U. S. ARMY AIR FORCES PHOTO 
1950, the mid-century year, provides a good place from which to look at the past and to 
survey the future. In attempting to look into the future we find the prophecies of the 
Bible most enlightening; in fact, they are more than enlightening, they are inspired and 
infallible. 
Mid-Centurq 
VISTA 
D
URING the late world war a 
bomber was shot down over 
Italy and the crew taken pris-
oner. When Italy capitulated and 
released the Allied prisoners, the 
members of this bomber crew, know-
ing that the country was filled with 
German soldiers, started out for the 
highest mountain peak in order to 
get their bearings. Obtaining from 
this vista a clear sense of directions, 
they began the long journey back 
to the home base. By avoiding vil-
lages and highways and travelling 
only by night, they finally reached 
their destination. 
In this mid-century year it is well 
for the human family to pause long 
enough to look in the only two pos-
sible directions, backward into the 
past and forward into the future, in 
order properly to evaluate the events 
and conditions of this modern world 
and thus get our bearings. This is 
necessary in order to make the proper 
decisions and pursue the right course. 
"Where there is no vision, the people 
perish," is a scriptural statement 
that has been proved true in secular 
as well as sacred history. 
The backward glance is not very 
reassuring. Judging the whole by the 
first half, Winston Churchill calls it 
"this terrible twentieth century." In 
his address last year in Boston be-
fore a convention composed of many 
of the world's greatest scientists and 
held under the auspices of the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology for 
the purpose of an "Appraisal at Mid-
Century," the British statesman said: 
"Science bestowed immense new 
powers on man, and at the same 
time created conditions which were 
largely beyond his comprehension 
and still more beyond his control. 
While he nursed the illusion of grow-
ing mastery and exulted in his new 
trappings, he became the sport and 
presently the victim of tides and cur-
rents, of whirlpools and tornadoes 
amid which he was far more helpless 
than he had been for a long time. 
After all our victories, we are now 
faced by perils, both grave and near, 
and by problems more dire than have 
ever confronted Christian civiliza-
tion." 
In reporting this gathering of 
scientifically trained men, the maga-
zine Time said: "The twentieth cen-
tury had built higher and plowed 
deeper than any age before it. It 
had given man more power than he 
had ever dreamed—or feared—he 
I �
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/ I• �
, 7 7 7 , �, 7 7. , �
, 
Vol. XXX �Editor, DALLAS YOUNGS �
Circulation Manager, RALPH E. CRAWFORD �
May, 1950 �No. S 
• Published monthly, by the Signs of the Times Publishing Association (Seventh-day Adventist), Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Entered as second-class matter 
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SIGNS OF THE TIMES without having subscribed may feel perfectly free to accept it. 
SIGNS of the TIMES 
would possess. It had whittled away at 
matter until the forces released from 
its core made mankind's general de-
struction a concrete possibility. It 
was literally looking for new worlds 
to conquer in space, but was farther 
than ever from having conquered dis-
order and misery in its own. It had 
the abolition of poverty within sight, 
yet the painful consciousness of pov-
erty was probably greater than ever 
before. It knew more than men had 
ever known—except how to use its 
knowledge." 
A Century of Progress 
Viewed from the standpoint of sci-
entific achievements, the first half of 
the century has witnessed greater ad-
vancement than all the centuries of 
the past combined. It has been a pe-
riod of great changes and rapid move-
ments in every realm of human en-
deavour. Invention and discovery have 
become the order of the day. At the 
beginning of the century there were 
less than four hundred crudely built 
and slow moving automobiles in 
North America, while to-day the net-
work of paved highways is crowded 
with half a billion powerfully built 
and rapidly moving modern chariots 
which constitute a graphic fulfilment 
of the Biblical forecast of two and a 
half millenniums ago: "The chariots 
shall rage in the streets, they shall 
justle one against another in the 
broad ways: they shall seem like 
torches, they shall run like the light- 
- 
�
�
nings." Nahum 2:4. This was to take 
place in "the day of His preparation." 
Verse 3. 
The development and use of the 
airplane is confined to the half cen-
tury which has just closed. From the 
first flight in the crudely built plane 
of the Wright brothers, which re-
mained in the air fifty-nine minutes 
and travelled a half mile, such mighty 
strides have been made in aviation 
that great passenger airliners belt the 
globe and crisscross every continent 
of the world, carrying almost fifteen 
million passengers a year. Freight and 
mail are likewise being hurled through 
space in ever-increasing proportions 
and with constantly decreasing cost. 
Recently a pilot broke all previous 
speed records in a flight exceeding 
seven hundred miles an hour, and a 
jet-propelled pilotless plane achieved 
the speed of 1,989 miles an hour, 
which is almost three times the veloc-
ity of sound. 
The half century has seen the in-
vention of wireless telegraphy, the 
wireless telephone, television, radar, 
and the harnessing and use of atomic 
energy. The wrong use of "the basic 
power of the universe" could easily 
depopulate the earth and reduce its 
MAY, 1 9 5 0 
surface to a chaotic state. It has been 
announced that the United States is 
now contemplating the manufacture 
of a new hydrogen bomb which will 
be one thousand times more destruc-
tive than the atomic bomb used at 
the close of the last war, and one mis-
sile will destroy all life and leave un-
inhabitable an area of three hundred 
square miles. It is estimated that the 
first bomb will cost about two billion 
dollars, and two thousand would lit-
erally blow up the world and leave 
it a barren planet. 
The radio commentator, Walter 
Winchell, recently summed up the 
happenings of the last fifty years: "In 
the lifetime of middle-aged people 
now living, they have seen the world 
transformed three times—and each of 
these changes changed the world more 
than anything which occurred in the 
last four thousand! . . . The automo-
bile gave each family a daily radius 
ten times that of an emperor of only 
a hundred years ago. The radio en-
abled his mind to circumnavigate the 
globe at the rate of 186,300 miles a 
second. The flying machine enabled 
him to measure latitude by the second 
hand on his wrist watch! The twen-
tieth century has proved that there's 
more than a sermon in a stone; there's 
a world of power in an atoml" 
Regarding the rapidity of the 
changes now taking place in our 
world, Mr. Lloyd George, British 
statesman and former prime minister 
of England, said: "There are times in 
history when the world spins so lei-
surely along its destined course that 
it seems for centuries to be at a 
standstill. There are also times when 
it runs along at a giddy pace, covering 
the track of centuries in a year. These 
are the times we are living in now." 
This statement is far more meaning-
ful now than when uttered almost a 
score of years ago. 
The Future 
The first half of this century is in 
the past and cannot be changed. It is 
now an unchangeable part of the his-
tory of the human race under the do-
minion of sin. Its records are as per-
manent and unalterable as though 
they were chiselled in lasting granite. 
The backward glance is profitable 
chiefly from the viewpoint of the les-
sons learned in the great school of ex-
perience, which may serve as warnings 
and guides as we travel the path into 
the unknown future. It is out of the 
By 
Taylor G. Bunch 
background of experience that life to-
day and to-morrow is either enriched 
or debased, improved or retrograded. 
Character development is never static. 
Change is inevitable, either for better 
or for worse. 
Being a free moral agent with the 
power of choice, man is in a sense 
master of his own destiny. In scrip-
tural language "wisdom is profitable 
to direct" a man in making decisions 
that will make life more joyful and 
worth while. Man has nothing to 
fear from the future except as he shall 
forget the lessons of the past. No insti-
tutions of learning can compare in 
value with that of experience, whose 
lessons are more indelibly impressed 
and thus more permanently learned. 
Unless the lessons of the first half of 
this century have been well learned, 
the future outlook is dark with fore-
bodings of events more calamitous 
than those of the past. 
A knowledge of the past is essential 
to a proper perspective of the future. 
Patrick Henry once said, "I know no 
way of judging the future but by the 
past." Knowing the trend of events, 
one can judge fairly accurately as to 
what will happen in the future. On 
this basis a well known radio com-
mentator claims around eighty-five per 
cent accuracy in his "predictions of 
things to come." But this is mere 
guesswork and not prophecy. Proph-
ecy is the unrolled scroll of history, 
just as "history is the unrolled scroll 
of prophecy," as Garfield once said. 
Man cannot actually peer into the fu-
ture except through divine revelation. 
The impotency of man in this re-
spect was well stated by Samuel Corn-
pers a few years ago when he said: 
"The future lies in the lap of the gods, 
and into that lap not even the wisest 
men of earth are able to look," and 
the historian John Clark Ridpath 
said that "the tallest son of the morn-
ing cannot tell a day before they take 
place the events that occur." But there 
is One who is able to see and forecast 
future events with a one hundred per 
cent accuracy, and this is one of the 
evidences of His divinity. He says: 
"Remember the former things of old: 
for I am God, and there is none else; 
I am God, and there is none like Me, 
declaring the end from the beginning, 
and from ancient times the things 
that are not yet done, saying, My 
counsel shall stand, and I will do all 
My pleasure." Isaiah 46:9, 10. 
Through the same prophet, the 
Lord challenges the stubborn human 
race on the basis of His ability to pre-
dict future events: "I have declared 
the former things from the begin-
ning; and they went forth out of My 
mouth, and I showed them; I did 
(Please turn to page 15) 
3 
NOTE TO READER: After you have carefully 
read and studied Pastor Flynn's Bible les-
son, turn to page 18 and see if you can 
answer the questions of the Bible Quiz. 
This is your Bible comprehension test. 
I
CANNOT see that the members 
of the Wednesday night class are 
losing interest in Bible study," 
observed Mrs. Flynn, pulling on her 
gloves. 
"No, it appears that their interest 
is increasing rather than diminish-
ing," replied her husband. "It is re-
markable how a group like that of 
different nationalities and religious 
beliefs can study the Bible together." 
"Yes, not only that, but the study 
of God's Word tends to draw them 
closer together and closer to God, and 
all these differences are put aside," 
replied Mrs. Flynn. 
"That's right, and it always works 
that way, too. That is the unifying 
influence of God's Word. When there 
is no disturbing element present, all 
are drawn into a oneness with each 
other and with God. I believe that is 
a little sample of how it will be when 
we all get to heaven." 
"We are going to study the subject 
of 'grace,' " announced Pastor Flynn 
after the opening prayer. "We are go-
ing to see how a mistake in this will 
mean not grace but disgrace, and 
even disaster. But first I want to tell 
you a story that one of the leading 
evangelists uses: 
" 'Have you ever heard of the thief 
who could not steal $500 when there 
was nobody around to stop him? A 
coal dealer in Denver was hurriedly 
called out of his office to talk on the 
long-distance telephone. When he fin-
ished the call, he reached into his 
pocket for his wallet, and lo, it was 
gone. He remembered he had left 
that wallet containing $500 on the 
counter in open sight in his office. 
