text: Ellen G. White The Spiritual Tale of Two Cities 
   
   
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   The Spiritual Tale of Two Cities 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Table of Contents 
   
   Chapter 1. World History Predicted.  
   
   
   Chapter 2. Ignited Fires of Persecution.  
   
   
   Chapter 3. Era of Darkness. 
   
   
   Chapter 4. A Peculiar People.  
   
   
   Chapter 5. Champion of Truth.  
   
   
   Chapter 6. Two Heroes.  
   
   
   Chapter 7. A Revolution Begins.  
   
   
   Chapter 8. Tried Before the Council  
   
   
   Chapter 9. Reform in Switzerland.  
   
   
   Chapter 10. Reform in Germany.  
   
   
   Chapter 11. Princely Protest  
   
   
   Chapter 12. The French Reformation. 
   
   
   Chapter 13. The Netherlands and Scandinavia.  
   
   
   Chapter 14. England’s Reforms.  
   
   
   Chapter 15. The French Revolution. 
   
   
   Chapter 16. Land of Liberty.  
   
   
   Chapter 17. Heralds of the Morning.  
   
   
   Chapter 18. An American Reformer.  
   
   
   Chapter 19. Light Through Darkness. 
   
   
   Chapter 20. The Awakening.  
   
   
   Chapter 21. A Warning Rejected.  
   
   
   Chapter 22. Prophecies Fulfilled.  
   
   
   Chapter 23. What is the Sanctuary?.  
   
   
   Chapter 24. The Most Holy Place.  
   
   
   Chapter 25. God's Law. 
   
   
   Chapter 26. A Work of Reform. 
   
   
   Chapter 27. Revival  
   
   
   Chapter 28. Facing Life's Record. 
   
   
   Chapter 29. Why So Much Suffering?. 
   
   
   Chapter 30. Infernal Enmity.  
   
   
   Chapter 31. Evil Spirits.  
   
   
   Chapter 32. Deadly Deceptions Exposed.  
   
   
   Chapter 33. First Great Deception.  
   
   
   Chapter 34. Can Our Dead Speak to Us?.  
   
   
   Chapter 35. Liberty of Conscience Threatened.  
   
   
   Chapter 36. The Impending Conflict  
   
   
   Chapter 37. The Only Safeguard.  
   
   
   Chapter 38. The Final Warning.  
   
   
   Chapter 39. Anarchy Unleashed.  
   
   
   Chapter 40. Great Deliverance. 
   
   
   Chapter 41. Final Judgments.  
   
   
   Chapter 42. Controversy Ended. 
   
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   Chapter 1. World History Predicted 
   
  "If
  thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things
  which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
  For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a
  trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every
  side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children
  within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another;
  because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." Luke
  19:42-44.
   
   
  From
  the crest of Olivet, Jesus looked upon Jerusalem. Fair and peaceful
  was the scene spread out before Him. It was the season of the
  Passover, and from all lands the children of Jacob had gathered there
  to celebrate the great national festival. In the midst of gardens and
  vineyards, and green slopes studded with pilgrims' tents, rose the
  terraced hills, the stately palaces, and massive bulwarks of Israel's
  capital. The daughter of Zion seemed in her pride to say, I sit a
  queen and shall see no sorrow; as lovely then, and deeming herself as
  secure in Heaven's favour, as when, ages before, the royal minstrel
  sang: "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is
  Mount Zion, . . . the city of the great King." Psalm 48:2. In
  full view were the magnificent buildings of the temple. The rays of
  the setting sun lighted up the snowy whiteness of its marble walls
  and gleamed from golden gate and tower and pinnacle.
   
   
  "The
  perfection of beauty" it stood, the pride of the Jewish nation.
  What child of Israel could gaze upon the scene without a thrill of
  joy and admiration! But far other thoughts occupied the mind of
  Jesus. "When He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over
  it." Luke 19:41. Amid the universal rejoicing of the triumphal
  entry, while palm branches waved, while glad hosannas awoke the
  echoes of the hills, and thousands of voices declared Him king, the
  world's Redeemer was overwhelmed with a sudden and mysterious sorrow.
  He, the Son of God, the Promised One of Israel, whose power had
  conquered death and called its captives from the grave, was in tears,
  not of ordinary grief, but of intense, irrepressible agony.
   
   
  His
  tears were not for Himself, though He well knew whither His feet were
  tending. Before Him lay Gethsemane, the scene of His approaching
  agony. The sheepgate also was in sight, through which for centuries
  the victims for sacrifice had been led, and which was to open for Him
  when He should be "brought as a lamb to the slaughter."
  Isaiah 53:7. Not far distant was Calvary, the place of crucifixion.
  Upon the path which Christ was soon to tread must fall the horror of
  great darkness as He should make His soul an offering for sin. Yet it
  was not the contemplation of these scenes that cast the shadow upon
  Him in this hour of gladness. No foreboding of His own superhuman
  anguish clouded that unselfish spirit. He wept for the doomed
  thousands of Jerusalem--because of the blindness and impenitence of
  those whom He came to bless and to save.
   
   
  The
  history of more than a thousand years of God's special favour and
  guardian care, manifested to the chosen people, was open to the eye
  of Jesus. There was Mount Moriah, where the son of promise, an
  unresisting victim, had been bound to the altar--emblem of the
  offering of the Son of God. There the covenant of blessing, the
  glorious Messianic promise, had been confirmed to the father of the
  faithful. Genesis 22:9, 16-18. There the flames of the sacrifice
  ascending to heaven from the threshing floor of Ornan had turned
  aside the sword of the destroying angel (1 Chronicles 21)-- fitting
  symbol of the Saviour's sacrifice and mediation for guilty men.
  Jerusalem had been honoured of God above all the earth. The Lord had
  "chosen Zion," He had "desired it for His habitation."
  Psalm 132:13.
   
   
  There,
  for ages, holy prophets had uttered their messages of warning. There
  priests had waved their censers, and the cloud of incense, with the
  prayers of the worshipers, had ascended before God. There daily the
  blood of slain lambs had been offered, pointing forward to the Lamb
  of God. There Jehovah had revealed His presence in the cloud of glory
  above the mercy seat. There rested the base of that mystic ladder
  connecting earth with heaven (Genesis 28:12; John 1:51)-- that ladder
  upon which angels of God descended and ascended, and which opened to
  the world the way into the holiest of all. Had Israel as a nation
  preserved her allegiance to Heaven, Jerusalem would have stood
  forever, the elect of God. Jeremiah 17:21-25. But the history of that
  favoured people was a record of backsliding and rebellion. They had
  resisted Heaven's grace, abused their privileges, and slighted their
  opportunities.
   
   
  Although
  Israel had "mocked the messengers of God, and despised His
  words, and misused His prophets" (2 Chronicles 36:16), He had
  still manifested Himself to them, as "the Lord God, merciful and
  gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth"
  (Exodus 34:6); notwithstanding repeated rejections, His mercy had
  continued its pleadings. With more than a father's pitying love for
  the son of his care, God had "sent to them by His messengers,
  rising up betimes, and sending; because He had compassion on His
  people, and on His dwelling place." 2 Chronicles 36:15. When
  remonstrance, entreaty, and rebuke had failed, He sent to them the
  best gift of heaven; nay, He poured out all heaven in that one Gift.
   
   
  The
  Son of God Himself was sent to plead with the impenitent city. It was
  Christ that had brought Israel as a goodly vine out of Egypt. Psalm
  80:8. His own hand had cast out the heathen before it. He had planted
  it "in a very fruitful hill." His guardian care had hedged
  it about. His servants had been sent to nurture it. "What could
  have been done more to My vineyard," He exclaims, "that I
  have not done in it?" Isaiah 5:1-4. Though when He looked that
  it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes, yet with
  a still yearning hope of fruitfulness He came in person to His
  vineyard, if haply it might be saved from destruction. He digged
  about His vine; He pruned and cherished it. He was unwearied in His
  efforts to save this vine of His own planting.
   
   
  For
  three years the Lord of light and glory had gone in and out among His
  people. He "went about doing good, and healing all that were
  oppressed of the devil," binding up the broken-hearted, setting
  at liberty them that were bound, restoring sight to the blind,
  causing the lame to walk and the deaf to hear, cleansing the lepers,
  raising the dead, and preaching the gospel to the poor. Acts 10:38;
  Luke 4:18; Matthew 11:5. To all classes alike was addressed the
  gracious call: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are
  heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.
   
   
  Though
  rewarded with evil for good, and hatred for His love (Psalm 109:5),
  He had steadfastly pursued His mission of mercy. Never were those
  repelled that sought His grace. A homeless wanderer, reproach and
  penury His daily lot, He lived to minister to the needs and lighten
  the woes of men, to plead with them to accept the gift of life. The
  waves of mercy, beaten back by those stubborn hearts, returned in a
  stronger tide of pitying, inexpressible love. But Israel had turned
  from her best Friend and only Helper. The pleadings of His love had
  been despised, His counsels spurned, His warnings ridiculed.
   
   
  The
  hour of hope and pardon was fast passing; the cup of God's
  long-deferred wrath was almost full. The cloud that had been
  gathering through ages of apostasy and rebellion, now black with woe,
  was about to burst upon a guilty people;  and He who alone could save
  them from their impending fate had been slighted, abused, rejected,
  and was soon to be crucified. When Christ should hang upon the cross
  of Calvary, Israel's day as a nation favoured and blessed of God
  would be ended. The loss of even one soul is a calamity infinitely
  outweighing the gains and treasures of a world; but as Christ looked
  upon Jerusalem, the doom of a whole city, a whole nation, was before
  Him--that city, that nation, which had once been the chosen of God,
  His peculiar treasure.
   
   
  Prophets
  had wept over the apostasy of Israel and the terrible desolations by
  which their sins were visited. Jeremiah wished that his eyes were a
  fountain of tears, that he might weep day and night for the slain of
  the daughter of his people, for the Lord's flock that was carried
  away captive. Jeremiah 9:1; 13:17. What, then, was the grief of Him
  whose prophetic glance took in, not years, but ages! He beheld the
  destroying angel with sword uplifted against the city which had so
  long been Jehovah's dwelling place. From the ridge of Olivet, the
  very spot afterward occupied by Titus and his army, He looked across
  the valley upon the sacred courts and porticoes, and with tear-dimmed
  eyes He saw, in awful perspective, the walls surrounded by alien
  hosts. He heard the tread of armies marshalling for war. He heard the
  voice of mothers and children crying for bread in the besieged city.
  He saw her holy and beautiful house, her palaces and towers, given to
  the flames, and where once they stood, only a heap of smouldering
  ruins.
   
   
  Looking
  down the ages, He saw the covenant people scattered in every land,
  "like wrecks on a desert shore." In the temporal
  retribution about to fall upon her children, He saw but the first
  draft from that cup of wrath which at the final judgment she must
  drain to its dregs. Divine pity, yearning love, found utterance in
  the mournful words: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest
  the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often
  would I  have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
  her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" O that thou, a
  nation favoured above every other, hadst known the time of thy
  visitation, and the things that belong unto thy peace! I have stayed
  the angel of justice, I have called thee to repentance, but in vain.
  It is not merely servants, delegates, and prophets, whom thou hast
  refused and rejected, but the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer. If
  thou art destroyed, thou alone art responsible. "Ye will not
  come to Me, that ye might have life." Matthew 23:37; John 5:40.
   
   
  Christ
  saw in Jerusalem a symbol of the world hardened in unbelief and
  rebellion, and hastening on to meet the retributive judgments of God.
  The woes of a fallen race, pressing upon His soul, forced from His
  lips that exceeding bitter cry. He saw the record of sin traced in
  human misery, tears, and blood; His heart was moved with infinite
  pity for the afflicted and suffering ones of earth; He yearned to
  relieve them all. But even His hand might not turn back the tide of
  human woe; few would seek their only Source of help. He was willing
  to pour out His soul unto death, to bring salvation within their
  reach; but few would come to Him that they might have life.
   
   
  The
  Majesty of heaven in tears! the Son of the infinite God troubled in
  spirit, bowed down with anguish! The scene filled all heaven with
  wonder. That scene reveals to us the exceeding sinfulness of sin; it
  shows how hard a task it is, even for Infinite Power, to save the
  guilty from the consequences of transgressing the law of God. Jesus,
  looking down to the last generation, saw the world involved in a
  deception similar to that which caused the destruction of Jerusalem.
  The great sin of the Jews was their rejection of Christ; the great
  sin of the Christian world would be their rejection of the law of
  God, the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. The
  precepts of Jehovah would be despised and set at nought. Millions in
  bondage to sin, slaves of Satan, doomed to suffer the second death,
  would  refuse to listen to the words of truth in their day of
  visitation. Terrible blindness! strange infatuation!
   
   
  Two
  days before the Passover, when Christ had for the last time departed
  from the temple, after denouncing the hypocrisy of the Jewish rulers,
  He again went out with His disciples to the Mount of Olives and
  seated Himself with them upon the grassy slope overlooking the city.
  Once more He gazed upon its walls, its towers, and its palaces. Once
  more He beheld the temple in its dazzling splendour, a diadem of
  beauty crowning the sacred mount.
   
   
  A
  thousand years before, the psalmist had magnified God's favour to
  Israel in making her holy house His dwelling place: "In Salem
  also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion." He
  "chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which He loved. And He
  built His sanctuary like high palaces." Psalms 76:2; 78:68, 69.
  The first temple had been erected during the most prosperous period
  of Israel's history. Vast stores of treasure for this purpose had
  been collected by King David, and the plans for its construction were
  made by divine inspiration. 1 Chronicles 28:12, 19. Solomon, the
  wisest of Israel's monarchs, had completed the work. This temple was
  the most magnificent building which the world ever saw. Yet the Lord
  had declared by the prophet Haggai, concerning the second temple:
  "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the
  former." "I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all
  nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the
  Lord of hosts." Haggai 2:9, 7.
   
   
  After
  the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar it was rebuilt about
  five hundred years before the birth of Christ by a people who from a
  lifelong captivity had returned to a wasted and almost deserted
  country. There were then among them aged men who had seen the glory
  of Solomon's temple, and who wept at the foundation of the new
  building, that it must be so inferior to the former. The feeling that
  prevailed is forcibly described by the prophet: "Who is  left
  among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see
  it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?"
  Haggai 2:3; Ezra 3:12. Then was given the promise that the glory of
  this latter house should be greater than that of the former.
   
   
  But
  the second temple had not equalled the first in magnificence; nor was
  it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which
  pertained to the first temple. There was no manifestation of
  supernatural power to mark its dedication. No cloud of glory was seen
  to fill the newly erected sanctuary. No fire from heaven descended to
  consume the sacrifice upon its altar. The Shekinah no longer abode
  between the cherubim in the most holy place; the ark, the mercy seat,
  and the tables of the testimony were not to be found therein. No
  voice sounded from heaven to make known to the inquiring priest the
  will of Jehovah.
   
   
  For
  centuries the Jews had vainly endeavoured to show wherein the promise
  of God given by Haggai had been fulfilled; yet pride and unbelief
  blinded their minds to the true meaning of the prophet's words. The
  second temple was not honoured with the cloud of Jehovah's glory, but
  with the living presence of One in whom dwelt the fullness of the
  Godhead bodily--who was God Himself manifest in the flesh. The
  "Desire of all nations" had indeed come to His temple when
  the Man of Nazareth taught and healed in the sacred courts. In the
  presence of Christ, and in this only, did the second temple exceed
  the first in glory. But Israel had put from her the proffered Gift of
  heaven. With the humble Teacher who had that day passed out from its
  golden gate, the glory had forever departed from the temple. Already
  were the Saviour's words fulfilled: "Your house is left unto you
  desolate." Matthew 23:38.
   
   
  The
  disciples had been filled with awe and wonder at Christ's prediction
  of the overthrow of the temple, and they desired to understand more
  fully the meaning of His words. Wealth, labour, and architectural
  skill had for more than forty years been freely expended to enhance
  its splendours. Herod   the Great had lavished upon it both Roman
  wealth and Jewish treasure, and even the emperor of the world had
  enriched it with his gifts. Massive blocks of white marble, of almost
  fabulous size, forwarded from Rome for this purpose, formed a part of
  its structure; and to these the disciples had called the attention of
  their Master, saying: "See what manner of stones and what
  buildings are here!" Mark 13:1.   To these words, Jesus made the
  solemn and startling reply: "Verily I say unto you, There shall
  not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown
  down." Matthew 24:2.
   
   
  With
  the overthrow of Jerusalem the disciples associated the events of
  Christ's personal coming in temporal glory to take the throne of
  universal empire, to punish the impenitent Jews, and to break from
  off the nation the Roman yoke. The Lord had told them that He would
  come the second time. Hence at the mention of judgments upon
  Jerusalem, their minds reverted to that coming; and as they were
  gathered about the Saviour upon the Mount of Olives, they asked:
  "When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy
  coming, and of the end of the world?" Verse 3.
   
   
  The
  future was mercifully veiled from the disciples. Had they at that
  time fully comprehend the two awful facts-- the Redeemer's sufferings
  and death, and the destruction of their city and temple--they would
  have been overwhelmed with horror. Christ presented before them an
  outline of the prominent events to take place before the close of
  time. His words were not then fully understood; but their meaning was
  to be unfolded as His people should need the instruction therein
  given. The prophecy which He uttered was twofold in its meaning;
  while foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, it prefigured also
  the terrors of the last great day.
   
   
  Jesus
  declared to the listening disciples the judgments that were to fall
  upon apostate Israel, and especially the retributive vengeance that
  would come upon them for their rejection and crucifixion of the
  Messiah. Unmistakable signs would precede the awful climax. The
  dreaded hour would come suddenly and swiftly. And the Saviour warned
  His followers: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of
  desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,
  (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judea
  flee into the mountains." Matthew 24:15, 16; Luke 21:20, 21.
  When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the
  holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls,
  then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight. When the
  warning sign should be seen, those who would escape must make no
  delay. Throughout the land of Judea, as well as in Jerusalem itself,
  the signal for flight must be immediately obeyed. He who chanced to
  be upon the housetop must not go down into his house, even to save
  his most valued treasures. Those who were working in the fields or
  vineyards must not take time to return for the outer garment laid
  aside while they should be toiling in the heat of the day. They must
  not hesitate a moment, lest they be involved in the general
  destruction.
   
   
  In
  the reign of Herod, Jerusalem had not only been greatly beautified,
  but by the erection of towers, walls, and fortresses, adding to the
  natural strength of its situation, it had been rendered apparently
  impregnable. He who would at this time have foretold publicly its
  destruction, would, like Noah in his day, have been called a crazed
  alarmist. But Christ had said: "Heaven and earth shall pass
  away, but My words shall not pass away." Matthew 24:35. Because
  of her sins, wrath had been denounced against Jerusalem, and her
  stubborn unbelief rendered her doom certain.  The Lord had declared
  by the prophet Micah: "Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the
  house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor
  judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and
  Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the
  priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for
  money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord
  among us? none evil can come upon us." Micah 3:9-11.
   
   
  These
  words faithfully described the corrupt and self-righteous inhabitants
  of Jerusalem. While claiming to observe rigidly the precepts of God's
  law, they were transgressing all its principles. They hated Christ
  because His purity and holiness revealed their iniquity; and they
  accused Him of being the cause of all the troubles which had come
  upon them in consequence of their sins. Though they knew Him to be
  sinless, they had declared that His death was necessary to their
  safety as a nation. "If we let Him thus alone," said the
  Jewish leaders, "all men will believe on Him: and the Romans
  shall come and take away both our place and nation." John 11:48.
  If Christ were sacrificed, they might once more become a strong,
  united people. Thus they reasoned, and they concurred in the decision
  of their high priest, that it would be better for one man to die than
  for the whole nation to perish.
   
   
  Thus
  the Jewish leaders had built up "Zion with blood, and Jerusalem
  with iniquity." Micah 3:10. And yet, while they slew their
  Saviour because He reproved their sins, such was their
  self-righteousness that they regarded themselves as God's favoured
  people and expected the Lord to deliver them from their enemies.
  "Therefore," continued the prophet, "shall Zion for
  your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and
  the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest."
  Verse 12.
   
   
  For
  nearly forty years after the doom of Jerusalem had been pronounced by
  Christ Himself, the Lord delayed His judgments upon the city and the
  nation. Wonderful was the long-suffering of God toward the rejectors
  of His gospel and the murderers of His Son. The parable of the
  unfruitful tree represented God's dealings with the Jewish nation.
  The command had gone forth, "Cut it down; why cumbereth it the
  ground?" (Luke 13:7) but divine mercy had spared it yet a little
  longer. There were still many among the Jews who were ignorant of the
  character and the work of Christ. And the children had not enjoyed
  the opportunities or received the light which their parents had
  spurned. Through the preaching of the apostles and their associates,
  God would cause light to shine upon them; they would be permitted to
  see how prophecy had been fulfilled, not only in the birth and life
  of Christ, but in His death and resurrection. The children were not
  condemned for the sins of the parents; but when, with a knowledge of
  all the light given to their parents, the children rejected the
  additional light granted to themselves, they became partakers of the
  parents' sins, and filled up the measure of their iniquity.
   
   
  The
  long-suffering of God toward Jerusalem only confirmed the Jews in
  their stubborn impenitence. In their hatred and cruelty toward the
  disciples of Jesus they rejected the last offer of mercy. Then God
  withdrew His protection from them and removed His restraining power
  from Satan and his angels, and the nation was left to the control of
  the leader she had chosen. Her children had spurned the grace of
  Christ, which would have enabled them to subdue their evil impulses,
  and now these became the conquerors. Satan aroused the fiercest and
  most debased passions of the soul. Men did not reason; they were
  beyond reason--controlled by impulse and blind rage. They became
  satanic in their cruelty. In the family and in the nation, among the
  highest and the lowest classes alike, there was suspicion, envy,
  hatred, strife, rebellion, murder. There was no safety anywhere.
  Friends and kindred betrayed one another. Parents slew their
  children, and children their parents. The rulers of the people had no
  power to rule themselves.
   
   
  Uncontrolled
  passions made them tyrants. The Jews had accepted false testimony to
  condemn the innocent Son of God. Now false accusations made their own
  lives uncertain. By their actions they had long been saying: "Cause
  the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us." Isaiah 30:11.
  Now their desire was granted. The fear of God no longer disturbed
  them. Satan  was at the head of the nation, and the highest civil and
  religious authorities were under his sway.  The leaders of the
  opposing factions at times united to plunder and torture their
  wretched victims, and again they fell upon each other's forces and
  slaughtered without mercy. Even the sanctity of the temple could not
  restrain their horrible ferocity. The worshipers were stricken down
  before the altar, and the sanctuary was polluted with the bodies of
  the slain. Yet in their blind and blasphemous presumption the
  instigators of this hellish work publicly declared that they had no
  fear that Jerusalem would be destroyed, for it was God's own city. To
  establish their power more firmly, they bribed false prophets to
  proclaim, even while Roman legions were besieging the temple, that
  the people were to wait for deliverance from God. To the last,
  multitudes held fast to the belief that the Most High would interpose
  for the defeat of their adversaries. But Israel had spurned the
  divine protection, and now she had no defense. Unhappy Jerusalem!
  rent by internal dissensions, the blood of her children slain by one
  another's hands crimsoning her streets, while alien armies beat down
  her fortifications and slew her men of war!
   
   
  All
  the predictions given by Christ concerning the destruction of
  Jerusalem were fulfilled to the letter. The Jews experienced the
  truth of His words of warning: "With what measure ye mete, it
  shall be measured to you again." Matthew 7:2. Signs and wonders
  appeared, foreboding disaster and doom. In the midst of the night an
  unnatural light shone over the temple and the altar. Upon the clouds
  at sunset were pictured chariots and men of war gathering for battle.
  The priests ministering by night in the sanctuary were terrified by
  mysterious sounds; the earth trembled, and a multitude of voices were
  heard crying: "Let us depart hence." The great eastern
  gate, which was so heavy that it could hardly be shut by a score of
  men, and which was secured by  immense bars of iron fastened deep in
  the pavement of solid stone, opened at midnight, without visible
  agency.--Milman, The History of the Jews, book 13.
   
   
  For
  seven years a man continued to go up and down the streets of
  Jerusalem, declaring the woes that were to come upon the city. By day
  and by night he chanted the wild dirge: "A voice from the east!
  a voice from the west! a voice from the four winds! a voice against
  Jerusalem and against the temple! a voice against the bridegrooms and
  the brides! a voice against the whole people!"-- Ibid . This
  strange being was imprisoned and scourged, but no complaint escaped
  his lips. To insult and abuse he answered only: "Woe, woe to
  Jerusalem!" "woe, woe to the inhabitants thereof!" His
  warning cry ceased not until he was slain in the siege he had
  foretold.
   
   
  Not
  one Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. Christ had
  given His disciples warning, and all who believed His words watched
  for the promised sign. "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed
  with armies," said Jesus, "then know that the desolation
  thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the
  mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out."
  Luke 21:20, 21. After the Romans under Cestius had surrounded the
  city, they unexpectedly abandoned the siege when everything seemed
  favourable for an immediate attack. The besieged, despairing of
  successful resistance, were on the point of surrender, when the Roman
  general withdrew his forces without the least apparent reason. But
  God's merciful providence was directing events for the good of His
  own people.
   
   
  The
  promised sign had been given to the waiting Christians, and now an
  opportunity was offered for all who would, to obey the Saviour's
  warning. Events were so overruled that neither Jews nor Romans should
  hinder the flight of the Christians. Upon the retreat of Cestius, the
  Jews, sallying from Jerusalem, pursued after his retiring army; and
  while both forces were thus fully engaged, the Christians had an
  opportunity to leave the city. At this time the country also  had
  been cleared of enemies who might have endeavoured to intercept them.
  At the time of the siege, the Jews were assembled at Jerusalem to
  keep the Feast of Tabernacles, and thus the Christians throughout the
  land were able to make their escape unmolested. Without delay they
  fled to a place of safety--the city of Pella, in the land of Perea,
  beyond Jordan.
   
   
  The
  Jewish forces, pursuing after Cestius and his army, fell upon their
  rear with such fierceness as to threaten them with total destruction.
  It was with great difficulty that the Romans succeeded in making
  their retreat. The Jews escaped almost without loss, and with their
  spoils returned in triumph to Jerusalem. Yet this apparent success
  brought them only evil. It inspired them with that spirit of stubborn
  resistance to the Romans which speedily brought unutterable woe upon
  the doomed city.
   
   
  Terrible
  were the calamities that fell upon Jerusalem when the siege was
  resumed by Titus. The city was invested at the time of the Passover,
  when millions of Jews were assembled within its walls. Their stores
  of provision, which if carefully preserved would have supplied the
  inhabitants for years, had previously been destroyed through the
  jealousy and revenge of the contending factions, and now all the
  horrors of starvation were experienced. A measure of wheat was sold
  for a talent. So fierce were the pangs of hunger that men would gnaw
  the leather of their belts and sandals and the covering of their
  shields. Great numbers of the people would steal out at night to
  gather wild plants growing outside the city walls, though many were
  seized and put to death with cruel torture, and often those who
  returned in safety were robbed of what they had gleaned at so great
  peril. The most inhuman tortures were inflicted by those in power, to
  force from the want-stricken people the last scanty supplies which
  they might have concealed. And these cruelties were not infrequently
  practiced by men who were themselves well fed, and who were merely
  desirous of laying up a store of provision for the future.
   
   
  Thousands
  perished from famine and pestilence. Natural affection seemed to have
  been destroyed. Husbands robbed their wives, and wives their
  husbands. Children would be seen snatching the food from the mouths
  of their aged parents. The question of the prophet, "Can a woman
  forget her sucking child?" received the answer within the walls
  of that doomed city: "The hands of the pitiful women have sodden
  their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the
  daughter of my people." Isaiah 49:15; Lamentations 4:10. Again
  was fulfilled the warning prophecy given fourteen centuries before:
  "The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not
  adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for
  delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband
  of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, . . . and
  toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for
  want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith
  thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates." Deuteronomy
  28:56, 57.
   
   
  The
  Roman leaders endeavoured to strike terror to the Jews and thus cause
  them to surrender. Those prisoners who resisted when taken, were
  scourged, tortured, and crucified before the wall of the city.
  Hundreds were daily put to death in this manner, and the dreadful
  work continued until, along the Valley of Jehoshaphat and at Calvary,
  crosses were erected in so great numbers that there was scarcely room
  to move among them. So terribly was visited that awful imprecation
  uttered before the judgment seat of Pilate: "His blood be on us,
  and on our children." Matthew 27:25.  Titus would willingly have
  put an end to the fearful scene, and thus have spared Jerusalem the
  full measure of her doom. He was filled with horror as he saw the
  bodies of the dead lying in heaps in the valleys. Like one entranced,
  he looked from the crest of Olivet upon the magnificent temple and
  gave command that not one stone of it be touched. Before attempting
  to gain possession of this stronghold,   he made an earnest appeal to
  the Jewish leaders not to force him to defile the sacred place with
  blood. If they would come forth and fight in any other place, no
  Roman should violate the sanctity of the temple. Josephus himself, in
  a most eloquent appeal, entreated them to surrender, to save
  themselves, their city, and their place of worship. But his words
  were answered with bitter curses. Darts were hurled at him, their
  last human mediator, as he stood pleading with them. The Jews had
  rejected the entreaties of the Son of God, and now expostulation and
  entreaty only made them more determined to resist to the last. In
  vain were the efforts of Titus to save the temple; One greater than
  he had declared that not one stone was to be left upon another.
   
   
  The
  blind obstinacy of the Jewish leaders, and the detestable crimes
  perpetrated within the besieged city, excited the horror and
  indignation of the Romans, and Titus at last decided to take the
  temple by storm. He determined, however, that if possible it should
  be saved from destruction. But his commands were disregarded. After
  he had retired to his tent at night, the Jews, sallying from the
  temple, attacked the soldiers without. In the struggle, a firebrand
  was flung by a soldier through an opening in the porch, and
  immediately the cedar-lined chambers about the holy house were in a
  blaze. Titus rushed to the place, followed by his generals and
  legionaries, and commanded the soldiers to quench the flames. His
  words were unheeded. In their fury the soldiers hurled blazing brands
  into the chambers adjoining the temple, and then with their swords
  they slaughtered in great numbers those who had found shelter there.
  Blood flowed down the temple steps like water. Thousands upon
  thousands of Jews perished. Above the sound of battle, voices were
  heard shouting: "Ichabod!"--the glory is departed.
   
   
  Titus
  found it impossible to check the rage of the soldiery; he entered
  with his officers, and surveyed the interior of the sacred edifice.
  The splendour filled them with wonder; and as the flames had not yet
  penetrated to the holy place,  he made a last effort to save it, and
  springing forth, again exhorted the soldiers to stay the progress of
  the conflagration. The centurion Liberalis endeavoured to force
  obedience with his staff of office; but even respect for the emperor
  gave way to the furious animosity against the Jews, to the fierce
  excitement of battle, and to the insatiable hope of plunder. The
  soldiers saw everything around them radiant with gold, which shone
  dazzlingly in the wild light of the flames; they supposed that
  incalculable treasures were laid up in the sanctuary. A soldier,
  unperceived, thrust a lighted torch between the hinges of the door:
  the whole building was in flames in an instant. The blinding smoke
  and fire forced the officers to retreat, and the noble edifice was
  left to its fate.
   
   
  It
  was an appalling spectacle to the Roman--what was it to the Jew? The
  whole summit of the hill which commanded the city, blazed like a
  volcano. One after another the buildings fell in, with a tremendous
  crash, and were swallowed up in the fiery abyss. The roofs of cedar
  were like sheets of flame; the gilded pinnacles shone like spikes of
  red light; the gate towers sent up tall columns of flame and smoke.
  The neighbouring hills were lighted up; and dark groups of people
  were seen watching in horrible anxiety the progress of the
  destruction: the walls and heights of the upper city were crowded
  with faces, some pale with the agony of despair, others scowling
  unavailing vengeance. The shouts of the Roman soldiery as they ran to
  and fro, and the howlings of the insurgents who were perishing in the
  flames, mingled with the roaring of the conflagration and the
  thundering sound of falling timbers. The echoes of the mountains
  replied or brought back the shrieks of the people on the heights; all
  along the walls resounded screams and wailings; men who were expiring
  with famine rallied their remaining strength to utter a cry of
  anguish and desolation.
   
   
  "The
  slaughter within was even more dreadful than the spectacle from
  without. Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those
  who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in
  indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded that of the
  slayers. The legionaries had to clamber over heaps of dead to carry
  on the work of extermination."--Milman, The History of the Jews,
  book 16.  After the destruction of the temple, the whole city soon
  fell into the hands of the Romans. The leaders of the Jews forsook
  their impregnable towers, and Titus found them solitary. He gazed
  upon them with amazement, and declared that God had given them into
  his hands; for no engines, however powerful, could have prevailed
  against those stupendous battlements. Both the city and the temple
  were razed to their foundations, and the ground upon which the holy
  house had stood was "plowed like a field." Jeremiah 26:18.
  In the siege and the slaughter that followed, more than a million of
  the people perished; the survivors were carried away as captives,
  sold as slaves, dragged to Rome to grace the conqueror's triumph,
  thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheaters, or scattered as homeless
  wanderers throughout the earth.
   
   
  The
  Jews had forged their own fetters; they had filled for themselves the
  cup of vengeance. In the utter destruction that befell them as a
  nation, and in all the woes that followed them in their dispersion,
  they were but reaping the harvest which their own hands had sown.
  Says the prophet: "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself;"
  "for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity." Hosea 13:9; 14:1.
  Their sufferings are often represented as a punishment visited upon
  them by the direct decree of God. It is thus that the great deceiver
  seeks to conceal his own work. By stubborn rejection of divine love
  and mercy, the Jews had caused the protection of God to be withdrawn
  from them, and Satan was permitted to rule them according to his
  will. The horrible cruelties enacted in the destruction of Jerusalem
  are a demonstration of Satan's vindictive power over those who yield
  to his control.
   
   
  We
  cannot know how much we owe to Christ for the peace and protection
  which we enjoy. It is the restraining power of God that prevents
  mankind from passing fully under the control of Satan. The
  disobedient and unthankful have great reason for gratitude for God's
  mercy and long-suffering in holding in check the cruel, malignant
  power of the evil one. But when men pass the limits of divine
  forbearance, that restraint is removed. God does not stand toward the
  sinner as an executioner of the sentence against transgression; but
  He leaves the rejectors of His mercy to themselves, to reap that
  which they have sown. Every ray of light rejected, every warning
  despised or unheeded, every passion indulged, every transgression of
  the law of God, is a seed sown which yields its unfailing harvest.
  The Spirit of God, persistently resisted, is at last withdrawn from
  the sinner, and then there is left no power to control the evil
  passions of the soul, and no protection from the malice and enmity of
  Satan. The destruction of Jerusalem is a fearful and solemn warning
  to all who are trifling with the offers of divine grace and resisting
  the pleadings of divine mercy. Never was there given a more decisive
  testimony to God's hatred of sin and to the certain punishment that
  will fall upon the guilty.
   
   
  The
  Saviour's prophecy concerning the visitation of judgments upon
  Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment, of which that terrible
  desolation was but a faint shadow. In the fate of the chosen city we
  may behold the doom of a world that has rejected God's mercy and
  trampled upon His law. Dark are the records of human misery that
  earth has witnessed during its long centuries of crime. The heart
  sickens, and the mind grows faint in contemplation. Terrible have
  been the results of rejecting the authority of Heaven. But a scene
  yet darker is presented in the revelations of the future. The records
  of the past,--the long procession of tumults,  conflicts, and
  revolutions, the "battle of the warrior . . . with confused
  noise, and garments rolled in blood" (Isaiah 9:5),-- what are
  these, in contrast with the terrors of that day when the restraining
  Spirit of God shall be wholly withdrawn from the wicked, no longer to
  hold in check the outburst of human passion and satanic wrath! The
  world will then behold, as never before, the results of Satan's rule.
   
   
  But
  in that day, as in the time of Jerusalem's destruction, God's people
  will be delivered, everyone that shall be found written among the
  living. Isaiah 4:3. Christ has declared that He will come the second
  time to gather His faithful ones to Himself: "Then shall all the
  tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming
  in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send
  His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
  together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
  other." Matthew 24:30, 31. Then shall they that obey not the
  gospel be consumed with the spirit of His mouth and be destroyed with
  the brightness of His coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Like Israel of old
  the wicked destroy themselves; they fall by their iniquity. By a life
  of sin, they have placed themselves so out of harmony with God, their
  natures have become so debased with evil, that the manifestation of
  His glory is to them a consuming fire.
   
   
  Let
  men beware lest they neglect the lesson conveyed to them in the words
  of Christ. As He warned His disciples of Jerusalem's destruction,
  giving them a sign of the approaching ruin, that they might make
  their escape; so He has warned the world of the day of final
  destruction and has given them tokens of its approach, that all who
  will may flee from the wrath to come. Jesus declares: "There
  shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and
  upon the earth distress of nations." Luke 21:25; Matthew 24:29;
  Mark 13:24-26; Revelation 6:12-17. Those who behold these harbingers
  of His coming are to "know that it is near, even  at the doors."
  Matthew 24:33. "Watch ye therefore," are His words of
  admonition. Mark 13:35. They that heed the warning shall not be left
  in darkness, that that day should overtake them unawares. But to them
  that will not watch, "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief
  in the night." 1 Thessalonians 5:2-5.
   
   
  The
  world is no more ready to credit the message for this time than were
  the Jews to receive the Saviour's warning concerning Jerusalem. Come
  when it may, the day of God will come unawares to the ungodly. When
  life is going on in its unvarying round; when men are absorbed in
  pleasure, in business, in traffic, in money-making; when religious
  leaders are magnifying the world's progress and enlightenment, and
  the people are lulled in a false security--then, as the midnight
  thief steals within the unguarded dwelling, so shall sudden
  destruction come upon the careless and ungodly, "and they shall
  not escape." Verse 3.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 2. Ignited Fires of Persecution 
   
  When
  Jesus revealed to His disciples the fate of Jerusalem and the scenes
  of the second advent, He foretold also the experience of His people
  from the time when He should be taken from them, to His return in
  power and glory for their deliverance. From Olivet the Saviour beheld
  the storms about to fall upon the apostolic church; and penetrating
  deeper into the future, His eye discerned the fierce, wasting
  tempests that were to beat upon His followers in the coming ages of
  darkness and persecution. In a few brief utterances of awful
  significance He foretold the portion which the rulers of this world
  would mete out to the church of God. Matthew 24:9, 21, 22. The
  followers of Christ must tread the same path of humiliation,
  reproach, and suffering which their Master trod. The enmity that
  burst forth against the world's Redeemer would be manifested against
  all who should believe on His name.
   
   
  The
  history of the early church testified to the fulfillment of the
  Saviour's words. The powers of earth and hell arrayed themselves
  against Christ in the person of His followers. Paganism foresaw that
  should the gospel triumph, her temples and altars would be swept
  away; therefore she summoned her forces to destroy Christianity. The
  fires of persecution were kindled. Christians were stripped of their
  possessions and driven from their homes. They "endured a great
  fight of afflictions." Hebrews 10:32. They "had trial of
  cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and
  imprisonment." Hebrews 11:36. Great numbers sealed their
  testimony with their blood. Noble and slave, rich and poor, learned
  and ignorant, were alike slain without mercy.
   
   
  These
  persecutions, beginning under Nero about the time of the martyrdom of
  Paul, continued with greater or less fury for centuries. Christians
  were falsely accused of the most dreadful crimes and declared to be
  the cause of great calamities--famine, pestilence, and earthquake. As
  they became the objects of popular hatred and suspicion, informers
  stood ready, for the sake of gain, to betray the innocent. They were
  condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes of religion, and
  pests to society. Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or burned
  alive in the amphitheaters. Some were crucified; others were covered
  with the skins of wild animals and thrust into the arena to be torn
  by dogs. Their punishment was often made the chief entertainment at
  public fetes. Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight and
  greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause.
   
   
  Wherever
  they sought refuge, the followers of Christ were hunted like beasts
  of prey. They were forced to seek concealment in desolate and
  solitary places. "Destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the
  world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains,
  and in dens and caves of the earth." Verses 37, 38. The
  catacombs afforded shelter for thousands. Beneath the hills outside
  the city of Rome, long galleries had been tunnelled through earth and
  rock; the dark and intricate network of passages extended for miles
  beyond the city walls. In these underground retreats the followers of
  Christ buried their dead; and here also, when suspected and
  proscribed, they found a home. When the Life-giver shall awaken those
  who have fought the good fight, many a martyr for Christ's sake will
  come forth from those gloomy caverns.
   
