"Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. 
VOLUME 11. 
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, FIFTH-DAY) DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
NUMBER 48. 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY, FOR THE 
International Tract and Missionary Society. 
(For terms, etc., see last page.) 
Entered •at the Post-Office in. Oakland. 
and I will give yon rest." "Learn of me; for 
I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find 
rest unto your souls_'' 
Many profess to come to Christ, ·while they 
yet cling to their own ways, which are a pain-
ful yoke. 
Selfishness, covetousness, ambition, 
love of the world, or some other cherisBed sin~ 
destroys their peace and joy. rrhey are restless, 
impatient, dissatisfied, their spirits chafe under 
====================================== 1 the weight of care and responsibility, all be-
cause they have not made a complete surrender 
to Jesus, and are seeking to carry their burden 
without his aid. If he were by their side, the 
the sunshine of his presence ~ould scatter every 
cloud; the help of his strong arm would lighten 
every burden. 
"IN ALL THY -w-AYS ACKNO-w-L-
EDGE HIM." 
"IN all thy ways,acknowledge Him" 
To whom thy path is known; 
Thy wisdom is to trust his care 
Nor strive to walk alone. 
Commit thy way to God; the rest 
Leave to his will-he knoweth best. 
"In all thy ways," in each rough path, 
Stretch forth thy feeble hands, 
And seek protection in his love, 
Who Heaven and earth commands. 
Thy strength in each emergency 
Sufficient "for the day" shall be. 
"In all thy ways;" when clouds arise 
And darkness dims the way, 
He knows thy griefs-appoints e'en this 
Deep sorrow-oh, then "pray;" 
Thy burden roll upon the Lord, 
And stay thyself upon his word. 
"In all thy ways;" thy strength brought down, 
With lingering sickness pressed; 
Too weak to raise thy head, thou mayst 
Rest on thy Master's breast. 
Tho' now the end thou can'st not see, 
Thou yet shalt say, ''Twas good for me." 
"In all thy ways acknowledge him," 
Leave every painful doubt 
To him whose name is "Wonderful," 
His ways past finding out. 
In childlike faith hisrod receive, 
His precious promises believe. 
-Sel. 
<mtntral 
~rticltz. 
The Christian's Rest. 
BY M:RS. E. G. WHITE. 
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest_ 
Take my yoke upon you, and 
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye 
shall find rest unto your souls. 
For my yoke is easy, and 
my burden is light." 
HERE is revealed the secret of the Christian's 
rest. It is found only in Christ. If we possess 
Lis meekness of spirit, we shall find peace and 
joy in him_ 
The world is full of unrest, trials, 
and difficulties. It is an enemy's land, and on 
every hand we are beset by temr:>tations. "In 
the world," says Jesus, "ye shall have tribula-
tion; but be of good cheer; I have oyercome 
the world;" and "my peace I give unto you." 
Our Saviour represents his requirements as a 
yoke, and the Christian life as one of burden-
bearing. 
Yet, contrasting these with the cruel 
power of Satan and with the burdens imposed 
by sin, be declares: "My yoke is easy, nnd my 
burden is light." When we try to live the life 
of a Christian, to bear its responsibilities and 
perform its duties without Christ as a helper, 
the yoke is galling, the burden intolerably 
heavy. But Jesus does not desire us to do 
this. 
To ihe sin-sick soul, weary and heavy 
laden ';<,•ith its burden of guilt and care, be ex-
tends the graci<:ms invitation: "Come unto me, 
Christ gave himself for us "that he might re-
deem us from all iniquity, and purif)· unto him-
self a peculiar people, zealous of good works." 
His true followers are unlike the world in 
words, in works, and in deportment. 
But 
many are so fearful of provoking unfriendly 
criticism or malicious gossip that they haYe 
not the moral courage to ac.:t fi·om principle. 
rl'hey dare not identify themselves with those 
who follow Ch1·ist fully. 
They love the world; 
and they desire to conform to its customs and 
to secure the approbation of worldlings. 
They 
thus cumber themselves with needless cares 
and l:I,Oxieties, and weigh themselves down with 
heavy burdens. 
Oh ! why will not all the pro-
fessed children of God follow the Saviour fully? 
Why will they take upon themselves burdens 
which he has not imposed? 
We should be much happier and more useful, 
if our home life and social intercourse were gov-
erned by the prinuiples of the Christian religion, 
and illustrated the meekness and simplicity of 
Christ. Instead of toiling to make a display, 
and to excite admiration and envy, let it appear 
that we are striving to conform to the will of 
Christ. Let visitors see that we try to make 
all arouud us happy by our cheerfulness, sym-
pathy, and love. 
While we endeavor to secure the comfort and 
happiness of our guests, let us not overlook our 
obligation to God. 
The hour of prayer should 
not be neglected for any consideration. 
Do not 
give the time to conversation and recreation 
until you are too weary to enjoy the season of 
devotion. 
To do this is to present to God a 
lame offering. At an early hour of the evening, 
when you oan pray unhurriedly and under-
standingly, present your supplication, and raise 
your voices in happy, grateful praise. 
Lot all 
who visit Christians see that the hour o.f prayer 
is the most sacred, the most precious, and the 
happiest hour of the day. 
Such an example 
will not be without effect. 
These seasons of de-
votion exert a refining, elevating influenc:e upon 
all who participate in them_ 
Right thoughts 
and new and better desires will be awakened in 
the hearts of the most careless. 
rrhe hour of 
prayer brings a peace and rest grateful to the 
weary S}Jirit; for the very atmosphere of a 
Christian horne is that of peace and restfulness. 
In ~very act the Christian should seek to rep-
resent his Master, to make his service appear 
attractive. 
Let none make religion repulsive 
by persistent gloominess, and by relating their 
trials and their difficulties, their self denials and 
their sacrifices. 
Talk of these things less, my 
fellow-Christian, and more of the matchless love 
of Jesus, of Heaven and its glories. Vo not 
give the lie to your profession of faith by im-
patience, fretfulness, and repmmg. Let it be 
seen that with you the love of Christ is an abid-
ing motive; tbaL your religion is not like a gar-
ment that may be put off and resumed again, as 
the circumstances demand, but a principle, calm, 
steady, unvarying,-one that rules your whole 
life. 
Alas, that pride, unbelief, and selfishness, 
like a foul cancer, are eating out vital godliness 
from the heart of many a professed Christian! 
When judged according to their works, how 
many will learn, too late, that their religion 
was but a glittering cheat, unacknowledged by 
the world's Redeemer. 
Whatever your lot in life may be, remember 
that you are in the service of Christ, and mani-
fest a contented, grateful spirit. 
Whatever 
your burdun or cross, lift it in the name of 
Jesus; bear it in his strength. He pronounces 
the yoke easy, and the burden light; and I be-
lieve him, for I have proved the truth of his 
words. 
_Every provision has been made for us 
at an infinite cost, that we may have the bless-
edness of Heaven wrought into our every-day 
life. 
We may walk in the sunlight of the di-
vine presence, and weave into our characters 
the golden threads of forbearance and Jove, 
gratitude and peace. 
"\V.e shall thus be reflect-
ing the light of Heaven amid all the frets and 
irritations that come to us day by day. 
It is only through earnest: persevering effort, 
aided by the grace of God, tbat we can reach 
this height of moral excellence. But this is the 
religion that is the light of the world. The 
chur(:h is becoming weak for the want of con-
secrated members, who feel that they are not 
their own; that their time, their talent8, their 
energies, belong to Christ; that he has bought 
them with his blood, and is pleading for them 
in the sanctuary above. 
There are many who 
have never felt the necessity of subduing self, 
and overcoming wicked tempers. They cher-
ish bitterness and wrath in their hearts, and 
these evil traits defile the soul. 
They thus 
deny Christ, and darken the path way of others. 
.None will be excused for the exhibition of un-
controllable tempers; thousands will miss of 
Heaven through their want of self-control. 
We are to let nothing, small or great, llll bal-
ance us. 
Nine-tenths of the trials and perplex-
ities that so many worry over are either imag-
inary, or brought upon themselves by their own 
wrong course. 
They should cease to talk of 
these trials, and to magnify them. The Chris-
tian may commit every worriment, every dis-
turbing thiug to God. 
Nothing is too small for 
our compassionate Saviour to notice; nothing 
is too great for him to carry. 
Then let us set 
our hearts and homes in order; let us teach our 
children that the fear of the Lord is the begin-
ning of wisdom; and let us, by a cheerful, 
happy, well-ordered life, exprel::ls our gratitude 
and love to Him "who giveth us richly all 
things to enjoy." But above all things, let us 
fix our thoughts and the affections af our"bearts 
on the dear Saviour who suffered for guilty 
man, and thus opened Heaven for us. 
Love to Jesus cannot be hidden, but will 
make itself seen and fol t. It exerts a wondrous 
power. It makes the timid bold, the slothful 
diligent, the ignorant wise. 
It makes the stam-
mering tongue eloquent, and rouses the dor-
mant intellec·t into new life and vigor. It makes 
the despondiug hopeful, the gloomy joyous. 
Love to Christ will lead its possessor to accept 
respon~:~ibilities and cares for his sake, and ,v 
754 . 
THE BIG NS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
bear them in his strength. Love to Christ will 
not be dismayed by tribulation, nor turned 
aside from duty by reproaches. 
And the soul 
that is not imbued with this love for Jesus is 
none of his. 
Peace in Christ is of more value than all the 
treasures of earth. 
Then let us open our hearts 
to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. 
Let us seek the Lord with all the heart, and 
learn of Christ to be meek and lowly, that we 
may find rest of soul. Let us work cheerfully, 
joyously in the service of our .Master, remem-
bering that the deportment as well as the words 
of the Christian should be such as to awaken in 
the heart of the sinner a desire to come to the 
.Fountain of life. 
Let us go forward; for we are striving for an 
immortal crown. Let us be diligent to make 
our calling and election sure. 
A slothful, lan-
guid professor will never secure an entrance 
into the kingdom of God. 
}j.,rom the cross to 
the crown there is earnest work to be done. 
There is wrestling against in bred sin; there is 
warfare against outward wrong. But we shall 
triumph, at last, if we do not become weary in 
well-doing. 
Heaven's portals will be opened 
for every one who does his best for God and 
his fellow-men. 
Why Do Not People Attend Church? 
THIS question was the subject of discussion 
lately, at the Ministerial Union of Detroit, Mich. 
A paper was read upon which the Toledo Blade 
of November 19 makes the following just re-
marks. 
'~J..1hey are good reading for all who 
name the name of Christ, and especially so for 
the popular pulpit. 
Our reverend friend in Detroit says that one 
great reason why children and young people do 
not attend regular church service is that they 
are not taken there by their parents; that the 
latter are absentees from the sanctuary, and 
the force of example keeps the children from 
attending. 
To our mind, the same reasons 
operate with the children as with the adult pop-
ulation of our cities. And we will give his 
views as to these reasons:-
" One barrier to the common people is the 
expensively furnished interior of our churches. 
Many will regard this as a very empty and 
foolish objection, but careful examination will 
find it full of truth. 
Men and women who live 
on rag-carpet :floors, or on floors with no car-
pets, can only be reached by places of worship 
somewhat on a level with their home .life. 
Again, the church has too much the character 
of a· dress parade. 
I am not entering upon the 
question of dress in general; it may be as_ right 
and proper to dress in ermine and silk as in 
calico; but in the temple of God, where all 
classes of people are supposed to meet, there 
should be a leveling of dress, so that the poor 
man and woman would not appear in such em-
barrassing contrast. 
is true; but when you put the knife of examin-
ation into it, it is as much like the truth as the 
tallow candle is like the sun. How long would 
this welcome be extended to these new-comers 
by pewholders crowded out of their pews?" 
With all due deference to our Detroit minis-
terial friend, we do not think that he goes to 
the root of the matter. 
All the points that he 
makes are good, and all have their bearing on 
the non-attendance of the masses upon the serv-
ices of the churches; but they are as nothing 
compared with the one fact that the people are 
utterly indifferent to religion. They care noth-
ing about it. 
The affairs of the present engross 
them, and those of the future, beyond this life, 
are not considered. The struggle for existence, 
providing for the physical wants of themselves 
and their families, take up their time and at-
tention. They are not, as a rule, antagonistic 
to religion or to the church; their attitude is 
one of utter and complete indifference thereto. 
And one great barrier to the arousing of an in-
terest is the fact that they can see no marked 
difference between the lives of professed Chris-
tians, as a rule, and their own lives. 
'l'he differ-
ence may exist, bvt it is not visible to them. 
They see all around them church members 
who are far fi'om fulfilling their ideal of what a. 
Christian should be; they see a business man, 
for instance, who will take an unfair advantage 
when it will result in his pecuniary benefit; 
they see persons who are professed Christians 
exhibiting malice, anger, and uncharitableness; 
they see them grasping and penurious, grind-
ing the faces of the poor; they note in them 
practices at variance with the faith they pro-
fess; and they see no difference in the lives of 
these persons for at least six days in the week: 
from the lives of the mass of people not claim-
ing to be ChristianA, and who do not attend the 
churches. 
'l'he inevitable inference is that Christians 
join the church for soc,ial advantage, or for 
other motives other than those that should act-
uate them. They look on church people col-
lectively as somewhat ~pocritical, and this 
view drives them away. 
Now, what is the remedy? What means 
can be taken to bring the people into the 
churches, or the children into the Sunday-
schools? 
To our mind, there is but one; to 
rouse the masses to a recognition of the impor-
tance of religion. 
They must awaken to the 
mighty interests they are neglecting; they 
must be made to realize that the eternal wel-
fare of their souls is being imperiled. 
Our min-
isters must cease to be mere pulpiteers. Like 
the mighty Founder of the religion they pro-
fess, they must go out and seek the lost. If the 
people will not go to them, they must go to the 
people, visit them in their homes, rouse them, 
and waken in their minds the desire to know 
more of religion. And the burden must not fall 
alone on the ministers. Everv man and woman 
who claims the Christian name must help in 
this work; first, by casting out of their own 
lives all that is impure or at variance with the 
sublime faith which they profess, that they 
may not cause their brethren to err; second, by 
aiding in the work of arousing all around them 
to the supreme importance of a religious life. 
J.1et all Christians purify their own lives, that 
they may stand as living exemplars of the faith 
they proft!ss, and theu let pews and pulpit join 
to bring all within the fold. 
''But 1: come to the moni:	er ~vil, the one 
great barrieade over which the common people 
will not climb, and could not if they would. 
I 
refer to the pew-renting system. 
The pews in 
the church which I serve are all rented, so lam 
not reflecting on any church or on any individ-
ual. 
But I speak of a system which has grown 
up with us and around us, which furnishes, per-
haps, tbe supreme hindrauce to our common 
peopl.e. 
T~ough i~ is not intended, it is a 
THE best part of a Christian character is that 
premiUm given. to r1ch and well-to-do people to which is procured at the greatest cost. 
Pa-
go to church w1t~ an a~suran?e that when they, tience is a beautiful trait, but it is the product 
get there they Will be fo.u:r:d 1~ g~od ?o~pa:r:y; of dark nights of suffering and dark days of 
and, on the other hand? Itls a tormble.mv1tatwn adversity. "For it is the trial of your faith 
for the masses to remam at home until they can that worketh patience."-Rev. J. Wilbur Chap-
. rent a pew. It is no more possible for the la-rnan. 
Confessing Christ. 
"IF thou shalt confess with thy mouth the 
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart 
that God hath raised him from the dead thou 
shalt be saved.'.' 
Mark you,itistheLo~d Je-
sus and his rmmrrection from the dead which is 
here specified as the subject of confession. 
And 
this confession is made by the mouth. It is 
most interesting to observe ho'v minute and 
specific the declaration of God is concerning 
the way of life. 
"With the mouth confession 
is made unto salvation." "Faith cometh by 
bearing," and so it is that grace enters into the 
heart by way of ear-gate. But confession 
comes by speaking, and therefore its declaration 
must go through mouth-gate. 
There is an old cannon in existence which 
was once used by the Scottish covenanters. 
On 
its brazen lips are inscribed these words, "0 
Lord, open thou my lips, and my .mouth shall 
show forth thy praise.'' 
rrhere seems to be 
something of the eame martial tone in the 
words of the apostle: "FiCYht the good fight of 
faith;" "Confess a good c;nfession> Bombard 
the forts of unbelief by a volley of testimonies. 
'l'he open mouth of a Christian is a port-hole of 
the Spirit of God, which Satan is especially anx-
ious ~o close. If he can only spike the guns of 
the young believer, so that he shall not speak 
for Christ, he bas practically conquered him. 
J:Ie has silenced him, which is half the battle, 
SiilCe confession is one-half the condition of life 
eternal. 
Now you can see, on a moment's reflection, 
why confession holds so important a place in 
t.be _fact. of com·ersion. 
In the first place, con-
fessJOn IS the development of faith. 
A good 
teacher will sometimes say to his pupils, "You 
d_on't know. a thi~g till you tell it." It is pre-
Cisely so w1th faith. 
A belief unconfessed is 
only half a belief. It may develop into a con-
viction, or it, may subside into an unbelief. 
You 
cannot determine as yet. The only way to in-
sure its continuance is to tell it out. It is faith 
indeed, by which we are justified; but faith 
that is not confessed is not faith. 
The bird is 
in the egg. 
But unless it breaks the shell, and 
and opens its wings, and :dies heavenward. it 
will soon perish. And so faith, if it rem~ins 
only a latent, undeveloped thing, must soon 
cease to be. It is just as true that faith with-
out words is <;lead, as that faith without works 
is dead. 
And then, besides, a lip confession gives a 
certain irrevocableness to our faith. 
A secret 
fh.ith I can retract at a.ny moment I choose to 
do so. It is in my own hands as yet, to do a.s I 
please with. 
I can publish it or suppress it, as 
I like. But not so when I have confessed it be-
fore others. Then it has gone into words, and 
taken wings to itself, and I can never recall it. 
Words are the most irrevocable of things. My 
thoughts, though they are swifter than the 
lightning, I can yet overtake and bring home 
again. For so long as they are only th""oughts, 
they have not gone out of my keeping. 
I still 
have bit and bridle upon them, and can rein 
them in, and take them buck. 
But my words 
are not mine. 
'l'hey have gone into other ears, 
and have been recorded in other memories. 
I 
have put them out of my keeping. 
And this I 
believe to be one principal reason why the Lord 
requires ~a confession of our faith. 
Such confeH-
sion binds us. It has gone on record. It has 
become common property. · I cannot take it 
back. It is like a letter dropped into the mail-
box. 
Now it is in my power; but the moment 
it has passed from my hand, and entered that 
narrow aperture, it bas gone into the public 
mail, and I cannot recall it.-.A.. J. Go1·don, D. D., 
in Golden .Rule . 
--~----~---
boring classes to attend church under this sys-
tem of monopoly than it would be for them to 
rent boxes aiJ the theater. But we.say the poor 
~·eople would be welcome. 
On the surface that 
THE surest method of arriving at a knowl-
A MAN's virtue should be measured, not by edge of God's eternal purposes about us is to be 
his occasional exertions, but by the doings of found in the right use of the present moment. 
his ordinary life. 
-Set. 
DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
755 
Delig·ht in the Law. 
will in no wise cast out;" and so we come, trust-
ing his abundant mercy. 
'l'hen let us praise his holy name for this 
abundant pardon promised in his word. 
"Oh, 'twas love, 'twas wondrous love! 
The love of God to me; 
It brought my Saviour from above, 
To die on Calvary." 
When we realize our sinful condition as it is, 
then, and not till then, ca,n we realize the won-
drous love, the great salvation. 
Oh! let us ear-
nestly plead: "Create in me a clean heart, 0 
God; and renew a right Spirit within me." 
"Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, 
To thy precious bleeding side." 
MRs. M. J. BAHLER. 
The Best Time to Pray. 
To DELIGHT in the law of God is a virtue, ac-
cording to both the 01<.1 'restament and theN ew. 
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
counsel of the ungodly, . . 
but his delight 
is in the law of the Lord." 
Ps. 1 : 1, 2. 
The 
psalmist repeatedly says, "Thy law is my de-
lig;ht." 