While he was out telephoning, a 
man came into the office who had 
served five years in the penitentiary 
for robbery. In fact, he had stolen 
$40,000 just two blocks from this 
place some six years before. This man 
saw that wallet. It was lying there in 
open sight. There was nobody in the 
office to stop him from grabbing it 
and running. But he didn't make 
any effort to take it. He was not even 
tempted to do it. Why? The answer 
is in three words: "Saved by grace."' " 
"Do you know, we were discussing 
the subject of grace to-day at the 
office," interposed Joyce Clement; 
"but we did not reach any very satis-
factory conclusion. I should like to 
know what grace is." 
"Grace is commonly defined to 
mean pardon, or unmerited favour. 
That is to say, when a person receives 
that which he does not merit or de-
serve, he is said to be a recipient of 
4 
or 
grace. Sometimes when a criminal is 
pardoned there is written across the 
face of the pardon itself, 'Saved by 
Grace.' 
"I have a definition here from a 
modern writer that I think is very 
good: 'Grace is an attribute of God 
exercised toward undeserving human 
beings. We did not seek for it, but it 
was sent in search of us. God rejoices 
to bestow His grace upon us, not be-
cause we are worthy, but because we 
are so utterly unworthy. Our only 
claim to His mercy is our great need.' 
—Ministry of Healing, Mrs. E. G. 
White, p. 161. 
"It has sometimes come to pass that 
a man justly sentenced by the law to 
die for his crimes has been pardoned 
by the governor. He was guilty, and 
according to the law must die. He did 
not deserve mercy. Therefore, when 
he received pardon he became an ob-
ject of grace. The governor, by virtue 
of his office, chose to be merciful. 
The prisoner, then, came under the 
governor's grace or unmerited favour. 
"That illustrates how it is with 
God and man. Normally we are all 
under the death sentence of the law. 
The Word of God assures us: 'All 
have sinned, and come short of the 
glory of God.' Romans 3:23. We are 
told: 'There is none righteous, no, 
not one.' Verse 10. We are given to 
understand that 'the wages of sin is 
death.' Romans 6:23. We are all guilty. 
We have all sinned. None of us de- 
serves mercy, but God in His infinite 
goodness extends His mercy to us. He 
has provided a plan whereby we may 
become recipients of His grace. 
" 'God so loved the world, that He 
gave His only-begotten Son, that who-
soever believeth in Him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life.' 
John 3:16. When the sinner comes to 
the place where he will believe in 
and accept God's Son as his Saviour, 
when he comes to the place where he 
will confess his sins and turn away 
from them with genuine godly sor-
row, then He is forgiven and passes 
from under the condemnation of the 
law to be under God's grace or un-
merited favour." 
"When we began attending these 
studies, Mr. Hoover was an unbeliev-
er, and I was just about one, too; but 
now I think we have both come to 
the place where we want to be Chris-
tians," said Mrs. Hoover. 
"Yes, that's right, Pastor Flynn," 
spoke up Burt Hoover. "When I 
started attending these Bible studies 
I didn't believe a thing, but I see it 
all differently now. As my wife has 
said, we want to be Christians." 
"As far as we are concerned, we be-
gan attending these meetings as Cath-
olics; but I'll confess that I have 
learned more about the Bible in the 
last few weeks than I ever learned in 
all my previous life, and I think I am 
speaking for my wife when I say that 
we want to live according to all that 
SIGNS of the TIMES 
Grace 
Disgrace -- 
Which? 
By 
Dallas Youngs 
Surprising as it may 
seem, everyone is 
either under divine 
grace or disgrace. 
Faith and obedience 
obtain grace. Disbe-
lief and disobedience 
obtain disgrace. 
H A ROPERTS 
God teaches in the Bible," said Mr. 
Ryan with deep feeling. 
"That is the way I feel about it, 
too," added Mrs. Ryan. 
"As you know, my wife and I are 
Jewish," said Mr. Goldstein. "When 
I first came to the meetings it was 
mostly out of courtesy to Mr. Saun-
ders, and there was a little curiosity 
on my part. But I want to tell you 
that I have come to believe that 
Jesus was the Messiah. I can speak 
only for myself, but that is the way I 
feel about it." 
"We have never talked about it," 
spoke up Mrs. Goldstein; "but for a 
long time I have felt that Jesus was 
the Messiah, and I have wanted to ac-
cept Him and be a Christian. I have 
been praying that my husband would 
want to be one too. I am so happy." 
"I think we shall interrupt our Bi-
ble study right now and seek God in 
prayer," said Pastor Flynn, as he rec-
ognized the presence and work of the 
Holy Spirit. "We are going to kneel, 
MAY, 1 9 5 0 
and after I pray I want all of you to 
pray and confess your sins and accept 
Christ as your Saviour." 
The half hour that followed was 
such a precious occasion that no one 
present could ever forget it or be the 
same afterward. The Holy Spirit was 
present to convict of sin and to give 
repentance. After Pastor Flynn had 
finished praying, some who had never 
prayed audibly before sought the 
Lord with tears for the forgiveness of 
their sins. Mrs. Flynn, having passed 
through similar experiences, moved 
over and put her arm around Joyce 
Clement and urged her to make a 
complete surrender of her heart to 
Christ. At last she yielded, and with a 
choked voice said that for a long time 
she had felt that she was just a hypo-
crite because she was not living as 
she knew she should. In the meantime 
Mr. Saunders had been pleading with 
Harry Pierson to give himself to 
Christ. At last the young man yielded 
and prayed with much sincerity. 
When they had arisen from their 
knees, Pastor Flynn said: "You don't 
know how I rejoice at what you have 
done to-night. You have made deci-
sions for Christ that will affect both 
this life and eternity. God will bless 
you as you take up your new life of 
service for Him; but do not imagine 
that you will not have trials and dis-
couragements. Satan will try to dis-
hearten you. He will call attention to 
mistakes that you make and that others 
make, but when he comes in as a flood, 
God will come in and raise a barrier 
against him as you pray. Remember 
that Jesus is an ever-present help in 
time of trouble. Now, I suppose, we 
had better go on with our Bible 
study." 
"I was talking with one of the 
neighbours a few days ago," said Mrs. 
Saunders, "and she said that when one 
is under grace one does not have to 
keep the law any more. She said that 
once a person is under grace he is 
always under grace. Frankly, I didn't 
know very much about it, but I won-
dered if that were right." 
"Suppose we let the Bible answer 
that question, Mrs. Saunders. I am 
going to read now from Romans 6: 
I, 2, 14, 15: 'What shall we say then? 
Shall we continue in sin, that grace 
may abound? God forbid. How shall 
we, that are dead to sin, live any 
longer therein?' For sin shall not 
have dominion over you: for ye are 
not under the law, but under grace. 
What then? shall we sin, because we 
are not under the law, but under 
grace? God forbid.' 
"These verses are sometimes mis-
applied. When it says here that Chris-
tians are not under the law, but under 
grace, it means that they are no 
longer under the condemnation of 
the law. It does not mean that they 
are no longer bound to obey the law. 
There is a sense in which everyone is 
under the law. Adam and Eve were 
under it in that sense before they 
sinned. They were under the domin-
ion or control of the law. We are all 
under the dominion of the laws of 
our country, but we are not under 
their condemnation, because we have 
not broken them. It was that way with 
Adam and Eve. Before they sinned 
they were under the dominion of 
God's law, the ten commandments, 
but after they transgressed the law 
they were under its condemnation 
and must die. 
"When the sinner confesses his sins 
and obtains forgiveness, he is no lon-
ger under the law in the sense that 
he is condemned by it, but he is still 
under its dominion. He is still under 
its control. He is not free to break it 
again any more than Adam and Eve 
were at the beginning. If he does 
break it while he is under grace, then 
he ceases to be under grace and comes 
again under the condemnation of the 
law, and he must again seek the Lord 
for forgiveness. That is what Paul 
means when he uses that strongest of 
negatives in answer to the question: 
'What then? shall we sin [transgress 
the law, 1 John 3:4], because we are 
not under the law, but under grace?' 
Here is the answer: 'God forbid.' 
"Does the fact that a man is under 
grace give him the right to break the 
ten commandments? Does it give him 
the right to break the eighth com-
mandment, which says, 'Thou shalt 
not steal'? Of course not. You all 
agree that there is and can be but 
one answer to that question. Grace 
does not give any man the right to 
steal. 
"It is the design and purpose of 
grace to bring every man into har-
mony with the law. Therefore, when 
the Christian violates the law of God, 
instead of continuing in grace he 
comes under disgrace. It is indeed a 
matter of disgrace for the Christian 
to lie, to swear, to break the Sabbath, 
to- steal, to worship idols, or to tram-
ple underfoot any of the command-
ments of God." 
"Do I understand, then," said Har-
ry Pierson, "that one of the purposes 
of grace is to save us so that we can 
be obedient to God's law?" 
"You have the idea exactly. In fact 
that is what David says in Psalm 119: 
146: 'I cried unto Thee; save me, and 
I shall keep Thy testimonies.' We 
should connect with this Romans 3: 
31: 'Do we then make void the law 
through faith? God forbid: yea, we 
establish the law.' When the sinner is 
born again, and comes to have faith 
in Christ as his personal Saviour, this 
does not make void the law of God. 
It does not in any way release the in-
dividual from his obligation to obey 
the law. The fact is, the coming of 
faith establishes the keeping of the 
ten commandments." 
"Would I be correct in making the 
statement that God manifested His 
grace through Jesus Christ?" asked 
Mrs. Saunders. 
"I would say so very definitely," re-
plied Pastor Flynn. "Here are some 
quotations that I believe establish 
that point: 'The law demands right-
eousness, and this the sinner owes to 
the law; but he is incapable of ren-
dering it. . . . When the sinner be-
lieves that Christ is his personal Sav-
iour, then, according to His unfailing 
promises, God pardons his sin, and 
justifies him freely. The repentant 
soul realizes that his justification comes 
because Christ, as his substitute and 
surety, has died for him, is his atone-
ment and righteouness.' — Ellen G. 
White, in Review and Herald, Nov. 
4, 1890. 
" "By the law is the knowledge of 
sin." The knowledge of sin; not the 
deliverance from sin. The law points 
out sin. In so doing it declares the 
whole world to be guilty before God. 
Romans 3. But the law cannot deliver 
from sin. No effort of the sinner to 
obey the law can cancel his guilt or 
bring to him the righteousness of 
God. . . . It is through faith in the 
blood of Christ that all the sins of 
the believer are cancelled and the 
righteousness of God is put in their 
place to the believer's account.' —
Christ Our Righteousness, Arthur G. 