   
  Under
  the fiercest persecution these witnesses for Jesus kept their faith
  unsullied. Though deprived of every comfort, shut away from the light
  of the sun, making their home in the dark but friendly bosom of the
  earth, they uttered no complaint. With words of faith, patience, and
  hope they encouraged one another to endure privation and distress.
  The loss of every earthly blessing could not force them to renounce
  their belief in Christ. Trials and persecution were but steps
  bringing them nearer their rest and their reward.
   
   
  Like
  God's servants of old, many were "tortured, not accepting
  deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection."
  Verse 35. These called to mind the words of their Master, that when
  persecuted for Christ's sake, they were to be exceeding glad, for
  great would be their reward in heaven; for so the prophets had been
  persecuted before them. They rejoiced that they were accounted worthy
  to suffer for the truth, and songs of triumph ascended from the midst
  of crackling flames. Looking upward by faith, they saw Christ and
  angels leaning over the battlements of heaven, gazing upon them with
  the deepest interest and regarding their steadfastness with approval.
  A voice came down to them from the throne of God: "Be thou
  faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
  Revelation 2:10.
   
   
  In
  vain were Satan's efforts to destroy the church of Christ by
  violence. The great controversy in which the disciples of Jesus
  yielded up their lives did not cease when these faithful
  standard-bearers fell at their post. By defeat they conquered. God's
  workmen were slain, but His work went steadily forward. The gospel
  continued to spread and the number of its adherents to increase. It
  penetrated into regions that were inaccessible even to the eagles of
  Rome. Said a Christian, expostulating with the heathen rulers who
  were urging forward the persecution: You may "kill us, torture
  us, condemn us. . . . Your injustice is the proof that we are
  innocent . . . . Nor does your cruelty . . . avail you." It was
  but a stronger invitation to bring others to their persuasion. "The
  oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the
  blood of Christians is seed."--Tertullian, Apology, paragraph
  50.
   
   
  Thousands
  were imprisoned and slain, but others sprang up to fill their places.
  And those who were martyred for their faith were secured to Christ
  and accounted of Him as conquerors. They had fought the good fight,
  and they were to receive the crown of glory when Christ should come.
  The sufferings which they endured brought Christians nearer to one
  another and to their Redeemer. Their living example and dying
  testimony were a constant witness for the truth; and where least
  expected, the subjects of Satan were leaving his service and
  enlisting under the banner of Christ.  Satan therefore laid his plans
  to war more successfully against the government of God by planting
  his banner in the Christian church. If the followers of Christ could
  be deceived and led to displease God, then their strength, fortitude,
  and firmness would fail, and they would fall an easy prey.
   
   
  The
  great adversary now endeavoured to gain by artifice what he had
  failed to secure by force. Persecution ceased, and in its stead were
  substituted the dangerous allurements of temporal prosperity and
  worldly honour. Idolaters were led to receive a part of the Christian
  faith, while they rejected other essential truths. They professed to
  accept Jesus as the Son of God and to believe in His death and
  resurrection, but they had no conviction of sin and felt no need of
  repentance or of a change of heart. With some concessions on their
  part they proposed that Christians should make concessions, that all
  might unite on the platform of belief in Christ.
   
   
  Now
  the church was in fearful peril. Prison, torture, fire, and sword
  were blessings in comparison with this. Some of the Christians stood
  firm, declaring that they could make no  compromise. Others were in
  favour of yielding or modifying some features of their faith and
  uniting with those who had accepted a part of Christianity, urging
  that this might be the means of their full conversion. That was a
  time of deep anguish to the faithful followers of Christ. Under a
  cloak of pretended Christianity, Satan was insinuating himself into
  the church, to corrupt their faith and turn their minds from the word
  of truth.
   
   
  Most
  of the Christians at last consented to lower their standard, and a
  union was formed between Christianity and paganism. Although the
  worshipers of idols professed to be converted, and united with the
  church, they still clung to their idolatry, only changing the objects
  of their worship to images of Jesus, and even of Mary and the saints.
  The foul leaven of idolatry, thus brought into the church, continued
  its baleful work. Unsound doctrines, superstitious rites, and
  idolatrous ceremonies were incorporated into her faith and worship.
  As the followers of Christ united with idolaters, the Christian
  religion became corrupted, and the church lost her purity and power.
  There were some, however, who were not misled by these delusions.
  They still maintained their fidelity to the Author of truth and
  worshiped God alone.
   
   
  There
  have ever been two classes among those who profess to be followers of
  Christ. While one class study the Saviour's life and earnestly seek
  to correct their defects and conform to the Pattern, the other class
  shun the plain, practical truths which expose their errors. Even in
  her best estate the church was not composed wholly of the true, pure,
  and sincere. Our Saviour taught that those who willfully indulge in
  sin are not to be received into the church; yet He connected with
  Himself men who were faulty in character, and granted them the
  benefits of His teachings and example, that they might have an
  opportunity to see their errors and correct them. Among the twelve
  apostles was a traitor. Judas was accepted, not  because of his
  defects of character, but notwithstanding them. He was connected with
  the disciples, that, through the instruction and example of Christ,
  he might learn what constitutes Christian character, and thus be led
  to see his errors, to repent, and, by the aid of divine grace, to
  purify his soul "in obeying the truth." But Judas did not
  walk in the light so graciously permitted to shine upon him. By
  indulgence in sin he invited the temptations of Satan. His evil
  traits of character became predominant. He yielded his mind to the
  control of the powers of darkness, he became angry when his faults
  were reproved, and thus he was led to commit the fearful crime of
  betraying his Master. So do all who cherish evil under a profession
  of godliness hate those who disturb their peace by condemning their
  course of sin. When a favourable opportunity is presented, they will,
  like Judas, betray those who for their good have sought to reprove
  them.
   
   
  The
  apostles encountered those in the church who professed godliness
  while they were secretly cherishing iniquity. Ananias and Sapphira
  acted the part of deceivers, pretending to make an entire sacrifice
  for God, when they were covetously withholding a portion for
  themselves. The Spirit of truth revealed to the apostles the real
  character of these pretenders, and the judgments of God rid the
  church of this foul blot upon its purity. This signal evidence of the
  discerning Spirit of Christ in the church was a terror to hypocrites
  and evildoers. They could not long remain in connection with those
  who were, in habit and disposition, constant representatives of
  Christ; and as trials and persecution came upon His followers, those
  only who were willing to forsake all for the truth's sake desired to
  become His disciples. Thus, as long as persecution continued, the
  church remained comparatively pure. But as it ceased, converts were
  added who were less sincere and devoted, and the way was open for
  Satan to obtain a foothold.
   
   
  But
  there is no union between the Prince of light and the prince of
  darkness, and there can be no union between their followers. When
  Christians consented to unite with those who were but half converted
  from paganism, they entered upon a path which led further and further
  from the truth. Satan exulted that he had succeeded in deceiving so
  large a number of the followers of Christ. He then brought his power
  to bear more fully upon these, and inspired them to persecute those
  who remained true to God. None understood so well how to oppose the
  true Christian faith as did those who had once been its defenders;
  and these apostate Christians, uniting with their half-pagan
  companions, directed their warfare against the most essential
  features of the doctrines of Christ.
   
   
  It
  required a desperate struggle for those who would be faithful to
  stand firm against the deceptions and abominations which were
  disguised in sacerdotal garments and introduced into the church. The
  Bible was not accepted as the standard of faith. The doctrine of
  religious freedom was termed heresy, and its upholders were hated and
  proscribed.  After a long and severe conflict, the faithful few
  decided to dissolve all union with the apostate church if she still
  refused to free herself from falsehood and idolatry. They saw that
  separation was an absolute necessity if they would obey the word of
  God. They dared not tolerate errors fatal to their own souls, and set
  an example which would imperil the faith of their children and
  children's children. To secure peace and unity they were ready to
  make any concession consistent with fidelity to God; but they felt
  that even peace would be too dearly purchased at the sacrifice of
  principle. If unity could be secured only by the compromise of truth
  and righteousness, then let there be difference, and even war.
   
   
  Well
  would it be for the church and the world if the principles that
  actuated those steadfast souls were revived in the hearts of God's
  professed people. There is an alarming indifference in regard to the
  doctrines which are the pillars of the Christian faith. The opinion
  is gaining ground, that, after all, these are not of vital
  importance. This degeneracy is strengthening the hands of the agents
  of Satan, so that false theories and fatal delusions which the
  faithful in ages past imperiled their lives to resist and expose, are
  now regarded with favour by thousands who claim to be followers of
  Christ.
   
   
  The
  early Christians were indeed a peculiar people. Their blameless
  deportment and unswerving faith were a continual reproof that
  disturbed the sinner's peace. Though few in numbers, without wealth,
  position, or honorary titles, they were a terror to evildoers
  wherever their character and doctrines were known. Therefore they
  were hated by the wicked, even as Abel was hated by the ungodly Cain.
  For the same reason that Cain slew Abel, did those who sought to
  throw off the restraint of the Holy Spirit, put to death God's
  people. It was for the same reason that the Jews rejected and
  crucified the Saviour--because the purity and holiness of His
  character was a constant rebuke to their selfishness and corruption.
  From the days of Christ until now His faithful disciples have excited
  the hatred and opposition of those who love and follow the ways of
  sin.
   
   
  How,
  then, can the gospel be called a message of peace? When Isaiah
  foretold the birth of the Messiah, he ascribed to Him the title,
  "Prince of Peace." When angels announced to the shepherds
  that Christ was born, they sang above the plains of Bethlehem: "Glory
  to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
  Luke 2:14. There is a seeming contradiction between these prophetic
  declarations and the words of Christ: "I came not to send peace,
  but a sword." Matthew 10:34. But, rightly understood, the two 
  are in perfect harmony. The gospel is a message of peace.
  Christianity is a system which, received and obeyed, would spread
  peace, harmony, and happiness throughout the earth. The religion of
  Christ will unite in close brotherhood all who accept its teachings.
  It was the mission of Jesus to reconcile men to God, and thus to one
  another. But the world at large are under the control of Satan,
  Christ's bitterest foe. The gospel presents to them principles of
  life which are wholly at variance with their habits and desires, and
  they rise in rebellion against it. They hate the purity which reveals
  and condemns their sins, and they persecute and destroy those who
  would urge upon them its just and holy claims. It is in this
  sense--because the exalted truths it brings occasion hatred and
  strife-that the gospel is called a sword.
   
   
  The
  mysterious providence which permits the righteous to suffer
  persecution at the hand of the wicked has been a cause of great
  perplexity to many who are weak in faith. Some are even ready to cast
  away their confidence in God because He suffers the basest of men to
  prosper, while the best and purest are afflicted and tormented by
  their cruel power. How, it is asked, can One who is just and
  merciful, and who is also infinite in power, tolerate such injustice
  and oppression? This is a question with which we have nothing to do.
  God has given us sufficient evidence of His love, and we are not to
  doubt His goodness because we cannot understand the workings of His
  providence. Said the Saviour to His disciples, foreseeing the doubts
  that would press upon their souls in days of trial and darkness:
  "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not
  greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also
  persecute you." John 15:20. Jesus suffered for us more than any
  of His followers can be made to suffer through the cruelty of wicked
  men. Those who are called to endure torture and martyrdom are but
  following in the steps of God's dear Son.
   
   
  "The
  Lord is not slack concerning His promise." 2 Peter 3:9. He does
  not forget or neglect His children; but He permits the wicked to
  reveal their true character, that none who desire to do His will may
  be deceived concerning them. Again, the righteous are placed in the
  furnace of affliction, that they themselves may be purified; that
  their example may convince others of the reality of faith and
  godliness; and also that their consistent course may condemn the
  ungodly and unbelieving.  God permits the wicked to prosper and to
  reveal their enmity against Him, that when they shall have filled up
  the measure of their iniquity all may see His justice and mercy in
  their utter destruction. The day of His vengeance hastens, when all
  who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people will meet the
  just recompense of their deeds; when every act of cruelty or
  injustice toward God's faithful ones will be punished as though done
  to Christ Himself.
   
   
  There
  is another and more important question that should engage the
  attention of the churches of today. The apostle Paul declares that
  "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
  persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12. Why is it, then, that persecution
  seems in a great degree to slumber? The only reason is that the
  church has conformed to the world's standard and therefore awakens no
  opposition. The religion which is current in our day is not of the
  pure and holy character that marked the Christian faith in the days
  of Christ and His apostles. It is only because of the spirit of
  compromise with sin, because the great truths of the word of God are
  so indifferently regarded, because there is so little vital godliness
  in the church, that Christianity is apparently so popular with the
  world. Let there be a revival of the faith and power of the early
  church, and the spirit of persecution will be revived, and the fires
  of persecution will be rekindled.   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 3. Era of Darkness 
   
  The
  apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, foretold the
  great apostasy which would result in the establishment of the papal
  power. He declared that the day of Christ should not come, "except
  there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
  son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
  called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the
  temple of God, showing himself that he is God." And furthermore,
  the apostle warns his brethren that "the mystery of iniquity
  doth already work." 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7. Even at that
  early date he saw, creeping into the church, errors that would
  prepare the way for the development of the papacy.
   
   
  Little
  by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as
  it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, "the
  mystery of iniquity" carried forward its deceptive and
  blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism
  found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise
  and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions
  which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased,
  and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid
  aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp
  and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the
  requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions.
  The nominal conversion of Constantine,  in the early part of the
  fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a
  form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of
  corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be
  vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church.
  Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into
  the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.
   
   
  This
  compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the
  development of "the man of sin" foretold in prophecy as
  opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of
  false religion is a masterpiece of Satan's power--a monument of his
  efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according
  to his will.  Satan once endeavoured to form a compromise with
  Christ. He came to the Son of God in the wilderness of temptation,
  and showing Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them,
  offered to give all into His hands if He would but acknowledge the
  supremacy of the prince of darkness. Christ rebuked the presumptuous
  tempter and forced him to depart. But Satan meets with greater
  success in presenting the same temptations to man. To secure worldly
  gains and honours, the church was led to seek the favour and support
  of the great men of earth; and having thus rejected Christ, she was
  induced to yield allegiance to the representative of Satan --the
  bishop of Rome.
   
   
  It
  is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the
  visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme
  authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More
  than this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has
  been styled "Lord God the Pope" (see Appendix), and has
  been declared infallible. He demands the homage of all men. The same
  claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of temptation is still urged
  by him through the Church of Rome, and vast numbers are ready to
  yield him homage.
   
   
  But
  those who fear and reverence God meet this heaven-daring assumption
  as Christ met the solicitations of the wily foe: "Thou shalt
  worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Luke
  4:8. God has never given a hint in His word that He has appointed any
  man to be the head of the church. The doctrine of papal supremacy is
  directly opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures. The pope can
  have no power over Christ's church except by usurpation.   Romanists
  have persisted in bringing against Protestants the charge of heresy
  and willful separation from the true church. But these accusations
  apply rather to themselves. They are the ones who laid down the
  banner of Christ and departed from "the faith which was once
  delivered unto the saints." Jude 3.
   
   
  Satan
  well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his
  deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the word that even the
  Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault,
  Christ presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, "It is
  written." To every suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the
  wisdom and power of the word. In order for Satan to maintain his sway
  over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must
  keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God
  and place finite men in their true position; therefore its sacred
  truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was adopted by
  the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible
  was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in
  their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its
  teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came to be
  almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth,
  endowed with authority over church and state.
   
   
  The
  detector of error having been removed, Satan worked according to his
  will. Prophecy had declared that the papacy was to "think to
  change times and laws." Daniel 7:25. This  work it was not slow
  to attempt. To afford converts from heathenism a substitute for the
  worship of idols, and thus to promote their nominal acceptance of
  Christianity, the adoration of images and relics was gradually
  introduced into the Christian worship. The decree of a general
  council (see Appendix ) finally established this system of idolatry.
  To complete the sacrilegious work, Rome presumed to expunge from the
  law of God the second commandment, forbidding image worship, and to
  divide the tenth commandment, in order to preserve the number.
   
   
  The
  spirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still further
  disregard of Heaven's authority. Satan, working through unconsecrated
  leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also, and
  essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had
  blessed and sanctified (Genesis 2:2, 3), and in its stead to exalt
  the festival observed by the heathen as "the venerable day of
  the sun." This change was not at first attempted openly. In the
  first centuries the true Sabbath had been kept by all Christians.
  They were jealous for the honour of God, and, believing that His law
  is immutable, they zealously guarded the sacredness of its precepts.
  But with great subtlety Satan worked through his agents to bring
  about his object. That the attention of the people might be called to
  the Sunday, it was made a festival in honour of the resurrection of
  Christ. Religious services were held upon it; yet it was regarded as
  a day of recreation, the Sabbath being still sacredly observed.
   
   
  To
  prepare the way for the work which he designed to accomplish, Satan
  had led the Jews, before the advent of Christ, to load down the
  Sabbath with the most rigorous exactions, making its observance a
  burden. Now, taking advantage of the false light in which he had thus
  caused it to be regarded, he cast contempt upon it as a Jewish
  institution. While Christians generally continued to observe the
  Sunday as a joyous festival, he led them, in order to show their
  hatred of Judaism, to make the Sabbath a fast, a day of sadness and
  gloom.  In the early part of the fourth century the emperor
  Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public festival
  throughout the Roman Empire. (See Appendix .) The day of the sun was
  reverenced by his pagan subjects and was honoured by Christians; it
  was the emperor's policy to unite the conflicting interests of
  heathenism and Christianity. He was urged to do this by the bishops
  of the church, who, inspired by ambition and thirst for power,
  perceived that if the same day was observed by both Christians and
  heathen, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by
  pagans and thus advance the power and glory of the church.
   
   
  But
  while many God-fearing Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday
  as possessing a degree of sacredness, they still held the true
  Sabbath as the holy of the Lord and observed it in obedience to the
  fourth commandment.  The archdeceiver had not completed his work. He
  was resolved to gather the Christian world under his banner and to
  exercise his power through his vicegerent, the proud pontiff who
  claimed to be the representative of Christ. Through half-converted
  pagans, ambitious prelates, and world-loving churchmen he
  accomplished his purpose. Vast councils were held from time to time,
  in which the dignitaries of the church were convened from all the
  world. In nearly every council the Sabbath which God had instituted
  was pressed down a little lower, while the Sunday was correspondingly
  exalted. Thus, the pagan festival came finally to be honoured as a
  divine institution, while the Bible Sabbath was pronounced a relic of
  Judaism, and its observers were declared to be accursed.
   
   
  The
  great apostate had succeeded in exalting himself "above all that
  is called God, or that is worshiped." 2 Thessalonians 2:4. He
  had dared to change the only precept of the divine law that
  unmistakably points all mankind to the true and living God. In the
  fourth commandment, God is revealed as the Creator of the heavens and
  the earth, and is thereby distinguished from all false gods. It was
  as a memorial of the work of creation that the seventh day was
  sanctified as a rest day for man. It was designed to keep the living
  God ever before the minds of men as the source of being and the
  object of reverence and worship. Satan strives to turn men from their
  allegiance to God, and from rendering obedience to His law;
  therefore, he directs his efforts especially against that commandment
  which points to God as the Creator.
   
   
  Protestants
  now urge that the resurrection of Christ on Sunday made it the
  Christian Sabbath. But Scripture evidence is lacking. No such honour
  was given to the day by Christ or His apostles. The observance of
  Sunday as a Christian institution had its origin in that "mystery
  of lawlessness" (2 Thessalonians 2:7, R.V.) which, even in
  Paul's day, had begun its work. Where and when did the Lord adopt
  this child of the papacy? What valid reason can be given for a change
  which the Scriptures do not sanction?  In the sixth century the
  papacy had become firmly established. Its seat of power was fixed in
  the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared to be the head
  over the entire church. Paganism had given place to the papacy. The
  dragon had given to the beast "his power, and his seat, and
  great authority." Revelation 13:2. And now began the 1260 years
  of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the
  Revelation. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7. (See Appendix .)
   
   
  Christians
  were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the
  papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons
  or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman's ax. Now
  were fulfilled the words of Jesus: "Ye shall be betrayed both by
  parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you
  shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men
  for My name's sake." Luke 21:16, 17. Persecution opened upon the
  faithful with greater fury than ever before,  and the world became a
  vast battlefield. For hundreds of years the church of Christ found
  refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the prophet: "The
  woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of
  God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
  threescore days." Revelation 12:6.
   
   
  The
  accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the
  Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was
  transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome.
  Instead of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for
  eternal salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests
  and prelates to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that
  the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God
  except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God
  to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from
  his requirements was sufficient cause for the severest punishment to
  be visited upon the bodies and souls of the offenders. Thus the minds
  of the people were turned away from God to fallible, erring, and
  cruel men, nay, more, to the prince of darkness himself, who
  exercised his power through them.
   
   
  Sin
  was disguised in a garb of sanctity. When the Scriptures are
  suppressed, and man comes to regard himself as supreme, we need look
  only for fraud, deception, and debasing iniquity. With the elevation
  of human laws and traditions was manifest the corruption that ever
  results from setting aside the law of God.  Those were days of peril
  for the church of Christ. The faithful standard-bearers were few
  indeed. Though the truth was not left without witnesses, yet at times
  it seemed that error and superstition would wholly prevail, and true
  religion would be banished from the earth. The gospel was lost sight
  of, but the forms of religion were multiplied, and the people were
  burdened with rigorous exactions.  They were taught not only to look
  to the pope as their mediator, but to trust to works of their own to
  atone for sin. Long pilgrimages, acts of penance, the worship of
  relics, the   erection of churches, shrines, and altars, the payment
  of large sums to the church--these and many similar acts were
  enjoined to appease the wrath of God or to secure His favour; as if
  God were like men, to be angered at trifles, or pacified by gifts or
  acts of penance!
   
   
  Notwithstanding
  that vice prevailed, even among the leaders of the Roman Church, her
  influence seemed steadily to increase. About the close of the eighth
  century, papists put forth the claim that in the first ages of the
  church the bishops of Rome had possessed the same spiritual power
  which they now assumed. To establish this claim, some means must be
  employed to give it a show of authority; and this was readily
  suggested by the father of lies. Ancient writings were forged by
  monks. Decrees of councils before unheard of were discovered,
  establishing the universal supremacy of the pope from the earliest
  times. And a church that had rejected the truth greedily accepted
  these deceptions. (See Appendix). The few faithful builders upon the
  true foundation. (1 Corinthians 3:10, 11) were perplexed and hindered
  as the rubbish of false doctrine obstructed the work. Like the
  builders upon the wall of Jerusalem in Nehemiah's day, some were
  ready to say: "The strength of the bearers of burdens is
  decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to
  build." Nehemiah 4:10.
   
   
  Wearied
  with the constant struggle against persecution, fraud, iniquity, and
  every other obstacle that Satan could devise to hinder their
  progress, some who had been faithful builders became disheartened;
  and for the sake of peace and security for their property and their
  lives, they turned away from the true foundation. Others, undaunted
  by the opposition of their enemies, fearlessly declared: "Be not
  ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible"
  (verse 14); and they proceeded with the work, everyone with his sword
  girded by his side. Ephesians 6:17.  The same spirit of hatred and
  opposition to the truth has inspired the enemies of God in every age,
  and the same vigilance and fidelity have been required in His
  servants. The words of Christ to the first disciples are applicable
  to His followers to the close of time: "What I say unto you I
  say unto all, Watch." Mark 13:37.
   
   
  The
  darkness seemed to grow more dense. Image worship became more
  general. Candles were burned before images, and prayers were offered
  to them. The most absurd and superstitious customs prevailed. The
  minds of men were so completely controlled by superstition that
  reason itself seemed to have lost its sway. While priests and bishops
  were themselves pleasure-loving, sensual, and corrupt, it could only
  be expected that the people who looked to them for guidance would be
  sunken in ignorance and vice.  Another step in papal assumption was
  taken, when, in the eleventh century, Pope Gregory VII proclaimed the
  perfection of the Roman Church. Among the propositions which he put
  forth was one declaring that the church had never erred, nor would it
  ever err, according to the Scriptures. But the Scripture proofs did
  not accompany the assertion. The proud pontiff also claimed the power
  to depose emperors, and declared that no sentence which he pronounced
  could be reversed by anyone, but that it was his prerogative to
  reverse the decisions of all others.
   
   
  A
  striking illustration of the tyrannical character of this advocate of
  infallibility was given in his treatment of the German emperor, Henry
  IV. For presuming to disregard the pope's authority, this monarch was
  declared to be excommunicated and dethroned. Terrified by the
  desertion and threats of his own princes, who were encouraged in
  rebellion against him by the papal mandate, Henry felt the necessity
  of making his peace with Rome. In company with his wife and a
  faithful servant he crossed the Alps in midwinter, that he might
  humble himself before the pope. Upon reaching the castle whither
  Gregory had withdrawn, he was conducted, without his guards, into an
  outer court, and there, in the severe cold of winter, with uncovered
  head and naked feet, and in a miserable dress, he awaited the pope's
  permission to come into his presence. Not until he had continued
  three days fasting and making confession, did the pontiff condescend
  to grant him pardon. Even then it was only upon condition that the
  emperor should await the sanction of the pope before resuming the
  insignia or exercising the power of royalty. And Gregory, elated with
  his triumph, boasted that it was his duty to pull down the pride of
  kings.
   
   
  How
  striking the contrast between the overbearing pride of this haughty
  pontiff and the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who represents
  Himself as pleading at the door of the heart for admittance, that He
  may come in to bring pardon and peace, and who taught His disciples:
  "Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant."
  Matthew 20:27.  The advancing centuries witnessed a constant increase
  of error in the doctrines put forth from Rome. Even before the
  establishment of the papacy the teachings of heathen philosophers had
  received attention and exerted an influence in the church. Many who
  professed conversion still clung to the tenets of their pagan
  philosophy, and not only continued its study themselves, but urged it
  upon others as a means of extending their influence among the
  heathen. Serious errors were thus introduced into the Christian
  faith. Prominent among these was the belief in man's natural
  immortality and his consciousness in death. This doctrine laid the
  foundation upon which Rome established the invocation of saints and
  the adoration of the Virgin Mary. From this sprang also the heresy of
  eternal torment for the finally impenitent, which was early
  incorporated into the papal faith.
   
   
  Then
  the way was prepared for the introduction of still another invention
  of paganism, which Rome named purgatory, and employed to terrify the
  credulous and superstitious multitudes. By this heresy is affirmed
  the existence of a place of torment, in which the souls of such as
  have not merited eternal damnation are to suffer punishment for their
  sins,  and from which, when freed from impurity, they are admitted to
  heaven. Still another fabrication was needed to enable Rome to profit
  by the fears and the vices of her adherents. This was supplied by the
  doctrine of indulgences. Full remission of sins, past, present, and
  future, and release from all the pains and penalties incurred, were
  promised to all who would enlist in the pontiff's wars to extend his
  temporal dominion, to punish his enemies, or to exterminate those who
  dared deny his spiritual supremacy. The people were also taught that
  by the payment of money to the church they might free themselves from
  sin, and also release the souls of their deceased friends who were
  confined in the tormenting flames. By such means did Rome fill her
  coffers and sustain the magnificence, luxury, and vice of the
  pretended representatives of Him who had not where to lay His head.
   
   
  The
  Scriptural ordinance of the Lord's Supper had been supplanted by the
  idolatrous sacrifice of the mass. Papal priests pretended, by their
  senseless mummery, to convert the simple bread and wine into the
  actual "body and blood of Christ."--Cardinal Wiseman, The
  Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the
  Blessed Eucharist, Proved From Scripture, lecture 8, sec. 3, par. 26.
  With blasphemous presumption, they openly claimed the power of
  creating God, the Creator of all things. Christians were required, on
  pain of death, to avow their faith in this horrible, Heaven-insulting
  heresy. Multitudes who refused were given to the flames.  In the
  thirteenth century was established that most terrible of all the
  engines of the papacy--the Inquisition. The prince of darkness
  wrought with the leaders of the papal hierarchy. In their secret
  councils Satan and his angels controlled the minds of evil men, while
  unseen in the midst stood an angel of God, taking the fearful record
  of their iniquitous decrees and writing the history of deeds too
  horrible to appear to human eyes. "Babylon the great" was
  "drunken with the blood of the saints." The mangled forms
  of millions of martyrs cried to God for vengeance upon that apostate
  power.
   
   
  Popery
  had become the world's despot. Kings and emperors bowed to the
  decrees of the Roman pontiff. The destinies of men, both for time and
  for eternity, seemed under his control. For hundreds of years the
  doctrines of Rome had been extensively and implicitly received, its
  rites reverently performed, its festivals generally observed. Its
  clergy were honoured and liberally sustained. Never since has the
  Roman Church attained to greater dignity, magnificence, or power. 
  But "the noon of the papacy was the midnight of the world."--J.
  A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, b. 1, ch. 4. The Holy
  Scriptures were almost unknown, not only to the people, but to the
  priests. Like the Pharisees of old, the papal leaders hated the light
  which would reveal their sins. God's law, the standard of
  righteousness, having been removed, they exercised power without
  limit, and practiced vice without restraint. Fraud, avarice, and
  profligacy prevailed. Men shrank from no crime by which they could
  gain wealth or position.
   
   
  The
  palaces of popes and prelates were scenes of the vilest debauchery.
  Some of the reigning pontiffs were guilty of crimes so revolting that
  secular rulers endeavoured to depose these dignitaries of the church
  as monsters too vile to be tolerated. For centuries Europe had made
  no progress in learning, arts, or civilization. A moral and
  intellectual paralysis had fallen upon Christendom.  The condition of
  the world under the Romish power presented a fearful and striking
  fulfillment of the words of the prophet Hosea: "My people are
  destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected
  knowledge, I will also reject thee: . . . seeing thou hast forgotten
  the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." "There
  is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By
  swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing
  adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood." Hosea 4:6,
  1, 2. Such were the results of banishing the word of God.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 4. A Peculiar People 
   
  Amid
  the gloom that settled upon the earth during the long period of papal
  supremacy, the light of truth could not be wholly extinguished. In
  every age there were witnesses for God--men who cherished faith in
  Christ as the only mediator between God and man, who held the Bible
  as the only rule of life, and who hallowed the true Sabbath. How much
  the world owes to these men, posterity will never know. They were
  branded as heretics, their motives impugned, their characters
  maligned, their writings suppressed, misrepresented, or mutilated.
  Yet they stood firm, and from age to age maintained their faith in
  its purity, as a sacred heritage for the generations to come.
   
   
  The
  history of God's people during the ages of darkness that followed
  upon Rome's supremacy is written in heaven, but they have little
  place in human records. Few traces of their existence can be found,
  except in the accusations of their persecutors. It was the policy of
  Rome to obliterate every trace of dissent from her doctrines or
  decrees. Everything heretical, whether persons or writings, she
  sought to destroy. Expressions of doubt, or questions as to the
  authority of papal dogmas, were enough to forfeit the life of rich or
  poor, high or low. Rome endeavoured also to destroy every record of
  her cruelty toward dissenters. Papal councils decreed that books and
  writings containing such records should be committed to the flames.
  Before the invention of printing, books were few in number, and in a
  form not favourable for preservation; therefore there was little to
  prevent the Romanists from carrying out their purpose.
   
   
  No
  church within the limits of Romish jurisdiction was long left
  undisturbed in the enjoyment of freedom of conscience. No sooner had
  the papacy obtained power than she stretched out her arms to crush
  all that refused to acknowledge her sway, and one after another the
  churches submitted to her dominion.  In Great Britain primitive
  Christianity had very early taken root. The gospel received by the
  Britons in the first centuries was then uncorrupted by Romish
  apostasy. Persecution from pagan emperors, which extended even to
  these far-off shores, was the only gift that the first churches of
  Britain received from Rome. Many of the Christians, fleeing from
  persecution in England, found refuge in Scotland; thence the truth
  was carried to Ireland, and in all these countries it was received
  with gladness.
   
   
  When
  the Saxons invaded Britain, heathenism gained control. The conquerors
  disdained to be instructed by their slaves, and the Christians were
  forced to retreat to the mountains and the wild moors. Yet the light,
  hidden for a time, continued to burn. In Scotland, a century later,
  it shone out with a brightness that extended to far-distant lands.
  From Ireland came the pious Columba and his colabourers, who,
  gathering about them the scattered believers on the lonely island of
  Iona, made this the centre of their missionary labours. Among these
  evangelists was an observer of the Bible Sabbath, and thus this truth
  was introduced among the people. A school was established at Iona,
  from which missionaries went out, not only to Scotland and England,
  but to Germany, Switzerland, and even Italy.  But Rome had fixed her
  eyes on Britain, and resolved to bring it under her supremacy. In the
  sixth century her missionaries undertook the conversion of the
  heathen Saxons.
   
   
  They
  were received with favour by the proud barbarians, and they induced
  many thousands to profess the Romish faith. As the work progressed,
  the papal leaders and their converts encountered the primitive
  Christians. A striking contrast was presented. The latter were
  simple, humble, and Scriptural in character, doctrine, and manners,
  while the former manifested the superstition, pomp, and arrogance of
  popery. The emissary of Rome demanded that these Christian churches
  acknowledge the supremacy of the sovereign pontiff. The Britons
  meekly replied that they desired to love all men, but that the pope
  was not entitled to supremacy in the church, and they could render to
  him only that submission which was due to every follower of Christ.
  Repeated attempts were made to secure their allegiance to Rome; but
  these humble Christians, amazed at the pride displayed by her
  emissaries, steadfastly replied that they knew no other master than
  Christ. Now the true spirit of the papacy was revealed. Said the
  Romish leader: "If you will not receive brethren who bring you
  peace, you shall receive enemies who will bring you war. If you will
  not unite with us in showing the Saxons the way of life, you shall
  receive from them the stroke of death."--J. H. Merle D'Aubigne,
  History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, b. 17, ch. 2.
  These were no idle threats. War, intrigue, and deception were
  employed against these witnesses for a Bible faith, until the
  churches of Britain were destroyed, or forced to submit to the
  authority of the pope.
   
   
  In
  lands beyond the jurisdiction of Rome there existed for many
  centuries bodies of Christians who remained almost wholly free from
  papal corruption. They were surrounded by heathenism and in the lapse
  of ages were affected by its errors; but they continued to regard the
  Bible as the only rule of faith and adhered to many of its truths.
  These Christians believed in the perpetuity of the law of God and
  observed the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Churches that held to
  this faith and practice existed in Central Africa and among the
  Armenians of Asia.
   
   
  But
  of those who resisted the encroachments of the papal power, the
  Waldenses stood foremost. In the very land where popery had fixed its
  seat, there its falsehood and corruption were most steadfastly
  resisted. For centuries the churches of Piedmont maintained their
  independence; but the time came at last when Rome insisted upon their
  submission. After ineffectual struggles against her tyranny, the
  leaders of these churches reluctantly acknowledged the supremacy of
  the power to which the whole world seemed to pay homage. There were
  some, however, who refused to yield to the authority of pope or
  prelate. They were determined to maintain their allegiance to God and
  to preserve the purity and simplicity of their faith. A separation
  took place. Those who adhered to the ancient faith now withdrew;
  some, forsaking their native Alps, raised the banner of truth in
  foreign lands; others retreated to the secluded glens and rocky
  fastnesses of the mountains, and there preserved their freedom to
  worship God.
   
   
  The
  faith which for centuries was held and taught by the Waldensian
  Christians was in marked contrast to the false doctrines put forth
  from Rome. Their religious belief was founded upon the written word
  of God, the true system of Christianity. But those humble peasants,
  in their obscure retreats, shut away from the world, and bound to
  daily toil among their flocks and their vineyards, had not by
  themselves arrived at the truth in opposition to the dogmas and
  heresies of the apostate church. Theirs was not a faith newly
  received. Their religious belief was their inheritance from their
  fathers. They contended for the faith of the apostolic church,--"the
  faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Jude 3. "The
  church in the wilderness," and not the proud hierarchy enthroned
  in the world's great capital, was the true church of Christ, the
  guardian of the treasures of truth which God has committed to His
  people to be given to the world.
   
   
  Among
  the leading causes that had led to the separation of the true church
  from Rome was the hatred of the latter toward the Bible Sabbath. As
  foretold by prophecy, the papal power cast down the truth to the
  ground. The law of God was trampled in the dust, while the traditions
  and customs of men were exalted. The churches that were under the
  rule of the papacy were early compelled to honour the Sunday as a
  holy day. Amid the prevailing error and superstition, many, even of
  the true people of God, became so bewildered that while they observed
  the Sabbath, they refrained from labour also on the Sunday. But this
  did not satisfy the papal leaders. They demanded not only that Sunday
  be hallowed, but that the Sabbath be profaned; and they denounced in
  the strongest language those who dared to show it honour. It was only
  by fleeing from the power of Rome that any could obey God's law in
  peace.
   
   
  The
  Waldenses were among the first of the peoples of Europe to obtain a
  translation of the Holy Scriptures.Hundreds of years before the
  Reformation they possessed the Bible in manuscript in their native
  tongue. They had the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them the
  special objects of hatred and persecution. They declared the Church
  of Rome to be the apostate Babylon of the Apocalypse, and at the
  peril of their lives they stood up to resist her corruptions. While,
  under the pressure of long-continued persecution, some compromised
  their faith, little by little yielding its distinctive principles,
  others held fast the truth. Through ages of darkness and apostasy
  there were Waldenses who denied the supremacy of Rome, who rejected
  image worship as idolatry, and who kept the true Sabbath. Under the
  fiercest tempests of opposition they maintained their faith. Though
  gashed by the Savoyard spear, and scorched by the Romish fagot, they
  stood unflinchingly for God's word and His honour.
   
   
  Behind
  the lofty bulwarks of the mountains--in all ages the refuge of the
  persecuted and oppressed-the Waldenses found a hiding place. Here the
  light of truth was kept burning amid the darkness of the Middle Ages.
  Here, for a thousand years, witnesses for the truth maintained the
  ancient faith.  God had provided for His people a sanctuary of awful
  grandeur, befitting the mighty truths committed to their trust. To
  those faithful exiles the mountains were an emblem of the immutable
  righteousness of Jehovah. They pointed their children to the heights
  towering above them in unchanging majesty, and spoke to them of Him
  with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning, whose word
  is as enduring as the everlasting hills. God had set fast the
  mountains and girded them with strength; no arm but that of Infinite
  Power could move them out of their place. In like manner He had
  established His law, the foundation of His government in heaven and
  upon earth. The arm of man might reach his fellow men and destroy
  their lives; but that arm could as readily uproot the mountains from
  their foundations, and hurl them into the sea, as it could change one
  precept of the law of Jehovah, or blot out one of His promises to
  those who do His will. In their fidelity to His law, God's servants
  should be as firm as the unchanging hills.
   
   
  The
  mountains that girded their lowly valleys were a constant witness to
  God's creative power, and a never-failing assurance of His protecting
  care. Those pilgrims learned to love the silent symbols of Jehovah's
  presence. They indulged no repining because of the hardships of their
  lot; they were never lonely amid the mountain solitudes. They thanked
  God that He had provided for them an asylum from the wrath and
  cruelty of men. They rejoiced in their freedom to worship before Him.
  Often when pursued by their enemies, the strength of the hills proved
  a sure defense. From many a lofty cliff they chanted the praise of
  God, and the armies of Rome could not silence their songs of
  thanksgiving.
   
   
  Pure,
  simple, and fervent was the piety of these followers of Christ. The
  principles of truth they valued above houses and lands, friends,
  kindred, even life itself. These principles they earnestly sought to
  impress upon the hearts of the young. From earliest childhood the
  youth were instructed in the Scriptures and taught to regard sacredly
  the claims of the law of God. Copies of the Bible were rare;
  therefore its precious words were committed to memory. Many were able
  to repeat large portions of both the Old and the New Testament.
  Thoughts of God were associated alike with the sublime scenery of
  nature and with the humble blessings of daily life. Little children
  learned to look with gratitude to God as the giver of every favour
  and every comfort.
   
   
  Parents,
  tender and affectionate as they were, loved their children too wisely
  to accustom them to self-indulgence. Before them was a life of trial
  and hardship, perhaps a martyr's death. They were educated from
  childhood to endure hardness, to submit to control, and yet to think
  and act for themselves. Very early they were taught to bear
  responsibilities, to be guarded in speech, and to understand the
  wisdom of silence. One indiscreet word let fall in the hearing of
  their enemies might imperil not only the life of the speaker, but the
  lives of hundreds of his brethren; for as wolves hunting their prey
  did the enemies of truth pursue those who dared to claim freedom of
  religious faith.
   