Ps. 119:77, 174. He prophesies of 
Christ, when he should come into the world 
(See Heb. 10: 5-7); and the language of his 
heart is the same: "I delight to do thy will, 0 
my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Ps. 
40: 8. 
J esuR obeyed the law,-" he did no sin," 
-and he proclaimed it as the foundation truth 
of his mission. 
Obedien0e to its precepts was 
required by him from all people in all time to 
come, who would have a part in his kingdom. 
Matt. 
5 : 17-20. 
The. apostle Paul was a 
"ubosen vessel" of bis to bear his name to the 
Gentiles; and he could say, with his Master, :'I 
A l't.EMARK" which I beard from the pulpit in 
delight in the law of God after the inward man." my boyhood made a deep impression on my 
Rom. 7 : 22. 
mind, and has been of great practical use to me 
Now I pl'opose a question: WaR the law in many times ever since. lt was this: "·when 
which David, and Jesus, and Paul delighted the you feel least like praying, then of all other 
very same law, or did 0ne delight in one thing, times is the time to pray." 
another in anotbee, and the third in something 
There are times of peeuliar depression which 
else'? If it was the same law in each instance, every one has felt, when the mind becomes the 
could it require David to do one thing, and prey of languor and melancholy. 'l'he causes 
Paul to do another? Could the same law re-of such a condition it is not always easy to de-
quire David to rest from secular labor and bus-termine. 
We <.:annot always distinguish be-
iness on the seventh day of the week, because tween the animal and .spiritu~l. in o~r natures. 
God rested on that day from the work of crea-It may be only a mo::b1d co~~1t10n .of ?ody that 
tion, and require Paul to rest on the first day, has p~o?uced a .morb1d conditlOl,l .of n:~llld: .·We 
because Je'lus arose from the dead on that day'? may t.hmk ou1 .ca~e to be a C<lHe. of SJ~nlt~al 
Since the SCI·iptures a1·e silent on the subject of! d~sert~on wh~n It IS only 3: case of ennu~ or m-
this change, an explanation from those who d1g~sL10n. 
D1so~·dered bodily organs .~dfe.ct t?e 
would enforce Sunday-keepin<T by civil law bram sympathetwa~ly; the mental po1se IS dts-
would seem high1y proper, and it would be duiy turbed, and. we begm to tremble and ~oubt and 
appreciated. 
R. F. CoTTRELL. 
fear, loosen~:"g our. hold upon the promises when 
Abundantly Pardon. 
"OuR God will a.bundantly pardon." What 
a thought! 
What depth of love it expresses ! 
Did you ever grieve or wrong a fi·iend, who, 
when asked to forgive the offense, looked at 
you coldly and suspiciously, and slowly said, 
"Yes; l will forgive you"? And did you feel 
that that was abundant pardon? Nay, verily; 
such a pardon left no suulight iu either heart. 
But percbance you may have known what I 
have known,-a pardon expressed in such ten-
der tones and by such loving looks that yon felt 
that it healed the wound, even though it uould 
not remove the scar. If so, you can appreciate 
in some Rmall degree what abundant pardon is. 
And God will abundantly pardon our sins if 
we hate them, if we turn from them. 
But if we 
cherish ou1· sins, and still seek him, he cannot 
pardon; for he cannot cleanse, and he will 
cleanse those whom he pardons. 
The sinner 
comes to him all defilement and sin-stains, yet 
hat· g the thonghts and practices that have 
brought him into this condition. 
Consequently, 
the first thing God does after granting pardon 
is to cleanse the heart; but if we love that 
which defiles, he cannot cleanse us. 
He wi!l 
never force us to give up that which we love. 
He will permit us to come so near to him that 
we can see how guilty we are, can see his great 
glory and our sinfui condition; but if we cling 
to our sins, be must leave us as we are. If we 
are unwilling to be cleanHed, then we cannot 
share tbe abundant pardon of our God. 
Do we not want this abundant pardon? Oh, 
what depths of sin do we find ourselves walking 
in ! We see how amazing is the difference be-
tween our cha1·acters and that of Him who" was 
in all pointB tempted like as we are, yet with-
out sin." 
As our condition is revealed to us by 
the searching light of God'~ pure law, we moan 
in anguish. 
S~ch defilement it seems to us can 
never be cleansed away; but sweetly come the 
words: "Who for giveth all thine iniquities;" 
"'rho ugh your sins be as scarlet, they shall be 
as white as snow;" "Him that cometh to me I 
we should ttghten It. 
The words of the prophet 
are pertinent to such a condition: "Who is 
among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth 
the voice of his servant, that walketh in dark-
ness and hath no light? let him trust in the 
name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." 
An 
apostle teaches a like lesson when he says, 
"We walk by faith, not by sight." 
If some certain frame of our minds or state 
of our feelings were requisite to our acceptance 
with God, who but must despair of acceptance? 
But we are ''accepted in the Beloved." And, 
albeit it becomes us to hide ou1· faces, so often 
shaded with gloom and quiet: in the dust of 
contrition, we may ever cry with penitent faith, 
".Behold, 0 God, our shield, and look upon the 
face of thine anointed." It is the privilege of 
the believer, ·when some melancholy mood is 
upon him, with praiseful and !Jrayerful heart to 
exelaim, "Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul? 
and why art thou disquieted within me? hope 
thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is 
the health of my countenance, and my God." 
Yes, pray the more because of your low spirits 
and your desponding thoughts; and the Sun of 
Righteousness will shine through the mists and 
vapor::; to the joy of your soul, for '' light is 
sown for the righteouf::!, and gladness for the up-
right in heart." 
But we have real as well as fancied a:ffiictions; 
and unde1· tha pressure of some sudden, and, as 
it appears to us, [:!trange trouble, we may be 
almost irresistibly inclined to "east away our 
confidence." We are-
"Encomp".ssed with clouds of distress, 
Just ready all hope to resign." 
And wherefore? Our case is thus described 
by the pen of insp~ration: "Ye have forgotten 
the exhortation which speaketh unto you as 
unto children, My son, despise not thou the 
chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou 
art rebuked of him." 
We are very slow to un-
derstand that such a time is one of our chief 
spiritual opportunities. 
"A friend loveth at all 
times, and a b,·othe?· i8 born for adver·sity." 
1 t 
is one of the blessed prerogatives of Christ in 
his relation to his people ''to give unto them 
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 
and the gm·ment of praise for the spirit of heav-
iness.'' 
Divine grace is adjusted to all the 
changing conditions of divine providence, with 
full provisions for every new want, and with 
special intervention for every new emergency. 
The greater the need of his people, the greater 
the succor their Lord will afford them. They 
cry aloud, and he hastens to their relief. 
What 
Letter time can there be for prayer than the 
time of our direst necessity? "Is any a:ffiictcd, 
let him pray." 
That vile tempter who is always lying in 
vn1.it to deceive us will coutrive, if possible, to 
get us into some moral 
difficult~T' and then 
delude us into the idea that we must relieve 
ourselves of the diffkulty before we dare to call 
upon God. 
Such are "the depths of Satan." 
Happy are they who are "not ignorant of his 
de,·ices." 
Betaking themselves to the sure 
word of promioe, they will find it written there: . 
"There hath no temptation take~ you but such 
as is common to man; bnt God is faithful, who 
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye 
are able; but will with the temptation also 
make a way to escape, that ye may be able to 
bear it." From the edge of the net, the pit, 
the prison, in which Satan would fain inclose 
them, they cry to a covenant-keeping God, and 
are delivered. 
When is the vei-y best time to 
pray, if it be not when the very stress of trouble 
is upon us, when the hour of greatest extrem-
ity is reached, when the deadliest peril is im-
minent? 
The f::!inner is more easily deceived. 
He 
waits for what he imagines will be a better 
time to pray. 
He spangles himself over with 
tin~:>el merits, striving in vain to make himself 
worthy to approach a holy God. 
He imagines 
that he may yet give himself a better recom-
mendation to the Saviour than he now dares to 
do. 
0 foolish sinner, add not to your guilt by 
dela.r, but come just as you now are, and beg 
for mercy at the hands of your Redeemer. 
He 
might justly spurn you; but, 0: he will not, if 
you will but seek his favor at once as he bids 
yon. 
Now, now is the best time for you to 
pray.-S. Co1·nelius, D. D., in the Baptist Ji'lag. 
LET us neer forget that the true attitude 
of faith is to lovingly trust God, not to attempt 
by searching to find him out. 
His "way is in 
the sea, and his footsteps are not known." 
When his people arc in peril, he plows a path-
way of deliverance through the waters; when 
they are hungry, he gives manna; when they 
need guidance, be supplies a pillar of cloud and 
of fire; when huge walls confi.·ont them, he 
brings them down with rams' horns; and so on 
to the end of the story. But he never tells 
them how be does these things. 
rrhey get 110 
help from philosophizing. 
The one supreme 
condition upon which their well-being hangs is 
to implicitly believe and obey his wo1·d. 
So 
long as they do that, they never fail of being 
led as through green pastures and beside still 
waters.-Sel. 
You want to be true, and you are trying to 
be. Learn the~:;e two things,-never to be dis-
couraged because good things get on slowly 
here, and never to fail daily to do that which 
lies next to your hand. 
Do not be in a burry, 
but diligent. 
Enter into the sublime patience 
of the Lord. 
Be charitable in view of it. 
God 
can afford to wait; why cannot we, since we 
have him to fall back upon ·t 
Let patience have 
her perfeet. work, and bring forth her celestial 
fruits. Trust in God to vveave your thread into 
the great web, though the pattern shows it not 
yet.-Sel. 
No MAN has any more religion than he can 
show in time of adversity and triaL-Matthew 
Henry. 
THE innocence of the intention abates noth-
ing of the mischief of the example.-Robert Hall. 
756 
THE BIG NS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
The First Migrations of the Goths. 
(Continued.) 
"THE second expedition of the Goths was 
undertaken with greater powers of men and 
ships; but they steered a different course, and, 
disdaining the exhausted provinces of Pontus, 
followed the western coast of the Euxine, passed 
before the wide mouths of the Borysthenes, 
the Dniester, and the Danube, and, increasing 
their fleet by the capture of a great number of 
fishing barks, they approached the narrow out-
let through which the Euxine t)ea pours its wa-
ters into the Mediterranean, and divides the 
continents of Europe and Asia. 
The garrison 
of Chalcedon [a city opposite to where Con-
stantinople now stands] was encamped near the 
temple of Jupiter Urius, on a promontory that 
commanded the entrance of the strait; and so 
inconsiderable were the dreaded invasions of 
the barbarians, thut this bou.y of troops sur-
passed in nul'Il:ber the Gothic army. But it was 
in numbers alone that they surpassed it. They 
deserLed with precipitation their advantageous 
post, and abandoned tLe town of Chalcedon, 
most plentifully stored with arms and money, 
to the dil':lcretion of the conquerors. 
" Whilst they hesitated whether they should 
prefer the sea or land, Europe or Asia, for the 
scene of their hostilities, a perfidious fugitive 
pointed out Nicomedia [now Ismid, at the bead 
of the Gulf of Ismid], once the capital of the 
kings of Bithynia, as a rich and easy conquest. 
He guided the march, which was only sixty 
miles from the camp of Chalcedon, directed the 
resistless attack, and partook of the booty; 
for the Goths bad learned sufficient policy to 
reward the traitor, whom they detested. 
Nice, 
Prusa, Apamrea, Gins, cities tLat bad sometimes 
rivaled, or imitated, the splendor of Nicomedia, 
were involved in th~ same calamity, which, in 
a few weeks, raged without eontrol through 
the whole province of Bitbynia. 
The 
ruin of Cyzicus was delayed by a fortunate acci-
dent. The season was rainy, and the Lake 
Apolloniates [Uba1lania], the reservoir of all 
the springs of Mount Olympus, rose to an un-
common heigbt. 
rrhe little river Rhyndacus 
[Loupadi], which issues from the lake, swelled 
into a broad and Tapid stream, and stopped the 
progress of the Goths. 
'l'beir retreat to the 
maritime city of Heraclea [the northern point 
of Asia Minor], where tbe fleet had probably 
been stationed, was attended by a long train 
of wagons laden with the spoils of Bithynia, 
and was marked by the flames of Nice and 
Nicomedia, which they wantonly burnt. 
Some 
obscure hints are mentioned of a doubtful com-
bat that secured their retreat. But even a com-
plete victory would have been of little moment, 
as the approach of tl1e autumnal equinox sum-
moned them to hasten their return. 
" When we are informed that the third fleet, 
equipped by the Goths in the ports of Bospho-
rus, consisted of five hundred sail of ships, our 
ready imagination instantly computes and mul-
tiplies the formidable armament; but, as we 
are assured by the judicious Strabo that the 
piratical vessels used hy the barbarians of Pon-
tus and the Lesser Scythia were not capable of 
containing more than twenty-five or thirty men, 
we may safely affirm that fifteen thousand war-
riors, at the most, embarked in this great expe-
dition. Impatient of the limits of the Euxine, 
they steered their destructive course from the 
Cimmerian to the Thracian Bosphorus. 
When 
they bad almost gained the middle of the straits, 
they were suddenly driven back to the entrance 
of them; till a favorable wind, springing up 
the next day, carried them in a few hours into 
the plaoid sea, or rather lake, of the Propontis 
[Marmora]. 
Their landing on the little island 
of Cyzicus was attended with the ruin of that 
ancient and noble city. 
From thence issuing 
again through the narrow passage of the Hel-
lespont, they pursued their winding navigation 
amidst the numerous islands scattered over the 
Archipelago or the .Ajjgean Se.a. 
The assistance 
of captives and deserters must have been very 
necessary to pilot their vessels and to direct 
their various incur"sions, as well on the coast of 
Greece as on that of Asia. 
"At length the Gothic fleet anchored in the 
port of Pirreus, five miles distant from Athens, 
which bad attempted to make some prepara-
tions for a vigorous defense. 
Cleodamus, one 
of the engineers employed by the emperor's 
orders to fortify the maritime cities against 
the Goths, had already begun to repair the an-
cient walls, fallen to decay since the time of 
Scylla. 
The efforts of his skill were ineffectual, 
and the barbarians became masters of the na-
tive seat of the muses and arts. 
But while 
the conque1·ors abandoned themselves to the 
license of plunder and intemperance, their fleet, 
that lay with a slender guard in the harbor of 
Pirreus, was unexpectedly attacked by the 
brave Dexippus, who, flying with the engineer 
Cleodamus from the sack of Athens, collected 
a hasty band of volunteers, peasants as-. well as 
soldiers, and in some measure avenged the ca-
lamities of his country. 
"But this exploit, whatever luster it might 
shed on the declining age of Athens, served 
rather to irritate than to subdue the undaunted 
spirit of the northern invaders. 
A general 
conflagration blazed out at the same time in 
every district of Greece. 
Thebes ar}d Argos, 
Corinth and Sparta, which had formerly waged 
~ncb memorable wars against each other, wel'e 
now unable to bring an army into the field, or 
even to defe11d their ruined fortifications. 
The 
rage of war, both by land and by sea, spread 
from the eastern point of Sunium to tbe west-
ern coast of Epirus. · The Goths bad already 
advanced within sight of Italy, when the ap-
proach of such imminent danger awakened the 
indolent Gallienus from his dream of pleasure. 
The emperor appeared in arms; and his pres-
ence seems to have checked the ardor, and to 
have divided the strength, of the enemy. N au-
lobatus, a chief of the Heruli, accepted an hon-
orable capitulation, entered with a large body 
of his countrymen into the service of Rome, 
and was invested with the ornaments of the 
consular dignity, which bad never before been 
profaned by the hands of a barbarian. 
"Great numbers of the Goths, disgm;ted 
with the perils and hardships of a tedious voy-
age, broke into Mresia, with a design of forcing 
their way over the Danube to their settlements 
in the Ukraine. 
'rhe wild attempt would have 
proved inevitable destruction, if the discord of 
the Roman generals bad not opened to the bar-
barians the means of an escape. 
The small re-
mainder of this destroying host returned on 
board their vessels; and measuring back their 
way through the Hellespont and the Bosphorus, 
ravaged in their passage the shores of Troy, 
whose fame, immortalized by Homer, will prob-
ably survive the memol'y of the Gothic con-
quests. 
As soon as they found themselves in 
safety within the basin of the Euxine, they 
landed at Anchialus in Tbrace, near the foot of 
Mount Hremus [Balkan Mountains]; and, after 
all their toils, indulged themselves in the use of 
those plea1:1ant and salutary bot baths. What 
remained of the voyage was a short and easy 
navigation. 
"Such was the various fate of this third and 
greatest of their naval enterprises. It may seem 
difficult to conceive how the original body of 
fifteen thousand warriors could sustain the 
lo1:1ses and divisions of so bold an adventure. 
But as their numbers were gradually wasted 
by the sword, by shipwrecks, and by the influ-
ence of a warm climate, they were perpetually 
renewed by troops of banditti and deserters, 
who flocked to the standard of plunder, and by 
a crowd of fugitive slaves, often of German or 
Sarmatian extraction, who eagerly seized the 
glorious opportunity of freedom and revenge." 
-Dec. and Fall, chap. 10, pa1·. 35, 37, 38. 
March 20, A. D. 268, Gallienus was assassin-
ated, and was succeeded by Claudius as emperor. 
In his speech to the soldierd,-
" He painted in the most lively colors the 
exhausted state of the treasury, the desolation 
of the provinces, the disgrace of the Roman 
name, and the insolent triumph of rapacious 
barbarians. It was against those barbarians, 
he declared, that he intended to point the first 
effort of their arms. 
Tetricus might reign for 
a while over the West, and even Zenobia might 
preserve the dominion of the East. 
These 
usurpers were his personal adversaries; nor 
could he think of indulging any private resent-
ment till be bad saved . an empire whose im-
pending ruin would, unless it was timely pre-
vented, crush both the army and the people. 
"The various nations of Germany and Sar-
matia who fought under the Gothic standard 
had already [A. D. 269] collected an armament 
more formidable than any wbich bad yet issued 
from the Euxine. 
On the banks of the Dnies-
ter, one of the great rivers that discharge 
themselves into that sea, they constructed a 
fleet of two thousand, or even of six thousand 
vessels; numbers which, however incredible 
they may seem, would have been insufficient to 
transport their pretended army of three hun-
dred and twenty thousand barbarians. 
W bat-
ever might be the real strength of the Goths, 
the vigor and sucr.ess of the expedition were 
not adequate to the greatness of the prepara-
tions. 
In their passage through the Bospborus 
the unskillful pilots were overpowerd by the 
violence of the current; and while the multi-
tude of their ships were crowded in a narrow 
channel, many were dashed against each other 
or against the shore. 
The barbal'ians made 
several descents on the coasts both of Europe 
and Asia; but the open countey was already 
plundered, tmd they were repulsed with shame 
and loss from the fortified cities which they 
assaulted. 
"A spirit of discouragement and division 
arose in the fleet, and some of their chiefs 
sailed away towards the islands of Crete and 
Cyprus; but the main bodj, pursuing a more 
steady course, anchored at length near the foot 
of Mount Athos, and assaulted the city of 
Thessalonica, the wealthy capital of all the 
Macedonian provinces. 
Their attacks, in which 
they displayed a fierce but artless bravery, were 
soon interrupted by the rapid approach of 
Claudius, hastening to a scene of action that 
deserved the presence of a warlike prince at 
the head of the remaining powers of the em-
pire. Impatient for battle, the· Goths immedi-
ately broke up their camp, relinquished the 
siege of Thessalonica, left their navy at the 
foot of Mount Athos, traversed the hills of 
.Macedonia, and pressed forward to engage the 
last defense of Italy. 
" We still possess an original letter addressed 
by Claudius to the senate and people on this 
memorable occasion. 
'Conscript fathers,' says 
the emperor, 'know that three hundred and 
twenty thousand G·oths have invaded the Ro-
man territory. If I vanquish them, your grat-
itude will reward my services. 
Should I fall, 
remember that I am the successor of Gallienus.' 
The event surpassed his own expec-
tations. and those of the world. 
By the most 
signal victories he delivered the empire from 
this host of barbarians, and was distinguished 
by posterity under the glorious appellation of 
the Gothic Claudius. 