Daniells, pp. 14, 15." 
"Are there any texts in the Bible 
that show in so many words that those 
who are finally saved, the saints, keep 
the ten commandments?" inquired 
Mrs. Ryan. 
"There are, Mrs. Ryan. I am going 
to read first, Revelation 14:12: 'Here 
is the patience of the saints: here are 
they that keep the commandments 
of God, and the faith of Jesus.' Again: 
'Blessed are they that do His com-
mandments, that they may have right 
to the tree of life, and may enter in 
through the gates into the city.' Reve-
lation 22:14. 
"You notice that 'commandment 
keeping' is one of the points upon 
which the saints are characterized. 
They are an obedient people. If they 
were not they would not be saints. 
You could not conceive of a disobe-
dient saint. They are further charac-
terized by being people of faith and 
patience. To be identified as a saint, 
a person must possess patience, obedi-
ence and faith." 
Now that you have read and studied the 
lesson on Grace or Disgrace—Which? turn 
to page 18 and fill in the answers to Pas-
tor Flynn's Quiz. 
The POWER of INFLUENCE 
An Article for Youth by Gordon W. Frederick 
/
WILL cause them to be removed 
into all the kingdoms of the earth, 
because of Manasseh." Jeremiah 
15:4. This is a startling accusation. 
It says that God is fixing the respon-
sibility for the downfall of the Jewish 
nation upon one individual. Can it 
be possible that the fact that the Jews 
are scattered in all the nations of the 
world, as we see them to-day, is the 
result of one man's doings? Manasseh 
was only a young man at the time 
this verdict of "guilty" was rendered. 
How could one youth exert such a 
wide and far-reaching influence for 
ill? 
This charge is all the more astonish-
ing when we remember that Manas-
seh in the last years of his life was a 
good man. It was only when he was 
young that he did wrong. As he grew 
older he became a very righteous man. 
When in his later years he came to 
know God and to live for Him, he 
did all he could to undo the evils 
of his ill-spent youth. How is it, then, 
that this terrible record remains 
chalked up against his name? 
Every young man and woman 
should take the time to read his life 
story. It is not only interesting but it 
also illustrates one of the most basic 
and vital principles of life, which if 
a young person appropriates in his 
early days and continues to apply 
throughout his life, will not only pre-
vent him from being a curse to others 
but will also save him many a sad re- 
gret. This example of Manasseh's gives 
lie to our false and easy conception 
of sin. It demonstrates so vividly the 
truth that the only salvation that can 
mean the most, is the salvation that 
grips us from life's earliest moment 
to its very last. 
Manasseh began to reign when he 
was only twelve years old. Shortly 
after he took the throne he began to 
indulge in every known kind of sin. 
Manasseh's guilt was aggravated by 
the fact that he was repeatedly 
warned. God sent him message after 
message in an effort to save him. But 
the worst part of all was the fact that 
he did not sin alone. When he de-
graded himself he took a kingdom 
with him. 
6 �
SIGNS of the TIMES 
"Wherewithal shall a young man [or young woman) cleanse his way? by taking heed 
thereto according to Thy Word. . . . Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might 
not sin against Thee." Psalm 119: 9, 11. 
Inevitably there came a time when 
this young sinner began to pay the 
penalty for his sins. Retribution 
slipped up on him and jarred the 
throne from under him and knocked 
the crown from his proud head. It 
bound him with chains and delivered 
him into a foreign country. What ef-
fect did this have on young Manasseh? 
Penalty for wrongdoing has very dif-
ferent effects on different types of 
characters. With one it only serves to 
harden, while with another it softens. 
With this young man it served to make 
him think. God has accomplished 
much for us if He succeeds in getting 
us to think. This experience not only 
made Manasseh think, but it brought 
him to his knees in humble and sin-
cere repentance. 
Manasseh sought God for forgive-
ness, and God forgave him. He had 
come to hate the sin that had been his 
ruin, and God not only forgave him 
but brought him again to his throne. 
For the remainder of his life he fol-
lowed God's will. Then it was that he 
tried to rectify and remedy the situa-
tion in the kingdom that had come as 
a result of his former example. But 
with what result? He did not succeed. 
He found that it was far easier to lead 
men astray than it is to bring them 
back. It was the sad experience of this 
good man to have to stand by utterly 
helpless and see his nation go down 
MAY, 1 9 5 0 
to ruin and know that it was but the 
fruit of his early seed-sowing. He was 
not able to save even his own son. 
Amon was born only to grow up to 
be a godless idolater. 
Thus we are brought face to face 
with this tremendous fact. Repentance 
will bring us salvation whenever we 
repent, but there is one thing repent-
ance cannot do. It cannot save us and 
others from the consequences of our 
sins. Go out into the field of life and 
sow tares for half a century, if you 
dare. Even then God will forgive you 
if your repentance is genuine, but re-
member what God cannot and will 
not do. He cannot change into wheat 
the tares that you have sown. 
God will never, in His mercy, per-
mit us to go this dangerous way with-
out warning us as He did Manasseh. 
In the experiences of everyday life 
God sends us messages of warning and 
counsel even as He did to the youth-
ful king. He calls us through our 
conscience. He speaks to us through 
our wretchedness and restlessness and 
hunger of heart. He appeals to us 
through our longing for usefulness. 
And He wants us to remember such 
examples as that of Manasseh so we 
will understand what He is trying to 
do for us. 
Retribution does not always come 
as it came to this man Manasseh. It 
does not always come so promptly, 
but it comes surely and inexorably. 
There are some superficial souls who 
think that because sin does not pay off 
every week end there is no pay-off at 
all. One time a friend of a certain 
minister took his little baby to an eye 
specialist. The child's eyes were very 
bad. When the physician examined 
them he shook his head solemnly. 
"Her eyes will never get better," he 
stated, "but they will get worse. She 
will be blind before she is grown." 
The father's face went white as he 
asked, "Doctor, you know my youth 
wasn't what it ought to have been. Is 
that the cause?" And the doctor an-
swered, "You needn't have reminded 
me. Yes, that is the cause." It was a 
brokenhearted, praying and penitent 
father that kissed the dim eyes of his 
baby girl to sleep that night. Oh, of 
course, God forgave him and pitied 
him, but there was one thing that that 
forgiveness did not, could not, in-
clude. That was daylight for his little 
girl. 
It is so profoundly true that no 
man ever sins alone. Your influence 
will not be so wide, perhaps, as Ma-
nasseh's, but however obscure your 
life may be, it can set in motion influ-
ences that will literally outlast the 
world. Remember this, you have con-
trol over your action before it is done, 
but after it is done you will seek to 
control it in vain. Like the ripples 
from a stone thrown into the mill-
pond, it will spread to its unknown 
limit. Like a fiend, it laughs its devil-
ish and decisive sneer in your face and 
says, "Control me now, if you can." 
"I will cause them to be removed in-
to all kingdoms of the earth because 
of Manasseh." Yes, Manasseh turned 
out to be good, but the influences that 
he set in motion went beyond his 
reach forevermore. What a fearful 
fact is this! What poignant proof of 
the working out of this principle God 
has given us in the history of the Jews! 
I am talking to young men and 
young women—you who have your 
lives before you. Stop and think be-
fore you act. Do not throw your lives 
away for one temporary and imagi-
nary desire. Remember Esau's pathetic 
experience? He sold his birthright for 
one mess of lentils. Nor was he dis-
pleased with his bargain—that is, not 
for awhile. But eventually there came 
the time when he was sorry. There 
came a time when the thought of his 
foolish barter broke his heart. 
Think for a moment of that star-
tling chapter in the life story of David. 
Yes, his repentance for the deed itself 
was wholehearted. God heard his 
prayer and forgave him, but beyond 
that, God, with all His love and mercy, 
(Please turn to page 15) 
7 
WORLD 
AS WE SEE IT! 
A Prophetic Interpretation 
of Current Events! 
Don't Give the Injured a Cigarette 
THAT is the advice of the Mayo Clinic after pro-
longed experiment on "The Effects of Smoking Ciga-
rettes." "The habit of giving an injured soldier a 
cigarette is not advisable if arterial injury has oc-
curred, as segmental spasm of the artery is common 
in such trauma, and the vasoconstriction in a person 
sensitive to tobacco may cause irreparable damage." 
Experiments showed that on the average the pulse 
rate increased thirty-six beats per minute because of 
smoking. On the average, also, blood pressure showed 
an average of a nineteen-point rise. Therefore, the 
recommendation is, and it is an inflexible one: "No 
smoking for those with heart disease or high blood 
pressure." 
The argument is that the healthy heart can readily 
stand the strain imposed by cigarette smoking, but 
the diseased heart just can't take it. It is the humble 
opinion of this writer that if nicotine and its poison-
ous by-products are injurious to the diseased heart, 
they are of no benefit to the healthy heart. In fact it 
would seem altogether reasonable to conclude that 
they would serve to weaken and injure the heart and 
affect the blood pressure. 
Many people are disturbed, and their worries 
about the injurious effects of the cigarette are allayed 
due to the fact that many doctors smoke. They think 
cigarettes can't be very harmful or those who are 
supposed to know would not use them. What is the 
answer? This: Nicotine is a drug. And, once the 
habit is started, the doctor, who is a human being 
the same as the rest of us, cannot quit. It is not that 
the doctor does not know the detrimental effects of 
the "weed," but he is bound by the nicotine drug 
habit, and in order to justify himself in the use of 
cigarettes, he minimizes their injurious effects. 
It is not uncommon to hear the smoker boast, "I 
can quit any time I want to." But the amazing thing 
about it is that he never comes to the place where 
he wants to badly enough to make the victorious 
effort. Perhaps he has made the effort and has failed 
—many have. There are many we believe, however, 
who would gladly be freed from this costly, injurious 
habit. But it takes a determined effort of the will 
to break it. Yet it can be done. This writer knows. 
He did it many years ago. Then, I experienced the 
so-called pleasures of smoking; but since quitting 
S 
I have experienced the far greater pleasures of not 
smoking. 
To smokers reading this editorial, I would say 
that if you want to get freedom from the cigarette 
master, and if you are willing to put forth a deter-
mined effort on your own part, the CANADIAN SIGNS 
OF THE TIMES makes the following free offer to you: 
We will send you without cost Dr. Kress's prescription 
on "How to Cure the Cigarette Habit." Dr. Kress, 
a physician of fifty years' standing, will give you help-
ful advice as you battle the cigarette monster. Address 
your request to: The Editor, CANADIAN SIGNS OF THE 
TIMES, Oshawa, Ontario. 
s CAMPBELL 
SIGNS of the TIMES 
MILLER 
The Mosque of Omar and the Garden of Gethsemane are but two 
of the many "holy" places in the area of Jerusalem, the city held 
sacred in the minds of millions. 