   
  The
  Waldenses had sacrificed their worldly prosperity for the truth's
  sake, and with persevering patience they toiled for their bread.
  Every spot of tillable land among the mountains was carefully
  improved; the valleys and the less fertile hillsides were made to
  yield their increase. Economy and severe self-denial formed a part of
  the education which the children received as their only legacy. They
  were taught that God designs life to be a discipline, and that their
  wants could be supplied only by personal labour, by forethought,
  care, and faith. The process was laborious and wearisome, but it was
  wholesome, just what man needs in his fallen state, the school which
  God has provided for his training and development. While the youth
  were inured to toil and hardship, the culture of the intellect was
  not neglected. They were taught that all their powers belonged to
  God, and that all were to be improved and developed for His service.
   
   
  The
  Vaudois churches, in their purity and simplicity, resembled the
  church of apostolic times. Rejecting the supremacy of the pope and
  prelate, they held the Bible as the only supreme, infallible
  authority. Their pastors, unlike the lordly priests of Rome, followed
  the example of their Master, who "came not to be ministered
  unto, but to minister." They fed the flock of God, leading them
  to the green pastures and living fountains of His holy word. Far from
  the monuments of human pomp and pride the people assembled, not in
  magnificent churches or grand cathedrals, but beneath the shadow of
  the mountains, in the Alpine valleys, or, in time of danger, in some
  rocky stronghold, to listen to the words of truth from the servants
  of Christ. The pastors not only preached the gospel, but they visited
  the sick, catechised the children, admonished the erring, and
  laboured to settle disputes and promote harmony and brotherly love.
  In times of peace they were sustained by the freewill offerings of
  the people; but, like Paul the tentmaker, each learned some trade or
  profession by which, if necessary, to provide for his own support.
   
   
  From
  their pastors the youth received instruction. While attention was
  given to branches of general learning, the Bible was made the chief
  study. The Gospels of Matthew and John were committed to memory, with
  many of the Epistles. They were employed also in copying the
  Scriptures. Some manuscripts contained the whole Bible, others only
  brief selections, to which some simple explanations of the text were
  added by those who were able to expound the Scriptures. Thus were
  brought forth the treasures of truth so long concealed by those who
  sought to exalt themselves above God.  By patient, untiring labour,
  sometimes in the deep, dark caverns of the earth, by the light of
  torches, the Sacred Scriptures were written out, verse by verse,
  chapter by chapter. Thus the work went on, the revealed will of God
  shining out like pure gold; how much brighter, clearer, and more
  powerful because of the trials undergone for its sake only those
  could realise who were engaged in the work. Angels from heaven
  surrounded these faithful workers.
   
   
  Satan
  had urged on the papal priests and prelates to bury the word of truth
  beneath the rubbish of error, heresy, and superstition; but in a most
  wonderful manner it was preserved uncorrupted through all the ages of
  darkness. It bore not the stamp of man, but the impress of God. Men
  have been unwearied in their efforts to obscure the plain, simple
  meaning of the Scriptures, and to make them contradict their own
  testimony; but like the ark upon the billowy deep, the word of God
  outrides the storms that threaten it with destruction. As the mine
  has rich veins of gold and silver hidden beneath the surface, so that
  all must dig who would discover its precious stores, so the Holy
  Scriptures have treasures of truth that are revealed only to the
  earnest, humble, prayerful seeker. God designed the Bible to be a
  lesson book to all mankind, in childhood, youth, and manhood, and to
  be studied through all time. He gave His word to men as a revelation
  of Himself. Every new truth discerned is a fresh disclosure of the
  character of its Author.
   
   
  The
  study of the Scriptures is the means divinely ordained to bring men
  into closer connection with their Creator and to give them a clearer
  knowledge of His will. It is the medium of communication between God
  and man.  While the Waldenses regarded the fear of the Lord as the
  beginning of wisdom, they were not blind to the importance of a
  contact with the world, a knowledge of men and of active life, in
  expanding the mind and quickening the perceptions. From their schools
  in the mountains some of the youth were sent to institutions of
  learning in the cities of France or Italy, where was a more extended
  field for study, thought, and observation than in their native Alps.
  The youth thus sent forth were exposed to temptation, they witnessed
  vice, they encountered Satan's wily agents, who urged upon them the
  most subtle heresies and the most dangerous deceptions. But their
  education from childhood had been of a character to prepare them for
  all this.
   
   
  In
  the schools whither they went, they were not to make confidants of
  any. Their garments were so prepared as to conceal their greatest
  treasure--the precious manuscripts of the Scriptures. These, the
  fruit of months and years of toil, they carried with them, and
  whenever they could do so without exciting suspicion, they cautiously
  placed some portion in the way of those whose hearts seemed open to
  receive the truth. From their mother's knee the Waldensian youth had
  been trained with this purpose in view; they understood their work
  and faithfully performed it. Converts to the true faith were won in
  these institutions of learning, and frequently its principles were
  found to be permeating the entire school; yet the papal leaders could
  not, by the closest inquiry, trace the so-called corrupting heresy to
  its source.
   
   
  The
  spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit. The very first impulse of
  the renewed heart is to bring others also to the Saviour. Such was
  the spirit of the Vaudois Christians. They felt that God required
  more of them than merely to preserve the truth in its purity in their
  own churches; that a solemn responsibility rested upon them to let
  their light shine forth to those who were in darkness; by the mighty
  power of God's word they sought to break the bondage which Rome had
  imposed. The Vaudois ministers were trained as missionaries, everyone
  who expected to enter the ministry being required first to gain an
  experience as an evangelist. Each  was to serve three years in some
  mission field before taking charge of a church at home. This service,
  requiring at the outset self-denial and sacrifice, was a fitting
  introduction to the pastor's life in those times that tried men's
  souls. The youth who received ordination to the sacred office saw
  before them, not the prospect of earthly wealth and glory, but a life
  of toil and danger, and possibly a martyr's fate. The missionaries
  went out two and two, as Jesus sent forth His disciples. With each
  young man was usually associated a man of age and experience, the
  youth being under the guidance of his companion, who was held
  responsible for his training, and whose instruction he was required
  to heed. These co-labourers were not always together, but often met
  for prayer and counsel, thus strengthening each other in the faith.
   
   
  To
  have made known the object of their mission would have ensured its
  defeat; therefore they carefully concealed their real character.
  Every minister possessed a knowledge of some trade or profession, and
  the missionaries prosecuted their work under cover of a secular
  calling. Usually they chose that of merchant or peddler. "They
  carried silks, jewellry, and other articles, at that time not easily
  purchasable save at distant marts; and they were welcomed as
  merchants where they would have been spurned as missionaries."--
  Wylie, b. 1, ch. 7. All the while their hearts were uplifted to God
  for wisdom to present a treasure more precious than gold or gems.
  They secretly carried about with them copies of the Bible, in whole
  or in part; and whenever an opportunity was presented, they called
  the attention of their customers to these manuscripts. Often an
  interest to read God's word was thus awakened, and some portion was
  gladly left with those who desired to receive it.
   
   
  The
  work of these missionaries began in the plains and valleys at the
  foot of their own mountains, but it extended far beyond these limits.
  With naked feet and in garments coarse and travel-stained as were
  those of their Master, they passed through great cities and
  penetrated to distant lands. Everywhere they scattered the precious
  seed. Churches sprang up in their path, and the blood of martyrs
  witnessed for the truth. The day of God will reveal a rich harvest of
  souls garnered by the labours of these faithful men. Veiled and
  silent, the word of God was making its way through Christendom and
  meeting a glad reception in the homes and hearts of men.  To the
  Waldenses the Scriptures were not merely a record of God's dealings
  with men in the past, and a revelation of the responsibilities and
  duties of the present, but an unfolding of the perils and glories of
  the future. They believed that the end of all things was not far
  distant, and as they studied the Bible with prayer and tears they
  were the more deeply impressed with its precious utterances and with
  their duty to make known to others its saving truths. They saw the
  plan of salvation clearly revealed in the sacred pages, and they
  found comfort, hope, and peace in believing in Jesus. As the light
  illuminated their understanding and made glad their hearts, they
  longed to shed its beams upon those who were in the darkness of papal
  error.
   
   
  They
  saw that under the guidance of pope and priest, multitudes were
  vainly endeavouring to obtain pardon by afflicting their bodies for
  the sin of their souls. Taught to trust to their good works to save
  them, they were ever looking to themselves, their minds dwelling upon
  their sinful condition, seeing themselves exposed to the wrath of
  God, afflicting soul and body, yet finding no relief. Thus
  conscientious souls were bound by the doctrines of Rome. Thousands
  abandoned friends and kindred, and spent their lives in convent
  cells. By oft-repeated fasts and cruel scourgings, by midnight
  vigils, by prostration for weary hours upon the cold, damp stones of
  their dreary abode, by long pilgrimages, by humiliating penance and
  fearful torture, thousands vainly sought to obtain peace of
  conscience. Oppressed with a sense of sin, and haunted with the fear
  of God's avenging wrath, many suffered on, until exhausted nature
  gave way, and without one ray of light or hope they sank into the
  tomb.
   
   
  The
  Waldenses longed to break to these starving souls the bread of life,
  to open to them the messages of peace in the promises of God, and to
  point them to Christ as their only hope of salvation. The doctrine
  that good works can atone for the transgression of God's law they
  held to be based upon falsehood. Reliance upon human merit intercepts
  the view of Christ's infinite love. Jesus died as a sacrifice for man
  because the fallen race can do nothing to recommend themselves to
  God. The merits of a crucified and risen Saviour are the foundation
  of the Christian's faith. The dependence of the soul upon Christ is
  as real, and its connection with Him must be as close, as that of a
  limb to the body, or of a branch to the vine.
   
   
  The
  teachings of popes and priests had led men to look upon the character
  of God, and even of Christ, as stern, gloomy, and forbidding. The
  Saviour was represented as so far devoid of sympathy with man in his
  fallen state that the mediation of priests and saints must be
  invoked. Those whose minds had been enlightened by the word of God
  longed to point these souls to Jesus as their compassionate, loving
  Saviour, standing with outstretched arms, inviting all to come to Him
  with their burden of sin, their care and weariness. They longed to
  clear away the obstructions which Satan had piled up that men might
  not see the promises, and come directly to God, confessing their
  sins, and obtaining pardon and peace.
   
   
  Eagerly
  did the Vaudois missionary unfold to the inquiring mind the precious
  truths of the gospel. Cautiously he produced the carefully written
  portions of the Holy Scriptures. It was his greatest joy to give hope
  to the conscientious, sin-stricken soul, who could see only a God of
  vengeance, waiting to execute justice. With quivering lip and tearful
  eye did he, often on bended knees, open to his brethren the precious
  promises that reveal the sinner's only hope. Thus the light of truth
  penetrated many a darkened mind, rolling back the cloud of gloom,
  until the Sun of Righteousness shone into the heart with healing in
  His beams. It was often the case that some portion of Scripture was
  read again and again, the hearer desiring it to be repeated, as if he
  would assure himself that he had heard aright. Especially was the
  repetition of these words eagerly desired: "The blood of Jesus
  Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. "As
  Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
  of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not
  perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15.
   
   
  Many
  were undeceived in regard to the claims of Rome. They saw how vain is
  the mediation of men or angels in behalf of the sinner. As the true
  light dawned upon their minds they exclaimed with rejoicing: "Christ
  is my priest; His blood is my sacrifice; His altar is my
  confessional." They cast themselves wholly upon the merits of
  Jesus, repeating the words, "Without faith it is impossible to
  please Him." Hebrews 11:6. "There is none other name under
  heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12. 
  The assurance of a Saviour's love seemed too much for some of these
  poor tempest-tossed souls to realize. So great was the relief which
  it brought, such a flood of light was shed upon them, that they
  seemed transported to heaven. Their hands were laid confidingly in
  the hand of Christ; their feet were planted upon the Rock of Ages.
  All fear of death was banished. They could now covet the prison and
  the fagot if they might thereby honour the name of their Redeemer.
   
   
  In
  secret places the word of God was thus brought forth and read,
  sometimes to a single soul, sometimes to a little company who were
  longing for light and truth. Often the entire night was spent in this
  manner. So great would be the wonder and admiration of the listeners
  that the messenger of mercy was not infrequently compelled to cease
  his reading  until the understanding could grasp the tidings of
  salvation. Often would words like these be uttered: "Will God
  indeed accept my offering? Will He smile upon me? Will He pardon me?
  " The answer was read: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour
  and are heavy-laden, and I will give your rest." Matthew 11:28.
   
   
  Faith
  grasped the promise, and the glad response was heard: "No more
  long pilgrimages to make; no more painful journeys to holy shrines. I
  may come to Jesus just as I am, sinful and unholy, and He will not
  spurn the penitential prayer. 'Thy sins be forgiven thee.' Mine, even
  mine, may be forgiven!"   A tide of sacred joy would fill the
  heart, and the name of Jesus would be magnified by praise and
  thanksgiving. Those happy souls returned to their homes to diffuse
  light, to repeat to others, as well as they could, their new
  experience; that they had found the true and living Way. There was a
  strange and solemn power in the words of Scripture that spoke
  directly to the hearts of those who were longing for the truth. It
  was the voice of God, and it carried conviction to those who heard.
   
   
  The
  messenger of truth went on his way; but his appearance of humility,
  his sincerity, his earnestness and deep fervour, were subjects of
  frequent remark. In many instances his hearers had not asked him
  whence he came or whither he went. They had been so overwhelmed, at
  first with surprise, and afterward with gratitude and joy, that they
  had not thought to question him. When they had urged him to accompany
  them to their homes, he had replied that he must visit the lost sheep
  of the flock. Could he have been an angel from heaven? they queried. 
  In many cases the messenger of truth was seen no more. He had made
  his way to other lands, or he was wearing out his life in some
  unknown dungeon, or perhaps his bones were whitening on the spot
  where he had witnessed for the truth. But the words he had left
  behind could not be destroyed. They were doing their work in the
  hearts of men; the blessed results will be fully known only in the
  judgment.
   
   
  The
  Waldensian missionaries were invading the kingdom of Satan, and the
  powers of darkness aroused to greater vigilance. Every effort to
  advance the truth was watched by the prince of evil, and he excited
  the fears of his agents. The papal leaders saw a portent of danger to
  their cause from the labours of these humble itinerants. If the light
  of truth were allowed to shine unobstructed, it would sweep away the
  heavy clouds of error that enveloped the people. It would direct the
  minds of men to God alone and would eventually destroy the supremacy
  of Rome.  The very existence of this people, holding the faith of the
  ancient church, was a constant testimony to Rome's apostasy, and
  therefore excited the most bitter hatred and persecution. Their
  refusal to surrender the Scriptures was also an offense that Rome
  could not tolerate. She determined to blot them from the earth. Now
  began the most terrible crusades against God's people in their
  mountain homes. Inquisitors were put upon their track, and the scene
  of innocent Abel falling before the murderous Cain was often
  repeated.
   
   
  Again
  and again were their fertile lands laid waste, their dwellings and
  chapels swept away, so that where once were flourishing fields and
  the homes of an innocent, industrious people, there remained only a
  desert. As the ravenous beast is rendered more furious by the taste
  of blood, so the rage of the papists was kindled to greater intensity
  by the sufferings of their victims. Many of these witnesses for a
  pure faith were pursued across the mountains and hunted down in the
  valleys where they were hidden, shut in by mighty forests and
  pinnacles of rock.  No charge could be brought against the moral
  character of this proscribed class. Even their enemies declared them
  to be a peaceable, quiet, pious people. Their grand offense was that
  they would not worship God according to the will of the pope. For
  this crime every humiliation, insult, and torture that men or devils
  could invent was heaped upon them.
   
   
  When
  Rome at one time determined to exterminate the hated sect, a bull was
  issued by the pope, condemning them as heretics, and delivering them
  to slaughter.They were not accused as idlers, or dishonest, or
  disorderly; but it was declared that they had an appearance of piety
  and sanctity that seduced "the sheep of the true fold."
  Therefore the pope ordered "that malicious and abominable sect
  of malignants," if they "refuse to abjure, to be crushed
  like venomous snakes."--Wylie, b. 16, ch. 1. Did this haughty
  potentate expect to meet those words again? Did he know that they
  were registered in the books of heaven, to confront him at the
  judgment? "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of
  these My brethren," said Jesus, "ye have done it unto Me."
  Matthew 25:40.
   
   
  This
  bull called upon all members of the church to join the crusade
  against the heretics. As an incentive to engage in this cruel work,
  it "absolved from all ecclesiastical pains and penalties,
  general and particular; it released all who joined the crusade from
  any oaths they might have taken; it legitimatized their title to any
  property they might have illegally acquired; and promised remission
  of all their sins to such as should kill any heretic. It annulled all
  contracts made in favour of Vaudois, ordered their domestics to
  abandon them, forbade all persons to give them any aid whatever, and
  empowered all persons to take possession of their property."--Wylie,
  b. 16, ch. 1. This document clearly reveals the master spirit behind
  the scenes. It is the roar of the dragon, and not the voice of
  Christ, that is heard therein.
   
   
  The
  papal leaders would not conform their characters to the great
  standard of God's law, but erected a standard to suit themselves, and
  determined to compel all to conform to this because Rome willed it.
  The most horrible tragedies were enacted. Corrupt and blasphemous
  priests and popes were doing the work which Satan appointed them.
  Mercy had  no place in their natures. The same spirit that crucified
  Christ and slew the apostles, the same that moved the blood-thirsty
  Nero against the faithful in his day, was at work to rid the earth of
  those who were beloved of God.  The persecutions visited for many
  centuries upon this God-fearing people were endured by them with a
  patience and constancy that honoured their Redeemer. Notwithstanding
  the crusades against them, and the inhuman butchery to which they
  were subjected, they continued to send out their missionaries to
  scatter the precious truth. They were hunted to death; yet their
  blood watered the seed sown, and it failed not of yielding fruit.
  Thus the Waldenses witnessed for God centuries before the birth of
  Luther. Scattered over many lands, they planted the seeds of the
  Reformation that began in the time of Wycliffe, grew broad and deep
  in the days of Luther, and is to be carried forward to the close of
  time by those who also are willing to suffer all things for "the
  word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation
  1:9.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 5. Champion of Truth 
   
  Before
  the Reformation there were at times but very few copies of the Bible
  in existence, but God had not suffered His word to be wholly
  destroyed. Its truths were not to be forever hidden. He could as
  easily unchain the words of life as He could open prison doors and
  unbolt iron gates to set His servants free. In the different
  countries of Europe men were moved by the Spirit of God to search for
  the truth as for hid treasures. Providentially guided to the Holy
  Scriptures, they studied the sacred pages with intense interest. They
  were willing to accept the light at any cost to themselves. Though
  they did not see all things clearly, they were enabled to perceive
  many long-buried truths. As Heaven-sent messengers they went forth,
  rending asunder the chains of error and superstition, and calling
  upon those who had been so long enslaved, to arise and assert their
  liberty.
   
   
  Except
  among the Waldenses, the word of God had for ages been locked up in
  languages known only to the learned; but the time had come for the
  Scriptures to be translated and given to the people of different
  lands in their native tongue. The world had passed its midnight. The
  hours of darkness were wearing away, and in many lands appeared
  tokens of the coming dawn.  In the fourteenth century arose in
  England the "morning star of the Reformation." John
  Wycliffe was the herald of reform, not for England alone, but for all
  Christendom. The great protest against Rome which it was permitted
  him to utter was never to be silenced. That protest opened the
  struggle which was to result in the emancipation of individuals, of
  churches, and of nations.
   
   
  Wycliffe
  received a liberal education, and with him the fear of the Lord was
  the beginning of wisdom. He was noted at college for his fervent
  piety as well as for his remarkable talents and sound scholarship. In
  his thirst for knowledge he sought to become acquainted with every
  branch of learning. He was educated in the scholastic philosophy, in
  the canons of the church, and in the civil law, especially that of
  his own country. In his after labours the value of this early
  training was apparent. A thorough acquaintance with the speculative
  philosophy of his time enabled him to expose its errors; and by his
  study of national and ecclesiastical law he was prepared to engage in
  the great struggle for civil and religious liberty. While he could
  wield the weapons drawn from the word of God, he had acquired the
  intellectual discipline of the schools, and he understood the tactics
  of the schoolmen. The power of his genius and the extent and
  thoroughness of his knowledge commanded the respect of both friends
  and foes.
   
   
  His
  adherents saw with satisfaction that their champion stood foremost
  among the leading minds of the nation; and his enemies were prevented
  from casting contempt upon the cause of reform by exposing the
  ignorance or weakness of its supporter.  While Wycliffe was still at
  college, he entered upon the study of the Scriptures. In those early
  times, when the Bible existed only in the ancient languages, scholars
  were enabled to find their way to the fountain of truth, which was
  closed to the uneducated classes. Thus already the way had been
  prepared for Wycliffe's future work as a Reformer. Men of learning
  had studied the word of God and had found the great truth of His free
  grace there revealed. In their teachings they had spread a knowledge
  of this truth, and had led others to turn to the living oracles.
   
   
  When
  Wycliffe's attention was directed to the Scriptures, he entered upon
  their investigation with the same thoroughness which had enabled him
  to master the learning of the schools. Heretofore he had felt a great
  want, which neither his scholastic studies nor the teaching of the
  church could satisfy. In the word of God he found that which he had
  before sought in vain. Here he saw the plan of salvation revealed and
  Christ set forth as the only advocate for man. He gave himself to the
  service of Christ and determined to proclaim the truths he had
  discovered.
   
   
  Like
  after Reformers, Wycliffe did not, at the opening of his work,
  foresee whither it would lead him. He did not set himself
  deliberately in opposition to Rome. But devotion to truth could not
  but bring him in conflict with falsehood. The more clearly he
  discerned the errors of the papacy, the more earnestly he presented
  the teaching of the Bible. He saw that Rome had forsaken the word of
  God for human tradition; he fearlessly accused the priesthood of
  having banished the Scriptures, and demanded that the Bible be
  restored to the people and that its authority be again established in
  the church. He was an able and earnest teacher and an eloquent
  preacher, and his daily life was a demonstration of the truths he
  preached. His knowledge of the Scriptures, the force of his
  reasoning, the purity of his life, and his unbending courage and
  integrity won for him general esteem and confidence. Many of the
  people had become dissatisfied with their former faith as they saw
  the iniquity that prevailed in the Roman Church, and they hailed with
  unconcealed joy the truths brought to view by Wycliffe; but the papal
  leaders were filled with rage when they perceived that this Reformer
  was gaining an influence greater than their own.
   
   
  Wycliffe
  was a keen detector of error, and he struck fearlessly against many
  of the abuses sanctioned by the authority of Rome. While acting as
  chaplain for the king, he took a bold stand against the payment of
  tribute claimed by the pope from the English monarch and showed that
  the papal assumption of authority over secular rulers was contrary to
  both reason and revelation. The demands of the pope had excited great
  indignation, and Wycliffe's teachings exerted an influence upon the
  leading minds of the nation. The king and the nobles united in
  denying the pontiff's claim to temporal authority and in refusing the
  payment of the tribute. Thus an effectual blow was struck against the
  papal supremacy in England.
   
   
  Another
  evil against which the Reformer waged long and resolute battle was
  the institution of the orders of mendicant friars. These friars
  swarmed in England, casting a blight upon the greatness and
  prosperity of the nation. Industry, education, morals, all felt the
  withering influence. The monk's life of idleness and beggary was not
  only a heavy drain upon the resources of the people, but it brought
  useful labour into contempt. The youth were demoralized and
  corrupted. By the influence of the friars many were induced to enter
  a cloister and devote themselves to a monastic life, and this not
  only without the consent of their parents, but even without their
  knowledge and contrary to their commands. One of the early Fathers of
  the Roman Church, urging the claims of monasticism above the
  obligations of filial love and duty, had declared: "Though thy
  father should lie before thy door weeping and lamenting, and thy
  mother should show the body that bore thee and the breasts that
  nursed thee, see that thou trample them underfoot, and go onward
  straightway to Christ." By this "monstrous inhumanity,"
  as Luther afterward styled it, "savoring more of the wolf and
  the tyrant than of the Christian and the man," were the hearts
  of children steeled against their parents.--Barnas Sears, The Life of
  Luther, pages 70, 69.
   
   
  Thus
  did the papal leaders, like the Pharisees of old, make the
  commandment of God of none effect by their tradition. Thus homes were
  made desolate and parents were deprived of the society of their sons
  and daughters.  Even the students in the universities were deceived
  by the false representations of the monks and induced to join their
  orders. Many afterward repented this step, seeing that they had
  blighted their own lives and had brought sorrow upon their parents;
  but once fast in the snare it was impossible for them to obtain their
  freedom. Many parents, fearing the influence of the monks, refused to
  send their sons to the universities. There was a marked falling off
  in the number of students in attendance at the great centres of
  learning. The schools languished, and ignorance prevailed.
   
   
  The
  pope had bestowed on these monks the power to hear confessions and to
  grant pardon. This became a source of great evil. Bent on enhancing
  their gains, the friars were so ready to grant absolution that
  criminals of all descriptions resorted to them, and, as a result, the
  worst vices rapidly increased. The sick and the poor were left to
  suffer, while the gifts that should have relieved their wants went to
  the monks, who with threats demanded the alms of the people,
  denouncing the impiety of those who should withhold gifts from their
  orders. Notwithstanding their profession of poverty, the wealth of
  the friars was constantly increasing, and their magnificent edifices
  and luxurious tables made more apparent the growing poverty of the
  nation. And while spending their time in luxury and pleasure, they
  sent out in their stead ignorant men, who could only recount
  marvellous tales, legends, and jests to amuse the people and make
  them still more completely the dupes of the monks.
   
   
  Yet
  the friars continued to maintain their hold on the superstitious
  multitudes and led them to believe that all religious duty was
  comprised in acknowledging the supremacy of the pope, adoring the
  saints, and making gifts to the monks, and that this was sufficient
  to secure them a place in heaven.  Men of learning and piety had
  laboured in vain to bring about a reform in these monastic orders;
  but Wycliffe, with clearer insight, struck at the root of the evil,
  declaring that the system itself was false and that it should be
  abolished. Discussion and inquiry were awakening. As the monks
  traversed the country, vending the pope's pardons, many were led to
  doubt the possibility of purchasing forgiveness with money, and they
  questioned whether they should not seek pardon from God rather than
  from the pontiff of Rome. (See Appendix note for page 59.) Not a few
  were alarmed at the rapacity of the friars, whose greed seemed never
  to be satisfied. "The monks and priests of Rome," said
  they, "are eating us away like a cancer. God must deliver us, or
  the people will perish."-D'Aubigne, b. 17, ch. 7.
   
   
  To
  cover their avarice, these begging monks claimed that they were
  following the Saviour's example, declaring that Jesus and His
  disciples had been supported by the charities of the people. This
  claim resulted in injury to their cause, for it led many to the Bible
  to learn the truth for themselves--a result which of all others was
  least desired by Rome. The minds of men were directed to the Source
  of truth, which it was her object to conceal.  Wycliffe began to
  write and publish tracts against the friars, not, however, seeking so
  much to enter into dispute with them as to call the minds of the
  people to the teachings of the Bible and its Author. He declared that
  the power of pardon or of excommunication is possessed by the pope in
  no greater degree than by common priests, and that no man can be
  truly excommunicated unless he has first brought upon himself the
  condemnation of God. In no more effectual way could he have
  undertaken the overthrow of that mammoth fabric of spiritual and
  temporal dominion which the pope had erected and in which the souls
  and bodies of millions were held captive.
   
   
  Again
  Wycliffe was called to defend the rights of the English crown against
  the encroachments of Rome; and being appointed a royal ambassador, he
  spent two years in the Netherlands, in conference with the
  commissioners of the pope. Here he was brought into communication
  with  ecclesiastics from France, Italy, and Spain, and he had an
  opportunity to look behind the scenes and gain a knowledge of many
  things which would have remained hidden from him in England. He
  learned much that was to give point to his after labours. In these
  representatives from the papal court he read the true character and
  aims of the hierarchy. He returned to England to repeat his former
  teachings more openly and with greater zeal, declaring that
  covetousness, pride, and deception were the gods of Rome.
   
   
  In
  one of his tracts he said, speaking of the pope and his collectors:
  "They draw out of our land poor men's livelihood, and many
  thousand marks, by the year, of the king's money, for sacraments and
  spiritual things, that is cursed heresy of simony, and maketh all
  Christendom assent and maintain this heresy. And certes though our
  realm had a huge hill of gold, and never other man took thereof but
  only this proud worldly priest's collector, by process of time this
  hill must be spended; for he taketh ever money out of our land, and
  sendeth nought again but God's curse for his simony." -John
  Lewis, History of the Life and Sufferings of J. Wiclif, page 37. 
  Soon after his return to England, Wycliffe received from the king the
  appointment to the rectory of Lutterworth. This was an assurance that
  the monarch at least had not been displeased by his plain speaking.
  Wycliffe's influence was felt in shaping the action of the court, as
  well as in moulding the belief of the nation.
   
   
  The
  papal thunders were soon hurled against him. Three bulls were
  dispatched to England,--to the university, to the king, and to the
  prelates,--all commanding immediate and decisive measures to silence
  the teacher of heresy. (Augustus Neander, General History of the
  Christian Religion and Church, period 6, sec. 2, pt. 1, par. 8. See
  also Appendix.) Before the arrival of the bulls, however, the
  bishops, in their zeal, had summoned Wycliffe before them for trial.
  But two of the most powerful princes in the kingdom accompanied him
  to the tribunal; and the people, surrounding the building and rushing
  in, so intimidated the judges that the proceedings were for the time
  suspended, and he was allowed to go his way in peace. A little later,
  Edward III, whom in his old age the prelates were seeking to
  influence against the Reformer, died, and Wycliffe's former protector
  became regent of the kingdom.
   
   
  But
  the arrival of the papal bulls laid upon all England a peremptory
  command for the arrest and imprisonment of the heretic. These
  measures pointed directly to the stake. It appeared certain that
  Wycliffe must soon fall a prey to the vengeance of Rome. But He who
  declared to one of old, "Fear not: . . . I am thy shield"
  (Genesis 15:1), again stretched out His hand to protect His servant.
  Death came, not to the Reformer, but to the pontiff who had decreed
  his destruction. Gregory XI died, and the ecclesiastics who had
  assembled for Wycliffe's trial, dispersed.  God's providence still
  further overruled events to give opportunity for the growth of the
  Reformation. The death of Gregory was followed by the election of two
  rival popes. Two conflicting powers, each professedly infallible, now
  claimed obedience. (See Appendix notes for pages 50 and 86.) Each
  called upon the faithful to assist him in making war upon the other,
  enforcing his demands by terrible anathemas against his adversaries,
  and promises of rewards in heaven to his supporters.
   
   
  This
  occurrence greatly weakened the power of the papacy. The rival
  factions had all they could do to attack each other, and Wycliffe for
  a time had rest. Anathemas and recriminations were flying from pope
  to pope, and torrents of blood were poured out to support their
  conflicting claims. Crimes and scandals flooded the church. Meanwhile
  the Reformer, in the quiet retirement of his parish of Lutterworth,
  was labouring diligently to point men from the contending popes to
  Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  The schism, with all the strife and
  corruption which it caused, prepared the way for the Reformation by
  enabling the people to see what the papacy really was. In a tract
  which he published, On the Schism of the Popes, Wycliffe called  upon
  the people to consider whether these two priests were not speaking
  the truth in condemning each other as the anti-christ. "God,"
  said he, "would no longer suffer the fiend to reign in only one
  such priest, but . . . made division among two, so that men, in
  Christ's name, may the more easily overcome them both."--R.
  Vaughan, Life and Opinions of John de Wycliffe, vol. 2, p. 6.
   
   
  Wycliffe,
  like his Master, preached the gospel to the poor. Not content with
  spreading the light in their humble homes in his own parish of
  Lutterworth, he determined that it should be carried to every part of
  England. To accomplish this he organized a body of preachers, simple,
  devout men, who loved the truth and desired nothing so much as to
  extend it. These men went everywhere, teaching in the market places,
  in the streets of the great cities, and in the country lanes. They
  sought out the aged, the sick, and the poor, and opened to them the
  glad tidings of the grace of God. As a professor of theology at
  Oxford, Wycliffe preached the word of God in the halls of the
  university. So faithfully did he present the truth to the students
  under his instruction, that he received the title of "the gospel
  doctor." But the greatest work of his life was to be the
  translation of the Scriptures into the English language. In a work,
  On the Truth and Meaning of Scripture, he expressed his intention to
  translate the Bible, so that every man in England might read, in the
  language in which he was born, the wonderful works of God.
   
   
  But
  suddenly his labours were stopped. Though not yet sixty years of age,
  unceasing toil, study, and the assaults of his enemies had told upon
  his strength and made him prematurely old. He was attacked by a
  dangerous illness. The tidings brought great joy to the friars. Now
  they thought he would bitterly repent the evil he had done the
  church, and they hurried to his chamber to listen to his confession.
  Representatives from the four religious orders, with four civil
  officers, gathered about the supposed dying man. "You  have
  death on your lips," they said; "be touched by your faults,
  and retract in our presence all that you have said to our injury."
  The Reformer listened in silence; then he bade his attendant raise
  him in his bed, and, gazing steadily upon them as they stood waiting
  for his recantation, he said, in the firm, strong voice which had so
  often caused them to tremble: "I shall not die, but live; and
  again declare the evil deeds of the friars."--D'Aubigne, b. 17,
  ch. 7. Astonished and abashed, the monks hurried from the room.
   
   
  Wycliffe's
  words were fulfilled. He lived to place in the hands of his
  countrymen the most powerful of all weapons against Rome--to give
  them the Bible, the Heaven-appointed agent to liberate, enlighten,
  and evangelise the people. There were many and great obstacles to
  surmount in the accomplishment of this work. Wycliffe was weighed
  down with infirmities; he knew that only a few years for labour
  remained for him; he saw the opposition which he must meet; but,
  encouraged by the promises of God's word, he went forward nothing
  daunted. In the full vigour of his intellectual powers, rich in
  experience, he had been preserved and prepared by God's special
  providence for this, the greatest of his labours. While all
  Christendom was filled with tumult, the Reformer in his rectory at
  Lutterworth, unheeding the storm that raged without, applied himself
  to his chosen task.
   
   
  At
  last the work was completed--the first English translation of the
  Bible ever made. The word of God was opened to England. The Reformer
  feared not now the prison or the stake. He had placed in the hands of
  the English people a light which should never be extinguished. In
  giving the Bible to his countrymen, he had done more to break the
  fetters of ignorance and vice, more to liberate and elevate his
  country, than was ever achieved by the most brilliant victories on
  fields of battle.  The art of printing being still unknown, it was
  only by slow and wearisome labour that copies of the Bible could be
  multiplied. So great was the interest to obtain the book, that many
  willingly engaged in the work of transcribing it, but it was with
  difficulty that the copyists could supply the demand. Some of the
  more wealthy purchasers desired the whole Bible. Others bought only a
  portion. In many cases, several families united to purchase a copy.
  Thus Wycliffe's Bible soon found its way to the homes of the people.
   
   
  The
  appeal to men's reason aroused them from their passive submission to
  papal dogmas. Wycliffe now taught the distinctive doctrines of
  Protestantism--salvation through faith in Christ, and the sole
  infallibility of the Scriptures. The preachers whom he had sent out
  circulated the Bible, together with the Reformer's writings, and with
  such success that the new faith was accepted by nearly one half of
  the people of England.  The appearance of the Scriptures brought
  dismay to the authorities of the church. They had now to meet an
  agency more powerful than Wycliffe--an agency against which their
  weapons would avail little. There was at this time no law in England
  prohibiting the Bible, for it had never before been published in the
  language of the people. Such laws were afterward enacted and
  rigorously enforced. Meanwhile, notwithstanding the efforts of the
  priests, there was for a season opportunity for the circulation of
  the word of God.
   
   
  Again
  the papal leaders plotted to silence the Reformer's voice. Before
  three tribunals he was successively summoned for trial, but without
  avail. First a synod of bishops declared his writings heretical, and,
  winning the young king, Richard II, to their side, they obtained a
  royal decree consigning to prison all who should hold the condemned
  doctrines.  Wycliffe appealed from the synod to Parliament; he
  fearlessly arraigned the hierarchy before the national council and
  demanded a reform of the enormous abuses sanctioned by the church.
  With convincing power he portrayed the usurpation and corruptions of
  the papal see. His enemies were brought to confusion. The friends and
  supporters of Wycliffe had been forced to yield, and it had been 
  confidently expected that the Reformer himself, in his old age, alone
  and friendless, would bow to the combined authority of the crown and
  the miter. But instead of this the papists saw themselves defeated.
  Parliament, roused by the stirring appeals of Wycliffe, repealed the
  persecuting edict, and the Reformer was again at liberty.
   
   
  A
  third time he was brought to trial, and now before the highest
  ecclesiastical tribunal in the kingdom. Here no favour would be shown
  to heresy. Here at last Rome would triumph, and the Reformer's work
  would be stopped. So thought the papists. If they could but
  accomplish their purpose, Wycliffe would be forced to abjure his
  doctrines, or would leave the court only for the flames.  But
  Wycliffe did not retract; he would not dissemble. He fearlessly
  maintained his teachings and repelled the accusations of his
  persecutors. Losing sight of himself, of his position, of the
  occasion, he summoned his hearers before the divine tribunal, and
  weighed their sophistries and deceptions in the balances of eternal
  truth. The power of the Holy Spirit was felt in the council room. A
  spell from God was upon the hearers. They seemed to have no power to
  leave the place. As arrows from the Lord's quiver, the Reformer's
  words pierced their hearts. The charge of heresy, which they had
  brought against him, he with convincing power threw back upon
  themselves. Why, he demanded, did they dare to spread their errors?
  For the sake of gain, to make merchandise of the grace of God?  "With
  whom, think you," he finally said, "are ye contending? with
  an old man on the brink of the grave? No! with Truth--Truth which is
  stronger than you, and will overcome you."--Wylie, b. 2, ch. 13.
  So saying, he withdrew from the assembly, and not one of his
  adversaries attempted to prevent him.
   
   
  Wycliffe's
  work was almost done; the banner of truth which he had so long borne
  was soon to fall from his hand; but once more he was to bear witness
  for the gospel. The truth was to be proclaimed from the very
  stronghold of the kingdom of error. Wycliffe was summoned for trial
  before the papal tribunal at Rome, which had so often shed the blood
  of the saints. He was not blind to the danger that threatened him,
  yet he would have obeyed the summons had not a shock of palsy made it
  impossible for him to perform the journey. But though his voice was
  not to be heard at Rome, he could speak by letter, and this he
  determined to do. From his rectory the Reformer wrote to the pope a
  letter, which, while respectful in tone and Christian in spirit, was
  a keen rebuke to the pomp and pride of the papal see.
   
   
  "Verily
  I do rejoice," he said, "to open and declare unto every man
  the faith which I do hold, and especially unto the bishop of Rome:
  which, forasmuch as I do suppose to be sound and true, he will most
  willingly confirm my said faith, or if it be erroneous, amend the
  same.  "First, I suppose that the gospel of Christ is the whole
  body of God's law. . . . I do give and hold the bishop of Rome,
  forasmuch as he is the vicar of Christ here on earth, to be most
  bound, of all other men, unto that law of the gospel. For the
  greatness among Christ's disciples did not consist in worldly dignity
  or honours, but in the near and exact following of Christ in His life
  and manners.... Christ, for the time of His pilgrimage here, was a
  most poor man, abjecting and casting off all worldly rule and
  honour….
   
   
  No
  faithful man ought to follow either the pope himself or any of the
  holy men, but in such points as he hath followed the Lord Jesus
  Christ; for Peter and the sons of Zebedee, by desiring worldly
  honour, contrary to the following of Christ's steps, did offend, and
  therefore in those errors they are not to be followed…."The
  pope ought to leave unto the secular power all temporal dominion and
  rule, and thereunto effectually to move and exhort his whole clergy;
  for so did Christ, and especially by His apostles. Wherefore, if I
  have erred in any of these points, I will most humbly submit myself
  unto correction, even by death, if necessity so require; and if I
  could labour according to my will or desire in mine own person, I
  would surely present myself before the bishop of Rome; but the Lord
  hath otherwise visited me to the contrary, and hath taught me rather
  to obey God than men."  In closing he said: "Let us pray
  unto our God, that He will so stir up our Pope Urban VI, as he began,
  that he with his clergy may follow the Lord Jesus Christ in life and
  manners; and that they may teach the people effectually, and that
  they, likewise, may faithfully follow them in the same."-John
  Foxe, Acts and Monuments, vol. 3, pp. 49, 50.
   