The imperfect historians 
of an irregular war do not enable us to describe 
the order and circumstances of his exploits; 
but, if we could be indulged in the illusion, we 
might distribute into three acts this memorable 
tragedy."-Id. chap. 11, par. 7-9. 
A. T. J. 
(Concluded next week.) 
" WOE to them that 
trust in char-
iots, because they are many; and in horsemen, 
because they are very strong; but they look not 
unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the 
Lord." 
Isa. 31 : 1. 
DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
757 
The Divine Man. 
IT was a saying of the great Napoleon, 
"There is but a step from the sublime to the 
ridiculous,'· and the saying bas been amply illus-
trated in the utterances of great men. 
But in 
all the utterances of Christ .there is nothing 
puerile, nothing insignificant, nothing unworthy 
of a God. 
There is a wondrous mingling in his 
words of dignity and benignity, of holiness and 
goodness, of warning and compassion. Pure 
precepts are blended with precious promises, 
and solemn denunciations with tender appeals. 
There is nothing deficient, there is nothing re-
dundant; his every deliverance is at once appo-
site and exhaustive. 
The point is so clear as 
to admit of no evasion; the requirement is so 
searching as to afford no excuse. 
The most 
astute casuists come with their crucial questions 
thinking. to confound him, but only to be im-
paled themselves on the point of some more 
formidable questions, there to writhe in hopeless 
uncertainty. At length, Pharisees and Saddu-
cees, joining in one final effort, brought their 
preconcerted problems to him like so many en-
tangling nets; but only to find their artifices 
unavailing, and themselves knotted in difficulties 
from which they vainly essayed to escape. 
The baffied critics retire in confusion, and are 
not presumptuous enough to renew the assault. 
"No man was able to answer him a word, nei-
ther durst any man from that day forth ask him 
any more questions." 
, 
Thus the words of Jesus are unmistakably 
indicative of his divinity. Sometimes he asserts 
it in express terms; but when he does not ex-
pressly assert it, it still sublimely appears in ev-
ery sentence be utters; and his whole mein and 
manners are always in correspondence with his 
words. 
As be was the Solomon that was al-
ways wise, and the Aaron that was always orac-
ular, so he was the· Moses that was never once 
deficient; and the David that was never once 
unkingly. When did he ever act in a way un-
worthy of a God? When did he not appear 
supreme over the natural and the supernatural? 
When did he not prove himself I;ord of Heaven 
and earth, alike in providence and in grace? 
Wherein could we wish his doings or his de-
meanor to have been in any way different from 
just what they actually were? When was the 
scepter out of his bands? When did he lose 
his self-possession? When did be show himself 
to be acting in a character that was assumed 
for a purpose, a character that was not really 
and truly his own? 
Why is it that the child of 
the Virgin, and be only, is ca11ed "the holy 
child''? 
Why is it that no other man but the 
Man of N azaretb, could say to his accusers, 
"Which of you convinceth me of sin?" Why 
is be the only man whom flatterers could not 
spoil and whom deceivers could not dupe? Why 
stood he so calm amid the surging mob clamor-
ing for his crucifixion? Did not the stern sol-
dier under the cross give the true solution of 
all this when he cried, "Truly this was the Son 
of God"? 
.. 
deem the soul. 
No limited help, little or much, 
will reach the case; it requires mightiness, a 
Redeemer "mighty to save." None but a ~i­
vine man could have borne the conflicts and 
agonies of the wilderness, of the garden, of the 
cross; none but the arm of omnipotence could 
ever have lifted the helpless soul out of the pit 
of destruction to the fields of immortality. 
\Vho shall refuse to love and to trust such a 
Saviour, stooping from the throne to take the 
vilest and the guiltiest to .his embrace? 0, 
break, hearts of stone, break in penitence and 
melt in contrition and yield in obedience to tbe 
command of your Creator and Redeemer.-Sr:~l. 
Comfort to Sodom. 
THAT was a most significant charge which 
God, by the prophet Ezekiel, brought against 
the Jews, that they were a comfort to Sod om, 
though they were the recognized people of God. 
Eze. 16: 48-54. In various ways we may be a 
comfort to the wicked. 
1. By preserving silence when we ought to 
rebuke their wrong-doing. Their consciences 
reprove them, and, knowing our profession, they 
expect from us reproof. If we look on and do 
not speak, we are regarded as not disapproving, 
and the inference is comforting. 
2. By ridiculing or denouncing in their pres-
ence those Christians who are endeavoring to 
live above the common level of practical god-
liness, urging such terms as "bigotry" and 
"spiritual pride." 
3. By doing things which perhaps are not 
necessarily sinful, but which border so closely 
on the sinful as to encourage the wicked to go 
a little further. 
They see that we are willing 
to go as far as we can and not expose ourselves 
to church censure, and they infer that we would 
keep even pace with them if we could with 
safety. 
4. By indulgences which the non-professing 
cannot see to be different in principle from their 
own loved gratifications. "If you Christians," 
they say, "can dance in a parlor gathering of 
fifty, why may not we dance in a ball-room 
party of two hundred? If you can find pleas-
ure in private theatricals, why may we not find 
pleasure in public theaters? If we are in th'e 
high school of vice, it is because we were edu-
cated in your primary sch<;>Ols." 
5. Many a sinner with a disturbed conscience 
has been comforted by hearing professors, on 
their way from the bouse of God, indulge in se-
vere criticisms upon the preaching or the 
preacher. 
6. By a worldly mindedness that allows the 
wicked to perceive no difference between them 
and us. 
" Your love of money, your pride of 
life, your style of living, your passion for show: 
are apparently just like ours. 
We see no differ-
ence. 
What do you more than otpers ?"-Sel. 
Relig-ion Never Dormant. 
The works that be did, as he himself said, 
EVERY attribute of true Christian character 
"bare witness" to this great fact. 
The water is alive. 
Every spark of real religion is an ex-
changed into wine, the angry sea sinking into ercise of the soul in benevolence and purity 
sudden calm, the multitude more than suffi-toward God and Heaven. 
Religion which is not 
ciently fed with a few loaves and fishes, the in operation is a repulsive carcass. It is death, 
blind and deaf, the lame and leprous cured, the decay, and poison to the soul. 
Persons deceived 
devils cast out, the dead raised up,-these mir-by it are living on selfish frames and feelings, 
acles proclaimed the author of them divine. which they mistake for genuine love, that is, 
After all these comes the chief, the crowning disinterested benevolence. 
They are governed 
miracle, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from by their feelings. 
They have no vigorous, stal-
the dead. 
A mighty angel appears to the aw-wart, manly faith. 
They never venture out 
ftil astonishment of the .Roman guards, and rolls upon daring undertakings for God. 
They ap-
away the stone from the mouth of the sepul-preciate only such things in the church and in 
cber. 
'l'be glorious form of the Redeemer the labors of the ministry as excite their erne-
emerges thence, and is fully re(~ognized as such tions. 
Preaching must make them happy, or 
by his adoring disciples at his various appear-it is no preaching. They are what somebody 
ances during the forty days following. 
He then bas denominated a kind of "religious epicures." 
sublimely, ascends in the exercise of the same 'l
1bey do not thrive on homely sermons which 
almighty power by which be bad risen. 
lay bare the roots of selfishness and expose its 
His is the power, and his alone, that can re-
1 secret workings. 
This is not gospel food to 
them. 
They relish only that class of truths 
which fan their emotions into a flame. 
It is all right to be happy, but happiness is 
not always religion. 
Happiness is a state of 
the sensibilities, and is of course involuntary; 
while religion is benevolence, and therefore 
powerful action. 
Every impulse of the relig-
ious soul is a bound forward along the lines of 
holy endeavor. 
The hour of prayer and medi-
tation is but a season for renewing strength in 
view of toil and confiirt. 
Hence our hours of 
self-examination should be de,Toted to inquiries, 
not as to bow we feei and bow happy we are, 
but as to what end we are living for: and how 
we can best gain qualifications for usefulness. 
Brother, arise! 
Resolve on doing something. 
Throw yourself into the harness, find a place 
somewhere in the field, and perform a work 
that shall live. 
What better are you for living 
in the world, if the world is no better for your 
living? Your mission may not be a great one, 
but it is a good one, and goodness is always 
great enough. Encourage some son! to pray, 
some heart to believe. 
Induce your acq naint-
ances to read their Bibles more. 
Make the so-
cial meetings of your church a living power. 
You will find enough to do if only you first 
gain the willing mind.-Michigan Advocate. 
The Solid Rock. 
A GENTLEMAN once wished to examine the 
operation of a deep coal mine. 
Coming to the 
mouth of the shaft, he noticed a rope by which 
be supposed the miners deBcended. 
'l'aking 
bold, be slowly let himself down. 
When at 
last he came to the end of the rope, be found, to 
his horror, that he had not reached the bottom 
of the mine, and realized that be had made a 
fatal mist-ake. 
He could not reascend, and to 
let go his bold was t<:> fall, perhaps hundreds of 
feet, to the rocks below. 
All around was dark. 
He called wildly for help, but there came no re-
sponse; at last, giving up to his fate, be relaxed 
his grasp and fell. He dropped about six inches, 
and stood safe on the rock bottom of the mine! 
'l'hat rope was long enough for the tall miners, 
and the shortest of them had learned to have 
faith, to let go without fear. 
In the court:>e of our Christian life, we often 
come to what seems a terrible extremity. 
We 
let go, thinking that we are falling into empty 
void, and we find that the solid rock is beneath 
our feet. 
·A little church for years dung to the Board 
of Home Missions for support. At last it was 
notified that it must let go and take care of 
itself; this seemed to be the church's death-
warrant. 
But some of tb_e members gathered 
together, and consecrated themselves and their 
substance to the Lord's service, and when the 
fatal day arrived, instead of falling into a bot-
tomless pit, they dropped gently upon the rock 
of self-support. 
A minister believed for a long time that he 
could preach more effectively, if, after thor-
oughly studying his subject, he could stand 
boldly b_efore the people, ready to receive the 
immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But 
this involved giving up his manuscript, and be 
feared that without it be would have a disgrace-
ful fall. 
Suddenly his right band was dit<abled 
so that he could not bold the pen. He was 
compelled to go to the pulpit without his writ-
ten sermon. Instead of failing, be found that 
the Spirit gave· him a power be bad never 
known, to move the hearts of the people and 
lead them to Christ. 
In his personal experience every faithful 
Christian finds that when his accustomed sup-
ports are taken away, God gives him something 
better and more enduring.-.N01·thwester·n Pres-
byterian. 
PEDANTRY in learning is like hypocrisy in re-
ligion-a form of knowledge without the power 
of it.-Addison. 
· 
' 
758 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
~ht ~ahhath-~rhnnl. 
LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST-JAN. 9. 
The Everlasting· Kingdom. 
WHEN is the everlasting kingdom to be set 
up? 
"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." 
Dan. 2 : 44. 
"In the 
days of these kings." 
These words occur at the 
close of the interpret~Ltion of N ebuchadnezzar's 
dreamoftbegreatimage. The kings (kingdoms) 
referred to cannot refer to the four universal 
monarcbies,-Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, 
and Rome,-because these follow in succession, 
and it would be impossible for one kingdom to 
be set up in the days of each of them. 
The 
expression can refer to nothing else than the 
kingdoms into which Rome was divided, and 
which are referred to in Dan. 2: 41. 
This di-
vision was r.ompleted before the close of the 
fifth century A. D. 
The expression, "in the da,·s of these kings," 
shows conclusively that in no sem;ewas the king-
dom of God set up at the time of Christ's first 
advent. 
There was at that time only one king-
dom-Rome-and it exercised universal domin-
ion. 
There was then nothing to indicate that 
the proud empire would ever crumble into frag-
ments. This fact alone is sufficient to show that 
the setting up of the kingdom was not in the 
days of Christ or his apostles. 
BY what symbol is it represented? 
The verse above quoted says that the king-
dom of the God of Heaven "shall break in 
pieces and conRnme all these kingdoms." 
In 
the statement of the dream, Dan. 2 : 31-35, we 
are told that the stone which was cut out with-
out bands, "smote the image upon his feet that 
were of iron and clay, and brake them to 
pieces," and that "then was the iron, the clay, 
the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to 
pi ces together, and became like the chaff of 
the summer thresbing-floort\; and the wind car-
ried them away, that no place was found for 
them." When we remember that these various 
metals represent the kingdoms of earth, which 
are to be broken in pieces and consumed by the 
kingdom of God, we know that in this proph-
ecy, the kingdom of God is represented by the 
stone. 
WHERE is the image to be smitten by this 
stone? 
What part of the world's temporal history is 
represented by the feet of the image? 
"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out 
without hands, which smote the image upon 
his feet." 
Dan. 2: 34. It is self-evident that 
the feet of the image represent the last portion 
of this world's history, or, rather, of the history 
of nations on this earth. 
We say this is self-
eYident, because in the time represented by the 
feet, the image is to be totally demolished and 
consumed. 
After it .is smitten, no place is to be 
found for its fragments, showing that from that 
time the nations of earth are to have no place 
in history. It -is evident, then, that this smit-
ing of the image on the feet is the thing to 
which the discip1es referred when they asked 
Christ, '' What shall be the sign of thy coming, 
and of the end of the world 't." 
Matt. 24: 3. 
Dm either of the four great kingdoms utterly 
destroy, or ex·terminate, the kingdoms that 
ruled before it? 
Repeat a scripture that seems to allude to 
this fact. 
In speaking of the fourth and last beast, 
Daniel says: "I beheld even till the beast wRs 
slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the 
burning flame." 
Dan. 7: 11. But in direct 
cor.trast with this, he speaks of the three pre-
ceding beasts as follows: ."As concerning the 
rest of the beasts, they had their dominion 
taken away; yet. their lives were prolonged for 
a season and time." 
Dan. 7 : 12. 
This shows 
that none of the kingdoms are utterly destroyed 
until the last. 
When Cyrus conquered Babylon, 
the Medo-Persian kings began to rule over the 
territory and subjects over which the Babylon-
ian kings had formerly ruled. It was the same 
way, also, when Alexander conquered the Per-
sians. 
When one universal empire succeeded 
another, the world simply changed rulers. ·Had 
it been otherwise, the conqueror would not have 
bad much dominion. 
The characteristics of the 
conquered nation modified to a great extent the 
nation which subdued it. ·This is plainly indi-
cated in the symbol of the fourth kingdom, as 
seen by J obn (Rev. 13 : 1-1 0). 
That beast was 
like a leopard (third kingdom); its feet were as 
the feet of a bear (second kingdom); and its 
mouth as the mouth of a lion (first kingdom). 
Besides these characteristics, it bad the seven 
beads and ten horns peculiar to Rome, and did 
the same work that is ascribed to the fourth 
beast of Daniel 7. 
These fncts of Scripture are in harmony with 
the statement in Daniel 2. that when the stone 
smites the image, the iron·, the clay, the brass, 
the silver, and the gold are all broken to pieces 
together. It is in the days of "these kings," 
the ten divisions of the Roman Empire, that the 
smiting is done, but the consequent destruction 
takes in all that remains of all the preceding 
kingdoms. 
WHAT is t.o be the effect of this smiting? 
When will this utter destruction take place? 
Dan. 2 : 34, 35, 44, which have already been 
quoted, answer question 8. 
All earthly king-
doms are to be destroyed utterly, to make room 
for the everlasting kingdom of God. 
This 
smiting is many times referred to in the Bible. 
God, speaking through the prophet David, says 
to Christ: "Ask of me. and I shall give thee the 
heathen fo:~: thine inheritance, and the uttermost 
parts of the earth for 
th~r possession. 
Thou 
shalt breah: them with a rod of iron; thou shalt 
dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 
Ps. 
2: 8, 9. 
The prophet Habakkuk bad a view of this 
terrible daRhing to pieces of the nations, and be 
describes it thus: "The mountains saw thee, 
and they trembled; the overflowing of the wa-
ter passed by; the deep uttered his voice, and 
lifted up his bands on high. 
The sun and ·moon 
stood still in their habitation; at the light of 
thine arrows they went, and at the shining of 
thy glittering spear. Thou didst march through 
the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the 
heathen in anger." 
Hab. 3 : 10-12. 
Compare 
the last clause with Dan. 2 : 35. 
Isaiah also bears testimony similar to that 
given by David: "And there shall come forth a 
rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall 
grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the 
Lord shall rest upon him, . 
. and he shall 
not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither re-
prove after the hearing of his ears; but with 
righteousness shall be judge the poor, and re-
prove with equity for the meek of the earth; 
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his 
mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he 
slay the wicked." 
Isa. 11 : 1-4. Compare 2 
Tbess. 2: 8. 
And lastly we read the graphic prophetic de-
scription given by John: :'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 be bad a name written, 
that no man knew, but be himself. 
And he 
was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and 
his name is cnlled the vVo!'d of God. 
And the 
armies-which were in Heaven followed him 
upon white horses, clotlwd in fine linen, wl1 t l 
and clean. 
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp 
sword, that with it he should smite the nations; 
and he shall rule them witl1 a rod of iron; and 
he trcadeth the winepress of the fierceness and 
wrath of Almighty God. 
And ] saw 
the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their 
armies, gathered together to make war against 
him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 
And the beast was taken, and with him the false 
prophet that wrought miracles before him .... 
ThesE} both were cast alive into a lake of fire 
bnrning with brimstone. 
And the remnant 
were slain with the sword of him that sat upon 
the horse, which sword proceeded out of his 
mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their 
flesh.'' 
Rev. 19: 11-21. 
Let the reader carefully compare these texts, 
and he will be convinced that they refer to the 
same time to which Peter does, when he savs: 
"But the heavens and the earth whi.cb are now, 
by the same word [the word of the Lord] are 
kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day 
of Judgment and pe1·dition of ttngodly men." 
2 
Peter 3 : 7. 
And this is, in part, the fulfilling of 
the promise of Christ's coming. 
BuT the destruction of the wicked of earth 
is 011ly a part of the wo!'lc to be done. 
Habak-
kuk says, immediately following the words be-
fore quoted from him: ''Thou wen test forth for 
the salvation of thy people, even for salvation 
with thine anointed." 
Immediately following 
the statement quoted from Isaiah, iR a descrip-
tion of a wonderful state of peace, closing with 
these words: ,, rrhey shall not hnrt nor destroy 
in all my holy mountain; for the ea'rth shall be 
full of the knowledye of the Lord, as the waters 
cover the sea." Isa. 11 : 9. 
And this agrees 
with the statement in Dan. 2 : 35, thn.t, ~after 
the destruction of the image, the Rtone, repre-
senting the kingdom of God, "bec·ame a great 
mountain, and filled the whole earth." 
This 
shows conclusively that the kingdom of God is 
to be finally eRtablisbed on this earth; that it is 
to be as real and literal a kingdom as were the 
Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Grecian; that it 
is not yet set up, because when it iA set up it 
immediately consumes the kingdoms of earth; 
and that it is to be absolutely universal, because 
it is to fill the whole earth, and no place is to be 
found for any opposin~ power. 
How will the earth itself be purified from the 
effects of sin and the curse ? 
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief 
in the night; in the w bich the heavens shall 
pass away with a great noise, and the elements 
shall melt with fervent beat, the earth also, and 
the works that are therein, shall be burned up." 
2 Peter 3 : 10. That this results in the purifica-
tion of the earth, is evident from verse 13: 
"Nevertheless we, according to hiA promise, 
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein 
d welleth rif·hteousness." 
How will 'all the righteous, both the dead and 
the living, escape this terrible destruction? 
Habakkuk says that when the Lord brinO's 
these terrible judgm~mts upon the earth, be go~s 
forth for the salvation of his people. 
Since the 
preservation of his people is the object, they 
may fearlessly "abide under the shadow of the 
Almighty." 
R.esting on the promise of J ebo-
vah, that, ''Because thou hast made the Lord 
t'l:iy habitation, there shall no evil be-
fall thee, neither shall any plague come niO'h 
t?y dwelling_" (Ps. 91: 5-10), the righteous c~n 
smg: " God' 1s our refuge and strength, a very 
present help in trouble. 
