translated sects by Layman, Thomson, Anderson, and Young; “parties,” by Rotherham; “factions,” by Bible Union.

The word “heretic” in Titus 3:10 is translated as follows: “A man that causes divisions.”—Bible Union. “A fomenter of divisions.”—Wakefield. “A party man.”—Rotherham. “A sectary.”—Anderson. “A sectarian man.”—Young. So then it is clearly seen that a heresy is a “sect,” “faction,” “party,” or “division”; while a heretic is a man who causes divisions, foments sects; or he may be simply a “party man,” namely, one that holds to, and is zealous for a sect or party, or in plain words as rendered in the excellent translations of Robert Young of Edinburgh, Scotland, “A sectarian man.” So utterly abhorred in its nature, and ruinous in its fruits is the sin of party or sectarianism, that God’s true children are commanded to reject any one that is guilty of the same, after the first and second admonition: “Knowing that he that is such, is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”

All these translations, even more clearly than the common version, prove that there is no sin more utterly abominated by the Word of God than that of sectism. Paul declared the Corinthians carnal, because inclined to sectism, one saying, “I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos.” 1 Cor. 3:1-4. In Galatians 5: 20 “heresies” is translated in plain English “sects”; in several other versions the apostle pronounces them “the works of the flesh,” and classifies them with adultery, fornication, idolatry, murders, drunkenness, revelings and such like. It is an awful fact, but there is in the Inspired Volume no sin mentioned that is more hateful in the sight of God; and it cannot be denied that sects are classified with the very darkest crimes. There must, therefore, be a way to escape this sin, and the judgments of God that will be visited upon such as are guilty of the same. The dreadful evil is surely not an unavoidable one. The very fact that God renounces it, and commands us to reject and withdraw ourselves from sectarians, proves that there is a foundation upon which we may stand clear. Let us see if we can find it. In the very prayer in which Christ so earnestly and repeatedly besought the perfect unity of all his disciples, and all who would subsequently believe on him, we find him laying down the

Complete Basis of Oneness

1. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” “The men which thou gavest me out of the world.” John 17:6, 14. Here is the very first condition of entering into the required unity. This world is all cursed and confused by the malady of sin. The fall of the race which separated between man and God, also broke the human family into fragments and hatred and strife one against another; but Jesus came into the world and wrought a new creation. In it is peace, unity and harmony. But no man, morally speaking, can enter the new creation and abide at the same time in the old. Hence, no marvel that the mass of sectarians, who conform to the world in pride; love the world in covetousness, and run with the world in all its popular amusements and abominations still cry,

We must agree to disagree,

We mortals cannot hope to sec

The Word of God just all the same,

Until we reach a higher plane.

Certainly not. But they need not wait the future to bring the higher state. Let them repent of their sins, deny themselves of the lusts of the flesh, and be saved out of this world by the transforming grace of God; then shall they have met the first conditions of discipleship, and also the first conditions of oneness. But in coming out of the old world of sin into what shall we enter and abide, as the

2. Condition of unity? “That they all may be one: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”

ver. 21. Here is an important condition and basis of oneness. We cannot hope to be one in any earth-born association; but we can, and must be one in God and in Christ. They put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who talk of joining some sect in order to be united. Every sect is a schism, and to join one is to partake of the sin of division which is so extremely hateful in the sight of God. Of course, many have done so ignorantly, not discriminating between the church which is of God, and the sect which is of man; and our compassionate High Priest can have mercy on them that are ignorant, and out of the way, if they are only willing to walk in the light when it shines unto them. If, then, we are to be one in Christ Jesus, they who are saved out of the world unto him, and abide there, walking in all his truth; and not allowing themselves to be enticed into anything else, the same stand upon the divinely appointed foundation of unity, and are free from the great transgression of schism. On the contrary, whoever professes the name of Christ, and yet allows himself to be drawn into anything else beside the Lord Jesus, the same will have to answer for the sin of division. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28. “So we being many are one body in Christ.” Rom. 12:5. What excuse is there then for division? There is salvation in no other but Christ, and “ye are complete in him”; completely saved, completely kept, completely supplied, and completely unified. Since, therefore, we are commanded to “abide in him” and in him we have all grace, peace and wisdom, oneness, happiness, and holiness; what but the will of the flesh and of the devil, can lead men to join themselves to anything else?

Says the devotee of sects, “It is utterly impossible for anyone to bring the whole Christian body to this way of thinking.” That is all true, and accounts for the fact that every human institution has failed to unite all Christians upon the platform of its creed; but with all this admitted there still remains no excuse for divisions. Man’s inability does not overthrow God’s ability. It still remains true that the Lord Jesus Christ “is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

Phil. 3:21. It was not man but Christ who “made both one [i.e., Jews and Gentiles], and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Eph. 2:14.

And the same salvation will utterly break down and sweep out of existence every wall of modern sectism. “The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul;” and he who, by his transforming grace, wrought this beautiful effect at the beginning of his heavenly kingdom on earth, is able to give all who truly submit themselves to him the same “one mind” to-day. And, indeed, we shall show, in its proper place, that just now the Lord is gathering his holy bride from every ism under heaven into his own body, and fulfilling prophecy in giving them “one heart and one way.” It is God’s own doings, and man’s inability has nothing to do with it. The work of unifying the children of God is no more the work of man than is our salvation. We are all one in Christ Jesus.

3. The third provision of our oneness in the prayer of Christ was his fulfilment of the prediction of Isaiah 62:2. “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.” Here is a clear prophecy of the transition from the first to the second covenant; from the Israel that was born after the flesh, and was of the one nation, to the Israel that is born of the Spirit, out of all nations. The Jews as a nation rejected Christ, and the kingdom of heaven was open to the Gentiles. An entirely new order was then enacted, and old things passed away; and the people and church of God under the new covenant received a new name which was given by the mouth of the Lord. The same thing is again spoken of in

Isaiah 65. In verse 12 is an awful picture of the destruction of the Jews. “Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer.” “And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name.” ver. 15. These scriptures were fulfilled when the Lord Jesus said, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world.” “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name.” John 17:6, 12.

While men foolishly affirm that there is nothing in a name, the Lord God attaches importance enough to the naming of his church to constitute it a matter of prophecy; and he excluded all men’s attempts at naming it by preannouncing that it should be “named by the mouth of the Lord.” There are many reasons why the naming of the church is a matter of vital importance. One object, however, is sufficient to speak of here. Thus prayed the man of sorrows, “Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me that they may be one, even as we are.” ver. 11, New Version. The word rendered “through,” in the common version, is en in the Greek, and is the same that is regularly translated in, all through the New Testament. Of twelve translations that are before us all render it, “Keep in thy name,” save the common version. Christ fulfilled the prophecy by manifesting the name of God to be the basis of the church title: and he prayed the Father to keep them in his name, that they may be one as he and the Father are one. Therefore, even in the name, perfect unity is provided for. The entire church is to be kept in the one name, as a means of its perfect oneness. While other names are not the chief cause of divisions, but more generally have come into use because the divisions have been fomented by some factious spirit, or false doctrine; nevertheless, party names

contribute their share in the creation of parties, and oneness in name is one essential to the perfect unity for which Christ prayed.

To say that rival names do not help to divide, and perpetrate division, is to charge the Lord with nonsense. For why should he pray the Father to keep them all in his name, in order that they should be one as he and the Father are one, if their oneness would continue all the same under various names? In other words, if oneness in name is not essential to oneness in faith, life, and spirit, why did the Savior pray for the former as a condition of the latter? We admit that sincere, humble children of God may cherish much love and enjoy some fellowship with each other while under sectish names; but such names are inconsistent with Bible unity, prevent its manifestation to the world, and become a wedge in the hands of Satan to more and more separate and alienate. Yea, it is a fact clearly seen by spiritual men, that the sect names are real idol gods that men worship, and are exceedingly mad upon. But Christ has left no excuse for them; in giving the one name for the church to be known by, he provides for her unity and condemns all divisions.

“Keep them in thy name.” The holy apostles hold this prayer of their Lord in profound respect. Let us see how they understood and carried it out.

“Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28. “The church of God which is at Corinth.” 1 Cor. 1:2 and 2 Cor. 1:1. “Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.” 1 Cor. 10:32. “We have no such custom, neither the church of God.” 1 Cor. 11:16. “Despise ye the church of God?” 1 Cor. 11:22. “I persecuted the church of God.” 1 Cor. 15:9. “Beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.” Gal. 1:13. “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thes. 2:14. “We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God.” 2 Thes. 1-4. “If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” 1 Tim. 3:5. “That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.” 1 Tim. 3:15.

The simple word “church” frequently occurs without the qualifying part of the name; because there being only one church that is of God, it was not necessary to designate it every time by its full name. But that men should not attach some handle of their own to the divine community, we find it twelve times denominated the church of God, according to the prayer of the Savior that it should be kept in the name of God, the Father. And lest, indeed, men should ascribe this heavenly Jerusalem to some earthly god, once it is qualified in full, “The church of the living God.” This excludes all dead fraternities of the dead gods of the nations.

The name chosen by divine wisdom very beautifully acknowledges her relation to God in every respect. To her it is said, “Thy maker is thy husband.” Is it not proper and right that the heavenly bride should honor her husband by assuming his name? Again, the church is the family of God; she therefore naturally inherits the name of the Father. Because of both these relations, to assume any other name is an insult to the jealous God, who will not give his glory to another. “For this cause,” says the apostle, “I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; of [from] whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” Eph. 3:14, 15. We have seen that the name was given by the mouth of the Lord Jesus, but is derived from the Father. This latter fact is clearly seen in the above passage correctly rendered; for the Greek preposition ez is defined the same as ek, and signifies, from, out of. Hence, it expresses the source, or derivation of the name. It is rendered thus in the Emphatic Diaglott: “For this cause I bend my knees to the Father, from whom the whole family in the heavens and on earth is named.” Thus, also seven out of the twelve versions render it.

We should also observe that this title, “The church of God,” acknowledges God as its founder, builder and owner. It therefore, not only lays an important foundation for the unity of all believers under the one, and only Scriptural, church cognomen, but it honors God as its author and possessor. Is there then no difference in a name? Would a title that does not indicate whether the church originated from, and belongs to, God, man, or the devil, do equal honor to God as that which ascribes it wholly to him?

The glorious institution that Jesus founded is a complete organization. But nothing could well take on regular organic form without designating its name. Therefore, about the first clause of every constitution of earthly compacts, reads something like this: “This society [corporation or joint stock company, etc.] shall be known by the name of,” etc. So when Jesus, the Son of God, founded his heavenly Jerusalem on earth, he put on record that this holy community must be kept in the name of the Father, which the apostles were inspired to word as follows, “The ekklesia of God.” In this one name her oneness is to be maintained. Whoever, therefore, imposes, or assumes any other church title, is not only guilty of disobeying the earnest desire of Christ, but is also guilty of creating or partaking of the enormous sin of schism. This is a matter of no small weight in the sight of God.

4. The fourth plank in the divine basis of oneness is the inspired discipline that the head of the church gave for its government. The Lord Jesus forever cut off all excuse for his professed disciples to usurp the headship of his church, by presuming to make laws and regulations for their own government. In the very prayer that pleads for their perfect unity he says, “I have finished the work which, thou gavest me to do.” John 17:4. By reference to Deuteronomy 18:15-19 it is seen that one thing the Father required of him was to speak unto the people all his new covenant law. This he had therefore done. Yea, he saith, “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.” Truly, “I have given them thy word.” John 17:8, 14.

Having already shown the perfection and infallibility of this divinely authorized discipline, we simply call attention to it here to show that nothing essential to the foundation of perfect unity is unsupplied. Had the founder of the church of God left her without a creed, or system of cooperation, it might have been taken for granted that men were left at liberty to draft such rules as they thought best; and so have an excuse for different creeds, and divisions that would arise therefrom. But Jesus has forever excluded all who would be lawmakers in the kingdom of heaven. By his inspired last will and testament he has put in quarantine every craft rigged by man in the harbors of great Babylon.

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:4-6. What a beautiful picture of perfect unity! There is but one body; therefore, to start another is to go out of the one. One Spirit; to admit another is to give place to the devil. There is one Lord. This ignores all the lords, and high officials of sectism that resolve themselves into a rival head, and announce themselves, “The law-making power of the church.” “One faith”—the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3; By whom was it given? Ans.—“The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” Psa. 68:11. This clearly defines the prerogative, both of Christ and all his ministers. As head of the body, it is his place to issue all laws. As simple messengers of the Lord, it is the duty of his messengers to deliver and enforce his Word, without adding thereto, or taking therefrom one jot or tittle on pain of eternal banishment from his kingdom. How utterly different the province of ministerial duty, as portrayed in the Word of God, to that disgusting, God-dishonoring scheme of general and annual conference and assemblies of modern sectism, wherein they usurp the office of Christ, the “one lawgiver.”

There is “one faith, one baptism;” i. e., the one faith of the gospel is publicly professed in the one and same literal ordinance of baptism. Hence, when Satan infused party spirits into the disciples at Corinth, the apostle reproved them by three questions: “Is Christ divided! was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” 1 Cor. 1:13. The idea is this: Christ is not divided, he only was crucified for them, and they all received the same ordinance of baptism. Hence, there was no excuse for division and infant baptism. They could not be divided without going out of Christ and inventing a different baptism. Therefore, it has come to pass that the modern factions “deny this Lord that bought them,” and substitute the sacraments of Rome for the ordinances of Christ; especially that wherein we testify our death to sin by burial with Christ in baptism. The Lord having given the same rule for all his disciples to walk by, and the Holy Spirit to guide each one into a knowledge of all this divine system of truth; there is here again, no possible excuse for division. Neither Christ, his Spirit, nor yet his Word cause divisions. They are all the result of carnality and subscribing to some tradition or creed of man, which make of no effect the Word of God. He, therefore, that subscribes to anything else, by the inspired Word is guilty of the sin of division in the sight of him who has made all provision for unity.

5. We now come to the great condition, and all-potent means of perfect unity found in the prayer of Christ. In the very midst of his four times repeated prayer that we should be “one as he and the Father are one,” he thus implores the Father: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:17, 19.

Here we say is secured to us the essential and all-sufficient means of producing perfect unity in all the body of Christ. First, we will trace the blessed cause and effect in its negative virtues. In 1 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 5:19, 20, we see that factions or heresies are the works of the flesh, the fruits of the carnal mind. Entire sanctification heals all divisions by removing the cause; for it cleanses the heart from all unrighteousness. But there is a positive part to this all-sanctifying work of grace, namely, the infilling of the Holy Spirit; the return of Christ from heaven in the power of the Comforter, and bringing with him the Father, and all to abide in the church forever; thus filling his sanctified temples “with all the fulness of God.” While the perfect cleansing feature of the sanctifying grace removes all carnality, the cause of division; the all-pervading love of God, shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit that is given to us, brings all hearts into the same harmony that reigns in heaven, into perfect unity, as the Father and Son are one. This is expressed in these words: “And the. glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:22, 23.

The glory he has given to the church, which makes us one as he and the Father, he thus defines, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” The unifying glory is the indwelling God; for “the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory;” Isa. 60:19. In Luke 2:32 Christ is declared to be, “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” And again we read, “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.” 1 Pet. 4:14. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, constitute the excellent glory that Jesus bequeathed to his church. Who dare say that this divine fulness is unable to produce the effect Christ said it would? “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18.

From glory to glory, we receive the glory of the very image of Christ; namely, from the glory of justification into the glory of entire sanctification. “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thes. 2:13, 14.

This very clearly shows that the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. For our sanctification is “to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ:” This glory makes us all one as the Father and his Son. “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.” Heb. 2:10, 11. Here again the glory, and the grace of entire sanctification are spoken of as the same, and perfect oneness is its sure fruit. Both Christ and all that are wholly sanctified by him are of one, yea, of one Spirit, of one mind, of one faith, of one heart and soul, and all in “one body,” of which he is the head, and we are members in particular. If, therefore, Christ and his apostle tell us the truth, we are forced to the conclusion that all who are not thus made one, and who yet plead for sects, are not sanctified, not in possession of the glory. But let us hear the testimony of the Word once more: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”

Eph. 4:11-13.

Here again this beautiful fruit of perfected holiness is recorded; namely, unity. The various gifts of the ministerial calling are all given of God, and all center in the paramount object of the perfection of the saints; in which experience they “all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,” a perfect body. Christ “made of twain [Jews and Gentiles] one new man,” a new church; and thank God, he has provided for the perfect holiness and unity of this church of the new covenant. The perfection of the saints is attained in entire sanctification (Heb. 10:14), and “the unity of the faith” its inevitable fruit. The language implies two things, i. e., they are all brought into the one faith, “the faith” once for all delivered to the saints. Second, they are not left in various and conflicting views and interpretations of the one faith. Nay, but the “unity of the faith,” implies one faith, a perfect uniformity in the understanding of the same. So we plant our feet on the sure Word of God and by its authority affirm that God has made full provision, in every respect, for the perfect harmony in faith, life and teaching, of all who honestly wish to know the truth and obey

the same. Therefore, perfect unity is a law and characteristic of God’s church in its normal condition.

But before we pass from this point, we must expose the perverse reasonings of modern heretics. In one strain of logic they affirm that it is all right that the Christian world is divided into so many different shades of belief, and variety of church-organization; that thereby the gospel has been more extensively spread and more people evangelized, because everybody can find a church to suit him. And when the Word of God is brought forward to show that all God’s people should be one, they seek to cover the enormous sin of schisms by saying, “All God’s people are one.” Now while it must be admitted that there is a measure of inward fellowship, and a tendency to draw together, in the hearts of all who possess any degree of saving grace, it is equally true that there is such a thing as the sin of division. Had not Christ seen that it was possible for divisions to be brought in among his disciples, he would not have so earnestly prayed that they should all be one. It is also true, that while there are men and women in the various organized divisions who have passed from death unto life, they can only live at a poor dying rate while they are fenced apart by the party names and creeds. As we have said, the tendency of all who profess any measure of the love of God, is to draw together and assemble together; but this very inward bent of the Spirit of God is denied this course by the control of party interests, and party lords. And so the Spirit, grieved and hindered, gradually swoones and dies out of the heart, and the sectarian spirit only is left to animate their profession. So then be it understood that

(1) Perfect unity is the order of God’s church, and his will in all that believe; (2) The disciples of Christ, may be in a scattered condition in sects, and such are all the Protestant sects, so far as real disciples compose their membership; (3) Where separations of any kind are brought in between truly converted men, the church is not in the normal state, and spiritual death must sooner or later ensue to the body thus disintegrated; and being spiritually dead it is no longer God’s church; (4) The formation of sects, or organizing divisions, both destroys the church and prevents the salvation of the world.

The next attribute of the church that Jesus founded of which we shall speak is universality.

Universality

That is, it contains universally all true believers. The great Redeemer declared, “There shall be one fold and one shepherd.” “So we, being many, are one body in Christ.” Rom. 12:5. That one body is his church; for God, the Father, gave his Son “to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body.” Eph. 1:22, 23. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 this one body is identical with Christ himself. Since, therefore, the church is the body of Christ, yea, and is Christ, and since it is also a fact that no one can be saved outside of Christ, and outside of his body, therefore it follows that all who are saved of God are inside the church of God, and all outside of it are unsaved. It is the universal fold of all the redeemed.

Next we will consider exclusiveness.

Exclusiveness

The use of this term conveys the idea that all who are not in the church that Jesus founded, are excluded from salvation and the Christian’s hope. If any person is not disposed to comply with the conditions of membership in God’s church, he cannot turn aside and join some other church that presents a wider door; for there is no other. There is but one Savior for all men: “There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” But all who are saved by him are “baptized [or inducted] by one Spirit into one body”; so all who are outside of this one body are excluded from the grace of God. Christ is an exclusive Christ; there is none other beside him. The faith that he gave us is an exclusive faith; no other saves the soul. The truth of God is exclusive in its nature; everything contrary to it is false. The kingdom of Christ is exclusive. It is a stone that breaks everything else to pieces. The one church that Jesus founded and named, and which is his own body, is also exclusive, for there is only “one body in Christ.” During the reign of pagan persecution, the rulers offered to stop the bloody martyrdom and allow the Christians to worship God in freedom, if they would confess that the pagan idols were also real Gods. This they could not do, but chose rather to die. And on this very point of exclusiveness is the present offense of the cross. People would not seriously object to God’s ministers setting forth the church as contained in the Scriptures, if we would recognize their earth-born institutions as being also God’s churches. But this we cannot do and be honest before God, and faithful to his Word. There is but one household of faith. Christ does not have a plurality of wives. He has but one bride, and she has no sisters. Thus saith her husband, “My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother.”

S. of Sol. 6:9.

It is true there is in these last days a large sisterhood of Protestant bodies calling themselves churches, but the Lamb’s wife owns no kin to them. They are of an entirely different family. Their mother is “Mystery, Babylon, the mother of harlots.” As God is one, only one religion can emanate from him. As “God is not the author of confusion,” his church cannot be a split up and confused lot of rival institutions. He recognizes no sisterhood of churches. If, therefore, there is but one church that emanated from God, whence come the rest? Martin Luther would answer, “Whatever is not of God is of the devil.” Men come to us and say just what the devil besought of Christ: “Let us alone.” “Go on and preach what you believe, but let everybody else alone.” This is great blindness. If the true God would reign, Dagon, and all other gods must fall down, and have their heads broken off. If Christ be lifted up, antichrist must be demolished. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness cannot jointly flourish, nor even coexist in the same heart. No man can preach the truth without knocking down error, any more than darkness can yet hold sway after light has come. So likewise, the church of the living God, which is the pillar and ground of the truth, must utterly exclude and antagonize every counterfeit church. Hence, in the present evening light, which reveals the true fold, “every founder is confounded by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.” Jer. 10:14, 15. That time has now come; for the preaching of the “pillar and ground of the truth” demolishes “the work of error.”

God’s church is exclusive, like himself. And he who is not willing to commit himself exclusively to God and to the church that Jesus purchased with his own blood, but for the friendship of the world and the masses of sectarians, yet endorses the great wicked babel of isms, and by so doing avoids persecution—he is not fit for the kingdom. While men have held a place both in God’s church, and man’s creeds, through ignorance, yet when the true light comes they have no cloak for their ignorance and must cut loose from the one or the other. If they then refuse to walk in the light, “It shall be taken away from them that which they have.” Or if they only have a form, only “seem to be religious,” “that which they seem to have shall be taken away.” The spirit of this age is to place Christ and Belial on an equality; to call everything that has a name to be religious, God’s church; and thus try to palm off upon the Almighty the corrupt works of the devil and insult his holiness by classifying with his heaven-born seed, all the hypocrites, and abominable characters that have been taken into the various branches of Babylon. But, “The Lord knoweth them that are his.”

The great congress of all religions held in Chicago at the world’s fair, A. D. 1893, was a perfect selling out of Christ. They claimed to meet in one great brotherhood, forcing fellowship between light and darkness, Christ and Belial, God and idols, heaven and hell. Heathen, idolaters, Shintoists, and worshipers of all the ridiculous gods that hell has invented, met on one common level, as one great family, which virtually denied the exclusiveness of the God of the Bible and placed Christ on a level with heathen idols. This, we say, was an abominable slander on the name of Christ, and wicked blasphemy in the sight of God. It virtually proves the whole business of Roman and Protestant babel have left Christ and have gone over to the gods of Baal. For surely Christ is separate from all such, and the God of the Bible, he only is God, and his church the one and only true and saving fold, and the faith of Christ is alone from heaven.

Holiness

This is the one all-important, and absolutely essential attribute of the divine church. Before God put forth the first creative act in the formation of this world, he determined that its inhabitants should be holy. “According, as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” Eph. 1:4. For this reason he created man in his own image, in his own moral likeness. And this image of God, in which man was created, and into which he is again restored by the all-transforming and sanctifying grace of God, is “righteousness and true holiness.” Eph. 4:23. “After God,” must mean after the original pattern in which man was created; after the moral likeness of his own Maker, which is defined as “righteousness and true holiness.” Colossians 3:9, 10 leaves us no shadow of a doubt that this original God-likeness, from which we have the word godliness, is restored to the soul of man here in this life. “Seeing that ye have put off the old man [evil nature] with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Here we see that salvation in the second Adam brings back the holy image of God. that man lost by sin in the first Adam.

This moral perfection in man is essential to the very object of his being. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” Lev. 19:1, 2. “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

1 Pet. 1:15, 16. Can any thoughtful mind read these words without the impression that God created man to enjoy the blessing of fellowship and companionship with him? to enjoy the society of God, and to be a “worker together with him,” in carrying forward his beneficent plans? The imperative command is, “Be ye holy;” and the one great and all-sufficient reason for the injunction is, “Because I the Lord your God am holy.” The import of the reason is this, man was created to walk with and enjoy God. But God being holy, man must also be holy; otherwise there can be no affinity between God and man: no adaptation to each other’s society. Therefore, when our first parents by sin lost their holiness of heart, the image of God, they were spoiled for his heavenly society. They dreaded his approach, and hid with fear and trembling when they heard his voice, Having now become unholy, his holiness drove them out from his presence. And let it here be remembered that heaven on high is filled with the holiness and presence of God, and it is the utmost folly and delusion to cherish a hope of entering into its ineffable glory, unless made perfect and spotless in holiness before God. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” But, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

For this great object was the church established here on earth. She is the mountain of God’s own holiness, and her plane of moral perfection is the plane of heaven. She is all one “family in heaven and earth,” so that all who are in fellowship with her, are in fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3), and are consequently fitted for the enjoyment of all the holy society of heaven. The church of the living God is paradise restored on earth, a “new creation”; and no person can enter save through salvation from all sin; and no person can remain in the church when ceasing to be holy, no more than Adam and Eve could remain in Eden after corrupted by sin. As their own sin made the presence of God unendurable, and necessarily drove them out, so “every branch in Christ that bringeth not forth good fruit, the Father taketh away.” There are then no unholy branches in the Christ vine. “For if the first-fruit [Christ] be holy; . . . so are the branches.” Rom. 11:16.

Persons belonging to the different religious organizations which men have founded, it is said, ought to be holy; but all the members of God’s church are holy. When men are judged unworthy of membership in any modern sect, it is in the power of its rulers, by some course prescribed in their discipline, to expel such. But men becoming unfit for membership in the body of Christ, are already without the same. God’s church is self-adjusting. “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.” “He that committeth sin is of the devil.” 1 John 3:6, 8. By the act of sinning he transforms himself from the family of God to the family of Satan. Therefore, as the root is holy so are also the branches. It is not said that they ought to be holy, which would admit the possibility of unholy branches, but they are holy. Therefore the unholy are not branches at all.

The chief end of man’s existence is to worship the Lord. But how must a holy God be worshiped? Ans.—“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Psa. 29:2. “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him all the earth.” Psa. 96; 9. The same in substance is required by the Savior in the absolute demand, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Since God’s church is on the plane of spiritual worship to God, it is holy in his sight.

The church is also seen to be holy unto God, because he walks in the midst of her. “Where two or three meet in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” “And I will manifest myself unto you as I do not unto the world.” These and similar statements, show a social communion between God and his people in the new Jerusalem, which is the church of the first-born; and holiness is just as essential to enjoy the society of God, as it was when its loss drove Adam and Eve from his presence.

But still more strikingly does the holiness of God’s church on earth appear when we consider it as the actual dwelling place of God. “In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.” “As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them.” Can any person conceive of God dwelling in any other but a holy temple? Nay, “The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:17. Neither can a few unholy ones pass under cover of the general holiness of others. Had there been a thousand holy men in Eden, they would have intensified rather than decreased, the fire of God’s holy presence, and would have made the place all the more unendurable to the sinner. So no hypocrite can smuggle himself into the awful temple of God’s presence. Without holiness of heart, “God is a consuming fire.” “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Psa. 1:5. There never was, nor ever can be a sinner or unholy person in the church, which is the body of Christ. Such characters may, and do assemble with the church, and may seek to pass for members of the body, and where the church is deficient in discerning, such may actually pass undetected, and yet they are not in the church.

This must be apparent to all when we consider what constitutes membership in any society. First, the conditions, and process of becoming a member must be met; and, second, the name entered on the roll of membership. Therefore the class-book of any sect decides who are and who are not its members. No matter how much a man may affirm his membership, if not in their book his claim is false. And no difference how vile a character may be, if his name stands on their book he is a member, even though the society be ashamed to confess the fact. Now it is by these same two tests that we define membership in God’s church. First, all must have entered through Christ, the only door, and by the process of salvation (John 10:9; Eph. 2:18); for there is no other possible admittance. Second, he must have his name in the Lamb’s book of life; for there is no other enrollment of the names of all the household of God. Therefore, no one can enter except by salvation, and all that are thus born of God do not commit sin, but are “holy brethren”; and, furthermore, no sinner or hypocrite has deceived God, and has his name written down in heaven; and whosoever committeth sin and does not continue to overcome, his name is blotted out of the book of life. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” Ex. 32:33. But, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.” Rev. 3:5. There are then no sinners continued on the book of God’s church, nor anyone who is overcome by the devil, or any evil agent. Not an unholy member in the church of God. She is a “spiritual house, an holy priesthood”; “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” 1 Pet. 2:5, 9. Yea, saith her Lord, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” S. of Sol. 4:7.

Unchangeableness

Though great and popular counterfeits of the church have been formed on earth, which are very mutable in all their elements; and though it is also true that the real membership of God’s church may increase and decrease in numbers, and during the middle ages they were trodden down, and so worn-out by the persecuting powers of darkness, that but few remained on earth to keep alive the holy seed: yea, and though it be also true that the truth itself, and nearly all the doctrine and principles of the church of the living God, were trodden under foot by the adversary and almost entirely hidden out of sight beneath the traditions and inventions of men, yet it still remains true that every doctrinal element of the divine structure is eternal and unchangeable. Many factious bodies have arisen since Christ purchased and founded his holy community, but, “The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things.” Jer. 51:19. The fold of Christ is the same thing on earth to-day that she was before the first “molten image” of sectism was evolved from strife and spiritual ignorance. We have seen that God is the builder and maker of the church; and the wise man says, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”

Eccl. 3:14, 15.

It looks indeed as if these words were placed on record to rebuke all the founders of new sects, and inventors of new creeds. Also to vindicate the unchangeable church of God. The law of Moses was given for a temporal purpose, and for a limited time. “It was added because of transgressions [to restrain sinful deeds], till the seed should come.” Gal. 3:19. That seed is Christ, ver. 16. So the whole law system was only to remain until Christ came, and it was supplanted by the new covenant, the law of Christ. But while it was in force no man could set it aside, add to, or take from it. But the Christian system constitutes the law of the kingdom of God which shall “stand forever”; therefore, it “shall be forever.” An attempt to change one word of it is sure death to the soul. Even the pope with all his boasted power, is unable to change the eternal laws of the kingdom of heaven, though he shall “think to change times and laws.” Dan. 7:25. No power short of the throne of God can change one thing in the divine church. “Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it. . . . That which hath been [in the church at the beginning] is now; and that which is to be [in the church in all future time and eternity] hath already been [in it from the beginning]; and God requireth that which is past.” The same self-denial, and repentance, and utter forsaking of all sin, that were conditions of entering the church at the beginning must be met to-day. The same experience of entire sanctification and holy character demanded then is yet required and fully provided for in God’s church. “No man can serve two masters” now, any more than when Christ uttered the saying; although Satan has deceived the mass of sectarian professors into the false notion that they can serve sin and Christ right along together—sin daily in word, thought, and deed, and yet be Christians. But the Book has not changed, and it is still true that “he that committeth sin is of the devil.”

The same purity, unity, glory and power and perfect peace that God put in his church, are yet there, though only appropriated by few men on earth. The same miraculous gifts that the Lord set in the body have never been taken out. Gifts of wisdom and knowledge, healing and discerning of spirits, and the gift of casting out devils, these are all yet in the church, notwithstanding the teaching of all sectism to the contrary. Finding not these gifts in their bodies, they have all taught the people that God has recalled them. But he had never promised to set in men’s structures what he has placed in his own church. But since we have returned from Babylon to the heavenly Jerusalem we find the precious gifts all yet remaining in it, and awaiting the faith once delivered to the saints to grasp and develop them into use. There is not one non-essential incorporated into the Word of God, nor yet one element that was to drop out after the death of the apostles, or at any subsequent time.

The inspired apostle Paul, speaking of the New Testament ordinances, said to the Corinthians: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread,” etc. 1 Cor. 11:23. And in verse 2 he commanded them, saying, “Keep the ordinances, as I delivered them unto you.” So God’s people are not left at liberty to modify one of the ordinances in the least, much less to substitute the sprinkling rite of paganism, and Romanism, for the sacred ordinance of burial with Christ in baptism. And how presumptuous it is to cast away one of the ordinances of Christ, as the largest portion of professors do; or all of them, as the Quakers and a few others do; taking the ridiculous position that the law of Christ met with a revision sometime after the apostles died, and the canon of the Scriptures complete, in which the positive ordinances were left out. How directly opposite to the words of Christ this falsehood! Thus we read: “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” And the command to baptize all who believe in Christ is incorporated in the commission which authorizes the perpetual ministry, and to which is subjoined the promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” So the obligation to administer the ordinance of baptism extends parallel with the commission to preach the gospel to the end of the world; and so of every element of the entire divine system. There is not a mutable factor in it. This fact is clearly established in Jude 3. “Beloved . . . I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly, for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.” The verb “delivered” is in the aorist tense, and therefore denotes that it was “delivered once for all,” as rendered in the Revised Version, and nearly all other translations. If it was delivered once for all, it is therefore unchangeable to the end of time. Even the language of the common version, “once delivered unto the saints” conveys that idea. So we repeat that the church as it stood in its primitive glory, and unity exists unchanged to-day. Amen.

Indestructibility

This element of the church, we wish especially to notice; for upon the erroneous supposition that the church Christ built was entirely destroyed, Mormon fiction has built her house. They argue that the apostasy destroyed the church, hence it became necessary for man to build another; and that under divine inspiration Joseph Smith reestablished the church of God upon earth. But if we can prove that the church of God was never destroyed, but exists to-day, we establish the fact that the Mormons, with all their modern sects, are but human frauds imposed upon the people.

In Daniel 2:44 the New Testament church was prophesied of as a kingdom set up by the God of heaven, “which shall never be destroyed: . . . and it shall stand forever. This accords with the language of Jesus in Matthew 16:18: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” These solemn declarations of Heaven’s truth are sufficient to establish the fact that the church Christ built will stand forever. If the gates of hell could not prevail against it, it exists to-day. Yes, dear reader, that divine temple exists just as solid, and firm, and shines with as much luster and brilliancy as in days of yore. Though it has waded through bloody seas of martyrdom, and for centuries has been largely hid from human view under ecclesiastical rubbish of men, yet it never was destroyed. Never! Earthly kingdoms and governments have passed away; great and mighty changes have been wrought in the earth, but the church of God has marched onward in its course, and now as we near the close of time’s mortal year, it rises above the mists and fogs of superstitious night and shines forth in pristine glory as the beautiful rays of the setting sun. It is destined to march onward in its upward flight while the cycles of eternity roll.

Let us briefly view the elements which compose this temple. Christ is its head (Col. 1:18), foundation (1 Cor. 3:11), door (John 10:7, 9), and governor (Isa. 9:6, 7). Its walls are salvation. Isa. 26:1. Its law, the truth. Gal. 6:2. Its bond of union, the love of God. Col. 2:2. Its membership, the saved of all nations. Now then it will be seen at a glance that, to destroy the church, you would have to destroy its foundation (Christ), which the apostle Paul declares “standeth sure”; its head (Christ), who is “alive forevermore”; its door, which “no man can shut”; its law, which “endureth forever”; its walls (salvation); yea, all the people of God who compose it. But since there never has been a time but what God had a people, and all the above elements are eternal, the church of God is indestructible. Its walls of salvation no man can batter down.