   
  Thus
  Wycliffe presented to the pope and his cardinals the meekness and
  humility of Christ, exhibiting not only to themselves but to all
  Christendom the contrast between them and the Master whose
  representatives they professed to be.  Wycliffe fully expected that
  his life would be the price of his fidelity. The king, the pope, and
  the bishops were united to accomplish his ruin, and it seemed certain
  that a few months at most would bring him to the stake. But his
  courage was unshaken. "Why do you talk of seeking the crown of
  martyrdom afar?" he said. "Preach the gospel of Christ to
  haughty prelates, and martyrdom will not fail you. What! I should
  live and be silent? . . . Never! Let the blow fall, I await its
  coming."-D'Aubigne, b. 17, ch. 8.
   
   
  But
  God's providence still shielded His servant. The man who for a whole
  lifetime had stood boldly in defense of the truth, in daily peril of
  his life, was not to fall a victim of the hatred of its foes.
  Wycliffe had never sought to shield himself, but the Lord had been
  his protector; and now, when his enemies felt sure of their prey,
  God's hand removed him beyond their reach. In his church at
  Lutterworth, as he was about to dispense the communion, he fell,
  stricken with palsy, and in a short time yielded up his life.  God
  had appointed to Wycliffe his work. He had put the word of truth in
  his mouth, and He set a guard about him that this word might come to
  the people. His life was protected, and his labours were prolonged,
  until a foundation was laid for the great work of the Reformation. 
  Wycliffe came from the obscurity of the Dark Ages. There were none
  who went before him from whose work he could shape his system of
  reform. Raised up like John the Baptist to accomplish a special
  mission, he was the herald of a new era. Yet in the system of truth
  which he presented there was a unity and completeness which Reformers
  who followed him did not exceed, and which some did not reach, even a
  hundred years later.
   
   
  So
  broad and deep was laid the foundation, so firm and true was the
  framework, that it needed not to be reconstructed by those who came
  after him. The great movement that Wycliffe inaugurated, which was to
  liberate the conscience and the intellect, and set free the nations
  so long bound to the triumphal car of Rome, had its spring in the
  Bible. Here was the source of that stream of blessing, which, like
  the water of life, has flowed down the ages since the fourteenth
  century. Wycliffe accepted the Holy Scriptures with implicit faith as
  the inspired revelation of God's will, a sufficient rule of faith and
  practice. He had been educated to regard the Church of Rome as the
  divine, infallible authority, and to accept with unquestioning
  reverence the established teachings and customs of a thousand years;
  but he turned away from all these to listen to God's holy word. This
  was the authority which he urged the people to acknowledge. Instead
  of the church speaking through the pope, he declared the only true
  authority to be the voice of God speaking through His word.
   
   
  And
  he taught not only that the Bible is a perfect revelation of God's
  will, but that the Holy Spirit is its only interpreter, and that
  every man is, by the study of its teachings, to learn his duty for
  himself. Thus he turned the minds of men from the pope and the Church
  of Rome to the word of God.  Wycliffe was one of the greatest of the
  Reformers. In breadth of intellect, in clearness of thought, in
  firmness to maintain the truth, and in boldness to defend it, he was
  equaled by few who came after him. Purity of life, unwearying
  diligence in study and in labour, incorruptible integrity, and
  Christlike love and faithfulness in his ministry, characterized the
  first of the Reformers. And this notwithstanding the intellectual
  darkness and moral corruption of the age from which he emerged.
   
   
  The
  character of Wycliffe is a testimony to the educating, transforming
  power of the Holy Scriptures. It was the Bible that made him what he
  was. The effort to grasp the great truths of revelation imparts
  freshness and vigour to all the faculties. It expands the mind,
  sharpens the perceptions, and ripens the judgment. The study of the
  Bible will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as no other
  study can. It gives stability of purpose, patience, courage, and
  fortitude; it refines the character and sanctifies the soul. An
  earnest, reverent study of the Scriptures, bringing the mind of the
  student in direct contact with the infinite mind, would give to the
  world men of stronger and more active intellect, as well as of nobler
  principle, than has ever resulted from the ablest training that human
  philosophy affords. "The entrance of Thy words," says the
  psalmist, "giveth light; it giveth understanding." Psalm
  119:130.  The doctrines which had been taught by Wycliffe continued
  for a time to spread; his followers, known as Wycliffites and
  Lollards, not only traversed England, but scattered to other lands,
  carrying the knowledge of the gospel. Now that their leader was
  removed, the preachers laboured with even greater zeal than before,
  and multitudes flocked to listen to their teachings.
   
   
  Some
  of the nobility, and even the wife of the king, were among the
  converts. In many places there was a marked reform in the manners of
  the people, and the idolatrous symbols of Romanism were removed from
  the churches. But soon the pitiless storm of persecution burst upon
  those who had dared to accept the Bible as their guide. The English
  monarchs, eager to strengthen their power by securing the support of
  Rome, did not hesitate to sacrifice the Reformers. For the first time
  in the history of England the stake was decreed against the disciples
  of the gospel. Martyrdom succeeded martyrdom. The advocates of truth,
  proscribed and tortured, could only pour their cries into the ear of
  the Lord of Sabaoth. Hunted as foes of the church and traitors to the
  realm, they continued to preach in secret places, finding shelter as
  best they could in the humble homes of the poor, and often hiding
  away even in dens and caves.
   
   
  Notwithstanding
  the rage of persecution, a calm, devout, earnest, patient protest
  against the prevailing corruption of religious faith continued for
  centuries to be uttered. The Christians of that early time had only a
  partial knowledge of the truth, but they had learned to love and obey
  God's word, and they patiently suffered for its sake. Like the
  disciples in apostolic days, many sacrificed their worldly
  possessions for the cause of Christ. Those who were permitted to
  dwell in their homes gladly sheltered their banished brethren, and
  when they too were driven forth they cheerfully accepted the lot of
  the outcast. Thousands, it is true, terrified by the fury of their
  persecutors, purchased their freedom at the sacrifice of their faith,
  and went out of their prisons, clothed in penitents' robes, to
  publish their recantation. But the number was not small--and among
  them were men of noble birth as well as the humble and lowly--who
  bore fearless testimony to the truth in dungeon cells, in "Lollard
  towers," and in the midst of torture and flame, rejoicing that
  they were counted worthy to know "the fellowship of His
  sufferings."
   
   
  The
  papists had failed to work their will with Wycliffe during his life,
  and their hatred could not be satisfied while his body rested quietly
  in the grave. By the decree of the Council of Constance, more than
  forty years after his death his bones were exhumed and publicly
  burned, and the ashes were thrown into a neighbouring brook. "This
  brook," says an old writer, "hath conveyed his ashes into
  Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the
  main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wycliffe are the emblem of his
  doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over."-- T.
  Fuller, Church History of Britain, b. 4, sec. 2, par. 54. Little did
  his enemies realise the significance of their malicious act.  It was
  through the writings of Wycliffe that John Huss, of Bohemia, was led
  to renounce many of the errors of Romanism and to enter upon the work
  of reform. Thus in these two countries, so widely separated, the seed
  of truth was sown. From Bohemia the work extended to other lands. The
  minds of men were directed to the long-forgotten word of God. A
  divine hand was preparing the way for the Great Reformation.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 6. Two Heroes 
   
  The
  gospel had been planted in Bohemia as early as the ninth century. The
  Bible was translated, and public worship was conducted, in the
  language of the people. But as the power of the pope increased, so
  the word of God was obscured. Gregory VII, who had taken it upon
  himself to humble the pride of kings, was no less intent upon
  enslaving the people, and accordingly a bull was issued forbidding
  public worship to be conducted in the Bohemian tongue. The pope
  declared that "it was pleasing to the Omnipotent that His
  worship should be celebrated in an unknown language, and that may
  evils and heresies had arisen from not observing this rule."--Wylie,
  b. 3, ch. 1. Thus Rome decreed that the light of God's word should be
  extinguished and the people should be shut up in darkness. But Heaven
  had provided other agencies for the preservation of the church. Many
  of the Waldenses and Albigenses, driven by persecution from their
  homes in France and Italy, came to Bohemia. Though they dared not
  teach openly, they laboured zealously in secret. Thus the true faith
  was preserved from century to century.
   
   
  Before
  the days of Huss there were men in Bohemia who rose up to condemn
  openly the corruption in the church and the profligacy of the people.
  Their labours excited widespread interest. The fears of the hierarchy
  were roused, and persecution was opened against the disciples of the
  gospel.  Driven to worship in the forests and the mountains, they
  were hunted by soldiers, and many were put to death. After a time it
  was decreed that all who departed from the Romish worship should be
  burned. But while the Christians yielded up their lives, they looked
  forward to the triumph of their cause. One of those who "taught
  that salvation was only to be found by faith in the crucified
  Saviour," declared when dying: "The rage of the enemies of
  the truth now prevails against us, but it will not be forever; there
  shall arise one from among the common people, without sword or
  authority, and against him they shall not be able to prevail."
  -- Ibid., b. 3, ch. 1. Luther's time was yet far distant; but already
  one was rising, whose testimony against Rome would stir the nations.
   
   
  John
  Huss was of humble birth, and was early left an orphan by the death
  of his father. His pious mother, regarding education and the fear of
  God as the most valuable of possessions, sought to secure this
  heritage for her son. Huss studied at the provincial school, and then
  repaired to the university at Prague, receiving admission as a
  charity scholar. He was accompanied on the journey to Prague by his
  mother; widowed and poor, she had no gifts of worldly wealth to
  bestow upon her son, but as they drew near to the great city, she
  kneeled down beside the fatherless youth and invoked for him the
  blessing of their Father in heaven. Little did that mother realise
  how her prayer was to be answered.
   
   
  At
  the university, Huss soon distinguished himself by his untiring
  application and rapid progress, while his blameless life and gentle,
  winning deportment gained him universal esteem. He was a sincere
  adherent of the Roman Church and an earnest seeker for the spiritual
  blessings which it professes to bestow. On the occasion of a jubilee
  he went to confession, paid the last few coins in his scanty store,
  and joined in the processions, that he might share in the absolution
  promised. After completing his college course, he entered the
  priesthood, and rapidly attaining to eminence, he soon became
  attached to the court of the king. He was also made professor and
  afterward rector of the university where he had received his
  education. In a few years the humble charity scholar had become the
  pride of his country, and his name was renowned throughout Europe.
   
   
  But
  it was in another field that Huss began the work of reform. Several
  years after taking priest's orders he was appointed preacher of the
  chapel of Bethlehem. The founder of this chapel had advocated, as a
  matter of great importance, the preaching of the Scriptures in the
  language of the people. Notwithstanding Rome's opposition to this
  practice, it had not been wholly discontinued in Bohemia. But there
  was great ignorance of the Bible, and the worst vices prevailed among
  the people of all ranks. These evils Huss unsparingly denounced,
  appealing to the word of God to enforce the principles of truth and
  purity which he inculcated.  A citizen of Prague, Jerome, who
  afterward became so closely associated with Huss, had, on returning
  from England, brought with him the writings of Wycliffe. The queen of
  England, who had been a convert to Wycliffe's teachings, was a
  Bohemian princess, and through her influence also the Reformer's
  works were widely circulated in her native country.
   
   
  These
  works Huss read with interest; he believed their author to be a
  sincere Christian and was inclined to regard with favour the reforms
  which he advocated. Already, though he knew it not, Huss had entered
  upon a path which was to lead him far away from Rome. About this time
  there arrived in Prague two strangers from England, men of learning,
  who had received the light and had come to spread it in this distant
  land. Beginning with an open attack on the pope's supremacy, they
  were soon silenced by the authorities; but being unwilling to
  relinquish their purpose, they had recourse to other measures. Being
  artists as well as preachers, they proceeded to exercise their skill.
  In a place open to the public they drew two pictures. One represented
  the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, "meek, and sitting upon
  an ass" (Matthew 21:5), and followed by His disciples in
  travel-worn garments and with naked feet. The other picture portrayed
  a pontifical procession--the pope arrayed in his rich robes and
  triple crown, mounted upon a horse magnificently adorned, preceded by
  trumpeters and followed by cardinals and prelates in dazzling array.
   
   
  Here
  was a sermon which arrested the attention of all classes. Crowds came
  to gaze upon the drawings. None could fail to read the moral, and
  many were deeply impressed by the contrast between the meekness and
  humility of Christ the Master and the pride and arrogance of the
  pope, His professed servant. There was great commotion in Prague, and
  the strangers after a time found it necessary, for their own safety,
  to depart. But the lesson they had taught was not forgotten. The
  pictures made a deep impression on the mind of Huss and led him to a
  closer study of the Bible and of Wycliffe's writings. Though he was
  not prepared, even yet, to accept all the reforms advocated by
  Wycliffe, he saw more clearly the true character of the papacy, and
  with greater zeal denounced the pride, the ambition, and the
  corruption of the hierarchy.
   
   
  From
  Bohemia the light extended to Germany, for disturbances in the
  University of Prague caused the withdrawal of hundreds of German
  students. Many of them had received from Huss their first knowledge
  of the Bible, and on their return they spread the gospel in their
  fatherland.  Tidings of the work at Prague were carried to Rome, and
  Huss was soon summoned to appear before the pope. To obey would be to
  expose himself to certain death. The king and queen of Bohemia, the
  university, members of the nobility, and officers of the government
  united in an appeal to the pontiff that Huss be permitted to remain
  at Prague and to answer at Rome by deputy. Instead of granting this
  request, the pope proceeded to the trial and condemnation of Huss,
  and then declared the city of Prague to be under interdict.
   
   
  In
  that age this sentence, whenever pronounced, created widespread
  alarm. The ceremonies by which it was accompanied were well adapted
  to strike terror to a people who looked upon the pope as the
  representative of God Himself, holding the keys of heaven and hell,
  and possessing power to invoke temporal as well as spiritual
  judgments. It was believed that the gates of heaven were closed
  against the region smitten with interdict; that until it should
  please the pope to remove the ban, the dead were shut out from the
  abodes of bliss. In token of this terrible calamity, all the services
  of religion were suspended. The churches were closed. Marriages were
  solemnized in the churchyard. The dead, denied burial in consecrated
  ground, were interred, without the rites of sepulture, in the ditches
  or the fields. Thus by measures which appealed to the imagination,
  Rome essayed to control the consciences of men.
   
   
  The
  city of Prague was filled with tumult. A large class denounced Huss
  as the cause of all their calamities and demanded that he be given up
  to the vengeance of Rome. To quiet the storm, the Reformer withdrew
  for a time to his native village. Writing to the friends whom he had
  left at Prague, he said: "If I have withdrawn from the midst of
  you, it is to follow the precept and example of Jesus Christ, in
  order not to give room to the ill-minded to draw on themselves
  eternal condemnation, and in order not to be to the pious a cause of
  affliction and persecution. I have retired also through an
  apprehension that impious priests might continue for a longer time to
  prohibit the preaching of the word of God amongst you; but I have not
  quitted you to deny the divine truth, for which, with God's
  assistance, I am willing to die."--Bonnechose, The Reformers
  Before the Reformation, vol. 1, p. 87. Huss did not cease his
  labours, but traveled through the surrounding country, preaching to
  eager crowds. Thus the measures to which the pope resorted to
  suppress the gospel were causing it to be the more widely extended.
  "We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." 2
  Corinthians 13:8.
   
   
  "The
  mind of Huss, at this stage of his career, would seem to have been
  the scene of a painful conflict. Although the church was seeking to
  overwhelm him by her thunderbolts, he had not renounced her
  authority. The Roman Church was still to him the spouse of Christ,
  and the pope was the representative and vicar of God. What Huss was
  warring against was the abuse of authority, not the principle itself.
  This brought on a terrible conflict between the convictions of his
  understanding and the claims of his conscience. If the authority was
  just and infallible, as he believed it to be, how came it that he
  felt compelled to disobey it? To obey, he saw, was to sin; but why
  should obedience to an infallible church lead to such an issue? This
  was the problem he could not solve; this was the doubt that tortured
  him hour by hour. The nearest approximation to a solution which he
  was able to make was that it had happened again, as once before in
  the days of the Saviour, that the priests of the church had become
  wicked persons and were using their lawful authority for unlawful
  ends. This led him to adopt for his own guidance, and to preach to
  others for theirs, the maxim that the precepts of Scripture, conveyed
  through the understanding, are to rule the conscience; in other
  words, that God speaking in the Bible, and not the church speaking
  through the priesthood, is the one infallible guide."--Wylie, b.
  3, ch. 2.
   
   
  When
  after a time the excitement in Prague subsided, Huss returned to his
  chapel of Bethlehem, to continue with greater zeal and courage the
  preaching of the word of God. His enemies were active and powerful,
  but the queen and many of the nobles were his friends, and the people
  in great numbers sided with him. Comparing his pure and elevating
  teachings and holy life with the degrading dogmas which the Romanists
  preached, and the avarice and debauchery which they practiced, many
  regarded it an honour to be on his side.  Hitherto Huss had stood
  alone in his labours; but now Jerome, who while in England had
  accepted the teachings of Wycliffe, joined in the work of reform. The
  two were  hereafter united in their lives, and in death they were not
  to be divided. Brilliancy of genius, eloquence and learning--gifts
  that win popular favour--were possessed in a pre-eminent degree by
  Jerome; but in those qualities which constitute real strength of
  character, Huss was the greater. His calm judgment served as a
  restraint upon the impulsive spirit of Jerome, who, with true
  humility, perceived his worth, and yielded to his counsels. Under
  their united labours the reform was more rapidly extended.
   
   
  God
  permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men,
  revealing to them many of the errors of Rome; but they did not
  receive all the light that was to be given to the world. Through
  these, His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness
  of Romanism; but there were many and great obstacles for them to
  meet, and He led them on, step by step, as they could bear it. They
  were not prepared to receive all the light at once. Like the full
  glory of the noontide sun to those who have long dwelt in darkness,
  it would, if presented, have caused them to turn away. Therefore He
  revealed it to the leaders little by little, as it could be received
  by the people. From century to century, other faithful workers were
  to follow, to lead the people on still further in the path of reform.
   
   
  The
  schism in the church still continued. Three popes were now contending
  for the supremacy, and their strife filled Christendom with crime and
  tumult. Not content with hurling anathemas, they resorted to temporal
  weapons. Each cast about him to purchase arms and to obtain soldiers.
  Of course money must be had; and to procure this, the gifts, offices,
  and blessings of the church were offered for sale. The priests also,
  imitating their superiors, resorted to simony and war to humble their
  rivals and strengthen their own power. With daily increasing boldness
  Huss thundered against the abominations which were tolerated in the
  name of religion; and the people openly accused the Romish leaders as
  the cause of the miseries that overwhelmed Christendom.
   
   
  Again
  the city of Prague seemed on the verge of a bloody conflict. As in
  former ages, God's servant was accused as "he that troubleth
  Israel." 1 Kings 18:17. The city was again placed under
  interdict, and Huss withdrew to his native village. The testimony so
  faithfully borne from his loved chapel of Bethlehem was ended. He was
  to speak from a wider stage, to all Christendom, before laying down
  his life as a witness for the truth.  To cure the evils that were
  distracting Europe, a general council was summoned to meet at
  Constance. The council was called at the desire of the emperor
  Sigismund, by one of the three rival popes, John XXIII. The demand
  for a council had been far from welcome to Pope John, whose character
  and policy could ill bear investigation, even by prelates as lax in
  morals as were the churchmen of those times. He dared not, however,
  oppose the will of Sigismund.
   
   
  The
  chief objects to be accomplished by the council were to heal the
  schism in the church and to root out heresy. Hence the two antipopes
  were summoned to appear before it, as well as the leading propagator
  of the new opinions, John Huss. The former, having regard to their
  own safety, did not attend in person, but were represented by their
  delegates. Pope John, while ostensibly the convoker of the council,
  came to it with many misgivings, suspecting the emperor's secret
  purpose to depose him, and fearing to be brought to account for the
  vices which had disgraced the tiara, as well as for the crimes which
  had secured it. Yet he made his entry into the city of Constance with
  great pomp, attended by ecclesiastics of the highest rank and
  followed by a train of courtiers. All the clergy and dignitaries of
  the city, with an immense crowd of citizens, went out to welcome him.
  Above his head was a golden canopy, borne by four of the chief
  magistrates. The host was carried before him, and the rich dresses of
  the cardinals and nobles made an imposing display.
   
   
  Meanwhile
  another traveler was approaching Constance. Huss was conscious of the
  dangers which threatened him.  He parted from his friends as if he
  were never to meet them again, and went on his journey feeling that
  it was leading him to the stake. Notwithstanding he had obtained a
  safe-conduct from the king of Bohemia, and received one also from the
  emperor Sigismund while on his journey, he made all his arrangements
  in view of the probability of his death.
   
   
  In
  a letter addressed to his friends at Prague he said: "My
  brethren, . . . I am departing with a safeconduct from the king to
  meet my numerous and mortal enemies. . . . I confide altogether in
  the allpowerful God, in my Saviour; I trust that He will listen to
  your ardent prayers, that He will infuse His prudence and His wisdom
  into my mouth, in order that I may resist them; and that He will
  accord me His Holy Spirit to fortify me in His truth, so that I may
  face with courage, temptations, prison, and, if necessary, a cruel
  death. Jesus Christ suffered for His well-beloved; and therefore
  ought we to be astonished that He has left us His example, in order
  that we may ourselves endure with patience all things for our own
  salvation? He is God, and we are His creatures; He is the Lord, and
  we are His servants; He is Master of the world, and we are
  contemptible mortals--yet He suffered! Why, then, should we not
  suffer also, particularly when suffering is for us a purification?
  Therefore, beloved, if my death ought to contribute to His glory,
  pray that it may come quickly, and that He may enable me to support
  all my calamities with constancy. But if it be better that I return
  amongst you, let us pray to God that I may return without stain--that
  is, that I may not suppress one tittle of the truth of the gospel, in
  order to leave my brethren an excellent example to follow. Probably,
  therefore, you will nevermore behold my face at Prague; but should
  the will of the allpowerful God deign to restore me to you, let us
  then advance with a firmer heart in the knowledge and the love of His
  law."--Bonnechose, vol. 1, pp. 147, 148.
   
   
  In
  another letter, to a priest who had become a disciple of the gospel,
  Huss spoke with deep humility of his own errors, accusing himself "of
  having felt pleasure in wearing rich apparel and of having wasted
  hours in frivolous occupations." He then added these touching
  admonitions: "May the glory of God and the salvation of souls
  occupy thy mind, and not the possession of benefices and estates.
  Beware of adorning thy house more than thy soul; and, above all, give
  thy care to the spiritual edifice. Be pious and humble with the poor,
  and consume not thy substance in feasting. Shouldst thou not amend
  thy life and refrain from superfluities, I fear that thou wilt be
  severely chastened, as I am myself. . . . Thou knowest my doctrine,
  for thou hast received my instructions from thy childhood; it is
  therefore useless for me to write to thee any further. But I conjure
  thee, by the mercy of our Lord, not to imitate me in any of the
  vanities into which thou hast seen me fall." On the cover of the
  letter he added: "I conjure thee, my friend, not to break this
  seal until thou shalt have acquired the certitude that I am dead."--
  Ibid., vol. 1, pp. 148, 149.
   
   
  On
  his journey, Huss everywhere beheld indications of the spread of his
  doctrines and the favour with which his cause was regarded. The
  people thronged to meet him, and in some towns the magistrates
  attended him through their streets.  Upon arriving at Constance, Huss
  was granted full liberty. To the emperor's safe-conduct was added a
  personal assurance of protection by the pope. But, in violation of
  these solemn and repeated declarations, the Reformer was in a short
  time arrested, by order of the pope and cardinals, and thrust into a
  loathsome dungeon. Later he was transferred to a strong castle across
  the Rhine and there kept a prisoner. The pope, profiting little by
  his perfidy, was soon after committed to the same prison. Ibid., vol.
  1, p. 247. He had been proved before the council to be guilty of the
  basest crimes, besides murder, simony, and adultery, "sins not
  fit to be named." So the council itself declared, and he was
  finally deprived of the tiara and thrown into prison. The antipopes
  also were deposed, and a new pontiff was chosen.
   
   
  Though
  the pope himself had been guilty of greater crimes than Huss had ever
  charged upon the priests, and for which he had demanded a
  reformation, yet the same council which degraded the pontiff
  proceeded to crush the Reformer. The imprisonment of Huss excited
  great indignation in Bohemia. Powerful noblemen addressed to the
  council earnest protests against this outrage. The emperor, who was
  loath to permit the violation of a safe-conduct, opposed the
  proceedings against him. But the enemies of the Reformer were
  malignant and determined. They appealed to the emperor's prejudices,
  to his fears, to his zeal for the church. They brought forward
  arguments of great length to prove that "faith ought not to be
  kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy, though they are
  furnished with safe-conducts from the emperor and kings."--Jacques
  Lenfant, History of the Council of Constance, vol. 1, p. 516. Thus
  they prevailed.
   
   
  Enfeebled
  by illness and imprisonment,--for the damp, foul air of his dungeon
  had brought on a fever which nearly ended his life,--Huss was at last
  brought before the council. Loaded with chains he stood in the
  presence of the emperor, whose honour and good faith had been pledged
  to protect him. During his long trial he firmly maintained the truth,
  and in the presence of the assembled dignitaries of church and state
  he uttered a solemn and faithful protest against the corruptions of
  the hierarchy. When required to choose whether he would recant his
  doctrines or suffer death, he accepted the martyr's fate.  The grace
  of God sustained him. During the weeks of suffering that passed
  before his final sentence, heaven's peace filled his soul. "I
  write this letter," he said to a friend, "in my prison, and
  with my fettered hand, expecting my sentence of death tomorrow. . . .
  When, with the assistance of Jesus Christ, we shall again meet in the
  delicious peace of the future life, you will learn how merciful God
  has shown Himself toward me, how effectually He has supported me in
  the midst of my temptations and trials."--Bonnechose, vol. 2, p.
  67.
   
   
  In
  the gloom of his dungeon he foresaw the triumph of the true faith.
  Returning in his dreams to the chapel at Prague where he had preached
  the gospel, he saw the pope and his bishops effacing the pictures of
  Christ which he had painted on its walls. "This vision
  distressed him: but on the next day he saw many painters occupied in
  restoring these figures in greater number and in brighter colours. As
  soon as their task was ended, the painters, who were surrounded by an
  immense crowd, exclaimed, 'Now let the popes and bishops come; they
  shall never efface them more!'" Said the Reformer, as he related
  his dream: "I maintain this for certain, that the image of
  Christ will never be effaced. They have wished to destroy it, but it
  shall be painted afresh in all hearts by much better preachers than
  myself."--D'Aubigne, b. 1, ch. 6.
   
   
  For
  the last time, Huss was brought before the council. It was a vast and
  brilliant assembly--the emperor, the princes of the empire, the royal
  deputies, the cardinals, bishops, and priests, and an immense crowd
  who had come as spectators of the events of the day. From all parts
  of Christendom had been gathered the witnesses of this first great
  sacrifice in the long struggle by which liberty of conscience was to
  be secured.  Being called upon for his final decision, Huss declared
  his refusal to abjure, and, fixing his penetrating glance upon the
  monarch whose plighted word had been so shamelessly violated, he
  declared: "I determined, of my own free will, to appear before
  this council, under the public protection and faith of the emperor
  here present."--Bonnechose, vol. 2, p. 84. A deep flush
  crimsoned the face of Sigismund as the eyes of all in the assembly
  turned upon him.
   
   
  Sentence
  having been pronounced, the ceremony of degradation began. The
  bishops clothed their prisoner in the sacerdotal habit, and as he
  took the priestly robe, he said: "Our Lord Jesus Christ was
  covered with a white robe, by way of  insult, when Herod had Him
  conducted before Pilate."-- Ibid., vol. 2, p. 86. Being again
  exhorted to retract, he replied, turning toward the people: "With
  what face, then, should I behold the heavens? How should I look on
  those multitudes of men to whom I have preached the pure gospel? No;
  I esteem their salvation more than this poor body, now appointed unto
  death." The vestments were removed one by one, each bishop
  pronouncing a curse as he performed his part of the ceremony. Finally
  "they put on his head a cap or pyramidal-shaped miter of paper,
  on which were painted frightful figures of demons, with the word
  'Archheretic' conspicuous in front. 'Most joyfully,' said Huss, 'will
  I wear this crown of shame for Thy sake, O Jesus, who for me didst
  wear a crown of thorns.'"
   
   
  When
  he was thus arrayed, "the prelates said, 'Now we devote thy soul
  to the devil.' 'And I,' said John Huss, lifting up his eyes toward
  heaven, 'do commit my spirit into Thy hands, O Lord Jesus, for Thou
  hast redeemed me.'"--Wylie, b. 3, ch. 7.   He was now delivered
  up to the secular authorities and led away to the place of execution.
  An immense procession followed, hundreds of men at arms, priests and
  bishops in their costly robes, and the inhabitants of Constance. When
  he had been fastened to the stake, and all was ready for the fire to
  be lighted, the martyr was once more exhorted to save himself by
  renouncing his errors. "What errors," said Huss, "shall
  I renounce? I know myself guilty of none. I call God to witness that
  all that I have written and preached has been with the view of
  rescuing souls from sin and perdition; and, therefore, most joyfully
  will I confirm with my blood that truth which I have written and
  preached."-- Ibid., b. 3, ch. 7. When the flames kindled about
  him, he began to sing, "Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on
  me," and so continued till his voice was silenced forever.
   
   
  Even
  his enemies were struck with his heroic bearing. A zealous papist,
  describing the martyrdom of Huss, and of Jerome, who died soon after,
  said: "Both bore themselves with constant mind when their last
  hour approached. They prepared for the fire as if they were going to
  a marriage feast. They uttered no cry of pain. When the flames rose,
  they began to sing hymns; and scarce could the vehemency of the fire
  stop their singing."-- Ibid., b. 3, ch. 7.  When the body of
  Huss had been wholly consumed, his ashes, with the soil upon which
  they rested, were gathered up and cast into the Rhine, and thus borne
  onward to the ocean. His persecutors vainly imagined that they had
  rooted out the truths he preached. Little did they dream that the
  ashes that day borne away to the sea were to be as seed scattered in
  all the countries of the earth; that in lands yet unknown it would
  yield abundant fruit in witnesses for the truth. The voice which had
  spoken in the council hall of Constance had wakened echoes that would
  be heard through all coming ages.
   
   
  Huss
  was no more, but the truths for which he died could never perish. His
  example of faith and constancy would encourage multitudes to stand
  firm for the truth, in the face of torture and death. His execution
  had exhibited to the whole world the perfidious cruelty of Rome. The
  enemies of truth, though they knew it not, had been furthering the
  cause which they vainly sought to destroy.  Yet another stake was to
  be set up at Constance. The blood of another witness must testify for
  the truth. Jerome, upon bidding farewell to Huss on his departure for
  the council, had exhorted him to courage and firmness, declaring that
  if he should fall into any peril, he himself would fly to his
  assistance. Upon hearing of the Reformer's imprisonment, the faithful
  disciple immediately prepared to fulfill his promise. Without a
  safe-conduct he set out, with a single companion, for Constance. On
  arriving there he was convinced that he had only exposed himself to
  peril, without the possibility of doing anything for the deliverance
  of Huss.
   
   
  He
  fled from the city, but was arrested on the homeward journey and
  brought back loaded with fetters and under the custody of a band of
  soldiers. At his first appearance before the council his attempts to
  reply to the accusations brought against him were met with shouts,
  "To the flames with him! to the flames!"--Bonnechose, vol.
  1, p. 234. He was thrown into a dungeon, chained in a position which
  caused him great suffering, and fed on bread and water. After some
  months the cruelties of his imprisonment brought upon Jerome an
  illness that threatened his life, and his enemies, fearing that he
  might escape them, treated him with less severity, though he remained
  in prison for one year.
   
   
  The
  death of Huss had not resulted as the papists had hoped. The
  violation of his safe-conduct had roused a storm of indignation, and
  as the safer course, the council determined, instead of burning
  Jerome, to force him, if possible, to retract. He was brought before
  the assembly, and offered the alternative to recant, or to die at the
  stake. Death at the beginning of his imprisonment would have been a
  mercy in comparison with the terrible sufferings which he had
  undergone; but now, weakened by illness, by the rigors of his prison
  house, and the torture of anxiety and suspense, separated from his
  friends, and disheartened by the death of Huss, Jerome's fortitude
  gave way, and he consented to submit to the council. He pledged
  himself to adhere to the Catholic faith, and accepted the action of
  the council in condemning the doctrines of Wycliffe and Huss,
  excepting, however, the "holy truths" which they had
  taught.-- Ibid, vol. 2, p. 141.
   
   
  By
  this expedient Jerome endeavoured to silence the voice of conscience
  and escape his doom. But in the solitude of his dungeon he saw more
  clearly what he had done. He thought of the courage and fidelity of
  Huss, and in contrast pondered upon his own denial of the truth. He
  thought of the divine Master whom he had pledged himself to serve,
  and who for his sake endured the death of the cross. Before his
  retraction he had found comfort, amid all his sufferings, in the
  assurance of God's favour; but now remorse and doubts tortured his
  soul. He knew that still other retractions must be made before he
  could be at peace with Rome. The path upon which he was entering
  could end only in complete apostasy. His resolution was taken: To
  escape a brief period of suffering he would not deny his Lord.
   
   
  Soon
  he was again brought before the council. His submission had not
  satisfied his judges. Their thirst for blood, whetted by the death of
  Huss, clamoured for fresh victims. Only by an unreserved surrender of
  the truth could Jerome preserve his life. But he had determined to
  avow his faith and follow his brother martyr to the flames.  He
  renounced his former recantation and, as a dying man, solemnly
  required an opportunity to make his defense. Fearing the effect of
  his words, the prelates insisted that he should merely affirm or deny
  the truth of the charges brought against him. Jerome protested
  against such cruelty and injustice. "You have held me shut up
  three hundred and forty days in a frightful prison," he said,
  "in the midst of filth, noisomeness, stench, and the utmost want
  of everything; you then bring me out before you, and lending an ear
  to my mortal enemies, you refuse to hear me. . . . If you be really
  wise men, and the lights of the world, take care not to sin against
  justice. As to me, I am only a feeble mortal; my life is but of
  little importance; and when I exhort you not to deliver an unjust
  sentence, I speak less for myself than for you."-- Ibid., vol.
  2, pp. 146, 147.
   
   
  His
  request was finally granted. In the presence of his judges, Jerome
  kneeled down and prayed that the divine Spirit might control his
  thoughts and words, that he might speak nothing contrary to the truth
  or unworthy of his Master. To him that day was fulfilled the promise
  of God to the first disciples: "Ye shall be brought before
  governors and kings for My sake. . . . But when they deliver you up,
  take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you
  in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak,
  but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Matthew
  10:18-20.
   
   
  The
  words of Jerome excited astonishment and admiration, even in his
  enemies. For a whole year he had been immured in a dungeon, unable to
  read or even to see, in great physical suffering and mental anxiety.
  Yet his arguments were presented with as much clearness and power as
  if he had had undisturbed opportunity for study. He pointed his
  hearers to the long line of holy men who had been condemned by unjust
  judges. In almost every generation have been those who, while seeking
  to elevate the people of their time, have been reproached and cast
  out, but who in later times have been shown to be deserving of
  honour. Christ Himself was condemned as a malefactor at an
  unrighteous tribunal.
   
   
  At
  his retraction, Jerome had assented to the justice of the sentence
  condemning Huss; he now declared his repentance and bore witness to
  the innocence and holiness of the martyr. "I knew him from his
  childhood," he said. "He was a most excellent man, just and
  holy; he was condemned, notwithstanding his innocence. . . . I
  also--I am ready to die: I will not recoil before the torments that
  are prepared for me by my enemies and false witnesses, who will one
  day have to render an account of their impostures before the great
  God, whom nothing can deceive."--Bonnechose, vol. 2, p. 151.
   
   
  In
  self-reproach for his own denial of the truth, Jerome continued: "Of
  all the sins that I have committed since my youth, none weigh so
  heavily on my mind, and cause me such poignant remorse, as that which
  I committed in this fatal place, when I approved of the iniquitous
  sentence rendered against Wycliffe, and against the holy martyr, John
  Huss, my master and my friend. Yes! I confess it from my heart, and
  declare with horror that I disgracefully quailed when, through a
  dread of death, I condemned their doctrines. I therefore supplicate .
  . . Almighty God to deign to pardon me my sins, and this one in
  particular, the most heinous of all." Pointing to his judges, he
  said firmly: "You condemned Wycliffe and John Huss, not for
  having shaken the doctrine of the church, but simply because they
  branded with reprobation the scandals proceeding from the
  clergy--their pomp, their pride, and all the vices of the prelates
  and priests…The things which they have affirmed, and which are
  irrefutable, I also think and declare, like them."
   
   
  His
  words were interrupted. The prelates, trembling with rage, cried out:
  "What need is there of further proof? We behold with our own
  eyes the most obstinate of heretics!"  Unmoved by the tempest,
  Jerome exclaimed: "What! do you suppose that I fear to die? You
  have held me for a whole year in a frightful dungeon, more horrible
  than death itself. You have treated me more cruelly than a Turk, Jew,
  or pagan, and my flesh has literally rotted off my bones alive; and
  yet I make no complaint, for lamentation ill becomes a man of heart
  and spirit; but I cannot but express my astonishment at such great
  barbarity toward a Christian."-- Ibid., vol. 2, pp. 151-153. 
  Again the storm of rage burst out, and Jerome was hurried away to
  prison. Yet there were some in the assembly upon whom his words had
  made a deep impression and who desired to save his life. He was
  visited by dignitaries of the church and urged to submit himself to
  the council. The most brilliant prospects were presented before him
  as the reward of renouncing his opposition to Rome. But like his
  Master when offered the glory of the world, Jerome remained
  steadfast.
   
   
  "Prove
  to me from the Holy Writings that I am in error," he said, "and
  I will abjure it."
   
   
  "The
  Holy Writings!" exclaimed one of his tempters, "is
  everything then to be judged by them?
   
   
  Who
  can understand them till the church has interpreted them?"
   
   
  "Are
  the traditions of men more worthy of faith than the gospel of our
  Saviour?" replied Jerome.
   
   
  "Paul
  did not exhort those to whom he wrote to listen to the traditions of
  men, but said, 'Search the Scriptures.'"
   
   
  "Heretic!"
  was the response, "I repent having pleaded so long with you. I
  see that you are urged on by the devil."-- Wylie, b. 3, ch. 10.
   
   
  Erelong
  sentence of condemnation was passed upon him. He was led out to the
  same spot upon which Huss had yielded up his life. He went singing on
  his way, his countenance lighted up with joy and peace. His gaze was
  fixed upon Christ, and to him death had lost its terrors. When the
  executioner, about to kindle the pile, stepped behind him, the martyr
  exclaimed: "Come forward boldly; apply the fire before my face.
  Had I been afraid, I should not be here."  His last words,
  uttered as the flames rose about him, were a prayer. "Lord,
  Almighty Father," he cried, "have pity on me, and pardon me
  my sins; for Thou knowest that I have always loved Thy
  truth."--Bonnechose, vol. 2, p. 168. His voice ceased, but his
  lips continued to move in prayer. When the fire had done its work,
  the ashes of the martyr, with the earth upon which they rested, were
  gathered up, and like those of Huss, were thrown into the Rhine.
   
   
  So
  perished God's faithful light bearers. But the light of the truths
  which they proclaimed--the light of their heroic example--could not
  be extinguished. As well might men attempt to turn back the sun in
  its course as to prevent the dawning of that day which was even then
  breaking upon the world.  The execution of Huss had kindled a flame
  of indignation and horror in Bohemia. It was felt by the whole nation
  that he had fallen a prey to the malice of the priests and the
  treachery of the emperor. He was declared to have been a faithful
  teacher of the truth, and the council that decreed his death was
  charged with the guilt of murder. His doctrines now attracted greater
  attention than ever before. By the papal edicts the writings of
  Wycliffe had been condemned to the flames. But those that had escaped
  destruction were now brought out from their hiding places and studied
  in connection with the Bible, or such parts of it as the people could
  obtain, and many were thus led to accept the reformed faith.
   