Therefore will not we 
fear, though the earth be removed, and though 
the mountains be carried i, to the midst of the 
sea." 
Ps. 46 : 1, 2. 
But the people of God are not to be left on 
this earth during the great conflagration which 
destroys the wicked and melts the elements. 
"For the Lord himself shall descend from 
DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
75_9 
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 
a~e alive and remain shall be caught up together 
w1th them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the 
air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 
1 
Thess. 4: 16, 17. 
As the trumpet sounds, the 
dead are raised incorruptible, and the living are 
likewise changed from mortal to immortal,'' in a 
moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15 : 
51, 52); so that when they go to be with Christ, 
and to inherit the kingdom prepared for them 
from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25 : 34), 
they are equal unto the angels, for they cannot 
die any more. And thus is fulfilied the state-
ment in Dan. 2: 44: "And the kingdom shall 
not be left to other people." 
NOT forever are the people of God to remain 
away from this earth. Says John: "And I saw 
throne~:~, and they sat upon them, and judgment 
was given unto them; and I saw the souls of 
them which were beheaded for the witness of 
Jesus, and for the word of God, and which bad 
· not·worsbiped the beast, neither his image, nei-
ther had received his mark upon their fore-
heads, or in their bands; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
But the 
rest Qf the dead lived not again until the thou-
sand years were finiRbed." Rev. 20 : 4, 5. Here 
the first resurrection, the resurrection of the 
righteous, is brought to view, with the statement 
that a thousand years is to intervene between 
that and the resurrection of the wicked. 
Dur-
ing that time the earth is in a state of chaol"l, 
an abyss, as it waF> in the beginning. 
Isaiah 
describes it thus: "Behold, the Lord maketb the 
earth empty, and maketb ·it waFJte, and tnrnetb 
-it upside down, and scatteretb abroad the in-
habitants thereof." "The land shall be utterly 
emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord bath 
spoken this word." Isa. 24: 1, 3. 
And Jere-
miah says: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was 
witbont form, and void; and the heavenA, and 
they had no light. 
I beheld the mountains, and, 
lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the 
birds of the heavens were fled. 
I beheld, and, 
lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all 
the cities thereof were broken down at the 
presence of the r.~ord, and by his fierce anger. 
For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land 
shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full 
end." Jer. 4:23-27. 
DuRING this period of desolation, those who 
have had part in the first resul'rcction: upon 
whom the second death has no power (Rev. 20 : 
6), are sitting on thrones of judgment (Rev. 20 : 
4), judging the world and wicked angels. 
1 
Cor. 6: 1-3. They are in the kingdom of God 
because they are in tl:re New J'erusalem, tb~ 
capital of that kingdom. 
The gates of the 
"strong city" will have been opened," that the 
righteous nation which keepetb the truth" 
might enter in. 
Isa. 26 : 1, 2. 
At the close 
of the thousand years, when "the holy city, 
New Jerusalem," comes down "from God out of 
Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her 
husband" (Rev. 21 : 2); the wicked dead are 
then raised, and the prophetic declaration is, 
that" 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 fro~ 
God out of Heaven, and devoured them." Rev. 
20:9. 
THIS devouring is the same as the destruction 
described in the nineteenth chapter, a portion 
of which has been quoted. It is the same as 
the casting of the tares into the fire, spoken of 
by Christ in Matt. 13; and when this has been 
done, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as 
the sun in the kingdom of their .Father." 
Reader, would you be one of the happy sub-
jects of that kingdom? If so, you must do the 
will of God, and that means that you must keep 
his holy law; for only "the righteous nation 
which keepeth the tl'nth" shall have a place in 
that kingdom. 
"Blessed are they that do his 
commandments, that they may have right to 
the tree of life, and may ent~r in through the 
gates into the city." 
Rev. 22 : 14. 
E. J. W. 
Preaching-Proof People. 
IT was a powerful and thorough sermon, from 
the lips of a man naturally gifted in speech, 
and speaking, beRides, under the inspiration 
and guidance of the omnipotent Spirit of God. 
What was the effect produced? The record is 
in Acts 24. 
.Felix trembled,_:was excessively 
frightened, as it might properly be rendered. 
He felt, then, it appears, the force and aim of 
the apostle's preaching. 
He indeed acknowl-
edged and proclaimed, -by his change of counte-
nance and tremor of body, that he bad an ap-
prehension of the truth, and of the importance 
and the individual applicability of what he 
heard. So sudden and surprising and over-
whelming was his conviction of guilt, and so 
vivid and awful the momentary glimpse that be 
caught, as by a short, sharp lightning-flash, of 
the judgment-throne of Christ and the retribu-
tions of the eternal state. that be could not con-
trol his agitation. Ashamed, as he must have 
been, of betraying his weakness in the presence 
of his queen; and doubly ashamed to confess 
the infiuenee which the words of'a prisoner and 
a barbarian and a Jew had brought upon him, 
be nevertheless lost command of himself, and 
visibly trembfed. 
Prodigious effect! We should say that it 
could, by no possibility, have terminated there. 
A conscience so thoroughly at·oused, it cannot 
be will lapse back into slumber and security 
again_ 
rrhat awakened and terrified sinner 
will surely repent, and cry out like the jailer, 
"What must I do to be saved?" He saw that 
he was a lost soul; it was reveale-d to him un-
mistakably in that hour. 
He will shout aloud 
for me1·cy; it will be a moment of victory for 
God and of joy in Heaven. Not so. 
Quickly 
recovering his self-control, and endeavoring to 
restore his features to their natural expression, 
he interrupts the speaker. 
Doubtless his voice 
faltered a little, but he said: •• Go thy way for. 
this time; when 1 have a convenient season, I 
will call for tb ee." 
Well, convenient seasons came frequently, af-
ter that, during the two years that Felix resided 
at Cresarea. 'rhe narrative of Luke recounts 
that Paul and Felix met repeatedly in mutual 
conference. 
The. circumstances and incidents 
of these subsequent interviews are left by the 
historian wholly to conjecture. In the absence, 
however, of any hint tending in that direction, 
we are not at libet·ty to suppose that Felix was 
ever again moved, to any remarkable degree, 
by the arguments and appeals of Paul. It is 
altogether probable that he listened to him, 
after that day in the judgment ball, with perfect 
self-possession, and a calm and intelligent curi-
osity. 
That, no doubt, bad been the crisis of 
his eternal destiny. His decision was final, 
irrmrersible, eternal. He was not visited with 
any wish or thought of changing it. He was 
reprobate. Paul's gospel was hid-hid to one 
that was lost. Satan had chosen Felix long be-
fore, and now Felix chose Satan. The Holy 
SpiriL gave him up. Alas, Felix! 
The case of the text is frequently quoted and 
alluded to as representing the conduct of the 
impenitent man who puts aside the importuni-
ties of the Holy Spirit, and afterward dies sud-
denly, thus suddenly ending his earthly proba-
tion. But to my mind, there is something in-
expressibly more mournful in the thought of 
one who, like Felix, delays submission to God, 
and then week after week, month after month, 
year after year, comes to the place of worship, 
the convenient season constantly recurring, Sab-
baths dawning and setting, the weeks and 
months and years moving him steadily onward 
towards eternity, but no voice breaking the 
frightful silence of his soul, no light discovering 
to his view the scenes that hide in the eternal 
darkness before him. 
Is there such a soul in the circle of our ac-
quaintanceR and friendA? 
We start at the very 
thought. 
Is be who tonebes your Ride, as you 
sit together in the bouse of God, such u. one? 
Is your pupil, your partner in buRiness, your 
brother, your sister, your parent, yonr husband, 
your wife, your child? Vain questions ! 
We 
csnnot answer them, we would not answer them; 
but they will be answered at the judgment seat 
of Christ. 
The lessons which are to be learned from the 
subject that we have been considering, are so 
obvious that they scarcely need to be formally 
presented. But they are, at the same time, so 
important that they cannot be omitted. 
In the first place, we see that preaching, no 
matter bow pungent and powel'ful, will not 
save a soul. 
The place might be dark, almost, 
with the shadow of' the hovering Spirit; the 
preacher's words might fall upon a silence like 
the silence of the grave; the hearers might 
tremble with the eternal fear,-and still, and 
still no soul be saved. It is not by might nor 
by power. 
Not apostolic, not Pauline elo-
quence can do it. 
Sinners must not, therefore, 
hear the preaching of the gospel with the idea 
in their minds that preaching will finally save 
them. No sermon, however convincing, from 
any text, however appropriate, will effect tho 
work. If such an impression is forming itself 
in the thought of any person that reads these 
words, let me warn you, dear, dear friend, it is 
false. 
It is one of Satan's lies. 
There is no 
hope for you but in resisting him at every point. 
His wiles are innumerable nnd inconceivably 
dangerous. 
The watch word is "Resist." 
In the second place, we may learn, from the 
consideration of this subject, that a state of anx-
iety about the condition of the Roul is not a 
state of safety. 
There is sometimes a vague, 
h~lf-formed conviction iu the mind of an 
awakened sinner, that his feelings of distress 
and anxiety are an assurance of his security. 
The example of Felix teaches to the con trar·v. 
Here were emotions of terror and solicitude 
poignant in the extreme. But Felix was lost. 
ln truth, the right consideration of the subject 
teaches tba~ the .period during which a con-
victed sinner is full of mental anguish and fear-
ful forebodings, instead of being a period of 
safety, is one of the most imminent peril. If 
ever they that watch for souls as those that 
must give account, may lie sleepless at night, 
and wonder and agonize and pray with wasting 
anxiety, it is when there are awakened sinners 
in their congregations. 
Ob, the terrible, the 
infernal, energy and cunning with which Satan 
besets them ! How shall his malignity be baf-
fled? Let none, then, derive any sem•c of f:le-
curity from the fact that they are anxions about 
their souls. 
The moment of the greatest anxi-
ety is precisely the moment of the greatest 
danger. 
How clearly, now that the occasion is so re-
mote in time, do we pereeive the folly of the 
decision of Felix and Drusilla ! 'l'be little mo-
tives, the trifling considerations, which inter-
vened to influence tbem,-tbeee are all of them 
dismissed from our minds, and we think only of 
the dreadful folly of their choice. It cost Paul 
a struggle to be faithful that day; but the 
struggle was brief, and the reward is endless. 
It took only a moment for Felix to say, "Go 
thy way for this time;" but it will take him 
long to be sorry that be said it.-Professor 
W'iUiam 0. Wilkinson, D. D., LL. D., in Sunday 
School Times. 
as Felix entered into conversation with Paul, 
HE who can suppress a moment's anger may 
and hears and sees as if he heard and saw not; prevent a day of sorrow. 
760 
'l-,HE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
" Can ye not discern the signs of the times ? " 
J. H. wAGGONER, 
-
-
EDITOR. 
E. J. WAGGONER, ~ 
AssiSTANT EDITORS. 
ALONZO T. JONES, ) 
URIAH SMITH, 
} 
S N H 
CORRESPONDING EDITORS. 
• 
• 
ASKELL, 
OAKLAND, 0.AL., FIFTH-DAY, DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
The Coming of a Literal Christ. 
WE love the holy Scriptures; we love their truths 
and their promises. All are very precious to our 
hearts. We love to vindicate them because they ar~ 
the words given in mercy by our heavenly Father, 
and because they are our only hope-the only hope 
of the world. 
Vve have staked all on their integrity, 
on the certainty of their promises. If these fail, 
then our hope is lost; then we could look forward to 
nothing but endless darkness. We have relinquished 
the hopes, the treasures, the ambitions of this world, 
and rested all on the Bible. If it disappoints our 
faith and hopes, then are we truly miserable. 
But many will consent to these words, and assert 
their confidence in the Scriptures in terms equally 
strong, whose faith and hope are essentially different 
from ours. Do the Scriptures teach different faiths, 
and lay different foundations for different hopes? 
They do not. The apostle says there is "one faith," 
and "one hope of your calling." Eph. 4 : 4, 5. Also 
that the word he preached was not yea and nay, but 
all the promises of God are yea and amen. Yet with 
the same .profession of faith in the Bible, these di-
versities of faith exist. This being so, the questio!l 
of our Saviour seems always pertinent,-
" HOW READ EST . THOU? " 
It is a truth which cannot be disputed that a per-
son can read his feelings into anything in which he 
takes a deep interest. Could we go back forty years, 
and submit the Constitution of the United States to 
two able jurists, one raised and educated in Massa-
chusetts and the other in South Carolina, they would 
come to widely different conclusions in regard to its 
teaching and its iJ tention. This is not the fault of 
the Constitution; it does not read one way in Mas-
sachusetts and another way in South Carolina. The 
difference in their conclusions is owing entirely to 
the difference in their education and their surround-
ings. They read with their prepossessions all alive 
to discover something there which they wish to :find 
there. They are ready to magnify every intimation 
in their favor, and to depreciate every proof which 
may stand against them. In a word, they make 
the document reflect their own feelings and pre-
possessions. And it is just so with the Bible. It 
was a shrewd remark of Gerret Smith that he had 
noticed that people seldom read the Bible to learn 
what they ought to do; they first make up their 
minds what they wish to do, and then read the Bible 
to find something to justify them in doing it. In 
this spirit they can easily read their feelings into 
the Bible, and then persuade themselves that they 
are acting conscientiously and religiously. This is a 
very wrong, yet a very common method of reading 
the Scriptures. 
Again, many people read the Bible without any 
just regard to the laws of evidence, and then rest 
with great complacency on their conclusions, which, 
they imagine, are as certain as that the Bible is true. 
They will ignore a positive statement, and accept 
the merest inference as good and sufficient proof, be-
cause the inference favors their feelings or their prej-
udices, and the positive proof does not. And when 
such come together and compare their faiths, they 
really imagine that you can prove anything by the 
Bible,-as you certainly can by their . rule of ev-
idence, or rather according to their accepted viola-
tions of all the laws of evidence. The Bible is not 
singular in this respect. Any other book or docu-
ment can be used the same way with the same re-
sult, as we have iustanced in the case of the United 
States Constitution. 
A believer in Spiritualism, with whom we were 
conversing on the state of the dead, and of their 
ability or inability to" communicate" with us, said: 
"Anything can be proved by the Bible; you can 
prove your theory, and I can prove mine." Of course 
we dissented from this, and at once offered to test 
the matter. We proposed that each should give his 
proof, quoting only those texts which contain plain, 
positive statements, passing those from which only 
inferences can be drawn. And we began, quoting 
this text: "The living know that they shall die; but 
the dead know not anything." Although we could 
have given other positive proofs, the contest ended 
right there; for the opposite side had no plain, posi-
tive statement to offer. 
We refused to admit texts 
from which it was injm·red that the opposite was 
true until the positive proof was exhausted. Infer-
ences may be highly satisfactory under certain cir-
cumstances, but never when they conflict with posi-
tive statements on the same subject. Yet many, as 
before said, draw inferences in direct contradiction 
of positive statements, and then consider their faith 
both strong and good as long as they tenaciously 
cling to their conclusions. Were such a rule of evi-
dence admitted in our courts, there would be no 
courts of justice. Criminal trials would be a farce. 
Yet many risk their cases in the Court of Heaven-
the Court of infinite justice-on this false rule. 
This is a very bad method of reading the Scriptures. 
It perverts everything which it touches. 
Another wrong method of reading the Bible is to 
give the words a mystical signification, which is 
called spiritualizing the Scriptures. In this method 
the meaning ~f words as given in the lexicons is not 
admitted, but in their stead every conceivable im-
aginary meaning is accepted. All that is necessary 
to expound the Scriptures according to this method 
is a lively imagination; or, if" great spirituality" is 
desired, a wild fancy. There is no system to this 
method, unless it be comprised in this one rule-
never believe that the Bible means just what it says. 
It is reckless in method and results. 
Akin to the above, though not necessarily so fan-
ciful, is the adopting of a false method of interpret-
ing the prophecies. This method has an overshad-
owing influence on the whole. system of theology of 
him who adopts it. We say it is akin to the method 
just previously mentioned; for: as that does, it dis-
cards what is (properly) called "the literal interpre-
tation" of the prophecies and the prophetic symbols, 
and of all parables and figures in the Scriptures. 
But we insist that there is no other interpretation but 
the literal. Any other is no interpretation in fact. 
To prove this we will examine what we will call a rep-
resentative statement of an advocate of this method 
of reading the Scriptures. We call it thus for good 
reasons: (1) It was made by a man who writes D. D. 
after his name; (2) It was published in the Jnte-
rio1·, an influential paper of an influential denomi-
nation; (3) It well expresses the views of all those 
who advocate what they call the "spiritual inter-
pretation." His remarks were founded on Dan. 2 : 
35, especially the latter part: "And the stone that 
smote the image became a great mountain, and filled 
the whole earth." Now his argument was this: If 
we accept the literal interpretation, we must believe 
that at some future time the surface of the whole 
earth will be covered with rock; but that being ab-
surd, it follows that the literal interpretation cannot 
be admitted. 
We will show the absurdity of his argument be-
fore we attempt to show the fallacy of his conclusions. 
It is generally supposed that a man who carries the 
title of D. D., must have some (if not superior) ad-
vantages and qualifications as an expounder of the 
Scriptures. And we may also say that it is reason-
able to suppose that the editor of a representative 
religious paper must be able to understand the the-
ology of his denomination, and have such an over-
sight of the contents of his journal as to make them 
conform to their standard of the truth. And there-
fore we must express our great surprise that a man 
who carries the title of D. D. should write such an 
evident absurdity as that noticed above, and that 
such a paper as the Interior should sanction it and 
give it currency. We can account for it only by the 
fact that it is their system of interpretation. 
"\Ve readily concede that his cone! usion would be 
legitimate if the statement of the text were to be 
taken lite1·ally/ but for this nobody contends. To 
take a figure or symbol-literally, is one thing, and to 
give it a litm·al interpretation is quite another thing. 
The t,ruth is, that to take it literally, as the writer 
in the Interim· has done, is to shut out all idea of 
interpretation. A rock is literally a rock, as all will 
confess; but "a rock" is no interpretation of "a 
rock," when the word is used as a symbol. We 
might ask what could lead this D. D. and the editor 
of this paper to put before the world such an absurd 
statement, so evidently in violtttion of the laws of 
language; but we will rather ask, Can that system 
be true which rests upon such violations of the 
plainest laws of language? "\Ve as~ure the reader 
that it is with the deepest feelings of reverence for 
the truth of God, and of pity for the souls who are 
being misled by false reasonings, that we have un-
dertaken to write on this subject. It is our earnest 
desire to vindicate the integrity of the message sent 
from Heaven by our merciful Father, the very es-
sence and life of which is being aesailed by mystify-
ing processes. 
(To be continued.) 
Principles and Precepts. 
THE word "law" is derived from the same root as 
the words "lie" and "lay," and primarily has the 
same meaning. "A law is that which is laid, set, or 
:fixed, like ~tatute, constitution, from Lat. statnere." 
-Webster. And in harmony with this, the same 
authority gives as the first definition of the word 
"law": "A rule of order or conduct established by 
authority." It is a favorite saying with those who 
would make void the law of God while professing 
allegiance to his word, that the ten commandments 
are good, but that they are adapted only to fallen 
beings, and hence cannot bind angels nor redeemed 
saints, nor even people in this world who have been 
converted. Let us see how such a theory agrees with 
the definition of law. 
We will suppose that the angels are free from law, 
and that redeemed saints are to have a like freedom. 
In that case there would be nothing ''laid down" 
for their guidance, no rule or order of conduct es-
tablished by authority. In fact, there would be no 
authority, and each one would act independently of 
all the others. There would then exist in Heaven 
the same thing that would exist on earth if there 
were no law, namely, anarchy; for that means "with-
out rule." But "God is not the author of confu-
sion," and therefore such a state of things cannot ex-
ist in Heaven, and if not in Heaven, then of course 
not among the saints still on earth. The case may 
be stated thus: 1. When there is no law there is an-
archy and con fusion; there can be nothing else. 2. 
Confusion cannot exist among God's people, whether 
in Heaven or on earth. 3. Therefore the people of 
God are always and everywhere subject to his law. 