Holy Places 
"THE eternal city of the Jewish people has been 
proclaimed the capital of Israel. On Tuesday, De-
cember 12, the Knesset (Israel Parliament) decided 
to transfer the seat of government from Tel Aviv to 
Jerusalem. Premier David Ben-Gurion has an-
nounced that the government is determined to carry 
out the transfer of all Israel administration to the 
Holy City, moving all government departments and 
the parliament. 
"Ben-Gurion made public this decision in the face 
of a United Nations resolution to set up an interna-
tional regime for the Jerusalem area. In a statement 
at Tiberias, the Premier declared that 'no vote of the 
United Nations can alter the historic fact that Jeru-
salem is an inseparable part of Israel, and her eternal 
capital.' Announcing the dramatic move Ben-Gurion 
told the session of the Knesset: 'We cannot lend our-
selves to enforced separation from Jerusalem . . . as 
for the State of Israel, there always has been and al-
ways will be one capital—Jerusalem the Eternal. So 
it has been for the past 3000 years and so it will be, 
we believe, until the end of time.' "—The California 
Jewish Voice. 
After the death of Saul, David was anointed king 
over Judah, establishing his capital at Hebron. After 
a reign of seven years and six months he was a-
nointed king over all Israel, and transferred his 
capital to Jerusalem. From that time to this in the 
Hebrew mind, Jerusalem has been the holy city, the 
nation's capital, the centre of Israel's hope. 
News of the transfer of Israel's seat of government 
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, therefore, comes as no 
great surprise. Zionists the world over rejoice in the 
move. 
Scores and more of "holy places," places sacred 
in Jewish history, are located at Jerusalem. It was on 
Mount Moriah that Abraham offered Isaac. It was 
here that Solomon built the house of the Lord. It 
was here that the captives returned after the exile 
and rebuilt it. Jerusalem was the centre of the na- 
M A Y 1 9 5 0 
tion's worship for a thousand years before Christ 
and for seventy years afterward. It is therefore un-
derstandable that this place is to this day the most 
sacred spot on earth to the Jewish mind. 
Yet the significant, and we might say, the danger-
ous, thing about it is that this city contains also the 
"holy places" of the Christians and of the Moham-
medans. To the Christians, Jerusalem is the place 
where Christ spent much of His ministry, where He 
was crucified, where He was buried in Joseph's tomb, 
where He rose from the grave, where He first ap-
peared to His followers; and from the Mount of 
Olives, near at hand, He ascended to heaven. 
The Mohammedan Arab, as the Jew, claims Abra-
ham as his father. To him as well as to the Jew 
and the Christian, Jerusalem is a hallowed spot. It 
was from here that Mohammed reputedly ascended to 
heaven. A Mohammedan mosque is built on the 
very site of Solomon's temple. 
It was these same holy places that inspired the 
crusades, which were an attempt on the part of the 
European Christians to free the holy places from 
the dominion of the heathen. Tens of thousands 
perished in the attempt. 
Bible prophecy tells us of the coming battle of 
Armageddon, in which the kings of the East will 
meet the kings of the West on the plains of Megiddo. 
We conceive that the "holy places" of the Holy Land 
may be a contributing cause of the final great con-
flict. 
KEYSTONE VIEW CO 
Many earnest Christians think that the New Testament contradicts or supersedes the 
Old. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Old Testament is the "solid foun-
dation" upon which the New is built. 
A
MONG many people who are 
well disposed toward the Bible 
there has developed during re-
cent years a feeling of doubt and un-
belief in the Old Testament which 
causes them to reject it as reliable or 
as a part of the Word of God. They 
accept the New Testament, so they 
insist, but reject the Old. They believe 
the two Testaments to be contradic-
tory and in conflict with each other. 
The God of the Old Testament, 
they say, is different from the God of 
the New Testament. They consider 
the God of the New Testament to be 
presented as a God of love—full of 
mercy and pity and tenderness. To 
them the God of the Old Testament 
seems a God of wrath and anger. 
Such an objection is the result of a 
profound misunderstanding of the 
teaching of the New Testament as 
well as the Old. 
10 
It is true that the New Testament 
presents God as a God of love. It does 
not stop there, however. It also pre-
sents this God of love as a God of 
justice who will punish sin. 
All the passages of the New Tes-
tament which set forth the love of 
God also disclose the dark background 
of the wrath of God against all un-
godliness. "The gift of God is eternal 
life." Nothing sounds more satisfying 
than that. But do not fail to observe 
that it is immediately preceded by, 
"The wages of sin is death." 
"God so loved the world, that He 
gave His only-begotten Son." Wonder-
ful! But notice, the next phrase is 
"that whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish." And instantly 
there comes to the front the fact that 
the God who out of love gave His Son, 
is the God of holiness who must turn 
away from sin, and that it is the very 
love of God which must react against 
sin, because God is a consuming fire 
against it. 
Consequently, the very thing which 
makes the New Testament so accept-
able, that is, the atonement of Christ, 
His sacrifice for sin on the cross, can 
never be understood at all except on 
the basis that God must punish sin, 
that the wrath of God abides on it, 
and that it must be destroyed and re-
moved before unregenerate men can 
be the recipients of the blessedness of 
the gospel, and return to communion 
with Him. 
The Wrath of God 
"The wrath of God," the expression 
which is so abhorrent to men to-day, 
and because of which they reject the 
Old Testament, is nevertheless the 
leading idea in the New Testament 
from its beginning. 
What was it John the Baptist 
preached? Wrath against evil. 
What is declared to us in John 3: 
36? "He that believeth on the Son 
hath everlasting life: but he that be-
lieveth not the Son shall not see life; 
but the wrath of God abideth on 
him." 
And what is the whole culmination 
of the Revelation? The Son of God is 
at last to come again in order that He 
may take to Himself those who have 
chosen Him as Saviour and Lord, 
while the judgment of God must be 
executed on those who have rejected 
Him. 
Clearly, then, the Old Testament 
conception of God is the very basis 
on which the sacrificial love of Jesus 
Christ glows from all the pages of the 
New Testament. The Testaments are 
not in opposition. 
The difference consists only in 
method and form of presentation. The 
Old declares, God is holy; you are 
sinful; the wrath of God abides upon 
you. 0 that the Redeemer would come 
and provide salvation! 
The New announces, He has come; 
He has provided salvation; the holy 
God finds no other way to save you 
save through the expiatory death of 
His Son; understand then how ter-
rible a thing sin is that it required 
the sacrifice of God's own Son to re-
move it. 
The Judgments of God 
Another objection urged against the 
Old Testament to-day is that it con-
tains record upon record of God's 
judgments. The primal pair were ban-
ished from Eden because of their 
disobedience; the earth was cursed 
because of the transgression of its in-
habitants; the flood swept the race 
off the earth; the builders of the 
tower of Babel were punished by the 
SIGNS of the TIMES 
ARE THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 
Contradictory* 
By CARLYLE B. HAYNES 
confusion of tongues; judgments fell 
upon the Egyptians and other enemies 
of Israel; similar judgments fell upon 
Israel itself; and other judgments in 
much detail are recorded in the Old 
Testament. 
So, it is concluded, the Old Testa-
ment God is a God of judgments. 
The conclusion is right. He is a God 
of judgments. But the reason is that 
He is also a God of mercy and of love. 
He had in mind always in His dealings 
with men and nations the sending of 
His Son to lay the groundwork of hu- 
man salvation. He did not purpose 
that the race which He planned to 
save should be brought to an end by 
pollution, defilement and apostasy. 
The ultimate judgment He would 
postpone as long as possible in order 
to bring in redemption. So He sent 
preliminary judgments in order to 
make it possible for mankind to carry 
on. 
If Adam and Eve had remained in 
Eden in a state of sin, the race would 
shortly have ended. The race would 
have perished in Noah's day, poisoned 
by its own corruption. God's judgment 
on it made it possible to make a new 
beginning. Such judgments were sent 
in order that God might continue His 
dealings in mercy. 
In the Old Testament as in the 
New there are many expressions of 
loving-kindness and tenderness from 
God. He "will abundantly pardon." 
"With the Lord there is . . . plenteous 
redemption." "Can a woman forget 
her sucking child? . . . Yet will I not 
forget thee." "The mountains shall 
depart, and the hills be removed; but 
My kindness shall not depart from 
thee." "How shall I give thee up, 
Ephraim?" "There is forgiveness with 
Thee, that Thou mayest be 
feared." "Ho, every one that 
thirsteth, come ye to the wa-
ters." "Though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as 
snow." 
The Severity of God 
As a matter of fact, the sever-
ity of God against sin is more 
pronounced in the New Testa-
ment than in the Old. And that 
is so because sin is seen more 
clearly in its enormity because 
of the increased light of the 
MAY, 1 9 5 0 
gospel. God did, indeed, tell His an-
cient people how awful sin is, but He 
was unable to make plain to them 
what He has made plain to us; namely, 
the substitutionary atonement of His 
Son, and His sacrificial death. God 
was unable to say to Israel what 
He has said in the gospel, Sin is 
this—that you would destroy God; 
you would kill Mel Nothing com-
pared with that was revealed in the 
Old Testament. But when men cruci-
fied Jesus, sin stood forth in its real 
character. 
The Old Testament does not con-
tain such a severe definition of sin as 
that it is enmity against God. It is the 
New Testament which should make 
men tremble. It is not out of the Old 
Testament, but out of the lips of 
Jesus, that the words issue: "These 
shall go away into everlasting punish-
ment." 
Another objection which is urged 
against the Old Testament is that in 
its records the followers of God, and 
even God Himself, are vindictive. The 
friends of God are represented as call-
ing on God to visit judgments on their 
enemies. It almost appears as if they 
wanted and prayed for the annihila-
tion of the ungodly, rather than their 
salvation. This is not commendable, 
we are told, in the light of the New 
Testament's teaching of forgiving and 
loving our enemies. 
There are those who attempt to 
reply to this by admitting that such 
a spirit is wrong, and was wrong when 
manifested by Old Testament saints. 
But, they add, there was nothing to 
do but record it because it was true. 
Those ancient worthies did possess 
those feelings, but they were wrong. 
Another explanation is equally in-
adequate. It is that humanity was 
then in its infancy, and allowance 
must be made for such feelings be-
cause of the immaturity of the race; 
but now these things have disap-
peared, and nothing in the gospel or 
the New Testament corresponds with 
them. Such an explanation is simply 
not true. If it were true, then, indeed, 
the Old and the New Testaments are 
at odds. 