   
  The
  murderers of Huss did not stand quietly by and witness the triumph of
  his cause. The pope and the emperor united to crush out the movement,
  and the armies of Sigismund were hurled upon Bohemia.  But a
  deliverer was raised up. Ziska, who soon after the opening of the war
  became totally blind, yet who was one of the ablest generals of his
  age, was the leader of the Bohemians. Trusting in the help of God and
  the righteousness of their cause, that people withstood the mightiest
  armies that could be brought against them. Again and again the
  emperor, raising fresh armies, invaded Bohemia, only to be
  ignominiously repulsed. The Hussites were raised above the fear of
  death, and nothing could stand against them. A few years after the
  opening of the war, the brave Ziska died; but his place was filled by
  Procopius, who was an equally brave and skillful general, and in some
  respects a more able leader.
   
   
  The
  enemies of the Bohemians, knowing that the blind warrior was dead,
  deemed the opportunity favourable for recovering all that they had
  lost. The pope now proclaimed a crusade against the Hussites, and
  again an immense force was precipitated upon Bohemia, but only to
  suffer terrible defeat. Another crusade was proclaimed. In all the
  papal countries of Europe, men, money, and munitions of war were
  raised. Multitudes flocked to the papal standard, assured that at
  last an end would be made of the Hussite heretics. Confident of
  victory, the vast force entered Bohemia. The people rallied to repel
  them. The two armies approached each other until only a river lay
  between them. "The crusaders were in greatly superior force, but
  instead of dashing across the stream, and closing in battle with the
  Hussites whom they had come so far to meet, they stood gazing in
  silence at those warriors."--Wylie, b. 3, ch. 17. Then suddenly
  a mysterious terror fell upon the host. Without striking a blow, that
  mighty force broke and scattered as if dispelled by an unseen power.
  Great numbers were slaughtered by the Hussite army, which pursued the
  fugitives, and an immense booty fell into the hands of the victors,
  so that the war, instead of impoverishing, enriched the Bohemians.
   
   
  A
  few years later, under a new pope, still another crusade was set on
  foot. As before, men and means were drawn from all the papal
  countries of Europe. Great were the inducements held out to those who
  should engage in this perilous enterprise. Full forgiveness of the
  most heinous crimes was ensured to every crusader. All who died in
  the war were promised a rich reward in heaven, and those who survived
  were to reap honour and riches on the field of battle. Again a vast
  army was collected, and, crossing the frontier they entered Bohemia.
  The Hussite forces fell back before them, thus drawing the invaders
  farther and farther into the country, and leading them to count the
  victory already won. At last the army of Procopius made a stand, and
  turning upon the foe, advanced to give them battle. The crusaders,
  now discovering their mistake, lay in their encampment awaiting the
  onset. As the sound of the approaching force was heard, even before
  the Hussites were in sight, a panic again fell upon the crusaders.
  Princes, generals, and common soldiers, casting away their armour,
  fled in all directions. In vain the papal legate, who was the leader
  of the invasion, endeavoured to rally his terrified and disorganized
  forces.
   
   
  Despite
  his utmost endeavours, he himself was swept along in the tide of
  fugitives. The rout was complete, and again an immense booty fell
  into the hands of the victors.  Thus the second time a vast army,
  sent forth by the most powerful nations of Europe, a host of brave,
  warlike men, trained and equipped for battle, fled without a blow
  before the defenders of a small and hitherto feeble nation. Here was
  a manifestation of divine power. The invaders were smitten with a
  supernatural terror. He who overthrew the hosts of Pharaoh in the Red
  Sea, who put to flight the armies of Midian before Gideon and his
  three hundred, who in one night laid low the forces of the proud
  Assyrian, had again stretched out His hand to wither the power of the
  oppressor. "There were they in great fear, where no fear was:
  for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee:
  thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them."
  Psalm 53:5.
   
   
  The
  papal leaders, despairing of conquering by force, at last resorted to
  diplomacy. A compromise was entered into, that while professing to
  grant to the Bohemians freedom of conscience, really betrayed them
  into the power of Rome. The Bohemians had specified four points as
  the condition of peace with Rome: the free preaching of the Bible;
  the right of the whole church to both the bread and the wine in the
  communion, and the use of the mother tongue in divine worship; the
  exclusion of the clergy from all secular offices and authority; and,
  in cases of crime, the jurisdiction of the civil courts over clergy
  and laity alike. The papal authorities at last "agreed that the
  four articles of the Hussites should be accepted, but that the right
  of explaining them, that is, of determining their precise import,
  should belong to the council--in other words, to the pope and the
  emperor."-- Wylie, b. 3, ch. 18. On this basis a treaty was
  entered into, and Rome gained by dissimulation and fraud what she had
  failed to gain by conflict; for, placing her own interpretation upon
  the Hussite articles, as upon the Bible, she could pervert their
  meaning to suit her own purposes.
   
   
  A
  large class in Bohemia, seeing that it betrayed their liberties,
  could not consent to the compact. Dissensions and divisions arose,
  leading to strife and bloodshed among themselves. In this strife the
  noble Procopius fell, and the liberties of Bohemia perished. 
  Sigismund, the betrayer of Huss and Jerome, now became king of
  Bohemia, and regardless of his oath to support the rights of the
  Bohemians, he proceeded to establish popery. But he had gained little
  by his subservience to Rome. For twenty years his life had been
  filled with labours and perils. His armies had been wasted and his
  treasuries drained by a long and fruitless struggle; and now, after
  reigning one year, he died, leaving his kingdom on the brink of civil
  war, and bequeathing to posterity a name branded with infamy.
   
   
  Tumults,
  strife, and bloodshed were protracted. Again foreign armies invaded
  Bohemia, and internal dissension continued to distract the nation.
  Those who remained faithful to the gospel were subjected to a bloody
  persecution.  As their former brethren, entering into compact with
  Rome, imbibed her errors, those who adhered to the ancient faith had
  formed themselves into a distinct church, taking the name of "United
  Brethren." This act drew upon them maledictions from all
  classes. Yet their firmness was unshaken. Forced to find refuge in
  the woods and caves, they still assembled to read God's word and
  unite in His worship.
   
   
  Through
  messengers secretly sent out into different countries, they learned
  that here and there were "isolated confessors of the truth, a
  few in this city and a few in that, the object, like themselves, of
  persecution; and that amid the mountains of the Alps was an ancient
  church, resting on the foundations of Scripture, and protesting
  against the idolatrous corruptions of Rome."--Wylie, b. 3, ch.
  19. This intelligence was received with great joy, and a
  correspondence was opened with the Waldensian Christians.  Steadfast
  to the gospel, the Bohemians waited through the night of their
  persecution, in the darkest hour still turning their eyes toward the
  horizon like men who watch for the morning. "Their lot was cast
  in evil days, but . . . they remembered the words first uttered by
  Huss, and repeated by Jerome, that a century must revolve before the
  day should break. These were to the Taborites [Hussites] what the
  words of Joseph were to the tribes in the house of bondage: `I die,
  and God will surely visit you, and bring you out.'"-- Ibid., b.
  3, ch. 19. "The closing period of the fifteenth century
  witnessed the slow but sure increase of the churches of the Brethren.
  Although far from being unmolested, they yet enjoyed comparative
  rest. At the commencement of the sixteenth century their churches
  numbered two hundred in Bohemia and Moravia."--Ezra Hall
  Gillett, Life and Times of John Huss, vol. 2, p. 570. "So goodly
  was the remnant which, escaping the destructive fury of fire and
  sword, was permitted to see the dawning of that day which Huss had
  foretold."--Wylie, b. 3, ch. 19.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 7. A Revolution Begins 
   
  Foremost
  among those who were called to lead the church from the darkness of
  popery into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin Luther. Zealous,
  ardent, and devoted, knowing no fear but the fear of God, and
  acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the Holy
  Scriptures, Luther was the man for his time; through him God
  accomplished a great work for the reformation of the church and the
  enlightenment of the world.  Like the first heralds of the gospel,
  Luther sprang from the ranks of poverty. His early years were spent
  in the humble home of a German peasant. By daily toil as a miner his
  father earned the means for his education. He intended him for a
  lawyer; but God purposed to make him a builder in the great temple
  that was rising so slowly through the centuries. Hardship, privation,
  and severe discipline were the school in which Infinite Wisdom
  prepared Luther for the important mission of his life.
   
   
  Luther's
  father was a man of strong and active mind and great force of
  character, honest, resolute, and straightforward. He was true to his
  convictions of duty, let the consequences be what they might. His
  sterling good sense led him to regard the monastic system with
  distrust. He was highly displeased when Luther, without his consent,
  entered a monastery; and it was two years before the father was
  reconciled to his son, and even then his opinions remained the same. 
  Luther's parents bestowed great care upon the education and training
  of their children. They endeavoured to instruct them in the knowledge
  of God and the practice of Christian virtues. The father's prayer
  often ascended in the hearing of his son that the child might
  remember the name of the Lord and one day, aid in the advancement of
  His truth. Every advantage for moral or intellectual culture which
  their life of toil permitted them to enjoy was eagerly improved by
  these parents. Their efforts were earnest and persevering to prepare
  their children for a life of piety and usefulness. With their
  firmness and strength of character they sometimes exercised too great
  severity; but the Reformer himself, though conscious that in some
  respects they had erred, found in their discipline more to approve
  than to condemn.
   
   
  At
  school, where he was sent at an early age, Luther was treated with
  harshness and even violence. So great was the poverty of his parents
  that upon going from home to school in another town he was for a time
  obliged to obtain his food by singing from door to door, and he often
  suffered from hunger. The gloomy, superstitious ideas of religion
  then prevailing filled him with fear. He would lie down at night with
  a sorrowful heart, looking forward with trembling to the dark future
  and in constant terror at the thought of God as a stern, unrelenting
  judge, a cruel tyrant, rather than a kind heavenly Father.  Yet under
  so many and so great discouragements Luther pressed resolutely
  forward toward the high standard of moral and intellectual excellence
  which attracted his soul. He thirsted for knowledge, and the earnest
  and practical character of his mind led him to desire the solid and
  useful rather than the showy and superficial.
   
   
  When,
  at the age of eighteen, he entered the University of Erfurt, his
  situation was more favourable and his prospects were brighter than in
  his earlier years. His parents having by thrift and industry acquired
  a competence, they were able to render him all needed assistance. And
  the influence of  judicious friends had somewhat lessened the gloomy
  effects of his former training. He applied himself to the study of
  the best authors, diligently treasuring their most weighty thoughts
  and making the wisdom of the wise his own. Even under the harsh
  discipline of his former instructors he had early given promise of
  distinction, and with favourable influences his mind rapidly
  developed. A retentive memory, a lively imagination, strong reasoning
  powers, and untiring application soon placed him in the foremost rank
  among his associates. Intellectual discipline ripened his
  understanding and aroused an activity of mind and a keenness of
  perception that were preparing him for the conflicts of his life.
   
   
  The
  fear of the Lord dwelt in the heart of Luther, enabling him to
  maintain his steadfastness of purpose and leading him to deep
  humility before God. He had an abiding sense of his dependence upon
  divine aid, and he did not fail to begin each day with prayer, while
  his heart was continually breathing a petition for guidance and
  support. "To pray well," he often said, "is the better
  half of study."-- D'Aubigne, b. 2, ch. 2.  While one day
  examining the books in the library of the university, Luther
  discovered a Latin Bible. Such a book he had never before seen. He
  was ignorant even of its existence. He had heard portions of the
  Gospels and Epistles, which were read to the people at public
  worship, and he supposed that these were the entire Bible. Now, for
  the first time, he looked upon the whole of God's word. With mingled
  awe and wonder he turned the sacred pages; with quickened pulse and
  throbbing heart he read for himself the words of life, pausing now
  and then to exclaim: "O that God would give me such a book for
  myself!"-- Ibid., b. 2, ch. 2.
   
   
  Angels
  of heaven were by his side, and rays of light from the throne of God
  revealed the treasures of truth to his understanding. He had ever
  feared to offend God, but now the deep conviction of his condition as
  a sinner took hold upon him as never before.  An earnest desire to be
  free from sin and to find peace with God led him at last to enter a
  cloister and devote himself to a monastic life. Here he was required
  to perform the lowest drudgery and to beg from house to house. He was
  at an age when respect and appreciation are most eagerly craved, and
  these menial offices were deeply mortifying to his natural feelings;
  but he patiently endured this humiliation, believing that it was
  necessary because of his sins.
   
   
  Every
  moment that could be spared from his daily duties he employed in
  study, robbing himself of sleep and grudging even the time spent at
  his scanty meals. Above everything else he delighted in the study of
  God's word. He had found a Bible chained to the convent wall, and to
  this he often repaired. As his convictions of sin deepened, he sought
  by his own works to obtain pardon and peace. He led a most rigorous
  life, endeavouring by fasting, vigils, and scourgings to subdue the
  evils of his nature, from which the monastic life had brought no
  release. He shrank from no sacrifice by which he might attain to that
  purity of heart which would enable him to stand approved before God.
  "I was indeed a pious monk," he afterward said, "and
  followed the rules of my order more strictly than I can express. If
  ever monk could obtain heaven by his monkish works, I should
  certainly have been entitled to it. . . . If it had continued much
  longer, I should have carried my mortifications even to death."--
  Ibid., b. 2, ch. 3. As the result of this painful discipline he lost
  strength and suffered from fainting spasms, from the effects of which
  he never fully recovered. But with all his efforts his burdened soul
  found no relief. He was at last driven to the verge of despair.
   
   
  When
  it appeared to Luther that all was lost, God raised up a friend and
  helper for him. The pious Staupitz opened the word of God to Luther's
  mind and bade him look away from himself, cease the contemplation of
  infinite punishment for the violation of God's law, and look to
  Jesus, his sin-pardoning Saviour. "Instead of torturing yourself
  on account of your sins, throw yourself into the Redeemer's arms.
  Trust in Him, in the righteousness of His life, in the atonement of
  His death. . . . Listen to the Son of God. He became man to give you
  the assurance of divine favour." "Love Him who first loved
  you."-- Ibid., b. 2, ch. 4. Thus spoke this messenger of mercy.
  His words made a deep impression upon Luther's mind. After many a
  struggle with long-cherished errors, he was enabled to grasp the
  truth, and peace came to his troubled soul.
   
   
  Luther
  was ordained a priest and was called from the cloister to a
  professorship in the University of Wittenberg. Here he applied
  himself to the study of the Scriptures in the original tongues. He
  began to lecture upon the Bible; and the book of Psalms, the Gospels,
  and the Epistles were opened to the understanding of crowds of
  delighted listeners. Staupitz, his friend and superior, urged him to
  ascend the pulpit and preach the word of God. Luther hesitated,
  feeling himself unworthy to speak to the people in Christ's stead. It
  was only after a long struggle that he yielded to the solicitations
  of his friends. Already he was mighty in the Scriptures, and the
  grace of God rested upon him. His eloquence captivated his hearers,
  the clearness and power with which he presented the truth convinced
  their understanding, and his fervour touched their hearts.
   
   
  Luther
  was still a true son of the papal church and had no thought that he
  would ever be anything else. In the providence of God he was led to
  visit Rome. He pursued his journey on foot, lodging at the
  monasteries on the way. At a convent in Italy he was filled with
  wonder at the wealth, magnificence, and luxury that he witnessed.
  Endowed with a princely revenue, the monks dwelt in splendid
  apartments, attired themselves in the richest and most costly robes,
  and feasted at a sumptuous table. With painful misgivings Luther
  contrasted this scene with the self-denial and hardship of his own
  life. His mind was becoming perplexed.  At last he beheld in the
  distance the seven-hilled city.  With deep emotion he prostrated
  himself upon the earth, exclaiming: "Holy Rome, I salute
  thee!"-- Ibid., b. 2, ch. 6. He entered the city, visited the
  churches, listened to the marvellous tales repeated by priests and
  monks, and performed all the ceremonies required.
   
   
  Everywhere
  he looked upon scenes that filled him with astonishment and horror.
  He saw that iniquity existed among all classes of the clergy. He
  heard indecent jokes from prelates, and was filled with horror at
  their awful profanity, even during mass. As he mingled with the monks
  and citizens he met dissipation, debauchery. Turn where he would, in
  the place of sanctity he found profanation. "No one can
  imagine," he wrote, "what sins and infamous actions are
  committed in Rome; they must be seen and heard to be believed. Thus
  they are in the habit of saying, 'If there is a hell, Rome is built
  over it: it is an abyss whence issues every kind of sin.'"--
  Ibid., b. 2, ch. 6.  By a recent decretal an indulgence had been
  promised by the pope to all who should ascend upon their knees
  "Pilate's staircase," said to have been descended by our
  Saviour on leaving the Roman judgment hall and to have been
  miraculously conveyed from Jerusalem to Rome.
   
   
  Luther
  was one day devoutly climbing these steps, when suddenly a voice like
  thunder seemed to say to him: "The just shall live by faith."
  Romans 1:17.  He sprang to his feet and hastened from the place in
  shame and horror. That text never lost its power upon his soul. From
  that time he saw more clearly than ever before the fallacy of
  trusting to human works for salvation, and the necessity of constant
  faith in the merits of Christ. His eyes had been opened, and were
  never again to be closed, to the delusions of the papacy. When he
  turned his face from Rome he had turned away also in heart, and from
  that time the separation grew wider, until he severed all connection
  with the papal church.
   
   
  After
  his return from Rome, Luther received at the University of Wittenberg
  the degree of doctor of divinity. Now he was at liberty to devote
  himself, as never before, to the  Scriptures that he loved. He had
  taken a solemn vow to study carefully and to preach with fidelity the
  word of God, not the sayings and doctrines of the popes, all the days
  of his life. He was no longer the mere monk or professor, but the
  authorized herald of the Bible. He had been called as a shepherd to
  feed the flock of God, that were hungering and thirsting for the
  truth. He firmly declared that Christians should receive no other
  doctrines than those which rest on the authority of the Sacred
  Scriptures. These words struck at the very foundation of papal
  supremacy. They contained the vital principle of the Reformation.
   
   
  Luther
  saw the danger of exalting human theories above the word of God. He
  fearlessly attacked the speculative infidelity of the schoolmen and
  opposed the philosophy and theology which had so long held a
  controlling influence upon the people. He denounced such studies as
  not only worthless but pernicious, and sought to turn the minds of
  his hearers from the sophistries of philosophers and theologians to
  the eternal truths set forth by prophets and apostles.  Precious was
  the message which he bore to the eager crowds that hung upon his
  words. Never before had such teachings fallen upon their ears. The
  glad tidings of a Saviour's love, the assurance of pardon and peace
  through His atoning blood, rejoiced their hearts and inspired within
  them an immortal hope. At Wittenberg a light was kindled whose rays
  should extend to the uttermost parts of the earth, and which was to
  increase in brightness to the close of time.
   
   
  But
  light and darkness cannot harmonize. Between truth and error there is
  an irrepressible conflict. To uphold and defend the one is to attack
  and overthrow the other. Our Saviour Himself declared: "I came
  not to send peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34. Said Luther, a
  few years after the opening of the Reformation: "God does not
  guide me, He pushes me forward. He carries me away. I am not master
  of myself. I desire to live in repose; but I am thrown into the midst
  of tumults and revolutions."--D'Aubigne, b. 5, ch. 2. He was now
  about to be urged into the contest.  The Roman Church had made
  merchandise of the grace of God. The tables of the money-changers
  (Matthew 21:12) were set up beside her altars, and the air resounded
  with the shouts of buyers and sellers. Under the plea of raising
  funds for the erection of St. Peter's Church at Rome, indulgences for
  sin were publicly offered for sale by the authority of the pope. By
  the price of crime a temple was to be built up for God's worship--the
  cornerstone laid with the wages of iniquity! But the very means
  adopted for Rome's aggrandizement provoked the deadliest blow to her
  power and greatness. It was this that aroused the most determined and
  successful of the enemies of popery, and led to the battle which
  shook the papal throne and jostled the triple crown upon the
  pontiff's head.
   
   
  The
  official appointed to conduct the sale of indulgences in
  Germany--Tetzel by name--had been convicted of the basest offenses
  against society and against the law of God; but having escaped the
  punishment due for his crimes, he was employed to further the
  mercenary and unscrupulous projects of the pope. With great
  effrontery he repeated the most glaring falsehoods and related
  marvellous tales to deceive an ignorant, credulous, and superstitious
  people. Had they possessed the word of God they would not have been
  thus deceived. It was to keep them under the control of the papacy,
  in order to swell the power and wealth of her ambitious leaders, that
  the Bible had been withheld from them. (See John C. L. Gieseler, A
  Compendium of Ecclesiastical History, per. 4, sec. 1, par. 5.)
   
   
  As
  Tetzel entered a town, a messenger went before him, announcing: "The
  grace of God and of the holy father is at your gates."--D'Aubigne,
  b. 3, ch. 1. And the people welcomed the blasphemous pretender as if
  he were God Himself come down from heaven to them. The infamous
  traffic was set up in the church, and Tetzel, ascending the pulpit,
  extolled the indulgences as the most precious gift of God. He
  declared that by virtue of his certificates of pardon all the sins
  which the purchaser should afterward desire to commit would be
  forgiven him, and that "not even repentance is necessary."--
  Ibid., b. 3, ch. 1. More than this, he assured his hearers that the
  indulgences had power to save not only the living but the dead; that
  the very moment the money should clink against the bottom of his
  chest, the soul in whose behalf it had been paid would escape from
  purgatory and make its way to heaven. (See K. R. Hagenbach, History
  of the Reformation, vol. 1, p. 96.)
   
   
  When
  Simon Magus offered to purchase of the apostles the power to work
  miracles, Peter answered him: "Thy money perish with thee,
  because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with
  money." Acts 8:20. But Tetzel's offer was grasped by eager
  thousands. Gold and silver flowed into his treasury. A salvation that
  could be bought with money was more easily obtained than that which
  requires repentance, faith, and diligent effort to resist and
  overcome sin. (See Appendix note for page 59.)  The doctrine of
  indulgences had been opposed by men of learning and piety in the
  Roman Church, and there were many who had no faith in pretensions so
  contrary to both reason and revelation. No prelate dared lift his
  voice against this iniquitous traffic; but the minds of men were
  becoming disturbed and uneasy, and many eagerly inquired if God would
  not work through some instrumentality for the purification of His
  church.
   
   
  Luther,
  though still a papist of the straitest sort, was filled with horror
  at the blasphemous assumptions of the indulgence mongers. Many of his
  own congregation had purchased certificates of pardon, and they soon
  began to come to their pastor, confessing their various sins, and
  expecting absolution, not because they were penitent and wished to
  reform, but on the ground of the indulgence. Luther refused them
  absolution, and warned them that unless they should repent and reform
  their lives, they must perish in their sins. In great perplexity they
  repaired to Tetzel with the complaint that their confessor had
  refused his certificates; and some boldly demanded that their money
  be returned to them. The friar was filled with rage. He uttered the
  most terrible curses, caused fires to be lighted in the public
  squares, and declared that he "had received an order from the
  pope to burn all heretics who presumed to oppose his most holy
  indulgences."-D'Aubigne, b. 3, ch. 4.
   
   
  Luther
  now entered boldly upon his work as a champion of the truth. His
  voice was heard from the pulpit in earnest, solemn warning. He set
  before the people the offensive character of sin, and taught them
  that it is impossible for man, by his own works, to lessen its guilt
  or evade its punishment. Nothing but repentance toward God and faith
  in Christ can save the sinner. The grace of Christ cannot be
  purchased; it is a free gift. He counseled the people not to buy
  indulgences, but to look in faith to a crucified Redeemer. He related
  his own painful experience in vainly seeking by humiliation and
  penance to secure salvation, and assured his hearers that it was by
  looking away from himself and believing in Christ that he found peace
  and joy.
   
   
  As
  Tetzel continued his traffic and his impious pretensions, Luther
  determined upon a more effectual protest against these crying abuses.
  An occasion soon offered. The castle church of Wittenberg possessed
  many relics, which on certain holy days were exhibited to the people,
  and full remission of sins was granted to all who then visited the
  church and made confession. Accordingly on these days the people in
  great numbers resorted thither. One of the most important of these
  occasions, the festival of All Saints, was approaching. On the
  preceding day, Luther, joining the crowds that were already making
  their way to the church, posted on its door a paper containing
  ninety-five propositions against the doctrine of indulgences. He
  declared his willingness to defend these theses next day at the
  university, against all who should see fit to attack them.  His
  propositions attracted universal attention. They were read and
  reread, and repeated in every direction. Great excitement was created
  in the university and in the whole city. By these theses it was shown
  that the power to grant the pardon of sin, and to remit its penalty,
  had never been committed to the pope or to any other man. The whole
  scheme was a farce,--an artifice to extort money by playing upon the
  superstitions of the people,--a device of Satan to destroy the souls
  of all who should trust to its lying pretensions. It was also clearly
  shown that the gospel of Christ is the most valuable treasure of the
  church, and that the grace of God, therein revealed, is freely
  bestowed upon all who seek it by repentance and faith.
   
   
  Luther's
  theses challenged discussion; but no one dared accept the challenge.
  The questions which he proposed had in a few days spread through all
  Germany, and in a few weeks they had sounded throughout Christendom.
  Many devoted Romanists, who had seen and lamented the terrible
  iniquity prevailing in the church, but had not known how to arrest
  its progress, read the propositions with great joy, recognizing in
  them the voice of God. They felt that the Lord had graciously set His
  hand to arrest the rapidly swelling tide of corruption that was
  issuing from the see of Rome. Princes and magistrates secretly
  rejoiced that a check was to be put upon the arrogant power which
  denied the right of appeal from its decisions.
   
   
  But
  the sin-loving and superstitious multitudes were terrified as the
  sophistries that had soothed their fears were swept away. Crafty
  ecclesiastics, interrupted in their work of sanctioning crime, and
  seeing their gains endangered, were enraged, and rallied to uphold
  their pretensions. The Reformer had bitter accusers to meet. Some
  charged him with acting hastily and from impulse. Others accused him
  of presumption, declaring that he was not directed of God, but was
  acting from pride and forwardness. "Who does not know," he
  responded, "that a man rarely puts forth any new idea without
  having some appearance of pride, and without being accused of
  exciting quarrels? . . . Why were Christ and all the martyrs put to
  death? Because they seemed to be proud contemners of the wisdom of
  the time, and because they advanced novelties without having first
  humbly taken counsel of the oracles of the ancient opinions." 
  Again he declared: "Whatever I do will be done, not by the
  prudence of men, but by the counsel of God. If the work be of God,
  who shall stop it? if it be not, who can forward it? Not my will, nor
  theirs, nor ours; but Thy will, O holy Father, which art in
  heaven."-- Ibid., b. 3, ch. 6.
   
   
  Though
  Luther had been moved by the Spirit of God to begin his work, he was
  not to carry it forward without severe conflicts. The reproaches of
  his enemies, their misrepresentation of his purposes, and their
  unjust and malicious reflections upon his character and motives, came
  in upon him like an overwhelming flood; and they were not without
  effect. He had felt confident that the leaders of the people, both in
  the church and in the schools, would gladly unite with him in efforts
  for reform. Words of encouragement from those in high position had
  inspired him with joy and hope. Already in anticipation he had seen a
  brighter day dawning for the church. But encouragement had changed to
  reproach and condemnation. Many dignitaries, of both church and
  state, were convicted of the truthfulness of his theses; but they
  soon saw that the acceptance of these truths would involve great
  changes. To enlighten and reform the people would be virtually to
  undermine the authority of Rome, to stop thousands of streams now
  flowing into her treasury, and thus greatly to curtail the
  extravagance and luxury of the papal leaders.
   
   
  Furthermore,
  to teach the people to think and act as responsible beings, looking
  to Christ alone for salvation, would overthrow the pontiff's throne
  and eventually destroy their own authority. For this reason they
  refused the knowledge tendered them of God and arrayed  themselves
  against Christ and the truth by their opposition to the man whom He
  had sent to enlighten them.  Luther trembled as he looked upon
  himself--one man opposed to the mightiest powers of earth. He
  sometimes doubted whether he had indeed been led of God to set
  himself against the authority of the church. "Who was I,"
  he writes, "to oppose the majesty of the pope, before whom ...
  the kings of the earth and the whole world trembled? ... No one can
  know what my heart suffered during these first two years, and into
  what despondency, I may say into what despair, I was sunk."--
  Ibid., b. 3, ch. 6. But he was not left to become utterly
  disheartened. When human support failed, he looked to God alone and
  learned that he could lean in perfect safety upon that all-powerful
  arm.
   
   
  To
  a friend of the Reformation Luther wrote: "We cannot attain to
  the understanding of Scripture either by study or by the intellect.
  Your first duty is to begin by prayer. Entreat the Lord to grant you,
  of His great mercy, the true understanding of His word. There is no
  other interpreter of the word of God than the Author of this word, as
  He Himself has said, 'They shall be all taught of God.' Hope for
  nothing from your own labours, from your own understanding: trust
  solely in God, and in the influence of His Spirit. Believe this on
  the word of a man who has had experience."-- Ibid., b. 3, ch. 7.
  Here is a lesson of vital importance to those who feel that God has
  called them to present to others the solemn truths for this time.
  These truths will stir the enmity of Satan and of men who love the
  fables that he has devised. In the conflict with the powers of evil
  there is need of something more than strength of intellect and human
  wisdom.
   
   
  When
  enemies appealed to custom and tradition, or to the assertions and
  authority of the pope, Luther met them with the Bible and the Bible
  only. Here were arguments which they could not answer; therefore the
  slaves of formalism and superstition clamoured for his blood, as the
  Jews had clamoured for the blood of Christ. "He is a heretic,"
  cried the Roman zealots. "It is high treason against the church
  to allow so horrible a heretic to live one hour longer. Let the
  scaffold be instantly erected for him!"-- Ibid., b. 3, ch. 9.
  But Luther did not fall a prey to their fury. God had a work for him
  to do, and angels of heaven were sent to protect him. Many, however,
  who had received from Luther the precious light were made the objects
  of Satan's wrath and for the truth's sake fearlessly suffered torture
  and death.
   
   
  Luther's
  teachings attracted the attention of thoughtful minds throughout all
  Germany. From his sermons and writings issued beams of light which
  awakened and illuminated thousands. A living faith was taking the
  place of the dead formalism in which the church had so long been
  held. The people were daily losing confidence in the superstitions of
  Romanism. The barriers of prejudice were giving way. The word of God,
  by which Luther tested every doctrine and every claim, was like a
  two-edged sword, cutting its way to the hearts of the people.
  Everywhere there was awakening a desire for spiritual progress.
  Everywhere was such a hungering and thirsting after righteousness as
  had not been known for ages. The eyes of the people, so long directed
  to human rites and earthly mediators, were now turning in penitence
  and faith to Christ and Him crucified.
   
   
  This
  widespread interest aroused still further the fears of the papal
  authorities. Luther received a summons to appear at Rome to answer to
  the charge of heresy. The command filled his friends with terror.
  They knew full well the danger that threatened him in that corrupt
  city, already drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. They
  protested against his going to Rome and requested that he receive his
  examination in Germany.
   
   
  This
  arrangement was finally effected, and the pope's legate was appointed
  to hear the case. In the instructions communicated by the pontiff to
  this official, it was stated that Luther had already been declared a
  heretic. The legate was therefore charged "to prosecute and
  constrain without  any delay." If he should remain steadfast,
  and the legate should fail to gain possession of his person, he was
  empowered "to proscribe him in every part of Germany; to banish,
  curse, and excommunicate all those who are attached to him."--
  Ibid., b. 4, ch. 2. And, further, the pope directed his legate, in
  order entirely to root out the pestilent heresy, to excommunicate
  all, of whatever dignity in church or state, except the emperor, who
  should neglect to seize Luther and his adherents, and deliver them up
  to the vengeance of Rome.
   
   
  Here
  is displayed the true spirit of popery. Not a trace of Christian
  principle, or even of common justice, is to be seen in the whole
  document. Luther was at a great distance from Rome; he had had no
  opportunity to explain or defend his position; yet before his case
  had been investigated, he was summarily pronounced a heretic, and in
  the same day, exhorted, accused, judged, and condemned; and all this
  by the self-styled holy father, the only supreme, infallible
  authority in church or state!  At this time, when Luther so much
  needed the sympathy and counsel of a true friend, God's providence
  sent Melanchthon to Wittenberg. Young in years, modest and diffident
  in his manners, Melanchthon's sound judgment, extensive knowledge,
  and winning eloquence, combined with the purity and uprightness of
  his character, won universal admiration and esteem. The brilliancy of
  his talents was not more marked than his gentleness of disposition.
  He soon became an earnest disciple of the gospel, and Luther's most
  trusted friend and valued supporter; his gentleness, caution, and
  exactness serving as a complement to Luther's courage and energy.
   
   
  Their
  union in the work added strength to the Reformation and was a source
  of great encouragement to Luther.  Augsburg had been fixed upon as
  the place of trial, and the Reformer set out on foot to perform the
  journey thither. Serious fears were entertained in his behalf.
  Threats had been made openly that he would be seized and murdered on
  the way, and his friends begged him not to venture. They  even
  entreated him to leave Wittenberg for a time and find safety with
  those who would gladly protect him. But he would not leave the
  position where God had placed him. He must continue faithfully to
  maintain the truth, notwithstanding the storms that were beating upon
  him. His language was: "I am like Jeremiah, a man of strife and
  contention; but the more their threats increase, the more my joy is
  multiplied. . . . They have already destroyed my honour and my
  reputation. One single thing remains; it is my wretched body: let
  them take it; they will thus shorten my life by a few hours. But as
  for my soul, they cannot take that. He who desires to proclaim the
  word of Christ to the world, must expect death at every moment."--
  Ibid., b. 4, ch. 4.
   
   
  The
  tidings of Luther's arrival at Augsburg gave great satisfaction to
  the papal legate. The troublesome heretic who was exciting the
  attention of the whole world seemed now in the power of Rome, and the
  legate determined that he should not escape. The Reformer had failed
  to provide himself with a safe-conduct. His friends urged him not to
  appear before the legate without one, and they themselves undertook
  to procure it from the emperor. The legate intended to force Luther,
  if possible, to retract, or, failing in this, to cause him to be
  conveyed to Rome, to share the fate of Huss and Jerome. Therefore
  through his agents he endeavoured to induce Luther to appear without
  a safe-conduct, trusting himself to his mercy. This the Reformer
  firmly declined to do. Not until he had received the document
  pledging him the emperor's protection, did he appear in the presence
  of the papal ambassador.
   
   
  As
  a matter of policy, the Romanists had decided to attempt to win
  Luther by an appearance of gentleness. The legate, in his interviews
  with him, professed great friendliness; but he demanded that Luther
  submit implicitly to the authority of the church, and yield every
  point without argument or question. He had not rightly estimated the
  character of the man with whom he had to deal. Luther, in reply,
  expressed his regard for the church, his desire for the truth, his
  readiness to answer all objections to what he had taught, and to
  submit his doctrines to the decision of certain leading universities.
  But at the same time he protested against the cardinal's course in
  requiring him to retract without having proved him in error.
   
   
  The
  only response was: "Retract, retract!" The Reformer showed
  that his position was sustained by the Scriptures and firmly declared
  that he could not renounce the truth. The legate, unable to reply to
  Luther's arguments, overwhelmed him with a storm of reproaches,
  gibes, and flattery, interspersed with quotations from tradition and
  the sayings of the Fathers, granting the Reformer no opportunity to
  speak. Seeing that the conference, thus continued, would be utterly
  futile, Luther finally obtained a reluctant permission to present his
  answer in writing.  "In so doing," said he, writing to a
  friend, "the oppressed find double gain; first, what is written
  may be submitted to the judgment of others; and second, one has a
  better chance of working on the fears, if not on the conscience, of
  an arrogant and babbling despot, who would otherwise overpower by his
  imperious language."--Martyn, The Life and Times of Luther,
  pages 271, 272.  At the next interview, Luther presented a clear,
  concise, and forcible exposition of his views, fully supported by
  many quotations from Scripture. This paper, after reading aloud, he
  handed to the cardinal, who, however, cast it contemptuously aside,
  declaring it to be a mass of idle words and irrelevant quotations.
   
   
  Luther,
  fully aroused, now met the haughty prelate on his own ground--the
  traditions and teachings of the church--and utterly overthrew his
  assumptions.  When the prelate saw that Luther's reasoning was
  unanswerable, he lost all self-control, and in a rage cried out:
  "Retract! or I will send you to Rome, there to appear before the
  judges commissioned to take cognizance of your cause. I will
  excommunicate you and all your partisans, and all who shall at any
  time countenance you, and will cast them out of the church." And
  he finally declared, in a haughty and angry tone: "Retract, or
  return no more."--D'Aubigne, London ed., b. 4, ch. 8.  The
  Reformer promptly withdrew with his friends, thus declaring plainly
  that no retraction was to be expected from him. This was not what the
  cardinal had purposed. He had flattered himself that by violence he
  could awe Luther to submission. Now, left alone with his supporters,
  he looked from one to another in utter chagrin at the unexpected
  failure of his schemes.
   
   
  Luther's
  efforts on this occasion were not without good results. The large
  assembly present had opportunity to compare the two men, and to judge
  for themselves of the spirit manifested by them, as well as of the
  strength and truthfulness of their positions. How marked the
  contrast! The Reformer, simple, humble, firm, stood up in the
  strength of God, having truth on his side; the pope's representative,
  self-important, overbearing, haughty, and unreasonable, was without a
  single argument from the Scriptures, yet vehemently crying: "Retract,
  or be sent to Rome for punishment."  Notwithstanding Luther had
  secured a safe-conduct, the Romanists were plotting to seize and
  imprison him. His friends urged that as it was useless for him to
  prolong his stay, he should return to Wittenberg without delay, and
  that the utmost caution should be observed in order to conceal his
  intentions. He accordingly left Augsburg before day-break, on
  horseback, accompanied only by a guide furnished him by the
  magistrate.
   
   
  With
  many forebodings he secretly made his way through the dark and silent
  streets of the city. Enemies, vigilant and cruel, were plotting his
  destruction. Would he escape the snares prepared for him? Those were
  moments of anxiety and earnest prayer. He reached a small gate in the
  wall of the city. It was opened for him, and with his guide he passed
  through without hindrance. Once safely outside, the fugitives
  hastened their flight, and before the legate learned of Luther's
  departure, he was beyond the reach of his persecutors. Satan and his
  emissaries were defeated. The man whom they had thought in their
  power was gone, escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowler.  At
  the news of Luther's escape the legate was overwhelmed with surprise
  and anger. He had expected to receive great honour for his wisdom and
  firmness in dealing with this disturber of the church; but his hope
  was disappointed. He gave expression to his wrath in a letter to
  Frederick, the elector of Saxony, bitterly denouncing Luther and
  demanding that Frederick send the Reformer to Rome or banish him from
  Saxony.
   
   
  In
  defense, Luther urged that the legate or the pope show him his errors
  from the Scriptures, and pledged himself in the most solemn manner to
  renounce his doctrines if they could be shown to contradict the word
  of God. And he expressed his gratitude to God that he had been
  counted worthy to suffer in so holy a cause.  The elector had, as
  yet, little knowledge of the reformed doctrines, but he was deeply
  impressed by the candour, force, and clearness of Luther's words; and
  until the Reformer should be proved to be in error, Frederick
  resolved to stand as his protector. In reply to the legate's demand
  he wrote: "Since Dr. Martin has appeared before you at Augsburg,
  you should be satisfied. We did not expect that you would endeavour
  to make him retract without having convinced him of his errors. None
  of the learned men in our principality have informed me that Martin's
  doctrine is impious, anti-christian, or heretical.' The prince
  refused, moreover, to send Luther to Rome, or to expel him from his
  states."-- D'Aubigne, b. 4, ch. 10.
   