Seeing that it will not do to claim that any beings 
are absolutely free from law, the enemies of t)le 
truth have invented a specious theory, with which, 
unfortunately, many firm believers in the law of. 
God have been captivated. It is this: The law, they 
say, as it exists in the ten commandments, is adapted 
DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
761 
only to fallen beings. These commandments hang 
on the two great principles of love to God and love 
to man, and it was these principles alone that existed 
before the fall, and these alone will be the law for the 
redeemed. Some there are who claim that these 
principles are all the law there is now for Christians. 
We regard this theory as more dangerous than the 
one which claims that all law is abolished; for it is 
the same thing in reality, while it has the appear-
ance of great deference to the truth of God. Let us 
examine it. 
It is utterly impossible for any one to be guided 
by an abstract principle. Certain principles may 
have a controlling influence on our lives, but they 
must be embodied in definite precepts. 
As an illus-
tration, we will relate a portion of a conversation 
which we once had with a gentleman who claimed 
that Christians have nothing to do with the ten 
commandments. The question was asked him: Is 
there, th.en, nothing for Christians to do? 
Answer: 
"Yes, they must love the Lord." Very good, but 
how are they to show that they love the Lord? An-
swer: "By doing what he tells them to do.'' 
Well, 
what is it that contains specific statements of what 
the Lord requires us to do to show our love for him? 
. Answer: "Young man, I am older than you are.'' 
The reader will wonder, as we did, what bearing this 
had on the subject. It showed that the man saw 
that the only possible answer was, "The law of 
God," an answer which would not agree with his 
theory, hence he chose to give none. But the illus-
tration serves to show that principles, to be obeyed, 
niust be embodied in precepts. 
Says the beloved disciple: "This is the love of 
God, that we keep his commandments." 1 John 5: 
3. So when we read that the first great command-
ment is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
mind" (Matt. 22 : 37), we know that it means noth-
ing more nor less than that it is our first and high-
est duty to keep, both in letter and in spirit, all 
those commandments which define our duty to God. 
In no other way can we show that we love him. In 
fact, nothing else but that is love for him. 
Suppose for a moment that a man were placed here 
on earth with nothing to serve as a nile of life ex-
cept the statement that he J!lUSt love God supremely 
and his neighbor as himself. He sets out with a 
firm determination to do his whole duty. But ere-
long he is found doing something which God abhors. 
We will suppose that he is adoring the sun an_d moon. 
When reproved for this, he might well reply, "I did 
to the conclusion that the ten commandments al-
ways have been and always will be the rule of life 
for all created intelligences. In direct support of 
this, Solomon says: "Let us hear the conclusion of 
the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his command-
ments; for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. 
12 : 13. This settles the matter, at least for the 
present time. John also says that the love of God 
is to keep his commandments; but it will be our 
duty to love God to all eternity; therefore it will al-
ways be our duty to keep the commandments of 
God. And it makes it no less a duty because it be-
comes our highest pleasure. To the natural man, 
duty is irksome; the ohject of making him a new 
creatur'e in Christ is that it may be a pleasure for 
him to do his duty. Paul says that God sent his Son 
in the likeness of sinful flesh, thus condemning siu 
in the flesh, in order that the "righteousness [re-
quirements] of the law might be fulfilled in us." 
Rom. 8: 3, 4. 
The object of the gospel is to make 
us like Christ, who said, "I delight to rlo thy will, 
0 my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Ps. 
40:8. 
In addition to the above, we offer the words of the 
prayer which Christ has commanded us to pray to 
God: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in 
earth, as it is in Heaven." Matt. 6:10. Now the 
will of God is his law. See Rom. 2:17, 18; Ps. 40: 
8. 
We are taught by this prayer, then, that when 
the kingdom of God is established on this earth, 
God's law will be kept here even as it is now kept in 
Heaven. 
And David says, by inspiration, that the 
angels that excel in strength "do his command-
ments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." Ps. 
103:20. That is, they are anxious and delight to 
keep God's commandments. Duty is with them a 
pleasure. And when God's kingdom comes, we also, 
if permitted to become subjects of it, will delight to 
do God's will, and will keep all his commandments, 
of which "every one" "endureth forever." We shall 
then do perfectly what we now are (or should be) 
striving to do in spite of the weakness of the flesh. 
This subject will be continued in another article, 
in which we shall consider the objection that there 
are certain commandments of the decalogue which 
angels or glorified saints could not violate if they 
wished to, and that therefore it is absurd to suppose 
that obedience to those commandments is required 
of them. 
E. J. w. 
The High-License Delusion. 
not know that I was doing anything wr<fftg; nothing 
THE following we find credited to the San. Fran-
was said to me about this matter. 
I had a feeling cisco Alta:-
of love and gratitude to God, and did not know how 
"The only bulwark so far thrown up against the 
to manifest it in any better way than by paying encroachment of prohibition is the high license. 
Prohibition has outlawed beer and wine in Maine, 
homage to the most glorious of his created works." Vermont, Iowa, and Kansas. Wisconsin, with her 
By what law could the man be condemned? He great brewing interest, has only saved herRelf by 
could not justly be condemned, because the will of adopting high license. Nebraska. with her enormous 
the Creatoron that point had not been made known distilleries and breweries,.has taken the same shel-
ter. Southern States, like Georgia and Texas, have 
to him, and he could not reasonably be expected to their feet upon the very threshold of prohibition. 
. . know the will of God if it had not been revealed. 
Will the dealers in .California hear and heed in 
It will be seen by a very little consideration, that time?" 
to put a man on the earth with nothing but a gen-
This wail does not. sound much as though high li-
. 'eral command to love God, and at the same time to cense were the grand, desirable thing which many 
~xpect him to do nothing displeasing to God, would misguided temperance people imagine it to be. 
i:>e to assume that the man had infinite wisdom. There is a large number of influential men in Cali-
For God is infinite; and if a man, without being fornia who are earnestly striving for what they call 
told, finds out what God requires, it can only be be-"high license." Will they hear and heed in time? 
cause he can comprehend infinity. 
But this is an or will they persist in throwing up this "bulwark 
impossibility. "Canst thou by searching :fir:d out against the encroachment of prohibition"? 
God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfec-
The first thing to do in dealing with the liquor 
tion ?" No, indeed; the creature that could know traffic is to determine its character. Is it wholly 
the mind of God any further than it was directly good and beneficial? or are there some evils con-
revealed by him, has never existed. 
nected with it? or is it an unmixed evil? The 
Then since, as we have conclusively proved, there first question will be universally answered in the 
must be a law for all creatures, and since this law negative. No one will claim' that there are no dark 
must be definitely expressed, and since, moreover, features to the liquor traffic. Well, then, is it partly 
the whole duty of man is t? lov~ God above all! ~?~d? ThiS' must be answered in. tl~e affirmative, 
things, and his neighbor as himself, we are shut up l1f 1t can be shown that the use of hquor has any 
tendency to make men better, or wiser, or more kind to 
their families, or wealthier, or that it in any way con-
duces to their real happiness. Not one of these things 
can be claimed for it. On the contrary, it is brutaliz-
ing and degrading in its tendency; ignorance and 
p.overty everywhere accompany it; and misery of ev-
ery description is caused by it. The use of liquor is a 
p.wm.oter of. vice in every form; and it is safe to say 
that more murders and suicides result from it than 
from all other causes combined. It cannot be de-
nied that the use of alcoholic liquors is evil, and 
only evil, continually. 
Now what about licensing a traffic that is so un-
mitigated an evil? What does the word "license" 
mean ? · It means liberty. To license the sale of 
liquor, is to give men full liberty to dispense that 
which will entail all the evils above enumerated, 
and thousands more. Why not with just as good 
reason license murder outright? It will be claimed, 
of course, that those who sell liquor do not murder 
anybody. No, they do not directly; but it is well 
known that what they sell cannot possibly produce 
any good results, and tends directly to all manner 
of eviL An apologist will doubtless say that we do 
not prohibit the sale of fire-arms, and men often buy 
them with the sole design of committing murder . 
The ca,;e is not a parallel one; for weapons may be, 
and most commonly are, used for inoffensive pur-
poses. If it. were impossible to use them for any 
other purpose than that of murder, we think there 
would be a quite general demand for the prohibition 
of their sale. As it is, we are not championing the 
sale of fire-arms. 
Even if fire-arms were also an 
unmitigated evil, the question of their sale would 
have no bearing on the liquor traffic; for the exist-
ence of one evil is no just reason for the existence 
of another. 
But the friends of license say we must not con-
sider it as a permission, but ai a tax. That is a 
distinction with no difference. 
We must consider 
it just aR it is. 
A liquor license is simply a permis-
sion to certain men to sell that which will ruin their 
fellows, but with the provision that the profits of 
the unholy traffic are to be divided with the Gov-
ernment. And so, in spite of' all casuistry, it is a 
fact that the Government brcomes a partner in 
crime. 
Whether any kind of license will serve as a step 
toward temperance, may be easily determined by a 
moment's thought. People who are addicted to the 
use of liquor will get it if it is to be had. Then, if 
the license tax be placed so high that the small 
dealers cannot afford to continue the business, the 
result will be that instead of having a given quan-
tity of liquor sold by one hundred dealers, we shall 
have the ::;arne quantity sold by seventy-five or less. 
But since these have to pay a heavier tax than be-
fore, they will make greater efforts to increase the 
profits, either by increased sales, or by adulterating 
the liquor still more, so that nothing is gained in 
the way of temperance . 
The great argument which mi guided temperance 
men urge in support of high li "ense, is that public 
sentiment is not ready for prohibition, but that high 
license can be carried, and therefore we must take 
what we can get. True, and if they would lower 
the price of the license,. they could carry their 
measure by a still greater majority. The question 
to be considered is not, What measure will secure 
the largest support? but, What measure is best? 
Let the latter question be settled, and then work 
for the support of what is right. 
''But it is impossible to stop the sale of liquor en-
tirely, even by the most stringent prohibitory laws; 
therefore the best. thing to do is to secure as much 
revenue from it as we can." Tlds is another argu-
ment often used, but it is very fallacious. There 
are places where the sale of liquor is absolutely pro-
hibited, and what has been done may be done. It 
is true that in large cities it is next to impossible 
,...6?. 
' ~ 
'J~HE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
to utterly eradicate the evil; but the same thing 
m~y be said of all crime. We have a prohibitory 
law against murder, with severe penalties attached; 
but it has never been effectual in causing murders 
to cease. In our large cities the law is violated 
daily; yet no one thinks of licensing the evil. It is 
very certain that there are far fewer murders than 
there would be if there were no prohibitory law 
against murder; and no one can doubt that if the 
law were abolished, and any form of license substi-
tuted, murder would be rampant. 
·when the question of the resumption of specie 
pn_vments was under discussion, a prominent states-
man solved the problem by saying, "The way tore-
sume is to resume." So the way to prohibit is to 
prohibit. It is true that it would take more time 
. and a greater effort to secure prohibition than it 
would to secure even a very high license; but when 
secured something would be accomplished ... N oth-
ing is ever gained by parleying and compromising 
with evil. Vigorous measures alone are of any 
v;tlue, whatever the evil against which we are striv-
ing. vVe are firm in the belief that absolute prohi-
bition is what all temperance people should labor 
for, no matter how impossible it may seem to secure 
such a result. The extract quoted at the beginning 
of this article, followed as it was by the statement, 
"We are opposed to prohibition," should ·open the 
eyes of temperance people who are courting "high" 
license. We do not doubt that license is a practi-
cal measure, but we have no faith in the results of 
such practice. It would not be so difficult a matter 
to 5ecure prohibition as it 8eems, if men were h1 
earnest. But whether difficult or not, makes no 
difference. We are not to abandon a good measure 
for a bad one simply because the bad one may be 
more Pasily executed. What we consider the proper 
method to adopt to secure prohibition may be dis-
cussed at another time. 
E. J. w. 
The Doctrine of the Immortality of the 
Soul Subversive of the Truth.-No. 3. 
THE Judgment is one of the certainties of Bible 
doctrine. Time and again Jesus sets before us the 
awful scenes and the all-important decision!'~ of the 
Judgment. "I say unto you, That every idle word 
that men shall speak, they shall give account 
thereof in the day of Judgment." Matt. 12:36. 
"The queen of the South shall rise up in the Judg-
ment with the men of this generation, and condemn 
them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth 
to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater 
than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall 
rise up in the Judgment with this generation, and 
shall condemn it; for they repented at the preach-
ing of Jon as; and, behold, a greater than Jon as is 
here." Luke 11 : 31, 32. 
In the parable of the 
wheat and t::ll'es, in the parable of the marriage of 
the king's son (Matt. 22 : 1-14), in the parahle of the 
talents (Matt. 25 : 14-30),-in fact, in all his teach-
ing, the Judgment was made prominent. In Matt. 
25:31-46, he sets before us a view of the very Judg-
ment itself. 
The Old 'festam nt as well as the New tells of 
the Judgment. Soh·mon says: "Let us hear the 
conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep 
his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 
Fo1· God w'ill b1·ing et·e1·y wo1· k into Judgment, 
with every secret thing, whether it be good or 
whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14. Daniel says: 
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the 
Ancient of days did sit, wh0se garment was white 
as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; 
his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels 
as burning fire. 
A fiery stream issued and came 
forth from before him; thousand thousands minis-
tered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thou-
sand stood before him; the Judgment was set, and 
the books were opened." Dan. 7: 9, 10. Isaiah, 
David, Job, and other prophets speak of this as well 
as Solomon and Daniel. Even "Enoch, the seventh 
from Adam," prophesied of this, saying, "Behold, the 
Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to ex-
ecute Judgment upon all." Jude J 4, 15. 
This is not a Judgment that is constantly going 
on during men's lives and completed at their death, 
so that then their reward is given whether for good 
or ill. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but 
ajte1· this the Judgment." He b. 9:27. Paul "rea-
soned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment 
to come" (Acts 24: ~5), not judgment already come, 
nor constantly going on. There is a time appointed 
for the Judgment. "Because he hath appointed a 
day in the which he will judge the world in righteous-
ness 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 17:31. "As 
many as have sinned w.tltout law shall also perish 
without law; and as many as have sinned in the 
law shall be judged by the law;" "in the day when 
God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, 
according to my gosp~'l." Rom. 2: 12, 16. ·And 
again: "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." 2 Cor. 5: 10. It 
is not that alone that he has done in his direct per-
sonal acts for which he must account; he must answer 
for the j1·uit of his doings. "I the Lord search the 
heart, I try the reins, even to give every rna n ac-
cording to his ways, and according to the j1·uit of 
his doings." J er. 17 : 10. 
The time when men shall receive for that which 
they have done, whether it be good or bad, is at the 
coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and 
the end of the world. "And the seventh angel 
sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, 
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the 
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he 
shall reign forever and ever. . . . And the na-
tions were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the 
time of the dead that they should be judged, and 
that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants 
the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that 
fear thy pame, small and great; and shouldst de-
stroy them which de:stroy the earth." Rev. 11 : 15, 
18. 
Again we quote the words of .Jude: "And 
Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of 
these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten 
thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, 
and to convince all that are ungodly among them 
of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly 
committed, and of all their hard speeches which un-
godly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14, 
15. With this agree exactly the words of Christ: 
"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, 
to give every man according as his work shall be." 
Rev. 22:12. And Paul in his charge to Timothy, 
and to all ministers of Christ, says: "I charge thee 
before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
judge the quick [living] and the dead at his ap-
pearing and his kingdom: preach the wo1:d." 
2 Tim. 4:1, 2. Peter also says: "The Lord know-
eth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and 
to reserve the unjust unto the day of Judgment to 
be punished." 2 Peter 2 : 9. 
It would be easy to multiply texts from all parts 
of the Bible on these points, but these must suffice 
for the present. From these evidences it is plain (1) 
that there i.s a time "appointed" for the Judgment; 
(2) that this is after death; (3) that it is the time of re-
ward to all, for good or evil; (4) that this is called the 
"day of Judgment;" (5) that it is at the appearing 
and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ; (6) that then, 
and not till then, it is that the righteous receive 
theii' reward; (7) and that the "unjust" are "re-
served" until that time to be punished, that they 
are not punished before that great day of Judg-
ment. Yet however plain all this may be, it is 
equally plain that there is not a single principle of 
it that the doctrine of the natural immortality of 
the soul does not tend to subvert. For if, at death, 
righteous men enter immediately into their reward, 
and the unrighteous go immediately to the place of 
punishment, then where is there any possible room 
for the Judgment? (unless perhaps the ab~mrd idea 
be adopted, that men should spend hundreds or 
thousands of years in happiness or misery, and then 
be brought to the Judgment to see whether they be 
worthy of that which they have enjoyed or suf-
fered!!) 
For if at death men enter immediately into their 
reward or punishment, as the case may be, then it 
follows, if there be any Judgment at all, that in-
stead of there being a time "appointed" "afte{· this" 
for Judgment, there must necessarily be a juc.lgment 
constantly going on in the life of t-ach individual, 
and that that judgment doses at his df'ath, and that 
he in consequence of judgment passed enters then 
upon his destiny, whether for good or for ill. It ca.n 
be seen at a glance that such a view is utterly sub-
versive of the Bible doctrine of the Judgment. If 
such be the truth, then there can be no such thing 
as a day of Judgment when the Lord cometh with 
ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment 
upon all, because all are judged as fast as they die; 
there can be no such thing as Christ judging the 
living and the dead at his appearing and his king-
dom, because all the dead have been judged when 
they died; there can be no such thing as the ' time 
of the dead that they should be judged" when the 
seventh angel sounds, and the kingdoms of this 
world become the kingdo s of our Lord, and of his 
Christ, for all the dead will have been judged before 
the seventh angt>l shall have sounded; and there 
can be no such thing as 1·ese1·ving ''the unjust unto 
the day of Judgment to be punished," because by 
this theory they are sent to punishment as soon as 
they die; in short, if the doctrine of the immortality 
of the soul be the truth, the Bible doctrine of the 
Judgment cannot be the truth. And the time has 
now come when a choice must be made between 
them. As for us, we choose the Bible with all its 
doctrine, and with all that that choice involves. 
That we do not misrepresent the popular doctrine 
of the immortality of the soul when we say that it 
puts men into Heaven or hell at death, can be 
proved by any one who will consult the hymn books, 
or the papers of the religious denominations who be-
lieve that doctrine, or listen to the average funeral 
discourse or revival sermon. 
But that the doctrine of the immortality of the 
soul is.subversive of the Bible doctrine of the Judg-
ment is not all. By virtue of that doctrine, men 
have usurped the seat of tl1e Judge of all, and have 
arrogated to themselves the prerogative of reilding 
into Heaven whomsoever they see fit. 
How often 
we read that such and sue 1 ·a person is in Heaven! 
But what right has any man to say who is worthy 
of a place in that bright world r Who knows the 
heart? None but God alone. He alone it is who 
pronounces upon the worthiness of men "to obtain 
that world and the resurrection from the dead," and 
when men take upon themselves to read into 
Heaven this man or that man, they are simply usurp-
ing the awful prerogative of the Most High. And 
only for belief in the doctrine of the natural immor-
tali'ty of the soul, no man would ever think of it. 
We repeat: It is God alone to whom belongs the 
right to pronounce that decision. He will pro-
nounce it in every case, but it will be in the Judg-
ment; not at death, but at the resurrection of the 
dead, and before the assembled universe, and by the 
voice of the glorious Son of God, who hath loved us 
and hath washed us from our sins in his own blood; for 
he "hath given him authority to execute judgmrnt 
also, because he is the ~on of man." John 5:27-29. 
Any doctrine that will lead men to thus usurp the 
prerog;at.ive of the Judge of all the earth cannot be 
the truth. This is exactly what the doctrine of the 
immot'tality of the soul does, therefore it cannot be 
the truth; and as it i~ subversive of the Bible doc-
trine of the Judgm.ent, it is not only not the truth, 
but it is subversive of the truth. 
.A.. T. J. 
DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES~ 
763 
Present Indications. 
IT is probable that over the places now oc-
cupied by Australia, Now Zealand, and the 
islands that surround them, the waves of the 
briny deep once rolled, as in other portions of 
the Pacific Ocean. There are many evidences 
that this was the case. 