But one phase of the church went into apostasy—the people—and not all of them. For there were millions who, rather than bow down and acknowledge the ungodly doctrines of popery, sealed their testimony with their blood. The foundation, head, door, government, unity, purity, etc., of the church never went into apostasy; and in these last days as we come out of apostasy we simply return to those primitive elements again. We come to the same Zion which Christ established in the beginning. The church of God is a spiritual institution. 1 Pet. 2:5 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” Its door of admission is a spiritual door. Jesus says, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” John 10:9. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” 1 Cor. 12:13. Its foundation is spiritual, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 3:11. “That spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10:4.

Thus we cover every specification of the New Testament church and find it wholly divine, spiritual, and eternal. Therefore, it is utterly impossible for men to build an organization like it, because they cannot manufacture spiritual things. This church is the finest organism the world has ever seen. It is truly worthy of God himself. It is his temple, in which he dwells; therefore, there is nothing so august as this church, seeing it is the temple of God. Nothing so worthy of reverence, seeing God dwells in it. Nothing so ancient, since it existed before all modern religious sects. And, thank God! there is nothing so solid, since Jesus is its only foundation and it is declared to be the pillar and ground of the truth. There is nothing more closely united and indivisible, since all hearts are knit together by the perfect love of God, and Christ is its cornerstone. Nothing more lofty, since it reaches as high as heaven. Nothing so regular and well proportioned, since Christ and the Holy Spirit are the architects. Nothing so beautiful, since it is adorned with Christ’s holiness. Nothing so brilliant, since Christ is its light. Nothing so strong, since salvation is its walls and bulwarks. There is no institution in the world so spacious, since it is spread over the whole world, and takes in all who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. No institution so spiritual, since all its members are living stones, animated and inhabited by the Holy Spirit. No institution so lasting, since it is destined to stand forever. In it the poor, the wretched, and distressed of every nation find shelter. It is the place where God does his marvelous works, where he is to be sought and found, and worshiped. Such is the sanctuary of the New Testament. She is a strong tower, into which we have run and are safe.

THE CONQUESTS AND VICTORIES OF THE CHURCH OF GOD

Having viewed the primitive church in its brilliant glory and beauty, we will now trace it through its many conquests and victories throughout the entire Christian era, until it is caught up to explore and enjoy the celestial world of light and bliss. These great conquests and victories through which the church was to pass are beautifully portrayed in prophecy and Revelation. The prophets with a few strokes of their pencil, and a few dashes of their pen spoke volumes to us. “Whoso readeth, let him understand.” The kingdom of Christ is represented as one of constant conquest and victory. Christ reigns while his enemies are being conquered: “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” 1 Cor. 15:25. In the very opening of the plan of redemption, Christ is seen upon a white horse: and he had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Rev. 6:1, 2. This white horse denotes the purity of His church or kingdom. A bow in his hand signifies that he is a warrior: and such he is declared to be in the same book of symbols: “In righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Rev. 19:11. A crown was given him. This proves that Christ had begun his reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. He went forth conquering, and to conquer. Christ the King of heaven was never to lose a battle. His mission was to conquer; hence, he went forth conquering. This represents the glorious victories gained

in the early morning of the Christian era; Christ conquering the nations through his pure church. Not only is Christ seen in the form of a warrior rushing to battle, but the whole church was seen: “Looking forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” S. of Sol. 6:10.

We will first consider her victory over sin, death, and Satan, the prince of darkness.

Over Sin, Death, And Satan, The Prince of Darkness

Man originally was a king, and reigned over the whole world. It lay prostrate at his feet He held the dominion. But through the subtlety of the old serpent, man was robbed of his kingdom and became a servant; was brought under bondage. Satan became prince of this world and held dominion over all mankind. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” We are further told that “death reigned from Adam to Moses.” Rom. 5:12, 14. The gloomy pall of spiritual death hung over all the world. Even Moses’ law could not give life, for Paul tells us, “If a law had been given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.” The fact is, spiritual life was never obtained from the time Adam fell until Christ announced to the world, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Since, therefore, spiritual death hung over all, it follows that all were under the dominion of sin; and so testifies the apostle that “God hath concluded all under sin.” In that dispensation it was said, “There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” “There is no man that sinneth not.” “For the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins.” “The law made nothing perfect” Therefore they

were required to offer sacrifices “year by year continually,” and a remembrance was made “of sins every year.”

This all being true the reader can better understand why Satan was called the “Prince of this world.” He held the dominion over mankind. They never were fully delivered from his tyrannical rule. But Christ the King of heaven came to earth to restore to man “the first dominion.” He set up the kingdom of heaven in direct opposition to the kingdom of darkness. He began by saving men from their sins, and “healing all that were oppressed of the devil.” This caused Satan’s kingdom to fall “like lightning.” By the giving of his life, and his triumphant resurrection from the grave, Christ conquered death, sin, and hell, bringing salvation, life, and immortality to light, and extended the same freely to all. Hear his own words: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Mat. 28:18. “Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.” The prince of this world (Satan) was cast out (John 12:31), and Christ was raised up “a Prince and a Savior” (Acts 5:31); “Prince of the kings of the earth.” Rev. 1:5. This same power he gave to the church: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” Luke 10:19. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God.” Rev. 1:5, 6. Thus we see the prince of darkness dethroned and Christ and his church reigning over him. Yea, they reigned over the world, over sin and diseases. On thrones of love the whole church sat “a royal priesthood,” saved through the blood of Christ. Thus was “the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom” given to the saints, or the church, and her first great victory was won. We will now follow her through the various great conflicts with ecclesiastical powers, and with admiration view her at last as a mighty redeemed host, with

palms in their hands standing before the throne, more than conquerors through him that loved us. The first of these was

Paganism Under the Roman Power

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched his armies to Jerusalem, destroyed the city and house of God, took the vessels of the temple, and the remaining Jews, and carried them away captive. This occurred B. C. 606. Among the captives carried to Babylon was one Daniel, who especially was endued with wisdom from on high. In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had a remarkable dream. In his dream he saw a great image. Being an idolater, an image was an object that would at once command his attention and respect. But the thing went from him; therefore, he called all the magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers, but none could reveal or interpret the dream. Finally God revealed the matter to Daniel, who made known to the king his dream as follows:

“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” Dan. 2:31-35.

These five short verses open one of the most sublime chapters of human history. It is so comprehensive that the real period which it covers, beginning more than twenty-five centuries ago, reaches from that far distant point past the rise and fall of kingdoms, past the setting up and overthrow of empires, past cycles and ages, over into the eternal state—yes, to all eternity. First, in the vision, are brought to view four universal monarchies, which ruled in succession in ancient times. The first of these is represented by the head of gold, interpreted by the prophet as follows: “Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. . . . Thou art this head of gold.” ver. 37, 38.

By this we understand that the Chaldean kingdom is what the head of gold represented. It was a golden kingdom in a golden age. Babylon, its metropolis, lay in the garden of the East. The city lay in a perfect square, fifteen miles on each side. It was surrounded by a wall 350 ft. high and 87 ft. thick. It had one hundred and fifty gates of solid brass. Its hanging gardens were a wonderment. This city contained many things which were wonders of the world, but the city itself was the greatest wonder of its time. It was in this city, by the rivers of Babylon, that the Israelite captives sat down and wept, when they remembered Zion. Said they, “We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” Psa. 137:1-4. I presume it is safe to say that never before did the earth see a city like this; and since has it never seen its equal. With the earth prostrate at her feet, she sat, “The glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency.” Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar, in the prime of life, its ruler, when the Israel captives entered its impregnable walls to serve for seventy years.

While Babylon was founded by Nimrod over two thousand years before Christ, it did not enter the field of prophecy until connected with the people of God, which was about 606 B. C. Here the head of gold began in history and continued until 538 B. C., when, during the reign of Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom fell into the hands of the Medes and Persians. See

Dan. 5. The Medo-Persian kingdom is what the “beast and arms of silver” represented, interpreted by Daniel as follows: “And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee.” ver. 39. It was not inferior in power, nor in the extent to which it carried its conquests; for Cyrus erected the most extensive empire that up to that time had ever existed. But it was far inferior in wealth, luxury, and magnificence. But the Medo-Persian kingdom was finally overthrown and conquered by the Grecians. This occurred about

286 B. C.

The Grecian empire is what the “belly and thighs of brass” represented, interpreted by Daniel as “a third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” ver. 39. The conquests of Grecia under Alexander have no parallel in historic annals for suddenness and rapidity. The “legs of iron” and “feet part of iron, and part of clay,” Daniel interprets to be the “fourth kingdom,” both in its strong and divided condition, ver. 40-43.

A careful reading of verses 41, 42 will show that the feet, part of iron and clay are termed “the kingdom” though divided. This was Rome. Thus far in this vision the image represents four universal kingdoms; viz., Babylon, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold.” ver. 44, 45.

This language is so clear that it would seem impossible to misunderstand it. “In the days of these kings”—kingdoms. But four kingdoms are seen in the image. But four are spoken of in the interpretation thereof. In their days, or, before they pass off the field of action, the God of heaven would set up his everlasting kingdom. While they yet held the dominion, the stone would be cut out and smash them to pieces. Ah, beloved reader, how wonderful the fulfilment! It was when Rome, the fourth of the above kingdoms, had reached the summit of its glory and power; when its domain was so large that it was denominated “all the world” (Luke 2:1); and Augustus Caesar was an absolute sovereign, ruling over three hundred millions of people, that a little babe was born in the town of Bethlehem of Judea; whose infant wailings, no doubt, were mingled with the lowing of oxen, and the bleating of lambs, but who established a kingdom, which, without fagot or sword, without war and bloodshed, with no weapons but the gospel of Christ, the blood of the Lamb, and burning testimony, marched onward with conquering power, until the heathen kingdoms of darkness went crashing to pieces before it. The lion-hearted rulers of nations handed over their scepters to the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” whose throne is forever and ever; and a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of his kingdom. Heb. 1:8. In fulfilment of Daniel’s prophecy, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.” Mark 1:14, 15. The dispensation of the glorious gospel of infinite mercy, and manifestation of eternal truth by Jesus Christ, was now to fully open up to all mankind. This is called a kingdom because it has laws, all the moral precepts of the gospel: its subjects, all who believe in Christ Jesus: and its king, the Sovereign of heaven and earth.

From the above scripture we learn four things: First, everything that is done is according to a plan laid by divine wisdom, and never performed till the time appointed is filled up. Second, that the kingdom and reign of sin were to be destroyed, and the kingdom of grace and heaven established in their place. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” “Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are . . . under grace.” Third, that the kingdom of God and his reign by grace begins with repentance of past sins. Fourth, that this reign of grace is at hand, and began with Christ’s ministry, when the time was announced “fulfilled.” And now, nothing but an obstinate perseverance in sin and impenitence can keep a soul out of it; and that now is the time to enter in.

Christ came to establish his church, of which he is the everlasting head and governor. He set up a government and kingdom which is eternal. Revolutions may destroy the kingdoms of earth, but the gates of hell and death shall never be able to destroy the church or kingdom of Christ. His is the only dominion that shall never have an end. In the language of Dr. A. Clark, “The kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory form the endless government of Christ.” This was the stone which smote the image upon its feet, and broke them to pieces. And, as portrayed in this prophecy, pagan Rome finally was broken to pieces under the iron rod of the gospel of Christ, and fell A. D. 476.

That iron kingdom which once ruled the earth crumbled to pieces under the fire of gospel truth and holiness, and the church of God triumphed. Christianity became the fifth universal kingdom. Rome was the last of earthly kingdoms that ever swayed universal authority, or ever will. But Christ’s kingdom is universal. The uttermost parts of the earth is his possession. In every nation are to be found disciples of Christ. His rule extends to all the earth. Kings and magistrates bow before him and do him homage.

Before passing from this prophecy we shall take a little space to consider the erroneous position of millennialism. They argue that as the ten toes of the image represent the ten divided kingdoms of Rome, these were the kingdoms to be in existence when Christ would set up his everlasting kingdom; and since none of those ten kingdoms were in existence when Christ appeared in his first advent, they conclude that the establishment of Christ’s kingdom is yet future. I shall now prove their position false for the following reasons:

1. The ten toes are not called kingdoms in the prophecy. The legs, feet, and toes are all summed up in this prophecy as “the kingdom”—the “fourth kingdom.” ver. 40-43. Only the four universal monarchies—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome are called kingdoms. The image, as a whole, represents these four. They are called kingdoms. “And in the days of these kings [kingdoms]” the God of heaven was to set up his everlasting kingdom; that is, during their reign; before they passed off the field of action. While they yet held dominion, as before proved, this was fulfilled by the coming of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom, or church, during the reign of Rome. Christianity fulfilled the prophecy in smashing to pieces these heathen powers.

2. The time cannot reach to Christ’s second coming, for none of the original ten kingdoms are now in existence. Three of them fell under popery. Dan. 7:8, 20, 24. They have all long since passed away. There are in existence today probably twenty fragments of those original kingdoms, but the toes of the image are no more.

3. The image Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream, was evidently a well proportioned man. His toes were the proper size. But millennialism would say that Nebuchadnezzar saw a man with toes longer than the man. Let us measure that image from the crown of his head to his toes. The Babylonian kingdom represented by the head of gold came into prophecy about 600 B. C. The first of the ten kingdoms of Rome was formed about A. D. 356. This was the Huns. This would make in all 956 years. So the whole image measured less than one thousand years, till we reach the toes. Now if those toes still exist, as foolish millenarians suppose, till the present year 1902, they would measure over 1,500 years. That would make a man with toes 500 years longer than the man. Such are the absurdities of those who believe in a future literal kingdom to be established upon earth.

4. The stone struck the image upon his feet. But since there is no longer feet or toes of that image left, the kingdom of God is already established. When set up by Christ it was a small stone, but it began to roll onward, and finally became so great that, when Rome became brittle, Christianity struck her such an awful blow that she flew to pieces.

5. All the New Testament scriptures teach that the kingdom was set up at Christ’s first advent. See Mark 1:14, 15; John 18:36, 37; John 1:49; John 12:12-15; Luke 19:37, 38; Mat. 21:4, 5; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 1:5; Eph. 1:20-22; Heb. 1:7, 8; Heb. 4:16; Luke 17:20-22; Rom. 14:17; Rev. 1:5, 6; Rom. 5:17; Luke 16:16; Mat. 3:12; Mat. 4:17; Mat. 11:12; Mat. 12:28; Mark 12:34; Mat. 16:28; Luke 9:27; Mark 9:1; Col. 1:13; Rev. 1:9. These twenty-six positive texts, with many more, are surely a sufficient apology for us not accepting the false doctrine of a future kingdom upon earth. The only kingdom yet future is the everlasting kingdom of glory above, which we shall enter when time is no more.

This same conflict and victory of the church over paganism under the Roman power is beautifully portrayed in the book of Revelation. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Rev. 12:1-6.

Prior to this John saw a door opened in heaven, and heard a voice, saying, “Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” He says, “And immediately I was in the Spirit.” Rev. 4:1, 2. This explains such expressions as, There appeared a great wonder in heaven, and, There was war in heaven, etc. John, while in the Spirit, saw in symbol; or in other words, there passed before him a panorama of visions, of great events which were to take place upon the earth. He saw in heaven, in vision, what would take place upon earth in reality. The woman here described represents the true church of God—the bride of Christ—in her primitive unity and purity. The blessed union which exists between Christ and his people is explained by the term marriage. This is true both of our present spiritual union with Christ, and our future eternal union with him. The whole church is in Scripture termed “the Lamb’s wife,” “the bride of Christ,” etc. She was “clothed with the sun,” a striking emblem of Jesus Christ—the “Sun of righteousness,” the light and glory of the church.

The church was clothed with his righteousness, which is represented in the same apocalypse by “pure linen, clean and white.” Rev. 19:8. She was clothed with his holiness, with the beautiful garments of salvation. The result was that she was a pure church. She was clothed with his power; for to her he said: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” Thus she was equipped to battle the hosts of hell, and this power was manifest in the salvation of sinners, the sanctification of believers, and the healing of the sick of all manner of diseases. She was clothed with his authority and judgments. The result was that “with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” “And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.”

“And upon her head a crown.” Ah! she sat a queen. Her husband, the glorious Lord, is the king of heaven—“King of kings, and Lord of lords.” He ascended on high, “crowned with glory and honor,” and now reigns a monarch over earth and sky. But his wife—the church—shares this royal honor. With the same glory which the Father crowned him, he crowned her. “And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them.” She shares his reign in the kingdom of peace. A crown upon her head. She reigns with Christ over sin, Satan and the world. “He died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.” And to the church it is said: “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” Jesus testified that “all power in heaven and in earth is given unto me.” And to the church he gave “power over all the power of the enemy. “He testifies: “I have overcome the world.” And we read that “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.” Thus, beloved reader, “The Kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven was given to the saints of the Most High.”

The twelve stars in her crown represent the twelve apostles of the Lamb. These adorned her fair brow. Her travail in birth and pain to be delivered represent the earnest labor of the early church for the salvation of the world. The fruit of matrimony is offspring. The object of our marriage to Christ is that we may bring forth fruit unto God. Rom. 7:1-4. Like a true wife, the church joined heart and soul with him in the great cause which drew him to the earth. The whole church is a unit made up of “workers together with God” in the salvation of lost souls. Both “the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” “As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

It is said that she “brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” The question before us now, is, what does this man child represent? Many expositors suppose it refers to Christ. But for the following reasons it cannot: The woman here referred to is the New Testament church. This church labors and pains to be delivered, and suddenly brings forth this child. Christ is not a child of the church of God. She is not his mother. He is her founder, and husband, the Father of this child. The prophet calls him “the everlasting Father.” Since it cannot refer to Christ, we shall clearly prove that it refers to the great and mighty host of children brought forth by the pristine church. This man child is clearly defined in the prophecy of Isaiah as follows:

“Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” Isa. 66:7-13.

Here is the same man child seen in Revelation 12. The same is declared to be ‘a nation of children born at once,’ “in one day” “She [Zion] was delivered of a man child.” In surprise the prophet exclaims: “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation he born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” This is clear. A nation of children born suddenly constitutes the man child who was to rule the nations with a rod of iron. This child sucks the breasts of her consolations, and milks out, and is delighted with the abundance of her glory; is borne upon her sides, and dandled upon her knees. What does this refer to but new-born babes, who desire the sincere milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby? 1 Pet. 2:2. Paul said to some of these “babes in Christ,” “I have fed you with milk.” 1 Cor. 3:1-3. Was not this fulfilled in the early church? While Zion (one hundred and twenty in number) was in travail in an upper room in Jerusalem, they suddenly brought forth, and a nation of three thousand children were born into the family in one day. In a few days the number of children increased to about ten thousand. It was but a little while until the

number increased to hundreds of thousands. At an early date the church at Antioch alone numbered one hundred thousand. A great and mighty nation of children born at once; born unto Zion.

But why is this called a man child? It will be observed in Ephesians 2:15 that the host of Jews and Gentiles born unto the church of God, made one in his blood, reconciled unto God in one body, constitute “one new man.” This is the man child, just as the great apostate church is termed the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2. But it may be objected that this child was to rule the nations. True; and so did this host. It was prophesied of them by Daniel, “But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” Dan. 7:18. The Lord himself applies the foregoing language to his people in Revelation 2:26, 27: “And he that overcometh . . . to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.” “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4.

This represents the glorious triumph of the early church. The breaking of the nations into shivers, and ruling them with a rod of iron, is the same as the stone of Daniel 2 breaking in pieces and consuming the brass, iron, silver, and gold, until no place was found for them. Those heathen nations were consumed before the onward march of Christianity. The iron rod of the gospel broke them to pieces.

But it is said that John saw another wonder—“A great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” This dragon represents Rome under the pagan religion. Rome was truly a dragon power. Its color—red—denotes its blood-thirstiness. Its seven heads are elsewhere explained a follows: “The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”

Rev. 17:9. This, no doubt, refers to the seven hills which support the city of Rome. Rome is built on seven mountains. Since this city was the seat of pagan government, this power sat on seven mountains.

But the seven heads of this power are further explained to mean something else as well. “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” Rev. 17:10. These were the seven supreme forms of government which ruled the empire. They were as follows: the regal power, the dictatorship, the decemvirate, the consular, the triumvirate, the imperial, and the patriciate. At the time John wrote the book of Revelation, the first “five were fallen.” He says, “One is.” The sixth head, or that which existed in John’s time, was the imperial head under the Caesars. The seventh head, John says, “Is not yet come;” had not yet appeared in John’s time. When it would come it was to continue but “a short space.” This was the patriciate. It ruled the empire only about fifty-one years. A further exposition of this will be given farther on in this chapter.

The ten horns of the dragon represent the ten kingdoms which grew out of the Roman empire. Rev. 17:12. They were the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Franks, the Vandals, the Suevi, the Burgundians, the Heruli, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Lombards. The tail of the dragon signifies the latter end of his reign. The casting down of the stars, doubtless, refers to the thousands of bright luminaries who were martyred during the reign of paganism; for it is said that the dragon stood before the woman to devour her child as soon as it was born. How awfully true! Just as fast as men accepted the Christian faith the pagans were ready to devour them. Such were the bloody days of the church under pagan Rome. But Christianity spread so rapidly, and the gospel had such a crushing effect that Rome finally tottered and fell.

But what became of that holy nation—the great host of saints, who were marching onward victorious over every foe? Aye, they suddenly disappeared from the earth. The child was caught up to God, and to his throne. They ascended to paradise, while darkness, superstition, and iniquity flooded the earth. The brilliant light of Christianity was eclipsed by the darkness of apostasy.

“The woman fled into the wilderness.” This wilderness signifies the great apostasy into which the church went. It is a fact that the apostasy rapidly developed at the end of the pagan persecutions. However we will consider that more fully later on. The above is one description. Again we are taken over the same ground.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where

she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Rev. 12:7-14.

It has been thought by some that this great conflict took place in the eternal heavens between Beelzebub and Christ; but such a view is very erroneous. To say that the eternal heavens, where purity and holiness reign, was once the scene of war, is preposterous in the extreme. This is to be understood the same as the wonders in heaven. John while in the Spirit saw in vision what took place upon the earth in reality. This great conflict took place in the early morning of the Christian era.

But who is Michael? “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” Jude 9. Jude here calls him the archangel—chief or head of the angelic host. We have but to enquire who this is to have the solution. 1 Peter 3:21, 22—“Jesus Christ, who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” “Again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” Heb. 1:6. Christ then is the archangel, whom Jude terms Michael. Daniel calls Michael “the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people.” Dan. 12:1. This is a clear prophecy of Christ, whom “God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:30, 31. We deem the foregoing sufficient to convince anyone that Michael is the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, when Michael conquered the dragon, the host of heaven sent up a shout to God, because “the power of his Christ” was manifest, ver. 10.

As before proved, the dragon represents paganism, or Rome under the pagan religion. Now, if by the dragon be meant Beelzebub himself, then we are necessarily led to the conclusion that the great apostate spirit is a monster having seven heads and ten horns, and also that he has a tail, with which he drags after him the third part of the stars of heaven. God never created such an angel, nor can it be proved that Satan now has such an appearance. The appellations, “old serpent,” “Devil,” and “Satan” must, therefore, be understood figuratively.

The heathen power was called “that old serpent which deceiveth the whole world,” from its subtlety against the Christians, and its causing almost the whole then known world as far as was in its power to embrace the absurdities of paganism. From its great opposition to the Christian church, it was called Satan, which is a Hebrew word signifying an adversary. It was also called the devil, because its religion was purely of devilish origin. Paul says that “the things which the Gentiles [heathen nations] sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils; . . . and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye can not drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils.” 1 Cor. 10:20, 21. It is a fact that the early Christians called the pagan power the devil; and they rightly named it, for it was the principal agent through which the old fiend deceived the world, and opposed the church of God in primitive days.

At the ushering in of this gospel dispensation, paganism was the universal religion. Rome held universal sway. Even the Jews as a nation, with a few exceptions had accepted it; forsaking the God of their fathers, they worshiped idols. Paganism held the highest position on earth when Christ appeared to save the world. But he who is called Michael, because he is like God, and his angels (messengers—holy ministry) waged war against this dragon in his high places. Being victorious he proved to the world that heathenism

had no right to such a high seat. Therefore Christ cast him down, and set his kingdom up instead.

It is said that “the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not.” This refers to the bitter opposition heathen Rome waged against Christianity. His angels refer to the advocates, and adherents of paganism. Heathenism and Christianity stood in direct opposition. But, thank God, “the great dragon was cast out;” Christianity prevailed.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Here is given the reason why the followers of Christ prevailed at this time against all their adversaries. It was because they fought against the dragon in the armor of God. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,” by proclaiming salvation to sinners through Christ crucified, and by their continual intercessions at the throne of grace for the conversion of the heathen world. All this they did at the peril of their lives. Never before in the history of the world was a kingdom established with such conquering power. Never did an army go forth with such weapons of warfare. Rome fought with the sword, cross, fagot, and wild beasts of the earth. The Christians’ only weapons were the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony. They testified the gospel of Christ where ever they went. The Roman hosts fought with swords of steel, while the Christians fought with the sword of the Spirit. Thank God! “they overcame.” When the pagans took a Christian to the stake, and the flames were taking his life away, he testified that the blood of Jesus saved him. The Christians never lifted their hands in rebellion, but submitted calmly to death, testifying to salvation through the blood. The testimony of one Christian in death’s hour would often convert a large number of pagans. Thus the blood of the Lamb set forth in testimony slaughtered more pagans than it was possible to slaughter Christians. The time came when the Christians far outnumbered the pagans and they threw down their arms and desired admittance into the church.

Had not an apostasy taken place, the world would have been swept to God. Christianity prevailed. That stone smote the image and broke it to pieces. Rome tottered and finally fell A. D. 476. When Christianity thus prevailed the hosts of heaven and earth were heard to shout, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ.” This is a song of triumph of the Christian church over heathen idolatry, and is very expressive of the great joy of the Christians upon this most stupendous event. John heard this in heaven, but in reality it took place upon earth.

This great rejoicing of the early church was because the accuser of the brethren was cast down, which accused them day and night. Whenever famine, pestilence, or any other calamity befell the pagans, they accused the Christians for it. If a fire broke out in their city, the blame was laid on the Christians, and they were slaughtered by the thousand. No wonder there was a shout of joy when that power was broken.

It is further said that when the dragon found himself cast out, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. This refers to the pagan persecutions. When Rome saw her religion crumbling under the increasing light of Christianity she tried to save herself by slaughtering the Christians. But where one saint sealed his testimony with his blood, ten took his place. Watch-fires were kindled in every land, and finally Rome went to pieces.

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Rev. 12:14. This wilderness is the same as that of verse 6, which refers to the great apostasy of the church. This same great conflict and victory of the church over paganism is brought to view in Revelation 20:

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” ver. 1-3.

This scripture, no doubt, has been more speculated upon than any other in the Bible. It is used as a foundation for all the multiplied absurdities and diversities of false doctrines respecting a fancied millennium future. Many precious men and women, in order to prop up a corrupt theory, in their blind zeal will set aside the plain testimony of New Testament scripture and literalize this text. But no such thing is hinted at as a future literal reign upon earth. If the reader will closely compare Revelation 20:1-3 with Revelation

12:7-11 he will observe that the same event is referred to. The angel which came down from heaven is Michael, the archangel—the Lord Jesus Christ. He had the key of the bottomless pit; for he testifies, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Rev. 1:18. The language of this text is highly figurative. The dragon here referred to is the same as that in Revelation 12; viz., pagan Rome. There is but one dragon brought to view in the book of Revelation, the dragon with seven heads and ten horns. 12:3. That dragon represents Rome

under the pagan religion. The appellations, “Devil, and Satan,” are applied to this hellish power both in Revelation 12 and 20.

We have before observed why these terms were applied to paganism. Because its religion was purely of devilish origin, and because it was the chief instrument through which the devil deceived the whole then known world. When this power ruled the earth, and its religion was universal, Christ the archangel came down from heaven, set up his everlasting kingdom in direct opposition to this dragon power, and with the great chain of his eternal gospel he bound the religion of paganism and hurled it from its lofty position to the great abyss from which it emanated.

The one thousand years signify the long period of time when paganism as a religion was largely extinct. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” Rev. 20:4. John saw this after the angel came down, and while he was binding the dragon. Like Revelation 12:10, this refers to the triumph of the early church over heathen darkness; the glory of Christ’s kingdom before the apostasy. Through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit multitudes were raised up from a dead state in sins to life in Christ. This great host thus quickened into life in the clear morning of the Christian era, composed the first great spiritual resurrection. Through full salvation they were made kings and priests unto God; and sitting upon thrones of love they reigned “in life” over sin, Satan, and disease. Judgment was given to them. This refers to the righteous judgments of God which filled the early church. Thus, in brief, we trace the church through her first great conflict with ecclesiastical powers, and behold her sweep onward with triumph over all her foes. As we follow her to the end of the world, we give a history of events which should awaken a deep interest in the minds and hearts of all.

“No one takes much interest in the history of the world before the coming of Christ. The old dynasties of Babylon, Media, Assyria, are but dim specters lost in the remoteness of the long forgotten past. Though the Christian lingers with solemn pleasure over the faintly revealed scenes of patriarchal life, still he feels but little personal interest in the gorgeous empires which rise and disappear before him in those remote times, in spectral visions, like the genii of an Arabian tale. Thebes, Palmyra, Nineveh—palatial mansions once lined their streets, and pride and opulence thronged their dwellings: but their ruins have faded away, their rocky sepulchers are swept clean by the winds of centuries; and none but a few antiquarians now care to know of their prosperity and adversity; of their pristine grandeur and their present decay.

“All this is changed since the coming of Christ. Nineteen centuries ago a babe was born in the stable of an inn, in the Roman province of Judea. The life of that babe has stamped a new impress upon the history of the world. When the child Jesus was born, all the then known nations of the earth were in subjection to one government—that of Rome. The Atlantic Ocean was an unexplored sea, whose depths no mariner ever ventured to penetrate. The Indias had but a shadowy and almost fabulous existence. Rumor said, that over the wild, unexplored wastes of interior Asia, fierce tribes wandered, sweeping to and fro, like demons of darkness; and marvelous stories were told of their monstrous aspect and fiend-like ferocity. The Mediterranean Sea, then the largest body of water really known upon the globe, was but a Roman lake. It was the central portion of the Roman empire. Around its shores were clustered the thronged provinces and the majestic cities which gave Rome celebrity above all previous dynasties, and which invested the empire of the Caesars with fame that no modern kingdom, empire, or republic, has been able to eclipse.

“A few years before the birth of Christ, Julius Caesar perished in the senate chamber at Rome, pierced by the daggers of Brutus and other assassins. At the great victory of Pharsalia, Caesar had struck down his only rival, Pompey, and had concentrated the power of the world in his single hand. His nephew Octavius, the second Caesar, surnamed Augustus, or the August, was, at the time Jesus was born, the monarch of the world. Notwithstanding a few nominal restraints, he was an absolute sovereign, without any constitutional checks. It is not too much to say that his power was unlimited. He could do what he pleased with the property, liberty, and the life of every man, woman, and child of more than three hundred millions, composing the Roman empire. Such power no mortal had ever swayed before. Little did this Roman emperor imagine, as he sat enthroned in his gorgeous palace upon the Capitoline Hill, that a babe slumbering in a manger at Bethlehem, an obscure hamlet in the remote province of Syria, and whose infant wailings perhaps blended with the bleating of the goats or the lowing of the kine, was to establish an empire, before which all the power of the Caesars was to dwindle into insignificance.

“But so it was, Jesus the babe of Bethlehem, has become, beyond all others, whether philosophers, warriors, or kings, the most conspicuous being who ever trod this globe. Before the name of Jesus of Nazareth all others fade away. Uneducated, he has introduced principles which have overthrown the proudest system of ancient philosophy. By the utterance of a few words, all of which can be written on half a dozen pages, he has demolished all the pagan systems which pride and passion and power had then enthroned. The Roman god and goddesses—Jupiter, Juno, Venus, Bashus, Diana—have fled before the approach of the religion of Jesus, as fabled specters vanish before the dawn. Jesus, the “Son of man” and “Son of God,” has introduced a system of religion so comprehensive, that it is adapted to every conceivable situation in life; so simple, that the most unlearned, and even children, can comprehend it. This babe of Bethlehem; whose words were so few, whose brief life was so soon ended, and whose sacrificial death upon the cross was so wonderful, though dead, still lives and reigns in this world—a monarch more influential than any other, or all other sovereigns upon the globe. His empire has advanced majestically, with ever increasing power, down the path of eighteen centuries.

“The Caesars have perished, and their palaces are in ruins. The empire of Charlemagne has risen, like one of those gorgeous clouds we often admire, brilliant with the radiance of the setting sun; and like that cloud, it has vanished forever. Charles V has marshalled the armies of Europe around his throne, and has almost rivalled the Caesars in the majesty of his sway; and, like a dream, the vision of his universal empire has fled. But the kingdom of Jesus has survived all these wrecks of empires. “Without a palace or a court; without a bayonet or a saber; without any emoluments of rank or wealth or power offered by Jesus to his subjects, his kingdom has advanced steadily, resistlessly increasing in strength every hour, crushing all opposition, triumphing over all time’s changes; so that, at the present moment, the kingdom of Jesus is a stronger kingdom, more potent in all the elements of influence over the human heart, than all other governments of earth.

“There is not a man upon this globe who would now lay down his life from love for anyone of the numerous monarchs of Rome; but there are thousands who would go joyfully to the dungeon or the stake from love for that Jesus who commenced his earthly career in the manger of a country inn, whose whole life was but a scene of poverty and suffering, and who finally perished upon the cross in the endurance of a cruel death with malefactors.

“As this child, from the period of whose birth time itself is now dated, was passing through the season of infancy and childhood, naval fleets swept the Mediterranean Sea, and Roman legions trampled bloodily over subjugated provinces. There were conflagrations of cities, ravages of fields, fierce battles, slaughter, misery and death. Nearly all these events are now forgotten; but the name of Jesus of Nazareth grows more lustrous as the ages roll on.”

Next in order we will consider the dark reign of popery.

Popery

The gospel age is frequently in Scripture termed a day. The Old Testament prophets in speaking of things that would transpire in this dispensation frequently said, “It shall come to pass in that day.” Adam’s transgression had shrouded the whole world in darkness and death. Gloom and despair, misery, sin, and wickedness abounded. Yet as soon as man fell into sin, God schemed a way of escape. A plan of redemption was foreordained through his infinite wisdom and mercy. Ages before that plan was revealed and opened to mankind through his only begotten Son, the Lord cast its shadow upon earth. The law was a shadow of good things to come. It had some glory; some blessed rays of light from heaven shined upon earth, and God spake to man through prophets. Through the priest, man had the privilege of conversing with his Creator and making his desires known. This was a blessed privilege enjoyed by Israel; but that people, to whom was delivered the lively oracles, forsook the God of their fathers, and, as a nation, went into idolatry. This brought the wrath of God upon them, and he answered them no more through prophets. The last prophet through whom God spoke to Israel was Malachi; then came an awful night of about four hundred years upon that favored people. This was prophesied by the prophet Micah: “Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that lead my people astray, that bite with their teeth, and proclaim peace to them; and when nothing was put into their mouth, they raised up war against them: therefore there shall be night to you instead of a vision, and there shall be to you darkness instead of prophecy; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be dark upon them. And the seers of night visions shall be ashamed, and the prophets shall be laughed to scorn: and all the people shall speak against them, because there shall be none to hearken to them.” Micah 3:5-7, LXX.

This was an awful night to Israel. Midnight darkness filled the earth. Men sought in the darkness of that night to find the word of the Lord but could not find it. An awful famine was in the land. But this awful silence of Israel’s night was suddenly broken by “one crying in the wilderness,” and saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The twilight of earth’s most glorious day—the day of salvation—was breaking upon mankind. The Elias—the harbinger of that day—was now preparing the way for Messiah to begin his ministry. The prophets foresaw the ushering in of the gospel dispensation, and spoke of it as a clear morning. Isaiah foretold it in these words: “The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.” Isa. 21:11, 12.