   
  The
  elector saw that there was a general breaking down of the moral
  restraints of society. A great work of reform was needed. The
  complicated and expensive arrangements to restrain and punish crime
  would be unnecessary if men but acknowledged and obeyed the
  requirements of God and the dictates of an enlightened conscience. He
  saw that Luther was labouring to secure this object, and he secretly
  rejoiced that a better influence was making itself felt in the
  church.  He saw also that as a professor in the university Luther was
  eminently successful. Only a year had passed since the Reformer
  posted his theses on the castle church, yet there was already a great
  falling off in the number of pilgrims that visited the church at the
  festival of All Saints. Rome had been deprived of worshipers and
  offerings, but their place was filled by another class, who now came
  to Wittenberg, not pilgrims to adore her relics, but students to fill
  her halls of learning. The writings of Luther had kindled everywhere
  a new interest in the Holy Scriptures, and not only from all parts of
  Germany, but from other lands, students flocked to the university.
  Young men, coming in sight of Wittenberg for the first time, "raised
  their hands to heaven, and praised God for having caused the light of
  truth to shine forth from this city, as from Zion in times of old,
  and whence it spread even to the most distant countries."--
  Ibid., b. 4, ch. 10.
   
   
  Luther
  was as yet but partially converted from the errors of Romanism. But
  as he compared the Holy Oracles with the papal decrees and
  constitutions, he was filled with wonder. "I am reading,"
  he wrote, "the decrees of the pontiffs, and . . . I do not know
  whether the pope is antichrist himself, or his apostle, so greatly is
  Christ misrepresented and crucified in them."-- Ibid., b. 5, ch.
  1. Yet at this time Luther was still a supporter of the Roman Church,
  and had no thought that he would ever separate from her communion. 
  The Reformer's writings and his doctrine were extending to every
  nation in Christendom. The work spread to Switzerland and Holland.
  Copies of his writings found their way to France and Spain. In
  England his teachings were received as the word of life. To Belgium
  and Italy also the truth had extended. Thousands were awakening from
  their deathlike stupor to the joy and hope of a life of faith.
   
   
  Rome
  became more and more exasperated by the attacks of Luther, and it was
  declared by some of his fanatical opponents, even by doctors in
  Catholic universities, that he who should kill the rebellious monk
  would be without sin. One day a stranger, with a pistol hidden under
  his cloak, approached the Reformer and inquired why he went thus
  alone. "I am in God's hands," answered Luther. "He is
  my strength and my shield. What can man do unto me?"-- Ibid., b.
  6, ch. 2. Upon hearing these words, the stranger turned pale and fled
  away as from the presence of the angels of heaven.  Rome was bent
  upon the destruction of Luther; but God was his defense. His
  doctrines were heard everywhere--"in cottages and convents, . .
  . in the castles of the nobles, in the universities, and in the
  palaces of kings;" and noble men were rising on every hand to
  sustain his efforts.-- Ibid., b. 6, ch. 2.
   
   
  It
  was about this time that Luther, reading the works of Huss, found
  that the great truth of justification by faith, which he himself was
  seeking to uphold and teach, had been held by the Bohemian Reformer.
  "We have all," said Luther, "Paul, Augustine, and
  myself, been Hussites without knowing it!" "God will surely
  visit it upon the world," he continued, "that the truth was
  preached to it a century ago, and burned!"--Wylie, b. 6. ch. 1 
  In an appeal to the emperor and nobility of Germany in behalf of the
  reformation of Christianity, Luther wrote concerning the pope: "It
  is a horrible thing to behold the man who styles himself Christ's
  vicegerent, displaying a magnificence that no emperor can equal. Is
  this being like the poor Jesus, or the humble Peter? He is, say they,
  the lord of the world! But Christ, whose vicar he boasts of being,
  has said, 'My kingdom is not of this world.' Can the dominions of a
  vicar extend beyond those of his superior?"-- D'Aubigne, b. 6,
  ch. 3.
   
   
  He
  wrote thus of the universities: "I am much afraid that the
  universities will prove to be the great gates of hell, unless they
  diligently labour in explaining the Holy Scriptures, and engraving
  them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where
  the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men
  are not unceasingly occupied with the word of God must become
  corrupt."-- Ibid., b. 6, ch. 3.  This appeal was rapidly
  circulated throughout Germany and exerted a powerful influence upon
  the people. The whole nation was stirred, and multitudes were roused
  to rally around the standard of reform. Luther's opponents, burning
  with a desire for revenge, urged the pope to take decisive measures
  against him. It was decreed that his doctrines should be immediately
  condemned. Sixty days were granted the Reformer and his adherents,
  after which, if they did not recant, they were all to be
  excommunicated.
   
   
  That
  was a terrible crisis for the Reformation. For centuries Rome's
  sentence of excommunication had struck terror to powerful monarchs;
  it had filled mighty empires with woe and desolation. Those upon whom
  its condemnation fell were universally regarded with dread and
  horror; they were cut off from intercourse with their fellows and
  treated as outlaws, to be hunted to extermination. Luther was not
  blind to the tempest about to burst upon him; but he stood firm,
  trusting in Christ to be his support and shield. With a martyr's
  faith and courage he wrote: "What is about to happen I know not,
  nor do I care to know. . . . Let the blow light where it may, I am
  without fear. Not so much as a leaf falls, without the will of our
  Father. How much rather will He care for us! It is a light thing to
  die for the Word, since the Word which was made flesh hath Himself
  died. If we die with Him, we shall live with Him; and passing through
  that which He has passed through before us, we shall be where He is
  and dwell with Him forever."-- Ibid., 3d London ed., Walther,
  1840, b. 6, ch. 9.
   
   
  When
  the papal bull reached Luther, he said: "I despise and attack
  it, as impious, false…It is Christ Himself who is condemned
  therein. . . . I rejoice in having to bear such ills for the best of
  causes. Already I feel greater liberty in my heart; for at last I
  know that the pope is antichrist, and that his throne is that of
  Satan himself."--D'Aubigne, b. 6, ch. 9.  Yet the mandate of
  Rome was not without effect. Prison, torture, and sword were weapons
  potent to enforce obedience. The weak and superstitious trembled
  before the decree of the pope; and while there was general sympathy
  for Luther, many felt that life was too dear to be risked in the
  cause of reform. Everything seemed to indicate that the Reformer's
  work was about to close.  But Luther was fearless still. Rome had
  hurled her anathemas against him, and the world looked on, nothing
  doubting that he would perish or be forced to yield. But with
  terrible power he flung back upon herself the sentence of
  condemnation and publicly declared his determination to abandon her
  forever.
   
   
  In
  the presence of a crowd of students, doctors, and citizens of all
  ranks Luther burned the pope's bull, with the canon laws, the
  decretals, and certain writings sustaining the papal power. "My
  enemies have been able, by burning my books," he said, "to
  injure the cause of truth in the minds of the common people, and
  destroy their souls; for this reason, I consumed their books in
  return. A serious struggle has just begun. Hitherto I have been only
  playing with the pope. I began this work in God's name; it will be
  ended without me, and by His might." -- Ibid., b. 6, ch. 10. To
  the reproaches of his enemies who taunted him with the weakness of
  his cause, Luther answered: "Who knows if God has not chosen and
  called me, and if they ought not to fear that, by despising me, they
  despise God Himself? Moses was alone at the departure from Egypt;
  Elijah was alone in the reign of King Ahab; Isaiah alone in
  Jerusalem; Ezekiel alone in Babylon. . . . God never selected as a
  prophet either the high priest or any other great personage; but
  ordinarily He chose low and despised men, once even the shepherd
  Amos. In every age, the saints have had to reprove the great, kings,
  princes, priests, and wise men, at the peril of their lives. . . . I
  do not say that I am a prophet; but I say that they ought to fear
  precisely because I am alone and that they are many. I am sure of
  this, that the word of God is with me, and that it is not with
  them."-- Ibid., b. 6, ch. 10.
   
   
  Yet
  it was not without a terrible struggle with himself that Luther
  decided upon a final separation from the church. It was about this
  time that he wrote: "I feel more and more every day how
  difficult it is to lay aside the scruples which one has imbibed in
  childhood. Oh, how much pain it has caused me, though I had the
  Scriptures on my side, to justify it to myself that I should dare to
  make a stand alone against the pope, and hold him forth as
  antichrist! What have the tribulations of my heart not been! How many
  times have I not asked myself with bitterness that question which was
  so frequent on the lips of the papists: 'Art thou alone wise? Can
  everyone else be mistaken? How will it be, if, after all, it is
  thyself who art wrong, and who art involving in thy error so many
  souls, who will then be eternally damned?' 'Twas so I fought with
  myself and with Satan, till Christ, by His own infallible word,
  fortified my heart against these doubts."--Martyn, pages 372,
  373.
   
   
  The
  pope had threatened Luther with excommunication if he did not recant,
  and the threat was now fulfilled. A new bull appeared, declaring the
  Reformer's final separation from the Roman Church, denouncing him as
  accursed of Heaven, and including in the same condemnation all who
  should receive his doctrines. The great contest had been fully
  entered upon.  Opposition is the lot of all whom God employs to
  present truths specially applicable to their time. There was a
  present truth in the days of Luther,--a truth at that time of special
  importance; there is a present truth for the church today.  He who
  does all things according to the counsel of His will has been pleased
  to place men under various circumstances and to enjoin upon them
  duties peculiar to the times in which they live and the conditions
  under which they are placed. If they would prize the light given
  them, broader views of truth would be opened before them. But truth
  is no more desired by the majority today than it was by the papists
  who opposed Luther. There is the same disposition to accept the
  theories and traditions of men instead of the word of God as in
  former ages. Those who present the truth for this time should not
  expect to be received with greater favour than were earlier
  reformers. The great controversy between truth and error, between
  Christ and Satan, is to increase in intensity to the close of this
  world's history.
   
   
  Said
  Jesus to His disciples: "If ye were of the world, the world
  would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have
  chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember
  the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his
  Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if
  they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also." John
  15:19, 20. And on the other hand our Lord declared plainly: "Woe
  unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their
  fathers to the false prophets." Luke 6:26. The spirit of the
  world is no more in harmony with the spirit of Christ today than in
  earlier times, and those who preach the word of God in its purity
  will be received with no greater favour now than then. The forms of
  opposition to the truth may change, the enmity may be less open
  because it is more subtle; but the same antagonism still exists and
  will be manifested to the end of time.   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 8. Tried Before the Council 
   
  A
  new emperor, Charles V, had ascended the throne of Germany, and the
  emissaries of Rome hastened to present their congratulations and
  induce the monarch to employ his power against the Reformation. On
  the other hand, the elector of Saxony, to whom Charles was in great
  degree indebted for his crown, entreated him to take no step against
  Luther until he should have granted him a hearing. The emperor was
  thus placed in a position of great perplexity and embarrassment. The
  papists would be satisfied with nothing short of an imperial edict
  sentencing Luther to death. The elector had declared firmly that
  "neither his imperial majesty nor any other person had shown
  that Luther's writings had been refuted;" therefore he requested
  "that Dr. Luther should be furnished with a safe-conduct, so
  that he might appear before a tribunal of learned, pious, and
  impartial judges."--D'Aubigne, b. 6, ch. 11.
   
   
  The
  attention of all parties was now directed to the assembly of the
  German states which convened at Worms soon after the accession of
  Charles to the empire. There were important political questions and
  interests to be considered by this national council; for the first
  time the princes of Germany were to meet their youthful monarch in
  deliberative assembly. From all parts of the fatherland had come the
  dignitaries of church and state. Secular lords, highborn, powerful,
  and jealous of their hereditary rights; princely ecclesiastics,
  flushed with their conscious superiority in rank and power; courtly
  knights and their armed retainers; and ambassadors from foreign and
  distant lands,--all gathered at Worms. Yet in that vast assembly the
  subject that excited the deepest interest was the cause of the Saxon
  Reformer.
   
   
  Charles
  had previously directed the elector to bring Luther with him to the
  Diet, assuring him of protection, and promising a free discussion,
  with competent persons, of the questions in dispute. Luther was
  anxious to appear before the emperor. His health was at this time
  much impaired; yet he wrote to the elector: "If I cannot go to
  Worms in good health, I will be carried there, sick as I am. For if
  the emperor calls me, I cannot doubt that it is the call of God
  Himself. If they desire to use violence against me, and that is very
  probable (for it is not for their instruction that they order me to
  appear), I place the matter in the Lord's hands. He still lives and
  reigns who preserved the three young men in the burning fiery
  furnace. If He will not save me, my life is of little consequence.
  Let us only prevent the gospel from being exposed to the scorn of the
  wicked, and let us shed our blood for it, for fear they should
  triumph. It is not for me to decide whether my life or my death will
  contribute most to the salvation of all. . . . You may expect
  everything from me. . . except flight and recantation. Fly I cannot,
  and still less retract."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 1.
   
   
  As
  the news was circulated at Worms that Luther was to appear before the
  Diet, a general excitement was created. Aleander, the papal legate to
  whom the case had been specially entrusted, was alarmed and enraged.
  He saw that the result would be disastrous to the papal cause. To
  institute inquiry into a case in which the pope had already
  pronounced sentence of condemnation would be to cast contempt upon
  the authority of the sovereign pontiff. Furthermore, he was
  apprehensive that the eloquent and powerful arguments of this man
  might turn away many of the princes from the cause of the pope. He
  therefore, in the most urgent manner, remonstrated with Charles
  against Luther's appearance at Worms. About this time the bull
  declaring Luther's excommunication was published; and this, coupled
  with the representations of the legate, induced the emperor to yield.
  He wrote to the elector that if Luther would not retract, he must
  remain at Wittenberg.
   
   
  Not
  content with this victory, Aleander laboured with all the power and
  cunning at his command to secure Luther's condemnation. With a
  persistence worthy of a better cause, he urged the matter upon the
  attention of princes, prelates, and other members of the assembly,
  accusing the Reformer of "sedition, rebellion, impiety, and
  blasphemy." But the vehemence and passion manifested by the
  legate revealed too plainly the spirit by which he was actuated. "He
  is moved by hatred and vengeance," was the general remark, "much
  more than by zeal and piety."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 1. The majority
  of the Diet were more than ever inclined to regard Luther's cause
  with favour.
   
   
  With
  redoubled zeal Aleander urged upon the emperor the duty of executing
  the papal edicts. But under the laws of Germany this could not be
  done without the concurrence of the princes; and, overcome at last by
  the legate's importunity, Charles bade him present his case to the
  Diet. "It was a proud day for the nuncio. The assembly was a
  great one: the cause was even greater. Aleander was to plead for
  Rome, . . . the mother and mistress of all churches." He was to
  vindicate the princedom of Peter before the assembled principalities
  of Christendom. "He had the gift of eloquence, and he rose to
  the greatness of the occasion. Providence ordered it that Rome should
  appear and plead by the ablest of her orators in the presence of the
  most august of tribunals, before she was condemned." --Wylie, b.
  6, ch. 4. With some misgivings those who favoured the Reformer looked
  forward to the effect of Aleander's speech. The elector of Saxony was
  not present, but by his direction some of his councillors attended to
  take notes of the nuncio's address.
   
   
  With
  all the power of learning and eloquence, Aleander set himself to
  overthrow the truth. Charge after charge he hurled against Luther as
  an enemy of the church and the state, the living and the dead, clergy
  and laity, councils and private Christians. "In Luther's errors
  there is enough," he declared, to warrant the burning of "a
  hundred thousand heretics."  In conclusion he endeavoured to
  cast contempt upon the adherents of the reformed faith: "What
  are all these Lutherans? A crew of insolent pedagogues, corrupt
  priests, dissolute monks, ignorant lawyers, and degraded nobles, with
  the common people whom they have misled and perverted. How far
  superior to them is the Catholic party in number, ability, and power!
  A unanimous decree from this illustrious assembly will enlighten the
  simple, warn the imprudent, decide the waverers, and give strength to
  the weak." --D'Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 3.
   
   
  With
  such weapons the advocates of truth in every age have been attacked.
  The same arguments are still urged against all who dare to present,
  in opposition to established errors, the plain and direct teachings
  of God's word. "Who are these preachers of new doctrines?"
  exclaim those who desire a popular religion. "They are
  unlearned, few in numbers, and of the poorer class. Yet they claim to
  have the truth, and to be the chosen people of God. They are ignorant
  and deceived. How greatly superior in numbers and influence is our
  church! How many great and learned men are among us! How much more
  power is on our side!" These are the arguments that have a
  telling influence upon the world; but they are no more conclusive now
  than in the days of the Reformer.
   
   
  The
  Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be
  continued to the close of this world's history. Luther had a great
  work to do in reflecting to others the light which God had permitted
  to shine upon him; yet he did not receive all the light which was to
  be given to the world. From that time to this, new light has been
  continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been
  constantly unfolding.  The legate's address made a deep impression
  upon the Diet. There was no Luther present, with the clear and
  convincing truths of God's word, to vanquish the papal champion. No
  attempt was made to defend the Reformer. There was manifest a general
  disposition not only to condemn him and the doctrines which he
  taught, but if possible to uproot the heresy. Rome had enjoyed the
  most favourable opportunity to defend her cause. All that she could
  say in her own vindication had been said. But the apparent victory
  was the signal of defeat. Henceforth the contrast between truth and
  error would be more clearly seen, as they should take the field in
  open warfare. Never from that day would Rome stand as secure as she
  had stood.
   
   
  While
  most of the members of the Diet would not have hesitated to yield up
  Luther to the vengeance of Rome, many of them saw and deplored the
  existing depravity in the church, and desired a suppression of the
  abuses suffered by the German people in consequence of the corruption
  and greed of the hierarchy. The legate had presented the papal rule
  in the most favourable light. Now the Lord moved upon a member of the
  Diet to give a true delineation of the effects of papal tyranny. With
  noble firmness, Duke George of Saxony stood up in that princely
  assembly and specified with terrible exactness the deceptions and
  abominations of popery, and their dire results. In closing he said: 
  "These are some of the abuses that cry out against Rome. All
  shame has been put aside, and their only object is . . . money,
  money, money, …so that the preachers who should teach the
  truth, utter nothing but falsehoods, and are not only tolerated, but
  rewarded, because the greater their lies, the greater their gain. It
  is from this foul spring that such tainted waters flow. Debauchery
  stretches out the hand to avarice…. Alas, it is the scandal
  caused by the clergy that hurls so many poor souls into eternal
  condemnation. A general reform must be effected."-- Ibid., b. 7,
  ch. 4.
   
   
  A
  more able and forcible denunciation of the papal abuses could not
  have been presented by Luther himself; and the fact that the speaker
  was a determined enemy of the Reformer's gave greater influence to
  his words.  Had the eyes of the assembly been opened, they would have
  beheld angels of God in the midst of them, shedding beams of light
  athwart the darkness of error and opening minds and hearts to the
  reception of truth. It was the power of the God of truth and wisdom
  that controlled even the adversaries of the reformation, and thus
  prepared the way for the great work about to be accomplished. Martin
  Luther was not present; but the voice of One greater than Luther had
  been heard in that assembly.
   
   
  A
  committee was at once appointed by the Diet to prepare an enumeration
  of the papal oppressions that weighed so heavily on the German
  people. This list, containing a hundred and one specifications, was
  presented to the emperor, with a request that he would take immediate
  measures for the correction of these abuses. "What a loss of
  Christian souls," said the petitioners, "what depredations,
  what extortions, on account of the scandals by which the spiritual
  head of Christendom is surrounded! It is our duty to prevent the ruin
  and dishonour of our people. For this reason we most humbly but most
  urgently entreat you to order a general reformation, and to undertake
  its accomplishment."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 4.
   
   
  The
  council now demanded the Reformer's appearance before them.
  Notwithstanding the entreaties, protests, and threats of Aleander,
  the emperor at last consented, and Luther was summoned to appear
  before the Diet. With the summons was issued a safe-conduct, ensuring
  his return to a place of security. These were borne to Wittenberg by
  a herald, who was commissioned to conduct him to Worms.  The friends
  of Luther were terrified and distressed. Knowing the prejudice and
  enmity against him, they feared that even his safe-conduct would not
  be respected, and they entreated him not to imperil his life. He
  replied: "The papists do not desire my coming to Worms, but my
  condemnation and my death. It matters not. Pray not for me, but for
  the word of God. . . . Christ will give me His Spirit to overcome
  these ministers of error. I despise them during my life; I shall
  triumph over them by my death. They are busy at Worms about
  compelling me to retract; and this shall be my retraction: I said
  formerly that the pope was Christ's vicar; now I assert that he is
  our Lord's adversary, and the devil's apostle."-- Ibid., b. 7,
  ch. 6.
   
   
  Luther
  was not to make his perilous journey alone. Besides the imperial
  messenger, three of his firmest friends determined to accompany him.
  Melanchthon earnestly desired to join them. His heart was knit to
  Luther's, and he yearned to follow him, if need be, to prison or to
  death. But his entreaties were denied. Should Luther perish, the
  hopes of the Reformation must centre upon his youthful co-labourer.
  Said the Reformer as he parted from Melanchthon: "If I do not
  return, and my enemies put me to death, continue to teach, and stand
  fast in the truth. Labour in my stead. . . . If you survive, my death
  will be of little consequence."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7. Students
  and citizens who had gathered to witness Luther's departure were
  deeply moved. A multitude whose hearts had been touched by the
  gospel, bade him farewell with weeping. Thus the Reformer and his
  companions set out from Wittenberg.
   
   
  On
  the journey they saw that the minds of the people were oppressed by
  gloomy forebodings. At some towns no honours were proffered them. As
  they stopped for the night, a friendly priest expressed his fears by
  holding up before Luther the portrait of an Italian reformer who had
  suffered martyrdom. The next day they learned that Luther's writings
  had been condemned at Worms. Imperial messengers were proclaiming the
  emperor's decree and calling upon the people to bring the proscribed
  works to the magistrates. The herald, fearing for Luther's safety at
  the council, and thinking that already his resolution might be
  shaken, asked if he still wished to go forward. He answered:
  "Although interdicted in every city, I shall go on."--
  Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7.
   
   
  At
  Erfurt, Luther was received with honour. Surrounded by admiring
  crowds, he passed through the streets that he had often traversed
  with his beggar's wallet. He visited his convent cell, and thought
  upon the struggles through which the light now flooding Germany had
  been shed upon his soul. He was urged to preach. This he had been
  forbidden to do, but the herald granted him permission, and the friar
  who had once been made the drudge of the convent, now entered the
  pulpit.  To a crowded assembly he spoke from the words of Christ,
  "Peace be unto you." "Philosophers, doctors, and
  writers," he said, "have endeavoured to teach men the way
  to obtain everlasting life, and they have not succeeded. I will now
  tell it to you: . . . God has raised one Man from the dead, the Lord
  Jesus Christ, that He might destroy death, extirpate sin, and shut
  the gates of hell. This is the work of salvation. . . . Christ has
  vanquished! this is the joyful news; and we are saved by His work,
  and not by our own. . . . Our Lord Jesus Christ said, 'Peace be unto
  you; behold My hands;' that is to say, Behold, O man! it is I, I
  alone, who have taken away thy sin, and ransomed thee; and now thou
  hast peace, saith the Lord."
   
   
  He
  continued, showing that true faith will be manifested by a holy life.
  "Since God has saved us, let us so order our works that they may
  be acceptable to Him. Art thou rich? let thy goods administer to the
  necessities of the poor. Art thou poor? let thy services be
  acceptable to the rich. If thy labour is useful to thyself alone, the
  service that thou pretendest to render unto God is a lie."--
  Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7.  The people listened as if spellbound. The bread
  of life was broken to those starving souls. Christ was lifted up
  before them as above popes, legates, emperors, and kings. Luther made
  no reference to his own perilous position. He did not seek to make
  himself the object of thought or sympathy. In the contemplation of
  Christ he had lost sight of self. He hid behind the Man of Calvary,
  seeking only to present Jesus as the sinner's Redeemer.
   
   
  As
  the Reformer proceeded on his journey, he was everywhere regarded
  with great interest. An eager multitude thronged about him, and
  friendly voices warned him of the purpose of the Romanists. "They
  will burn you," said some, "and reduce your body to ashes,
  as they did with John Huss." Luther answered, "Though they
  should kindle a fire all the way from Worms to Wittenberg, the flames
  of which reached to heaven, I would walk through it in the name of
  the Lord; I would appear before them; I would enter the jaws of this
  behemoth, and break his teeth, confessing the Lord Jesus Christ."--
  Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7.
   
   
  The
  news of his approach to Worms created great commotion. His friends
  trembled for his safety; his enemies feared for the success of their
  cause. Strenuous efforts were made to dissuade him from entering the
  city. At the instigation of the papists he was urged to repair to the
  castle of a friendly knight, where, it was declared, all difficulties
  could be amicably adjusted. Friends endeavoured to excite his fears
  by describing the dangers that threatened him. All their efforts
  failed. Luther, still unshaken, declared: "Even should there be
  as many devils in Worms as tiles on the housetops, still I would
  enter it."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7.  Upon his arrival at Worms, a
  vast crowd flocked to the gates to welcome him. So great a concourse
  had not assembled to greet the emperor himself. The excitement was
  intense, and from the midst of the throng a shrill and plaintive
  voice chanted a funeral dirge as a warning to Luther of the fate that
  awaited him. "God will be my defense," said he, as he
  alighted from his carriage.
   
   
  The
  papists had not believed that Luther would really venture to appear
  at Worms, and his arrival filled them with consternation. The emperor
  immediately summoned his councilors to consider what course should be
  pursued. One of the bishops, a rigid papist, declared: "We have
  long consulted on this matter. Let your imperial majesty get rid of
  this man at once. Did not Sigismund cause John Huss to be burnt? We
  are not bound either to give or to observe the safe-conduct of a
  heretic." "No," said the emperor, "we must keep
  our promise."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8. It was therefore decided
  that the Reformer should be heard.
   
   
  All
  the city were eager to see this remarkable man, and a throng of
  visitors soon filled his lodgings. Luther had scarcely recovered from
  his recent illness; he was wearied from the journey, which had
  occupied two full weeks; he must prepare to meet the momentous events
  of the morrow, and he needed quiet and repose. But so great was the
  desire to see him that he had enjoyed only a few hours' rest when
  noblemen, knights, priests, and citizens gathered eagerly about him.
  Among these were many of the nobles who had so boldly demanded of the
  emperor a reform of ecclesiastical abuses and who, says Luther, "had
  all been freed by my gospel."--Martyn, page 393. Enemies, as
  well as friends, came to look upon the dauntless monk; but he
  received them with unshaken calmness, replying to all with dignity
  and wisdom. His bearing was firm and courageous. His pale, thin face,
  marked with the traces of toil and illness, wore a kindly and even
  joyous expression. The solemnity and deep earnestness of his words
  gave him a power that even his enemies could not wholly withstand.
  Both friends and foes were filled with wonder. Some were convinced
  that a divine influence attended him; others declared, as had the
  Pharisees concerning Christ: "He hath a devil."
   
   
  On
  the following day Luther was summoned to attend the Diet. An imperial
  officer was appointed to conduct him to the hall of audience; yet it
  was with difficulty that he reached the place. Every avenue was
  crowded with spectators eager to look upon the monk who had dared
  resist the authority of the pope.  As he was about to enter the
  presence of his judges, an old general, the hero of many battles,
  said to him kindly: "Poor monk, poor monk, thou art now going to
  make a nobler stand than I or any other captains have ever made in
  the bloodiest of our battles. But if thy cause is just, and thou art
  sure of it, go forward in God's name, and fear nothing. God will not
  forsake thee."--D'Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 8.
   
   
  At
  length Luther stood before the council. The emperor occupied the
  throne. He was surrounded by the most illustrious personages in the
  empire. Never had any man appeared in the presence of a more imposing
  assembly than that before which Martin Luther was to answer for his
  faith. "This appearance was of itself a signal victory over the
  papacy. The pope had condemned the man, and he was now standing
  before a tribunal which, by this very act, set itself above the pope.
  The pope had laid him under an interdict, and cut him off from all
  human society; and yet he was summoned in respectful language, and
  received before the most august assembly in the world. The pope had
  condemned him to perpetual silence, and he was now about to speak
  before thousands of attentive hearers drawn together from the
  farthest parts of Christendom. An immense revolution had thus been
  effected by Luther's instrumentality. Rome was already descending
  from her throne, and it was the voice of a monk that caused this
  humiliation."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.
   
   
  In
  the presence of that powerful and titled assembly the lowly born
  Reformer seemed awed and embarrassed. Several of the princes,
  observing his emotion, approached him, and one of them whispered:
  "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
  soul." Another said: "When ye shall be brought before
  governors and kings for My sake, it shall be given you, by the Spirit
  of your Father, what ye shall say." Thus the words of Christ
  were brought by the world's great men to strengthen His servant in
  the hour of trial.  Luther was conducted to a position directly in
  front of the emperor's throne. A deep silence fell upon the crowded
  assembly. Then an imperial officer arose and, pointing to a
  collection of Luther's writings, demanded that the Reformer answer
  two questions--whether he acknowledged them as his, and whether he
  proposed to retract the opinions which he had therein advanced. The
  titles of the books having been read, Luther replied that as to the
  first question, he acknowledged the books to be his. "As to the
  second," he said, "seeing that it is a question which
  concerns faith and the salvation of souls, and in which the word of
  God, the greatest and most precious treasure either in heaven or
  earth, is involved, I should act imprudently were I to reply without
  reflection. I might affirm less than the circumstance demands, or
  more than truth requires, and so sin against this saying of Christ:
  'Whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My
  Father which is in heaven.' [Matthew 10:33.] For this reason I
  entreat your imperial majesty, with all humility, to allow me time,
  that I may answer without offending against the word of God."--
  D'Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 8.
   
   
  In
  making this request, Luther moved wisely. His course convinced the
  assembly that he did not act from passion or impulse. Such calmness
  and self-command, unexpected in one who had shown himself bold and
  uncompromising, added to his power, and enabled him afterward to
  answer with a prudence, decision, wisdom, and dignity that surprised
  and disappointed his adversaries, and rebuked their insolence and
  pride.  The next day he was to appear to render his final answer. For
  a time his heart sank within him as he contemplated the forces that
  were combined against the truth. His faith faltered; fearfulness and
  trembling came upon him, and horror overwhelmed him. Dangers
  multiplied before him; his enemies seemed about to triumph, and the
  powers of darkness to prevail. Clouds gathered about him and seemed
  to separate him from God. He longed for the assurance that the Lord
  of hosts would be with him. In anguish of spirit he threw himself
  with his face upon the earth and poured out those broken,
  heart-rending cries, which none but God can fully understand.
   
   
  "O
  Almighty and Everlasting God," he pleaded, "how terrible is
  this world! Behold, it openeth its mouth to swallow me up, and I have
  so little trust in Thee. . . . If it is only in the strength of this
  world that I must put my trust, all is over. . . . My last hour is
  come, my condemnation has been pronounced. . . . O God, do Thou help
  me against all the wisdom of the world. Do this, . . . Thou alone; .
  . . for this is not my work, but Thine. I have nothing to do here,
  nothing to contend for with these great ones of the world. . . . But
  the cause is Thine, . . . and it is a righteous and eternal cause. O
  Lord, help me! Faithful and unchangeable God, in no man do I place my
  trust. . . . All that is of man is uncertain; all that cometh of man
  fails. . . . Thou hast chosen me for this work. . . . Stand at my
  side, for the sake of Thy well-beloved Jesus Christ, who is my
  defense, my shield, and my strong tower."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.
   
   
  An
  all-wise Providence had permitted Luther to realise his peril, that
  he might not trust to his own strength and rush presumptuously into
  danger. Yet it was not the fear of personal suffering, a dread of
  torture or death, which seemed immediately impending, that
  overwhelmed him with its terror. He had come to the crisis, and he
  felt his insufficiency to meet it. Through his weakness the cause of
  truth might suffer loss. Not for his own safety, but for the triumph
  of the gospel did he wrestle with God. Like Israel's, in that night
  struggle beside the lonely stream, was the anguish and conflict of
  his soul. Like Israel, he prevailed with God. In his utter
  helplessness his faith fastened upon Christ, the mighty Deliverer. He
  was strengthened with the assurance that he would not appear alone
  before the council. Peace returned to his soul, and he rejoiced that
  he was permitted to uplift the word of God before the rulers of the
  nations.
   
   
  With
  his mind stayed upon God, Luther prepared for the struggle before
  him. He thought upon the plan of his answer, examined passages in his
  own writings, and drew from the Holy Scriptures suitable proofs to
  sustain his positions. Then, laying his left hand on the Sacred
  Volume, which was open before him, he lifted his right hand to heaven
  and vowed "to remain faithful to the gospel, and freely to
  confess his faith, even should he seal his testimony with his
  blood."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.  When he was again ushered into
  the presence of the Diet, his countenance bore no trace of fear or
  embarrassment. Calm and peaceful, yet grandly brave and noble, he
  stood as God's witness among the great ones of the earth. The
  imperial officer now demanded his decision as to whether he desired
  to retract his doctrines. Luther made his answer in a subdued and
  humble tone, without violence or passion. His demeanor was diffident
  and respectful; yet he manifested a confidence and joy that surprised
  the assembly.
   
   
  "Most
  serene emperor, illustrious princes, gracious lords," said
  Luther, "I appear before you this day, in conformity with the
  order given me yesterday, and by God's mercies I conjure your majesty
  and your august highnesses to listen graciously to the defense of a
  cause which I am assured is just and true. If, through ignorance, I
  should transgress the usages and proprieties of courts, I entreat you
  to pardon me; for I was not brought up in the palaces of kings, but
  in the seclusion of a convent."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.  Then,
  proceeding to the question, he stated that his published works were
  not all of the same character. In some he had treated of faith and
  good works, and even his enemies declared them not only harmless but
  profitable. To retract these would be to condemn truths which all
  parties confessed. The second class consisted of writings exposing
  the corruptions and abuses of the papacy. To revoke these works would
  strengthen the tyranny of Rome and open a wider door to many and
  great impieties. In the third class of his books he had attacked
  individuals who had defended existing evils. Concerning these he
  freely confessed that he had been more violent than was becoming.
   
   
  He
  did not claim to be free from fault; but even these books he could
  not revoke, for such a course would embolden the enemies of truth,
  and they would then take occasion to crush God's people with still
  greater cruelty.  "Yet I am but a mere man, and not God,"
  he continued; I shall therefore defend myself as Christ did: 'If I
  have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil.' . . . By the mercy of
  God, I conjure you, most serene emperor, and you, most illustrious
  princes, and all men of every degree, to prove from the writings of
  the prophets and apostles that I have erred. As soon as I am
  convinced of this, I will retract every error, and be the first to
  lay hold of my books and throw them into the fire.
   
   
  "What
  I have just said plainly shows, I hope, that I have carefully weighed
  and considered the dangers to which I expose myself; but far from
  being dismayed, I rejoice to see that the gospel is now, as in former
  times, a cause of trouble and dissension. This is the character, this
  is the destiny, of the word of God. 'I came not to send peace on
  earth, but a sword,' said Jesus Christ. God is wonderful and terrible
  in His counsels; beware lest, by presuming to quench dissensions, you
  should persecute the holy word of God, and draw down upon yourselves
  a frightful deluge of insurmountable dangers, of present disasters,
  and eternal desolation. . . . I might quote many examples from the
  oracles of God. I might speak of the Pharaohs, the kings of Babylon,
  and those of Israel, whose labours never more effectually contributed
  to their own destruction than when they sought by counsels, to all
  appearance most wise, to strengthen their dominion. 'God removeth
  mountains, and they know it not.'"-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.
   
   
  Luther
  had spoken in German; he was now requested to repeat the same words
  in Latin. Though exhausted by the previous effort, he complied, and
  again delivered his speech, with the same clearness and energy as at
  the first. God's providence directed in this matter. The minds of
  many of the princes were so blinded by error and superstition that at
  the first delivery they did not see the force of Luther's reasoning;
  but the repetition enabled them to perceive clearly the points
  presented.  Those who stubbornly closed their eyes to the light, and
  determined not to be convinced of the truth, were enraged at the
  power of Luther's words. As he ceased speaking, the spokesman of the
  Diet said angrily: "You have not answered the question put to
  you. . . . You are required to give a clear and precise answer. . . .
  Will you, or will you not, retract?"
   
   
  The
  Reformer answered: "Since your most serene majesty and your high
  mightinesses require from me a clear, simple, and precise answer, I
  will give you one, and it is this: I cannot submit my faith either to
  the pope or to the councils, because it is clear as the day that they
  have frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless therefore I
  am convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by the clearest
  reasoning, unless I am persuaded by means of the passages I have
  quoted, and unless they thus render my conscience bound by the word
  of God, I cannot and I will not retract, for it is unsafe for a
  Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand, I can do no
  other; may God help me. Amen." -- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.
   
   
  Thus
  stood this righteous man upon the sure foundation of the word of God.
  The light of heaven illuminated his countenance. His greatness and
  purity of character, his peace and joy of heart, were manifest to all
  as he testified against the power of error and witnessed to the
  superiority of that faith that overcomes the world.  The whole
  assembly were for a time speechless with amazement. At his first
  answer Luther had spoken in a low tone, with a respectful, almost
  submissive bearing. The Romanists had interpreted this as evidence
  that his courage was beginning to fail. They regarded the request for
  delay as merely the prelude to his recantation. Charles himself,
  noting, half contemptuously, the monk's worn frame, his plain attire,
  and the simplicity of his address, had declared: "This monk will
  never make a heretic of me." The courage and firmness which he
  now displayed, as well as the power and clearness of his reasoning,
  filled all parties with surprise.
   
   
  The
  emperor, moved to admiration, exclaimed: "This monk speaks with
  an intrepid heart and unshaken courage." Many of the German
  princes looked with pride and joy upon this representative of their
  nation.  The partisans of Rome had been worsted; their cause appeared
  in a most unfavourable light. They sought to maintain their power,
  not be appealing to the Scriptures, but by a resort to threats,
  Rome's unfailing argument. Said the spokesman of the Diet: "If
  you do not retract, the emperor and the states of the empire will
  consult what course to adopt against an incorrigible heretic." 
  Luther's friend, who had with great joy listened to his noble
  defense, trembled at these words; but the doctor himself said calmly:
  "May God be my helper, for I can retract nothing."-- Ibid.,
  b. 7, ch. 8.  He was directed to withdraw from the Diet while the
  princes consulted together. It was felt that a great crisis had come.
  Luther's persistent refusal to submit might affect the history of the
  church for ages. It was decided to give him one more opportunity to
  retract. For the last time he was brought into the assembly. Again
  the question was put, whether he would renounce his doctrines. "I
  have no other reply to make," he said, "than that which I
  have already made." It was evident that he could not be induced,
  either by promises or threats, to yield to the mandate of Rome.
   
   
  The
  papal leaders were chagrined that their power, which had caused kings
  and nobles to tremble, should be thus despised by a humble monk; they
  longed to make him feel their wrath by torturing his life away. But
  Luther, understanding his danger, had spoken to all with Christian
  dignity and calmness. His words had been free from pride, passion,
  and misrepresentation. He had lost sight of himself, and the great
  men surrounding him, and felt only that he was in the presence of One
  infinitely superior to popes, prelates, kings, and emperors. Christ
  had spoken through Luther's testimony with a power and grandeur that
  for the time inspired both friends and foes with awe and wonder. The
  Spirit of God had been present in that council, impressing the hearts
  of the chiefs of the empire. Several of the princes boldly
  acknowledged the justice of Luther's cause. Many were convinced of
  the truth; but with some the impressions received were not lasting.
  There was another class who did not at the time express their
  convictions, but who, having searched the Scriptures for themselves,
  at a future time became fearless supporters of the Reformation.
   
   
  The
  elector Frederick had looked forward anxiously to Luther's appearance
  before the Diet, and with deep emotion he listened to his speech.
  With joy and pride he witnessed the doctor's courage, firmness, and
  self-possession, and determined to stand more firmly in his defense.
  He contrasted the parties in contest, and saw that the wisdom of
  popes, kings, and prelates had been brought to nought by the power of
  truth. The papacy had sustained a defeat which would be felt among
  all nations and in all ages.  As the legate perceived the effect
  produced by Luther's speech, he feared, as never before, for the
  security of the Romish power, and resolved to employ every means at
  his command to effect the Reformer's overthrow. With all the
  eloquence and diplomatic skill for which he was so eminently
  distinguished, he represented to the youthful emperor the folly and
  danger of sacrificing, in the cause of an insignificant monk, the
  friendship and support of the powerful see of Rome.
   
   
  His
  words were not without effect. On the day following Luther's answer,
  Charles caused a message to be presented to the Diet, announcing his
  determination to carry out the policy of his predecessors to maintain
  and protect the Catholic religion. Since Luther had refused to
  renounce his errors, the most vigourous measures should be employed
  against him and the heresies he taught. "A single monk, misled
  by his own folly, has risen against the faith of Christendom. To stay
  such impiety, I will sacrifice my kingdoms, my treasures, my friends,
  my body, my blood, my soul, and my life. I am about to dismiss the
  Augustine Luther, forbidding him to cause the least disorder among
  the people; I shall then proceed against him and his adherents as
  contumacious heretics, by excommunication, by interdict, and by every
  means calculated to destroy them. I call on the members of the states
  to behave like faithful Christians."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 9.
  Nevertheless, the emperor declared that Luther's safe-conduct must be
  respected, and that before proceedings against him could be
  instituted, he must be allowed to reach his home in safety.
   