And disturbances are 
constantly occurring which show that God's 
great arsenal is not exhausted. In the bowels 
of the earth are the elements placed there at ere-
• ation, that aided in destroying the earth when 
" all the fountains of the great deep " were 
"broken up, and the windows of heaven were 
opened." 
, 
Only a few weeks ago an eruption occurred 
in the vicinity of Navigators' Islands. 
A vessel 
passing that waynoticed a great rumbling sound. 
Soon a reef began to rise and fall; it would in-
crease in size and rise higher, and then go down 
again. 
The sea also began to boil. 
Finally the 
reef became an island, miles in length, and hun-
dreds of feet high. It bas since sent out fire 
and smoke and melted lava, so that it is not de-
sirable for vessels to go near it. 
One vessel 
attempted to explore in its vicinity, and had 
the wind not been favorable at the time, she 
would have been buried beneath the melted lava 
shot forth by this mid-ocean volcano. 
Where 
this island now rises hundreds of feet above the 
level of the sea, the water was three hundred 
fathoms deep before signs of disturbance began 
to appear. 
In different places in the world signs more or 
less marked are seen. It would seem that nat-
ure is convulsed, and is preparing for one dread-
ful struggle. Islands appear, and islands go 
out of sight. 
Within a few years, inhabited 
islands have been known to sink, and vessels 
sail without harm over the spot where they 
once were. We are assured that there will be 
disturbances in the deep before the .Lord shall 
come again. "The sea and the waves roaring" 
is one of the signs mentioned by our f::3aviour 
which shall cause men's hearts to fail them "ior 
fear, and for looking after those things whieh 
are coming on the earth." And in connection 
with his second eoming it is said that every isl-
and will be moved out of its place. 
In such a time as this, "blessed is that man 
that maketh the Lord his trust," and bas re-
spect to all his commandments. "The law of 
the l.Jord is perfect, converting the soul;" it is 
wisdom to the foolish, and a sure foundation in 
the day of God. 
Since the fall of Adam there has been no 
time in the history of the world so important 
as the present; and we cannot make too much 
haste in ser.ding the last notes of warning to a 
dying world. 
We have the providence of God 
on our side, and his truth to send. 
Soon, very 
soon, the printed truth mm;t fall like the leaves 
of autumn wherever there are people who will 
be Raved in the kingdom of Heaven. 
Who will 
invest here? isnow the all-important question. 
Who will follow the example of the worthies in 
the past who have taken their stand for the 
truth, and carried it to earth's remotest bounds? 
The people in many places are prepared for the 
reception of the truth; but who will carry it? 
The time has come when such efforts should 
be made as have never yet been put forth. 
May the Lord bless his work, and his people 
who feel the burden of the cause of Christ. 
S. N.H. 
A WoRCESTER preacher thus succinctly defines 
atheism, infidelity, and Christianity: The athe-
ist says, "No God." The theist says, " .. A .. God." 
The Christian says, '' My God." 
A WORD of kindness is seldom spoken·in vain; 
it is a seed which even dropped by chance 
springs up a flower. 
The General Conference. 
to receive such into church fellowship, until they 
have first effected a reconciliation with their former 
UP to November 25, the General Uonference brethren. 
in session at Battle Creek, Mich., had acted 
As many brethren spoke as time permitted, 
upon the following resolutions:-
warmly and gratefully indorsing resolution 7; 
1. Resolved, That we express our conviction that 
it is neither consistent nor expedient to receive into 
our churches those who hold to trine immersion. in-
asmuch as we consider that such immersion is un-
scripturRl, and its introduction among us can only 
result in confusion. And further-
2. Resolved, That as very many of those holding 
to trine immersion speak the German language, we 
request the Committee on Publications to have a 
work on the subject prepared in that language. 
WHEREAS, We have a goodly number of men 
who have been ordained and furnished with creden-
tials on the expectation that they would become effi-
cient laborers, but who from some cause have not 
developed into regular laborers; therefore-
3. Resolved. That credentials be granted to such 
only as are willing to devote their time to the work, 
and are situated so that they can do so; and excep-
tions to this rule should be very carefully made. 
4. Resolved, That great care should be used by 
our ministers in the selection of church officers, and 
that no person be ordained to fill offices of trust in 
God's work who is not sound in faith and practice 
upon all Bible doctrines as held by Seventh-day Ad-
ventists. 
WHEREAS, There is a large Scandinavian popula-
tion in this country among whom the truth has al-
ready made some progress, quite large numbers hav-
ing already embraced it; and-
WHEREAS, The laborers are few, the time is short, 
and much must be done through the circulation of 
reading matter; therefore-
5. Resolved, (1) That systematic and organized 
efforts be made to circulate Scandinavian reading 
matter among these nationalities; (2) that while at 
this time new anrl. important works are being issued 
in the Danish-Norwegian and Swedish languages, 
we would therefore recommend that a department 
be opened in the office of the Review and He1·ald 
to manage the sale, and care for the agencies, of the 
Scandinavian subscription books. 
Resolutions 1 and 2 being read for action, res-
olution 2 was amended to include a general 
work on baptism in the German language, 
which should especially contain the arguments 
against trine immerRion. 
As amended, the res-
lations were adopted, as was also resolution 3. 
Resolution 4 was adopted. 
A motion was 
made to amend. resolution 5 so as to include the 
German work also; but this amendment was 
not sustained, because the facilities are not yet 
apparent to carry it into effect. 
'rbe resolu-
tion as presented was then adopted. 
The Committee then offered an additional 
resolution, as follows:-
WHEREAS, God has represented a failure to pay 
tithes as robbery of him, and we have evidence 
that many in our churches do not pay tithes; and 
believing that in many cases their failure is the re-
sult of ignorance on the subject; therefore-
6. Resolved, That the ministers and the officers 
of our Conferences and tract societies be instructed 
to make especial effort to place the pamphlets, "The 
Tithing System," and "Honor Due to God," in every 
family of our people, and that we all make contin-
ual efforts until all not only become educated on 
this question, but have a consciellce void of offense 
toward God in this important duty. 
On motion, this resolution was freely dis-
cussed, and adopted. 
7. Resolved, That we hereby express our heart-
felt thanks that the "Testimonies to the Church" 
Nos. 1-30 have been published in four volumes, and 
thus put into a durable form. And we hereby uro-e 
our ministers throughout the wide field to give the~ 
as large a circulation as possible. And we further 
urge all our people to read these volumes, and to 
induce others to read them, confident that the in-
struction and wise counsel contained therein will 
commend them to all classes, and will prove benefi-
cial to all. 
WHEREAS, It sometimes occurs that persons who 
have been excommunicated from oneS. D. A. church, 
offer themselves as candidates for admittance to an-
other church of S.D. Adventists; therefore-
B. Resolved, That it is a breach of Christian 
courtesy among churches, and an act of inj~stice, 
and after some further remarks on the salutary 
nature of resolution 8, the rep"Ort was unani-
mously adopted. 
The Conference has voted to take the neces-
sary steps to become incorporated by law as a 
legal body, capable of holding property. The 
present ]1Jxecutive Committee, consisting of 
Geo. I. Butler, S. N. Haskell, 0. A. Olsen, W. C. 
White, and R. A. Underwood, '~ere named as 
the Incorporating Board of Trustees; but as 
Elder Haskell was not present, and therefore 
could not act, Elder U. Smith was nominated 
to act in his place. 
Report from Humboldt County, Cal. 
WE came to Eureka after the April meeting 
at Oakland, and having can-vas~ed the city 
with the fourth volume of "Great Contro-
versy," began tent-meeting about the first of 
June. 
About thirty signed the covenant, and 
at the close of the tent-meetings our camp-
meeting was held in Eureka. 
1£lders J. H. 
Waggoner, Lough borough, Ings,and E. R. Jones 
were with us during camp-meeting, and the re-
sults were good to this people, giving the com-
munity a better degree of confidence in this 
work. 
Since camp-meeting, the cause bas been on-
ward in its progress. 
New accessions are being 
made to our numbers; our members .are work-
ing on the outside, we have a good and increas-
ing Sabbath-school, and have just begun hold-
ing meetings in our new 32x60 ft. meeting-bouse, 
which, when completed, will be an honor to the 
cause and people. 
This is the third Seventh-
day Adventist meeting-bouse erected in Hum-
boidt County this se~~son, one having been 
built at Arcata, one on Dow's Prairie, and 
one in Eureka, making, with the one built at 
Ferndale two years ago, four in the county. 
We are now conducting Bible-readings at 
private houses and have established a system-
atic tract wol'k, going from house to house once 
a week, leaving small packages that are ex-
changed for others on return visits. 
We are 
finding those who will read, and a number of 
families are becoming interested. 
Brother Lamb is now holding meetings at 
Bay Side, and reports a good interest. 
We are 
of good courage in the work. 
God bas bles~ed 
the word and labors of his unworthy servants 
in this county. 
~ 
The first preaching of present truth in this 
county was three years ago this winter, and 
was bitterly opposed by the enemies ·of themes-
sage. 
There are now over one hundred Sab-
bath-keepers in Humboldt, three-fourths of 
whom have come out during the past eighteen 
months. 
To God belongs tbe praise. 
E'ureka, Dec. 1, 1885. 
N.C. McCLURE. 
IN order to preach effectively one must have 
communion with Christ, whom he preaches, and 
appreciate the character, needs, and circum-
stances of his auditors. 
His eyes must be 
open upward and outward, and his heart full of 
truth and love. 
To preaeh empty, dry homilies 
to ignorant, tempted men is a capital offense in 
the sight of Heaven. It is like feeding the 
prodigal on husks in a far-off land. Whether 
it results from ignorance, indolence, heartless-
ness, or the fear of men, it is equally reprehen-
sible.-.A.tlantic Missionary. 
ALL the moral disciplines that the world has 
seen have used the instrument of self-denial· 
but Christ's use of it is peculiar and unique: 
He teaches that we are to deny ourselves (1) 
for our own good, to develop and complete our-
selves; and (2) for the good of others. 
764 
THE BIG NS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
<Qrht ~nmt ~irrlt. 
QUIETNESS AND ASSURANCE. 
GoD works in silence, and his vast designs 
Are brought to.pass in quietness and peace; 
Unheralded the sun comes forth at morn, 
And without tumult on the nations shines; 
Unwept again his ministrations cease, 
And twilight worlds are born. 
The years sweep onward; but their chariot wheels 
Vouchsafe no e.cho to our yearning call. 
The swift attendant seasons as they pass 
Are shod with silence, and no sound reveals 
The rapid hours, whose steps are as the fall 
Of snow-flakes on the grass. 
In quietness through dreary winter days 
The buds of next year's summer take their rest, 
Assured of happy waking by and by; 
Though long the sweetness of the spring delays, 
Though tempests move in wrath from east to west, 
They neither strive nor cry. 
Patient in long reserve of hidden power, 
God's judgments tarry their appointed time; 
But from his love, wherein all fullness dwells, 
Mute tokens come about us hour by hour, 
In silence sweeter than the voiceless chime 
Of fragrant lily bells. 
The perfect bliss for which his people crave-
The final victory-he sees across 
The cloud and sunshine of a thousand years; 
While the frail garland on a baby's grave 
May circumscribe life's utmost gain and loss 
To eyes grown dim with tears ! 
0 troubled heart, no storms of adverse fate, 
No wave of circumstance, may overleap 
The jasper borders of eternity; 
Acquaint thyself with Him, and soon or late 
He shall appoint a resting-place for sleep 
Wherein no dreams shall be. 
He giveth quietness and peace serene 
Here and hereafter, unto those who rest 
Soul-centered on his own eternal calm; 
While sweet assurance, entering realms unseen, 
Leads onward to the triumph of the blest, 
· 
The white robe and the palm! 
-Mary_ Rowles, in Leisw·e Hours. 
A Lesson for Hard Times. 
IF one of the characters out of Dickens' nov-
els had walked into the room, I could not have 
been more snrpri::;ed. It was press day; I was 
very busy in my sanctum when I beard the door 
open, and a curious shuffling noise followed, 
which made me look up a moment from my pa-
per. It ·was but for a moment; I saw, as I sup-
posed, a crippled beggar, shuffling his way on 
his knees toward my chair. 
I waved him away 
with my hand. "Nothing for you," I said reso-
lutely, a little impatiently, possibly, and turning 
back to my desk, caught up the broken thread, 
and wound off the completed sentenee from the 
editorial distaff. 
:But the beggar was not re-
pelled. He answered something; with a di-
vided attention I could not well make out what. 
"Nothing for you," I repeated, somewhat more 
vigorously than before. 
The answer was plain 
enough this time, and in a tone that commanded 
attention: "I am no beggu.r, sir." 
I had gotten to the end of my sentence now. 
Two or three weeks ago I had been studying 
the parable of the Good E;amari tan. 
Perhaps 
the recollection of two very pious men who 
were in so great a hurry tbu.t they could not 
attend to the unfortunate, may have had some 
influence on me. llaid down my.pen and went 
to the unknown. 
· He was on his knees; his legs, from his knees 
to his feet,· were useless appendages, which 
dragged after him and produced the shuffling 
sound which first attracted my attention. 
His 
whole body was disjointed; his arms alternately 
hung down like the wooden arms of a great toy, 
and moved about in a grotesque attempt at 
gesture-like the toy arms when the image is 
pulled by the string from below. 
"\Vhen he 
spoke, he worked and twisted his head from 
side to side, and contorted his face with the 
vigor of his endeavor, as though the words 
were stored below and could be brought up out 
of the reluctant throat only by a wrestling and 
invincible will. 
But his eye was clear, his brow 
high, and,. his whole face, when in repose, not 
unhandsome. 
"I have got something to sell, sir, and it is no 
humbug, either." 
Then I noticed for the first time a leathern bag 
slung over his shoulder. 
With a curious spas-
modic twist he dove into it, and brought out a 
tin box labeled Prof. --'s soap, warranted to 
take out grease spots, etc., etc. In this, as in 
every other motion, his arms and hands made 
many attempts before they suce;eeded in their 
purpose. like those of a two or three mon tbs' 
old babe that has not yet come into possession 
of itself. 
" What brought you into this condition, my 
friend?" said I, looking down upon him. 
"I was born a cripple, sir," he answered. 
"But," he added quickly, as though he saw 
some sympathy in my face and would refuse it, 
"you must not think that I suffer, for I don't. 
I have no pain; it is only weakness-weakness 
of the spine, the doctors tell me; so that I don't 
have good use of my arms: or legs, or face. 
But I don't suffer, and I am not unhappy." 
l could hardly look in his face when he was 
speaking, his endeavors were so distresBingly 
labored. 
I rarely give to beggars; for that 
rea::;on I am always reluctant to turn away any 
one, from the gamin who is sweeping the street 
crossings up, who is endeavoring to earn an 
honest living. 
I bought his patent soap, and 
gave him the price-a quarter. He turned to 
go away; I should as soon have thought of of-
fering charity to any other independent mer-
chant as to him, but I stopped him with a que::;-
tion. 
It needed but a very little touch of 
sympn t by to open his heart. He told me his 
story. 
1 transcribe it here as well as I can; but 
l am painfully avvare that it loses character in 
the transcription. 
·"My father was a mechanic. 
I was always, 
from my birth, as you see me now. 
He sup-
ported me till I was twenty-eight. But I didn't 
like it. 
I wanted to be self-supporting." 
-I noted a curious feature of his language. It 
was that of one born in the low ranks, but self-
educated by courses uf reading outside the lit-
erature of his companions. 
I thought this at 
the time; it was confirmed by a suggestive hint 
afterwards. 
"I told my father. 
He laughed at me: 
'What can yo·u do?' 
1 told him that he could 
not always support me; he must die some day, 
and he had no money. 
'The Lord will provide,' 
said he. But that did not suit me. 
I resolved 
if 1 could not have my own way, I would run 
away." 
There was something pathetically humorous in 
this picture of a man-boy of twenty-eight run-
ning away on his knees fi:·om a tyrannical father 
who despotically insisted on providing for him. 
Whether he actually did run away or not he did 
not tell me, and I did not ask him. 
"I bought this recipe for soap. At first I 
hired a man to go around with me and take 
care of me; but that did not pay. 
Then I went 
to a hotel, and hired a porter to dress and un-
dress me. In the day time I took care of my-
self." 
All this, and much more-for I am compress-
ing a long story into a short one-with labored 
speaking, and with labored listening too; for it 
was not always quite easy to tell what was the 
word which the corkscrew brought up. 
Like 
an old cork, it was broken and then came up in 
fragments. 
"I never expected to get marr:ed; for I never 
thought that auy woman ·wbom I would have 
would have me. 
But you know, sir, the old 
proverb, 'Every Jack bas his Gill;' and 1 found 
my GqL 
And J don't belive there is a man in 
New York that has a better wife than I have." 
:from the pride with w hicb he said this, and 
the love that lighted up his eyes, I could easily 
believe him. · lt must be a rare woman that 
could take such a man for her bus band, one 
that she must dress ·and undress to the end, as 
she would a sick child. 
I resolved at once that 
if I might I would know that wife. 
"And don't you imagine that I am miserable, 
sir," he added. "l seem so to you because you 
judge me from your point of view. 
But I see 
many a rich and strong man, and I would 
not exchange with them. 
I have my advan-
tages, too. 
Socie-ty claims a great deal of you, 
but it never claims anything of me. 
l am in-
dependent." 
Ob, wise philosopher! Is there any philosg-
pby like tba t of calm content? 
"And l enjoy life; because, don't you sec, sir, 
that I have nothing to do but to study how to 
enjoy it?" 
"Do you go to church?" I asked. 
" Well, sir, I am a member of the Baptist 
Chureh; but since I have moved away from the 
old church, and gone among stra.ngers, I don't 
go to church, for I might create a sensation, 
don't you see?" 
Well, yes. 
I did see. 
I imagined this creat-
ure shuffling up the broad aisle of a fashionable 
church, or even of an unfashionable chapel, and 
thought he showed consideration for the wor 
shipers and the preacher. 
"There is only one thing I want," he added; 
"I would like to get into a library." 
"A library?" said I. "What could you do 
in a library?" 
"0h, as a member, I mean, sir," he said. "l 
would like to get books out to read." 
I took down his address, and, with all the 
inimitable dignity of a gentleman, he invited 
me to call. 
Then, with an apology for having 
taken so much of my time, and an inquiry-for 
we had exchanged names-whether I was the 
historian Abbott, he shuffled out of the door. 
I had hardly got to my seat and my pen in my 
hand before I heard him shuffling back again. 
He peered round the corne-r of the doorway, 
and with that curious J ack-in-the-bux motion of 
his, held up three fingers. "Third bell," he said; 
"ring the third bell," and be was off again. 
And I sat down and thought; thought of that 
poor woman who began two years ago by sell-
ing her thousand-dollar piano, and last week 
was found with her clothes and furniture all 
pawned, and her only flannel garment, the rem-
nant of an old blanket, wrapped around her; 
thought of that merchant who, eighteen months 
ago, was contributing to the support of one of our 
great charities, and is now on it for his family; 
and here is this cripple, without the right use 
of his legs, or arms, or hands, or voice, support-
ing himself and his wife, "happy as a king," 
and asking charity of no one; and I said I will 
leave a thread unspun on the editorial distaff 
till I have written down this lesson for hard 
times.-Lyrnan Abbott. 
AN Eng-lish paper describes a novel collection 
of books to be seen near Cassel, Germany. At 
first glance they appear like rough blocks of 
wood; but upon closer examination it is found 
that each is a complete history of the tree 
w hicb it represents. At the back of the book 
the bark bas been removed from a space large 
enough to admit the scientific and the common 
name of the tree as a title. 
One siJe is formed 
from the split wood of the tree, showing its 
grain and natural feacture; the other shows 
the wood when worked smooth and varnished. 
One end shows the grain as left by the saw, 
and the other the finely polished wood. 
On 
opening the book are found the fruit, seeds, 
leayes, and other products of the tree, the moss 
hich grows on its trunk, and the insects which 
feed upon the various parts of the tree. 
To all 
this is added a well-printed description of the 
habits, usual location, and manner of growth, of 
the tree-all forming a complete history of 
each kind of timber represented.-Sel. 
DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
THE BIG NS OF THE TIMES. 
765 
The Feverish Hand. 
IT was a Monday morning, and a rainy-one 
at that. "Mother" was busy from the moment 
she sprang out of bed, at the first sound of the 
rising bell. 
Others besides children get out of 
bed "on the wrong side," as this mother can 
testify. She began by thinking over all that 
lay before her. It made her "feel like flying." 
Bridget would be cross, as it was rainy; there 
was a chance of company for lunch, so the par-
lor must be tidied, as well as the dining-room 
swept, dishes washed, lamps trimmed, beds 
made, and children started for school. Her 
bands g-rew hot as she buttered bread for lunch-
eons, waited on those who bad to start early, 
and tried to pacify the little ones and Bridget. 
"My dear, you're feverish," said her husband, 
as he held her hands a moment; "let the work 
go, and rest yourself; you'll find it pays." 
"Just like a man!" thought the mother. 
"Why, I haven't time for my prayers!" But 
she bad resolved that she would read a few 
verses before ten o'clock each day; so, standing 
by her bureau, she opened to the eighth chap-
ter of Matthew, and read these words: "And 
he touched her hand, and the fever left her: 
and she arose and ministered unto them." 
It seemed to that busy wife as if Jesus him-
19elf stood ready to heal her-to take the fever 
out of her bands, that she might minister 
wisely to her dear ones. 
The beds could wait 
until later in the day, the parlor might be a 
little disordered; but she must feel his touch! 
She knelt, and be wbi!'pered: "My strength 
[not yours] is sufficient." 
''As thy day so 
sba11 thy strength be." "My yoke is easy [this 
yoke you have been ga11ed by is the world's 
yoke, the yoke of public opinion or housewifely 
ambition]; take my yoke upon you and learn of 
me; and ye shall find rest." 
The day was no brighter, the work bad still 
to be done; but the fever had left her, and all 
the day she sang, "This God is our God, my 
Lord and my God." 
It is true that when the friends came to 
lunch, there had not been time to arrange the 
parlor, and no fancy diRhcs had been prepared 
for the table; but the hostess' heart was filled 
for them as members; with her, of Christ, and 
they went away hungering for such a realiza-
tion of him as they saw she had. 
"Ah," said her husband, when he held her 
bands once more, "I see you took my advice, 
dear; the fever is quite gone." 
The wife hesitated-could she tell her secret? 
Was it not almost too sacred? 
Yet it was the 
secret of the Lord, not hers, and would glorify 
him. !Jater on, when the two sat tog-ether, 
she told who bad cured her fever, and said, 
quietly, "I see that there is a more important 
ministry than the housekeeping, though I don't 
mean to neglect that." 
"Let us ask the Lord to keep hold of our 
bands," said her husband. 
".Mine grow fever-
ish in eager money-making, as yours in too ea-
ger hcmsekeeping." 
· 
This is no fancy sketch. Dear mothers, busy, 
anxious housekeepers, let us go again and again 
to him, that be may touch our hands, lest they 
be feverish, and so we cannot minister, in the 
highest sense, to those about us.-Gh/ristian at 
Work. 
EDUCATION in the. first years of a child's life 
should not be a forcing process; it should be a 
directing-, a leading, of the developing powers. 
Mrs. Jacobi truly says that the beginning of a 
child's education under the present system, in 
the majority of schools, is conducted as though 
literature were to be the pursuit of itR lifetime. 
The primary motive of education is to develop 
all the fa-culties with which nature has endowed 
tbe child, and the education of the hands is as 
important as the education of the brain.-Set. 
"SAY unto wisdom, Thou art my sister." 
~ enltlt nnrl @;£tnp£rnnrt. 
The Brown God. 
A GENTLENAN informed me a few days ago, 
that being in attendance at a camp-meeting 
at Olear Lake, Iowa, last summer, he witnessed 
a swgular occurrence. 
A man bad been seek-
ing the Lord for several days with great ear-
nestness and many tears. He was in terrible 
distress of mind; but it seemed as though his 
prayers were unheard, and he was almost at 
the point of giving up the conflict in despair. 
When asked whether be had given up every-
thing for Christ's sake, be replied that he had 
to the best of his knowledge. 
Shortly after this, while kneeling, praying 
and weeping, he was seen to thrust his hand 
into his pocket, draw out something, apd fling 
it away with loathing and disgust. 
Immedi-
ately he sprang to his feet, praising God and 
rejoicing in his great salvation. 
Then some 
one looked for the object cast away, and lo! it 
was a piece of tobacco/ 
As soon as he dethroned 
the brown god, Christ took possession of his 
heart. 
I wonder why Christ would not bless this 
man clinging to his tobacco! And I wonder, 
too, if Christ would not give some professors of 
religion that I know of, if they would get in as 
deep earnest about their· tobacco as this man 
was, a greater blessing than they can ever have 
with tobacco in their pockets. 
We should like 
to see them try the experiment. After all, it is 
wiser to never begin the use of tobacco, and 
then when you seek the Lord this little brown 
god will not come between you and the blessed 
J esus.-S. S. Gem. 
Taldng the Chances. 
some of them want to hoist the communistic 
red :flag, and destroy everybody else's property 
because thev have wasted their own shn,re of 
the national substance in rye juice and other 
riotous :fluids." 
Poisonous Meat. 
AT the recent meeting of the National ·Soci-
ety of Microscopists in Cleveland, Ohio, a pa-
per of particular interest to the general public 
was read by Dr. Ditmars, of Champaign, Ill., 
who has given his attention to examining the 
beef sent to the markets. After examining 
hundreds of cattle slaughtered in Chicago, he 
has decided that cattle slaughtered while in a 
state of frenzy may prove poisonous. 
Dr. Dit-
mars showed drawings of bacteria found in 
the dried beef that was eaten by several fami-
lies of Momence, Ill., with such fatal results, 
and expressed the opinion that the beef was 
that of cattle killed in a state of frenzy. 
Dr. 
Ditmars thinks venison is poisonous if the deer 
has been chased into a state of frenzy by dogs 
before being killed.-Sel. 
A Striking Contrast. 
WE want to show you two animals. 
One 
bas four legs. 
They call him a pig. 
We want 
you to see him eat. 
Now when that fellow 
gets enough, he'll stop. 
Let us look at another. 
They call this one a manj he bas two legs; he 
is at breakfast. He looks this way and that. 
He can't see anything that be wants. 
Now he 
tries a mouthful of strong coffee; that won't 
fete;b it. 
He tries a spoonful of catsup; that's 
a failure. 
Now he tries a mixture of mustard 
and vinegar. At length things begin to work 
a little, and he is finally able to cram a lot of 
griddle-cakes and sausnge and sausage and grid-
dle-cakes, and two or three cups of strong cof-
fee, into his stomach. 
Which do you vote for? 
I vote for the gentleman with four legs.-Dio 
Lewis. 
'l,HE 1ife-insuranc; men have to study all sorts 
of questions, and among them the question of 
strong drihk. It is all "business" with them; 
they want to find out who will live the longest, 
so they can see how much profit there will be 
Whisky Logic Para1leled. 
in insuring their lives at regular rates. If they 
A CERTAIN kind of argument not infrequently 
live long, the company gains by it; if tuey die used by some politico-ec:onomists is burlesqued 
early, the company loses money. 
by Mr. "\V. 8. Gilbert, who, in a letter to the 
This is how the matter has been figured out London Times, says: . "For my part, I could 
by Mr. Nelson, a distinguished English insur-never quite understand the prejudice against 
ance man:-
. 
-burglars. 
An unarrested burglar gives employ-
A tota~ ~b.stamer. twe~ty. years o~d bas the ment to innumerable teleg-raph clerks, police 
chance of livmg .until h~ IS Sixty-four· 
officers rail way officials and possibly also to 
hA totaf~ l~~stamert.lthhlrtf y~atrs ~ld bads the surgeo~s, 
coroners, undertakers, and monu-
c a~lCe o 
Ivmg un 1 
e IS SIX y-six an 
one-mental masons. 
As soon as he is in custody, 
half. 
the serviceB of an army of solicitors, barristers, 
A total abstainer forty years old bas the judges, grand and .petty jurymen, reporters, 
chance of living until he is sixty-eight and governors of jails, and 
pri~on warders ·are 
three-fourths. 
called into requisition. 
Really the burglar does 
A moderate drinker twenty years old has a more good than harm." 
chance of living until he is thirty-five and one-
half. 
A moderate drinker thirty years old has a 
chance of living until he is forty-four and three-
fourths. 
A moderate drinker forty years old 
hat:~ a 
chance of living until he is fifty-one and two-
thirds. 
Whose chance would you prefer to take_?-
Set. 
One Cause of Hard Times. 
THE Boston· T'raveler says: "It is the over-
consumption of wbiRky that makes the under-
consumption of food and clothing in this land of 
liberty and liquor. 
The annual bill for bread, 
meat, and cotton and woolen goods of this great 
American people foots up a total of about $1,-
250,000,000. 
But its annual bill for whisky, 
beer, and the taxes thereon, is $1,400,000,000. 
In other words, it drinks $150,000,000 worth 
more than it eats and wears. 
And the people 
who commit this folly every year are amazed 
that once in a few years they are hard up, and 
IN Prussia liquor is tesponsible for the follow-
ing proportion of crime, according to official 
statistics: murder, 46 per cent.; manslaughter, 
63 per cent.; serious injury to the person, 74 
per cent.; lighter injuries, 63 per cent.; reRist-
ance to the authorities, 76 per cent.; breach of 
tb e peace, 54 per cent.; rape, 60 per cent.; 
offenses against public morals, 70 per cent. 
-
THE earliest inquest in Saco and Biddeford 
of which there is any record was held on the 
body of l
.ary Haile. 
According to the verdict 
it seems " that she was accessory to her own 
death with much eating and drinking, we not 
having any witnesses that she was forced there-
unto."-Biddeford (Me.) Ti-mes. 
THE spirit of liberty is not merely, as some 
people imagine, a jealousy for our own particu-
lar rights, but a respect for the rights of othc .,, 
apd an unwillingness that any man, whether 
high or low, should be wronged and trampled 
under :·0ot.-Sel. 
766 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
Untamed. 
SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY, the conqueror of 
N a pol con, was, it is said, once utterly routed 
and put to flight by a scolding farm-wife, whose 
sitting hens his horse had disturbed. "I would 
rather face a park of artillery than listen to 
her five minutes longer/' he said. 
Madame de Stael, who was able to charm all 
the world by her brilliant conversation, bad, 
we are told, a similar encounter with an angry 
Bt·eton peasant, and retreated before the vehe-
ment abuse, utterly dismayed and silenced. "l 
could not use her weapons," was her excuse. 
"Never argue with an angry woman," said 
an old French writer, " or try to dam a foul 
flood. 
Stand aside and let them pass." 
The effect and quality of' a scolding tongue 
were known ages ago. ''Better to dwell in a 
corner of the house-top," said Solomon, "than 
with a brawling woman in a wide house;" aud 
again~ t( Pleasant words are sweet to the soul." 
Young girls are apt to devote a great deal of 
anxious consideration and effort to the means 
of making themselves attractive and beloved. 
They study their looks, their gait; they strive 
egerly to present to the world tasteful co!:ltumes, 
white bands, pretty feet, to sing well, to play 
with skill, to dance with grace, and all the 
while they too often drive away frie11ds and 
admirers by silly chatter, slang; or ill-11atured 
gossip. 
' 
"I find it easy," sa1d a well-known instruct-
ress of girls, "to train a young woman's mind, 
body, and hands. But her tongue usually defies 
me. If they would but learn to keep silence, 
something would be gained. But that is the 
most difficult lesson of all." 
"Never judge of a young woman," said a 
cynical student of human nature, "until you 
have heard her talk for an hour, apart from her 
mother, teacher, or any one of whum she stands 
in awe. 
The mo!:lt stately Juno will relax into 
a paltry dribbler, a gossiping scandal-monger, 
even sometimes, if provoked, a shrew." 
Remember, girls, the old Arab proveL·b,-the 
word once spoken returns not until it bas run 
through the earth. 
"'rhe tongue can no man tame." 
Because, 
perhaps, it always will expre:::;s the secret 
thoughts of the heart. 
But the heart enn be 
tamed, and so brought into harmony with God 
and man that its spoken words shall be helpful 
and dear to both.-Youth's Compa.nion. 
PRAYER.-Prayer must be not only with sub-
mission, but with discretion. lt may be said 
with some degree of confidence that the most 
believing petitioners are at the same time the 
most discreet regarding the things for which 
they ask. 
Said Miss Adele M. _Fielde, at a 
woman's meeting in Uhicago, concerning a 
wonderfully blessed prayer-circle in China: 
"We got so that we considered a long while 
and very carefnlly before we decided to permit 
certain things to be prayed for." 
As Christians 
grow more devout and Lru!:ltful, they doubtless 
begin to show .more and more judgment in the 
objects of their prayers. 
They ask less for 
those things which they ought not to bave.-
Standa'rd. 
ALL our watching must have reference to the 
coming of the Lord. 
ln all things we must 
be diligent and faithful, to the end that we 
may not be ashamed before him at his appear-
ing. 
How soon shall all our opportunities for 
serving and glorifying G-od terminate'? . How 
soon shall we appear before the judgrnent·seat 
of Christ to receive according to the deeds done 
in the body ? "Let us therefore not sleep as 
do others, but let us watch and be sober."-Sel. 
RELIGIOUS. 
-A convention of believers in the faith-cure was 
recently held in Pittsburgh, Pa. 
-There are 15,000 people living in polygamy in 
Utah and the bordering Territories. 
-The Virginia Presbyterian Synod has indorsed 
the theory of evolution, as being in harmony with 
the Scriptures. 
-English colporters in Persia find that Bibles in 
the Persian language are well received. Even the 
Mohammedans welcome them. 
-Forty-four lady physicians have gone to Asia 
as Protestant missionaries during the last fifteen 
years; and their medical skill has opened the way 
for effective preaching of the gospel. 
-A gentleman of Leeds, England, who has done 
much to promote missions in Africa, has offered 
$25,000 to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mis-
sions if it will promptly found a new mi:;sion to thE\ 
WamaRai and Wakuafi tribes in Ceutral Africa. If 
his offer is accepted, he will open a road from the 
Zanzibar coast to Victoria N yanzi. 
-The new opera, the Mikado, has been performed 
in several churches in Western New York, with re-
sults that have caused some uneasiness. An es,;en-
tial part of the play is a comic wedding; and its 
introduction iuto the churches has led to several 
mock Japanese marriages, which it is feared may 
prove not to be "mock" marriages after all. 
-A man has just been received into a Brussels 
hospital whose foot has been hurt by excessive walk-
ing; Hnd he turns out to bl:' a professional pilgrim, 
that is, one who goes on pilgrimages to shrines for 
devout Roman Catholics who wish to go themselves, 
but are too busy and can afford to hire substitutes. 
The Congregationalist thinks that the pilgdmage 
business is "looking up." 
-It is said that in Ecuador there is a church for 
every one hundred and fifty inhabitants, and ten 
per cent. of the population are priests, monks, or 
nuns. Two hundred and seventy-two days are ob-
served either as feast or fast days, one-fourth of all 
the property belongs to the church, and the priests 
control the Government in all its branches. Fol-
lowing these statements, it is ea,.;y to believe that 
seventy-five per cent. of the people can neither 
read nor write. 
-There are more than forty thousand Bohemians 
in Chicago, who are intensely infidel in their senti-
ments. Several Bohemian papers are printed, and 
in one of the ablest the most blasphemous represen-
tations of the Bible are published weekly. During 
the year two free-thinking churches have been 
formed. They have a clanniRh feeling, a conviction 
that thev have not been received as a welcome ad-
dition to the population, that makes missionary 
work among them very difficult. 
-Bishop Ireland recently said of the decrees 
pas~->ed at the Plenary Council held in Baltimore a 
year ago, which have just been returned from Rome 
with the pope's sanction and amendments: ·• The 
purport of these decrees is that the Sunday laws 
must be observed by Catholics. They also insist 
that Catholics ::;hall desist from the liquor traffic. 
The greaL·.st restrictions are placed upon the drink-
ing of liquor; and even its use at church fairs and 
picnics, or auy celebration except that in which the 
church is directly concerned, is forbidden." Some 
of the leading religious journals welcome this new 
ally for the temperance and Sunday movement. 
They seem to forget, or to entirely ignore, the past 
record of that church. But has the leopard changed 
his spots? If any believe this, let them read the 
pope's encyclical, which has just been published. 
They will find that he there affirms the very princi-
ples that guided the church in the Dark Ages. 
SECULAR. 
-The Remington works at Illion, N. Y., have 
received an order from the Turkish Government for 
200,000 rifles. 
-The steamer City of Bayou Sara was burned 
December 6, at New Madrid, Mo. 
The passengers 
escaped safely, but lost everything. 
-The Central Pacific is now using one hu!1dred 
and forty barrels of petroleum daily on its steamers. 
and in its shops. 
-In veiw of the increasing Japanese emigration 
to the Sandwich Islands, Japan is about to enter 
into an agreement with the Hawaiian Government 
for a postal service. 
-The constitutionality of the act authorizing the 
securing of 3,600 acres of land above the Harlem 
River for the new parks of New York City, has been 
affirmed by the Court of Appeals. 
-The limited express train of the New York 
Central makes the run of 980 miles between New 
York and Chicago in tweriLy-six hours. 
This is be-
lieved to be the fastest long-distance train in Amer-
ica. 
-Sixteen vessels were lost in the storm on the 
coast off Aspinwall, report~d last week. It is not 
yet known how many lives have been lost; but all on 
board one vessel perished, and only two were saved 
from another. 
-M. Pasteur, the Frenchman who claims to have 
discovered a remedy for hydrophobia, has sevemy-
three ca::>es under treatment, anti all his patients are 
doing well. Several children from Newark, N. J., 
have-been recently sent to him for treatment. 
-Florida is to have an extensive Scotch colony. 
The first division, of fifty families, has sailed from 
Glasgow; not Jess than a thou::>and families, in all. 
are expected. These immigrants own the laud on 
which they are to settle, and are well supplied with 
money. 
-An Arizona prospector owes his life to the sagac-
ity of his horse. He was taken sick, and lay in 
camp three days perfectly helpless, until finally the 
hon;P. went to another camp several miles distant, 
and by his actions induced some one to bring a::;::;ist-
ance. to his sick master. 
-Senator Edmunds proposes a bill to put the 
Mormons in chancery. It provides for the repeal of 
the act of the Legislature incorpor:ttiug the church, 
and declares the property of the church forfeited to 
the United SLates, to be sold, and the proceeds used 
for the benefit of the public schools. 
-The steamer Conto was wrecked on Lake Mich-
igan recently. The passengers and crew were all 
rescued, and were provided with food and other 
things necessary to their comfort; but a party of 
seven who attempted to reach the mainland have 
not been heard from since they left their compan-
ions. 
-Europe and British India consume about 150,-
000 gallons of handkerchief perfumes yearly. There 
is one great perfume distillery at Cannes, in France, 
which uses yearly 100,000 pounds of acacia flowers, 
140,000 pounds of rare flower leaves, 32,000 pounds 
of J assamine blossoms, 20,000 pounds of tuuerose 
blossoms, and an immense quantity of other mate-
rial. 
-Lieutanant Zalinsld, aided by Captain Candy, 
has invented a dynamite gun which promises to 
prove very destructive. The cartridge carries one 
hundred pounds of dynamite. Wlleuever it strikes 
after its discharge, the shock jars the battery, the 
platinum wire becomes incandescent in the midst of 
the dynamite, ·and an enemy's man-of-war is de-
stroyed instantly. 
-A Berlin journal has recently made an estimate 
of the size and co~t of the armies of Europe. In the 
seven teen States of that continent, the armies, even 
on a peace footing, num.ber 2,529,522 men. The total 
cost for these millions is estimated to be more than 
$950,000,000 per year. The total population of Eu-
rope is said to be a little more than 315,000,000. 
This would make the armies, in peace times, average 
three dollars per year to each person, young and old. 