The teachings of the Old Testa-
ment, however, about our relation 
and duty to enemies is not different 
from the teachings of the New Testa-
ment on the same point. In writing 
to the Romans on this subject, Paul 
discloses that he knows of no higher, 
better, or more perfect injunction to 
express than one which he goes to the 
Old Testament to quote: "If thine 
enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, 
give him drink." Romans 12:20; Prov-
erbs 25:21. 
Israel was taught from 
the beginning that vindic-
tiveness is wrong, and they 
were not to take venge-
ance in their own hands, 
but commit it to God. 
They were instructed, "If 
thou meet thine enemy's 
ox or his ass going astray, 
thou shalt surely bring it 
hack to him again. If thou 
see the ass of him that 
hateth thee lying under 
his burden, and wouldest 
forbear to help him, thou 
shalt surely help with 
him." 
/1 
Equations of Destiny 
What the experts think may be the most important scientific development 
in many decades has been recently announced by the world-renowned mathe-
matician, Albert Einstein. This was revealed in the publishing of four 
equations which, Einstein believes, express the correlation between electro-
magnetism and gravitation. 
Scientists have for a good while believed that these two forces are inter-
related, since their properties touch at many points. Einstein thinks his 
equations—incomprehensible to even most mathematicians—express com-
pletely this interrelation. His new theory will be much harder to prove correct 
than his earlier theory of relativity. If it does prove to be correct it will be 
the crowning work of his career thus far. 
Fearful Promise 
Few people will be cheered by news that United States scientists now 
definitely believe that they can manufacture a hydrogen atom bomb, thus 
utilizing the same sort of titanic energy that gives the sun its heat. A hydrogen 
bomb could be at least 1,000 times as powerful as the bombs dropped during 
the war, and might devastate 100 square miles each. The cost of development 
is estimated at two to four billion dollars. The cost to the world, if it is 
developed and used, may be many times that. Originally shelved because of 
the cost, and the resulting danger of the expenditure's upsetting the national 
economy, the project may be pushed ahead now because of the knowledge 
that Russia has the atom bomb. 
Alcoholism, Of Course 
Rated as the most serious cause of behaviour illnesses known to modern 
man, alcoholism is on the increase in spite of all the efforts being made to 
combat it—all the efforts, that is, excepting stopping its manufacture and 
sale. No less an authority than the Journal of Clinical Psychopathology is 
responsible for the above rating, in an article by Dr. Robert V. Seliger, chief 
psychiatrist of the Neuro-psychiatric Institute of Baltimore. He says that the 
toll in money, happiness, lives and alcoholically induced accidents is in-
calculable. 
PAS 
Para-aminosalicylic acid is the name of a drug used in a new treatment of 
tuberculosis. Used in Europe for this purpose first, the drug has been viewed 
with skepticism by U. S. doctors. However, recent tests have been made in 
a California sanatorium and results are so promising that it is likely its use 
will spread. Altogether, 150 patients have been treated, some with striking 
improvement. Only one got worse. The drug reduces fever, spitting and the 
toxic effects of tubercle bacilli in the body of the patient. PAS is the abbrevia-
tion for this promising new compound. 
NE evening following a revival 
O service in Chicago an elderly 
Scotsman made his way to the 
inquiry room for a personal interview 
with the great Evangelist Moody. 
He said, "Mr. Moody, when I was 
but a small laddie I began to read my 
Bible and as I read along in the Old 
Testament I realized that if a person 
were to keep the law perfectly for 
fifty years and then break it a great 
curse would rest upon him. Though 
I was but a child a terrible distress 
of soul burdened me. But I kept on 
reading. I finished the Old Testa-
ment and commenced reading the 
New. One day I came to the beauti-
ful provision of John 3:16 and the 
great truth dawned upon me that 
God had provided a wonderful way of 
escape from the curse of the law 
through the death of His Son Jesus. 
The burden that had weighed so 
heavily upon my young heart for 
many months rolled away and I 
found peace and joy in my newly 
found Saviour. Mr. Moody, do you 
think I was converted?" 
The evangelist looked the old man 
straight in the eye and replied, "It 
sounds to me as though you had a 
wonderful conversion!" 
"I thought so, too," the Scotsman 
continued, "but as I grew older I fell 
into bad company. The boys I ran 
with drank and gambled. It was easy 
for me to fall into the clutches of evil. 
and now to-day you see me a confirmed 
drunkard and gambler. Now my ques-
tion, Mr. Moody, is, 'If God could 
save me in the first place and forgive 
my sins, why did He not keep me in 
that original saved condition and give 
me the victory over every temptation 
that came to me?' " 
"The trouble with you, my friend," 
replied Mr. Moody, "is that you have 
only half the gospel. You believed that 
Christ died for your sins and that you 
were justified. But that is only half 
the gospel. Christ not only died for 
you but He came forth from the tomb 
a living Saviour into whose hands God 
had given all power in heaven and in 
earth. Do you believe that?" 
"I do," the Scotsman replied. 
"Then, my friend, the other half of 
the gospel is that in the living Christ 
there is power to live the life of victory 
over sin. You need the other half of 
the gospel." 
Are you one of the countless sinners 
or halting Christians to-day who need 
to know the blessed truth about the 
other half of the gospel? Are you fee-
bly and ineffectively struggling for re-
lease from the vice-like grip of evil 
habit or conscious sin? 
If so then these words are for you! 
One Christian writer who had 
found the secret of victorious living 
says, "The plan of redemption contem- 
12 �
SIGNS of the TIMES 
13 
The OTHER HALF 
plates our complete recovery from 
Satan."—The Desire of Ages, E. G. 
White, p. 311. Not only will Christ for-
give our sins when first we come to 
Him, but day by day He can and will 
impart to us the help and strength we 
need to meet every temptation the 
evil one brings to us. We cannot hope 
to enter heaven until we have gained 
the victory over those sins that so 
easily beset us. The thief must stop 
stealing. The murderer must leave his 
killing. The profane man must gain 
the victory over his evil tongue. The 
unruly child must learn obedience and 
respect for his parents. The twentieth 
century idolater must rid his heart 
temple of those idols of wealth, posi-
tion, pleasure or whatever it may be. 
We cannot enter the gates of pearl 
and inhabit the mansions of God 
while we are still clinging to our sins. 
"The plan of redemption contem-
plates our complete recovery from 
sin." 
How does that victory over sin 
come? Paul answers the question for 
us: "The victory is ours, Thank God! 
He makes it ours by our Lord Jesus 
Christ!" 1 Corinthians 15:57, Moffatt. 
There is the secret of victorious 
Christian living. Were we all million-
aires we could not buy it! Though we 
possessed the ceremonial finery of a 
Saul of Tarsus we could not merit it. 
But thank God it is given to us, with-
out money and without price, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ! 
The Lord of heaven who loves you 
interposes on your behalf in your great 
struggle against Satan. He has prom-
ised that never will He permit Satan 
to come to you with any temptation 
that must overwhelm you. This is 
part of the other half of the gospel! 
Listen to these words: "There hath no 
temptation taken you but such as is 
common to man: but God is faithful, 
who will not suffer you to be tempted 
above that ye are able." I Corinthians 
10:13. 
That is a blessed promise, is it not? 
Sometimes we feel we have more than 
our share of temptations and that we 
cannot possibly meet them all success-
fully. Listen, my friend: God will 
never permit Satan to tempt you more 
than He will help you to bear! 
You have seen a little dog on a leash 
out for exercise with its master. It may 
strain and tug for all it is worth but it 
can go only as far as the hand of the 
M A Y 1 9 5 0 
By Robert Pierson 
master permits. Similarly God has 
Satan on a leash, as it were, and he can 
go only as far as God will allow. 
This was true in the experience of 
Job. God permitted Satan to attack 
Job and tempt him sorely. But Job's 
eavenly Father also said, "Thus far 
can you go, Satan, and no farther." 
(See Job 1:6-12.) So it is with every 
child of God. Tests and temptations 
come to us that our characters may be 
perfected, but our Father in heaven 
keeps the evil one in check and will 
not allow him to tempt us more than 
we are able to bear. 
The gospel prophet Isaiah also gives 
us this blessed assurance of help in the 
hour of temptation: "When the enemy 
shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of 
the Lord shall lift up a standard 
against him." Isaiah 59:19. 
If Satan has been overwhelming you 
with his onslaughts, there is a promise 
for you, my friend, that will help you. 
Pray earnestly that the Lord will lift 
up a standard against the evil one on 
your behalf! Cling to the promise, and 
your heavenly Father will fulfil His 
Word to you! 
A little story I heard some years ago 
beautifully illustrates this blessed truth 
we all must learn and make our own: 
A young man whose past exemplary 
life bespoke a deep Christian experi-
ence found himself slipping as he was 
thrown with a group of godless, pro-
fane fellow workmen. Almost ready to 
give up under the pressure of his sur-
roundings, he sought his pastor and 
The gospel of 
Jesus Christ has 
power to save a 
man from sin, and 
power to keep 
him from sinning 
after he is saved. 
It is an omnipo- 
tent gospel. 
H. �
M. 
LAM BERT 
poured out his heart, asking for coun-
sel. 
"How can I live the Christian life, 
working as I do in such an atmosphere 
of infidelity where every conversation 
is filled with smut and profanity?" 
Sitting on the table by the minister's 
side was a beautiful pure white lily. 
Pointing to the graceful flower the 
minister asked: 
"Do you know where this lovely 
flower came from?" 
"Why, yes," the young man replied, 
"it came from a dark unlovely bulb 
that had been planted first in the black, 
rich soil brought from the marsh." 
"That is right, my friend, that lovely 
pure white blossom came from the 
black marsh soil. But what has kept 
it pure and white coming from such 
a place?" 
"Why, God kept it so!" the young 
man replied unhesitatingly. 
"Exactly," the minister agreed, "and 
He will keep you so, too, if you will 
but let Him!" 
Yes, and He will keep you too, if 
only you but learn to "let go and let 
God." The battle is in the hands of a 
Captain who has never known defeat. 
It is He who promises you the victory 
for which you long! Paraphrasing the 
words of Paul, "The victory is yours, 
thank God! He makes it yours by our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 
Won't you accept by faith the other 
half of the gospel now — yes, right 
now? If you will, God will bless. 
IBLE 
rOta "Bible Answerman 
Send your Bible and religious questions to "The Bible Answerman" 
Box 398, Oshawa, Ontario. 
Dear Bible Answerman: Why did not 
God kill the devil as soon as he sinned in 
heaven? 
That is a good question, and one 
that perplexes many people. It is cer-
tainly true that God had power to de-
stroy the rebel at once, and He would 
have done so had it been best for the 
universe in its future peace and happi-
ness. 