   
  Two
  conflicting opinions were now urged by the members of the Diet. The
  emissaries and representatives of the pope again demanded that the
  Reformer's safe-conduct should be disregarded. "The Rhine,"
  they said, "should receive his ashes, as it had received those
  of John Huss a century ago."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 9. But princes
  of Germany, though themselves papists and avowed enemies to Luther,
  protested against such a breach of public faith, as a stain upon the
  honour of the nation. They pointed to the calamities which had
  followed the death of Huss, and declared that they dared not call
  down upon Germany, and upon the head of their youthful emperor, a
  repetition of those terrible evils.
   
   
  Charles
  himself, in answer to the base proposal, said: "Though honour
  and faith should be banished from all the world, they ought to find a
  refuge in the hearts of princes." -- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 9. He was
  still further urged by the most bitter of Luther's papal enemies to
  deal with the Reformer as Sigismund had dealt with Huss--abandon him
  to the mercies of the church; but recalling the scene when Huss in
  public assembly had pointed to his chains and reminded the monarch of
  his plighted faith, Charles V declared: "I should not like to
  blush like Sigismund."--Lenfant, vol. 1, p. 422.
   
   
  Yet
  Charles had deliberately rejected the truths presented by Luther. "I
  am firmly resolved to imitate the example of my ancestors,"
  wrote the monarch.--D'Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 9. He had decided that he
  would not step out of the path of custom, even to walk in the ways of
  truth and righteousness. Because his fathers did, he would uphold the
  papacy, with all its cruelty and corruption. Thus he took his
  position, refusing to accept any light in advance of what his fathers
  had received, or to perform any duty that they had not performed.
   
   
  There
  are many at the present day thus clinging to the customs and
  traditions of their fathers. When the Lord sends them additional
  light, they refuse to accept it, because, not having been granted to
  their fathers, it was not received by them. We are not placed where
  our fathers were; consequently our duties and responsibilities are
  not the same as theirs. We shall not be approved of God in looking to
  the example of our fathers to determine our duty instead of searching
  the word of truth for ourselves. Our responsibility is greater than
  was that of our ancestors. We are accountable for the light which
  they received, and which was handed down as an inheritance for us,
  and we are accountable also for the additional light which is now
  shining upon us from the word of God.
   
   
  Said
  Christ of the unbelieving Jews: "If I had not come and spoken
  unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their
  sin." John 15:22. The same divine power had spoken through
  Luther to the emperor and princes of Germany. And as the light shone
  forth from God's word, His Spirit pleaded for the last time with many
  in that assembly. As Pilate, centuries before, permitted pride and
  popularity to close his heart against the world's Redeemer; as the
  trembling Felix bade the messenger of truth, "Go thy way for
  this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee;"
  as the proud Agrippa confessed, "Almost thou persuadest me to be
  a Christian" (Acts 24:25; 26:28), yet turned away from the
  Heaven-sent message--so had Charles V, yielding to the dictates of
  worldly pride and policy, decided to reject the light of truth.
   
   
  Rumors
  of the designs against Luther were widely circulated, causing great
  excitement throughout the city. The Reformer had made many friends,
  who, knowing the treacherous cruelty of Rome toward all who dared
  expose her corruptions, resolved that he should not be sacrificed.
  Hundreds of nobles pledged themselves to protect him. Not a few
  openly denounced the royal message of evincing a weak submission to
  the controlling power of Rome. On the gates of houses and in public
  places, placards were posted, some condemning and others sustaining
  Luther. On one of these were written merely the significant words of
  the wise man: "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child."
  Ecclesiastes 10:16. The popular enthusiasm in Luther's favour
  throughout all Germany convinced both the emperor and the Diet that
  any injustice shown him would endanger the peace of the empire and
  even the stability of the throne.
   
   
  Frederick
  of Saxony maintained a studied reserve, carefully concealing his real
  feelings toward the Reformer, while at the same time he guarded him
  with tireless vigilance, watching all his movements and all those of
  his enemies. But there were many who made no attempt to conceal their
  sympathy with Luther. He was visited by princes, counts, barons, and
  other persons of distinction, both lay and ecclesiastical. "The
  doctor's little room," wrote Spalatin, "could not contain
  all the visitors who presented themselves."-- Martyn, vol. 1, p.
  404. The people gazed upon him as if he were more than human. Even
  those who had no faith in his doctrines could not but admire that
  lofty integrity which led him to brave death rather than violate his
  conscience.  Earnest efforts were made to obtain Luther's consent to
  a compromise with Rome. Nobles and princes represented to him that if
  he persisted in setting up his own judgment against that of the
  church and the councils he would soon be banished from the empire and
  would have no defense. To this appeal Luther answered: "The
  gospel of Christ cannot be preached without offense. . . . Why then
  should the fear or apprehension of danger separate me from the Lord,
  and from that divine word which alone is truth? No; I would rather
  give up my body, my blood, and my life."-- D'Aubigne, b. 7, ch.
  10.
   
   
  Again
  he was urged to submit to the judgment of the emperor, and then he
  would have nothing to fear. "I consent," said he in reply,
  "with all my heart, that the emperor, the princes, and even the
  meanest Christian, should examine and judge my works; but on one
  condition, that they take the word of God for their standard. Men
  have nothing to do but to obey it. Do not offer violence to my
  conscience, which is bound and chained up with the Holy
  Scriptures."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 10.  To another appeal he said:
  "I consent to renounce my safe-conduct. I place my person and my
  life in the emperor's hands, but the word of God--never!"--
  Ibid., b. 7, ch. 10. He stated his willingness to submit to the
  decision of a general council, but only on condition that the council
  be required to decide according to the Scriptures. "In what
  concerns the word of God and the faith," he added, "every
  Christian is as good a judge as the pope, though supported by a
  million councils, can be for him."--Martyn, vol. 1, p. 410.
   
   
  Both
  friends and foes were at last convinced that further effort for
  reconciliation would be useless.  Had the Reformer yielded a single
  point, Satan and his hosts would have gained the victory. But his
  unwavering firmness was the means of emancipating the church, and
  beginning a new and better era. The influence of this one man, who
  dared to think and act for himself in religious matters, was to
  affect the church and the world, not only in his own time, but in all
  future generations. His firmness and fidelity would strengthen all,
  to the close of time, who should pass through a similar experience.
  The power and majesty of God stood forth above the counsel of men,
  above the mighty power of Satan.
   
   
  Luther
  was soon commanded by the authority of the emperor to return home,
  and he knew that this notice would be speedily followed by his
  condemnation. Threatening clouds overhung his path; but as he
  departed from Worms, his heart was filled with joy and praise. "The
  devil himself," said he, "guarded the pope's citadel; but
  Christ has made a wide breach in it, and Satan was constrained to
  confess that the Lord is mightier than he."--D'Aubigne, b. 7,
  ch. 11.  After his departure, still desirous that his firmness should
  not be mistaken for rebellion, Luther wrote to the emperor. "God,
  who is the searcher of hearts, is my witness," he said, "that
  I am ready most earnestly to obey your majesty, in honour or in
  dishonour, in life or in death, and with no exception save the word
  of God, by which man lives. In all the affairs of this present life,
  my fidelity shall be unshaken, for here to lose or to gain is of no
  consequence to salvation. But when eternal interests are concerned,
  God wills not that man should submit unto man. For such submission in
  spiritual matters is a real worship, and ought to be rendered solely
  to the Creator."-- Ibid., b. 7, ch. 11.
   
   
  On
  the journey from Worms, Luther's reception was even more flattering
  than during his progress thither. Princely ecclesiastics welcomed the
  excommunicated monk, and civil rulers honoured the man whom the
  emperor had denounced. He was urged to preach, and, notwithstanding
  the imperial prohibition, he again entered the pulpit. "I never
  pledged myself to chain up the word of God," he said, "nor
  will I." --Martyn, vol. 1, p. 420.  He had not been long absent
  from Worms, when the papists prevailed upon the emperor to issue an
  edict against him. In this decree Luther was denounced as "Satan
  himself under the form of a man and dressed in a monk's frock."--
  D'Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 11. It was commanded that as soon as his
  safe-conduct should expire, measures be taken to stop his work. All
  persons were forbidden to harbor him, to give him food or drink, or
  by word or act, in public or private, to aid or abet him. He was to
  be seized wherever he might be, and delivered to the authorities. His
  adherents also were to be imprisoned and their property confiscated.
  His writings were to be destroyed, and, finally, all who should dare
  to act contrary to this decree were included in its condemnation. 
  The elector of Saxony and the princes most friendly to Luther had
  left Worms soon after his departure, and the emperor's decree
  received the sanction of the Diet.
   
   
  Now
  the Romanists were jubilant. They considered the fate of the
  Reformation sealed.  God had provided a way of escape for His servant
  in this hour of peril. A vigilant eye had followed Luther's
  movements, and a true and noble heart had resolved upon his rescue.
  It was plain that Rome would be satisfied with nothing short of his
  death; only by concealment could he be preserved from the jaws of the
  lion. God gave wisdom to Frederick of Saxony to devise a plan for the
  Reformer's preservation. With the co-operation of true friends the
  elector's purpose was carried out, and Luther was effectually hidden
  from friends and foes. Upon his homeward journey he was seized,
  separated from his attendants, and hurriedly conveyed through the
  forest to the castle of Wartburg, an isolated mountain fortress. Both
  his seizure and his concealment were so involved in mystery that even
  Frederick himself for a long time knew not whither he had been
  conducted. This ignorance was not without design; so long as the
  elector knew nothing of Luther's whereabouts, he could reveal
  nothing. He satisfied himself that the Reformer was safe, and with
  this knowledge he was content.
   
   
  Spring,
  summer, and autumn passed, and winter came, and Luther still remained
  a prisoner. Aleander and his partisans exulted as the light of the
  gospel seemed about to be extinguished. But instead of this, the
  Reformer was filling his lamp from the storehouse of truth; and its
  light was to shine forth with brighter radiance.  In the friendly
  security of the Wartburg, Luther for a time rejoiced in his release
  from the heat and turmoil of battle. But he could not long find
  satisfaction in quiet and repose. Accustomed to a life of activity
  and stern conflict, he could ill endure to remain inactive. In those
  solitary days the condition of the church rose up before him, and  he
  cried in despair. "Alas! there is no one in this latter day of
  His anger, to stand like a wall before the Lord, and save Israel!"--
  Ibid., b. 9, ch. 2. Again, his thoughts returned to himself, and he
  feared being charged with cowardice in withdrawing from the contest.
  Then he reproached himself for his indolence and self-indulgence. Yet
  at the same time he was daily accomplishing more than it seemed
  possible for one man to do. His pen was never idle.
   
   
  While
  his enemies flattered themselves that he was silenced, they were
  astonished and confused by tangible proof that he was still active. A
  host of tracts, issuing from his pen, circulated throughout Germany.
  He also performed a most important service for his countrymen by
  translating the New Testament into the German tongue. From his rocky
  Patmos he continued for nearly a whole year to proclaim the gospel
  and rebuke the sins and errors of the times.  But it was not merely
  to preserve Luther from the wrath of his enemies, nor even to afford
  him a season of quiet for these important labours, that God had
  withdrawn His servant from the stage of public life. There were
  results more precious than these to be secured. In the solitude and
  obscurity of his mountain retreat, Luther was removed from earthly
  supports and shut out from human praise.
   
   
  He
  was thus saved from the pride and self-confidence that are so often
  caused by success. By suffering and humiliation he was prepared again
  to walk safely upon the dizzy heights to which he had been so
  suddenly exalted.  As men rejoice in the freedom which the truth
  brings them, they are inclined to extol those whom God has employed
  to break the chains of error and superstition. Satan seeks to divert
  men's thoughts and affections from God, and to fix them upon human
  agencies; he leads them to honour the mere instrument and to ignore
  the Hand that directs all the events of providence. Too often
  religious leaders who are thus praised and reverenced lose sight of
  their dependence upon God and are led to trust in themselves. As a
  result they seek to control the minds and consciences of the people,
  who are disposed to look to them for guidance instead of looking to
  the word of God. The work of reform is often retarded because of this
  spirit indulged by its supporters. From this danger, God would guard
  the cause of the Reformation. He desired that work to receive, not
  the impress of man, but that of God. The eyes of men had been turned
  to Luther as the expounder of the truth; he was removed that all eyes
  might be directed to the eternal Author of truth.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 9. Reform in Switzerland 
   
  In
  the choice of instrumentalities for the reforming of the church, the
  same divine plan is seen as in that for the planting of the church.
  The heavenly Teacher passed by the great men of the earth, the titled
  and wealthy, who were accustomed to receive praise and homage as
  leaders of the people. They were so proud and self-confident in their
  boasted superiority that they could not be moulded to sympathize with
  their fellow men and to become co-labourers with the humble Man of
  Nazareth. To the unlearned, toiling fishermen of Galilee was the call
  addressed: "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
  Matthew 4:19. These disciples were humble and teachable. The less
  they had been influenced by the false teaching of their time, the
  more successfully could Christ instruct and train them for His
  service. So in the days of the Great Reformation. The leading
  Reformers were men from humble life--men who were most free of any of
  their time from pride of rank and from the influence of bigotry and
  priestcraft. It is God's plan to employ humble instruments to
  accomplish great results. Then the glory will not be given to men,
  but to Him who works through them to will and to do of His own good
  pleasure.
   
   
  A
  few weeks after the birth of Luther in a miner's cabin in Saxony,
  Ulric Zwingli was born in a herdsman's cottage among the Alps.
  Zwingli's surroundings in childhood, and his early training, were
  such as to prepare him for his future mission. Reared amid scenes of
  natural grandeur, beauty, and awful sublimity, his mind was early
  impressed with a sense of the greatness, the power, and the majesty
  of God. The history of the brave deeds achieved upon his native
  mountains kindled his youthful aspirations. And at the side of his
  pious grandmother he listened to the few precious Bible stories which
  she had gleaned from amid the legends and traditions of the church.
  With eager interest he heard of the grand deeds of patriarchs and
  prophets, of the shepherds who watched their flocks on the hills of
  Palestine where angels talked with them, of the Babe of Bethlehem and
  the Man of Calvary.
   
   
  Like
  John Luther, Zwingli's father desired an education for his son, and
  the boy was early sent from his native valley. His mind rapidly
  developed, and it soon became a question where to find teachers
  competent to instruct him. At the age of thirteen he went to Bern,
  which then possessed the most distinguished school in Switzerland.
  Here, however, a danger arose which threatened to blight the promise
  of his life. Determined efforts were put forth by the friars to
  allure him into a monastery. The Dominican and Franciscan monks were
  in rivalry for popular favour. This they endeavoured to secure by the
  showy adornments of their churches, the pomp of their ceremonials,
  and the attractions of famous relics and miracle-working images.
   
   
  The
  Dominicans of Bern saw that if they could win this talented young
  scholar, they would secure both gain and honour. His extreme youth,
  his natural ability as a speaker and writer, and his genius for music
  and poetry, would be more effective than all their pomp and display,
  in attracting the people to their services and increasing the
  revenues of their order. By deceit and flattery they endeavoured to
  induce Zwingli to enter their convent. Luther, while a student at
  school, had buried himself in a convent cell, and he would have been
  lost to the world had not God's providence released him. Zwingli was
  not permitted to encounter the  same peril. Providentially his father
  received information of the designs of the friars. He had no
  intention of allowing his son to follow the idle and worthless life
  of the monks. He saw that his future usefulness was at stake, and
  directed him to return home without delay.
   
   
  The
  command was obeyed; but the youth could not be long content in his
  native valley, and he soon resumed his studies, repairing, after a
  time, to Basel. It was here that Zwingli first heard the gospel of
  God's free grace. Wittembach, a teacher of the ancient languages,
  had, while studying Greek and Hebrew, been led to the Holy
  Scriptures, and thus rays of divine light were shed into the minds of
  the students under his instruction. He declared that there was a
  truth more ancient, and of infinitely greater worth, than the
  theories taught by schoolmen and philosophers. This ancient truth was
  that the death of Christ is the sinner's only ransom. To Zwingli
  these words were as the first ray of light that precedes the dawn.
   
   
  Zwingli
  was soon called from Basel to enter upon his lifework. His first
  field of labour was in an Alpine parish, not far distant from his
  native valley. Having received ordination as a priest, he "devoted
  himself with his whole soul to the search after divine truth; for he
  was well aware," says a fellow Reformer, "how much he must
  know to whom the flock of Christ is entrusted."--Wylie, b. 8,
  ch. 5. The more he searched the Scriptures, the clearer appeared the
  contrast between their truths and the heresies of Rome. He submitted
  himself to the Bible as the word of God, the only sufficient,
  infallible rule. He saw that it must be its own interpreter. He dared
  not attempt to explain Scripture to sustain a preconceived theory or
  doctrine, but held it his duty to learn what is its direct and
  obvious teaching. He sought to avail himself of every help to obtain
  a full and correct understanding of its meaning, and he invoked the
  aid of the Holy Spirit, which would, he declared, reveal it to all
  who sought it in sincerity and with prayer.
   
   
  "The
  Scriptures," said Zwingli, "come from God, not from man,
  and even that God who enlightens will give thee to understand that
  the speech comes from God. The word of God . . . cannot fail; it is
  bright, it teaches itself, it discloses itself, it illumines the soul
  with all salvation and grace, comforts it in God, humbles it, so that
  it loses and even forfeits itself, and embraces God." The truth
  of these words Zwingli himself had proved. Speaking of his experience
  at this time, he afterward wrote: "When . . . I began to give
  myself wholly up to the Holy Scriptures, philosophy and theology
  (scholastic) would always keep suggesting quarrels to me. At last I
  came to this, that I thought, `Thou must let all that lie, and learn
  the meaning of God purely out of His own simple word.' Then I began
  to ask God for His light, and the Scriptures began to be much easier
  to me."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6.
   
   
  The
  doctrine preached by Zwingli was not received from Luther. It was the
  doctrine of Christ. "If Luther preaches Christ," said the
  Swiss Reformer, "he does what I am doing. Those whom he has
  brought to Christ are more numerous than those whom I have led. But
  this matters not. I will bear no other name than that of Christ,
  whose soldier I am, and who alone is my Chief. Never has one single
  word been written by me to Luther, nor by Luther to me. And why? . .
  . That it might be shown how much the Spirit of God is in unison with
  itself, since both of us, without any collusion, teach the doctrine
  of Christ with such uniformity." --D'Aubigne, b. 8, ch. 9.
   
   
  In
  1516 Zwingli was invited to become a preacher in the convent at
  Einsiedeln. Here he was to have a closer view of the corruptions of
  Rome and was to exert an influence as a Reformer that would be felt
  far beyond his native Alps. Among the chief attractions of Einsiedeln
  was an image of the Virgin which was said to have the power of
  working miracles. Above the gateway of the convent was the
  inscription, "Here a plenary remission of sins may be
  obtained."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 5. Pilgrims at all seasons
  resorted to the shrine of the Virgin; but at the great yearly
  festival of its consecration multitudes came from all parts of
  Switzerland, and even from France and Germany. Zwingli, greatly
  afflicted at the sight, seized the opportunity to proclaim liberty
  through the gospel to these bondslaves of superstition.
   
   
  "Do
  not imagine," he said, "that God is in this temple more
  than in any other part of creation. Whatever be the country in which
  you dwell, God is around you, and hears you. Can unprofitable works,
  long pilgrimages, offerings, images, the invocation of the Virgin or
  of the saints, secure for you the grace of God? What avails the
  multitude of words with which we embody our prayers? What efficacy
  has a glossy cowl, a smooth-shorn head, a long and flowing robe, or
  gold-embroidered slippers? God looks at the heart, and our hearts are
  far from Him." "Christ," he said, "who was once
  offered upon the cross, is the sacrifice and victim, that had made
  satisfaction for the sins of believers to all eternity."--
  Ibid., b. 8, ch. 5.  To many listeners these teachings were
  unwelcome. It was a bitter disappointment to them to be told that
  their toilsome journey had been made in vain. The pardon freely
  offered to them through Christ they could not comprehend. They were
  satisfied with the old way to heaven which Rome had marked out for
  them. They shrank from the perplexity of searching for anything
  better. It was easier to trust their salvation to the priests and the
  pope than to seek for purity of heart.
   
   
  But
  another class received with gladness the tidings of redemption
  through Christ. The observances enjoined by Rome had failed to bring
  peace of soul, and in faith they accepted the Saviour's blood as
  their propitiation. These returned to their homes to reveal to others
  the precious light which they had received. The truth was thus
  carried from hamlet to hamlet, from town to town, and the number of
  pilgrims to the Virgin's shrine greatly lessened. There was  a
  falling off in the offerings, and consequently in the salary of
  Zwingli, which was drawn from them. But this caused him only joy as
  he saw that the power of fanaticism and superstition was being
  broken.  The authorities of the church were not blind to the work
  which Zwingli was accomplishing; but for the present they forbore to
  interfere. Hoping yet to secure him to their cause, they endeavoured
  to win him by flatteries; and meanwhile the truth was gaining a hold
  upon the hearts of the people.
   
   
  Zwingli's
  labours at Einsiedeln had prepared him for a wider field, and this he
  was soon to enter. After three years here he was called to the office
  of preacher in the cathedral at Zurich. This was then the most
  important town of the Swiss confederacy, and the influence exerted
  here would be widely felt. The ecclesiastics by whose invitation he
  came to Zurich were, however, desirous of preventing any innovations,
  and they accordingly proceeded to instruct him as to his duties. 
  "You will make every exertion," they said, "to collect
  the revenues of the chapter, without overlooking the least. You will
  exhort the faithful, both from the pulpit and in the confessional, to
  pay all tithes and dues, and to show by their offerings their
  affection to the church. You will be diligent in increasing the
  income arising from the sick, from masses, and in general from every
  ecclesiastical ordinance." "As for the administration of
  the sacraments, the preaching, and the care of the flock," added
  his instructors, "these are also the duties of the chaplain. But
  for these you may employ a substitute, and particularly in preaching.
  You should administer the sacraments to none but persons of note, and
  only when called upon; you are forbidden to do so without distinction
  of persons."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6.
   
   
  Zwingli
  listened in silence to this charge, and in reply, after expressing
  his gratitude for the honour of a call to this important station, he
  proceeded to explain the course which he proposed to adopt. "The
  life of Christ," he said, "has been too long hidden from
  the people. I shall preach upon the whole of the Gospel of  St.
  Matthew,…drawing solely from the fountains of Scripture,
  sounding its depths, comparing one passage with another, and seeking
  for understanding by constant and earnest prayer. It is to God's
  glory, to the praise of His only Son, to the real salvation of souls,
  and to their edification in the true faith, that I shall consecrate
  my ministry."-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6. Though some of the
  ecclesiastics disapproved his plan, and endeavoured to dissuade him
  from it, Zwingli remained steadfast. He declared that he was about to
  introduce no new method, but the old method employed by the church in
  earlier and purer times.  Already an interest had been awakened in
  the truths he taught; and the people flocked in great numbers to
  listen to his preaching. Many who had long since ceased to attend
  service were among his hearers. He began his ministry by opening the
  Gospels and reading and explaining to his hearers the inspired
  narrative of the life, teachings, and death of Christ. Here, as at
  Einsiedeln, he presented the word of God as the only infallible
  authority and the death of Christ as the only complete sacrifice. "It
  is to Christ," he said, "that I desire to lead you--to
  Christ, the true source of salvation." -- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6.
   
   
  Around
  the preacher crowded the people of all classes, from statesmen and
  scholars to the artisan and the peasant. With deep interest they
  listened to his words. He not only proclaimed the offer of a free
  salvation, but fearlessly rebuked the evils and corruptions of the
  times. Many returned from the cathedral praising God. "This
  man," they said, "is a preacher of the truth. He will be
  our Moses, to lead us forth from this Egyptian darkness."--
  Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6.  But though at first his labours were received
  with great enthusiasm, after a time opposition arose. The monks set
  themselves to hinder his work and condemn his teachings.  Many
  assailed him with gibes and sneers; others resorted to insolence and
  threats. But Zwingli bore all with patience, saying: "If we
  desire to gain over the wicked to Jesus Christ, we must shut our eyes
  against many things." -- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6.
   
   
  About
  this time a new agency came in to advance the work of reform. One
  Lucian was sent to Zurich with some of Luther's writings, by a friend
  of the reformed faith at Basel, who suggested that the sale of these
  books might be a powerful means of scattering the light. "Ascertain,"
  he wrote to Zwingli, "whether this man possesses sufficient
  prudence and skill; if so, let him carry from city to city, from town
  to town, from village to village, and even from house to house, among
  the Swiss, the works of Luther, and especially his exposition of the
  Lord's Prayer written for the laity. The more they are known, the
  more purchasers they will find." -- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 6. Thus the
  light found entrance.
   
   
  At
  the time when God is preparing to break the shackles of ignorance and
  superstition, then it is that Satan works with greatest power to
  enshroud men in darkness and to bind their fetters still more firmly.
  As men were rising up in different lands to present to the people
  forgiveness and justification through the blood of Christ, Rome
  proceeded with renewed energy to open her market throughout
  Christendom, offering pardon for money.  Every sin had its price, and
  men were granted free license for crime if the treasury of the church
  was kept well filled. Thus the two movements advanced,--one offering
  forgiveness of sin for money, the other forgiveness through Christ,--
  Rome licensing sin and making it her source of revenue; the Reformers
  condemning sin and pointing to Christ as the propitiation and
  deliverer.
   
   
  In
  Germany the sale of indulgences had been committed to the Dominican
  friars and was conducted by the infamous Tetzel. In Switzerland the
  traffic was put into the hands of the Franciscans, under the control
  of Samson, an Italian monk. Samson had already done good service to
  the church, having secured immense sums from Germany and Switzerland
  to fill the papal treasury. Now he traversed Switzerland, attracting
  great crowds, despoiling the poor peasants of their scanty earnings,
  and exacting rich gifts from the wealthy classes. But the influence
  of the reform already made itself felt in curtailing, though it could
  not stop, the traffic. Zwingli was still at Einsiedeln when Samson,
  soon after entering Switzerland, arrived with his wares at a
  neighbouring town. Being apprised of his mission, the Reformer
  immediately set out to oppose him. The two did not meet, but such was
  Zwingli's success in exposing the friar's pretensions that he was
  obliged to leave for other quarters.
   
   
  At
  Zurich, Zwingli preached zealously against the pardonmongers; and
  when Samson approached the place, he was met by a messenger from the
  council with an intimation that he was expected to pass on. He
  finally secured an entrance by stratagem, but was sent away without
  the sale of a single pardon, and he soon after left Switzerland.  A
  strong impetus was given to the reform by the appearance of the
  plague, or Great Death, which swept over Switzerland in the year
  1519. As men were thus brought face to face with the destroyer, many
  were led to feel how vain and worthless were the pardons which they
  had so lately purchased; and they longed for a surer foundation for
  their faith. Zwingli at Zurich was smitten down; he was brought so
  low that all hope of his recovery was relinquished, and the report
  was widely circulated that he was dead. In that trying hour his hope
  and courage were unshaken. He looked in faith to the cross of
  Calvary, trusting in the all-sufficient propitiation for sin. When he
  came back from the gates of death, it was to preach the gospel with
  greater fervour than ever before; and his words exerted an unwonted
  power. The people welcomed with joy their beloved pastor, returned to
  them from the brink of the grave. They themselves had come from
  attending upon the sick and the dying, and they felt, as never
  before, the value of the gospel.
   
   
  Zwingli
  had arrived at a clearer understanding of its truths, and had more
  fully experienced in himself its renewing power. The fall of man and
  the plan of redemption were the subjects upon which he dwelt. "In
  Adam," he said, "we are all dead, sunk in corruption and
  condemnation." -Wylie, b. 8, ch. 9. "Christ . . . has
  purchased for us a never-ending redemption. . . . His passion is . .
  . an eternal sacrifice, and everlastingly effectual to heal; it
  satisfies the divine justice forever in behalf of all those who rely
  upon it with firm and unshaken faith." Yet he clearly taught
  that men are not, because of the grace of Christ, free to continue in
  sin. "Wherever there is faith in God, there God is; and wherever
  God abideth, there a zeal exists urging and impelling men to good
  works."-D'Aubigne, b. 8, ch. 9.
   
   
  Such
  was the interest in Zwingli's preaching that the cathedral was filled
  to overflowing with the crowds that came to listen to him. Little by
  little, as they could bear it, he opened the truth to his hearers. He
  was careful not to introduce, at first, points which would startle
  them and create prejudice. His work was to win their hearts to the
  teachings of Christ, to soften them by His love, and keep before them
  His example; and as they should receive the principles of the gospel,
  their superstitious beliefs and practices would inevitably be
  overthrown.  Step by step the Reformation advanced in Zurich. In
  alarm its enemies aroused to active opposition. One year before, the
  monk of Wittenberg had uttered his No to the pope and the emperor at
  Worms, and now everything seemed to indicate a similar withstanding
  of the papal claims at Zurich. Repeated attacks were made upon
  Zwingli. In the papal cantons, from time to time, disciples of the
  gospel were brought to the stake, but this was not enough; the
  teacher of heresy must be silenced. Accordingly the bishop of
  Constance dispatched three deputies to the Council of Zurich,
  accusing
   
   
  Zwingli
  of teaching the people to transgress the laws of the church, thus
  endangering the peace and good order of society. If the authority of
  the church were to be set aside, he urged, universal anarchy would
  result. Zwingli replied that he had been for four years teaching the
  gospel in Zurich, "which was more quiet and peaceful than any
  other town in the confederacy." "Is not, then," he
  said, "Christianity the best safeguard of the general
  security?"--Wylie, b. 8, ch. 11.  The deputies had admonished
  the councilors to continue in the church, out of which, they
  declared, there was no salvation. Zwingli responded: "Let not
  this accusation move you. The foundation of the church is the same
  Rock, the same Christ, that gave Peter his name because he confessed
  Him faithfully. In every nation whosoever believes with all his heart
  in the Lord Jesus is accepted of God. Here, truly, is the church, out
  of which no one can be saved."--D'Aubigne, London ed., b. 8, ch.
  11. As a result of the conference, one of the bishop's deputies
  accepted the reformed faith.
   
   
  The
  council declined to take action against Zwingli, and Rome prepared
  for a fresh attack. The Reformer, when apprised of the plots of his
  enemies, exclaimed: "Let them come on; I fear them as the
  beetling cliff fears the waves that thunder at its feet."--Wylie,
  b. 8, ch. 11. The efforts of the ecclesiastics only furthered the
  cause which they sought to overthrow. The truth continued to spread.
  In Germany its adherents, cast down by Luther's disappearance, took
  heart again, as they saw the progress of the gospel in Switzerland.
  As the Reformation became established in Zurich, its fruits were more
  fully seen in the suppression of vice and the promotion of order and
  harmony. "Peace has her habitation in our town," wrote
  Zwingli; "no quarrel, no hypocrisy, no envy, no strife. Whence
  can such union come but from the Lord, and our doctrine, which fills
  us with the fruits of peace and piety?"-- Ibid., b. 8, ch. 15.
   
   
  The
  victories gained by the Reformation stirred the Romanists to still
  more determined efforts for its overthrow. Seeing how little had been
  accomplished by persecution in suppressing Luther's work in Germany,
  they decided to meet the reform with its own weapons. They would hold
  a disputation with Zwingli, and having the arrangement of matters,
  they would make sure of victory by choosing, themselves, not only the
  place of the combat, but the judges that should decide between the
  disputants. And if they could once get Zwingli into their power, they
  would take care that he did not escape them. The leader silenced, the
  movement could speedily be crushed. This purpose, however, was
  carefully concealed.
   
   
  The
  disputation was appointed to be held at Baden; but Zwingli was not
  present. The Council of Zurich, suspecting the designs of the
  papists, and warned by the burning piles kindled in the papal cantons
  for confessors of the gospel, forbade their pastor to expose himself
  to this peril. At Zurich he was ready to meet all the partisans that
  Rome might send; but to go to Baden, where the blood of martyrs for
  the truth had just been shed, was to go to certain death.
  Oecolampadius and Haller were chosen to represent the Reformers,
  while the famous Dr. Eck, supported by a host of learned doctors and
  prelates, was the champion of Rome.
   
   
  Though
  Zwingli was not present at the conference, his influence was felt.
  The secretaries were all chosen by the papists, and others were
  forbidden to take notes, on pain of death. Notwithstanding this,
  Zwingli received daily a faithful account of what was said at Baden.
  A student in attendance at the disputation made a record each evening
  of the arguments that day presented. These papers two other students
  undertook to deliver, with the daily letters of Oecolampadius, to
  Zwingli at Zurich. The Reformer answered, giving counsel and
  suggestions. His letters were written by night, and the students
  returned with them to Baden in the morning. To elude the vigilance of
  the guard stationed at the city gates, these messengers brought
  baskets of poultry on their heads, and they were permitted to pass
  without hindrance.
   
   
  Thus
  Zwingli maintained the battle with his wily antagonists. He "has
  laboured more," said Myconius, "by his meditations, his
  sleepless nights, and the advice which he transmitted to Baden, than
  he would have done by discussing in person in the midst of his
  enemies."--D'Aubigne, b. 11, ch. 13.  The Romanists, flushed
  with anticipated triumph, had come to Baden attired in their richest
  robes and glittering with jewels. They fared luxuriously, their
  tables spread with the mostcostly delicacies and the choicest wines.
  The burden of their ecclesiastical duties was lightened by gaiety and
  reveling. In marked contrast appeared the Reformers, who were looked
  upon by the people as little better than a company of beggars, and
  whose frugal fare kept them but short time at table. Oecolampadius's
  landlord, taking occasion to watch him in his room, found him always
  engaged in study or at prayer, and greatly wondering, reported that
  the heretic was at least "very pious."
   
   
  At
  the conference, "Eck haughtily ascended a pulpit splendidly
  decorated, while the humble Oecolampadius, meanly clothed, was forced
  to take his seat in front of his opponent on a rudely carved
  stool."-- Ibid., b. 11, ch. 13. Eck's stentorian voice and
  unbounded assurance never failed him. His zeal was stimulated by the
  hope of gold as well as fame; for the defender of the faith was to be
  rewarded by a handsome fee. When better arguments failed, he had
  resort to insults, and even to oaths.  Oecolampadius, modest and
  self-distrustful, had shrunk from the combat, and he entered upon it
  with the solemn avowal: "I acknowledge no other standard of
  judgment than the word of God."-- Ibid., b. 11, ch. 13. Though
  gentle and courteous in demeanor, he proved himself able and
  unflinching. While the Romanists, according to their wont, appealed
  for authority to the customs of the church, the Reformer adhered
  steadfastly to the Holy Scriptures. "Custom," he said, "has
  no force in our Switzerland, unless it be according to the
  constitution; now, in matters of faith, the Bible is our
  constitution."-- Ibid., b. 11, ch. 13.
   
   
  The
  contrast between the two disputants was not without effect. The calm,
  clear reasoning of the Reformer, so gently and modestly presented,
  appealed to minds that turned in disgust from Eck's boastful and
  boisterous assumptions. The discussion continued eighteen days. At
  its close the papists with great confidence claimed the victory. Most
  of the deputies sided with Rome, and the Diet pronounced the
  Reformers vanquished and declared that they, together with Zwingli,
  their leader, were cut off from the church. But the fruits of the
  conference revealed on which side the advantage lay. The contest
  resulted in a strong impetus to the Protestant cause, and it was not
  long afterward that the important cities of Bern and Basel declared
  for the Reformation. 
  
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 10. Reform in Germany 
   
  Luther's
  mysterious disappearance excited consternation throughout all
  Germany. Inquiries concerning him were heard everywhere. The wildest
  rumors were circulated, and many believed that he had been murdered.
  There was great lamentation, not only by his avowed friends, but by
  thousands who had not openly taken their stand with the Reformation.
  Many bound themselves by a solemn oath to avenge his death.
   
   
  The
  Romish leaders saw with terror to what a pitch had risen the feeling
  against them. Though at first exultant at the supposed death of
  Luther, they soon desired to hide from the wrath of the people. His
  enemies had not been so troubled by his most daring acts while among
  them as they were at his removal. Those who in their rage had sought
  to destroy the bold Reformer were filled with fear now that he had
  become a helpless captive. "The only remaining way of saving
  ourselves," said one, "is to light torches, and hunt for
  Luther through the whole world, to restore him to the nation that is
  calling for him."--D'Aubigne, b. 9, ch. 1. The edict of the
  emperor seemed to fall powerless. The papal legates were filled with
  indignation as they saw that it commanded far less attention than did
  the fate of Luther.
   
   
  The
  tidings that he was safe, though a prisoner, calmed the fears of the
  people, while it still further aroused their enthusiasm in his
  favour. His writings were read with greater  eagerness than ever
  before. Increasing numbers joined the cause of the heroic man who
  had, at such fearful odds, defended the word of God. The Reformation
  was constantly gaining in strength. The seed which Luther had sown
  sprang up everywhere. His absence accomplished a work which his
  presence would have failed to do. Other labourers felt a new
  responsibility, now that their great leader was removed. With new
  faith and earnestness they pressed forward to do all in their power,
  that the work so nobly begun might not be hindered.
   
   
  But
  Satan was not idle. He now attempted what he has attempted in every
  other reformatory movement--to deceive and destroy the people by
  palming off upon them a counterfeit in place of the true work. As
  there were false christs in the first century of the Christian
  church, so there arose false prophets in the sixteenth century.  A
  few men, deeply affected by the excitement in the religious world,
  imagined themselves to have received special revelations from Heaven,
  and claimed to have been divinely commissioned to carry forward to
  its completion the Reformation which, they declared, had been but
  feebly begun by Luther. In truth, they were undoing the very work
  which he had accomplished. They rejected the great principle which
  was the very foundation of the Reformation--that the word of God is
  the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice; and for that unerring
  guide they substituted the changeable, uncertain standard of their
  own feelings and impressions. By this act of setting aside the great
  detector of error and falsehood the way was opened for Satan to
  control minds as best pleased himself.
   
   
  One
  of these prophets claimed to have been instructed by the angel
  Gabriel. A student who united with him forsook his studies, declaring
  that he had been endowed by God Himself with wisdom to expound His
  word. Others who were naturally inclined to fanaticism united with
  them. The proceedings of these enthusiasts created no little
  excitement.  The preaching of Luther had aroused the people
  everywhere to feel the necessity of reform, and now some really
  honest persons were misled by the pretensions of the new prophets. 
  The leaders of the movement proceeded to Wittenberg and urged their
  claims upon Melanchthon and his colabourers. Said they: "We are
  sent by God to instruct the people. We have held familiar
  conversations with the Lord; we know what will happen; in a word, we
  are apostles and prophets, and appeal to Dr. Luther."-- Ibid.,
  b. 9, ch. 7.
   
   
  The
  Reformers were astonished and perplexed. This was such an element as
  they had never before encountered, and they knew not what course to
  pursue. Said Melanchthon: "There are indeed extraordinary
  spirits in these men; but what spirits? . . . On the one hand, let us
  beware of quenching the Spirit of God, and on the other, of being led
  astray by the spirit of Satan."-- Ibid., b. 9, ch. 7.  The fruit
  of the new teaching soon became apparent. The people were led to
  neglect the Bible or to cast it wholly aside. The schools were thrown
  into confusion. Students, spurning all restraint, abandoned their
  studies and withdrew from the university. The men who thought
  themselves competent to revive and control the work of the
  Reformation succeeded only in bringing it to the verge of ruin. The
  Romanists now regained their confidence and exclaimed exultingly:
  "One last struggle, and all will be ours."-- Ibid., b. 9,
  ch. 7.
   
   
  Luther
  at the Wartburg, hearing of what had occurred, said with deep
  concern: "I always expected that Satan would send us this
  plague."-- Ibid., b. 9, ch. 7. He perceived the true character
  of those pretended prophets and saw the danger that threatened the
  cause of truth. The opposition of the pope and the emperor had not
  caused him so great perplexity and distress as he now experienced.
  From the professed friends of the Reformation had risen its worst
  enemies. The very truths which had brought him so great joy and
  consolation were being employed to stir up strife and create
  confusion in the church.
   