Dumah signifies silence. This was the time of silence from Malachi to Christ. The inquirer asks, “What of the night?” viz., What time of night is it? The watchman cried, “The morning cometh.” This morning refers to the clear morning of the Christian era. “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isa. 60:2, 3. The time of darkness here referred to, that covered the earth and gross darkness the people, was the awful night of Judaism. But it was foreseen that the Lord would arise and his glory be seen. This refers to the ushering in of the better dispensation. The coming of Christ was to be as a beautiful sunrise, and the Gentiles were to come to the brightness of his rising. “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” Mal. 4:2.

In fulfilment of these predictions, Christ came the Sun of righteousness, and ushered in a clear day—the day of salvation. “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring [sunrising, margin] from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78, 79. “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” Mat. 4:16. “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” Luke 2:25-32. “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.” Acts 13:47. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” 2 Pet. 1:19. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Rom. 13:12. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12.

Here are a number of scriptures which clearly show how clear and bright was the dawning of the gospel day. Jesus came like the rising sun, the light of the world. He shed his blessed rays of light and salvation throughout the earth. Sinful darkness gave way to truth and grace. Christ established his church; true holiness adorned her fair brow. Unity and purity were her chief characteristics. Of her he said, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.”

S. of Sol. 4:7. Again, “My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother.” S. of Sol. 6:9. Unity and purity are inseparable. One cannot exist without the other. Holiness is the mainspring of all gospel truth, it is a golden thread which runs all through the New Testament.

As long as true holiness was possessed by God’s people, they were one, and fortified against all apostasy. We read of them on Pentecost that they were all “with one accord in one place.” After the church had multiplied to thousands “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul.” Acts 4:32. The reason of this was “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,” “and great grace was upon them all.” Judgment went forth against sin with such authority that “of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.” “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” Acts 5:11. “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.”

Acts 5:12-16.

Jesus said of the church, “Ye are the light of the world.” Mat. 5:14. Such she was, and her light shone as the bright morning sun. She was a divine, a spiritual institution. But the clear morning glory of the church did not last long. It was foreseen that a great apostasy would come. The early ministers went forth with the knowledge that a long dark night of superstition, error, and persecution lay before them. Jesus had foretold and warned the church to “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Mat. 7:15-20. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Mat. 24:11, 12.

Paul gave the following warning to the church, a prediction of this great reign of deception. “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Acts 20:29-31. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” 1 Tim. 4:1-3. “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” 2 Tim. 4:2, 3.

Peter foretold this time in the following language: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Pet. 2:1-3.

All these texts describe an awful reign of darkness and deception which was to come upon the church; a time when false prophets would deceive many by turning their hearts away from the truth. These false teachers would bring in “damnable heresies,” and many should follow their pernicious ways; and because iniquity would abound, the love of many should wax cold. What an awful picture, and yet how true. The very things predicted came to pass, as we shall hereafter prove. We will next observe that this great apostasy came early in the Christian era.

“The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.” Isa. 63:18. The little while in which God’s people were to possess true holiness was the early morning of the Christian era. Had the church ever retained holiness, there never would have been an apostasy. But by retrograding from this lofty plane she opened the doors to every species of false doctrine and error. The result was the enemies of truth trod down the sanctuary—the church. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.” 2 John 7. “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” 1 John 2:18, 19. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” 2 Thes. 2:7.

From those texts we clearly learn that the way was paved for the reign of antichrist at a very early date. In A. D. 54 the mystery of iniquity was already at work. In A. D. 90 John testified that already many antichrists were working, many false teachers had entered the world, and some had gone out from among them; viz., separated from the established church, and gone off into heresy. It is very clear that at a very early date, true holiness was lost sight of, and the way was being laid for an awful reign of sin and corruption. Many little heresies arose one after another until finally, these ripened into an awful beast power.—This was foretold in the following language: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thes. 2:1-4, 9-12.

It seems that some of the Thessalonian brethren had an idea that the second advent of Christ would take place in their day; but the apostle disabused their minds of that idea, by assuring them that before that day there would come a falling away. What can this mean but an apostasy? a retrogration from the pure apostolic plane? The apostle saw this but a small step before him. This falling away is the same as that predicted in 1 Timothy 4:1-3, where it is said, “Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” Popery was filled with just such spirits and doctrines. The faith once delivered to the saints, was the pure faith of the gospel. Through it men received the remission of sins. “Thy faith hath saved thee.” Believers were sanctified, they received “an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Through faith in the name of Jesus, the sick were healed of all their diseases, the lame were made to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Devils were cast out, and great power and grace rested upon the entire church.

The reader can easily judge what the result was when men fell away from that faith. When they departed from it, they lost all the foregoing blessings from God. It can be seen at once how such a departure and falling away brought darkness, superstition, and all conceivable doctrines of devils into the world. The faith of the gospel teaches “one fold,” “one body”—the body of Christ which is the church—”one mind,” “one heart and soul,” “one doctrine,” etc.; but when men fell away from that blessed state of unity, it became necessary for them to be identified with some other body, enter some other fold, and adhere to contrary doctrines. Thus, it was that an apostate church was organized, and established in the earth. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, is rendered in the Emphatic Diaglott as follows: “Let no one delude you by any means, because the apostasy must come first, and there must be revealed that man of sin, that son of destruction.” “Falling away” is from he apostasia. A similar word is translated “divorcement” in Matthew 5:31; 19:7; Mark 10:4. It means separation.

Before more fully examining this prophecy in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, I will take up this thought briefly: “A falling away [apostasia—separation] first.” The church of God is represented in Scripture as “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” The blessed union between Christ and his people in the beginning of this age is expressed by the term marriage. “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hands of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” Isa. 62:1-5.

The prophet is here speaking of the New Testament church. Zion and Jerusalem are metaphors which signify the church of God. She was to be termed Beulah—married. “Thy land shall be married.” It was foreseen that as a bridegroom rejoiceth over his bride, so God would rejoice over his people. This is a clear prediction of the new covenant church married to Christ. The Gentiles were to help compose this fair bride. As a result of this marriage relation she was to be called “by a new name.” How clear! As soon as marriage is consummated, the woman drops her maiden name, and is called by a new name, the name of her husband. So as soon as we are married to Christ we take his name. After this blessed union, whatever we do in word or deed we “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Col. 3:17.

The wife in order to honor her husband must bear his name. To take upon her any other man’s name is to dishonor her husband, and make herself an adulteress. Just so with the church; in order to honor Christ her husband, she must bear his name. To take upon her any other name is to make her a spiritual adulteress. In the beautiful twilight of this glorious salvation day we hear John saying, “He that

hath the bride is the bridegroom.” John 3:29. He referred to Christ and his church.

Paul speaks of this blessed union, in writing to the Roman brethren, as follows: “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” Rom. 7:1-4.

I will give a little allegory which will explain the above language of the apostle: A woman once married a husband who did not love her. He was very crude and coarse in his manners. He was very rigid. He laid burdens upon her which she was unable to hear. His demands were very unreasonable. Instead of being kind, he would emphasize his demands with, “Thou shalt.” He followed his wife wherever she went, with his hands full of stones, and if she disobeyed him in the least, he was ready to stone her to death.

Reader, do you think that wife had a happy life? Certainly not. But in the course of time that husband died and was buried; and after his death she married another. This second husband loved her; he was kind and affectionate. His demands were reasonable and not grievous. Instead of him emphasizing his demands with “Thou shalt,” he tenderly said, “If you love me you will.” And when she went about her daily work, he joined with her, and was always “a present help in time of need.” Do you think that woman wore crape on her hat after her first husband died? I trow not.

Reader, this is no fable, but the very truth taught in Romans 7. That woman was the Jewish church or people of God under the old dispensation. Her first husband was the law, the ministration of death; but the time came when that husband died, the law was abolished. In late years the Adventists have dug up the decayed carcass, and have married it, yea, are hugging it as their husband. But their supposed husband is dead, while ours is alive forevermore.

After the death of that system the people of God were married to another, even him who was raised from the dead, namely, Jesus Christ. The object of this blessed union is that “we should bring forth fruit unto God,” produce offspring. Millennialists usually contend that the church is not now really married to Christ—only espoused, engaged to be married. If that is true, then all the children of God are bastards and not legitimate children. Thus, it has been discovered by these crafty preachers, that the apostle John was mistaken when he said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” 1 John 3:2. But let God be true.

A careful reading of Ephesians 5 will convince all honest readers that the same relation which exists between Christ and his church, exists between husband and wife. Therefore we repeat, the union between the early church and Christ is clearly expressed by the term marriage. Christ had but one bride; she was chaste and pure.

The apostle foresaw a separation—apostasia. Thus, the apostasy is portrayed in prophecy. It will be remembered that the church was seen in Revelation 12:1 as a woman clothed with the sun, with a crown upon her head adorned with twelve stars. How beautiful was that bride, robed in holiness, in the garments of salvation. She sat a queen. A crown upon her head denoted her royalty. Her husband was the King of heaven and earth; King of kings, and Lord of lords. He was crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9); but he also crowned her with his glory. “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them.” John 17:22. Thus, the church sat and reigned a queen—a kingdom of priests.

But it will be remembered that that fair woman fled into the wilderness. Rev. 12:6, 14. She forsook her husband—Christ—“departed,” and fled into the wilderness. This wilderness signifies the great apostasy into which the church went. She was to remain in this wilderness state “a thousand two hundred and three score days.” ver. 6. This cannot refer to natural days, for it would only cover three and one-half years. Under the law there was a week of seven days and a week of seven years. This was in common use among the Jews. The first account of this will be found in Genesis 29, where Jacob served Laban seven years for Rachel; but when the seven years were fulfilled he gave Jacob Leah, his oldest daughter, instead. This displeased Jacob for he loved Rachel. “And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.” Gen. 29:26-28.

Here it is seen that seven years are called a week. Hence, a day equals a year. This is clearly brought out in Moses’ law. We will here insert a few texts which make this clear.

“After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”

Num. 14:34. “And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.” Ezek. 4:6. We have “each day for a year.” “I have appointed thee each day for a year.”

Applying this rule, the twelve hundred and sixty days in which the church was to remain in the wilderness equal so many years. This period reaches from the time she went into utter darkness till she came out into clearer light. It measures the length of time the papacy was to usurp authority over the people of God. The papacy was substantially set up about 270 A. D. Every history records a rapid decline in all the virtues and glories of the church at that time.

Measuring from this date the 1,260 years reached to 1530 A, D. In that Year the first Protestant creed was formed—the Augsburg Confession in Germany. It is also a fact that at this time the reformation was rapidly spreading, and thousands dropped the doctrines of the papacy, threw off the galling yoke, and came out into clearer light. In Revelation 12:14, the time specified for the church to remain in the wilderness, is called “a time, and times, and half a time.” This wilderness is the same as that in verse 6, hence, the time must be the same. A time signifies a year. See Dan. 4:25, 31-37. Three and one-half times equal three and one-half years, or forty-two months. Counting thirty days to the month we have 1,260 days or years, which extend from 270 A. D. to 1530 A. D. That period covers the reign of Catholicism, the dark night of the Christian era.

Having measured the time when the church was to remain in this wilderness state, we will now view her as portrayed by the pen of inspiration. That pure woman fled into the wilderness. After this John was carried away in the Spirit “into the wilderness.” Rev. 17:3.

This was the same wilderness into which the church went. What did John now see?

“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” Rev. 17:1-6.

Oh, how changed! What a contrast! Before she went into the wilderness she was pure. Now he beholds “a great whore.” Instead of a pure woman, that chaste virgin, he now beholds a woman “with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” She holds a cup full of the “filthiness of her fornication.” This woman is “drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” No wonder when John saw her he “wondered with great admiration.” Before the apostasy she stood upon the moon, the Word of God (12:1). Now she sits “upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” Ah, beloved reader, this woman represents the apostate church. She is the Catholic church. The beast that carried her is imperial Rome under the popes and bishops. This is made clear by the angel’s interpretation of this marvelous vision.

“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but received power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” ver. 7-18.

Here is a full explanation of the mystery. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. This no doubt refers to the city of Rome, built upon seven hills or mountains. Rome was the seat of both the pagan and papal government. Hence, in her, sat this woman and ruled or reigned over the kings of the earth. Thus she sat on seven mountains. But the seven heads have another signification. “And there are seven kings.” These refer to the seven supreme forms of government which the Roman empire had: (1) the regal power, (2) the dictatorship, (3) the decemvirate, (4) the consular, (5) the triumvirate, (6) the imperial, (7) and the patriciate.

These were the ruling powers of the empire. The angel informed John that “five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.” That is, at the time John received this vision, the first five had already fallen. “One is.” The form of government ruling the empire in John’s time was the imperial power of the heathen Caesars. It was the sixth head of Rome. The other “not yet come,” was the patriciate which had not yet developed at John’s time. It was to continue “but a short space.” Adam Clark says, the time the patriciate ruled the empire was limited to forty-five years. Some authorities say fifty-one years. This was a short period compared with the duration of several of the preceding forms of government. This makes the seven heads of the empire.

Next the angel interprets the beast upon which the woman sat: “And the beast that thou sawest was, and is not; . . . behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”  “And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” This beast upon which the woman sat is the eighth head of Rome, and yet was one of the seven. This beast was popery. Popery was the eighth and last head of Rome. But, says one, how was it one of the original seven? The sixth head of the empire was the imperial under the heathen Caesars. This imperial power was the persecuting power of Rome against the early Christians. Imperial Rome ruled the world. Thus “it was” But the time came when the hordes of savages from the North swept the empire and the imperial head was wounded to death. The imperial government was overthrown. This lasted about fifty-one years, and while the imperial head was thus wounded to death, the patriciate ruled the empire. Thus “it was not.”

But a little later this same imperial power revived under a Christian garb. The same power that ruled under the Caesars in heathen garb, though wounded to death for about fifty-one years, revived and ruled under the priests and popes in Christian garb. Thus this beast “was, and is not, and yet is,” and now constitutes the eighth head of Rome. It was the same identical power which ruled under Caesar that ruled under popery—imperial Rome—first in heathen garb, next in Christian garb; but it was the same persecuting power in Christian garb, as it had been in heathen garb. See diagram of Rome, page 276.

As early as A. D. 270 the devil manufactured an apostate church. This apostate institution is what the woman, the great whore, represented. When the old persecuting imperial power revived, it entered this apostate institution and gave it its life under the popes and priests. It became the power that ruled this apostate church. Thus the woman sat upon this scarlet colored beast. This beast was imperial Rome under popes and priests, hence popery. This makes clear how the horns of imperial Rome, under pagan rule, served as the horns of papal Rome. It was the same power clothed in a different garb. These ten horns, as already seen in this chapter, signify the ten divided kingdoms of Rome. These were to “give their power and strength unto the beast.” Thus they became his horns, as well as they had served as the horns of the dragon. The time was to come when these kings would “hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” This no doubt was fulfilled when the very nations who had once supported popery, and constituted her horns, turned against her and sheared her of all her temporal power. Among others, England and Germany effected this, and became the horns or powers which supported Protestantism.

This beast ascended “out of the bottomless pit.” It was of hellish origin. Such is the whole system of popery. It emanated from hell, and “shall go into perdition.” This very beast will finally be “cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Rev. 19:20. “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Rev. 17:18. This is Babylon the great—the Roman Catholic sect. She is the great whore. She is guilty of “the blood of the saints, and the martyrs of Jesus.” History states that she glutted herself with the blood of nearly 50,000,000 saints. The bride of Christ was clothed with the sun. She wore the robes of righteousness. But this woman “was arrayed in purple and scarlet color.” This apostate woman, Christ never acknowledged as his bride. Isaiah speaks thus: “How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.” Isa. 1:21. She forsook her husband—Christ—and corrupted herself and became a harlot—a great whore. This caused the SEPARATION, “apostasia.” She separated herself from Christ, her head. “The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.” But she departed from her living head, and the pope became her head—husband. Thus she committed fornication. She played the harlot.

“For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?”

Jer. 2:20, 21.

“They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.” Jer. 3:1.

“The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.” Jer. 3:6-9, 20.

“Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts. For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.” Hos. 2:2, 5.

While these scriptures were fulfilled in Judah’s and Israel’s apostasy, and had direct reference to that time, they indirectly reach a fulfilment in the apostasy of the church, for Israel was a type of the church. Israel was planted “a noble vine, a right seed.” But she treacherously departed from the Lord, went into open idolatry; committed adultery with stones and stocks. She played the harlot with many lovers, and the land was greatly polluted. For this cause the Lord “put her away, and gave her a bill of divorce.” “Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.” Isa. 50:1.

In the legal dispensation when a man put away his wife he gave her a bill of divorcement. So the Lord uses this language to express the condition of Israel when she forsook him. He no longer recognized her as his wife, or people. This is expressed by divorcement. But in this dispensation divorcing is not recognized. The divorce law was abolished. However, for one certain cause—fornication or adultery—a man can put away his wife—separate. So just as Israel departed from God, “the faithful city Zion”—the Lamb’s wife—departed from her husband and became a harlot. Isa. 1:21. She committed fornication, became a “great whore.” Christ could not acknowledge her in this condition as his wife; hence, this is expressed by “apostasia,”—separation. Thus we learn what Paul meant when he said the falling away (departure—apostasia—separation) shall first come before the end. It came, and Israel’s apostasy was a type of it.

It is said in Revelation 17 that the great whore committed fornication “with the kings of the earth.” “With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication.” This was fulfilled in all the kings of the nations giving their support to the Catholic sect. This they did for one thousand years, in the darkest days of the world’s history, when superstition and sin abounded. The kings and rulers of the different nations compelled their subjects to submit to the doctrines of popery. They also enforced their laws against all who would not adopt the religion of the Catholic sect, and put them to death. Thus they committed fornication with the great whore. But in order to fulfil the words of God, these very kings and rulers afterwards turned against Rome, and enforced their laws against her. This sheared her of all her temporal power, and stripped her naked; and fulfilled Revelation 17:16, where the very kings who gave their power and strength to the beast “shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked.” Amen.

We will now return to 2 Thessalonians again. Identical with this falling away—apostasy—a man of sin, the son of perdition, would be revealed; “who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” ver. 3, 4. This man of sin refers to the pope of Rome, who fulfils every specification of the prophecy. Some latter-day teachers suppose this refers to a supposed antichrist, who they expect will make his appearance in the near future, just prior to Christ’s second advent. They expect this antichrist to appear in the form of some great personage. All this is blindness and error. The spirit of antichrist was already working in Paul’s day; for he says the “mystery of iniquity doth already work.” John says, “Even now are there many antichrists.” The spirit of antichrist began working at a very early date; and step by step it gained in power until about 270 A. D., when man was exalted way above what God ordained in his Word, and this soon ripened into the awful beast power of popery. The pope was exalted to be the head of the so-called church.

But before we can get a full understanding of this man power and exaltation, it will be necessary to first understand the simplicity and purity of the early church government. The whole ministry of the church of God is classified by the apostle Paul as follows;

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” Eph. 4:11-14.

“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

1 Cor. 12:28.

The ministers classified in these two scriptures are identical. They are properly divided into two classes; traveling and local. Traveling preachers plant churches and water the same; while the local, shepherd and feed the flocks. All these gifts were necessary to the perfect government of the early church, and are just as necessary to-day. Whatever was essential then is essential now. As before stated, the early ministry were properly divided into two classes, local and traveling. The term elder applies in Scripture to both the traveling and local ministry. First to the traveling. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.” 1 Pet. 5:1. “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth.” 2 John 1. “The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” 3 John 1. Second to the local. “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.” Acts 14:21-23. “To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.” Titus 1:4, 5.

They ordained elders in every church—in every city. These were the local ministers who cared for and fed the flock. But Paul and John were both traveling preachers. They were apostles, and each testified to being an elder. If Paul and John were elders, then all God’s preachers are elders, all on one common plane—on one level—all elders. But some may object that elder only means older one; therefore it is a class of officers selected from among the older ones to form a sort of sanhedrin. No such thought is conveyed in the New Testament Scriptures. While the word literally rendered is older one, in the New Testament it is used in an official sense, not in its literal sense, and applies to the sacred calling and office of a minister. In Moses’ church under the Old Testament, not all the older men of Israel were termed “the elders of the people,” but there was selected a large number of men (seventy) of sound wisdom and judgment who sat as a sanhedrin. These were the elders of Israel. Under the New Testament, the term elder, as before observed, applies to all the ministry, but they must be men and women of sound judgment and wisdom, and fully anointed by divine power to be “able ministers of the New Testament.” The traveling preachers are classified as apostles and evangelists.

But who were the apostles? God gave “some apostles,” “first apostles.” The first twelve ministers chosen by Jesus Christ to be the first propagators of his kingdom among the lost sheep of the house of Israel, were called apostles. “And when it was day he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.” Luke 6:13. These twelve were to be eye-witnesses of his personal work on earth, and also of his resurrection from the dead. When one was chosen to take the place of Judas, he had to be one who had accompanied Jesus Christ in his personal ministry, and had been a witness of his resurrection.

“For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:20-26. Through their labors, inspiration, and writings, the New Testament has come to us. Therefore these twelve form a perpetual foundation in the church. Rev. 21:14; Eph. 2:20. Such a thing as a succession of the

number twelve is simply Mormon fiction, invented by Joe Smith, who was filled with “visions of his own head.”

Jesus Christ was called an apostle in that he was sent forth from God to accomplish the redemption of man. Heb. 3:1, 2. Paul and Barnabas were called apostles because they were the first to plant the Christian faith among the Gentile nations. “But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.” Acts 13:50-52; 14:1-4. “Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out.” Acts 14:14.

James the Lord’s brother was called an apostle. “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.” Gal. 1:18, 19. Silvanus and Timotheus were apostles. “Paul and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.” 1 Thes. 1:1; 2:6. Apollos was an apostle. “And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” 1 Cor. 4:6, 9. Here we have clear proof of at least twenty who were called apostles in the early church. However it is evident from a careful reading of the New Testament that there were many more in whom the gift of apostleship was manifested.

From the testimony of Scripture it is clear that an apostle was a planter. The word is defined by Webster: “One who first plants the Christian faith.” We will select the apostle Paul as an example. He says, in his epistle to the Corinthians, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” 1 Cor. 3:6. By this he means that he was the instrument God used to plant the Corinthian church.

This is proved in Acts 18:1, 4-11: “After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshiped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

This made him their apostle. He says, “If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 9:2. “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” 1 Cor. 4:15.

Through Paul’s labors the Corinthian church was established. Hence, he says, “I planted” you; and if not an apostle unto others, “I am to you,” for I have begotten you through the gospel, and the seal of mine apostleship “are ye in the Lord.” He further testifies to them, “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.” 2 Cor. 12:12.

From the foregoing we learn that apostles in the early church were not a separate class of officers, who stood above the rest, but were gifted men and women. Apostleship was not an office of itself, but was a gift of the Spirit in the ministry— men who were specially endued with the various gifts of the Spirit, which qualified them to enter new fields of labor and plant the truth, plant churches. This meant more than simply getting a company of believers raised up. They were gifted so that they could confirm and establish such assemblies in faith, truth, and holiness, and lead them into the various gifts necessary to make their local work effectual. Such were termed apostles. Paul had a general “care of all the churches.” That is, he felt the responsibility of the work in general.

But were there to be elders in the church in these last days qualified with the gifts to do the work of apostles? Yes. “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.” Rev. 18:20. Down in this evening time when Babylon falls there were to be apostles who would rejoice over her downfall. The other traveling elders were termed evangelists. “And some evangelists.” Eph. 4:11. Philip was called “the evangelist.” Acts 21:8. Paul exhorted Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist.” 2 Tim. 4:2. The real work of evangelists is seen in 1 Corinthians 3:6: “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” Their work was usually to labor among churches already established, to stir up the revival spirit among them, and water the saints—refresh them. But in the church of God, while these gifts were given to profit withal, there was nothing legalistic, like in sectism to-day. An apostle could “do the work of an evangelist.” Both Apollos and Timothy were apostles, but they did some evangelizing, too. Such sometimes went into new fields and planted churches, as Philip the evangelist at Samaria, and the apostles came and established them, as Peter and John did. Acts 8.

This gives us a brief idea of the work of the traveling elders. The apostles entered new fields and preached the gospel, God working with them confirming the word with signs following. Under their labors churches were planted. The Lord held them responsible for the welfare of those assemblies, until the local officers were raised up, and everything “set in order.” Sometimes it was necessary for the apostle to remain in such fields of labor for years, until everything was fully set in order. For a minister to plant a church, and then run off and leave it without a spiritual father’s care, and proper shepherding, is working contrary to God’s plan. Such work brings disaster. A careful reading of the Acts will show that the apostles remained at Jerusalem for a long period of time. Paul abode for a number of years at some places in order to establish the work; at other points he left workers, as Titus in Crete. See Titus 1:4, 5.

The evangelists were traveling ministers, who edified the body, and labored to get men saved. The local elders are termed pastors and teachers. Eph. 4:11. There was a plurality of elders ordained in every local assembly. “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.” Acts 14:23. “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.” Titus 1:5. “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.” Acts 20:17. “And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.” Acts 21:17, 18.

You will notice that the word is plural. In every church they ordained “elders.” The last two texts clearly show a plurality of them in the church at Jerusalem, and also at Ephesus. They were the overseers of the assemblies. Their work is clearly set forth in the following texts: “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:17, 28. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” 1 Pet. 5:1-3.

Their work was feeding the church; ministering to them the word of life; taking the oversight; caring for, and protecting the little ones from the impositions of the devil through heresy or false teachers.

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And he at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” 1 Thes. 5:11-15. “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” Heb. 13:7. “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” Heb. 13:17.

These texts clearly set forth the responsible work of the local elders. Comments cannot make them clearer. Another work of these elders is seen in James 5:14, 15: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Jer. 3:15. “And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.” Jer. 23:4. We will here insert a quotation from the early writings on this point:

“Let the presbyters (elders) be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing bade those that wander, visiting all the sick, and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and of man; abstaining from all wrath, respect of persons, and unjust judgment; keeping far off from all covetousness, not quickly crediting an evil report against any one. not severe in judgment.” Epistle of Polycarp, Chap. VI.

While a quotation from history, this clearly sets forth the work of the New Testament elders. Anyone can at a glance see the need of such work in every assembly. Feeding and caring for the flock does not simply include preaching the word; but visiting the brethren, praying with them, calling upon the sick, and poor, and ministering to them. How simple the plan of apostolic government, and yet how well arranged by the infinite wisdom of him who worketh “all in all.” As before observed, Paul divides these elders into two classes, pastors and teachers. Not two classes of officers. There was but one “office of a bishop.” 1 Tim. 3:1, 2. There was but the one office for the local elders—bishops—that of overseers. But their gifts were not all the same. “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.” 1 Tim. 5:17.

The reader can easily observe that Paul speaks of some elders who labored in word and doctrine, others who did not. Some who were public preachers—pastors—others who were not preachers, yet were men of faith, good judgment and wisdom; men able in private to teach and instruct in the ways of salvation. The latter arc the teachers. This distinction is made in Romans. 12:6-8: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

The qualifications of Bible elders—bishops—are found in the following texts: “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldcst set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.” Titus 1:5-11. “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre: but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

1 Tim. 3:2-7.

Among the early ministers were a class of men with the gift of prophecy. They were known as prophets. “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” Acts 13:1. The work of the prophets and their office is clearly seen in the following scriptures: “And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.” Acts 11:27, 28. “And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” Acts 21:10, 11.

It has been thought by some that there is no need of prophets under the new covenant. But the above texts prove that there were prophets in the church before the apostasy, and God has them in his church to-day. These may be among the traveling ministry, or among the local. There were a number of prophets in the church at Antioch. Prophets also traveled, as Agabus. Philip the evangelist “had four daughters which did prophesy.” The work of a prophet was foretelling events. Agabus signified by the Spirit that there would be a dearth throughout the whole land, and we are told, “It came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.” Agabus was a true prophet of God. It was he who also foretold what would befall the apostle Paul at Jerusalem. But the work of the prophets signified more than foretelling future events. “Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge.” 1 Cor. 13:2. Here we see that there was a special gift of prophecy, which unraveled deep mysteries, and gave knowledge. Such were enabled to interpret prophecy by the Spirit of God. Since we have returned in these last days to the mount of holiness and truth, the spirit of prophecy is again manifest among his ministry. We sit with awe and listen to God’s prophets as they unravel the mysteries of prophecy and revelation.

Having briefly considered both the traveling and local ministry who were termed elders, we will now consider another class of officers called deacons. “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

1 Tim. 3:8-13.

“The office of a deacon.” This language implies that there was a class of officers in the early church by that name. Deacon is from “diakonos,” which signifies a minister or servant. Its literal meaning would cover all those who minister the word, and such as minister in temporal affairs. It would apply to those who serve in the gospel, or those who serve in temporal things; i. e., dealing out food to the hungry, and looking after the temporal needs of the church. A servant—diakonos—minister—one who ministers. When it comes to the real office of a deacon, it is evident that it applies to the latter. Our reasons for believing so are these: All those who are ministers of the word, both traveling and local, are officially called “elders.” But the office of a deacon is a separate office from that of elders. Therefore, those who minister in the temporal affairs of the church,

are officially termed deacons. Some of these officially appointed deacons may minister the word, as did Stephen at Jerusalem.

“And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch; whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed they laid their hands on them.” Acts 6:1-6.

These are generally referred to as deacons. When the church at Jerusalem was scattered on account of the persecution, then Philip, one of the seven, started into the ministry, and was successful as an evangelist.

The Humble Equality of the Apostolic Ministry

Jesus set the standard of humble equality. “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.” Mat. 23:8. “Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Mat. 23:10-12. “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.” Luke 22:24-27.

Oh, what humbleness is here taught! Ye are brethren. No one among you is higher than another, or can possibly have from me any jurisdiction over the rest. Ye are, in this respect, perfectly equal. He showed them how the Gentiles exalted some above others, but said, “It shall not be so among you.”

I will here insert a few extracts from history. “The church was in the beginning a community of brethren. All its members were taught of God and each possessed the liberty of drawing for himself from the divine fountain of life. The epistles, which then settled the great questions of doctrine, did not bear the pompous title of any single man or ruler. We find from the Holy Scriptures that they began simply with these words: ‘The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren.’ Acts 15:23. But the writings of these very apostles forewarn us that from the midst of these brethren, there shall arise a power which shall overthrow this simple and primitive order.”—D’Aubigne’s history of the Reformation, Book I, Chap. I.

“The doctrine of ‘the church,’ and of ‘the necessity for its visible unity,’ which had gained footing as early as the third century, favored the pretensions of Rome. The great bond which originally bound together the members of the church was a living faith in the heart, by which all were joined to Christ as their own head. But various causes ere long conspired to originate and develop the idea of the necessity for some exterior fellowship. Men, accustomed to the associations and political forms of an earthly country, carried their views and habits into the spiritual and everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ. The invisible and spiritual church was identical with the visible and outward community. But soon a great distinction appeared—the form and vital principle parted asunder. The semblance of identical and external organization was gradually substituted in place of the internal and spiritual unity which is the very essence of a religion proceeding from God. Men suffered the precious perfume of faith to escape while they bowed themselves before the empty vase that held it. Faith in the heart no longer knit together in one the members of the church. Then it united by means of bishops, archbishops, popes, miters, ceremonies, and canons. The living church retiring by degrees to the lonely sanctuary of a few solitary souls—an exterior church was substituted in place of it, and installed in all its forms as of divine institution . . . In the beginning of the gospel, whosoever had received the Spirit of Jesus Christ was esteemed a member of the church. Now the order was inverted, and no one unless a member of the church was counted to have received the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

“It is a noteworthy fact, when the founder of Christianity left the world, he made no provision for any quarterly, or annual, or periodical assembly of his apostles, his ministers, or his followers; he appointed no time nor place for them to congregate, to report, confer, or legislate; he gave to no one authority to convoke such an assembly; and he gave his disciples no reason to suppose that five thousand Christians assembled had greater authority than two or three who had met in his name, in whose midst he promised to be. And so far from empowering his followers to combine and legislate for themselves or their associates, he expressly defined their duties to be, not the contriving and imposing of new precepts upon the church, but rather the making of disciples among all nations, ‘teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.’

“The apostles and early church seemed to understand their duties, and carefully refrained from meddling with such affairs, or setting up courts or ecclesiastical judicatures, and even when consulted by the Gentile converts who were afflicted by intrusion of proselyting Jews, they only rehearsed a few ‘necessary things,’ for their observance; things that had been regarded as obligatory from the times of Noah down; and declined to undertake anything analogous to the ecclesiastical legislation of the present day. And so the apostles parted, and went forth, probably never expecting to meet again until ‘the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering unto him.’ The servants of God were attending to their proper work of preaching the gospel, feeding the flock, and saving men; and it was not until religious apostasy and imperial power and patronage combined to corrupt and impair the integrity of the church, that the work of calling councils, and legislating for the church of God commenced.”—Who Made the New Testament? page 3, 4.

Here we see according to the testimony of history the equality of the early ministry and the humbleness of the same. If there was such a thing in the early church as one class of preachers being above the rest, and exercising lordship over them, such arrangement was in direct opposition to the teaching of Christ, for he positively taught them that “it shall not be so among you,” but “all ye are brethren.” But the early church started in with an equality of the ministry. The above quotations from history clearly set forth the standard. All the preachers were officially called “elders” all on the same plane. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: . . . neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” 1 Pet. 5:1, 3.

I will here give extracts from Adam Clark’s comments on this text: “In this text, the term presbuteros (elders or presbyters) is the name of an office. They were as pastors or shepherds of the flock of God, the Christian people among whom they lived. They were the same as bishops . . . and teachers. That these were the same as bishops the next verse proves. ‘Who also am an elder’—presbuteros. One on a level with yourselves.”

“Neither as being lords over God’s heritage.” According to him there are to be no lords over God’s heritage; the bishops and presbyters, who are appointed by the head of the church (Christ), are to feed the flock, to guide, and to defend it; not to fleece and waste it; and they are to look for their reward in another world, and the approbation of God in their consciences. And in humility, self-abasement, self-renunciation, and heavenly-mindedness, they are to be ensamples—types—to the flock, molds of a heavenly form, into which the spirit and lives of the flock may be cast, that they may come out after a perfect pattern. We need not ask, Does the church that arrogates to itself the exclusive title of Catholic, and do its supreme pastors, who affect to be the successors of Peter, and the vicars of Jesus Christ, act in this way? They are in every sense, the reverse of this. But we may ask, Do the other churches (meaning the Protestant sects), which profess to be reformed from the abominations of the above, keep the advice of the apostle in their eye? Have they pastors according to God’s own heart, who feed them with knowledge and understanding? Do they not feed themselves instead of the flock? are they not lords over the heritage of Christ, ruling with a high ecclesiastico-secular hand?

The above cuts a clear line of distinction between the modern hierarchies of Babylon and the ancient humble ministry, and equality in the early church. The apostle Peter placed himself on a common level with the local presbyters, and also states that he was a fellow presbyter. In the New Testament bishop and elder are terms used interchangeably and apply to the same class of officers—the ministers.

BISHOP. (1) “In the primitive church, a spiritual overseer; an elder or presbyter; one who has the pastoral care of a church.”—Webster. (2) “The same persons are called elders and presbyters, and overseers and bishops.”—Scott, Com. (3) “Till the churches were multiplied (and apostatized), the bishops and presbyters were the same.”—lb. (4) “Both the Greek and Latin Fathers do, with one consent, declare that bishops were called presbyters, and presbyters bishops in apostolic times, the name being then common.”—Whitbey. (5) “It appears that those who are called elders in this place (Titus 1:5) are the same as those termed bishops in verse 7. We have many proofs that bishops and elders were of the same order in the apostolic church, though afterward they became distinct.”—Adam Clark.