In considering this question we 
must remember that Satan had made 
certain charges against the govern-
ment of God and against the law of 
God. God's government is one of love, 
but Satan claimed that it was unjust, 
and that if he had a chance to demon-
strate his form of government he 
would execute justice and give the 
angels the full liberty that they de-
served. It must also be kept in mind 
that Lucifer occupied a high position 
in the heavenly government. And an-
other thing to remember is the fact 
that none of the angels of God had 
ever before had the slightest experience 
with sin and rebellion. They were un-
able to discern it as the awful thing 
that it is. 
Had God exercised His power and 
destroyed Lucifer and his rebellious 
followers at once, the loyal angels and 
the rest of the inhabitants of the uni-
verse could not have discerned the 
issue clearly. There would ever have 
remained in the minds of some the 
thought that perhaps, after all, Luci-
fer was right in his contentions, and 
there would have been repeated re-
bellions down through the aeons of 
time. 
There was but one thing that God 
could do, and that was to confine the 
rebellion to one place in His vast uni-
verse, and allow Satan time to demon-
strate the nature of his government of 
force. Therefore, God cast the rebels 
to this earth and has given Satan six 
thousand years to show the brand of 
justice and freedom that he claimed 
was superior to God's government of 
love. The angels of heaven and the in-
habitants of all the other worlds of the 
universe have been privileged to look 
upon this earth during the period of 
Satan's rule and to see for themselves 
14 
the awful nature of the angel who 
came to be the god of this world. 
This world has been an object les-
son to the rest of the inhabitants of 
the universe. They saw the Son of God 
lay aside His great glory in heaven and 
come to this earth, take upon Himself 
sinful flesh, and live here in the very 
land of the enemy for more than 
thirty-three years. They saw the temp-
tations and persecutions to which He 
was submitted by Satan. They saw the 
devil inspire sinful men to cry out for 
the blood of the Innocent One. They 
saw the mob demanding of Pilate that 
He be crucified. They saw the robber 
Barabbas preferred to their beloved 
commander. They saw Him mocked, 
scourged, smitten, spit upon. They 
saw wicked men under the motivating 
influence of Satan nail Jesus to the 
cross. 
They heard the tender, forgiving 
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words of the Redeemer as He said, 
"Father, forgive them; for they know 
not what they do." At the cross they 
saw — painfully contrasted — God's 
government of love and Satan's gov-
ernment of coersion. Having seen this 
exhibition of Satan's cruelty they 
could know and did know the char-
acter of his government. However, it 
was necessary for the security of the 
universe in the ages to come that they 
see the terrible lengths to which a 
course of disobedience would lead. 
And that is the reason why God did 
not and could not kill Lucifer im-
mediately when he sinned. The prom-
ise now is that affliction shall not rise 
up a second time. Once the present sin 
problem is ended, the peace and tran-
quility of the universe is secure for all 
time to come. 
Dear Bible Answerman: I am a young 
woman and want to be saved. What must 
I do? J.B. 
This is a most important question. 
It was asked of the apostles Paul and 
Silas, by the Philippian jailor, as 
recorded in Acts 16:30-33: "[He] 
brought them out, and said, Sirs, what 
must I do to be saved? And they said, 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 
And they spake unto him the Word 
of the Lord, and to all that were in 
his house. And he took them the same 
hour of the night, and washed their 
stripes; and was baptized, he and all 
his, straightway." 
The first essential of salvation is to 
recognize yourself as the sinner that 
you certainly are. "There is none 
righteous, no, not one .... For all have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of 
God." Romans 3:10, 23. It is only after 
the sinner sees himself as the sinner 
that God recognizes him to be, that 
he has any anxiety about his corrupt, 
polluted condition, and only then will 
he take steps to obtain forgiveness. 
Confess to God that you are a lost 
sinner; confess your sins to Him, and 
then believe that according to His 
Word, He has forgiven you. You may 
not feel any different than you did be-
fore, but remember that it is not by 
feeling that you are saved—it is by 
SIGNS of the TIMES 
faith. "By grace are ye saved through 
faith; and that not of yourselves: it 
is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8. 
"God so loved the world, that He gave 
His only-begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life." John 3:16. 
Owing to the fact that you are sin-
ful, you have no righteousness to pre-
sent to God. All our righteousness is 
as filthy rags. However, when you ac-
cept Christ as your Saviour, His right-
eousness is imputed to your account. 
It covers you as a garment. "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. For with 
the heart man believeth unto right-
eousness; and with the mouth confes-
sion is made unto salvation." Romans 
10:9, 10. 
Having accepted the Lord Jesus 
Christ as your personal Saviour and 
obtained forgiveness of sins, it is nec-
essary to turn away from every wrong 
thing and follow Christ wholly. It is 
necessary to become obedient to the 
law of God—not to be saved, of 
course, but because you already are 
saved. Said Jesus, "If ye love Me, keep 
My commandments." John 14:15. We 
find that those who are characterized 
as saints by the revelator are those 
who have both faith and obedience. 
"Here is the patience of the saints: 
here are they that keep the command-
ments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 
Revelation 14:12. 
THE POWER 
OF INFLUENCE 
(Continued from page 7) 
could not go. He could not save David 
from the consequences of his sin. His 
bloody and lustful deed became pos-
sessed of a power beyond his control. 
"Down!" he cries to it in helpless 
horror. But it will not down. 
"Then where are you going?" he 
asks, all a-tremble with dread. 
The fiendish deed answers, "I am 
going to steal the purity of your 
daughter Tamar. I am going to make 
your son Amnon into a rapist. I am 
going to turn your handsome boy 
Absalom into a murderer." 
An evangelist tells of a meeting 
held some years ago in a city in Ken-
tucky. A girl was converted in his 
meetings. She belonged to a wealthy 
and prominent family. She wanted to 
join the church, but to this her mother 
objected. The minister went to see the 
mother and to plead with her. But 
she said she wanted her daughter to 
have her coming-out dance soon, 
therefore she didn't want her to 
change her associations and standards 
of living just yet. The preacher left 
that home with a sad heart. 
About three years later he was hold-
ing a series of services in a neighbour-
ing town. One morning a long dis-
tance phone call came to him asking 
if he would conduct the funeral of 
this young woman. She had especially 
requested it before she died. When 
the minister arrived at the funeral 
home he was told that the remains 
would not be viewed by the friends. 
However, the mother herself took him 
in to see his young friend of a few 
years past. 
Leaning on the minister's arm, the 
mother showed him her daughter. 
There, lying upon her breast, was a 
little bundle of shame. Nothing was 
said. The casket was closed, and after 
the service was over the minister tried 
to comfort the stricken mother. Fi-
nally the penitent and heartbroken 
mother found Christ a real comfort. 
And she turned to her other daughter 
and said, "Mary, I have found the sal-
vation that I rejected three years ago." 
The daughter was silent for a mo-
ment and then replied, "Not quite, 
Mother. You have found salvation it 
is true, but it is not the salvation 
that was offered to you three years 
ago. Your salvation then would have 
included my sister. Now it means only 
the salvation of yourself." 
Dear young person, you may be 
saved at any time. Many a father is 
saved after he has wrecked his boys. 
This mother was saved after she had 
destroyed her daughter. Manasseh was 
saved after he had ruined his king-
dom. But I submit to you that it is 
not the largest salvation. It is a sal-
vation that may yet leave you with a 
burning hell in your own heart, the 
hell of the memory of evil you can 
never undo, the wrongs you can never 
right, and of lost men and women, 
led away from God by your influence, 
whom you can never lead back again. 
In the light of these startling facts, 
I repeat this word of our Lord, "Now 
is the accepted time; behold, now is 
the day of salvation." Make it so in 
your young life. Give God your life 
now and in so doing you will save 
both yourself and those subject to 
your influence. "Choose you this day 
whom ye will serve." 
MID-CENTURY VISTA 
(Continued from page 3) 
them suddenly, and they came to 
pass. Because I knew that thou art 
obstinate, and thy neck is an iron 
sinew, and thy brow brass; I have 
even from the beginning declared it 
to thee; before it came to pass I 
showed it thee: lest thou shouldest 
say, Mine idol hath done them, and 
my graven image, and my molten im-
age, hath commanded them." Isaiah 
48:3-5. The boast of modern man 
would be that his own ability, power 
and scientific skill are responsible for 
the events that occur and the achieve-
ments made. 
It is estimated that there are more 
than one thousand prophetic utter-
ances in the Scriptures, and that fully 
eighty-five per cent have been ful-
filled and that the other fifteen per 
cent are being fulfilled or pertain to 
the near future. The students of the 
MAY, 1950 
prophetic Word can say with Joshua 
of old concerning the first group of 
predictions that, "all are come to 
pass" and that "not one thing hath 
failed thereof," and therefore we can 
depend on the forecasts of the future 
meeting their fulfilment, and that 
with certainty they too "shall come to 
pass." (See Joshua 23: 14, 15.) 
The leaders of men in this age 
would demonstrate greater wisdom if 
they would draw more from the foun-
tain of divine revelation. A noted 
writer said that "it isn't safe to proph-
esy unless you are inspired." But 
we can make our predictions on the 
basis of the revelations of the prophets 
and in that sense share their inspira-
tion. Someone has said that "the 
greatest need of the modern world is 
a prophetic message," but that will 
have to be given by a prophetic peo-
ple, and both are now in the world in 
fulfilment of a score of Bible predic-
tions. All who ignore or disbelieve the 
divinely inspired revelations of Scrip-
ture will one day be greatly embar-
rassed and hang their heads in shame. 
This also is a Biblical forecast: "The 
wise men are ashamed, they are dis-
mayed and taken: lo, they have re-
jected the Word of the Lord; and 
what wisdom is in them?" Jer. 8:9. 
Those who would properly evaluate 
the second half of the twentieth cen-
tury and thus make proper decisions, 
should heed the admonition of the 
apostle: "We have also a more sure 
word of prophecy; whereunto ye do 
well that ye take heed, as unto a 
light that shineth in a dark place, un-
til the day dawn, and the Day-star 
arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19. 
Bible prophecy fringes the dark 
clouds and the future with a silver 
lining and forecasts a brighter day. 
In further articles we will look into 
the future from the vista of the half-
century point through the telescope 
of Bible prophecy. 
15 
% 
DOCTOR'S 
VOICE "cik 
X ... �
, 
)--; �
queries to the Doc- 
tor's Voice, Box 398, 
Oshawa, Ont. �
-'%.4 %:.•.. 
. 441 
— in el 
Send your health �
\-i 
‘ 
RFLAX 
for J �
reatth . 