-Senator Sherman has been elected 
the Senate. 
president of 
-The powers of Europe have agreed to recog-
nize the union of the Bulgarias, and a Demarcation 
Commission has been appointed to fix a line between 
the Bulgarian and Servian armies, beyond which 
neither shall pass, pending negotiations. It is be-
lieved that this arrangement insures an armistice 
of a month, and can hardly fail to result in secur-
-The elections in England have closed, and the 
Liberals find themselves in the minority. 
-Wm. H. Vanderbilt died in New York Decem-
ber 8. His estate is estimated at $200,000,000. 
-The guano deposits of the islands off Lower ing terms of peace. But the announcement had 
'T EVER talk of a child's peculiarities before it; California are turning out to be very abundant. 
hardly flashed across the wires, when there followed 
neve1· let it hear its beau.ty or ugliness spoken 
-The German Bundesrath has unanimously ap-the news of a "long and bloody engagement" in 
of. 
The greatest cha~m gf c~ildJ:10o4 is i~~ for-
proved a bill to connect the Baltic with the North which the Servians were victorious, having gained 
getfulness of itself. 
. Sea. 
1 possession of the town of Veniki Isoor . 
..... -. 
DECEMBER 17, 1885. 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
767 
-Cholera has become epidemic in Brittany, a 
province of France, and the mortality is fearful. 
--The recent storm along the northeastern coast 
of the Atlantic, was the most severe that has been 
known in the vicinity of New York in many years, 
and was accompanied by a phenominally high .tide. 
From all along the coast there come accounts of ves-
sels wrecked and of the cruel sufferings of the sea-
men who escaped a watery grave. On land, houses 
were demolished and miles of railroad track torn up 
and blown away. The iron piers and the bulkheads 
at Long Branch and Coney Island were badly in-
jured; and it will require months of time and a large 
expenditure of money to repair the damage that was 
done in a few hours by this furious November gale. 
How to Select a Boy. 
A GENTLEMAN advertised for a boy, and nearly 
.fifty applicants presented themselves to him. 
Out of the whole number he selected one and 
dismissed the rest. "I should like to know," 
said a friend, ''on what ground you selected 
that boy, who bad not a single recommenda-
tion." 
"You are mistaken," said the gentleman; 
" be bas a great many. 
He wiped his feet 
when he came in, and closed the door after him, 
showing that he was careful. 
He gave his seat 
instantly to the lame old man, showing that be 
was thoughtful. 
He took oft' his cap when he 
came in, and answered my questions promptly, 
showing that hA was gentlemanly. He picked 
up the book which I had purposely laid on the 
floor and replaced it upon the table; and he 
waited quietly for his turn, instead of pushinp; 
and crowding, showing that he was honorable 
and orderly. 
When I talked to him, I noticed 
that his clothes were brushed, his hair in order; 
when· be wrote his name, I noticed that his 
finger-nails were clean. 
Don't you call those 
things letters of recommendation? I do; and 
I would give more for what I can tell about a 
boy by us.ing my eyes ten minutes than for all the 
letters he can bring me." 
Little things show 
character, and fi·eq uently determine a boy's 
whole ca~eer. It is the boy who does the kind, 
polite, and thoughtful acts unconsciously that 
wins his way to employment and success. 
And 
success does not mean wealth or fame. 
True 
success means the development of a character 
that is worthy of example-a character that is 
honest to every duty, faithful to every trust, 
and that is unselfish enough to find time for 
kindly acts that are not forced, but the simple 
expression of a warm and generous principle. 
True success is fidelity to every relation in lii'e. 
-Christian Union. 
@hituar)J. 
RussELI"-Died of consumption, November 26 
1885, at her home in Alpine, Morrow County, Or. 
Louisa Melvina Russell, youngest daughter of Wm. 
and Anna Russell, aged eighteen years and four 
months. At the age of eleven, with her pareuts 
and two brothers, she embraced the present truth 
under the labors of Elder Van Horn. Ever since 
that time she hRs been keeping the commandments 
of God, and leading an exemplary Christian life. 
At different times she expressed a desire to live to 
see the Saviour come, and to be a comfort to her pa-
rents in their declining years. But it was her great 
ambition to get an education that would prepare 
her to work in the cause of God, which she loved so 
much. A father, mother, one brother, and two sis-
ters mourn their lo;:;s; but they sorrow ·not as those 
having no hope. 
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This volume presents the most wonderful and int.ensely interesting 
history that has ever been written of the great conflict between 
Christianity and the powers of darkness, as illustrated in the lives of 
Christian martyrs and reformers on one hand, and wicked men and 
persecuting powers on the other. Beginning with our Lord's great 
prophecy given while viewing Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, in 
which he outlines the histo1·y of the whole disp<msation, it sketches 
the fulfillment. It pictures the siege and overthrow of Jerusalem, 
and the destruction of the Temple. It calls our attention to the bit-
ter persecutions of the Christians in the first centuries, and notes the 
rise and growth of the Papacy. It gives a clear conception of the 
character and influence of the Waldenses, who, through centuries of 
persecution, maintained the purity of their faith, and by their mis-
sionary efforts prepared the nations of Europe for.the Reformation. 
Brief and lifelike sketches are given of the works, the succe&ses, 
and the persecutions of Wycliffe, Luther, Tyndalc, Huss, Jerome, 
Knox, and other reformers and martyrs. 
Considerable space is given to the life, work, and influence of later 
reformers and great religious leaders, such as George Whitefield, the 
Wesleys, and William Miller, and this is followed by chapters treat-
ing upon The Orig-in of Evil, The Agency of Evil Spirits, The Snares 
of Satan, and the Judgment. 
The closing chapters g-ive a vivid picture of the warfare of the 
church, her final redemption, and vividly describe the triumph of the 
people of God, the destruction of Satan and all his f·#lowers, and the 
renewing of the earth, which ends the awful controversy between the 
Son of God and the Powers of Darkness. 
Earnest Christians of all classes and creeds will find in it encourage-
ment and instruction in. the delineation of the strug-gle maintained 
by men raised up of. God in each successive age to preserve the pure 
and true reli!rlon, and they will see that the world has been led to 
accept one after another of Satan't~ devices, until her teachers are cor-
rupted with false doctrines and with infidelity. 
The period of history covered by this volume·, is one of the deepest 
interest to all classes of readers. 
The style of the author is clear, forcible, and often sublime, and, 
although simple enough in its statements to be un1erstood and ap· 
preciated by a child, its eloquence calls forth the admiration of all· 
Over 500 pages; 22 full-page cuts. Price, 
$1.50 
Address, 
PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal. 
PARSON'S HAND-BOOK 
OF 
BUSINESS AND SOCIAL FORMS. 
4. It presents the subject of health from a Bible stand. .A 
point, showing that to be healthy is a duty resting on a 
moral basis. 
· 
G0~11PLETE WORK OF REFERENCE 
.ANJJ SELF-INSTRUCTION. 
5. It advocates temperance-not merely as abstinence 
from ardent spirits, but as a Christian grace, which con-
cerns the habits of the entire life. 
6. It will contain valuable and reliable recipes, and 
directions for doing the right thing in the right manner. 
7. It will give directions for caring for the sick. As 
nursing is the best part of '' doctoring," such directions 
are valuable, and needed by all. 
8. Its miscellaneous matter will be useful, as well as 
entertaining. 
9. It is elevated in tone, and will always be entirely 
free from light, trashy reading. 
10. It will contain no serials; though articles in differ-
ent numbers may be related as to subjects, each will be 
complete in itself, not requiring another to explain it. 
Price, 50 cents per year. 
Address, Pacific Press, Oak-
land, Cal. 
THE ADVENT REVIEW 
AND SABBATH HER A L D, 
A RELIGIOUS FAMILY JOURNAL, 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT BA'l'TLE CREEK, MICH., BY THE 
S. D. A. PUBLISHING ASJ::lOCIATION. 
Sixteen large, closely printed pages of choice reading matter, treat-
ing upon all the Prophetic themes of the Bible, the Signs of the 
'l'imes, Second Commg of Christ at Hand, Closing Reforms in the 
Church, the Gospel of Christ, Conversion, .Practical Godliness, 
etc. etc. 
This is the organ of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, the 
oldest journal of this people. It is now in its sixty-second volume. 
Contains full reports from the ministers and the doings of the differ-
ent organizat.ions of this denomination. No one should fail to take 
the REVIEW AND HERALD. 
Price, in advance, $2.00 per year. 
Address, 
REVIEW AND HERALD Battle Ct eek, Mloh: 
OUR NEW EDITION, 
Just coming from the printer and binder, has been enlarged to 
over 700 LARGE oc·rAvo PAGEs, and has the addition of two new 
departments, one on Short-Hand and Type Writing, and one of 
choice Poetical Selections; fully and handsomely illustrated. Not-
withstanding the expensive improvements, the price of the book 
remains the same; and we assert, without fear of contradiction, that 
we give the most book for the money of any house publishing any 
book of a similar nature in America. And, further, PARS0N'S HAND-
BooK t~tands as the peer of its class, notwithstanding the higher 
price at which others may ):Je sold. 'fhis is evidenced. by the fact that 
our agents are constantly urg·ed to take these other works in part 
payment for the HAND-BOOK, even though they had paid for them 
nearly double what we ask for ours. 
The illustrations in this work are very handsome, haYing been pro-
cured at great expense. This is a work that sells to all classes and 
professions, and is needed in every family, store, workshop, and of-
fice. AGENTS WANTED in the Pacific Coast States and Territories. 
Address, 
PACIFIC PRE-;S, Oakland, Cal. 
THE A T 0 N EM EN rr : 
AN EXAMINATION OF .A 
REMEDIAL SYSTEM, I1.Y THE LIGHT O.F 
NATURE AND OF REVELATION. 
BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER. 
THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED. 
THis work is a critical and exhaustive treatise on the plan of salva-
tion as revealed. iu the Seriptures, showing-its harmony with the 
principles of jutitice and. mercy, its consistency with reason, and it 
final results as affectin~ the destiny of the human race. 
868 pp.; cloth, $1.00. 
f\d~·~s!l1 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, CaL 
Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich 
768 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
VoL. 11, No. 48. 
OAKLAND, CAL., FIFTH-DAY, DECEM:BER 17, 1885. 
ON account of press of business at the General 
Conference, the editor was obliged to close the arti-
cle entitled "'fhe Second Coming of a Literal 
Christ," more abruptly than he designed. It is the 
first of a series that will contain much valuable in-
struction. 
A VOLUM:E of the SIGNS OF THE TIM:ES consists of 
forty-eight numbers, and accordingly this should be 
the last number in the present volume. But as 
there is an extra publication day in this year, we 
furnish an extra· paper, so that there may not be 
an intermission of two weeks. The next number 
will close volume 11. 
PRIV .ATE letters from Battle Creek, Mich., dated 
December 6, s~y that the Conference session was to 
close that day. It is said that the amount of busi-
ness transacted has been much greater than at any 
previous session. This is evidence that our work is 
growing rapidly. We hope to be able next week to 
give our readers some items of general interest from 
the Conference. 
WE have given the encyclical letter of Leo XIII. 
a careful reading. 
With the exception of those 
passages which directly mention the CatholicCh urch, 
it is just such a document as might have been issued 
by the so-called "National Reform As:::ociation;" 
but it is not a document that could be indorsed by 
any true Protestant. It exhibits the old spirit of 
popery in every line. In a week or two we shall 
pay our respects to it somewhat in detail. 
A FEW weeks ago we made the statement that if 
we compare any "Christian nation" w.th a heathen 
nation, it will be seen that the difference between 
them is only in the kind of sins committed, and not 
in the quantity or quality. An atheistic paper in 
the East notices this, and jumps to the conclusion 
that" Christianity is at best only changing the kind 
of sins heathens commit." We intimated nothing 
of the kind. The fact is, there is uo such thing as a 
"Christian nation" on the earth, and never has 
been. In the so-called "Christian nations," Chris-
tians are in the minority. It is the lack of Chris-
tianity that makes them so much like. the heathen 
nations. 
· 
THE Philadelphia Press says: "Now that the 
social ·season is fairly begun, careless hosts with 
neglected lists are as usual sending out invitations 
for dinners and dances to men and women lono-in 
the grave. A gentleman whose wife has been dead for 
more than a year, received two cards for teas and 
one for a dance for her last week. 
A lady who 
lost her husband recently was asked to accompany 
him to two or three entertainments. . . . All 
these mistakes, with the 'pain they bring to the li v-
ing, would be avoided if hosts who are anxious only 
to crowd the~r houses on festive occasions, would in-
terest themselves in their acquaintances sufficiently 
to make a note of the fact when 'death carries any 
of them away." 
This is a good comment on what are called "so-
cial entertainments." The fact that the fashionable 
people are accustomed to send out invitations on 
much the same plan that a business firm sends out 
its circulars, and with as little personal interest in 
those to whom they are sent, mu:;t be highly gratify-
ing to the guests. But then since the main object 
of those who attend is simply to fill their stomachs 
at somebody else's expense, it is doubtless just as 
well. Tastes differ, but we do not envy them their 
" good times." 
THE Ame1·ican Sentinel, which has been promised 
so long, will be issued promptly on. time, January, 
1886, according to note published last September. 
Sample copies were sent to the General Conference, 
and were received ,
ith great favor. · The fd1low1ng 
from the prospectus of the Sentinel, will give the 
reader a better idea of: what it is to be, than he can 
get without reading the paper itBelf:-
" The AM:ERIC.A.N SENTINEL, an eight-page monthly 
journal, devoted to the defenRe of American institu-
tions, the preservation of the United States Consti-
tution as it is, so far as regards religion or religious 
tests, and the maintenance of human rights, both 
civil and religious. It will ever be uncompromis-
ingly opposed to anything tending toward a union 
of Church and State, either in name or in fact. 
Single copy, per year, 50 cents; to foreign countries, 
2s. 
Address, AM:ERIC.A.N SENTINEL, 1059 Castro St., 
Oakland, Cal." 
How the Matter Stands. 
IN the San Francisco Chronicle of December 9, we 
find the following:-
"A suit to test their right to observe the seventh 
day of the week as the Sabbath, has recently been 
brought by the Adventi'sts of Arkans:1s. 
Within 
two years this sect has greatly increased in the State, 
but last winter the Legislature repealed the clause 
which gave the Adventists the right to choose their 
Sunday. The action was evidently taken specially 
to worry these people, and they have resented it by 
bringing a test case before the Supreme Court. If 
the Court sustains the act of the Legislature, it will 
show that Arkansas is about 100 vears behind its 
neighbors in religious toleration." • 
The Chronicle is usually very exact, but in regard 
to this matter it has evidently been misinformed. 
We appreciate the spirit of good will which seems to 
pervade the paragraph, but wish to correct the er-
rors, for others may have fallen into the same. 
1. No suit has been brought by the Adventists of 
Arkansas. 
2. No one has conte~ted the right of Adventists to 
observe the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. 
3. The trouble is not caused by the fact that "the 
Legislature repealed the clause which gave Advent-
ists the right to choose their Sunday." The Advent-
ists have no special liking for any Sunday; but the 
trouble is that the people want to compel Adventists 
to keep every Sunday. The facts of the case are 
simply these:-
Up to last spring the laws of Arkansas gave peo-
ple who conscientiously observe the seventh day, 
the liberty to work upon the remaining days of the 
week, Sunday included, which they have both a di-
vine and a natural right to do. Six months ago the 
clause granting this just right was repealed, and as 
the law now stands, whoever conscientiously ob-
serves the seventh day of the week, according to the 
nia tried to commit this State to the same line of ac-
tion. More than this, an influential party; which is 
rapidly adding to its numbers, is eamestly endeav-
oring to have the entire United States pass laws 
similar to the one by which Adventists in Arkansas 
are now being oppressed. 
Useful for Everybody. 
THE fact that three editions of "Parsons' Hand-
Book of Social and Business Forms" have been is-
sued within three years, speaks well for the book. 
The latest edition is revised and enlarged, and is in 
e'Tery way a preseutable book. Much new and val-
uable matter has been added. The book now con-
tains over 700 pages; yet it is sold for less than other 
books of a similar class, which have not more than 
two-thirds as much matter. There are twenty-eight 
distinct subjects presented, and each one is treated 
in all the minuteness of detail that could be desired 
Eighty-two pages are devoted to practical grammar, 
and as this department is contributed by one whose 
life-work bas been largely the teaching of this 
branch, it forms a valuable text book. From personal 
acquaintance with the author's methods, we can 
recommend the grammatical department as first 
class. It is not a dry treatise on the subject, but 
something which any one can study with interest, 
and master by himself. 
The department on parliamentary practice, by 
the editor of the Review and Hm·ald, is very valu-
able. The main points of this somewhat intricate 
branch are given with such simplicity and clearness 
that they cannot fail to be comprehended by th·e 
dullest brain. Fifty-three pages are devoted to pen-
manship, sixty to book-keeping and commercial 
arithmetic, eighty-two to commercial law, and a 
proportionate space to other branches, each of which 
is contributed by a specialist in that department. 
Sold only by subscription. See advertisement on 
preceding page. 
OuR neighbor across the bay, the Chdstian Advo-
cate, has once more demonstrated its right to the 
first portion of its name, by publishing as its lead-
ing article a slanderous tirade on Adventists. We 
have had occasion several times to point out some 
glaring errors in the Advocate, and we accept this 
as its reply. In our strictures we have u8ed only 
the word of God; but as that is "quick and power-
ful, and sharper than any two-edged sword," it has 
doubtlf:'ss made a severe wound. 
We have no dis-
position to find fault with the Advocate because it 
has retorted with slander instead of with argument. 
We can do no otherwise than be thankful when peo-
ple give us the best they have. 
commandment of God, may be compelled to rest on EX PER IE N U E AND VIEWS. 
the :first day of the week, in accordance with the un-
just requirements of men. As the Chronicle says, 
"tl1e action was evidently taken specially to worry 
these people;" and the evidence of this fact is that 
Adventists, and scarcely any others, have been pros-
ecuted for the violation of this unjust law. If the 
law were simply unjust, it might be endured; but it 
directly contravenes the fourth precept of the deca-
logue, and consequently cannot be obeyed by those 
who regard the laws of God as superior to the op-
posing laws of men. Having been prosec.:uted and 
convicted, the Adventists have taken the case to the 
BY MRS. E. G. WHITB. 
THIS volume contains the earliest writings of Mrs. White, first 
printed in 1851. It contains an account of her early religious ex· 
perience, and a brief account of the wonderful dealings of God with 
her. Apart from its intrinsic value, it will be of interest as showing 
the harmony between the earlie~t writings of the Seventh.day Ad· 
ventists and thostl published at a later date. Its publication )s vocy 
timely. In paJier cov&·s,, with Supplement, 25 cents. 
Address, 
SIGNS OF THS 1'11ES, Oakland, Cal. 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY, AT OAKJ,AND, CAL., FOR 'fHK 
Supreme Court to see whether the highest authority International Tract and Missionary Society. 
in the State will countenance persecution for con-
science' sake. 
A sixteen-page Religious :Family Paper, devoted to a discussion or 
This, in. brief, is the whole of the matter; while it the Prophecies, Signs of the Times, Second Coming of Christ, Har· 
· 
'd 
t th t th 
t' 
t k 
b 
. h 
A 
mony of the Law anJ Gospel; w1th Departments JevoteJ to Health 
IS ev1 en 
a 
e ac lOll a en 
Y t e 
rkansas and •remperance, the Home Circle, the Missionary Work, and the 
Courts is a specimen of the civilization of the Dark· Sabbath-school. 
Ages, we cannot admit that Arkansas is behind its 
Price Per Year, post-paid, 
$2.00 
neighbors. The St. ate of Pennsylvania has persist-In Clubs of five or more copies to one name and address, to be 
ently refused to allow Sabbath-keepers to enjoy their 
used in Missionary Work, each, 
1.50 
To foreign co'Untries, single subscriptions, post·paid, 
· 
lOs 
God-given rights, and it was only three years a00'0 
Address, 
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, 
that some vf the most respectable. people in Calif or-
Twelfth a.nd Castro Streets, OAKLAND, CAL., u.s . .A.·