To the above we heartily say, Amen. Bishop and elder were the same till the mystery of iniquity began to work. The traveling preachers were bishops. “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take.” Acts 1:20. Bishopric is the office of a bishop. Judas then was a bishop, but by transgression fell. So Matthias was chosen to take his bishopric—his office of bishop. This proves beyond question that all the twelve were properly called bishops. This included Peter and John, who also were called elders. 1 Pet. 5:1; 2 John 1; 3 John 1. So the terms bishop and elder are used interchangeably, and apply to all the traveling ministers. All the local preachers were bishops. “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” Phil. 1:1.

Thus when Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he addressed all the saints, “with the bishops and deacons.” He did not say with the bishops, ciders, and deacons; but recognized only two classes of officers—bishops and deacons. A plurality of elders were ordained in “every church.” Acts 14:23. Therefore Paul terms these elders, bishops. Bishop and elder then is the same in Scripture. But two classes of officers in the church at Philippi: bishops—the ministers of the word of truth, and overseers of the flock; and deacons—the ministers of the temporal affairs of the church. I emphasize! Anything more than this is apostasy.

On this text Adam Clark remarks: “Bishops—the overseers of the church of God, and those who ministered to the poor and preached occasionally. There has been a great deal of paper wasted in the inquiry, ‘Who are meant by bishops here? as no place could have more than one bishop.’. . . This is the extravagance of trifle. I believe no such officer is meant as we now term bishop.”

This is clear, Adam Clark readily admits that New Testament bishops were only overseers—common preachers. He further states that it is “a waste of paper” to try to prove that only one bishop can be in an assembly. It is “the extravagance of trifle.” He understood that the modern office of bishop was unknown in the apostolic church. These are his words: “No such officer is meant as we now term bishop.” Amen.

The very language of Titus 1:4-7 proves that elders and bishops were the same. “To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre.” Language could not be plainer. Paul left Titus in Crete to ordain elders in every city. He says, “If any be blameless,” “for a bishop must be blameless.” When Paul sent to Ephesus, he did not call the bishop and his presbytery, but simply called “the elders of the church.” Acts 20:17. All the ministers in that assembly were simply elders, made overseers by the Holy Ghost. Acts 20:17. When the apostles set churches in order, they did not ordain one bishop, and his presbytery, but simply “ordained elders in every church.” Acts 14:23. Paul did not instruct Titus to ordain one bishop and a presbytery of elders for his Sanhedrin in every city in Crete; but he left him to simply “ordain elders in every city.”

At Philippi there was no such thing as a single bishop, and a lower class, called elders, and a still lower class called deacons; but there were only two classes of officers, bishops and deacons.

Phil. 1:1. Did the church at Antioch send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to consult the bishop, apostles, and elders about circumcision? No; they simply sent them “to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.” Acts 15:2. Nothing is said of the bishop. When they reached Jerusalem “they were received of the church and of the apostles and elders.” ver. 4. The bishop was left out. Why? They did not have such a high officer over them. That church was pure from the mystery of iniquity. “But,” says one, “James was a bishop.” James was an apostle, (Gal. 1:19); hence, no more a bishop than Peter or any other of the apostles. Who came together to consider the matter? The bishop (James), and the apostles, and elders? No; it does not read that way. “And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.” Acts 15:6.

No mention is made of a bishop presiding in this apostolic assembly. Only apostles and elders. As before proved, all the apostles were bishops, and all the elders were bishops. The apostles were the traveling elders or bishops, while the others were the local elders or bishops. Peter and James spoke in this assembly, as they were looked upon by the church as “pillars.” Gal. 2:9. But James was only a common apostle or elder in the church at Jerusalem, on an equal plane with the rest. He probably was a senior elder as is inferred from Acts 21:18.

“But,” says one, “was not the angel of the church at Ephesus, a bishop over the rest?” Rev. 2:1. No; for had they had an officer above the common elders, called the bishop, when Paul called them together, as recorded in Acts 20:17, he would have mentioned the bishop. But he simply called “the elders.” They were all elders—overseers. No doubt there was one who was a senior elder, or one among the elders who especially ministered the Word, and took the special care of the church upon himself or herself. There was not a bishop above the rest, for they were all on the same level—all elders. Acts 20:17, 28. This humble equality of the early ministry lasted but a very short time. Paul says, in A. D. 54, that the mystery of iniquity, which was to finally ripen into the man of sin, was already at work. 2 Thes. 2:7. The spirit of it was then seen in some. In John’s time it was being publicly manifested.

In the third epistle of John it is evident that three elders of a church are spoken of, Gaius, Demetrius, and Diotrephes. The first two he commended. They were straight, humble men. But Diotrephes “loved to have the preeminence among them.” Here was an elder who loved preeminence above the rest. He, no doubt, wanted to be a bishop, higher than the common presbyters. He did not want to receive the apostle John (verse 9) for, no doubt, he knew John was against any such actions. But John comforted Gaius by stating that when “I come I will remember his deeds.” verse 10. Here is the first mention in Scripture of one man seeking preeminence above the other elders in the local assembly, seeking a position over the others. This was A. D. 90. But just as soon as we pass beyond the sacred writings, in the second century, we find man exalted to a higher office; a bishop over the common presbyters or elders. This was apostasy already at work.

I will here quote from the Church Fathers to show that in their early day, they had already exalted one man above the rest. Instead of elders and deacons, as the New Testament reads, it was one bishop, elders, and deacons. Three classes of officers instead of two. One over the rest. “Wherefore it is fitting that ye should run together in accordance with the will of your bishop, which thing also ye do. For your justly renowned presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted as exactly to the bishop as the strings are to the harp.”—Ignatius to the Ephesians, Chap. IV.

“Since, then, I have had the privilege of seeing you, through Damas your most worthy bishop, and through your worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius, and through my fellow servant the deacon Sotio.”—Ignatius to the Magnesians, Chap. II. “There is but one altar for the whole church, and one bishop with the presbytery and deacons.”—Ignatius to the Philadelphians, Chap. IV. “Give heed to the bishop, and to the presbytery, and deacons.”

—Chap. VII. “The bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons.”

—Ignatius to Polycarp, Chap. VI.

The above quotations from Ignatius, who wrote in the first part of the second century, show that at that early date the humble equality of the apostolic order was already inverted, and a third office created, by exalting one man as bishop in each local congregation over the common elders or presbyters. How different the above quotations read from the sacred Scriptures! At Philippi Paul addressed the bishops and deacons. But Ignatius teaches that at the time of his writing there “is one bishop, with the presbyters and deacons.”

When Paul sent to Ephesus and called together the local preachers, he called the “elders of the church”; but when Ignatius wrote, he would have had to call the bishop, and elders. When Paul left Titus in Crete, he was to ordain elders in every city; but when Ignatius wrote he would have had to ordain “a bishop and elders.” Ah, beloved reader, this is the mystery of iniquity. It was the first big step toward the man of sin. As soon as they created this third office, and set up one bishop in each assembly over the elders and deacons, the next step was to confer great honors upon him; exalt him high above all others. Ignatius in the latter part of his ministry was drunk on this spirit.

I will again quote: “As therefore the Lord does nothing without the Father . . . so do ye, neither presbyter, nor deacon, nor layman, do anything without the bishop.”—Ignatius to the Magnesians, Chap. VII. “In like manner, let all reverence the deacons as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and the bishop as Jesus Christ, who is the Son of the Father, and the presbyters as the Sanhedrin of God, and assembly of the apostles. Apart from these there is no church.”—Ignatius to the Trallians, Chap. III.

“And do ye also reverence your bishop as Christ himself. . . . For what is the bishop but one who beyond all others possesses all power and authority, so far as it is possible for man to possess it, who according to his ability has been made an imitator of the Christ of God? And what is the presbytery but a sacred assembly, the counselors and assessors of the bishop?”—Chap. VII.

Reverence the bishop “as Jesus Christ,” and “do nothing,” without him, is getting him pretty high. It is certainly conferring great honors upon him. But such was the spirit then at work. In the early church, the presbytery was an assembly of ministers. If a number of local preachers assembled, they constituted a presbytery. Or a gathering of both traveling and local elders, as at Jerusalem (Acts 15), was properly termed a presbytery. But when Ignatius wrote they were common elders who served as counselors and assessors of the bishop. Oh, how changed! Humble equality was lost sight of.

“Let governors be obedient to Caesar; soldiers, to those that command them; deacons, to the presbyters, as to high priests; the presbyters, and deacons, and the rest of the clergy together with all the people, and the soldiers, and the governors, and Caesar himself, to the bishop.”—Ignatius to the Philadelphians, Chap. IV. If this was not making great strides toward popery, I cannot understand language. The bishop was exalted above all “the clergy,” and above Caesar himself, and this in the second century. Such was the teaching of Ignatius. Surely the great apostasy came early. The people of God’s holiness possessed it but “a little while.” Of course, in reality, the bishop had not yet reached such a high place, but they were working hard to get him there, and Ignatius’ writings show that he believed such was his place.

Again we quote: “See that ye follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist which is administered either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude of the people also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic church.

It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast, but whatever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God.”—Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Chap. VIII.

“He who honors the bishop has been honored by God; he who does anything without the knowledge of the bishop, does in reality serve the devil.” Nor is there any one in the church greater than the bishop.” “He who honors the bishop shall be honored by God.” “Let the laity be subject to the deacons; the deacons to the presbyters; the presbyters to the bishops.”—Chap. IX.

“If he reckon himself greater than the bishop, he is ruined. But it becomes both men and women who marry, to form their union with the approval of the bishop.”—Ignatius to Polycarp, Chap. V. Thus we have given a few quotations from the early writings to show how early the humble equality of the apostolic government was overthrown, and man exalted. This kept working more and more. The bishop was lifted up higher and higher, until about the third century. Then a higher office was created.

Following that date we have a class of officers called archbishops—bishops over other bishops. Sometimes one bishop would rule over the bishops of a score of churches. This was forming the man of sin. In the church of God there is but one chief shepherd, one chief bishop—Christ. But at this date there was an exalting of man to this lofty position. This kept on working and fomenting, exalting man higher and higher until finally the pope was elected head of the church—so-called. Instead of Christ working all in all, in all the members, man power ruled the church.

This exaltation of man was the work of darkness, and the pope himself, “the son of perdition.” It is said he “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped.” This certainly was fulfilled in popery. It is said the pope claimed power to remit the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. This is something that neither Christ nor the Father claimed to do.

The pope was exalted above every object of adoration. God and Christ were secondary. The pope became the source from whence emanated every institution relative to divine worship, all the doctrines of religion, and all rites and ceremonies. He held the highest authority and place in the church. He acted as God, taking upon himself God’s titles and attributes, and arrogated to himself the authority which belongs to the Most High. He set himself up as the universal head of the church. He claimed infallibility; power to damn and to save. Such titles were conferred upon him, as, “Vicegerent of the Son of God,” “Most Holy Pope,” etc. 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10 describes this awful reign of deception and darkness which continued over one thousand years. This period is described by the prophets by such terms as “night,” a time of “no light,” “a day of darkness,” etc. It is known in history as “the dark ages.” Popery was foretold in the prophecy of Daniel.

“Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold another boast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Dan. 7:2-8.

This vision troubled Daniel so he asked an angel its meaning. The reply was, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” ver. 17. These were Babylon, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman. The first like a lion represented Babylon. At first the lion had eagle’s wings, denoting the rapidity with which Babylon extended its conquests under Nebuchadnezzar. After a time the wings were plucked, and a man’s heart was given to it. It no longer flew like an eagle upon its prey. The boldness and spirit of the lion was gone. A man’s heart, weak, timorous, and faint, had taken its place. This was the case during the closing years of its history, when it became enfeebled and effeminate through wealth and luxury.

The second beast like a bear, represented the Medo-Persian kingdom. This kingdom was composed of two nationalities. The beast raised itself on one side. This was fulfilled in the Persian division which came up last attaining the higher eminence, for it became the controlling power in the kingdom. The three ribs in its mouth may signify the three provinces—Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, which were especially ground down and oppressed by this power.

By the overthrow of these provinces, a stimulus was given the Medes and Persians to undertake further conquests. Thus they said, “Arise, devour much flesh.”

The third beast like a leopard, signified the Grecian empire. The four wings upon its back, like the two wings of the first beast, denote rapidity of conquest. The conquests of Grecia under Alexander have no parallel in historic annals for suddenness and rapidity. The four heads of this beast represent the four divisions into which Grecia was split. The Grecian empire maintained its unity little longer than the life of Alexander. Within fifteen years after his brilliant career ended, the kingdom was divided among his four leading generals.

Concerning the fourth kingdom, Daniel wanted a more explicit explanation. “Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.” Dan. 7:19, 20. “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.” Dan. 7:23, 24.

This was Rome. She was the fourth universal kingdom which reigned over the world. She devoured, broke in pieces, and crushed the nations with her iron rule. The ten horns are ten kings. These were the ten divided kingdoms which grew out of the Roman empire. Next came up a little horn. This was popery. Popery grew out of heathen Rome. Three of the ten were plucked up by this one. These were, Heruli, Vandals, Ostrogoths.

“And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7:25. All this was fulfilled under the reign of popery. Speaking words against the Most High was fulfilled in the great assumptions of the pope. Wearing out the saints was fulfilled in the long period of martyrdom when millions were slaughtered because they would not accept the doctrines of the papacy. Changing times and laws had a fulfilment when the papists discarded the LXX, the old apostolic Bible, and substituted in its stead the corrupt Hebrew version. The original Septuagint Bible makes the world almost two thousand years older than the modern version does.

This horn—power—grew up out of paganism. Though clothed in a Christian garb, it was the same persecuting power. Where heathen Rome slaughtered her thousands, Christian (?) Rome slaughtered her millions. The reign of this power is limited to “a time and times and the dividing of time.” This is the exact time the woman was to continue in the wilderness. Rev. 12:14. These must be the same. Popery must be the very wilderness into which the church went. A time signifies a year. See Dan. 4:16-23. Three and one-half times signify three and one-half years, or forty-two months. Counting thirty days to the month according to the Jewish calendar we have 1,260 days, or years. This measures from 270 A. D. to 1530 A. D., when popery fell.

We will now turn back to “Revelation 12. It will be remembered that after Christianity conquered the “dragon,” (paganism) the

woman (church) went into the wilderness. This, as before observed, signifies the great apostasy.

“And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” Rev. 12:15, 16. As the old dragon was disappearing he cast a flood after the woman to carry her away. This doubtless was fulfilled in the Arian heresy which arose. It came upon the church like a flood, and it seemed for a time like it would sweep the whole church into utter darkness. At one time the Arians outnumbered the orthodox.

This heresy was but the dregs of paganism. It is said that “the earth helped the woman, and swallowed up the flood.” This language was, no doubt, borrowed from the Old Testament account of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram as given in Numbers 16. The earth opened and swallowed them, and they went down quickly into the pit. The language in Revelation signifies a sudden disappearance of this heresy, and truly it was so. It disappeared as quickly as it arose. The dragon being unsuccessful in this, undertakes another scheme.

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12:17. The dragon being conquered, cast down, and bound by Christianity, was wroth at the woman, or church. Hence, he makes war with the remnant of her seed. But this he could not do himself. His power was broken. He accomplished this through his son “the beast.”

A son was born unto this dragon, and he is called the beast. Through this beast, war was made against the remnant of the seed of the woman. This refers to the few who stood true to God during the dark ages.

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Rev. 13:1, 2. It will be seen that the beast resembles his parent, the dragon. The dragon had seven heads (12:3), so had the beast. The dragon had ten horns, so had the beast. But there was a difference. The dragon had his crowns upon his heads, while the beast had his crowns upon his horns. This beast is popery. Popery is a child of pagan Rome, the dragon. During the reign of the empire, the seven heads, or forms of government, were the ruling powers; hence, the crowns were upon his heads. But when popery arose the ten kingdoms were the ruling power—the crowns were upon his horns.

This beast is identical with that of Revelation 17:3, and the little horn of Daniel 7. This beast was “like a leopard.” A leopard is a spotted animal, a type of sin. This shows that this power was very sinful, and such was popery. His feet were as the feet of a bear. This signifies its crushing power. Its mouth as the mouth of a lion, signifies the devouring nature of the papacy. But where did popery get her power? “And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” The ten kingdoms of Rome gave “their power and strength unto the beast.” Rev. 17:13. Instead of popery receiving her power from above, she received it from paganism. The seat of pagan government—Rome—became the seat of papal rule.

“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” ver. 3. The solution of this has already been given in our exegesis of Revelation 17:10, 11. The Roman empire had seven heads or forms of government. The sixth of these was the imperial. It was the form of government under the heathen Caesars. The time came when the hordes of savages from the North swept over the empire, and the imperial government was overthrown A. D. 425. It was wounded to death. This lasted about fifty-one years, during which time the patriciate ruled the empire. After this the imperial power revived in the form of popery, but this time in Christian garb. The wound was healed. Imperial Rome was the same under priestcraft and popery, that it was under the Caesars. Under the Caesars it was clothed in heathen garb; under priestcraft, in Christian garb. Thus the beast (popery) constituted the eighth head of Rome and yet was one of the seven. All the world wondered after the beast. Popery swayed universal dominion.

“And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” ver. 4. This was fulfilled by the continuance of the pagan worship in the papal age. The high priest of the Roman pagans was called their pontiff. It was customary among the pagan Romans to deify their great men after their death, and make images to them and worship them. So also was it customary among the papists to make saints of their great men after their death by canonizing them, and their saints are the same to them as the gods of the pagans were to them. They pray to them like the heathen did to their gods. They make images to them and bow to them as the pagans did to their gods. They sprinkle their holy water as the pagans sprinkled their holy water. They advocate celibacy similar to the doctrines of paganism concerning celibacy. In many other ways they have practised the heathen worship. Thus they have caused the people to worship the dragon.

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” ver. 5, 6.

This was fulfilled in popery by the blasphemous claims of the pope, who claims various prerogatives of God. These we have already considered. This beast was to continue forty and two months. If we reduce these forty-two months to days, by multiplying by thirty, the number of days in a month, we have 1,260 days for the length of the reign of this beast. Each of these days, as in the case of the woman in the wilderness, signifies a year. We have therefore 1,260 years for the length of the reign of popery. This exactly agrees to the length of time the woman was to remain in the wilderness. Rev. 12:6. If we reckon the rise of this beast at A. D. 270, the end of his reign falls at 1530. This is the date acknowledged by all historians to be the dividing line between the Catholic and Protestant ages. At this time the church began her return from the wilderness of apostasy, and truth began to arise in the earth, and the people to turn their attention again unto God to find salvation in his Son. At this date, all must admit, popery began to crumble.

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13:7, 8. This was fulfilled in the great persecutions of the Christians under the reign of popery. Papal Rome glutted herself on the blood that heathen Rome only tasted. It is hardly necessary to refer to the bloody reign of the dark ages, for most all are well acquainted with the facts. I would simply refer the reader to such histories as Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Christian Heroes and Martyrs, Martyr’s Mirror, etc. All people worshiped popery except those whose names were in the book of life. These were the ones who suffered martyrdom at her cruel hands.

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive-trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” Rev. 11:1-4.

This temple, as clearly seen in previous chapters, is the church of God. Those that worship in this temple are God’s people. The altar is Christ. Heb. 13:10. The measuring reed is the Word of God. The holy city also signifies the church. Almost the same language is found in Luke 21:24, where the literal city Jerusalem is referred to.

It is said that “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Here in Revelation 11:2 it says, “And the holy city shall they [the Gentiles] tread under foot forty and two months.” The former was to have a literal fulfilment, the latter a spiritual fulfilment.

Jerusalem was a type of the church. Its desolating and treading down by the Gentile nations was, and is, a clear type of the great apostasy, which has defiled and trodden under foot the spiritual Jerusalem, the sanctuary of God. The time limit of this downtrodden condition of the church is “forty and two months.” This is the same period already considered in the many time prophecies which measure the reign of popery. During this same period God says that his two witnesses shall prophesy, clothed in sackcloth. In verse 4 these are called the two candlesticks and two olive-trees, standing before the God of the earth.

This gives us the key to the prophecy. Zechariah speaks of these in the following words: “And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked and behold a candlestick all of gold with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive-branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” Zech. 4:1-6, 11-14.

Zechariah was one of the prophets who prophesied unto Zerubbabel and the Jews at Jerusalem to build the house of God. These two olive-trees, he informs us, “are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth;” and they are interpreted by the angel to be the Word of the Lord, by the Spirit of the Lord, unto Zerubbabel. ver. 6. From this we clearly see that these two witnesses, two anointed ones, two olive-trees, signify the Word and Spirit of God. These are the two prophets which have been given unto the church as the vicars of Christ in the world through which God has governed the church in all ages. They governed victoriously before A. D. 270, which is properly termed the morning light age.

“Then came up the beast, with a man at the head of it claiming to be the vicar of Christ. A contest between the true vicars, the Word and the Spirit, and the false vicar, the pope, followed, which continued 1,260 days. These 1,260 days signify the same 1,260 years of the papal age which lie between 270 and 1530. In this age the Word and Spirit of God never surrendered their vicarship, but there were always found true witnesses of Christ, who were determined to be governed by the Word and Spirit of God, like the saints in the morning light. These the pope was constantly causing to be put to death. This is doubtless what is signified by the sackcloth with which these two prophets were dressed during that age, sackcloth being an emblem of melancholy, distress, and mourning.”

Turning back to Revelation 13:10 we read: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” Ah! the patience and faith of the saints during that long, bloody night of papal darkness, was that the very beast power which was leading them into captivity, and killing them with the sword, would sometime itself go into captivity, and be killed with the sword. Thank God, their prayers were answered, and their hopes realized. In the sixteenth century, God began to raise up reformers, such as Huss, Melanchthon, and Luther, who hurled the awful thunderbolts of heaven against the beast power of popery. Truth so long crushed began to arise and triumph in the earth. The reformation spread rapidly in every direction. Watch-fires were kindled throughout all Germany and almost all Europe. Thousands threw off the galling yoke of popery and came out into clearer light. God’s kingdom, which was to conquer every opposing power, conquered popery.

The reformation spread so rapidly and its power became so great, that it cast its influence upon the rulers of nations, who turned Protestant. The very rulers and kings of nations who had so long upheld the Catholic sect, and given it their support, now turned against her, and gave their support to Protestantism. The sword was turned against the beast. There were thirty years of bloody war in Germany. But finally the papal power was broken. It was sheared of all its temporal power. That beast which had ruled the earth for 1,260 long years was left bleeding and wounded; and is becoming weaker ever since. Thus the prayers of those millions who were slain during its long reign were answered: and the words of God in Revelation 17:16 were fulfilled, where he says that the very kings and rulers who supported the great whore, these shall hate her, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Daniel foretold the downfall of popery in the following words: “But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” Dan. 7: 26. This judgment began in the reformation of the sixteenth century, and to-day is being executed with divine authority. The result is the beast power is diminishing and will continue so “till the end.”

Right here we will sum up all the texts which measure the reign of Catholicism.

“And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7:25. “And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” Dan. 12:6,7. “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Rev. 12:14. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Rev. 13:5. “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

Rev. 11:2. “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” Rev. 11:3. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Rev. 12:6.

As before observed, a time signifies a year. Dan. 4:25, 32. Three times and a half signify so many years. Counting twelve months to the year, they equal forty-two months, and calculating thirty days to the month according to the Jewish calendar we have 1,260 days. So all the above texts measure the reign of popery.

The entire reign of popery was foretold in prophecy as a long dark night which was to follow the clear morning of the gospel day. “The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.” Isa. 21:11, 12.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.” Amos 8:9-13. “Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.” Micah 3:5-7. While this latter text had a direct fulfilment in Israel’s night, it was fulfilled in the great apostasy; for the former was a type of the latter. We will next consider the rise and fall of the second form of apostasy.

Protestantism

The Lutheran reformation was soon followed by apostasy. At this time Zwingli was effecting a reformation in Switzerland, and Calvin was also effecting a work. Menno Simons also came out of popery about this time. The result was several sects were organized, and this marks the rise of Protestant sectism. The oldest of these is the Lutheran, whose creed—the Augsburg Confession—was formed in A. D. 1530. As before observed, this marks the end of the papal reign, as portrayed in prophecy and Revelation.

Turning again to the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, we find a description of the ruling power in Protestantism. “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” Rev. 13:11-18.

This second beast represents Protestantism. It looks more natural than the first, in that it has but two horns. These are England and Germany, the two political powers that have always stood in defense of Protestantism. By these two powers Protestantism arose. It is reasonable, that if the ten horns of the first beast represent ten temporal powers which supported it, the two horns of the second beast represent two temporal powers which have always supported it. England and Germany have done this, and they are two of the original ten. His two horns like a lamb signify the tolerance and mildness of these nations, as well as Protestantism as a whole. Though this beast was lamblike, it spake as a dragon. The dragon power was even traceable down through the Protestant age.

This two-horned beast was to exercise all the power of the first beast before him. As we have seen, popery exercised a universal influence, swayed universal dominion. Therefore to exercise the same power of the first beast, Protestantism must exercise a universal influence. This it surely has done. Protestantism is the universal religion of the world, just as popery once was. This second beast was to cause the people “to worship the first beast.” This has been accomplished by Protestantism perpetuating the doctrines and services of popery. All her creeds are shaded more or less with the doctrines and idolatries of Roman Catholicism. Among other things, the rite of sprinkling, which Rome substituted for baptism, has been copied by most of the Protestant sects; baby sprinkling; all outside the pales of the church are lost; infant damnation, unless baptized; baptism for the forgiveness of past sins; confirmation; taking members into an exterior institution, etc., etc. Many other things might be mentioned which have been copied from Rome by Protestants, and by causing the people to worship as the papists worshiped, they are causing them to worship the first beast.

This second beast was to do great wonders: even to bring down fire from heaven, and by means of this gain the confidence of the people, and influence them to make an image to the first beast. Many hundreds of these images have been made in the Protestant age. They are the Protestant ecclesiastical organizations, the sect institution. Every one of these is but an image of the papal sect, modeled after it. We can understand this prophecy better if we understand the ancient image worship of the pagans. They made images of their gods and bowed to them and worshiped them. The image was supposed to resemble the god. This same image-worship was continued among the Roman Catholics, who called their gods saints. Protestantism continues the same worship in essence by making images to the papacy and causing the people to worship them. This is another way that Protestantism causes the people to worship the first beast. These sect images of popery are the only gods that many people of to-day worship.

The following is a clear solution of the prophecy. When the Lutheran reformation started it was a spiritual work. The heavenly fire fell in some places, and God honored the work. The same with Zwingli’s work in Switzerland. But when the followers of Luther and Zwingli saw that God was specially favoring them, they at once organized and the result was two sects—two images of the papal beast. As soon as they made the image they lost their spiritual power, and are to-day but formal bubbles sailing along on the agitated sea of sect confusion. Just so with the Wesleyan reform. For about fifty years the world shook under the labors of Charles and John Wesley. Watch-fires were kindled throughout Europe and America, and torrents of Holy Spirit fire fell from heaven. No other fire comes from heaven. After a great body was thus called out, they became deceived because God was especially favoring them, and organized into a sect, which was making an image to the old papal beast, or sect. As soon as they did this, they lost their spirituality, and are to-day a dead, formal body. The very doctrine of sanctification, which was the hub of the M. E. wheel, the very doctrine Wesley started his reform with, is to-day rejected by a large number of the Methodist divines (?).

A number of years ago B. T. Roberts and several other Methodist ministers began preaching holiness, and the result was an excommunication. These preachers then began to shout, “We’re free, we’re free!” But not willing to give up the name Methodist, they organized and called their image, Free Methodist. These people now, are as dead spiritually as their mother. Their work is accompanied by much noise, but no power of God. So it has been throughout the entire Protestant age. Men would receive some new light and truth, and start a spiritual work. The fire would fall from heaven, and God would bless their labors. But just as soon as they would receive a following, the next step was to organize a society.

All these societies are but images to popery. As soon as these images were formed, the next step was to mark their subjects. The poor blind Adventists suppose that this mark is keeping Sunday. But this is folly and ignorance. This mark signifies the instilling of the doctrines of the various sects into the minds of their adherents; their peculiar sectarian education and learning. The mark in the right hand may signify the right hand of fellowship which takes them into the God-dishonoring institutions. It is further said that “no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Jesus said to his ministers, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” Paul says he made the gospel of Christ “without charge.” God’s ministers receive the everlasting gospel which they preach from the Lord. They receive it free. The anointing teaches them. They are “taught of God.” Hence, they give it out free. But in sect Babylon the ministers make merchandise of the gospel, and of the people. They traffic; that is, “buy and sell.” What they preach costs them considerable. They must take a certain course in order to get the theology they preach to the people. So after they obtain it they hire out and sell it for so much a year. They “can never have enough; . . . all look to their own way, every one for his gain from his quarter.” Isa. 56:9-11.

But all sects have their peculiar mark or doctrine with which they mark their subjects. They have erected preacher factories for the express purpose of marking their ministers with their particular mark. For example, A Methodist seminary will never send out Lutheran preachers. They all have the Methodist mark, hence preach Methodist doctrine. A Presbyterian seminary never sends out Baptist ministers, or ministers who preach Baptist doctrine. Ah! they received another mark. A man must have the doctrines of Babylon and belong to some of the various Protestant sects, or he will not be allowed to preach in their houses.

A few years ago, a brother in the ministry went into a certain town to find a place to conduct a series of holiness meetings. He was directed by a Presbyterian lady to their pastor, who, she said, was a believer in the doctrine of holiness. When he called on the minister and made known his errand, the first question asked him was this, “Are you a member of the Presbyterian church?” The brother answered in the negative. He did not have the name of the beast. The next question that greeted him was this, “Do you believe the Westminster confession of faith to be orthodox?” He answered, “No, sir.” He did not have the mark of the beast. The last question asked was, “Do you belong to any of the various orthodox Protestant denominations.” The brother said, “No.” He did not have the number of his name. The answer was, “You cannot have our house.” This will fully explain to the reader what is meant by not allowing anyone to buy and sell—preach the gospel—only those who have

the name, mark, and number of the name of the beast. This has a real fulfilment in Protestantism to-day.

There is one more point I will explain here. The second beast represents Protestantism as a whole, or the religion of Protestantism, while the image represents the sectarian institutions, the sect organizations. The number, six hundred sixty-six, which was to make up this second beast, signifies a great multiplicity of sects which make up Protestantism. Protestantism when weighed in the balance is found sadly wanting. Her very foundation is sectish strife and division. The New Testament teaches one faith, one baptism, one body—church—one fold, one heart and soul, one mind—no division. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Cor. 1:10. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psa. 133:1. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1. “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they had assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:31-33.

“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.” Acts 5:12-16.

This blessed power and unity of apostolic days, is a complete stranger to Protestantism. They are scattered in six hundred sects, adhere to so many different faiths, and belong to as many separate bodies. In a small town in our land, a dozen or more steeples will be seen, and on Lord’s day morning the people will congregate in a dozen separate places, and profess to worship God. Oh, what a picture modern so-called Christianity presents to the poor sinner! In the early church in a town the children of God were found “all of one accord in one place.” They dwelt together in unity. The result was, the world believed, “and the Lord added to the church daily, such as were being saved.” But Protestant sectism, presents a divided religion, and the result is skepticism and infidelity.

The following scriptures describe the condition of Protestantism. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Rom. 16:17, 18. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Pet. 2:1-3. “And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?” Hab. 1:14-17.

False prophets scatter and divide the people of God by leading them into their “damnable heresies”—sects. They, with good words and fair speeches, deceive the people, and make merchandise of them. There are multitudes of these cold professors who will not endure sound doctrine, but heap up to themselves these teachers, who turn away their ears from the truth unto fables. The more people these crafty preachers can gather into their drag, the more they rejoice, supposing gain is godliness. They sacrifice to their drag (sect) more than they do to God. Thus they slay the nations. Woe, unto you, sectarian preachers, blind guides, hypocrites! ye compass land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he is made, he is twofold more the child of hell than when you found him. You are the very ones who are making divisions contrary to the doctrine of Christ, and we are commanded to avoid you. You oppose the truth, and will not obey it, and hinder those who would. Though you are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, within you are full of uncleanness, hypocrisy and iniquity. For a pretense you make long prayers: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation.

The pulpits of Protestantism are filled with a hireling ministry, a lazy, worthless set of preachers, who love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats of honor; men who love the praise of men more than the praise of God; men filled with pride and formality.

Not long since I attended a meeting in an M. E. house, and the minister’s subject was, “A dead church.” Among other things he admitted that there was too much ice in the pulpits. This expresses the true condition of sectism. Too much ice in the pulpits. A name to live, but are dead. A form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Protestantism has scattered God’s people to the four winds.

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelly have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock.” Ezek. 34:2-8.

“Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.” Jer. 23:1, 2. “For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.” Jer. 10:21. “Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.” Isa. 1:23. “The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.” Micah 3:11. “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they can not bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that can not understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.” Isa. 56:10, 11.

These scriptures clearly set forth the true condition of Protestantism. The shepherds, by leading the people into their various sects have scattered God’s flock, and driven them away. God has but one flock, one sheepfold, into which he saves all his people. This is the church, the church of God. For example: I hold a meeting in a certain town, and under the clear preaching of the gospel, one hundred people become converted, or obtain salvation.

Through spiritual birth they become members of the church of God. They are full members in good standing, for God set them in the body (church) as it pleased him. 1 Cor. 12:18; Acts 2:47. Their names are placed in the class-book—the Lamb’s book of life in heaven. The New Testament is their discipline and rule of faith and practise. Their hearts are knit together in love.

These all assemble with one accord in one place to worship God. All their meetings are salvation and holiness meetings. God will call some in the assembly to the work of feeding the flock—elders. He will qualify others for deacons. When such have proved themselves and their call is manifest, we recognize the same by dedicating thereto by the laying on of hands. Here then is a fully organized body of believers in a town—a congregation of one hundred church-members, yet they belong to nothing but Christ. They belong to no other body but the body of Christ, to which body the whole family in heaven and in earth belongs. They have entered no other door, but Christ, the door of the church. They are all of one heart and of one soul. Such is the New Testament church.

Now suppose for want of better light, a Baptist minister persuades twenty to join his sect; a Quaker minister persuades twenty to join with him; and twenty others join the Lutheran; twenty, the Free Methodist; and twenty, the Dunkards. What have these preachers done? They each have the audacity to report to their several conferences that they organized a church of twenty members; but the fact is, they have disorganized the church of God, and scattered God’s flock. Now, instead of meeting in one house to worship, as formerly, they meet in five different places; instead of one faith they now represent five different faiths. Woe, be to the pastors of Babylon who thus scatter God’s flock, Mark them, says the apostle Paul.

After they thus lead the people of God into the various sects, they then begin to fleece them for their money. They make merchandise of the people. They “teach for hire,” and “divine for money.” They “love gifts, and follow after rewards.” These “greedy dogs” can never have enough, but expect a fat salary, and look every one for his gain from his quarter. Such is the awful fallen condition of Protestantism to-day. With a hireling ministry at the head, and sectish strife and division for a foundation; with pride for their god, and only a lifeless form for religion, Protestantism is to-day a beast power which is doomed for the burning flame.

We will make a few comparisons between the church of God and Protestant sectism. (1) The former was of divine origin (Mat. 16:18; Eph. 2:19-22), the latter are man-made and of human origin. (2) The former composes but one body, (Rom. 12:4, 5; Eph. 4:4; Col. 1:24), while the latter is composed of many separate bodies. (3) All Christians belong to the church of God, while no sect contains all Christians. (4) The very moment a man is born of God he is a member of the church of God, but salvation makes no one a member of any sect. (5) The church of God is a spiritual institution, a “spiritual house,” while no sect is spiritual, for men cannot manufacture spiritual things. (6) God takes the members into his church, while the preacher takes you into the sect. (7) God’s church unites, while sects divide. Jesus says, “He that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.”

Turning again to the eleventh chapter of Revelation we find mention of the two prophets, the Word and Spirit of God, the true vicars of Christ, during the Protestant age.

“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to he put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” ver. 7-11.

We see in this prophecy that the beast finally succeeded in slaying the two prophets which he had been fighting for 1,260 years. After this they lay dead three days and a half.