By 
W. H. Roberts, M.D. 
Losing Weight 
Question: I have lost twelve pounds' 
weight during the past three years. My 
fingers get numb and white at times, 
particularly when exposed to cold. I have 
been working in a plant with a damp 
concrete floor. Is there a way to regain 
my normal weight, and what should be 
done for the hands? 
ANSWER: A physical examination 
and urinalysis should be done to see 
if there is any organic basis for the 
loss in weight. Increase in the caloric 
intake in the diet will in due time be 
reflected in the weight. In rare cases 
whetting agents to increase digest-
ibility of fats are helpful. Sorlate is 
one of the recent brands that have 
become available. As far as possible 
the hands should be kept out of cold 
water, emotional stress should be 
avoided, and tobacco should be elim-
inated if it is used at all. Vasodilating 
agents to relax blood vessels would 
have to be prescribed by a physician. 
Overweight 
Question: I am seventy-seven years of 
age, considerably overweight, have a 
blood pressure of two hundred, and have 
severe aches and pains at night. My limbs 
swell in the daytime. What can be done 
for me? 
ANSWER: There should be a grad-
ual weight reduction. Elderly peo-
ple tolerate a rapid weight reduction 
very poorly. More rest is required 
when one is dieting. Salt should be 
rigidly restricted, including foods 
high in salt, such as pickles, sauer-
kraut, etc. 
Leukemia 
Question: Would you kindly tell me 
about, and the name of, the disease in 
which the white blood cells multiply more 
rapidly than the red blood cells? 
ANSWER: Leukemia, for which 
there is no too-satisfactory treat-
ment at present, may occur in acute 
and chronic forms. The white blood 
cells tend to displace the red to the 
extent that profound anaemia may 
develop requiring blood transfusions. 
16 
In spite of the abnormal number of 
white blood cells, the general resist-
ance of the patient tends to be low. 
A condition sometimes confused with 
leukemia is infectious mononucleosis, 
which may occur in epidemics and 
is usually self-limited. There is often 
a low-grade fever and marked swell-
ing of the glands of the neck, There 
is probably a chronic form of the 
condition also. 
Cracked Hands 
Question: What is a good remedy for 
cracked hands? 
ANSWER: Lanolin ointment rubbed 
well into the hands twice daily is 
helpful. Gloves should be worn dur-
ing cold weather, particularly for out-
door work. 
Enlarged Heart 
Question: Is enlargement of the heart of 
serious significance? I have been troubled 
for weeks with a cough which hardly stops 
day or night. My age is past seventy-five 
years. 
ANSWER: An enlargement of the 
heart itself is of no serious conse-
quence. The fact that you have a 
persistent cough might indicate a lit-
tle weakening of the heart muscle. 
You should obtain as much rest as 
possible and avoid stair climbing, 
heavy lifting, etc. It would be well to 
restrict salt in the diet. Medical ex-
amination and an X-ray of the chest 
would seem advisable. 
Stomach Ulcers 
Question: I have stomach ulcers. Is there 
any harm or gain in using corn oil, e.g., 
Mazola, in cooking or salads? Are there 
vitamins in corn oil? 
ANSWER: Mazola oil is soothing to 
the stomach, as is olive oil, and can 
be taken with benefit. If one has a 
stomach ulcer it is best to avoid 
salads. Corn oil is a good source of 
vitamin F, which is beneficial to the 
skin. Two tablespoons of fat daily is 
all that one requires; so where corn 
oil is used it should be substituted for 
butter. 
O
NE of the baffling mysteries of 
medical science for many years 
has been the cause, the mecha-
nism of production, and the treatment 
of so-called functional disorders which 
were no more nor less than vague 
symptoms, and included migraine 
headaches, spasms of inlet or outlet 
of the stomach, bowel irritability, et 
cetera. Certain it was that fatigue, 
worry, anxiety and dietary indiscre-
tions were often precipitating factors 
and that they usually occurred in 
high-strung, nervous individuals who 
found it difficult to relax. 
Russell N. Dejong of the Univer-
sity of Michigan Medical School, 
writing in the American Journal of 
Nursing of September, 1946, has well 
summarized present knowledge con-
cerning migraine in particular. He 
states that migraine is more frequent 
in the "thinkers" than in the "doers"; 
that "patients subject to migrainous 
attacks are apt to be tense, nervous, 
worrisome, overly conscientious indi-
viduals who work hard but fatigue 
easily." 
Before further quoting his alarm-
ingly frank description of the average 
sufferer it might be well to state that 
the personality defects he outlines can 
he corrected in rather short order by 
taking a philosophical outlook upon 
life and realizing that we are but 
mere mortals in an imperfect world. 
He adds: "They are often shy, sensi-
tive to criticism, subject to doubts and 
fears, and react strongly to all stimuli. 
The woman who is subject to mi-
graine is apt to be a meticulous, fas-
tidious housewife, extremely neat, 
careful, orderly and efficient. The man 
subject to sick headaches is often 
overambitious and exacting, with an 
exaggerated sense of responsibility 
and a perfectionistic attitude toward 
himself and everyone else. Both may 
be persons who take on many addi-
tional responsibilities. They are peo-
ple who get things done. They take 
life seriously and feel responsibility 
keenly. It is often stated that they are 
rigid and repressed, somewhat imma- 
SIGNS of the TIMES 
Birds, flowers, trees, water—all nature in general helps to relieve nervous tension. It 
was God's original plan that all men should live in close proximity to all these. Had 
this been done, nervous disorders would be at a minimum. 
H. M. LAMBERT 
17 
ure emotionally, and are quite de-
pendent upon other individuals." 
Concerning precipitating factors he 
speaks of overwork, fatigue, loss of 
sleep, worry, hunger, anger, frustra-
tion or excitement. He mentions also 
the unexpected guest, an additional 
responsibility, a problem that at the 
time seems insoluble. He does not ex-
clude allergies and endocrine disturb-
ances, which occasionally are mainly 
responsible. To these should be added 
the use of tea, coffee (in fact all caf-
feinated beverages) , alcohol and to-
bacco. 
For relief of the headache which is 
due to initial spasm of meningeal or 
cerebral arteries, followed by abnor-
mal dilatation of the same, he speaks 
of ice or heat to the side of the head 
affected, hot tub baths, enemas, oxy-
gen (or fresh air) , and vitamins (par-
ticularly nicotinic acid) , and the 
more or less specific drug, ergotamine 
tartrate (gynergen) . These, however, 
are but expedients, it being realized 
that one's habits of living and out-
look on life have often to be com-
pletely changed. 
There came upon the scene in 1929 
Dr. Edmund Jacobson. He wrote a 
book entitled Progressive Relaxation, 
in which he introduced scientific ap-
proaches to the study of the problem 
of relaxation. A revised popular work 
of his is entitled You Must Relax. 
Very briefly some of Doctor Jacob-
son's views will be referred to and 
quoted. He suggests that one way to 
avoid the ill effects of the complexities 
of modern life is to return to a sim-
pler way of life. 
This obviously being rather im-
practicable, he suggests that his meth-
ods may permit one to enjoy modern 
civilization without burning the can-
dle at both ends. He states that "in the 
rush of the present day, man has in 
part forgotten how to live. Joy in sun-
light, birds and flowers is left chiefly 
to the poet; delight in line and curve 
is sought in the studio; while interest 
in circumstance becomes the special 
task of the dramatist. This deficiency 
in modern living seems at least partly 
due to the fact that the appreciation 
of beauty as well as doing things beau-
tifully demands a certain abandon. 
Lacking this, it would seem, many 
persons, defeated in the purposes of 
their special pursuits, become dis-
contented, even to the point of sui-
cide." Further, in time of greatest per-
plexity patients often admit that even 
while in health they permitted their 
businesses to master them rather than 
not allowing themselves to be con-
tinually concerned about them. 
Doctor Jacobson feels that too often 
the fatigue and functional disorders 
that accompany abnormal tension are 
MAY, 1 9 5 0 
treated with glandular extracts such 
as thyroid, with not sufficient atten-
tion being given to the underlying 
cause. He affirms that when muscles 
are contracting, not only when one 
is busy, but also when one is at rest, 
nerves are overactive and nervous en-
ergy is needlessly being dissipated. He 
has found that persons living over-
tense lives may dissipate nervous en-
ergy, as measured on delicate instru-
ments, at a rate almost equal to that 
of a soldier at the front, an athlete 
running a race, or a student writing 
an examination. 
Abnormal tension is revealed by 
talkativeness, purposeless movements, 
twitchings and jerkings, blinking, 
staring, stroking the beard, mopping 
or wrinkling the brow, and fumbling 
with buttons and the watch chain. 
Relaxation of skeletal or voluntary 
muscles will favourably affect ten-
sions of involuntary or visceral mus-
cles. 
As treatment he recommends an 
hour's practice at relaxation, daily, in 
a quiet room. He is of the opinion 
that such things as suggestion and 
auto-suggestion have no scientific ba-
sis and can result in injury to the per-
sonality. These, by the way, are but 
modern revivals of mesmerism. 
As an example of how his method 
can be put to a practical use, I think 
of the statement of Major Bazett-
Jones of the American Air Force in 
speaking of the most critical phase of 
the Battle for Britain, when men and 
machines were down to the irreduc- 
ible minimum. The strain was so 
great and so many survivors were in-
valided home on account of nervous 
disorders that some means had to be 
devised to keep the boys up in the 
air. 
They tried Jacobson's methods, at 
least they sounded very much like 
them. In the few minutes between 
"missions" the men were instructed 
to lie down in their bunks and 
stretch out and completely relax. 
There was to be no purposeless move-
ments of hands or grinding of teeth. 
If necessary they were to speak to 
their legs and tell them to relax, also 
their arms. Abdominal muscles were 
also to be relaxed, and chest muscles 
so that they would breathe almost 
imperceptibly. Facial muscles were to 
be relaxed, which necessitated a slight 
smile. This in turn required pleasant 
thoughts. Finally they were to repeat 
over and over the words found in 2 
Timothy 1:7: 
"God hath not given us the spirit 
of fear; but of power, and of love, 
and of a sound mind." 
Thus physically relaxed they were 
enabled to take up again their ardu-
ous duties with the confidence that 
they would have unlimited power at 
their disposal. They went into battle 
with a sense of duty rather than of 
hatred for their enemies, and they had 
the assurance that in spite of every-
thing, reason would remain on her 
throne. These principles have their 
application in the conduct of our 
routine daily lives. 
brace or Disgrace -Which? 
(This is Pastor Flynn's Bible Quiz. After you have carefully studied 
the lesson, see if you can answer the questions.) 