“This was fulfilled when those children of God who had been standing out against popery in the papal age united with Protestantism. Protestantism accepts the human vicar as well as Romanism. They bitterly oppose the governing of the church by the Word and Spirit of God. They set up human vicars who are their lawmakers and governors. Their vicar is not always a single individual; but whether it be one individual, or a legislative body, it is a human vicar just the same; and when all God’s people throughout the world accepted human vicars in the light that Protestantism put it, the two prophets, the Word and the Spirit of God, were virtually slain.

“The three days and a half during which they were to lie dead, signify three and one-half centuries, or 350 years. The term day when applied to the papal age signifies a year: but when applied to the Protestant age it signifies a century. There is reason for this. The events of each century of the Protestant age naturally divide them into separate periods. This division of the centuries in the Protestant age is so marked that historians have adopted it. The following quotation from D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation, Book XI, Chap. IX, is a fair sample of the use historians have made of this figure.

“‘It has been said that the three last centuries, the sixteenth, the seventeenth, and the eighteenth, may be conceived as an immense battle of three days’ duration. We willingly adopt this beautiful comparison. . . . The first day was the battle of God; the second, the battle of the priest; the third, the battle of reason. What will be the fourth? In our opinion, the confused strife, the deadly contest of all these powers together is to end in the victory of Him to whom triumph belongs.

“It is because the centuries of the Protestant age are thus naturally divided into separate periods that God in his Word makes use of a day to signify a century. Counting therefore, a day for a hundred years, the three days and a half during which the two prophets were to lie dead will signify 350 years. During this period the people were to make merry because the two prophets did not torment them. Ah, the Protestant people have been fulfilling this to the letter in their shameful socials and revelings.

“Measuring this 350 years from 1530, the date when the two prophets were slain, they reach to 1880, at which time, according to the prophecy, the Spirit of life from God was to enter into the two prophets. So the reader can see that we are now living in the age when the Word and Spirit of God were to resume their place as sole governor of the church of God. The gathering together of God’s people out of all sects into one body, that has been taking place since 1880, is due to the resurrection of the Word and Spirit of God.”

The kingdom of God again triumphs upon earth. It conquers every foe. We will next consider the downfall of spiritual Babylon.

Downfall of Spiritual Babylon

In a previous chapter we have observed that the Israelites were carried away captive into literal Babylon, where they served within its gorgeous palaces and impregnable walls for seventy years. During the time of their captivity, Jerusalem and the sanctuary lay waste—a heap of ruins. After all this they returned from the captivity, and rebuilt the house of God, and restored Jerusalem to its former state.

After the children of Israel forsook the city of Babylon its broad walls were thrown down, its gorgeous palaces were left a heap of ruins. This place afterwards became a sort of zoological garden; a habitation of all kinds of wild beasts and serpents. All this was foretold by Jeremiah and other prophets.

“Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.” Jer. 25:7-13.

This speaks of the desolations of Jerusalem and Judea while Israel was in captivity in Babylon seventy years. But mark you, God afterwards punished the king of Babylon, and the land of the Chaldeans, and made it a perpetual desolation.

The literal city of Babylon was a clear type of the apostate church; a type of sectism as it exists in this dispensation. As we have seen in Revelation 17:1-18, the Roman Catholic sect is denominated, “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.” She is also termed “the great whore.” But she is also a “mother.” Daughters have been born into her family. The mother being a whore, full of fornication, her daughters are called “harlots.” Who are the daughters of the Roman church? They of necessity must be the sects which came out of Rome.

All Protestant sectism can be traced right back into the Catholic sect. She is the mother. She has many daughters; many more grandchildren; and still many more greatgrandchildren, etc. But they all belong to one family. Satan is the father of sectism, Rome its mother. Since the mother’s name is Babylon her children’s names are the same. So all the multiplicity of human sects from the mother down to the very latest daughter born into the family is Mystery, Babylon, “that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Rev. 17:5, 18.

Israel was a type of the church. Her captivity of seventy years in literal Babylon was a striking figure of the captivity of the church in spiritual Babylon, i. e., in popery and Protestant sectism. During this time the holy city (church) has been trodden under foot; has been covered up under the ecclesiastical rubbish of men, just like Jerusalem was a heap of ruins and rubbish while the children of Israel were in Babylon. But as seen in a previous chapter, the children of Israel returned from their Babylonish captivity, and restored Jerusalem and Zion, and built up the house of God again. They finally all forsook Babylon. God delivered all his people out of the land of the Chaldees. This the following scriptures plainly teach:

“And will send unto Babylon fanners that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.” Jer. 51:2, 6-10.

“In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.” Jer. 50:4, 5, 17-19. “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.” Jer. 51:45.

Babylon had been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand in accomplishing his design in bringing evil upon Israel because of their iniquities. God Almighty himself brought Nebuchadrezzar and the Chaldean hosts to Jerusalem and through them he accomplished his will in destroying the Jewish polity. 2 Chr. 36:17. God also used Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon during the captivity in fulfilling his will in many ways. But the time came when God set forth His hand, and gathered all the children of Israel back to Zion and Jerusalem. They forsook Babylon and came weeping with joy to Zion. This was literally fulfilled in Israel after the flesh. But the return of Israel from their captivity in literal Babylon to literal Zion and Jerusalem, was a precious type of the return of the church from their captivity in spiritual sect Babylon to the new Jerusalem, the spiritual Zion, and mount of holiness. Thank God! this blessed gathering is now taking place. “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isa. 35:8-10.

“There shall be there a pure way, and it shall be called a holy way; and there shall not pass by there any unclean person, neither shall there be there an unclean way; but the dispersed shall walk on it, and they shall not go astray. And there shall be no lion there, neither shall any evil beast go up upon it, nor at all be found there; but the redeemed and gathered on the Lord’s behalf, shall walk in it, and shall return, and come to Sion with joy, and everlasting joy shall be over their head; for on their heads shall be praise and exultation, and joy shall take possession of them: sorrow and pain, and groaning have fled away.” Isa. 35:8-10, LXX.

On the pure way of holiness thousands are to-day returning to Zion—to the same Zion where the early church stood. Forsaking the confusion of sect Babylon, the redeemed of the Lord are returning to the same standard of unity, purity, and power that adorned the apostolic church.

“Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.” Isa. 51:11. “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.” Obad. 17. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.” Joel 3:14, 16-18.

These texts have a present fulfilment. Under the present judgments of truth, multitudes are being brought into the valley of decision, where they must decide either for, or against God. Those who decide on the side of truth come to the mount of holiness, the mount of deliverance; and in this holy mount the Lord has made a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees.

This gathering of God’s people out of sect Babylon back to Zion, into one fold, was foretold by the prophets. “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” Ezek. 34:10-12, 14, 16, 26.

This very beautifully sets forth the “present truth.” The preachers of Babylon have scattered God’s flock; but the time has arrived when the Lord is seeking out his sheep. He is gathering them

out of all places where they have been scattered, and is bringing them to their own fold—a good fold.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

2 Tim. 3:1-5.

This is a perfect picture of fallen Babylon to-day. Sectism is filled with men and women who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; people who only have a mere form of godliness. What are God’s people who are yet scattered there commanded to do? What saith the Scripture? “From such withdraw thyself: from such turn away.” No honest soul can remain there after hearing this solemn command. They must forsake the ruins and abide in Christ alone. Some precious souls when they hear the voice from heaven to come out of sectism, refuse to obey, and the result is they go into darkness.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:14-18. Every sect institution yokes up believers with unbelievers. They try to mix light with darkness. The command from heaven to every child of God in there is, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.”

The ministers of God in these last days are “blowing the trumpet in Zion” and the call of God is reaching the people of God in sectarian captivity, and Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me.” Thus God is gathering his people into a perfect unity, and preparing the bride for the coming of the bridegroom. To such as have their hearts wrapped up in friends who will not obey the truth, God says, “Remember Lot’s wife. “

“Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.” Jer. 51:6. “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.” Jer. 51:45. “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Rev. 14:8-11.

“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” Rev. 18:1-5, 8.

All this is present truth. One angel in these texts stands for the entire ministry of the time. These flying messengers are God’s holy ministers in these last days, who are trumpeting to all nations the solemn warnings from heaven. This is a time of the Lord’s vengeance against all false religions of earth. He has set his hand to gather out his people, and prepare his church, so that she may be presented holy, without spot or wrinkle when he comes. This is not our word, and work, but a voice from heaven says in solemn tones of warning, “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul.” “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” “If any man worship the beast [popery] and his image [Protestantism], the same shall be tormented forever and ever.” Thousands have already heard that voice and obeyed. Halleluiah! Every child of God will be gathered out before Jesus comes. But thousands of others who seemed to be pillars, have heard that voice but would not obey. The result is God has had to sacrifice them in order to get a pure church. They clung to the ruins of Babylon, rather than be identified with the holy remnant. All such have received of her plagues—“Death, mourning, famine.” By not obeying the truth, such lose all spiritual life, are cut off from union with God, and help to compose the dead carcass of fallen sectism.

These generally turn very bitter against the truth. “They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps. In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord.” Jer. 51:38, 39. They roar like lions against it, and gnash upon us. In their heat, while they are the most bitter, God says, he will make their feasts, will make them drunken, that they may rejoice; viz., “send them strong delusions, that they may believe a lie: that they all maybe damned.” 2 Thes. 2:11, 12. How awfully true is this at the present time. We have often observed that at the very time people begin to oppose this great work, they seem to get new inspiration, and become exceedingly joyful. They seem to think they are feasting on heavenly things, while the truth is, they are feasting on “strong delusions.”

“It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink, For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.” Isa. 29:8-10. This has a present fulfilment. This is the very condition of thousands to-day who fight against mount Zion (God’s pure church). God pours upon them the spirit of deep sleep; he closes their eyes; he gives them delusions. This is termed a “perpetual sleep”; one from which they will never wake, until they lift up their eyes in hell. In this deep sleep they are like a hungry man that “dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh: but he awaketh, and behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite.”

To illustrate what the prophet foretold, a man is out on the desert away from food and water. He is starving to death. He is dying. But in his miserable condition he falls asleep; and while asleep he dreams he is back home; seated at a table spread with all the dainties of life that his appetite craves. He dreams that he is drinking file cool water from the flowing spring. He is having a feast. Oh, how he enjoys it! But all at once he awakens, and his soul is faint. The whole has been a dream. O beloved reader, such is the sad condition of thousands in Babylon who will not obey the truth, but bitterly oppose it. They are asleep. God has closed their eyes. They are under delusions. In that very condition they imagine they are on the way to heaven. They seem to feast on heavenly dainties. They seem to drink the sparkling waters of salvation. They get happy and rejoice. Such may even die, shouting to their last breath. They think they are sweeping through the gates. All looks bright. Angels welcome them home. But all at once as the soul is forced out from behind the clay covering, they awaken out of sleep, and to their awful agony and surprise, they see that the whole has been a dream—a delusive dream, and their poor soul empty and lost forever because they would not obey the truth. Beloved friend, this work is of God. To oppose it, is to throw open your soul to deceptive spirits, and drift into the very state and condition above described.

As before stated, after the children of Israel forsook literal Babylon, it underwent many great wars and ravages and finally became a sort of zoological garden, a habitation of all kinds of birds and beasts. The following scripture describes its condition: “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.” Isa. 13:19-22. “And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.” Jer. 51:37.

All this was a type. That very condition of literal Babylon is the condition of spiritual Babylon to-day, since God is delivering his people out of her. Just as that ancient city fell, and became a dwelling place of dragons, doleful creatures, etc., so sect “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Rev. 18:2. Sectarians may consider this strong, but it is the eternal truth; and present facts as seen by the pure in heart prove that the above is a perfect picture of the great babel of sectism. All who cling to their false religions, and will not forsake their sinful sects, are slain and cut off by the Word of God, and compose this great spiritual carcass, preyed upon by evil spirits. Thousands who in the past were bright lights, when they hear the voice from heaven to come out of her, close their ears to the truth and go into darkness. These are cut off and slain. Oh, what a slaughter is now going on! This awful work has been foretold by the prophets of old.

“For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” Isa. 34:5-8. “For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.” ver. 2, 3.

“For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.” Isa. 66:15, 16. “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.” Jer. 48:10. “Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” Jer. 5:14.

“Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from

the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.” Jer. 12:10-12.

What an awful picture, yet how true! The sword of the Lord which smites the nations, and devours from one end of the land to the other, and is said to be filled with blood, is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph. 6:17. God’s holy messengers are blowing the trumpet in Zion, which calls together the elect from the four winds—Babylon confusion. Joel 2:1; Mat. 24:30-33;

Zech. 2:6, 7. All who refuse to be gathered are slain by the sword of the Lord. Those slain are said to be “many.”

This great slaughter is also called a “sacrifice,” because many of them possessed noble attributes, and were even mighty through God; but when the whole truth was presented they would not get saved from the last spot of sin and sectism; therefore God had to sacrifice them to evil spirits in order to get a pure church. The rams, lambs, bullocks, etc., show that the parties were, in the main, offerings to God on the altar of his grace. The thousands thus being slain compose a carcass—a dead putrefying mess—of fallen religionists. Thus saith the Lord: “For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” Mat. 24:28.

This no doubt reached a fulfilment at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jews composed the carcass; the Roman hosts, the eagles, who gathered together to consume the carcass. This looks very probable since the eagles were the very standards of the army which did desolate the city. But it is clear to our mind that the text has a twofold signification, and was to reach its true fulfilment just prior to the end, as it is used in such close connection with the coming of the Son of man. The word eagles is more correctly rendered “vultures” in the new version. The basis of the language is a dead, putrefying body, the scent of which attracts the vultures and other birds and beasts of prey. The lesson or application of this figure is highly spiritual.

“For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.” Isa. 34:2, 3. “And they shall be habitations of monsters, and a court for ostriches. And devils shall meet with satyrs . . . having found for themselves a place of rest.” ver.13, 14, Septuagint Version. “And the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. Jer. 7:33. “Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.” Ezek. 39:4. “And thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God: Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God.” Ezek. 39:17-20.

The stink which comes out of the carcasses (spiritual carcasses) of the thousands in Babylon who have been slain by the sword of truth attracts myriads of “delusive spirits.” The condition of fallen sectism is surely a stench in the nostrils of God. It is offensive to every sanctified soul. These spiritual carcasses shall be inhabited by “monsters,” “fowls,” etc. In them “devils have found for themselves a place of rest. “This perfectly harmonizes with the description given in Revelation 18:2. Different kinds of birds and foul spirits being grouped together in these texts carry our minds back to the ruins of ancient Babylon, which was a hold of all manner of birds and beasts, and which clearly typified the swarm of unclean and deceptive spirits which throng sectism to-day.

There is another solemn fact I wish to call the reader’s attention to before leaving this point. This work gives us data to calculate our whereabouts on the stream of time. “All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off: the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.” Isa. 18:3-6.

This time has come. The ensign—Christ—is lifted up—a token for the people to gather unto him. The trumpet of truth is being blown. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Ah, a sign that the day of the Lord is nigh at hand. A clear heat is produced in the church, his dwelling place. Judgment is executed, and a pruning time has come. Sprigs and branches are cut off and taken away; viz., “Every branch that beareth not fruit he taketh away.” John 15:2. These cut off branches (dead professors) “shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth.” This is the very work described in the many texts already cited. But when was it all to be accomplished? Just “afore the harvest”—just before the end. Reader, we are living in that very time.

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.” Rev. 19:11-17.

By turning to Revelation 6:1, 2 the reader will observe that about the same description of this white horse and his rider is there given. At the opening of the first seal John “saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow: and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” This represents the kingdom of God as established by Christ in the beginning of this age. “White horse” denotes its purity and holiness. Jesus Christ, enthroned universal king, goes forth conquering the nations through his pure apostolic ministry, “leading captivity captive.” This represents the triumphs of Christ’s kingdom in the morning of the Christian era, while Revelation 19 describes its triumphs in the evening of the same. Jesus Christ is again riding forth in the greatness of his strength executing his righteous judgments upon the works of darkness, and against all false religions. The armies which follow him are his sanctified saints, who are raised up in “heavenly places.” These are clothed in fine linen, which represents their righteousness. See ver. 8. Upon the bridles of their horses is “holiness unto the Lord.” Zech. 14:20. The sharp sword which smites the nations is the Word of God. Heb. 4:12. Those who are smitten are the ones who refuse to walk in the light of God, and reject and oppose the straight Word. Next in order are seen the fowls of heaven-evil spirits—gathering together to feast upon those who have been slain. The same is called “the supper of the great God.” The word “supper” proves that it was to take place in the eve of time.

We have observed in a previous chapter that the blessed union betwixt Christ and his church in the morning of the gospel era was expressed by the term marriage. Also her apostasy is expressed by separation. She became a harlot. Isa. 1. Christ could not acknowledge the apostate church as his wife. But, thank God, as we forsake the ruins of apostasy, and return to Christ our living head, our blessed union with him again in these last days is expressed by a reuniting in marriage.

“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: and I will give you pastors according to mine heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Jer. 3:12-15.

This was literally fulfilled in ancient Israel’s return. The north country was Babylon. This describes their return to Zion. But Israel was a type of the church, which now constitutes “the true Israel of God.” The text has a spiritual, as well as it had a literal fulfilment. The proclamation is now sounding forth towards the north country—cold formal regions of dead formality. There the people of God have scattered their ways unto the strangers. In more than six hundred ways have they been scattered among strangers—sinners. The time has now arrived when the Lord is taking “one of a city, and two of a family,” and bringing them to Zion—the mount of holiness—his own church. Instead of them supporting an empty worthless ministry as before, a ministry who fleeced them for their salary, God now gives them pastors according to his heart, who feed them knowledge and understanding. “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.” Jer. 3:22, 23. This very beautifully portrays our return to Christ.

“And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.” Hos. 2:7. “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi [my husband, margin]; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.” Hos. 2:16, 17. As before stated, while these texts were literally fulfilled in ancient Israel, they set forth present truth, since Israel’s apostasy and return was but a type of the apostasy and return of the church. The Lord’s people have played the harlot with “many lovers.” They have dishonored God by taking upon themselves their various names; such as Lutheran, Wesleyan, Mennonite, etc., etc. But these things never gave them perfect satisfaction. So they decide to return to their first husband—Christ. As they thus return to the blessed marriage state, they again say to Christ, “My husband.” They forsake the names of Baalim, and are no more known by those names. They hold to the name of their husband only. Thank the dear Lord!

“And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: and true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Rev. 19:1-9.

John saw and heard all this in heaven, but it has a present fulfilment upon earth. This represents the hosts who are now gathered out of the apostasy, their shouts and songs of triumph. Such scenes are frequently witnessed in the camp of the saints. The marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready—ready to be revealed at his coming, which is near, even at the door.

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and                                                       marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” Rev. 15:2, 3. Here is brought to view the entire church in this evening time. They stand on a sea of glass mingled with fire. This sea of glass signifies the pure Word and holiness of God. All on this sea have “victory over the beast [popery], and over his image [the sect institution], and over his mark [doctrines of Babylon], and over the number of his name [all the sects in existence].” God’s church again triumphs. She comes off victorious. They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb; that is, the song of deliverance and triumph. Glory to our God, this is now realized in this soul of mine. Halleluiah!

Gog and Magog, or, The Final Conflict

The present war against the false religions of earth is incurring the united opposition of the sectarian world. Multitudes of its deceived professors are rising in opposition to the truth. All counterfeit religions are uniting in confederation. “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

Rev. 16:13, 14. While the Lord is mustering his host upon the high plains of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16) in this beautiful evening light, the spirits of devils are gathering together the hosts of Babylon in confederation and opposition to the burning truth of God, and the true saints of God who stand by it. This is the last great spiritual conflict. First, Christ’s kingdom conquered the dragon-paganism. Next, after a long, dark night of 1,260 years of papal supremacy, Christ’s church again triumphed, and the beast power was broken. Then arose a second form of apostasy—Protestantism. This is the false prophet in the above text.

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Rev. 19:20. Notice that the very power which wrought miracles before the beast, and deceived the people, is called the false prophet. By turning back to Revelation 13:11-15, it will be seen that this was the second beast—Protestantism. So that second beast and the false prophet are identical.

But we have seen that God is gathering his people out of all the maze of false religions; out of all Protestant sects as well as the Catholic. The church thus gathered out, now stands in square opposition to all sect religion, and, thank God, has victory over it. My brethren, we have reached an awful era in the onward sweep of time. The greatest conflict of all is now breaking upon us. Instead of one of the antichrist religions to combat, the next is a confederation of them all. The dragon (heathenism), the beast (popery), and the false prophet (Protestantism) led by spirits of devils which possess them, influence the “kings of the earth, and of the whole world” to assist them, and “gather together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” This signifies a union of all false religions, Heathen, Catholic, and Protestant. The object the devil has in effecting this union, is to make war upon the camp of the saints, the true church. The rulers of the nations will be also gathered together in the same opposition.

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Rev. 19:20. It seems this great conflict will end in “the great day of God Almighty.” This refers to Christ’s coming and judgment. In close connection, he testifies, “Behold, I come as a thief.” Rev. 16:15.

In Revelation 20, it is stated that at the expiration of the thousand years the old dragon would be “loosed a little season.”

ver. 3. “And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” ver. 8. This dragon power was bound by the gospel of Christ, and hurled from its lofty position to the great abyss from which it emanated,

ver. 1-3. This, as before proved, was accomplished in the morning of the Christian era. At that time hundreds of thousands were saved through the blood of Christ, and raised to spiritual life. That great

host constituted the first great spiritual resurrection. They reigned in life, and Christ’s kingdom triumphed upon earth.

Next came the reign of the beast and his image, ver. 4. During this time the kingdom of God upon earth was crushed under human rule and power, and the reign upon earth largely ceased. But during the time when the reign of grace upon earth ceased, that host who had taken part in the first great resurrection, together with those who lived true to God during the reign of the beast and his image, many of whom were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, as fast as their souls ascended to paradise, continued to reign with Christ in a disembodied state, ver. 4, 6. The reign went on up yonder, while darkness, superstition, and deception covered the earth. Salvation work almost ceased upon earth, and the rest of the dead of Adam’s fallen race lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is simply a figure of speech, to convey the fact that during that awful night of apostasy, but few men were raised to spiritual life.

“What are termed the middle ages commenced with the fifth, and terminated with the fifteenth century. Of these, the first six are termed the dark ages; but throughout the whole period, Christianity suffered a long eclipse of a thousand years.”—Goodrich’s Church History, page 478.

This thousand years covers a period of time when holiness was lost sight of in the earth, when salvation work largely ceased. But the great reformation brought the resurrecting grace of God into action again, and since that time thousands of the rest of the dead have been made alive. This will continue till Jesus comes.

We have also reached the time when the kingdom of God triumphs upon earth again. A blessed reign of righteousness is again enjoyed by the people of God. The saints possess the kingdom. All hell is now stirred. The devil knows his time is short. He is preparing for his last great struggle. While in command in person, he works through all his antichrist religions. He revives the persecuting power of paganism. The old heathen spirit is reviving. It is the same spirit which put to death millions of Christians in the early days of Christianity. This is what is meant by the loosing of the dragon. The spirit and religion of heathenism is gathering together Gog and Magog to battle.

This is fulfilled in the devil-worship called spiritualism, and in several other forms at the present time. Ever since the Congress of Religions held at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893, teachers of the religions of India and the Orient have been at work in this country and many converts have been made. Free Masonry is but a form of paganism. We here give proofs from the pens and publications of this vast body, who are founded on what they call the “Ancient Mysteries.” The following was compiled by Fred Husted.

“Warburton says: ‘Each of the pagan gods had (beside the public and open) a secret worship paid unto him, to which none were admitted but those who had been selected by preparatory ceremonies called initiation. This secret worship was called The Mysteries.’

“Mackey, another member of this order, says: ‘These mysteries existed in every country of heathendom, in each under a different name, and to some extent under a different form, but always and everywhere with the same design of inculcating (teaching) by allegorical and symbolical teachings the great Masonic doctrines of the unity of God and the immortality of the soul. This is one important proposition and the fact which it enumerates (states) must never be lost sight of, in any inquiry into the origin of Free Masonry; for the pagan mysteries were to the spurious Free Masonry of antiquity precisely what the Masters’ lodges are to the Free Masonry of the present day.’

“This is certainly a frank statement, coming as it does from a man who is an acknowledged and highly esteemed authority in matters pertaining to the craft. Daniel Sickles says, ‘In Egypt, Greece, and among other ancient nations Free Masonry, that is, the Mysteries, was one of the earliest agencies employed to effect the improvement and enlightenment of man.’ Pierson says, ‘The identity of the Masonic institutions with the ancient mysteries is obvious,’ which means, clearly to be seen, manifest to any and all.

“Masons say that the order is founded on the Bible—that is, unlearned Masons say so. Geo. Wingate Chase, in the ‘Digest of Masonic Law,’ says, ‘The Jews, the Turks, each reject either the New Testament or the Old, or both, and yet we see no good reasons why they should not be made Masons. In fact, Blue Lodge [first three degrees] Masonry has nothing whatever to do with the Bible. It is not founded on the Bible. If it were, it would not be Masonry; it would be something else.’ Sickles says, in speaking of the third, or Master Mason’s degree, ‘There are characters impressed upon it which can not be mistaken. It is thoroughly Egyptian.’ He further says that the tradition is older by a thousand years than Solomon. ‘That our [Masonic] rites, embrace all the possible circumstances of man, moral, social, and spiritual, and have a meaning high as the heavens, broad as the universe, and profound as eternity.’—Sickles in ‘Gen. Chiman Rezon.’ The writer was informed when the charges were given him ‘that our ancient brethren worshiped in high hills or in low vales and that guards were placed to keep off cowans and eavesdroppers.’

“By referring to scriptures we at once find the character of those who worshiped on high hills and in low vales, and why they needed a guard to keep off eavesdroppers. ‘Thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.’ Jer. 2:20; 3:6. ‘Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree.’ Deut. 12:2. ‘Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks. . . . Even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.’ Isa. 57:5-7. They were not afraid of Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 7:10; 1 Kings 14:23), and they grew and multiplied in their reigns, and in the reigns of all those of whom it is recorded that ‘they did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.’ Some of the kings of Israel and Judah destroyed their high places for them and were highly favored of God for so doing.

“Again, ‘The precepts of Jesus could not have been made obligatory upon a Jew. A Christian would have denied the sanction of the Koran. A Mohammedan must have rejected the law of Moses, and a disciple of Zoroaster would have turned from all, to the teaching of his Zend-Avesta. The universal law of nature, which the authors of the old charges have properly called the moral, is therefore the only law suited in every respect to be adopted as the Masonic code.’—Mackey’s Text-book, ‘Masonic Jurisprudence.’ If the statements just quoted do not place the secret society of Masonry on a footing decidedly pagan, it is difficult to say just where it does stand. Masons in opening and closing their lodges still look to the cast, where the sun rises. Ezek. 8:16—‘And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east.’

“Tammuz or Osiris of Egypt, who is declared to be the original of Hiram Abiff, the temple-builder, is still mourned for. Ezek. 8:14. See Young’s Analytical Concordance or any standard Greek Mythology. Now see Pierson’s ‘Traditions of Free Masonry.’ ‘The Masonic legend stands by itself, unsupported by history, or other than its own traditions. Yet we readily recognize in Hiram Abiff the Osiris of the Egyptians, the Mithras of the Persians, the Bacchus of the Greeks [god of drunkenness, or feasts and the like], the Dionysis of the fraternity of artificers, and the Atys of the Phrygians, whose passions, deaths, and resurrections were celebrated by these people respectively.’ Thus is it clearly shown that each one of these ancient nations had its counterfeit savior and redeemer, and it is here proved by the words of Masonic Grand Masters, authors, and authorities, that Masonry is of pagan origin.”

At the present time there are several millions of devotees of this form of paganism in this western or New World, and also many in the Old World. The spirit of old heathen Rome is reviving everywhere, and to-day it is uniting Gog and Magog against the saints “and the beloved city [pure church].” ver. 9. A careful study of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will convince you that by the terms “Gog and Magog” are meant the two forms of the great apostasy—popery and Protestantism. It is an undeniable fact that the feelings between Catholics and Protestants are becoming more friendly. It is no uncommon thing to-day for a Catholic to approach Protestant people for means to erect houses of worship, and receive the same. The present pope and bishops of Rome have frequently expressed themselves in favor of a union of all Christians(?). Cardinal Gibbons in several public addresses has expressed himself decidedly in favor of such a union. This desire has not only been expressed by the bishops of Rome, but by many Protestant divines. An article some time ago in The Christian Advocate, a leading Methodist journal, strongly advocated a union with the Roman Catholic sect. There is to-day an almost universal cessation among the Protestants to protest against Catholicism. Hear the words of Bishop R. S. Foster of the M. E. sect before the New York conference, Nov. 9, 1886: “The popular idea is that the church of Rome is antichrist. I do not agree with the popular belief. I regard that wonderful institution as a grand Christian camp.” Thus we could multiply proofs of a union of all false religions, which is now well under headway, and must be apparent to all.

The world’s Parliament of Religions at Chicago in ‘93 marked an important epoch in this latest shift infernal. The dragon, beast, and false prophet met in “mutual confidence and respect”; a “brotherhood” of religions. Theism, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Catholicism, the Greek church, and Protestantism in many forms, were all represented; and the chief devotees of all these religions met, as they said, “to unite all religions against all irreligion; to make the golden rule the basis of this union; and to present to the world substantial unity of many religions.” We here insert a few extracts from addresses made before the Parliament.

President Charles Carroll Bonney in the opening address said: “Worshipers of God and lovers of men: Let us rejoice that we have lived to see this glorious day; . . . that we are permitted to take part in this solemn and majestic event of a World’s Congress of Religions. The importance of this event cannot be overestimated. Its influence on the future relations of the various races of men, cannot be too highly esteemed. If this congress shall faithfully execute its duties with which it has been charged, it shall become the joy of the whole earth, and stand in human history like a new mount Zion, crowned with glory, and marking the actual beginning of a new epoch of brotherhood and peace. For when the religious faiths of the world recognize each other as brothers, children of one Father, whom all profess to love and serve, then, and not till then, will the nations of the earth yield to the spirit of concord and learn war no more. . . . We meet on the mountain height of absolute respect for the religious convictions of each other. . . . This day the sun of a new era of religious peace and progress rises over the world, dispelling the dark cloud of sectarian strife. It is the brotherhood of religions.”

Chairman John Henry Barrows in his address said: “We are here not as Baptists and Buddhists, Catholics and Confucians, Parsees and Presbyterians, Methodists and Moslems; we are here as members of a Parliament of Religions, over which flies no sectarian flag . . . but where for the first time in a large council is lifted up the banner of love, fellowship, brotherhood. . . . Welcome, one and all, thrice welcome to the world’s first Parliament of Religions! Welcome to the men and women of Israel, the standing miracle of nations and religions! Welcome to the disciples of Prince Siddartha, the many millions who cherish their Lord Buddha as the light of Asia! Welcome to the high priests of the national religion of Japan! This city has every reason to be grateful to the enlightened ruler of ‘the Sunrise Kingdom.’ Welcome to the men of India, and all faiths! Welcome to all the disciples of Christ. . . . It seems to me that the spirits of just and good men hover over this assembly. I believe the spirit of Paul is here. I believe the spirit of the wise and humane Buddha is here, and of Socrates the searcher after truth. . . . When a few days ago I met for the first time the delegates who have come to us from Japan, and shortly after the delegates who have come to us from India, I felt that the arms of human brotherhood had reached almost around the globe.”—“World’s Parliament of Religions,” Chap. III.

Since the World’s Parliament of Religions at Chicago in ‘93 there have been a number of such gatherings. All false religions are coming closer in union. I have observed that no matter how much the sects were quarreling among themselves, whenever we went into their midst with the whole gospel, and God’s people were gathered out, they all at once became friendly toward each other, and began to hold union meetings in opposition to the truth. If they never can agree on anything else, they are agreeing to oppose the present great reform. This great conflict is now on. The devil is mustering his hosts—Pagan, Catholic, and all Protestant sects, in one “grand brotherhood of religions”—Gog and Magog. A careful reading of the texts bearing upon this point, makes it clear that this confederation of antichrist religions will become tyrannical, and wage a bitter persecution against the true saints of God.

“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city.” Rev. 20:9. The camp of the saints, the beloved city, is none other than the pure church of God, gathered out of all false religions, in these last days. They are the very host which John saw on the sea of glass mingled with fire; and they had victory over all false religions. Rev. 15:2, 3.

The hosts of hell, in order to compass the camp of the saints, “went up on the breadth of the earth.” This signifies that God’s saints will be scattered all over the world, and this great opposition and persecution will be universal.

Brethren, be sure your consecrations are deep enough to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. I am certain there are tests before us many have never dreamed of. But they that endure unto the end shall be saved. He who went forth “conquering and to conquer” has never lost a battle. He will lead us through this last great conflict more than conquerors. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God. Halleluiah! This great conflict with antichrist religions, assisted by the kings of this earth, the rulers of governments, will wax hotter and hotter, until finally as they prepare to destroy the church with one bloody stroke of martyrdom, fire shall come down from heaven and devour them. Rev. 20:9.

This ushers in “the great day of God Almighty”; namely, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” 2 Thes. 1:7-10.

This will be a mighty and glorious triumph for the church of God, which will then be caught up to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thes. 4:17. Then shall the dragon, beast, and false prophet be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. Rev. 20:10; 19:20.

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

In the first chapter of this work, we showed how Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn of Daniel 8, set up the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem. He cast down God’s sanctuary, took away the daily sacrifice, and placed the abomination that maketh desolate. Dan. 11:31; 8:8-13. This “abomination of desolation” which Antiochus set up, was the supplanting of the true worship of Jehovah by heathen worship. They threw down God’s altars, and erected idol altars throughout all the cities of Juda. They compelled the Jews to sacrifice unto these idol gods. All who would not were put to death. Even in the temple, they offered swine’s flesh in sacrifice to their gods. This was truly an abomination unto God and his people.

This great work accomplished under the reign of this heathen king was a striking figure of the great work of the apostasy. In the light of God, we identify the antitype with sect organization and authority. It directly applies to Romanism, but as well includes the babel of Protestantism, for both are substitutional of the church that Christ purchased and built; are an insult to the divine founder, an abomination to God.

Just as Antiochus supplanted the worship of God by pagan worship, so all sects, from the mother—Rome—to the latest Protestant harlot daughter, have more or less supplanted the true worship of God, as celebrated by the primitive church, with a false

worship, a beast worship. They worship their sects, more than God. This is proved by the fact that rather than obey God, and forsake the fallen structure, they cling to their sects, close their ears to the voice of the Lord, and oppose his truth. Surely, sectism is an abomination. This abomination was to “make desolate.”

We will here quote from Maccabees to show that with the abomination of desolation set up in Jerusalem, stood associated the defiled, desolate, and down-trodden condition of the sanctuary.

“Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred and forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side.” 1 Macc. 1:54.

“Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his [Antiochus’] religion, and sacrificed unto idols.” 1 Macc. 1:39, 43.

“And pollute the sanctuary and holy people: set up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine’s flesh, and unclean beasts.” ver. 46, 47.

Maccabees further tells us that they polluted the temple in Jerusalem, and called it the temple of Jupiter Olympus. “For the temple was filled with riot and reveling by the Gentiles, who dallied with harlots.” 2 Macc. 6:2-4.

What a striking figure of the reign of antichrist.

“The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.” Isa. 63:18. “Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.” Zeph. 3:1-4.

The little while here referred to when God’s people possessed holiness, was the early morning of the Christian era.

The adversaries came and trod down the sanctuary of the Lord. These were the very false teachers that Jesus said would come; light and treacherous priests (preachers) who polluted the sanctuary. The result was, a “filthy and polluted city.” How was this all effected?

Turning to 2 Peter 2:1-3, we have the desolating institutions pointed out in clear New Testament prophecy as follows: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:1-3.

The words “damnable heresies,” are rendered in the German version vederbliche sekten—“destructive sects.” The word heresies is not a translated, but a transferred word. The pure Greek is hairesis. It occurs ten times in the New Testament, translated sect five times, heresy four times, and once (in Titus 3:10) heretic. The word sect in the New Testament is derived from no other word. 2 Peter 2:1 is translated by H. T. Anderson “ruinous sects.” “Parties of destruction.”—Rotherham. Surely that which destroys and ruins is properly denominated “the abomination that maketh desolate.”

Setting up these human abominations and leading men into them, mixing the clean with the unclean, making no distinction, has defiled and polluted the sanctuary—the church. Having shown by the New Testament prediction that the desolating and destroying element is sectism, let us appeal to history to see just what was set up.

In D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation, page 9, we read: “The semblance of an identical exterior organization was gradually substituted for that interior and spiritual communion, which is the essence of the religion of God.” “The living church retiring gradually within the lonely sanctuary of a few solitary hearts, an exterior church was substituted in its place.”

God made his church “a praise in the earth,” or, as the apostle says, “To the praise of the glory of his grace.” But by the apostasy this daily sacrifice of praise was taken away, and a dead, exterior, counterfeit church was substituted. Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, treating on the third century, speaks of “the formation of a religious hierarchy,” and thus describes its corrupt fruits: “Many were sunk in luxury and voluptuousness, puffed up with vanity, arrogance and ambition, possessed with a spirit of contention and discord.” Yea, “The effects of a corrupt ambition were spread through every rank of the sacred order.”

All historians record this corrupting innovation of a man-organized substitute of God’s church. But the above citations we deem sufficient to identify the abomination that maketh desolate. Satan infused a lust for power into the hearts of the bishops, which led to human lordism and headism, the characteristics of all sectism. Becoming apostate in spirit, they set up the apostate hierarchy, and so constituted themselves an organic abomination which, in its

multiplicity of disorders, has cursed the cause of true religion down through the ages.

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Dan. 9:26, 27.

These mysteries are fully explained in a former chapter. Here was foretold the awful destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, by the Roman armies, which came to pass in A. D. 70. In connection with that awful destruction, “abominations” and “desolations” were predicted. Jesus applies this prophecy as follows:

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Mat. 24:15-21.

“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:20-24.

Jesus clearly associates the abomination of desolation with the destruction of Jerusalem. He refers to Daniel’s prophecy. Dan. 9:26, 27. This we will fully explain as we proceed. But we here want to draw some analogies.

“The temple and church of God sustain the close relation of type and antitype. The former was once the awful dwelling place of God. The latter is his chosen and everlasting habitation. His presence and law ruled the former, and he ‘worketh all things in all’ in the members of the latter. But the Roman army came and set up their ensigns on the sacred ground of the temple, and that was the sign of a foreign power which took command of the holy city, where only God should reign. This standard, and the foreign power it represented, resembles, in several features, the institution of sect government, a foreign and human rule set up in the spiritual house of God, and, in fact, constitutes a type of the same. As the Romans invaded the holy city and demanded subjection to their scepter, so sect power usurps sway over the spiritual city and temple of God, and demands loyalty to their creeds, even at the expense of loyalty to God. So be it understood that man-created churchism is the real abomination that maketh desolate, and the Roman standards were the same thing in figure. The detestable thing was present in type at the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, and was brought in, and set

up in reality, in the ‘greater and more perfect tabernacle which the Lord pitched,’ in the form of Romanism and Protestantism.

“Not only was the Roman ensign that abomination, because a figure of usurped sect rule, but because it bore images which were actually worshiped by the Romans. Accordingly we read in Josephus, Book VI, of the Jewish wars, beginning with Chap. VI: ‘And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city, and upon the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings roundabout it, brought the ensigns to the temple, and set them over against the east gate; and there did they offer sacrifice to them, and there did they make Titus imperator with the greatest acclamations of joy.’ Thus also says Tertullian, one of the early church Fathers: ‘Almost the entire religion of the Roman camp consisted in worshiping the ensigns, swearing by the ensigns, and preferring the ensigns before all other gods.’—Tertullian’s Apology, Chap. XVI, page 162.

“Surely that idolatry was a shocking abomination to the worshipers of the true God, who commands that we should worship him only. And it being the banner of the very army that did desolate the city and the holy temple, was indeed an abomination of desolation, and a remarkable figure of the sect abomination that has brought confusion and desolation into the spiritual temple of God. Sir Isaac Newton in his commentary also says, ‘The overspreading of abominations’ was the Roman ensign (eagle) brought to the east gate of the temple, and there sacrificed to by the soldiers.

“This fatal siege of Jerusalem was strikingly predicted in Deuteronomy 28:49-53: ‘The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favor to the young: and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.” ‘As swift as the eagle’ refers to their ensign.

“Let us now call attention to the several points of analogy between those ensigns and the institution of sectism.

“1. Jerusalem, and the temple, where the abomination appeared in figure, were types of the church, where the antitype appeared.

“2. When seen compassing Jerusalem (compare Luke 21: 20, 21 with Mat. 24:15, 16, and Mark 13:14), then, it was said by the Lord, ‘know that the desolation thereof is nigh.’ And it truly did come. And just so where sectism has been set up among spiritual disciples of Christ; strife and desolation have soon followed as a result.

“3. The Romans worshiped their ensigns, just so the sectarian world is ‘mad on their idols.’ They worship their sect names and institutions more than they do God. This is a present fact, seen by all whose eyes are open to behold things in the light of God. And it is a fact that has been predicted in prophecy. One passage (Hab. 1:13-16) we will cite: ‘The wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he;’ namely, formal zealots receive into their folds innocent unwary converts. 14—‘And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them.’ That is, they teach people that there is no rule, order, or organization, without a sect, and without joining one of these earth-born societies ‘you have no one to watch over you, and rule you,’ which is virtually ‘denying the Lord that bought them’ as Head, Leader, and Commander. 15—‘They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad’—lure them into their own net, called by them ‘Our church.’ 16—‘Therefore [as the Romans did to their ensign] they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag [i. e., worship their sect, and sacrifice immortal souls for it]; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.’ How true! By the sect machinery large salaries are ground out of its people to support clerical prodigality and sloth, empty preachers, who are a curse to their supporters.

“4. When the abomination was seen about Jerusalem, that was the signal for the disciples of Christ to depart out of the doomed city. So in these last days, the sin and confusion of sectism being now manifest as a filthy and oppressing city, whose prophets are light and treacherous persons, and whose priests have polluted the sanctuary (Zeph. 3:1- 4), and the Lord having already gone out of her, we hear ‘another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquity.’ Rev. 18: 4, 5.

“5. The desolating army was brought upon the Jews as a judgment of God, because they crucified Christ, the second person in the divine trinity. The Gentile sects have also filled the cup of their iniquity by crucifying the Holy Spirit, in rejecting his sanctifying power, and the plagues of the Almighty are upon them.

“6. As the Jews were cut off from being the people of God, and scattered abroad, and reduced to slavery, so the mass of sectarians

are cut off, and dispersed from God, and are oppressed under bondage to their arrogant lords, and to pride and the lust of the flesh.

“So it is clearly seen that there is a remarkable correspondence between the abomination that was hoisted upon the holy ground of ancient Jerusalem, and that which was placed by men as substitutes of the living God in the new Jerusalem; namely, the sect system.

“‘For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.’ Jer. 7:30, 31. ‘But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’ Jer. 32:34, 35.

“Molech was an ancient fire-god, that had been worshiped by the heathen that dwelt in the land of Canaan, and should have been exterminated out of the land. But Israel became guilty of sacrificing to the same abominable idol. As the heathen had caused their children to pass through the fire to Molech, so did the Jews. Of king Ahas it is said, ‘Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.’ 2 Chr. 28:3.

“Thus saith God of that corrupted people, ‘Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?’ Ezek. 16:20, 21. ‘That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.’ Ezek. 23:37.

“This is a shocking picture. They compelled their children to pass through the fire, and thus even ‘slew’ them and ‘devoured.’ ‘Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.’ Psa. 106:37, 38.

“This, we say, is a shocking picture. But, believe me, dear reader, there is a spiritual counterpart to that wickedness that is far more cruel and appalling in the sight of God. Molech signifies ‘rule’ or ‘dominion,’ and the heathen Molech will only bear a faint comparison with the soul-devouring Molech of sect rule and dominion, through which the souls of the great mass of sect idolaters are destroyed and sacrificed to the flames of everlasting perdition. Oh, what an innumerable army of innocent children are being spiritually slaughtered and sacrificed to the flames of hell, for the sake of the sect Molech, which these poor helpless creatures are taught to love, rather than to love God, and to fear and obey its lords, rather than to fear and obey God. When but a few days old upon them is imposed the popish rite of sprinkling for baptism, and before their young minds are capable of discriminating between truth and error, they are forestalled with the poisonous contents of creeds which have come down from the dark ages of ignorance and superstition, and which bar their souls from God and salvation, and lead to idolatry and destruction. How awfully true in a spiritual sense these words, ‘Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters whom thou hast borne unto me [labored to get them converted in their revivals] and those hast thou sacrificed,’ even sacrificed to devils, and ‘devoured.’

“When a party spirit, or devotion to ‘our church,’ is infused into innocent children’s hearts, what on earth will more surely bind them with Satan’s chain! The casting of infants to crocodiles by Hindu parents; the burning of them by ancient heathen, and corrupted Jews, or even the eating of them by cannibals, shocking as these are, they are small things compared with the sacrifice of their innocent souls by bringing them up in some iron-bound creed that worships a form, and rejects God and Bible holiness. Alluding, indirectly, if not, indeed, directly, to this soul-devouring Molech of the apostasy the prophet says: ‘They set their [their own institutions] abominations in the house [in place of the church], which is called by my name, to defile it.’ Jer. 32:34.”

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Rev. 17:5.

THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY

The work of cleansing the literal sanctuary, which Antiochus had defiled, which was accomplished by Judas Maccabeus at the completion of the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14, was a perfect figure of the great work of cleansing the spiritual sanctuary, or church, which is now going on. Judas Maccabeus burned the heathen altars, set up the altars of the Lord, and reinstated the true worship of Jehovah according to the ancient custom. See 1 Macc. 4:36-55. So today with the fire of holiness and truth; we burn the false religions of earth, and restore the true worship of God as in days of yore—as it existed in apostolic times.

May God raise up many thousand witnesses to go forth with the righteous indignation of Josiah, and the thunderbolts of Heaven’s truth, and take away the high places of pride and idolatry, and abolish the abomination of sectism out of the hearts of the people. Amen.

Having seen the manner in which the sanctuary became defiled, we will now view its cleansing as portrayed by the pen of inspiration.

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Eph. 5:25-27.

Christ is to-day gathering his church out of all the sect abominations back to Zion. They return on the highway of holiness; viz., he sanctifies and cleanses them from all sin and traditions, and thus prepares his church, so she may be presented to himself “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” A holy church without blemish. True holiness adorned the church in primitive days. Her chief characteristics were purity and unity. These are inseparable. The one cannot exist independently of the other. Unity is the natural result and fruit of heart purity. Had the church but retained this glorious truth and experience, this globe to-day would be girdled with a belt of light and salvation. But instead, an apostasy came. The light of truth was soon extinguished by dark clouds of superstition and false doctrines which arose. Holiness is really the mainspring of all gospel truth. It is a golden thread which runs through the entire New Testament. To retrograde from it would be to throw open the doors to every species of false doctrine and error.

It was in this manner that the way was paved for the great apostasy. At a very early date true holiness was lost sight of, and was hid from the general masses of the people. Had it ever been retained by the church, there would never have been an apostasy. Mark you! By retrograding from true holiness the church went into apostasy, and was defiled. By returning to the true standard of holiness the church is brought out of the apostasy, and cleansed. The fire of holiness and truth cleanses the sanctuary, and restores a pure church. The result is, “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Isa. 33:14-16.

As the judgments of truth are executed, and the fire of holiness accompanies the same, sinners and hypocrites are surprised and made afraid to profess among us. None can dwell in this devouring fire, these burnings, only those who walk righteously and measure to the standard mentioned.

“Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Psa. 1:5. “But who may abide the day of his coming! and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Mal. 3:2-6. “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” ver. 17, 18.

While Malachi 3:2, 3 was fulfilled when Christ came in his personal advent to this world, yet the same work he then effected, he is now effecting in this evening time; viz., purifying unto himself a holy church. These scriptures beautifully portray the present holiness work. Christ sits, a refining fire. He sits upon “the throne of his holiness.”

His throne is “like a fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” This throne of grace and holiness is “within us.” Thus he suddenly comes to his temple, i. e., “Ye are the temple of the living God: as God hath said, I will dwell in them.” He purges and purifies his sanctuary, church; even as gold and silver our hearts are purified by faith. The result of this cleansing is realized by the people of God offering unto the Lord “an offering in righteousness.” Such offerings are “pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years [apostolic times].”

Glory to God! we have reached its fulfilment. The glorious Lord, the King of heaven, whom the universe cannot contain, whose glory fills all heaven, has condescended to dwell in this heart of mine. He has become the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon, the fairest among ten thousand. Blessed be his name forever! Since he is dwelling in his sanctuary, thus cleansed, he executes judgment against all sin and corrupt religions, and is a swift witness against men who would dare to profess among us and be guilty of the things enumerated in verse 5. Thus sinners cannot stand in the congregation of the righteous. As we return to the apostolic plane, we are enabled to “discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Thus “the righteous are taken from among the vile”—a pure church is gathered and cleansed; and of them he says: “They shall be mine, when I make up my jewels.”

We cooperate with Christ in this great work. What his Word accepts we accept; what it rejects we reject. Thus the rebels are purged out from among us.

“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” Zech. 13:8, 9.

That which cuts off two parts in all the land is the judgments written. God’s ministers lay “judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet.” The whole truth which they preach is “sharper than a two-edged sword,” and cuts off all who will not obey. The third part left is the remnant who walk in the light and obey the whole truth. These are refined by the fire.

We will now turn to Daniel 12. In verse 6 the question is asked, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” From what follows we conclude that the wonders spoken of refer to the great apostasy already considered.

“And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” ver. 7-10. The “time, times, and a half,” equal 1,260 years, and cover the time of the reign of popery. It is also seen that the apostasy did not end with the conclusion of the papal age; for following the “time, times, and a half” comes a scattering of the holy people, an age of dispersion. This has been fulfilled during the reign of Protestantism.

Now comes the question, “What shall be the end of these things?” (ver. 8); viz., the end of the entire reign of the apostasy, the end of the dispersion, or scattering? Hear the answer: “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried.” “Many must be tested, [chosen out—Greek] and thoroughly whitened, and tried with fire, and sanctified.”—Septuagint, ver. 10. Here we see that at the end of the apostasy there was to be a great holiness reformation. This is the very work that is now cleansing and purifying the sanctuary, or church. This same cleansing and redeeming of the church is seen in the first chapter of Isaiah. We will give it as rendered in the LXX.

“How has the faithful city Sion, once full of judgment, become a harlot! wherein righteousness lodged, but now murderers. Your silver is worthless, thy wine-merchants mix the wine with water. Thy princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving bribes, seeking after rewards; not pleading for orphans, and not heeding the cause of widows. Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Woe to the mighty men of Israel; for my wrath shall not cease against mine adversaries, and I will execute judgment on mine enemies. And I will bring my hand upon thee, and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take away from thee all transgressors. And I will establish thy judges as before, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: and afterward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother-city Sion. For her captives shall be saved with judgment, and with mercy.”

Isa. 1:21-27.

The faithful city Sion, once full of judgment, wherein righteousness lodged, refers to the pure church of God in her pristine glory. “She became a harlot.” This refers to her apostatized condition. “Her merchants” refers to her ministers. It is said that “they mix the wine with water”; that is, they weaken it and do not deal it out in its full strength. “The wine” signifies the gospel truth.

Oh, how truly is this fulfilled in Babylon! The pure unadulterated truth is not heard there. Their ministers fear to preach it. They weaken it to suit their own theories, and the crooked lives of their members. They “seek after rewards”—preach for the people’s money, rather than their souls—a hireling ministry. But, thank God, this was not always to continue. God declares that he will execute judgment upon all such. “And I will bring my hand upon thee [viz., his people, his church] and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take away from thee all transgressors.”

Here is the cleansing of the sanctuary, now going on, which restores a pure church. “And I will establish thy judges as before;” viz., establish his people and ministry in holiness (1 Thes. 3:13), where they shall be full of judgment by the Spirit of the Lord, to declare unto Jacob his transgressions, and unto Israel his sin.

Micah 3:8. “And thy counsellors as at the beginning [apostolic days].” “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness.” “And afterwards thou shalt be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother-city Sion.” This represents the glory of the church after being purified and cleansed in this evening time.

This same truth is brought out in other texts. We will here give Isaiah 4:3-5: “And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.”

Zion and Jerusalem are metaphors, which signify the church. Here it is seen that after she is purged by the spirit of judgment and burning, the Word and Spirit, all that remain shall be called holy, and “upon all the glory shall be a defense”; viz., “The glory that thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one as we are.” Thank God for a redeemed church. This line of truth could be much drawn out, but we deem the foregoing sufficient.

The house of God in this dispensation “is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” 1 Tim. 3:15. It is his temple. But the apostasy crushed it down under human authority and rule, and a great pile of sectarian rubbish covered it over for centuries from the clear view of the people; but in these last days, with the flaming torch of truth, this great pile of human rubbish is being consumed, and the house of God, which was so crushed and scattered during the apostasy, is being built up and cleansed by the burning Spirit of God with the blood of Christ, and thus restored to its primitive glory and power. The glorious truth of the whole gospel of Christ is again shining forth in all its brilliancy and beauty. The clouds and mists of confusion are passing away, and the clear rays of the Sun of righteousness are again being shed forth in these last days.

This was prophesied in Zechariah 14:6,7. We will give it as rendered in the LXX: “And it shall come to pass in that day [gospel day] that there shall be no light [the dark day of Romanism], and there shall be for one day cold and frost, and that day shall be known to the Lord, and it shall not be day nor night [the cloudy day of Protestantism, Ezek. 34:12, a time of mixture of truth and error, light and darkness], but towards evening it shall be light.”

Thank God! we have reached that time. The sun of time is fast sinking in the western horizon, and the last gleams of the light of God are now shining forth. We are in the evening time. The sanctuary, or church, is now being cleansed. The elect are being gathered. Thus the bride is being prepared for the bridegroom. “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

This is the special sign of Christ’s coming. “When ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is near, even at the door.”

“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mournings shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.” Isa. 60:18-22.

THE DAILY SACRIFICE

Identical with the setting up of the abomination of desolation, the polluting of the sanctuary stands associated with the taking “away of the daily sacrifice. “Dan. 8:11-13; 11:31; 12:11. This daily sacrifice was a “continual burnt offering,” offered “day by day continually.”

“Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: and with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”

Ex. 29: 38-43.

“And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the Lord; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one

lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even; and a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord. And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink offering. And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord.” Num. 28:3-8.

This sets forth the daily sacrifice. As before observed, when king Antiochus went to Jerusalem and set up the abomination there, and polluted the sanctuary, he took away this daily sacrifice, and placed a sin offering instead. All this was typical. The daily sacrifice of the legal dispensation was typical of something in the gospel. That was a continual sacrifice. Where will we find its antitype? The apostle answers: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifices of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Heb. 13:15, 16.

In this dispensation salvation saves people from all sin and they are enabled to render to the Lord “an offering in righteousness.” Instead of the “first-fruits of their increase,” they now render “the fruit of their lips, giving thanks to his name.” The legal daily sacrifice was “made by fire unto the Lord”; and now by the fire of the Holy Spirit we offer up a continual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. “Every sacrifice shall be salted with fire,” said Jesus. Those legal sacrifices were in their time a sweet savor unto the Lord. And now, by a daily holy walk and righteous life, by doing good, by offering up continual praise and thanksgiving from pure hearts, we render acceptable service, “well-pleasing unto the Lord.”

The legal sacrifices were offered by the priests. By washing us in his blood, Christ “hath made us kings and priests unto God.” Rev. 1:5, 6. Thus the whole church of God is built up “a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 2:5.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Pet. 2:9. “Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.” Hos. 14:2. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 1:11. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1. “But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.” Phil. 4:18.

All these texts set forth the daily sacrifices to be offered unto the Lord in this dispensation. Sprinkled all through the Psalms are to be found prophecies which sparkle with present truth. “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. . . . Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness.”

Psa. 51:15-19. David here prophesied of the grace that has come to us. A time when burnt offerings are no more acceptable; but instead, we offer sacrifices of righteousness; we show forth his praise.

“And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.” Psa. 35:28. “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psa. 34:1. “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph. 5:20. “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thes. 5:16-18.

The early church offered unto God a daily sacrifice of praise. “And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.” Luke 24:52, 53. “And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 2:46, 47.

This daily sacrifice of praise by the fire of the Holy Spirit was taken away by the apostasy and supplanted by a sin offering: and as a result “righteousness was cast down.” People have been educated that they cannot be delivered from sin—that they must sin more or less all the days of their life; and the result is they have been living far below the standard of righteousness; sinning and repenting day after day with no sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to offer unto the Lord. Thank God! this daily sacrifice is restored to us with the cleansed sanctuary in the evening light. Halleluiah!

THE BOOK SEALED WITH SEVEN SEALS

“And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.” Rev. 5:1-4.

This book in the hand of God Almighty was one of the symbols which John saw. It represented something that was a mystery. It was written within and without. That is, it contained solemn contents within: and on the backside was a superscription, indicating its contents. It was a labelled book, or one written on each side, which was unusual. But it was sealed; viz., the matter of the book was so obscure, and the work it enjoined, and the facts it predicted, were so difficult and stupendous, that they could neither be known nor performed by human wisdom or power. This book contained such a deep mystery that “no man in heaven [the angels of God], nor in earth [no human being], neither under the earth [no disembodied spirit, or demon], could open it, or even look upon it.” It was something in God’s hand, a mystery hid with him.

“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.” ver. 5-7.

Christ, the Root of David, the Lion of Juda, the Lamb of God, took this book, this mystery, out of the Father’s hand, and unlocked it to the world; he opened the book and loosed the seals thereof.

Now since he has opened the book, unlocked the mystery, we will look upon it, and read its contents. Jesus said, “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.” This mystery was hid in the mind of God from the foundation of the world; hid from the people for ages. It was a great mystery.

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Tim. 3:16. “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col. 1:25-27. “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our

Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Tim. 1: 9, 10.

“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” Rom. 16:25, 26. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.”

Eph. 3:8-12.

“Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” Eph. 3: 4-6. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” Eph. 1: 3-10.

We have here quoted at some length to show to the reader what this book of mystery represented. It represented the plan of salvation and redemption. Away back at the foundation of the world, just as soon as man fell into sin, God schemed a way of escape, a way of salvation, a plan to redeem the world back to himself. This was a hidden mystery in his own mind, “kept secret since the world began”—“hid in God.” It was his “eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus.”

Ages before that hidden mystery was made known to us by Jesus Christ, it cast its love-betoken shadow upon earth. The law, its tabernacle, sacrifices, and services, were but shadows of good things to come, then hid in the infinite wisdom and counsel of God, “which things the angels desired to look into.” 1 Pet. 1:12. No man in heaven could look upon that sealed book. No man in the earth could look upon it. They grasped its shadow, and “enquired and searched diligently.” The Spirit of Christ which was in them prophesied of the grace that should come (1 Pet. 1:10, 11); but in those “ages it was not made known unto the sons of men”; but “was hid from generations and ages,” yea, “kept secret since the world began.”

After long ages had passed away, “when the fulness of time had come,” the Lion of the tribe of Juda, Jesus Christ, opened the book, unloosed the seals, and revealed the mystery. “It is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior.” “Having made known unto us the mystery.” Halleluiah! What is this mystery? “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col. 1:27. “Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” Eph. 3:5, 6. “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” Eph. 1:9, 10.

The blood of animals, being inferior to the blood of finite man was too weak to redeem him. Man himself could not redeem himself: angels in heaven could not effect this. God gave his only Son. Being both God and man—the Son of God and the Son of man—he could make an atonement that would meet the demands of justice, and redeem the human family. There are some things connected with this great work that our finite minds will never be able to fathom until we see him face to face. But in fulfilment of his eternal purpose “the Lamb of God” prevailed to open the book, or plan of salvation to mankind. He was a Lamb slain. By the means of his death, the penalty was paid. He tasted death for every man. His blood was shed for all. Not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. All nations now have access to God by means of his death.

Immediately after the plan of redemption was opened to mankind, we hear the blood-washed throng celebrating the praises of God with “a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Rev. 5:9, 10.

Next are brought to view the multitudes who were redeemed to God through the blood of Christ. “And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.” ver. 11. “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” ver. 12.

The book represents the plan of redemption, while the seven seals cover the time of its accomplishment, from the incarnation of Christ, to the end of his redemption reign. Each seal brings us to a new epoch through which the church was to pass.

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Rev. 6:1, 2. This represents the triumphs of the kingdom of God in the early days of Christianity. “White horse” denotes its purity. The rider represents Christ, the king of heaven, riding forth through his pure ministry and people, conquering the nations of the earth, “leading captivity captive.” A bow in his hand represents him as a warrior; and such he is declared to be. “In righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Rev. 19:11. A crown was given unto him. This proves that he is now king. Yes, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”

“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” Rev. 6:3, 4. This represents the pagan persecutions. The first great conflict was between the white horse and his rider, and the red horse and his rider—between Christianity and paganism. The color red denotes the blood-thirstiness of heathen Rome. “A great sword” denotes the awful slaughter of Christians at the hands of the pagans.

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Rev. 6:5, 6. This represents the great apostasy—popery. “Black horse” signifies sin, darkness, superstition, false doctrine, etc. What a contrast between this and the white horse under the first seal, which represented primitive Christianity. “A pair of balances,” “a measure of wheat for a penny,” etc., signifies famine. Such a famine existed during the apostasy. Thus saith the prophet, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.” Amos 8:11-13.

“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” Rev. 6:7, 8. This refers to the papal persecutions. Death and hell (Hades) followed in its trail. Hades (the world of spirits) was well fed during the dark reign of popery. The above description was fulfilled to the letter. The papists slaughtered the Christians “with the sword, and with hunger, and with death [pestilence] and with the beasts of the earth.” Some historians placed the figures at about fifty millions.

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” Rev. 6:9-11.

Under the fifth seal we reach the sixteenth century reformation. New light breaks forth in the earth. Under this seal the souls of all those who had been slain under the second and fourth seals are brought to view. John saw them “under the altar.” Upon the altar would signify active service and labor: but under the altar signifies that their labor was done. They were disembodied spirits, whose bodies had been slain upon earth. They were not upon earth, for they cried out how long until their blood would be avenged on them that dwell upon the earth. Their prayer and patience upon earth had been that the same power that had slain them with the sword, would some day be slain with the sword. Rev. 13:10. And it seems they were anxious to know when this would be fulfilled. The answer was that they should rest yet “for a little season, until their fellow servants and brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” And sure enough it came.

Immediately after the reformation, there came a second period of awful martyrdom. There were thirty years of bloody war in Germany, during which time Protestant blood was freely shed. In Magdeburg, Germany, history tells us that Protestant blood ran along the streets like water after a dashing rain storm. But finally the Protestants conquered. The sword was turned against the papal beast, and his power broken. The great slaughter of Christians following the reformation, was the “rest of the brethren that were killed.” Their blood was avenged when the temporal powers which had supported popery turned Protestant and sheared the beast of its dominion and power.

It is said concerning those souls who had been martyred during the dark ages that “white robes were given to every one of them.” Beloved, here is the solution of the matter. During the dark ages, the thousands who were slain were looked upon and regarded as rank heretics. But the reformation brought to light the fact that those who had been martyred as heretics were the true people of God. Thus, white robes (righteousness) were ascribed to those, who had been for centuries looked upon as the darkest heretics of their time.

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. 6:12-17.

That which is here described has been thought by some to refer to the final judgment. But it should be remembered that this seal which ushered in these events is not the last, but the sixth seal. Reader, we are now living under the sixth seal. The next will usher in the judgment. The symbols above described have a present fulfilment. This seal ushers in the last great reformation, the present holiness work. At the opening of this seal “there was a great earthquake.” This signifies a shaking time, a great commotion and upheaval in the spiritual world. Just such a state of things has been going on for over twenty years.

But identical with this great earthquake, the sun became black, and the moon became as blood: and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, etc. Adventists try to apply this in literal fulfilment. But what John saw was only symbols of something that would reach a fulfilment upon earth. This darkening of the sun, no doubt, refers to awful darkness which should come upon the people. While the present revival of the whole truth is a blessed “evening light” to the church; and dispels all the fogs and mists of superstitious night, yet, to millions who reject the truth, it is bringing upon them an awful state of darkness and death. Such is the present state of the world. Light rates the sinfulness of sin. The brighter the light shines the greater will be the people’s sin. Since the light is now shining in all its brilliancy and purity, and the masses of this Gentile world are rejecting it, they are plunged in the blackness of night. The true light shines, but they comprehend it not. Dark clouds hide it from their view. Oh, the darkness that is now settling down over this Gentile world! It is appalling to behold it. Just as blindness happened to Israel, because they rejected the light, so it is now falling upon the Gentiles for the same reason. While the Sun of righteousness is being hid from the masses, and awful night is settling upon them, a gleaned remnant from the great harvest field, God’s people who walk in the light, are enabled to rise above the darkness, and as the clouds roll along at their feet, they bask in everlasting light.

“The moon into blood” may possibly signify bloody persecutions before the end. It may also signify war among the nations. “The stars falling,” is fulfilled in the thousands who were bright lights when the present truth was ushered in upon them: but rather than get saved from all sin and sectism, and abide in Christ alone, they reject the truth and fall into darkness. God’s people are compared in Scripture to “stars,” “lights that shine,” etc. Dan. 12:3; Phil. 2:15. This work which separates a pure church from fallen Babylon, found thousands who seemingly were living to all the light received. They were lights in the world. But they were not willing to separate from sectism and stand in the body of Christ alone. The result was, God had to “sacrifice” them, in order to get a holy church to himself in the world. They fell from the heavenly plane, and darkness came upon them.

Joel prophesied of this same work as follows: “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.” Joel 3:13-17.

The harvest is ripe to judgment. The wickedness of the people is great in the earth. The sickle of truth is now being thrust in to gather out the pure wheat. The tares of Babylon are being bound in bundles to burn. As the mighty judgments of truth are being executed against all sin and false religion, and the Lord is roaring out of Zion, his church, “the heavens [ecclesiastical] and earth are made to shake.” This is the great earthquake. A mighty commotion is going on. Jesus says that right before the coming of the Son of man “the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Mat. 24:29, 30. Heavens in these texts denote the spiritual ecclesiastical world. Such a shaking is now realized. The result is “multitudes are being brought into the valley of decision.” They must decide either for or against “present truth.” A holy church is separated, “and there shall no strangers [sinners] pass through her any more.” The Lord is their “hope” and “strength.”

But right in connection with all this the prophet adds, “The sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” This refers to those who in the valley of decision take sides against the truth. Blackness and darkness comes upon them. Hear the solemn warning: “The day of the Lord is near. “

“Oh, what myriad souls are sleeping,

Soon to wake ‘mid judgment fires.

Help, O God, thy remnant gleaning,

Until time indeed expires.”

The heavens departing as a scroll, and the mountains being moved, is the result of the earthquake. It signifies a mighty upheaval in the spiritual world. Christ again sits upon the throne of his holiness, and reigns in the hearts of his people. His fury and wrath are being poured upon the nations. His awful judgments are being executed. The same work as described under the sixth seal is referred to in Isaiah 34, and almost the same words are employed.

“For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: beholds it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood and their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” Isa. 34:2-8.

It is a time when the Lord is redeeming Zion, and is easing himself of his adversaries, and avenging himself upon his enemies. This prophecy was fully considered in a former chapter. It has a present fulfilment. The result of the “great wrath” of God against all sin and false religion is, that the people try to hide themselves “in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains.” And they cry to the rocks and mountains to fall (more correctly rendered, “cover us”) upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. While there will be a similar scene at the final day of judgment, yet this expresses the effects of the present wrath and judgment of God upon the nations.

In Scripture the church of God is termed a mountain, “the mountain of the Lord’s house” (Isa. 2:2, 3); “mount Zion.” Heb. 12:22, 23. So the apostate churches are frequently referred to as mountains and hills. We will give a few examples. “Son of man prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.” Ezek. 34:2-6. “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting-place.” Jer. 50:6. “Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.” Jer. 3:23.

These texts were fulfilled in the scattered condition of God’s people in sectism during the greater part of the Christian era. Mountains and hills refer to the many sectarian institutions in which they were scattered.

“Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.” Isa. 41:14-16. God is making a sharp threshing instrument out of Jacob or Israel—the church—and they are threshing the mountains and hills of Babylon. The object of this threshing is to get the wheat out. Thus Zion is being filled with “the finest of the wheat.” Psa. 147:12-14. While this work is going on the great men, the chief men, yea, all defenders of sect religion are trying to hide themselves in the “dens” of deception found in the mountains of Babylon. They call upon their fallen institutions to “cover them” from the wrath of the Lamb.

“And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isa. 2:17-21.

“Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” Jer. 16:16. The fishers and hunters are God’s holy ministers.

“The fury of God has come up in his face,

He riseth with power to deliver his saints;

His angels are flying to gather them home,

A positive sign that the Lord’s near to come.”

The foregoing is the spiritual application of that which is now transpiring under the sixth seal. But as already observed, a similar scene will take place at the judgment. To do justice to the reader, I will dwell a moment upon that. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Mat. 24:29, 30. “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:25-28.

The next great event after “that great tribulation”—the destruction of Jerusalem—would be the coming of the Son of man. And the dissolution of the heavenly bodies—sun, moon, and stars—stands identical with his coming. For when the sun is darkened, and the moon no more gives her light, and all the stars fall, “then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Luke quotes Christ’s language, and applies it directly to the heavenly planets, in contradistinction to this earth. He speaks of the same recorded by Matthew. When Christ comes, what need will there be for the sun, moon, and stars? This earth will be burned up, and the above texts, with many others, prove, that the sun, moon, and stars will also pass away when Jesus comes.

“And, thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” Heb. 1:10-12.

This brings us to consider the seventh seal. “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” Rev. 8:1. This seal is the last. With the opening of this seal we reach the end of the redemption reign of Christ. It ushers in the judgment. Christ now sits upon a mediatorial throne at the right hand of God, interceding for this lost world. “Account that the long-suffering of God is salvation.”

From his throne in heaven he executes through the Holy Spirit the perfect salvation which he purchased upon the cross. But the time is drawing near when he will leave that throne of grace for the judgment-seat. He will then descend to earth seated upon his throne of glory. The world will be left without an advocate, without a Savior, or further opportunity of salvation. God himself will come down in awful wrath. All the dead will be raised, the judgment will sit, and the wicked will be sentenced to everlasting punishment, while the righteous will be caught up to meet the Lord and be ever with him.

All Scriptures harmonize in teaching that the dead will be resurrected, judged, and rewarded at the instant of Christ’s coming. The silence in heaven for the space of half an hour is when Christ, accompanied by all the heavenly host, descends to judgment. The inference is, that it will be one-half hour from the time he descends till he returns with the blood-washed millions. My heart awaits his coming with bright anticipations. Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.

THE ETERNAL HOME OF THE CHURCH

The church of God is from above. It is the holy Jerusalem which “came down from God out of heaven.” Ages before it appeared upon earth, it was prepared in the plan of God, and hid in his infinite wisdom and knowledge. It cast its shadow upon earth in the form of the Jewish sanctuary. As there must be a substance to produce a shadow, the church already existed. But when the fulness of time came, it came down to earth. Its builder, head, door, foundation, and governor came from heaven. Its law, the truth, “came by Jesus Christ.” Its garments of salvation are from God. Its members are all born “from above.” it is animated with, “the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.” The conversation of all its members “is in heaven.” Their names “are written in heaven.” Their affections are “fixed on things above, not on things on the earth.” This is the heavenly Jerusalem. Being a spiritual, divine, and heavenly church, denominated the kingdom of heaven, its affinities and attractions are all heavenward. “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.”