I. Why would not the thief steal the wallet? �
 
2. What is grace defined to mean? �
 
3. Write false or true after the following statements: 
a. There was $550 in the wallet. � 
b. Sometimes the words "Saved by Grace" are written across a pardon. 
c. God bestows His grace upon us because we are worthy. 
d. A recipient of grace is one who receives that which he does not deserve. 
4. Fill in the blanks: 
a. There is none righteous, 
b. We are given to understand that " �
 
c. " 
 , and come short of the glory of God." 
5. How many deserved God's mercy? 
6. How much did God love the world? �
 
7. What had Bible study done for Mr. Hoover? 
8. What had Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein come to believe? 
9. For what purpose did Pastor Flynn interrupt the Bible study? 
10. What did Miss Clement confess? 
I I. Fill in the following blanks: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in 
sin, that grace may abound? �. How shall we, 
live any longer therein?" "What then? shall we sin, because we are no+ under 
the law, but under grace? �
 
12. How does one come under the condemnation of the law? �
 
13. In what sense were Adam and Eve under the law before they sinned? �
 
14. What happens when a person who is under grace breaks the law? �
 
15. Is the Christian under grace or disgrace when he steals? 
16. Does faith make void or establish the law? �
 
17. Give two texts which show that the saints keep the commandments. �
 
18. Characterize a saint in three ways. �
 
B
EVERLY SMITH is a little girl 
who has no sense of pain. Dr. 
Frank R. Ford of Johns Hop-
kins Hospital said that Beverly's con-
dition is due to some defect or short 
circuit in the central nervous system, 
and does not register pain, as in the 
case of an anaesthetic which paralyzes 
the nerves so pain does not register in 
the consciousness. When Beverly 
bumps her head she does not cry, or 
when she puts her hand on a hot 
stove or in scalding water, she feels 
no pain. Her mother says that spank-
ing does no good, because she does 
not feel it. This condition makes it 
necessary that somebody watch her 
continually to prevent her from in-
juring her body, since nature's alarm 
signals do not register. Otherwise, she 
might break a bone and continue to 
use it and do much harm before it 
was set. An attack of appendicitis 
would give the child no notice of 
pain, and there is always the danger 
that internal disease would go un-
noticed until it was too late to oper-
ate. 
A great deal was said and written 
in newspapers and magazines, and by 
medical authorities concerning this 
case, and even politicians philoso-
phized about this freak of nature. 
Some of our modern politicians as 
well as religious reformers have phi-
losophized that it was possible for 
medical science and for political re-
formers to create by their own plan-
ning and devising a world without 
fear, a world without want, a world 
in which there would be no sorrow, 
no pain, no suffering, and they cited 
Beverly Smith as an example who 
will never know any pain or suffer-
ing, nor feel any want, or any pang 
of fear. 
But God ordained that pain, suf-
fering and sorrow, and ultimately 
death, should be the lot of all sinners 
when sin first entered this world back 
in the Garden of Eden. "Unto the 
woman He said, I will greatly multi-
ply thy sorrow. . . . And unto Adam 
He said . . . cursed is the ground for 
thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of 
it all the days of thy life. . . . In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, 
till thou return unto the ground; for 
out of it wast thou taken: for dust 
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
return." Genesis 3:16, 17, 19. 
There will always be the fear of 
want among mankind in man's sin-
ful state, for Christ said: "Ye have the 
poor always with you." The Bible 
also states that just before Christ's 
second return to this earth, "there 
shall be a time of trouble, such as 
never was since there was a nation," 
resulting in "men's hearts failing them 
for fear, and for looking after those 
111 
18 �
SIGNS of the TIMES 
Tite SAancte ea4e 
Beaviht 
 
Sfrfratit 
things which are coming on the 
earth." Daniel 12:1; Luke 21:26. 
God in His infinite wisdom saw 
that it was not good for a sinner to 
live without pain, without fear, with-
out want, and without punishment for 
his misdeeds. No one can violate the 
moral law of God nor the natural 
laws of nature, which are also the laws 
of God, without suffering the con-
sequence of his transgression, and, in 
God's plan, the ultimate punitive 
justice for his wilful disobedience to 
the God of heaven in the great judg-
ment day. Nothing is more definitely 
and clearly set forth in Sacred Writ 
than that all men must suffer for the 
consequences of sin in dying the first 
death, and that ultimately the wilful 
and unrepentant sinners must suffer 
the penalty of dying the second death 
in the final dissolution of the earth 
in "the lake of fire." So it is physically 
impossible for man to be his own 
saviour and deliverer from pain, fear, 
want, trouble and death by the im-
provement of medical science or by 
reform legislation and political evo-
lution. 
To sever the nerves that register 
pain in a sinner, so that he can vio-
late the natural laws of nature with-
out being conscious of pain, would 
in a short time spell disaster to him, 
unless he was constantly guarded 
against such violations. If all sinners 
in this world were constituted as is 
Beverly Smith, incapable of suffering 
pain when violating nature's laws, the 
world would be turned into a mad-
house. 
There is no security in any human 
planning. We must not be deceived 
by the fair promises of our modern 
preachers and politicians who tell us 
that if we follow their ideologies and 
submit ourselves to their altruistic 
schemes and socialized planning, we 
will have nothing to fear, and they 
will provide all our necessities with 
absolute security without our having 
to decide anything for ourselves. That 
MAY, 1 9 5 0 
by 
C. S. Longacre 
Neither the laws of nature, 
nor God's spiritual laws may 
be violated without pain. 
is the road that leads to the govern-
ment poorhouse and to government 
serfdom. 
Mankind in its sinful state and 
carnal nature would soon destroy its 
soul temple through reckless abuse of 
the body if there were no sense of 
pain, and no warning symptoms of 
approaching disease. Nevertheless we 
must not forget that God has prom-
ised that those who shall be accounted 
worthy to obtain the world to come 
and "the resurrection from the dead," 
at Christ's second coming, "are equal 
unto the angels," "neither can they 
die any more," because they "are the 
children of God, being the children 
of the resurrection." Luke 20:35, 36. 
The inhabitants of the world to 
come are those who have responded 
to the call of God, and, as the apostle 
Paul said, those "whom He called, 
them He also justified; and whom He 
justified, them He also glorified." 
Romans 8:30. On the resurrection 
morning "death is swallowed up in 
victory," and "this corruptible must 
put on incorruption, and this mortal 
must put on immortality." 1 Corin-
thians 15:53, 54. 
This does not mean that in the re-
creation of man in the image and 
likeness of God, clothed with immor-
tality, the redeemed children of God 
in the world to come have bodies that 
are no longer sensible to pain, but 
that they refrain from the things that 
cause pain and suffering. They have 
obtained complete victory over all 
their sins, and they now live the life 
of Christ, "who knew no sin," and as 
the apostle John says, "Whosoever 
abideth in Him sinneth not. . . . 
Whosoever is born of God [in the 
resurrection from the dead] doth not 
commit sin; for His Seed [Christ] re-
maineth in him; and he cannot sin, 
because he is born of God." 1 John 
3:6, 9. 
Free moral agents are always capa-
ble of sinning, but they are also made 
capable to resist temptation and to 
avoid the commitment of sin. The 
angels are free moral agents and have 
the power to resist evil or to choose 
evil. Some of the angels chose to re-
main sinless; others sinned and left 
their holy estate and "first dominion" 
and were cast out of heaven with 
Satan, the originator of evil. All of 
the angels when they were created 
were given conditional immortality. 
This immortality they were to retain 
as the gift of God provided they were 
obedient to all of God's requirements, 
but if they sinned by disobeying God, 
they were to be deprived of this gift 
of conditional immortality, in the 
final judgment day. 
The prophet Micah predicted that 
when God sits on His throne to reign 
over His redeemed people on the 
earth made new, "nation shall not 
lift up a sword against nation, neither 
shall they learn war any more. But 
they shall sit every man under his 
vine and under his fig tree; and none 
shall make them afraid: for the mouth 
of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. 
. . . And we will walk in the name 
of the Lord our God forever and 
ever." Micah 4:3-5. 
19 
STAH 
I
T IS not always easy to believe or 
to understand that God's "No" is 
just as truly an answer to prayer 
as His "Yes," but it is so. 
There was Mrs. Burns, a good 
Christian woman, so good, in fact, 
that she reminded one of the Phari-
see who passed over on the other side 
of the road. 
When you thought of her spotless 
house, you at once thought of your 
own in contrast—the mat that covered 
the worn place in the rug; the 
scratches and dents in the woodwork 
and the furniture which the children 
said were just "axidents." 
You also thought of the time when 
you and Danny made a short call at 
Mrs. Burns' house, and how Danny, 
after reaching home, immediately 
raced upstairs and straightway slid 
down the banister, calling, "I'm just 
letting off steam, 'cause I didn't dare 
breathe or stir in her house." And 
you always treasured in your heart 
his words as he snuggled up against 
you and said, "You know, Mom, I 
just love our house. Don't you?" 
There came a day when, by grape-
vine telegraph, it was learned that 
Mrs. Burns was to become a mother 
—mother of a little son, for she had 
asked God for one. Therefore she was 
indignant when advised not to set her 
heart too much upon having a son, 
for the stork sometimes gets orders 
mixed. She asked of God, and had He 
not said, "Ask and ye shall receive"? 
But when the happy day came that 
a little bundle of humanity was laid 
in her arms and she heard the nurse 
say, "You're the mother of a fine little 
girl, Mrs. Burns," her love for God 
and His Word turned into hatred. 
For a time she behaved like an insane 
person. She berated God—even called 
Him a liar and said there was no 
truth in Him or in the Bible. 
She did not become calm at once, 
but when she did she refused to so 
much as look at her baby. Her hus-
band tried to reason with her, tried 
to show her how a little girl would 
brighten their home, but she would 
listen neither to him, nor to her pas-
tor who had been called to see her, 
and who tried to make her understand 
that God had some good reason for 
sending the little girl instead of the 
wanted son, and that someday the 
reason would be made plain. But she 
would have none of it, neither would 
she permit her pastor to pray. She 
was through with God and through 
with prayer. Her smug Christian ex-
perience was shattered. 
However, it should not have been, 
for God gives us to understand that 
whatsoever we ask we receive of Him 
because we keep His commandments 
and do those things that are pleasing 
in His sight. It is to be hoped that 
the time will come when Mrs. Burns 
will understand that there is a reason 
or a chain of reasons behind all that 
happens in God's universe, even if 
our human limitations prevent our 
complete understanding. It is in times 
like these that a refuge is to be found 
in believing that God understands 
and cares, and in believing, too, that 
His "No" is just as truly an answer 
to prayer as His "Yes." 
God's "NO" 
By 
Martha E. Warner 
As a faithful divine parent, 
God must deny some requests.