The mind and heart of the Christian is naturally reaching out into the eternal world. Earth loses its attraction. Its jewels and diamonds, its silver and gold, lose their luster and brilliancy, as the Christian, with an eye of faith sees his riches in heaven. He beholds the sparkling diamonds, the unsearchable riches of Christ that await

him over there. As he presses forward toward the joy set before him, earth’s attractions fade away. None but the earthly minded desire to remain here. None but those who are void of spiritual life, desire to make this their eternal home. Man is born for a higher destiny than that of earth. There is a realm where the rainbow never fades; where the stars will be spread out before us like islands that slumber upon the ocean; and where the beautiful beings which here pass before us like visions, will stay in our presence forever.

The patriarchs and saints of old “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Heb. 11:13. They understood that this was not their final destiny, their final abode. David, who reigned over Israel, who inherited the promised land, says, “I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.”

Psa. 39:12. A stranger in the earth, in the land which they received for an inheritance; only pilgrims sojourning here for a time. Paul says they were seeking a country, “a better country, that is, a heavenly.” Heb. 11:14, 16.

This was not only true of the Old Testament saints, but Peter denominates the New Testament church “as strangers and pilgrims,” who are “sojourning here.” 1 Pet. 2:11; 1:17. “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” Heb. 13:14. “For he hath prepared for them a city.” Heb. 11:16. All these scriptures point us away from this earth to “another country”—yes, to a “better country,” “an heavenly.” We are only sojourners here for a time. We are traveling to another clime, another sphere of existence, a brighter realm. Our short pilgrimage upon earth is compared to a handbreadth, an eagle hastening to his prey, a swift post, a dream, a shadow, a vapor. Time with gigantic footsteps is bearing us to the future. Life is soon cut down, “and we fly away.” “Because man goeth to his long home.” Eccl. 12:5. “To his eternal home.”—LXX.

That “eternal home” is not this earth as the worldly minded vainly hope, but is “a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Cor. 5:1. Yes, in heaven, the place of God’s throne and home of the angels. There is an eternal heaven above, which Paul terms the “third heaven.” 2 Cor. 12:2-4.

First, the church is now raised up on the plane of Heaven’s purity, and all its members are made to “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Then again, the atmosphere which surrounds this earth is frequently in Scripture called “the heavens.” These will pass away with this earth. But there is a third heaven, a place where God now dwells. “The Lord he is God in heaven above.” Deut. 4:39. “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven.” Psa. 11:4.

Heaven is also the home of the angels. “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” Mat. 22:30. “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19. “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” 1 Pet. 3:22. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Heb. 9:24.

All these texts, with many others, clearly teach that there is a place called heaven. There can be no appeal from this fact. When Stephen was dying, it is said that he “looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” Then he cried, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Acts 7:55-60. We read that “Elijah went

up by a whirlwind into heaven.” 2 Kings 2:11. We shall now prove that the same will be the eternal home of the church.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:18. Paul here speaks of things which are “temporal” (proskaros), for a season or time only; and then he speaks of things “eternal” (aionios), without end, as the eternal Spirit. Heb. 9:14. Those things we see with our natural eyes are only temporal. They are things which have a short duration, and must have an end. “The things which are seen are temporal”—temporary, for a time only. That includes this earth and all that pertains to it. All nature teaches this fact.

The green grass covers this earth with a beautiful and verdant carpet, but the time comes when it withereth and the lovely flowers fade away. The leaves which come forth and cheer our hearts in springtime turn to a golden hue when the autumn winds blow, and fall to mother earth, and decay away. The sturdy oak, in whose branches the fowls of the air lodge, soon decays and is no more. The lofty pyramids, and the monuments, in time crumble to dust.

The same lesson is taught in the animal kingdom. Our mortal bodies return to dust, to mother earth. All nature, and everything around us teaches us “the end of all things” pertaining to earth. The earth itself is one of the things which we see, and Paul positively declares that all we see is temporal, must have an end. This earth will pass away. Both the Old and New Testaments teach this fact.

“Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure.” Psa. 102:25, 26. “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment.” Isa. 51:6. “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; . . . it shall fall, and not rise again.” Isa. 24:19, 20. In these texts is foretold the “end of this world.” This planet called the earth shall “wax old” and “shall perish.” It shall be “clean dissolved,” “and shall be removed like a cottage;” “it shall fall and not rise again.” So positively teaches the Word of God.

When we come over into the New Testament we have this same fact taught, if anything, more clearly than in the Old. Jesus said, “Till heaven and earth pass.” Mat. 5:18. In the very commencement of his ministry, Jesus Christ teaches the instability of all visible things. The heavens which you see, and which are so glorious, and the earth which you inhabit shall pass away; “for the things which are seen are temporal.” From the lips of Jesus we hear the solemn words, “Heaven and earth shall pass away.” Mat. 24:35. “The end of all things is at hand.” 1 Pet. 4:7.

From the beginning God has meted out this world’s career. One long age has succeeded another, until we now have reached the “last days” of its history. A small step before us is the end of “all things” pertaining to earth.

But when will all this take place? Ans.—“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:11-15.

This is very clear. The coming of Christ upon the great white throne (the throne of his glory. Mat. 24:31), the coming forth of all the dead from land and sea, the same being judged, and the wicked cast into the lake of fire, will be the time when this earth will pass away and “no place be found for it.” Let all our readers prepare for such a catastrophe; for as truly as God has spoken, it will come. The “heavens” in these texts refer to aerial heavens. We will next consider the manner of its passing away.

“But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall he dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”

2 Pet. 3:7-12.

How clear this testimony! Not only will the works in this earth be consumed, but the earth itself “shall be burned up,” “dissolved,” and “melted with fervent heat.” That day of fire which shall consume this earth, “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,” will be the day of the Lord’s second advent, ver. 4, 10.

“Instead of conveying an idea that this last destruction will only be similar to that of the flood, a contrast is drawn between the two. The first was only by water; the next shall be by fire, and surely God knew that we understood the difference between the action of these two elements. Floods of water may carry away buildings, and wreck them, and wash the earth over cities, etc.; but they have no power to take out of existence a single stone or piece of timber. Whereas fire actually consumes, and changes things from a visible existence into a small bit of ashes and vapor, and reduces even earth and stone back to a melted mass of chaos, as it was before the days of creation began; and we are plainly told that this very destruction will come to pass. Again, observe the contrasted extent of the two destructions. ‘The world that then was, being overflowed with water perished.’ But the next time both the heavens and the earth shall be dissolved. So we see clearly that the ‘end of all things’ does not mean a renovation of this earth; but an utter consuming, and melting of the same into the same chaotic state in which its matter existed before the six days of creation.

“Again, right in the seventh verse we have a positive overthrow of the whole millennial theory. They tell us that this destruction by fire will only renovate the earth, and then there will be a millennial reign of one thousand years, after which will come the resurrection and judgment of the wicked. But the fire which they locate before the thousand years, the Word identifies with the ‘judgment and perdition of the ungodly,’ an event which they say will take place after the thousand years. Do you see the point? The very thing which they think will prepare the earth for their fancied millennium, God associates with that which they say will come after the millennium. So they are mistaken, or the Word of God is wrong. But the Word of the Lord is right, and every contrary doctrine is false. Behold the harmony of divine truth!

“The Scriptures very clearly teach that Christ will come in the end of the world, in the last day of this last age of time. They also inform us that the same will be the day of judgment. And here Peter tells us plainly that on that very day of his coming and the judgment, the heavens and the earth will be consumed, melted and destroyed. So it will indeed be the end of the world, the close of all time allotted to this earth. On the eighth verse theological speculators have taken the authority to say that the earth will stand in its present condition just six thousand years, and the seventh thousand will be a millennial rest. But no such thought is found in the text or context. ‘One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ The expression is used simply to assure us that the promises of God do not become doubtful because of long delay; that the word of God that is deferred two thousand years is just as sure as that which is fulfilled in the same week or month it was spoken.

“Just so the apostle Peter applies his words in the next verse, saying, ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness.’ How do men count slackness? When men make promises, leaving the time indefinite, it is natural for us to lose confidence in proportion to the delay. Men actually count others slack in their word if long deferred. But God is not slack in his promises, as men count their fellow men slack; nay, in this respect, a thousand years is with the Lord as one day. In other words, his promise is just as sure to come to pass though deferred ten thousand years, as if it were fulfilled in ten days. For two reasons this is so: he says, ‘I am the Lord, I change not,’ and ‘his covenant will he remember.’ He never changes his mind, nor forgets the words he has spoken. In this chapter the coming of Christ, the day of judgment, and the utter destruction of the earth and its works are all pointed forward to as the events of one great and last ‘day of God, wherein the heavens [the atmosphere] being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements [that compose the earth] shall melt with fervent heat,’ ver. 12.

“Now let us see if any offers of salvation to our race will extend beyond that awful day. Owing to the long pending of Christ’s second advent, it was foreseen that ‘there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?’ Wherefore the Lord, by this inspired writer, explains the reason of his delay. ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ ver. 9. ‘And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation.’ ver. 15. Surely this is all very plain. The long pending of Christ’s second advent, we are told, is not because of any slackness on the part of the Lord to fulfil his promise, but because he is not willing that poor sinners should be cut off from all hope, and eternally perish. We are, therefore, taught to count that the long-suffering, the prolonged delay of the Lord and the day of judgment, ‘is salvation’—that men may have extended time for repentance, and salvation.

“So let all men take warning that ‘salvation’ is now, and only now; is all on this side the coming of the Lord. Whereas his second coming will be the ‘day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,’ the point at which all salvation work will be forever cut off. Is it not one of the most astonishing things that devils ever invented on earth that men—such for instance as C. T. Russell, the age-to-come heretic—can be so subverted as to teach that now is not the time of salvation, but that glorious work is ‘deferred until after Christ’s second advent, in the millennial age?’ How dare men teach such shocking falsehoods in the face of God’s Word? Truth declares that now is the day of salvation, and that the present day of grace is drawn out by the mercy of God, to enable more lost sinners to be saved; and that when Christ comes salvation will forever cease, the judgment and perdition of all the wicked take place, and this earth perish. ‘But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.’ ver. 10. This is so plain that comment is scarcely needed.

“Christ told his church that he would come at a time when not looked for. Peter’s words here convey the same idea. And in that day of the Lord’s coming ‘the heavens [the aerial heavens] will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt; the earth and the works therein shall be burned up.’ The atmosphere, earth, and all in it, even all the elements that compose this globe shall be melted and burned up. In verse 11 it is again repeated that ‘all these things shall be dissolved,’ and we are solemnly charged in view of this coming crisis to live, ‘in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements [of this earth] shall melt with fervent heat.’ These scriptures, it would seem, cannot be misconstrued. They emphatically teach us that the earth and all pertaining to it, at the coming of Christ and the day of judgment, will be reduced back to a melted and chaotic state, without form and void, as its matter existed before the six days of creation. ‘Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.’

“Oh, that vain speculators upon the solemn subjects of prophecy, and all their deceived readers, would stop and consider the loud warnings from the Almighty everywhere associated with the second advent of Christ! Instead of ushering in an age of restitution of souls from sin, and millennial glory, it will consign to eternal despair all who will not be found in peace, ‘without spot and blameless.’ Reader, is that your happy condition just now? If not, rest not until the blood of Christ is applied, which ‘cleanseth from all sin.’ All these scriptures teach that we are living in the last dispensation of time; that ‘now is the day of salvation,’ that at the second advent of Christ he will not set up a kingdom, but will deliver up the kingdom to the Father, and close his personal reign

(1 Cor. 10:23, 24); that at his coming all the dead will be raised, all men judged, the righteous crowned in heaven and the wicked sentenced to ‘everlasting punishment,’ this earth, and all the works that are in it burned up, and pass away, and time and probation end.

“Christ’s second advent is urged upon the church in the present age as a strong inducement to watch and pray, to live holy, and be ready for the same, with the solemn warning that our eternal destiny, of either reward or punishment, will depend upon the condition we shall be found in at that instant. Therefore the coming described is not one that will be pending in a future age, but the crisis that shall close the present age. Otherwise it would not have been charged upon this age to keep it in view. He that is unjust, filthy, or righteous and holy, let him be so still, is directly connected with, ‘Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give to every man [both saint and sinner] according as his work shall be.’ The coincidence of the coming of Christ and the general judgment is utterly fatal to the millennial theory. And now we have proved that at the time of his revelation from heaven with power and great glory, the earth will be burned up, and pass away, leaving no possible place for the millennial dream to be enacted. Are you ready for that great day? If not, ‘to-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.’ ‘Behold, now is the day of salvation,’ ‘and after this the judgment.’ Amen.”

Since man will have an eternal existence, and as we see, this earth shall pass away and be no more, it cannot be his eternal home. “The things which are not seen are eternal.” Our eternal home is something we cannot now see. Where then is it located? The Word plainly answers: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Cor. 5:1.

When time has run its course, when the sun and moon no longer shine, when all things pertaining to earth, and the earth itself is no more, and is forgotten in the dim past, when our earthly, mortal house shall be dissolved, and we are clothed with an immortal and glorified body, we shall dwell in a building of God, a house not made with hands “eternal in the heavens.”

O my soul, press forward! Pleasures forevermore await thee, an eternal weight of glory. O world to come, in exchange for the present! O eternity, for a moment! A blessed eternal communion in the holy, blessed eternal life of God, in exchange for the sacrifices and sufferings of a few short years of earth. For the joy set before me I willingly endure hardness as a good soldier for Christ Jesus. Yes, gladly will I forsake home and loved ones to preach thy gospel, and in exchange receive a home eternal in the heavens.

Since this earth will have an end, what a consoling thought to know in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Heb. 10:31. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Pet. 1:10, 11.

We here enter the kingdom of grace, which prepares us for an abundant entrance into the future everlasting kingdom of glory. This is not a literal something upon earth as many blind zealots imagine, but it is “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God.” 1 Pet. 1:4, 5. “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Tim. 4:18.

Oh, blessed hope, “which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.” My soul rests upon the promises of his Word, awaiting “the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. Col. 1:5.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Mat. 6:20. “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” Luke 12:33. “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Mat. 19:21.

If this earth were our eternal portion, then our treasure should be laid up here. But since it is temporal, we are commanded to lay up our treasures in heaven. Though we may be poor in this world’s goods, yet if we serve God we “shall have treasure in heaven.” Instead of getting our reward in this earth as some teach, Jesus said we shall be rewarded in heaven. “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Mat. 5:12. “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” Luke 6:23.

Surely these multiplied texts are sufficient to establish the fact that heaven will be the future and eternal home of the church. Jesus, speaking of that future state, said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2, 3. In the Scriptures we have “Christ’s house” and “the Father’s house.” Christ’s kingdom of grace here, and the Father’s kingdom of glory above. The one applies to the earth, the other to heaven. In the above Christ speaks of our future hope. By the “Father’s house” he means heaven, for that is the Father’s dwelling place. Christ’s house is the church here upon earth. By entering the latter we have access to the former. By “mansions” he desired them to know that heaven, the Father’s domain, was large and spacious. He did not wish, as sectarians believe, to convey the idea that everybody would have a separate house up there; but he resorted to language that they could understand. He spoke from the standpoint of a literal building so they could comprehend his meaning. Since the Father’s house is so spacious, contains many mansions, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Christ went into heaven. Luke 24:51. So in heaven he is preparing our eternal home.

It may be objected that it has been prepared from the foundation of the world. Mat. 25:34. Yes, the kingdom of heaven, or heaven itself, was prepared from the foundation of the world; but in that kingdom, Christ went to prepare a place for us. Again, Christ was a Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world.” Yet in reality it was fulfilled when he came. So with the place prepared for us. Christ in reality went to prepare it for us; and the promise is that he will come again, not to remain here upon earth with us, but to receive us to himself, that where he is there we may be also. That is, he will come back and take his church home to glory, to the world he went to prepare.

When will all this be fulfilled? “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thes. 4:16, 17.

Oh, the beauty of heavenly truth! The church came out of heaven, and at last will all he caught up to heaven, and be ever with the Lord. But did not Jesus teach that the meek “shall inherit the earth”? Mat. 5:5. The Psalmist adds: “But the meek shall inherit the earth.” Psa. 37:11. How harmonize these scriptures? Peter fully explains them. He first shows that in the day of judgment this terrestrial globe, this earth, will pass away by being burned up. He foretells its utter destruction: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Pet. 3:10.

What then about the promise of Jesus, that the meek shall inherit the earth? The apostle answers, “We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth.” ver. 13. Ah, how clear! We, according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth, after the heavens and earth which compose this globe are “burned up” and “pass away.” 2 Pet. 3:7-13. Peter is speaking of that land of light and bliss Jesus went to prepare.

Also, the Revelator, after describing the judgment scene, when this earth and heavens fled away, “and there was found no place for them” (Rev. 20:11-15), says: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Rev. 21:1. Mark you! He saw the new heaven and the new earth after “the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.”

When did they pass away? Ans.—“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Rev. 20:11, 12.

How did they pass away? Ans.—“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Pet. 3:10.

So then after this earth has passed away we look for new heavens and a new earth, ver. 13. The new earth is the “heavenly country,” the “better country.” Heb. 11:16. The new heaven is the “heavenly city,” the one “to come.” Heb. 11:16; 13:14. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev. 22:14.

“There is a land where everlasting suns shed everlasting brightness;

Where the soul drinks from the living streams which roll by God’s high

throne.

Myriads of glorious ones bring their accepted offerings.

Oh, how blest to look from this dark prison to that shrine,

To inhale one breath of paradise divine,

And enter into the eternal home of rest, which awaits the sons of God.”

The apostle Paul informs us that if “in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” 1 Cor. 15:19. This language implies that our present enjoyment is based on our future prospects and hope. This was true in the life of Christ; “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.” Amidst the trials, temptations, difficulties, disappointments, and adversities of life, the bright prospects the Christian has in the future, is what encourages him to cleave unto the Lord with a purpose of heart. It enables him to outride the raging storms, and surmount life’s billows. When the heavens gather blackness, and the tempests sweep the sky, Ins hope is anchored in that within the vail. It puts new courage in him, so he is enabled to run and not be weary, to walk and never faint.

Paul, though called to pass through many hardships, testified: “I press forward toward the mark.” “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Heb. 11:24-26. The reward at the end was kept in view.

As to the glories of heaven, we can have but a foretaste. The apostle informs us that to “dwell with Christ” is “far better” than to abide in the flesh. Therefore he adds, “To die is gain.” The inspired testimony is that in his presence “there is fulness of joy; and at his right hand, pleasures forevermore.”

“There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.” Job 3:17-19. “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” Dan. 12:3.

These scriptures give us a faint idea of the glory that shall follow. When all the ungodly, and all sin and evil is forever banished out of his domain—kingdom—“Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Dan. 7:27. This simply means that after the ungodly are cast into outer darkness the whole universe of God shall be given to the saints. God’s whole dominion shall be at their disposal. “And of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,” but they “shall reign forever and ever.” With immortal and glorified bodies they shall roam through Elysian fields of glory with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the saints of ages.

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears, from their eyes.”

Rev. 7:13-17.

THE FINAL AND ETERNAL DOOM OF THE BEAST

In the previous chapter we have seen that the church of God, which came out of heaven, will in the last day be caught up, and enter heaven, the future and eternal home of the redeemed. But what of the beast—the apostate church? What, we ask, will be the eternal doom of all false worshipers, and wicked men who close this probationary state in rebellion against God’s throne? We will let the Bible answer.

“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.” Rev. 17:8. “I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” Dan. 7:11. “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Rev. 19:20. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:10. “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone. . . . And the smoke of their

torment ascendeth up forever and ever.” Rev. 14:9-11. “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever,” Rev. 19:1-3.

These texts clearly teach the eternal destiny of all beast worshipers. The apostate church, with all its worshipers, will be cast into “perdition,” “the burning flame” “the lake of fire and brimstone;” and in that awful place of punishment they will be “tormented forever and ever.” So positively teach the six clear texts of Scripture at the head of this chapter, and the Word of God cannot be broken. This includes all who worship the beast—popery—and his image—Protestantism. The entire host of apostates and false worshipers, with all wicked men and devils, will in the day of judgment be cast into the lake of fire. The doctrine of future punishment is well grounded in the holy Scriptures. In the Old Testament frequent reference is made to it. In the New Testament Christ himself boldly taught it, and warned men to “flee the wrath to come.” Sprinkled throughout the epistles are solemn and awful warnings to mankind of the doom of the ungodly. The same truth we find in Revelation, the book of symbols. I am aware, that in this fast age of deception, the doctrine of hell-fire is quite unpopular, and the people are apt to cry, “It’s an old fable.” But, beloved reader, the scoffings, jeers, and unbelief of the people, will never change the truth. Truth will stand when the earth crumbles to chaos. The Word of God must be fulfilled, and the decrees of Jehovah will be executed. “Who art thou that repliest against God?” Modern theories will never change the Bible. What saith the Lord?

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” John 8:31. Jesus himself plainly and emphatically declares that all who die in their sins cannot go where he is. Christ ascended into heaven; and in Stephen’s dying hour he saw heaven opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. So the only true conclusion we can draw from Jesus’ own words, is that every man who lives and dies in sin will never enter heaven. What then will be their destiny? Thus saith the Word: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psa. 9:17.

Modern preachers who cry “peace and safety,” paint in very nice language the Fatherly love, goodness, and mercy of God. They only give you one side of the picture. The same Bible which teaches that God is love, also declares him to be “a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:29. On one side we have the love of God, the mercy of God, the goodness of God: but when we turn the picture, on the other side we have “the wrath of God,” “the vengeance of God,” “the anger of the Lord.”

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Rom. 11:22. “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith

the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb. 10:27-31.

To those who continue in well-doing, and faithfully serve God upon earth, God will pour out of his goodness. At his right hand there will be pleasures forevermore. But the positive testimony is that a “sore punishment” awaits the guilty wretch who will dare to trample the mercy of God beneath his feet, and reject that love which gave his life’s blood that we might live. Such can expect a “fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,” “vengeance,” a “sore punishment.” To all such it will be a “fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” O friend, behold the goodness and severity of God. If you will not continue in his goodness, you will be cut off, and cut off eternally. God’s dealings with mankind in past ages prove him to be severe as well as merciful. For example, we refer to the flood.

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Gen. 6:5-8.

Only Noah and his family found grace in the eyes of the Lord in that awful day of wrath. Why? Because his works were found righteous in God’s sight. No doubt the people of that age argued like men do to-day, viz., God is too good, too merciful to ever destroy us. But when Noah entered the ark and closed the door, it was then too late to pray. Mercy’s door was closed, the Spirit of God ceased to strive, and the degenerate world was in the hands of the living God. The result was, its despairing myriads were engulfed in one common grave. It was a fearful thing for those antediluvians to fall into the hands of God after their day of mercy was over. God had warned them, but they would not heed, hence they paid the awful penalty. Just so will it be with the world of the ungodly at Christ’s coming. For, says Jesus:

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26, 27. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Mat. 24:36-39.

Again I refer you to God’s dealings with the Sodomites:

“And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” Gen. 18:20, 21. “And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, that when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.” Gen. 19:12-17, 24, 25, 27-29.

Oh, what an awful day of wrath upon that people! God delivered just Lot, because he was righteous. 2 Pet. 2:7, 8. When that faithful man warned the people it seemed like one who mocked. They never thought a merciful God would do such a thing. They, like modern Sodomites, scoffed God’s servant to scorn. When Lot escaped, they were in the hands of the living God. Mercy’s day with them was forever past. The day of wrath had come. They had now fallen into the hands of an angry God, and it was a fearful thing to them. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Luke 17:28-30.

O reader, take warning. The “great day of his wrath” is coming. The day when the Son of man is revealed. Just like it was in Sodom, it will be in that day. “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” Gen. 19:24. “When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2 Thes. 1:7-9.

Thus we see that awful punishment awaits the ungodly at the time when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven. The apostle Peter in referring back to the flood and the utter destruction of Sodom gives us this solemn warning: “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” 2 Pet. 2:4-6, 9. “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” 2 Pet. 2:12. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude 7.

These awful visitations of God’s wrath and vengeance upon man, the apostle informs us, are an “ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.” They are “set forth for an example.” In the name of Jesus, we affirm that language could not be framed to more clearly teach that an awful and final doom awaits the ungodly. And the apostle points to the judgment day, as the very time when this punishment will be inflicted. So whether men believe it or not, it will come to pass as sure as God has spoken it. God smote the first-born of Egypt with death. He led the Israelites through the Red Sea, and then destroyed Pharaoh’s hosts. He sent plagues among the Israelites and destroyed them by the thousands, because of their disobedience. He opened the earth, and destroyed Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their hosts. He sent Nebuchadnezzar to Jerusalem, who destroyed the city and sanctuary, slaughtered the Jews, and left Jerusalem a heap of ruins, all because the Jews corrupted themselves in idolatry. Finally his own chosen people rejected the Messiah, and condemned him to be crucified. They cried, “His blood be upon us.” For this cause came “days of vengeance,” “great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.” They fell into the hands of the living God. Such a time of trouble never before was known, or ever shall be. God wreaked out vengeance until one million one hundred thousand perished in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Thus we could take you through all God’s dealings with man in the past, and prove beyond question, the awful severity as well as the mercy of God.

But the day of judgment will exceed them all; for it is the day when time has run its course, when universal retribution shall be awarded, when God himself shall come down to take vengeance on them that know him not. Paul gives us all a fair warning: “But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:5-11.

How solemn this declaration of Heaven’s truth. God has from the beginning meted out this planet’s end. One long age has succeeded another until to-day we have entered the “last days” of this world’s career. All the dealings of God to men in past ages are written for our learning, a solemn “admonition” to us, who live in the end of the ages. Upon us has fallen the “ends of the world.” A small step before us is “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Pet 3:7.

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Pet. 3:14. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” 2 Pet. 3:10-12. “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.” Rom. 2:5, 6. “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Mat. 3:7. “For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”

2 Cor. 5:10, 11.

That an awful day of wrath is future, these texts clearly teach. The same is ushered in upon the ungodly by Christ’s appearing to judgment. In this age of mercy and salvation, the wicked and ungodly are heaping up wrath against the day of wrath. Oh, the wrath that will come upon all false religionists, deceived zealots, and wicked men in that last great day! “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”

“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.” Prov. 1:24-30.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.” Mat. 7:13. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 1 Pet. 4:17, 18. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:15.

But why multiply texts? One clear scripture is as good as a thousand. Truth never crosses itself; it never contradicts. All these scriptures with many more clearly teach a future and eternal punishment which awaits the ungodly beyond the final judgment. We shall now investigate the nature, place, and duration of that punishment.

With respect to the future and eternal destiny of mankind, the Bible teaches but two places. These are termed heavens and hell; the former to be the abode of the righteous, the latter of the wicked. The word hell in our language is derived from the Hebrew Sheol. and the Greek Hades, Tartaroo, and Gehenna. Hades and its counterpart Sheol, with the possible exception of Psa. 9:17, always refer to the state of man between death and the judgment There are three states of human spirits. First, in union with an animal body. That is the present state, which ends in death. Second, the state in which human spirits are separated from their animal bodies. 2 Cor. 5:8; Luke 16:19-31; Luke 23:43; Acts 7:59. This state begins at death and ends with the resurrection. This state of human spirits is precisely what is called Hades. Hades also properly applies, not only to the state of spirits separated from their bodies, but to the world of departed spirits as well. Hades not only signifies a state, but a place: for in Hades the rich man lifted up his eyes, after death. Third, the third state of human spirits is in union with their immortal bodies beyond the resurrection. It is the state of man beyond the resurrection we are now treating. Hades does not apply beyond that day. When Christ comes, Hades will be destroyed. Rev. 20:11-15.

Tartaroo—“Tartarus” in 2 Peter 2:4 refers exclusively to that part of Hades where wicked spirits and fallen demons are now reserved and kept for punishment beyond the judgment. When the word hell is translated from Gehenna it always refers to the state of the ungodly beyond the judgment. Therefore when we use the word hell, we shall confine ourselves to the state of the wicked beyond the resurrection. I shall prove the nature, place, and duration of future punishment under several propositions.

FIRST. The eternal destiny of the ungodly and sinner will be in hell, which is termed “hell-fire,” “a lake of fire,” and in that fire they will suffer an everlasting punishment.”

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psa. 9:17. “And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” Luke 12:4, 5. These two texts clearly establish the fact that hell will be the destiny of the wicked. They also teach that hell is a place. The wicked “shall be turned into hell,” shall be “cast into hell.” Hell then is not simply a condition, a state, but an actual place into which all the ungodly will be cast.

Jesus, knowing the awful doom that awaits the guilty, warned us to fear God. A man has but one life to lose, and one soul to save; and it is madness to sacrifice the salvation of the soul to the preservation of the life. “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

Mat. 5:29, 30. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mat 10:28. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” Mat. 23:14, 33. This, dear reader, will be the ultimate state and condition of the wicked—in hell. Both soul and body will suffer there. How weighty should these awful words fall upon the hearts of all the unsaved.

‘How shall you escape the damnation of hell?’ There will be no escape. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” 1 Thes. 5:2, 3.

Hell will be a place of fire. “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire.” Mat. 18:9. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:15. “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Rev. 19:20. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Rev. 21:8.

“And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Mat. 13:42. “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Mat. 13:49, 50, “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.”

Mat. 18:8.

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:43-48.

“Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” Gen. 19:24. “But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Luke 17:29, 30. “Upon the wicked he shall rain shares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” Psa. 11:6. “And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” Ezek. 38:22. “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Rev. 20:9.

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thes. 1:7, 8. “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Mat. 25:41, 46. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:10. Surely these sixteen texts of Scripture are conclusive on this subject. Six of them declare that when Christ will be revealed from heaven, he will come in flaming fire, and will rain upon the wicked fire and brimstone from heaven. Ten positive texts declare that the wicked will then be cast into “hell-fire,” which is termed “a furnace of fire,” “lake of fire and brimstone,” and this hell-fire will be an “everlasting fire” “that never shall be quenched.” In this fire the wicked will “wail and gnash their teeth,” and suffer an “everlasting punishment.” So positively teaches the word of truth which cannot be broken. Would to God that men would believe the Bible and flee “the wrath to come.” The “devils believe and tremble.”

In plain unmistakable language the awful doom of the guilty is here foretold. Whether men believe it or not, some day they will awaken to its awful realization. Some day they will fully comprehend the eternal loss of their priceless souls. If grammar teaches grammar, then the multiplied scriptures I have cited, teach that the wicked will be cast into an everlasting hell, and there they shall suffer an everlasting punishment. If they suffer an everlasting punishment, there will be no end to that punishment. In Mark 9:43-48, three times over Jesus Christ declares that the wicked shall go in hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. If hell-fire will never be quenched, it will burn forever; and so positively teaches the Bible—“Cast into everlasting fire.” Mat. 18:8.

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Mat. 25:41. What an awful sentence—“Depart!” This means the punishment of loss or privation. Ye cannot, ye shall not be united to me—Depart! Oh, terrible word! and yet a worse is to come—“Into everlasting fire.” This is the punishment of sense. Ye shall not only be separated from me, but ye shall be tormented, awfully, everlastingly tormented in that place of separation. “There shall be wailing, and gnashing of teeth;” “where their worm [guilty conscience] dieth not.” Mark you, every one has his own worm, “their worm.” Man’s conscience will live forever, and torment the wicked while eternity’s cycles roll. “These shall go away into everlasting punishment.” No appeal, no remedy, to all eternity! No end to the punishment of those, whose final impenitence manifests in them an eternal will and desire to sin. By dying in opposition to God, they cast themselves into a necessity of continuing an eternal aversion from him.

I quote the following from Dr. Adam Clark: “But some are of the opinion that this punishment shall have an end; this is as likely as that the glory of the righteous shall have an end: for the same word is used to express the duration of the punishment (aionios) as is used to express the duration of the state of glory. I have seen the best things that have been written in favor of the final redemption of damned spirits; but I never saw an answer to the argument against that doctrine, drawn from this verse, but what sound learning and criticism should be ashamed to acknowledge. The original word is certainly to be taken here in its proper grammatical sense—continued being—never ending. Some have gone a middle way, and think that the wicked shall be annihilated. This, I think, is contrary to the text: if they go into punishment, they continue to exist; for that which ceases to be, ceases to suffer.”

To this we say, Amen. It is said that hell “was prepared for the devil and his angels.” When the devil and his angels sinned, this awful place of torment was then prepared for them.

“It never was designed for human souls: but as the wicked are partakers with the devil and his angels in their iniquities, in their rebellion against God; so it is right that they should be sharers with them in their punishment. We see plainly why sinners will be so punished. Not because there was no salvation for them, but because they neglected to receive good and do good. As they received not the Christ who was offered to them, they could not do the work of righteousness which was required of them. They are cursed, because they refused to be blessed; they are damned, because they refused to be saved.”

I shall not argue whether this fire is literal or spiritual. It will be fire in either case. Some say that these expressions are only figures of the sinner’s doom. This we cannot admit without doing violence to the plain testimony of Scripture. But were we to admit such a thing, there would be no room to ease the guilty conscience. If such expressions as “hell-fire,” “furnace of fire,” “lake of fire and brimstone,” “unquenchable fire,” “everlasting fire,” “wailing and gnashing of teeth,” are only figures of future punishment, I ask in Jesus’ name. What must the reality be? All must admit that the reality is greater than the figure. The Jewish sanctuary was a figure of the New Testament church. How much “greater and more perfect tabernacle” is the church than the Jewish figure. So with future punishment. If the above expressions arc but figures, then, dear reader, the reality will be much greater. Oh, “prepare to meet thy God.”

The word everlasting measures the fire of hell and the punishment of the wicked therein. I will cite a few texts to give you its use in the Old Testament: The everlasting God (Gen. 21:33), everlasting kingdom (Psa. 145:13), the everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6), everlasting joy (Isa. 35:10), everlasting salvation (Isa. 45:17), God is “an everlasting King” (Jer. 10:10), God’s love is “an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3), God will have “everlasting dominion” (Dan. 7:14), “everlasting righteousness” (Dan. 9:24), and the wicked shall suffer “shame and everlasting contempt.” Dan. 12:2.

Therefore as long as God himself will exist, and as long as God will have dominion, the wicked will suffer shame and everlasting contempt. The same word that measures the endless existence of God himself, his kingdom, dominion, salvation, love, joy, and righteousness, measures the shame and contempt of the wicked. In the face of this solemn and awful truth, I ask, How dare men teach that it will come to an end? Annihilationists try to explain away the word everlasting by referring to the promise in the Abrahamic covenant, where God said he would give to the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. We would refer all such to the fact that “they that are Christ’s, are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” The literal land of Canaan possessed by the Jews, was only a type of that spiritual Canaan—holiness—which we have received for an everlasting possession. So everlasting in this text means to all eternity. In three other Old Testament texts the word everlasting is applied to statutes in Israel. But let me remind you of the fact, that all the literal sacrifices and ceremonies of Moses’ law have their spiritual counterpart in the gospel; and these latter shall continue forever.

In this sense again the word everlasting means to all eternity. I will next come to the New Testament use of the word everlasting. Everlasting life (Rom. 6:22), everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6), everlasting kingdom (2 Pet 1:11), everlasting God (Rom. 16:26), everlasting punishment. Mat. 25:46—“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Everlasting fire. Mat. 25:41—“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Everlasting destruction. 2 Thes. 1:9—“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”

Mark you! the same word which measures the life of the righteous, which measures the existence of the gospel, which measures the duration of God’s kingdom, and the endless existence of God himself, measures the everlasting punishment of the wicked in everlasting hell-fire. If the everlasting God will continue to exist throughout endless ages, then the wicked will suffer throughout endless ages. To deny this is to make the truth a lie, and every honest soul cries out, Nay, let God be true though every man a liar.

In many places it is said that Christ will come “with power and great glory,” the “glory of the Father.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9 proves that this awful glory is what will drive the wicked in everlasting destruction from his presence to the flames of eternal hell. None can enjoy the fellowship and companionship of the Creator but those who in life live upon the plane of his nature, and possess his holiness. How, then, can any soul with the smallest spot of sin hope to stand before God in the awful day of his coming and judgment? Oh, how many plain and solemn warnings God has given to all men of that day when all must either stand or fall in the presence of his majesty and glory.

SECOND. The place and state of future punishment is termed “outer darkness” and in that darkness the wicked will wail and gnash their teeth forever.

“And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mat. 8:11, 12.

“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mat. 25:30. “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mat. 22:13. “And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mat. 24:51.

“Another parable put be forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?” Mat. 13:24-28.

How solemn and awful these truths. Now is the day of salvation, the accepted time to seek God. But the time is coming when mercy’s door will forever close. Christ now sits upon a mediatorial throne, the world’s Redeemer and Savior. But soon he will leave that throne for the judgment-seat. Then the world will be without an advocate, without a Savior, or further opportunity of salvation. When once Christ takes the judgment-throne of glory, the wrath of God will be poured out upon his enemies. The unprofitable servant, the false prophets, the deceived millions who accepted false religions, with all the host of apostates and blasphemers who have despised his name and trampled on his blood will then be “cast out,” into “outer darkness.” There they will have their portion with the hypocrites, where there shall be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

But how long will their punishment continue in that awful darkness? “These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever.” 2 Pet. 2:17. “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Jude 13. The mist of darkness, the blackness of darkness, outer darkness, will be the portion of the ungodly forever. The word “forever” measures the length of time that the wicked will wail in the blackness of eternal night, FOREVER—“To eternity; through endless ages.”—Webster. “Unlimited duration; eternity.”—Greenfield. These definitions express the New Testament use of this word. In every New Testament text where it is found it measures eternity.

For the benefit of the reader we will here give the use of this word “forever” in the New Testament. “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:33. Here it is plainly taught that forever is without end.

“And the servant abidcth not in the house forever: but the Son abidcth ever.” John 8:35. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Mat. 6:13. “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Rom. 1:25. “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Rom. 11:36. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” Heb. 13:8. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

1 Pet. 1:23-25. “These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever.” 2 Pet. 2:17. “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Jude 13.

What a solid wreath of heavenly truth these texts present. The same word which measures the endless reign of Christ, the glory and dominion of the Father, the unchangeableness of Christ, the endurance of the word of truth, and the existence of the Son of God, measures the torment of the wicked in “the blackness of darkness forever.” If outer darkness will cease to be the everlasting portion of the wicked, then Christ, his reign, glory, dominion, and truth will forever cease to be: for as long as the latter continues the former will continue.

FOREVER. In outer darkness, lost in eternity’s night. Rocking on the billows of dark despair. Drifting away from heaven, home, loved ones, from Jesus, and all that is lovely and pure. Lost, eternally lost amid howling demons and the piercing shrieks of damned souls. Lost in the mist of darkness forever. Night—so dark that no ray of light from heaven can ever penetrate. Awful doom! There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

THIRD. The future punishment of the guilty will consist in damnation, and that damnation will be ETERNAL.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:15, 16. In John 3:18 we read that such as will not believe are condemned already. Also all who now believe are already saved from their sins. Thus, accepting the gospel brings a present salvation, and rejecting it brings men under condemnation. But there will be a future salvation from the wrath of God to all who obtain a present deliverance from sin. And the above text also teaches a future damnation of the wicked. Not only are they now condemned, but they “shall be damned,” in the future tense. Where will this damnation be fully realized? Ans.—“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” Mat. 23:33. Hell is the place where the wicked will suffer future damnation.

Their punishment is termed “the damnation of hell.” But when will they suffer this punishment? “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29. The damnation of the wicked in hell lies beyond the final resurrection. Their resurrection is termed “the resurrection of damnation.”

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” Mat. 23:14. “And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the market-places, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.” Mark 12:38-40. “And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.” Rom. 3:8. “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Pet. 2:3. “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” Mat. 12:31, 32. “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” Mark 3:29.

The damnation of the wicked in hell will be “eternal damnation.” God help all men to take warning. Never allow the devil’s servants to smooth you over and hide the truth from your eyes. God’s Word declares that the damnation of the ungodly will be eternal. Men who blaspheme against the Holy Ghost will never have forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come, but are in danger of eternal damnation. The duration of the damnation of the wicked in the flames of hell is measured by the word “eternal.”

I will here give the Bible use of this word: life eternal

(Mat. 25:46), eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9), eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12), eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14), eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15), eternal heavens (2 Cor. 5:1), eternal glory (2 Tim. 2:10), King eternal (1 Tim. 1:17), eternal God (Deut. 33:27), eternal damnation. Mark 3:29—“But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” Eternal fire. Jude 7—“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

What a solid bulwark of eternal truth these texts present. No earthly wisdom can overthrow them. The same word which measures the life, salvation, redemption, and inheritance of the righteous in heaven, and the existence of the eternal Spirit, yea, the endless existence of the eternal God himself, and his eternal glory, measures the eternal damnation of the wicked in hell, where they will suffer “the vengeance of eternal fire.” As long as the heavens will stand, as long as the righteous will enjoy eternal life, as long as eternal glory will last, as long as God will exist, so long will the punishment of the wicked last. There is no way under heaven to evade the plain testimony of the Bible on this point. Eternal truth positively so teaches. O sinner, repent and believe the gospel.

But we are not yet through with evidences. I will yet bring one more text to bear upon this point. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:18. Those things which we see with our natural eyes—this earth, the moving creatures around us, etc., arc temporal—for a time only. But the great future, that which is not seen, is eternal. That which lies beyond the short span of this life and time’s mortal day, the future world—whether the state of the righteous or the wicked—these things, the apostle informs us, are eternal. The righteous will enjoy “a house not made with hands,” “eternal in the heavens;” while the wicked will “suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.”

FOURTH. The future punishment of the wicked will consist in torment, and that torment will last forever and ever.

“And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” Mat. 8:28, 29. Here the devils admitted the punishment that awaits them. They know the torment that lies beyond the judgment; they know the doom that awaits them beyond that awful day: therefore they said to Jesus, “Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” That is why the devils believe and tremble.

“And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” Mark 5:7. “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Rev. 14:10, 11. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:10. Comments cannot add weight to these scriptures. They simply teach in so many words that the wicked will be tormented in hell with demons forever and ever.

I will give the Bible use of the term “forever and ever.” “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” Ex. 15:18. “But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” Dan. 7:18. “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” Dan. 12:3. “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.” Heb. 1:8. “And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever.” Rev. 4:9. “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 22:5. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:10. “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.” Rev. 14:10, 11.

On the strength of the four foregoing propositions, which we have sustained by multiplied scriptures, I affirm in the name of the God of the Bible, that the Scripture nowhere employs any stronger words to assert the endless existence of God himself and all that pertains to his eternal life, kingdom, and glory, than it employs in declaring both the never-ending felicities of the righteous in heaven, and the never-ending punishment of the wicked in hell who reject the infinite love and mercy of God, and close this probationary state in rebellion against his throne. All teachers who advocate an ending hell are Satan’s preachers and antichrists.

I shall add two more reasons why the doctrine of annihilation is unscriptural and antichrist.

FIRST. There will be degrees in future punishment. This is clearly sustained by the Scriptures. “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.” Rom. 2:5, 6. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jer. 17:9, 10. These texts apply directly to the future state, and it is plainly declared that every man’s punishment shall be “according to his deeds.” But will some really have greater damnation than others?

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” Mat. 23:14. Light rates the sinfulness of sin. According to the degree of light a man has, sin will become sinful to him. Paul says that “sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” The knowledge of the commandment is what made sin exceeding sinful. The greater the light the deeper the sin. “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” John 19:11. Pilate, by consenting to the wish of the Jews, and condemning Christ to be crucified, committed an awful sin. But Jesus said that the one who delivered him into Pilate’s hands had the greater sin. That was Judas Iscariot. Why was the sin greater to Judas? Because he had more light. He was with Jesus continually, and took part in the ministry of the gospel, and afterwards fell. Having much more light than Pilate his sin was greater. Two individuals may do the same act; but if one has greater light than the other, that act will be more sinful to him.

“And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” John 9:39-41. “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.” John 15:22, 24. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30. We could add much testimony on this point, but deem the foregoing sufficient.

Not only does light rate the sinfulness of crime here, but light will rate the punishment of the damned in hell forever. “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” Luke 12:47, 48. When has this reference to? “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” Luke 12:40, 46.

This clearly teaches degrees of future punishment. Those who in life knew—had a divine revelation—had much light respecting the Lord’s will concerning them; yet rebelled against that light, and did not his will, these shall receive “many stripes.” But the millions who knew not, had no divine revelation, did not have the full light of the gospel, yet did things worthy of punishment, these shall receive “few stripes.” Not only the wicked will be turned into hell, but “all the nations that forget God.” Psa. 9:17. But in eternity it will be more tolerable for those nations than for the wicked wretch who wilfully and knowingly went against light and truth. While all will be cast into the same hell, conscience will be a principal part of eternal torment, and the punishment of sense, and separation will be much greater to some than others.

“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.” Mat. 10:14, 15. “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt he brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be

more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.” Mat. 11:20-24.

Jesus upbraided these cities, and declared that if he had done the same works in Sodom that they beheld him do, those ancient people would have repented, and would not have been destroyed; but at the day of judgment Sodom will have it more tolerable than they. The punishment of Sodom will not be as great. If that punishment was simply annihilation, such language would be meaningless.

“For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” 2 Pet. 2:18-21. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb. 10:26-31.

How solemn these truths. Of all the millions in the dark regions of despair, the man and woman who were once saved and then fell from that state, and are lost forever, will have the greatest punishment. Their punishment will be a much sorer punishment than that of those who were never saved. Through all eternity they will remember a time when they were saved, when the sweet peace of heaven filled their souls. They will remember those seasons of grace and glory, the sweet hymns of Zion, the fellowship of their Creator. They will look back to the time when their hearts were pure, and they were ready to enter heaven and immortal glory to spend eternity. Oh, what a remembrance for a lost soul! But they sold out their souls for a feather. They bartered away the priceless treasure of salvation for some trifle, some of earth’s vanities. Now they are lost—eternally lost; forever cut off from Christ and all that is pure and lovely; sinking away farther and farther from home, heaven, and loved ones, eternally separated. Oh, what a punishment! Yet, once they were saved. It were better for them never to have known the way of righteousness.

From the foregoing texts we clearly see that men’s punishment will be “according to their deeds”; that some will have “greater damnation,” a “much sorer punishment” than others. Some will have “few stripes,” others “many,” according to the degree of light received. That it will be “more tolerable” for some than others. This stands in square contradiction to the doctrine of annihilation. If the ungodly will be simply burned into ashes as blind guides vainly hope, such scriptures would have no meaning. The annihilation theory stands in square contradiction to every plain text cited under this proposition.

SECOND. Annihilation is no punishment. To blot the wicked out of existence is the very opposite of everlasting punishment, eternal damnation, torment forever and ever, which the Scriptures so plainly declare will be the eternal future of the ungodly. When the wicked are brought before the judgment-seat of Christ in shame and everlasting contempt, and their guilty consciences lash them as they writhe beneath his piercing gaze, to then suddenly blot them out of existence, would be a blessing, a glorious relief from their awful punishment. Instead of annihilation being a punishment, it would be a relief, and an eternal relief from punishment; because, if unconscious, they cease to suffer. If they are eternally unconscious, are no more, they do not suffer an everlasting punishment or torment, which the Bible so plainly declares they will. To accept the annihilation theory is to make the truth a lie. But the truth is no lie, and will stand when men’s reasonings and theories fall eternally.

I repeat, that to blot the wicked out of existence, would be a grand blessing and favor to them instead of punishment. Thousands in this life, who were suffering the pangs of a guilty conscience, have committed suicide, thus expecting to get out of misery. To get out of punishment they took their own lives. You can scarcely pick up a newspaper without reading an account of someone taking his life to get out of punishment and misery. To blot the wicked out of existence eternally, where they never would realize conscious suffering, would be one of the grandest blessings God could bestow upon them. Instead of being tormented forever and ever in the damnation of hell as the Bible so plainly teaches, they would be relieved from such punishment by going into an unconscious state, yea, by no longer having any existence. This is the very opposite of what the Bible teaches, viz., everlasting punishment.

I shall now reply to some of the main arguments produced by materialists in support of the annihilation of the wicked.

FIRST. The doctrine of future everlasting punishment detracts from, and casts reflection upon the glory, wisdom, eternal justice and fatherly care, and nature of God. It casts reflection upon the atonement of Christ, who tasted death for every man.

To the unenlightened, the above might look quite plausible, but to those who are taught of the Lord its fallacy is clearly seen. To sustain the above proposition, materialists will have to prove two things. First, that man is not responsible to God, and has no free moral agency. Second, that God has failed to make ample provisions for the salvation of all mankind.

1. God does not will that any man be lost. He wills that all be saved. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pet. 3:9. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts 17:30, 31. Then if the wicked make their eternal destiny in hell, it will not be because God willed it so. They rejected his infinite mercy and love, and contrary to his will made their bed in hell. Upon whom can such cast reflection? Reason answers, upon themselves.

2. Through the death of Jesus Christ provisions are made for the salvation of all mankind. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:6-8. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Heb. 2:9.

God so loved the world that he gave the dearest treasure he had, his only Son. Man had transgressed his law, and was guilty. Justice demanded that the guilty suffer the punishment and pay the penalty. But God’s love and mercy for lost humanity provided a way of escape. He gave his own Son, who met the demands of justice, and suffered for us; yea, tasted death for “every man.” Behold, what love the Father hath bestowed upon us. Such love our finite minds are unable to fathom. But if men reject the love and mercy of God, and refuse to accept deliverance through Jesus Christ, and close their life in rebellion against God’s throne, they will suffer the penalty; and not for a moment does it cast reflection upon the character and love of God.

Suppose, in the penitentiary at Moundsville, W. Va., there are twenty men, who are guilty of murder, and under sentence of death. Each one is guilty, and the hour of execution is drawing near. But the governor of that state makes a proclamation that on a certain day a pardon will be granted each one, and the prison-doors will be opened for them to go out into the world, free men. When the time comes, the prison-gates open, and all are invited to step out and enjoy liberty. Ten step out, but the other ten refuse. They will not accept the invitation. They say we will stay here and pay the penalty of our crime. On the day of execution, I ask, in all candor and reason, Can they reflect upon the governor? You say, No. No more can the ungodly reflect upon God.

The state of sin is represented in the Scripture as a prison-house. The mission of Christ is prophesied as follows: “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.” Isa. 42:6, 7. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy. for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Isa. 61:1, 3.

Christ came and tasted death for every man. He then proclaimed liberty to the captives, and opened the prison-doors, and now invites all to come out and be free. But millions will not heed the glorious invitation. They will not accept pardon. They choose to remain in the prison of sin, and as a result must pay the penalty of their crime. Does that cast reflection upon Christ’s atonement, and the character of God? Never! But says one, If God wills that all are saved, who can resist his will? All will then be saved. Not so. For God wills the salvation of all now, but men resist his will, and all are not now saved.

3. Perfect provisions have been made in the atonement of Christ, to fully save all men from all sin, and preserve them blameless in this world even unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The highest inducements of heaven are held out to lost men in this world to accept salvation and be saved. A crucified Savior, his dying love, the goodness and mercy of God are all extended to lost men and women. The Holy Spirit has come into the world to convict of sin, righteousness and judgment to come: to save, sanctify, and keep from evil, and thus execute the perfect salvation Jesus purchased upon the cross. A perpetual ministry is commissioned to preach the gospel to “every creature” in “all nations,” and the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes. The invitations of the gospel are extended to all. “God NOW commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Now then, if men will reject all this, and trample the blood of Christ beneath their feet, rebel against the love and mercy of God, can reflection be cast upon God if they make hell their eternal portion? Never! If you are starving for food, and a friend invites you to a table richly spread with good things, but you will not accept his invitation, and starve to death, who is to blame, you or the friend?

4. Life and death are set before every man, heaven and hell. The Bible gives the most solemn warnings to all men to choose life, and heaven, and be happy forever. It clearly warns them of their eternal doom, providing they choose the way of death. If in the face of these warnings men will choose hell for their everlasting portion, who is to blame?—THEMSELVES.

5. Hell was never prepared for man. Everlasting fire and torment was prepared “for the devil and his angels.” Mat. 25:41. But if man will join Satan, in his rebellion against God, and serve the devil here, he will spend his eternity with him. And while ages roll, he will never reflect upon God. He is there because he would not have Christ to rule over him.

SECOND. Everlasting fire will not burn forever, because eternal fire converted the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, and now the saline waters of the Dead Sea roll over the very spot. Proof—Jude 7 and 2 Peter 2:6.

The above is one of the strongest arguments used by materialists against an everlasting hell. But we shall show that their deductions are only a “refuge of lies,” gotten up by the devil to ease the guilty conscience, and soothe the sinner on the road to eternal damnation. Before they can sustain the above proposition, they will have to prove that the terms Sodom and Gomorrah always refer to the houses or buildings which made up those cities. When we refer to New York or London as wicked cities, we do not refer to the houses and buildings, but to the people. When the prophet said, “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” Ezek. 16:49, 50. He spoke of the people. When the Lord said that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for Capernaum, he did not have reference to the buildings of those cities, for long since have they passed out of existence, but he referred to the people of those cities.

When God rained fire and brimstone from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah it reduced those cities to ashes. As far as the cities, buildings, land, vegetation, etc., was concerned, they were turned into ashes. 2 Pet. 2:6. But the people of those cities who committed fornication going after strange flesh, etc., shall “suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude 7. While the literal cities were

turned into ashes, the people will be brought to judgment, and then cast into hell, where they will suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.

THIRD. The wicked, and, ungodly shall be destroyed. Proof—“But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.” Psa. 37:38. “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” Phil. 3:18, 19. “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2 Thes. 1:9.

That these texts prove that the ultimate state and condition of the ungodly is expressed by the term destruction, we readily admit. But before they can be wrested in favor of the annihilation theory, it must be proved that “destroy” always means to obliterate or blot out of existence. This I emphatically deny. Webster gives us two definitions: “To demolish; to ruin.” Destruction—ruin; demolition. He defines ruin, “That change of anything which destroys it, or entirely defeats its object, or unfits it for use. To subvert; to destroy; as, to ruin a state or government. To destroy in any manner; as to ruin health or happiness, to ruin reputation. To counteract, to defeat; as, to ruin a plan or project. To deprive of felicity or fortune. To bring to everlasting misery; as, to ruin the soul.”

This expresses clearly the Bible application of the word destroy to the future of the wicked. Man was originally created to enjoy God and live upon the plane of his nature. But when he is eternally disqualified by sin for that lofty end, he is eternally destroyed—ruined. He will never meet the object for which he was created. He is eternally separated from God, cut off from communion with him,

which is the normal sphere of the soul’s happiness. Thus he is ruined forever.

Sin separates the soul from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither his ear heavy, that it can not hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isa. 59:1, 2. Sin in this life separates between man and his God. A great chasm divides between the sinner and the favor and approval of his Maker. The longer a man lives in sin and travels the downward road, the wider that chasm becomes. In this life, on this side of eternity, it is possible to bridge over that great chasm. Through repentance we can here cross over to the other side and receive the favor of God. Also, those who enjoy the favor of God can lose salvation and pass over to the other side again. But when we once pass from time into eternity, there will be no more bridging that awful chasm. No more passing to and fro.

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you can not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” Luke 16:19-26.

We learn from this that after men pass from time into eternity, and between death and the judgment, there is no such a thing as man passing from the side of the lost to the saved. That gulf is then fixed and settled eternally, and they cannot pass back and forward.

But let us pass beyond the judgment, beyond the awful day of his coming, and what is the testimony of divine truth? “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” 2 Thes. 1:7-10.

The ungodly will be eternally separated from God, eternally cut off from him. This is not a blotting out of existence as the heathen vainly hope, but a banishment from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. An exclusion from his approbation forever; so that the light of his countenance can no more be enjoyed, as there will be an eternal impossibility of ever being reconciled to him. It is not annihilation, for their being continues, and as the destruction is everlasting, it is an eternal continuance and presence of evil, and absence of all good. Thus the wicked will be eternally ruined—destroyed—from the lofty end for which they were created.

For the benefit of the reader, I will quote a few of the many texts which prove that to destroy a thing, does not always mean to blot it out of existence. “And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” Ex. 10:7. Pharaoh’s servants said that Egypt was destroyed. The awful plagues that the Almighty sent into that land destroyed it. Egypt was not blotted out of existence—annihilated, but it was ruined.

“For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” Prov. 1:32. The prosperity of fools could not blot them out of existence.

“An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.” Prov. 11:9. Surely no one believes that a hypocrite with his mouth can annihilate his neighbor. But he can ruin his character, and say things that will cast reflection upon him, and thus destroy him.

“A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.” Prov. 18: 7. “Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?” Eccl. 7:16. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hos. 4:6. For lack of knowledge the people of God ruined themselves, and rendered themselves unfit for service.

“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.” Hos. 13:9. I ask in all candor and reason, Did Israel blot herself out of existence? Was Israel as a nation annihilated? Not so. After she had destroyed herself, God said, “In me is thine help.”

Paul preached the very faith he once had destroyed. Gal. 1:23. If destroy means only to annihilate how could Paul preach a thing that was blotted out of existence, a thing that was no more? Ah! the very faith Paul once. destroyed was still a living faith, and he preached it to others. Thus we could multiply Scripture texts on this point but deem the above sufficient. A storm may destroy your crops, but not annihilate them; a cyclone may overturn your buildings and destroy them, yea, leave a path of destruction for hundreds of miles, and yet not annihilate a single thing. So will sin destroy your soul, and in the day of judgment, you will be punished with everlasting destruction in the flames of a fire that “never shall be quenched,” where you will be “tormented forever and ever.”

FOURTH. The sinner shall perish. Proof—“But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” 2 Pet. 2:12. “There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:1-3.

That the word perish is here used to teach the hopeless and lost condition of the guilty we admit; but that it teaches the doctrine of annihilation we deny. While Webster defines the word, “To be destroyed; to come to nothing,” he also defines it Scripturally, “To be lost eternally; to be sentenced to endless misery;” The latter conveys the Scriptural use of the word when applied to the future of the wicked. If perish only means to come to nothing and be no more forever, then the righteous will also be blotted out of existence eternally—“For the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart.” Isa. 57:1. In Jeremiah 9:12 the word signifies, to be wasted or rendered useless. It signifies the hopeless and lost condition of the ungodly in hell. No hope of ever being recovered from their awful state of torment. Their hope and opportunities are forever cut off. In this sense they perish.

FIFTH. The sinner shall die. Death will be his end. Death is the opposite of everlasting conscious suffering. Proof—“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezek. 18:4. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Rom. 6:22.

Before these texts can be wrested in defense of the annihilation theory, three things will have to be proven. (1) That they apply exclusively to the state of the guilty beyond the judgment. (2) That the term death in these texts signifies a cessation of the soul’s conscious being. (3) That the death of a thing blots it out of existence. Materialists cannot sustain either of these propositions. With their failure to do so, their doctrine falls. I shall clearly prove that each of the above is a false and unscriptural premise.

1. The death of the sinner is not applied exclusively to his future state, but is a present condition and realization. “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2:15-17.

God warned our foreparents, Adam and Eve, that in the day they would disobey him, “thou shalt surely die.” The penalty of death was to fall upon them, not beyond the judgment, or thousands of years in the future, but in the very day of their sin. The devil said, “Ye shall not surely die;” and Adventists and all materialists have taken up the same falsehood, and now deny that Adam did die. But the divine testimony stands unbroken, that on the very day Adam transgressed the law of the Lord, he died. Not a physical death, for he lived many years after he was driven from Eden. True, physical death also came upon Adam as a result of his fall. See Gen. 3:17-19; 1 Cor. 15:21, 22. But he died a spiritual death. He became dead in sin. Not only did his body die, but “the soul that sinneth it shall die.” His soul was cut off from union with God.

Sin separates the soul from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither his ear heavy, that it can not hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isa. 59:1, 2. Thus man is cut off from the grace of divine life. His soul is alienated from God, brought under the dominion of sin. That state of man in sin is called “death”: and this death of the soul is realized in the very day sin is committed. “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Micah 6: 7. The soul is the volitional part of man’s being. It is that part of him that is responsible to God. It sins, and must be converted. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” It is that part of man that receives spiritual life from God in regeneration. “Hear and your soul shall live.”

Not only did Adam’s transgression bring him under the dominion of sin, and into a state of spiritual death, but it affected the whole human family. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Rom. 5:12. Death by sin came upon all men. In this chapter sin and death, and life, and salvation, are used interchangeably, which shows that the spiritual phase of death is referred to. “Death reigned from Adam to Moses.” ver. 14. That is, they were all under sin and in spiritual death. Moses gave the law, but the law could not give life. Gal. 3:21. Therefore death reigned over all the world till Christ. He came “that they might have life.” John 10:10. In this dispensation, when men get saved they pass from death unto life. 1 John 3:14. So death—the state of the sinner, the wages of sin, is a present realization, the present state of the soul.

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Jas. 1:14, 15. When an individual allows lust to conceive in his heart, it will bring forth sin. And sin, when it is finished (committed) brings forth death. Just as soon as man yields to hellish lust, sin is committed (finished) and death is the immediate result.

Hear Paul’s testimony: “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Rom. 7:9. When Paul was an infant, and had no knowledge of the law, he was alive. He was saved, passive through the atonement. But when the commandment came, when he arrived at the years of accountability, sin revived, and he testified, “I died.” The very first sin Paul committed produced death to his soul, and he was dead. “Dead in trespasses and sins.” Eph. 2:1. “Even when we were dead in sins.” ver. 5. “And you being dead in your sins.” Col. 2:13. “He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” 1 John 3:14. “To be carnally minded is death.” Rom. 8:6. “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” 1 Tim. 5:6. “Thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead.” Rev. 3:1. Jude speaks of some people “twice dead, plucked up by the roots.” Jude 12. “Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” Eph. 5:14.

These scriptures with many more clearly overthrow the doctrine that the death of the soul incurred by sin, is exclusively applied to the state of the sinner beyond the judgment. The whole unregenerated world are in this life dead, abiding in death. The present dead state of the sinner is the result of sin, its wages. If he fails to repent and obtain spiritual life in this world through Jesus Christ, he will continue in the same state of death in the eternal world that now is his sad condition.

2. The death of the soul incurred by sin is not a cessation of its conscious existence or being. That this death is the opposite of conscious suffering, I shall prove to be utterly false. In giving the Scriptural meaning of the term death as applied to the sinner both in this world and that which is to come, Webster defines it thus: (1) “Separation or alienation of the soul from God; a being under the dominion of sin, and destitute of grace and divine life; called spiritual death.” (2) “Perpetual separation from God, and eternal torments; called the second death.” The death of the soul incurred by sin, is not a cessation of its conscious being, but an alienation from God, from his approving smile and favor, which is the normal sphere of the soul’s happiness. A state where the soul is cut off from union with God, where it no longer partakes of his divine life. This is the wages of sin.

We have clearly proved that the death of the soul—the wages of sin—is a present condition. Every sinner is declared in the Bible to be dead. Not less than one hundred clear texts prove this fact. The same state of death he is now in will be his eternal state. But is the dead sinner unconscious? Is he blotted out of existence? Is he annihilated? No; he lives among us. He has an existence. His soul is also conscious. It is the volitional part of his being. It sins, and condemnation rests upon it. It is sensitive toward God. “Dead while she liveth.” 1 Tim. 5:6.

While the Bible declares that the sinner is now dead (some of them, religious professors “who have a name to live and are dead,” “twice dead”), yet he passes through conscious suffering, suffers remorse of conscience, suffers the guilt of his crime. This is the present experience of tens of thousands. Just so in the eternal world. As soon as a man sins, he, like Paul, dies. Rom. 7:9. As long as he continues in sin he “abideth in death.” If such refuse to come to Christ, “that they might have life,” they will die and go into the eternal world dead, dead in sin. In this world they have a chance of life. But once they pass into eternity, all chance is forever cut off, and they are doomed to suffer an eternal separation from God. Doomed to abide in the same state of death they now are in. But as they have a conscious existence now, and suffer under the guilt of a defiled conscience, so will they in the future suffer the torments of a guilty conscience forever, while they eternally are separated from God—dead.

But can a dead man still exist and suffer? Yes, all sinners are now dead men. Gen. 2:15-17; Isa. 59:1, 2; Rom. 5:12; Jas. 1:14, 15; Rom. 7:9; Eph. 2:1; Eph. 2:5. Col. 2:13; 1 John 3:14; Rom. 8:6; 1 Tim. 5:6; Rev. 3:1; Jude 12; Eph. 5:14; John 5:24, 25. And they have a conscious existence. They also suffer the torments of a guilty conscience. See Gen. 4:8-13; 1 Sam. 28:15; Mat. 27:3-5; John 8:9. This will be true of them in the eternal world, as well as here; and adds not a feather’s weight of evidence against the Bible doctrine of everlasting punishment. The torments of the guilty in the lake of fire is termed “the second death,” and that torment will last forever and ever. Rev. 21:8; Rev. 20:10.

SIXTH. The following scriptures prove that the ungodly will be blotted out of existence: “Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.” Psa. 37:1, 2, 10, 35, 36. “For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.” Obad. 16.

That these scriptures prove the above proposition, is false. No such a thing is even hinted at. The above statement is as baseless as the shadow of a dream. Before these texts could be wrested in defense of the annihilation theory, materialists will have to prove that they apply to the state of man beyond the resurrection. This they cannot do. Let us briefly consider each one. In the first we are commanded not to fret because of evil doers, nor be envious at them; for the Psalmist assures us that they will soon be cut down like the grass. Does he refer to their state beyond the resurrection at the last day? Never. He is speaking of death.

“For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.” Psa. 103:14-16. “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.” Job 14:1, 2. Man that is born of a woman “is dust,” he is “of few days,” his days are “like grass”; namely, “soon cut down.” This speaks of the shortness of life. Evil doers and workers of iniquity may prosper, but their prosperity lasts but a few short years. They

are soon cut down by death and go hence. Does that overthrow the doctrine of eternal punishment? It has no bearing on the subject.

“Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be.” “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree,” says the Psalmist, “yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not.” And the prophet adds that he is “as though he had not been.” David says, after the wicked man passed away, he sought him, “but he could not be found.” When he diligently considered his place, it was not. What weight have these poetical sayings of the Psalmist against the everlasting torment of the wicked in hell? None whatever. They have no bearing on the subject. David was speaking of the folly of wickedness. He testified how he had seen wicked men make a great display in the earth and spread themselves like a green bay-tree, but they soon passed away, and were not. Death cut them down in the midst of their great honor and prosperity, and they were no more seen upon earth. They soon passed out of people’s memory, and were as though they had not been. Their place in earth’s circles and societies, in the hearts and minds of the people, could not be found.

We all have seen the same thing, men who for a time swept to the height of worldly honor, and drank to the full of worldly applause—they were very popular in the people’s minds, and had a place in their hearts and affections. Thus, like a green bay-tree, they spread themselves. But in a few years, death cut them off, and they passed away. They were no more. Soon the memory of them is almost forgotten. They lose their place in the affections of the people. They are as though they had not been. Take, for example, Napoleon, or Alexander the Great. These are but two examples in thousands. Their place in worldly honor is no more.

This is precisely what the Psalmist and prophet teaches in the texts above quoted. To apply them to eternity beyond the judgment, as expressing the state of the ungodly, is ignorance and folly. It is wresting Scripture out of its true meaning, and applying it elsewhere. Such are the absurd wrestings of Scripture to sustain false doctrine, resorted to by Adventists and all no-soulists. May

God awaken their sleeping souls, ere they awaken in hell, to find their punishment just what the Bible declares—eternal damnation.

Similar texts as the above quoted refer directly to death and the grave. “As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.”

Job 7:9, 10.

SEVENTH. The wicked shall be burned up root and branch. Proof—“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Mal. 4:1.

Before this text can be made to prove the future annihilation of the wicked, two positions will have to be sustained. First, that this text applies to the state of the ungodly beyond the judgment. Second, that it is not metaphorical language. Neither of these positions can be sustained. This I shall clearly prove.

1. It does not apply to the state of the wicked in the eternal world. This great day that was to burn up the proud and them that do wickedly, was to be ushered in by the coming of Elijah the prophet. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

ver. 5, 6.

When did this reach a fulfilment? “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children or Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:13-17.

“For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.” Mat. 11:13, 14. “And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? and Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” Mat. 17:10-13.

John the Baptist was the Elias who was the harbinger of that great and dreadful day of the Lord, that day of fire. But what day did John usher in? The gospel day, the present day of fire and grace. John’s twilight gave way to the “Sun of righteousness,” who arose “with healing in his wings.” Mal. 4:2. The whole of the fourth chapter of Malachi is a clear prediction of the coming of Christ in his first advent, and the work of his redeeming grace. While it was a glorious day thus ushered in, yet it was a dreadful day for the ungodly. Take for example the awful calamity which befell the Jews because they rejected the Messiah.

But do other prophecies point forward to Christ’s first coming as ushering in a day of fire, a day to burn as an oven? Thus saith the Lord: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Mal. 3:1-6. “For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isa. 9:5-7.

Both of these texts show that the first coming of Christ was with burning and fuel of fire. Let us turn to the fulfilment. “And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Mat. 3:10,11. “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?” Luke 12:49. This is not a day of literal fire, which literally burns up the wicked, but a day of Holy Spirit fire, a day when the flaming truth consumes the sinners, and burns up all the proud and wicked that would attempt to profess among God’s people. Under the law, Moses’ church was full of sinners. But under the gospel, Christ established and keeps a pure church by the fire of holiness and truth.

The following scriptures shed light upon Malachi 4:1, 3, and show in what sense the wicked are burned into ashes. “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” Isa. 33:14. “And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” Jer. 5:13, 14. “And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning; afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” Isa. 1:25-28. “And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.” Isa 4:3-5.

Thank God for this day of fire. All the wicked are devoured—consumed, from among the people of God, and the church is kept pure. Instead of this text applying beyond the judgment, where the righteous will be caught up to heaven and the wicked will be cast into hell, it sets forth the present work of the Holy Spirit and Word, in redeeming unto the Lord a pure and holy church or bride.

2. The text is a metaphorical expression—figurative language—“All the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble.” This cannot be taken literally, for surely no one believes that the wicked will be turned into literal stubble. The language is highly figurative. This fact completely overthrows the doctrine of annihilation founded upon this text. No more will the people be turned into literal stubble and be literally burned up than they will be turned into literal wood, and literally devoured by God’s Word (see Jer. 5:14); or the prophets turned into wind literally. See Jer. 5:13. So with all the twisting that men can do, the Bible still teaches that the wicked shall “depart into everlasting fire,” and suffer an “everlasting punishment.” All false religionists will have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone. The beast ascended out of the bottomless pit, is of hellish origin, and at last will be cast into perdition.

“After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” Rev. 18:1-8.

[1] It might be well also to observe that there is another beautiful lesson in the antitype of the two rooms of that ancient house. While, as Brother Warner says, it typified twofold salvation, or two degrees of grace which we enter, it also typifies the justified and sanctified believer. The New Testament temple of God is composed of saved individuals “builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit”; hence the holy place typified the justified believer ln fact, such is the holy place in the spiritual tabernacle, while the sanctified believer constitutes the holiest of all. Viewing it from this standpoint, it will be seen that the antitype of all the furniture of the first room is located in the hearts of justified believers, while that of the second room is in the hearts of the sanctified.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Present Publisher’s Foreword

Preface

The First Covenant Sanctuary

The New Covenant Sanctuary

The Primitive Church

The Conquests and Victories of the Church of God

The Abomination of Desolation

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary

The Daily Sacrifice

The Book Sealed with Seven Seals

The Eternal Home of the Church

The Final and Eternal Doom of the Beast