   
  In
  the work of reform, Luther had been urged forward by the Spirit of
  God, and had been carried beyond himself. He had not purposed to take
  such positions as he did, or to make so radical changes. He had been
  but the instrument in the hand of Infinite Power. Yet he often
  trembled for the result of his work. He had once said: "If I
  knew that my doctrine injured one man, one single man, however lowly
  and obscure,--which it cannot, for it is the gospel itself,-- I would
  rather die ten times than not retract it."-- Ibid., b. 9, ch. 7.
   
   
  And
  now Wittenberg itself, the very centre of the Reformation, was fast
  falling under the power of fanaticism and lawlessness. This terrible
  condition had not resulted from the teachings of Luther; but
  throughout Germany his enemies were charging it upon him. In
  bitterness of soul he sometimes asked: "Can such, then, be the
  end of this great work of the Reformation?"-- Ibid., b. 9, ch.
  7. Again, as he wrestled with God in prayer, peace flowed into his
  heart. "The work is not mine, but Thine own," he said;
  "Thou wilt not suffer it to be corrupted by superstition or
  fanaticism." But the thought of remaining longer from the
  conflict in such a crisis, became insupportable. He determined to
  return to Wittenberg.
   
   
  Without
  delay he set out on his perilous journey. He was under the ban of the
  empire. Enemies were at liberty to take his life; friends were
  forbidden to aid or shelter him. The imperial government was adopting
  the most stringent measures against his adherents. But he saw that
  the work of the gospel was imperiled, and in the name of the Lord he
  went out fearlessly to battle for the truth.  In a letter to the
  elector, after stating his purpose to leave the Wartburg, Luther
  said: "Be it known to your highness that I am going to
  Wittenberg under a protection far higher than that of princes and
  electors. I think not of soliciting your highness's support, and far
  from desiring your protection,  I would rather protect you myself. If
  I knew that your highness could or would protect me, I would not go
  to Wittenberg at all. There is no sword that can further this cause.
  God alone must do everything, without the help or concurrence of man.
  He who has the greatest faith is he who is most able to protect."--
  Ibid., b. 9, ch. 8.
   
   
  In
  a second letter, written on the way to Wittenberg, Luther added: "I
  am ready to incur the displeasure of your highness and the anger of
  the whole world. Are not the Wittenbergers my sheep? Has not God
  entrusted them to me? And ought I not, if necessary, to expose myself
  to death for their sakes? Besides, I fear to see a terrible outbreak
  in Germany, by which God will punish our nation."-- Ibid., b. 9,
  ch. 7.  With great caution and humility, yet with decision and
  firmness, he entered upon his work. "By the word," said he,
  "must we overthrow and destroy what has been set up by violence.
  I will not make use of force against the superstitious and
  unbelieving. . . . No one must be constrained. Liberty is the very
  essence of faith."-- Ibid., b. 9, ch. 8.
   
   
  It
  was soon noised through Wittenberg that Luther had returned and that
  he was to preach. The people flocked from all directions, and the
  church was filled to overflowing. Ascending the pulpit, he with great
  wisdom and gentleness instructed, exhorted, and reproved. Touching
  the course of some who had resorted to violent measures in abolishing
  the mass, he said:
   
   
  The
  mass is a bad thing; God is opposed to it; it ought to be abolished;
  and I would that throughout the whole world it were replaced by the
  supper of the gospel. But let no one be torn from it by force. We
  must leave the matter in God's hands. His word must act, and not we.
  And why so? you will ask. Because I do not hold men's hearts in my
  hand, as the potter holds the clay. We have a right to speak: we have
  not the right to act. Let us preach; the rest belongs unto God. Were
  I to employ force, what should I gain? Grimace, formality, apings,
  human ordinances, and hypocrisy. . . . But there would be no
  sincerity  of heart, nor faith, nor charity. Where these three are
  wanting, all is wanting, and I would not give a pear stalk for such a
  result. . . . God does more by His word alone than you and I and all
  the world by our united strength. God lays hold upon the heart; and
  when the heart is taken, all is won. . . .
   
   
  "I
  will preach, discuss, and write; but I will constrain none, for faith
  is a voluntary act. See what I have done. I stood up against the
  pope, indulgences, and papists, but without violence or tumult. I put
  forward God's word; I preached and wrote--this was all I did. And yet
  while I was asleep, . . . the word that I had preached overthrew
  popery, so that neither prince nor emperor has done it so much harm.
  And yet I did nothing; the word alone did all. If I had wished to
  appeal to force, the whole of Germany would perhaps have been deluged
  with blood. But what would have been the result? Ruin and desolation
  both to body and soul. I therefore kept quiet, and left the word to
  run through the world alone."-- Ibid., b. 9, ch. 8.
   
   
  Day
  after day, for a whole week, Luther continued to preach to eager
  crowds. The word of God broke the spell of fanatical excitement. The
  power of the gospel brought back the misguided people into the way of
  truth.  Luther had no desire to encounter the fanatics whose course
  had been productive of so great evil. He knew them to be men of
  unsound judgment and undisciplined passions, who, while claiming to
  be specially illuminated from heaven, would not endure the slightest
  contradiction or even the kindest reproof or counsel. Arrogating to
  themselves supreme authority, they required everyone, without a
  question, to acknowledge their claims. But, as they demanded an
  interview with him, he consented to meet them; and so successfully
  did he expose their pretensions that the impostors at once departed
  from Wittenberg.
   
   
  The
  fanaticism was checked for a time; but several years later it broke
  out with greater violence and more terrible results. Said Luther,
  concerning the leaders in this movement:  "To them the Holy
  Scriptures were but a dead letter, and they all began to cry, 'The
  Spirit! the Spirit!' But most assuredly I will not follow where their
  spirit leads them. May God of His mercy preserve me from a church in
  which there are none but saints. I desire to dwell with the humble,
  the feeble, the sick, who know and feel their sins, and who groan and
  cry continually to God from the bottom of their hearts to obtain His
  consolation and support."-- Ibid., b. 10, ch. 10.
   
   
  Thomas
  Munzer, the most active of the fanatics, was a man of considerable
  ability, which, rightly directed, would have enabled him to do good;
  but he had not learned the first principles of true religion. "He
  was possessed with a desire of reforming the world, and forgot, as
  all enthusiasts do, that the reformation should begin with
  himself."-- Ibid., b. 9, ch. 8. He was ambitious to obtain
  position and influence, and was unwilling to be second, even to
  Luther. He declared that the Reformers, in substituting the authority
  of Scripture for that of the pope, were only establishing a different
  form of popery. He himself, he claimed, had been divinely
  commissioned to introduce the true reform. "He who possesses
  this spirit," said Munzer, "possesses the true faith,
  although he should never see the Scriptures in his life."--
  Ibid., b. 10, ch. 10.
   
   
  The
  fanatical teachers gave themselves up to be governed by impressions,
  regarding every thought and impulse as the voice of God; consequently
  they went to great extremes. Some even burned their Bibles,
  exclaiming: "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."
  Munzer's teaching appealed to men's desire for the marvellous, while
  it gratified their pride by virtually placing human ideas and
  opinions above the word of God. His doctrines were received by
  thousands. He soon denounced all order in public worship, and
  declared that to obey princes was to attempt to serve both God and
  Belial.
   
   
  The
  minds of the people, already beginning to throw off the yoke of the
  papacy, were also becoming impatient under the restraints of civil
  authority. Munzer's revolutionary  teachings, claiming divine
  sanction, led them to break away from all control and give the rein
  to their prejudices and passions. The most terrible scenes of
  sedition and strife followed, and the fields of Germany were drenched
  with blood.
   
   
  The
  agony of soul which Luther had so long before experienced at Erfurt
  now pressed upon him with redoubled power as he saw the results of
  fanaticism charged upon the Reformation. The papist princes
  declared--and many were ready to credit the statement--that the
  rebellion was the legitimate fruit of Luther's doctrines. Although
  this charge was without the slightest foundation, it could not but
  cause the Reformer great distress. That the cause of truth should be
  thus disgraced by being ranked with the basest fanaticism, seemed
  more than he could endure. On the other hand, the leaders in the
  revolt hated Luther because he had not only opposed their doctrines
  and denied their claims to divine inspiration, but had pronounced
  them rebels against the civil authority. In retaliation they
  denounced him as a base pretender. He seemed to have brought upon
  himself the enmity of both princes and people.
   
   
  The
  Romanists exulted, expecting to witness the speedy downfall of the
  Reformation; and they blamed Luther, even for the errors which he had
  been most earnestly endeavouring to correct. The fanatical party, by
  falsely claiming to have been treated with great injustice, succeeded
  in gaining the sympathies of a large class of the people, and, as is
  often the case with those who take the wrong side, they came to be
  regarded as martyrs. Thus the ones who were exerting every energy in
  opposition to the Reformation were pitied and lauded as the victims
  of cruelty and oppression. This was the work of Satan, prompted by
  the same spirit of rebellion which was first manifested in heaven.
   
   
  Satan
  is constantly seeking to deceive men and lead them to call sin
  righteousness, and righteousness sin. How successful has been his
  work! How often censure and reproach are cast upon God's faithful
  servants because they  will stand fearlessly in defense of the truth!
  Men who are but agents of Satan are praised and flattered, and even
  looked upon as martyrs, while those who should be respected and
  sustained for their fidelity to God, are left to stand alone, under
  suspicion and distrust.
   
   
  Counterfeit
  holiness, spurious sanctification, is still doing its work of
  deception. Under various forms it exhibits the same spirit as in the
  days of Luther, diverting minds from the Scriptures and leading men
  to follow their own feelings and impressions rather than to yield
  obedience to the law of God. This is one of Satan's most successful
  devices to cast reproach upon purity and truth. Fearlessly did Luther
  defend the gospel from the attacks which came from every quarter. The
  word of God proved itself a weapon mighty in every conflict. With
  that word he warred against the usurped authority of the pope, and
  the rationalistic philosophy of the schoolmen, while he stood firm as
  a rock against the fanaticism that sought to ally itself with the
  Reformation.
   
   
  Each
  of these opposing elements was in its own way setting aside the Holy
  Scriptures and exalting human wisdom as the source of religious truth
  and knowledge. Rationalism idolizes reason and makes this the
  criterion for religion. Romanism, claiming for her sovereign pontiff
  an inspiration descended in unbroken line from the apostles, and
  unchangeable through all time, gives ample opportunity for every
  species of extravagance and corruption to be concealed under the
  sanctity of the apostolic commission. The inspiration claimed by
  Munzer and his associates proceeded from no higher source than the
  vagaries of the imagination, and its influence was subversive of all
  authority, human or divine. True Christianity receives the word of
  God as the great treasure house of inspired truth and the test of all
  inspiration.
   
   
  Upon
  his return from the Wartburg, Luther completed his translation of the
  New Testament, and the gospel was soon after given to the people of
  Germany in their own  language. This translation was received with
  great joy by all who loved the truth; but it was scornfully rejected
  by those who chose human traditions and the commandments of men.  The
  priests were alarmed at the thought that the common people would now
  be able to discuss with them the precepts of God's word, and that
  their own ignorance would thus be exposed. The weapons of their
  carnal reasoning were powerless against the sword of the Spirit.
   
   
  Rome
  summoned all her authority to prevent the circulation of the
  Scriptures; but decrees, anathemas, and tortures were alike in vain.
  The more she condemned and prohibited the Bible, the greater was the
  anxiety of the people to know what it really taught. All who could
  read were eager to study the word of God for themselves. They carried
  it about with them, and read and reread, and could not be satisfied
  until they had committed large portions to memory. Seeing the favour
  with which the New Testament was received, Luther immediately began
  the translation of the Old, and published it in parts as fast as
  completed.
   
   
  Luther's
  writings were welcomed alike in city and in hamlet. "What Luther
  and his friends composed, others circulated. Monks, convinced of the
  unlawfulness of monastic obligations, desirous of exchanging a long
  life of slothfulness for one of active exertion, but too ignorant to
  proclaim the word of God, traveled through the provinces, visiting
  hamlets and cottages, where they sold the books of Luther and his
  friends. Germany soon swarmed with these bold colporteurs." --
  Ibid., b. 9, ch. 11.  These writings were studied with deep interest
  by rich and poor, the learned and the ignorant. At night the teachers
  of the village schools read them aloud to little groups gathered at
  the fireside. With every effort some souls would be convicted of the
  truth and, receiving the word with gladness, would in their turn tell
  the good news to others.
   
   
  The
  words of Inspiration were verified: "The entrance of Thy words
  giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." Psalm
  119:130. The study of the Scriptures was working a mighty change in
  the minds and hearts of the people. The papal rule had placed upon
  its subjects an iron yoke which held them in ignorance and
  degradation. A superstitious observance of forms had been
  scrupulously maintained; but in all their service the heart and
  intellect had had little part. The preaching of Luther, setting forth
  the plain truths of God's word, and then the word itself, placed in
  the hands of the common people, had aroused their dormant powers, not
  only purifying and ennobling the spiritual nature, but imparting new
  strength and vigour to the intellect.
   
   
  Persons
  of all ranks were to be seen with the Bible in their hands, defending
  the doctrines of the Reformation. The papists who had left the study
  of the Scriptures to the priests and monks now called upon them to
  come forward and refute the new teachings. But, ignorant alike of the
  Scriptures and of the power of God, priests and friars were totally
  defeated by those whom they had denounced as unlearned and heretical.
  "Unhappily," said a Catholic writer, "Luther had
  persuaded his followers to put no faith in any other oracle than the
  Holy Scriptures."--D'Aubigne, b. 9, ch. 11. Crowds would gather
  to hear the truth advocated by men of little education, and even
  discussed by them with learned and eloquent theologians. The shameful
  ignorance of these great men was made apparent as their arguments
  were met by the simple teachings of God's word. Labourers, soldiers,
  women, and even children, were better acquainted with the Bible
  teachings than were the priests and learned doctors.
   
   
  The
  contrast between the disciples of the gospel and the upholders of
  popish superstition was no less manifest in the ranks of scholars
  than among the common people. "Opposed to the old champions of
  the hierarchy, who had neglected  the study of languages and the
  cultivation of literature, . . . were generous-minded youth, devoted
  to study, investigating Scripture, and familiarizing themselves with
  the masterpieces of antiquity. Possessing an active mind, an elevated
  soul, and intrepid heart, these young men soon acquired such
  knowledge that for a long period none could compete with them. . . .
  Accordingly, when these youthful defenders of the Reformation met the
  Romish doctors in any assembly, they attacked them with such ease and
  confidence that these ignorant men hesitated, became embarrassed, and
  fell into a contempt merited in the eyes of all."-- Ibid., b. 9,
  ch. 11.
   
   
  As
  the Romish clergy saw their congregations diminishing, they invoked
  the aid of the magistrates, and by every means in their power
  endeavoured to bring back their hearers. But the people had found in
  the new teachings that which supplied the wants of their souls, and
  they turned away from those who had so long fed them with the
  worthless husks of superstitious rites and human traditions.  When
  persecution was kindled against the teachers of the truth, they gave
  heed to the words of Christ: "When they persecute you in this
  city, flee ye into another." Matthew 10:23. The light penetrated
  everywhere. The fugitives would find somewhere a hospitable door
  opened to them, and there abiding, they would preach Christ,
  sometimes in the church, or, if denied that privilege, in private
  houses or in the open air. Wherever they could obtain a hearing was a
  consecrated temple. The truth, proclaimed with such energy and
  assurance, spread with irresistible power.
   
   
  In
  vain both ecclesiastical and civil authorities were invoked to crush
  the heresy. In vain they resorted to imprisonment, torture, fire, and
  sword. Thousands of believers sealed their faith with their blood,
  and yet the work went on. Persecution served only to extend the
  truth, and the fanaticism which Satan endeavoured to unite with it
  resulted in making more clear the contrast between the work of Satan
  and the work of God.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 11. Princely Protest 
   
  One
  of the noblest testimonies ever uttered for the Reformation was the
  Protest offered by the Christian princes of Germany at the Diet of
  Spires in 1529. The courage, faith, and firmness of those men of God
  gained for succeeding ages liberty of thought and of conscience.
  Their Protest gave to the reformed church the name of Protestant; its
  principles are "the very essence of Protestantism."--D'Aubigne,
  b. 13, ch. 6.
   
   
  A
  dark and threatening day had come for the Reformation.
  Notwithstanding the Edict of Worms, declaring Luther to be an outlaw
  and forbidding the teaching or belief of his doctrines, religious
  toleration had thus far prevailed in the empire. God's providence had
  held in check the forces that opposed the truth. Charles V was bent
  on crushing the Reformation, but often as he raised his hand to
  strike he had been forced to turn aside the blow. Again and again the
  immediate destruction of all who dared to oppose themselves to Rome
  appeared inevitable; but at the critical moment the armies of the
  Turk appeared on the eastern frontier, or the king of France, or even
  the pope himself, jealous of the increasing greatness of the emperor,
  made war upon him; and thus, amid the strife and tumult of nations,
  the Reformation had been left to strengthen and extend.
   
   
  At
  last, however, the papal sovereigns had stifled their feuds, that
  they might make common cause against the Reformers. The Diet of
  Spires in 1526 had given each state full liberty in matters of
  religion until the meeting of a general  council; but no sooner had
  the dangers passed which secured this concession, than the emperor
  summoned a second Diet to convene at Spires in 1529 for the purpose
  of crushing heresy. The princes were to be induced, by peaceable
  means if possible, to side against the Reformation; but if these
  failed, Charles was prepared to resort to the sword.
   
   
  The
  papists were exultant. They appeared at Spires in great numbers, and
  openly manifested their hostility toward the Reformers and all who
  favoured them. Said Melanchthon: "We are the execration and the
  sweepings of the world; but Christ will look down on His poor people,
  and will preserve them."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 5. The evangelical
  princes in attendance at the Diet were forbidden even to have the
  gospel preached in their dwellings. But the people of Spires thirsted
  for the word of God, and, notwithstanding the prohibition, thousands
  flocked to the services held in the chapel of the elector of Saxony.
   
   
  This
  hastened the crisis. An imperial message announced to the Diet that
  as the resolution granting liberty of conscience had given rise to
  great disorders, the emperor required that it be annulled. This
  arbitrary act excited the indignation and alarm of the evangelical
  Christians. Said one: "Christ has again fallen into the hands of
  Caiaphas and Pilate." The Romanists became more violent. A
  bigoted papist declared: "The Turks are better than the
  Lutherans; for the Turks observe fast days, and the Lutherans violate
  them. If we must choose between the Holy Scriptures of God and the
  old errors of the church, we should reject the former." Said
  Melanchthon: "Every day, in full assembly, Faber casts some new
  stone at us gospelers."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 5.
   
   
  Religious
  toleration had been legally established, and the evangelical states
  were resolved to oppose the infringement of their rights. Luther,
  being still under the ban imposed by the Edict of Worms, was not
  permitted to be present at Spires; but his place was supplied by his
  colabourers and the princes whom God had raised up to defend His
  cause in this emergency. The noble Frederick of Saxony, Luther's 
  former protector, had been removed by death; but Duke John, his
  brother and successor, had joyfully welcomed the Reformation, and
  while a friend of peace, he displayed great energy and courage in all
  matters relating to the interests of the faith.
   
   
  The
  priests demanded that the states which had accepted the Reformation
  submit implicitly to Romish jurisdiction. The Reformers, on the other
  hand, claimed the liberty which had previously been granted. They
  could not consent that Rome should again bring under her control
  those states that had with so great joy received the word of God.  As
  a compromise it was finally proposed that where the Reformation had
  not become established, the Edict of Worms should be rigorously
  enforced; and that "in those where the people had deviated from
  it, and where they could not conform to it without danger of revolt,
  they should at least effect no new reform, they should touch upon no
  controverted point, they should not oppose the celebration of the
  mass, they should permit no Roman Catholic to embrace Lutheranism."
  -- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 5. This measure passed the Diet, to the great
  satisfaction of the popish priests and prelates.
   
   
  If
  this edict were enforced, "the Reformation could neither be
  extended . . . where as yet it was unknown, nor be established on
  solid foundations . . . where it already existed."-- Ibid., b.
  13, ch. 5. Liberty of speech would be prohibited. No conversions
  would be allowed. And to these restrictions and prohibitions the
  friends of the Reformation were required at once to submit. The hopes
  of the world seemed about to be extinguished. "The
  re-establishment of the Romish hierarchy . . . would infallibly bring
  back the ancient abuses;" and an occasion would readily be found
  for "completing the destruction of a work already so violently
  shaken" by fanaticism and dissension.-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 5.
   
   
  As
  the evangelical party met for consultation, one looked to another in
  blank dismay. From one to another passed the inquiry: "What is
  to be done?" Mighty issues for the world were at stake. Shall
  the chiefs of the Reformation submit, and accept the edict? How
  easily might the Reformers at this crisis, which was truly a
  tremendous one, have argued themselves into a wrong course! How many
  plausible pretexts and fair reasons might they have found for
  submission! The Lutheran princes were guaranteed the free exercise of
  their religion. The same boon was extended to all those of their
  subjects who, prior to the passing of the measure, had embraced the
  reformed views. Ought not this to content them? How many perils would
  submission avoid! On what unknown hazards and conflicts would
  opposition launch them! Who knows what opportunities the future may
  bring? Let us embrace peace; let us seize the olive branch Rome holds
  out, and close the wounds of Germany. With arguments like these might
  the Reformers have justified their adoption of a course which would
  have assuredly issued in no long time in the overthrow of their
  cause.
   
   
  "Happily
  they looked at the principle on which this arrangement was based, and
  they acted in faith. What was that principle? It was the right of
  Rome to coerce conscience and forbid free inquiry. But were not
  themselves and their Protestant subjects to enjoy religious freedom?
  Yes, as a favour specially stipulated for in the arrangement, but not
  as a right. As to all outside that arrangement, the great principle
  of authority was to rule; conscience was out of court; Rome was
  infallible judge, and must be obeyed. The acceptance of the proposed
  arrangement would have been a virtual admission that religious
  liberty ought to be confined to reformed Saxony; and as to all the
  rest of Christendom, free inquiry and the profession of the reformed
  faith were crimes, and must be visited with the dungeon and the
  stake. Could they consent to localise religious liberty? to have it
  proclaimed that the Reformation had made its last convert? had
  subjugated its last acre? and that wherever Rome bore sway at this
  hour, there her dominion was to be perpetuated? Could the Reformers
  have pleaded that they were innocent of the blood of those hundreds
  and thousands who, in pursuance of this arrangement, would have to
  yield up their lives in popish lands? This would have been to betray,
  at that supreme hour, the cause of the gospel and the liberties of
  Christendom."--Wylie, b. 9, ch. 15. Rather would they "sacrifice
  everything, even their states, their crowns, and their
  lives."--D'Aubigne, b. 13, ch. 5.
   
   
  "Let
  us reject this decree," said the princes. "In matters of
  conscience the majority has no power." The deputies declared:
  "It is to the decree of 1526 that we are indebted for the peace
  that the empire enjoys: its abolition would fill Germany with
  troubles and divisions. The Diet is incompetent to do more than
  preserve religious liberty until the council meets."-- Ibid., b.
  13, ch. 5. To protect liberty of conscience is the duty of the state,
  and this is the limit of its authority in matters of religion. Every
  secular government that attempts to regulate or enforce religious
  observances by civil authority is sacrificing the very principle for
  which the evangelical Christian so nobly struggled.
   
   
  The
  papists determined to put down what they termed "daring
  obstinacy." They began by endeavouring to cause divisions among
  the supporters of the Reformation and to intimidate all who had not
  openly declared in its favour. The representatives of the free cities
  were at last summoned before the Diet and required to declare whether
  they would accede to the terms of the proposition. They pleaded for
  delay, but in vain. When brought to the test, nearly one half their
  number sided with the Reformers. Those who thus refused to sacrifice
  liberty of conscience and the right of individual judgment well knew
  that their position marked them for future criticism, condemnation,
  and persecution. Said one of the delegates: "We must either deny
  the word of God, or --be burnt."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 5.
   
   
  King
  Ferdinand, the emperor's representative at the Diet, saw that the
  decree would cause serious divisions unless the princes could be
  induced to accept and sustain it. He therefore tried the art of
  persuasion, well knowing that to employ force with such men would
  only render them the more determined. He "begged the princes to
  accept the decree, assuring them that the emperor would be
  exceedingly pleased with them." But these faithful men
  acknowledged an authority above that of earthly rulers, and they
  answered calmly: "We will obey the emperor in everything that
  may contribute to maintain peace and the honour of God."--
  Ibid., b. 13, ch. 5.
   
   
  In
  the presence of the Diet the king at last announced to the elector
  and his friends that the edict  "was about to be drawn up in the
  form of an imperial decree," and that "their only remaining
  course was to submit to the majority." Having thus spoken, he
  withdrew from the assembly, giving the Reformers no opportunity for
  deliberation or reply. "To no purpose they sent a deputation
  entreating the king to return." To their remonstrances he
  answered only: "It is a settled affair; submission is all that
  remains."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 5.
   
   
  The
  imperial party were convinced that the Christian princes would adhere
  to the Holy Scriptures as superior to human doctrines and
  requirements; and they knew that wherever this principle was
  accepted, the papacy would eventually be overthrown. But, like
  thousands since their time, looking only "at the things which
  are seen," they flattered themselves that the cause of the
  emperor and the pope was strong, and that of the Reformers weak. Had
  the Reformers depended upon human aid alone, they would have been as
  powerless as the papists supposed. But though weak in numbers, and at
  variance with Rome, they had their strength. They appealed "from
  the report of the Diet to the word of God, and from the emperor
  Charles to Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords."--
  Ibid., b. 13, ch. 6.
   
   
  As
  Ferdinand had refused to regard their conscientious convictions, the
  princes decided not to heed his absence, but to bring their Protest
  before the national council without delay. A solemn declaration was
  therefore drawn up and presented to the Diet:   "We protest by
  these presents, before God, our only Creator, Preserver, Redeemer,
  and Saviour, and who will one day be our Judge, as well as before all
  men and all creatures, that we, for us and for our people, neither
  consent nor adhere in any manner whatsoever to the proposed decree,
  in anything that is contrary to God, to His holy word, to our right
  conscience, to the salvation of our souls."
   
   
  "What!
  we ratify this edict! We assert that when Almighty God calls a man to
  His knowledge, this man nevertheless cannot receive the knowledge of
  God!" "There is no sure doctrine but such as is conformable
  to the word of God. . . . The Lord forbids the teaching of any other
  doctrine. . . . The Holy Scriptures ought to be explained by other an
  clearer texts; . . . this Holy Book is, in all things necessary for
  the Christian, easy of understanding, and calculated to scatter the
  darkness. We are resolved, with the grace of God, to maintain the
  pure and exclusive preaching of His only word, such as it is
  contained in the biblical books of the Old and New Testaments,
  without adding anything thereto that may be contrary to it. This word
  is the only truth; it is the sure rule of all doctrine and of all
  life, and can never fail or deceive us. He who builds on this
  foundation shall stand against all the powers of hell, while all the
  human vanities that are set up against it shall fall before the face
  of God."
   
   
  "For
  this reason we reject the yoke that is imposed on us." "At
  the same time we are in expectation that his imperial majesty will
  behave toward us like a Christian prince who loves God above all
  things; and we declare ourselves ready to pay unto him, as well as
  unto you, gracious lords, all the affection and obedience that are
  our just and legitimate duty."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 6.  A deep
  impression was made upon the Diet. The majority were filled with
  amazement and alarm at the boldness of the protesters. The future
  appeared to them stormy and uncertain. Dissension, strife, and
  bloodshed seemed inevitable. But the Reformers, assured of the
  justice of their cause, and relying upon the arm of Omnipotence, were
  "full of courage and firmness."
   
   
  The
  principles contained in this celebrated Protest . . . constitute the
  very essence of Protestantism. Now this Protest opposes two abuses of
  man in matters of faith: the first is the intrusion of the civil
  magistrate, and the second the arbitrary authority of the church.
  Instead of these abuses, Protestantism sets the power of conscience
  above the magistrate, and the authority of the word of God above the
  visible church. In the first place, it rejects the civil power in
  divine things, and says with the prophets and apostles, 'We must obey
  God rather than man.' In presence of the crown of Charles the Fifth,
  it uplifts the crown of Jesus Christ. But it goes farther: it lays
  down the principle that all human teaching should be subordinate to
  the oracles of God.-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 6.
   
   
  The
  protesters had moreover affirmed their right to utter freely their
  convictions of truth. They would not only believe and obey, but teach
  what the word of God presents, and they denied the right of priest or
  magistrate to interfere. The Protest of Spires was a solemn witness
  against religious intolerance, and an assertion of the right of all
  men to worship God according to the dictates of their own
  consciences.  The declaration had been made. It was written in the
  memory of thousands and registered in the books of heaven, where no
  effort of man could erase it. All evangelical Germany adopted the
  Protest as the expression of its faith. Everywhere men beheld in this
  declaration the promise of a new and better era. Said one of the
  princes to the Protestants of Spires: "May the Almighty, who has
  given you grace to confess energetically, freely, and fearlessly,
  preserve you in that Christian firmness until the day of eternity."--
  Ibid., b. 13, ch. 6.
   
   
  Had
  the Reformation, after attaining a degree of success, consented to
  temporise to secure favour with the world, it would have been untrue
  to God and to itself, and would thus have ensured its own
  destruction. The experience of these noble Reformers contains a
  lesson for all succeeding ages. Satan's manner of working against God
  and His word has not changed; he is still as much opposed to the
  Scriptures being made the guide of life as in the sixteenth century.
  In our time there is a wide departure from their doctrines and
  precepts, and there is need of a return to the great Protestant 
  principle--the Bible, and the Bible only, as the rule of faith and
  duty. Satan is still working through every means which he can control
  to destroy religious liberty. The antichristian power which the
  protesters of Spires rejected is now with renewed vigour seeking to
  re-establish its lost supremacy. The same unswerving adherence to the
  word of God manifested at that crisis of the Reformation is the only
  hope of reform today.
   
   
  There
  appeared tokens of danger to the Protestants; there were tokens,
  also, that the divine hand was stretched out to protect the faithful.
  It was about this time that "Melanchthon hastily conducted
  through the streets of Spires toward the Rhine his friend Simon
  Grynaeus, pressing him to cross the river. The latter was astonished
  at such precipitation. 'An old man of grave and solemn air, but who
  is unknown to me,' said Melanchthon, 'appeared before me and said, In
  a minute officers of justice will be sent by Ferdinand to arrest
  Grynaeus.'"  During the day, Grynaeus had been scandalized at a
  sermon by Faber, a leading papal doctor; and at the close,
  remonstrated with him for defending "certain detestable errors."
  Faber dissembled his anger, but immediately after repaired to the
  king, from whom he had obtained an order against the importunate
  professor of Heidelberg. Melanchthon doubted not that God had saved
  his friend by sending one of His holy angels to forewarn him.
   
   
  "Motionless
  on the banks of the Rhine, he waited until the waters of that stream
  had rescued Grynaeus from his persecutors. 'At last,' cried
  Melanchthon, as he saw him on the opposite side, 'at last he is torn
  from the cruel jaws of those who thirst for innocent blood.' When he
  returned to his house, Melanchthon was informed that officers in
  search of Grynaeus had ransacked it from top to bottom."--
  Ibid., b. 13, ch. 6.   The Reformation was to be brought into greater
  prominence before the mighty ones of the earth. The evangelical
  princes had been denied a hearing by King Ferdinand; but they were to
  be granted an opportunity to present their cause in the presence of
  the emperor and the assembled dignitaries of church and state. To
  quiet the dissensions which disturbed the empire, Charles V, in the
  year following the Protest of Spires, convoked a diet at Augsburg,
  over which he announced his intention to preside in person. Thither
  the Protestant leaders were summoned.
   
   
  Great
  dangers threatened the Reformation; but its advocates still trusted
  their cause with God, and pledged themselves to be firm to the
  gospel. The elector of Saxony was urged by his councilors not to
  appear at the Diet. The emperor, they said, required the attendance
  of the princes in order to draw them into a snare. "Is it not
  risking everything to go and shut oneself up within the walls of a
  city with a powerful enemy?" But others nobly declared, "Let
  the princes only comport themselves with courage, and God's cause is
  saved." "God is faithful; He will not abandon us,"
  said Luther.-- Ibid., b. 14, ch. 2. The elector set out, with his
  retinue, for Augsburg. All were acquainted with the dangers that
  menaced him, and many went forward with gloomy countenance and
  troubled heart. But Luther, who accompanied them as far as Coburg,
  revived their sinking faith by singing the hymn, written on that
  journey, "A strong tower is our God." Many an anxious
  foreboding was banished, many a heavy heart lightened, at the sound
  of the inspiring strains.
   
   
  The
  reformed princes had determined upon having a statement of their
  views in systematic form, with the evidence from the Scriptures, to
  present before the Diet; and the task of its preparation was
  committed to Luther, Melanchthon, and their associates. This
  Confession was accepted by the Protestants as an exposition of their
  faith, and they assembled to affix their names to the important
  document. It was a solemn and trying time. The Reformers were
  solicitous that their cause should not be confounded with political
  questions; they felt that the Reformation should exercise no other
  influence than that which proceeds from the word of God.
   
   
  As
  the Christian princes advanced to sign the Confession, Melanchthon
  interposed, saying: "It is for the theologians and ministers to
  propose these things; let us reserve for other matters the authority
  of the mighty ones of the earth." "God forbid,"
  replied John of Saxony, "that you should exclude me. I am
  resolved to do what is right, without troubling myself about my
  crown. I desire to confess the Lord. My electoral hat and my ermine
  are not so precious to me as the cross of Jesus Christ." Having
  thus spoken, he wrote down his name. Said another of the princes as
  he took the pen: "If the honour of my Lord Jesus Christ requires
  it, I am ready…to leave my goods and life behind." "I
  would rather renounce my subjects and my states, rather quit the
  country of my fathers staff in hand," he continued, "than
  receive any other doctrine than that which is contained in this
  Confession." -- Ibid., b. 14, ch. 6. Such was the faith and
  daring of those men of God.
   
   
  The
  appointed time came to appear before the emperor. Charles V, seated
  upon his throne, surrounded by the electors and the princes, gave
  audience to the Protestant Reformers. The confession of their faith
  was read. In that august assembly the truths of the gospel were
  clearly set forth, and the errors of the papal church were pointed
  out. Well has that day been pronounced "the greatest day of the
  Reformation, and one of the most glorious in the history of
  Christianity and of mankind."-- Ibid., b. 14, ch. 7.  But a few
  years had passed since the monk of Wittenberg stood alone at Worms
  before the national council. Now in his stead were the noblest and
  most powerful princes of the empire. Luther had been forbidden to
  appear at Augsburg, but he had been present by his words and prayers.
  "I am overjoyed," he wrote, "that I have lived until
  this hour, in which Christ has been publicly exalted by such
  illustrious confessors, and in so glorious an assembly."--
  Ibid., b. 14, ch. 7. Thus was fulfilled what the Scripture says: "I
  will speak of Thy testimonies . . . before kings." Psalm 119:46.
   
   
  In
  the days of Paul the gospel for which he was imprisoned was thus
  brought before the princes and nobles of the imperial city. So on
  this occasion, that which the emperor had forbidden to be preached
  from the pulpit was proclaimed from the palace; what many had
  regarded as unfit even for servants to listen to was heard with
  wonder by the masters and lords of the empire. Kings and great men
  were the auditory, crowned princes were the preachers, and the sermon
  was the royal truth of God. "Since the apostolic age," says
  a writer, "there has never been a greater work or a more
  magnificent confession."--D'Aubigne, b. 14, ch. 7.
   
   
  "All
  that the Lutherans have said is true; we cannot deny it,"
  declared a papist bishop. "Can you refute by sound reasons the
  Confession made by the elector and his allies?" asked another of
  Dr. Eck. "With the writings of the apostles and prophets--no!"
  was the reply; "but with those of the Fathers and of the
  councils--yes!" "I understand," responded the
  questioner. "The Lutherans, according to you, are in Scripture,
  and we are outside."-- Ibid., b. 14, ch. 8.  Some of the princes
  of Germany were won to the reformed faith. The emperor himself
  declared that the Protestant articles were but the truth. The
  Confession was translated into many languages and circulated through
  all Europe, and it has been accepted by millions in succeeding
  generations as the expression of their faith.
   
   
  God's
  faithful servants were not toiling alone. While principalities and
  powers and wicked spirits in high places were leagued against them,
  the Lord did not forsake His people. Could their eyes have been
  opened, they would have seen as marked evidence of divine presence
  and aid as was granted to a prophet of old. When Elisha's servant
  pointed his master to the hostile army surrounding them and cutting
  off all opportunity for escape, the prophet prayed: "Lord, I
  pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see." 2 Kings 6:17. And,
  lo, the mountain was filled with chariots and horses of fire, the
  army of heaven stationed to protect the man of God. Thus did angels
  guard the workers in the cause of the Reformation.
   
   
  One
  of the principles most firmly maintained by Luther was that there
  should be no resort to secular power in support of the Reformation,
  and no appeal to arms for its defense. He rejoiced that the gospel
  was confessed by princes of the empire; but when they proposed to
  unite in a defensive league, he declared that "the doctrine of
  the gospel should be defended by God alone. . . . The less man
  meddled in the work, the more striking would be God's intervention in
  its behalf. All the politic precautions suggested were, in his view,
  attributable to unworthy fear and sinful mistrust."-- D'Aubigne,
  London ed., b. 10, ch. 14.
   
   
  When
  powerful foes were uniting to overthrow the reformed faith, and
  thousands of swords seemed about to be unsheathed against it, Luther
  wrote: "Satan is putting forth his fury; ungodly pontiffs are
  conspiring; and we are threatened with war. Exhort the people to
  contend valiantly before the throne of the Lord, by faith and prayer,
  so that our enemies, vanquished by the Spirit of God, may be
  constrained to peace. Our chief want, our chief labour, is prayer;
  let the people know that they are now exposed to the edge of the
  sword and to the rage of Satan, and let them pray."-- D'Aubigne,
  b. 10, ch. 14.
   
   
  Again,
  at a later date, referring to the league contemplated by the reformed
  princes, Luther declared that the only weapon employed in this
  warfare should be "the sword of the Spirit." He wrote to
  the elector of Saxony: "We cannot on our conscience approve the
  proposed alliance. We would rather die ten times than see our gospel
  cause one drop of blood to be shed. Our part is to be like lambs of
  the slaughter. The cross of Christ must be borne. Let your highness
  be without fear. We shall do more by our prayers than all our enemies
  by their boastings. Only let not your hands be stained with the blood
  of your brethren. If the emperor requires us to be given up to his
  tribunals, we are ready to appear. You cannot defend our faith: each
  one should believe at his own risk and peril."-- Ibid., b. 14,
  ch. 1.
   
   
  From
  the secret place of prayer came the power that shook the world in the
  Great Reformation. There, with holy calmness, the servants of the
  Lord set their feet upon the rock of His promises. During the
  struggle at Augsburg, Luther "did not pass a day without
  devoting three hours at least to prayer, and they were hours selected
  from those the most favourable to study." In the privacy of his
  chamber he was heard to pour out his soul before God in words "full
  of adoration, fear, and hope, as when one speaks to a friend."
  "I know that Thou art our Father and our God," he said,
  "and that Thou wilt scatter the persecutors of Thy children; for
  Thou art Thyself endangered with us. All this matter is Thine, and it
  is only by Thy constraint that we have put our hands to it. Defend
  us, then, O Father!"-- Ibid., b. 14, ch. 6.
   
   
  To
  Melanchthon, who was crushed under the burden of anxiety and fear, he
  wrote: "Grace and peace in Christ--in Christ, I say, and not in
  the world. Amen. I hate with exceeding hatred those extreme cares
  which consume you. If the cause is unjust, abandon it; if the cause
  is just, why should we belie the promises of Him who commands us to
  sleep without fear? . . . Christ will not be wanting to the work of
  justice and truth. He lives, He reigns; what fear, then, can we
  have?"-- Ibid., b. 14, ch. 6.
   
   
  God
  did listen to the cries of His servants. He gave to princes and
  ministers grace and courage to maintain the truth against the rulers
  of the darkness of this world. Saith the Lord: "Behold, I lay in
  Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on
  Him shall not be confounded." 1 Peter 2:6. The Protestant
  Reformers had built on Christ, and the gates of hell could not
  prevail against them.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 12. The French Reformation 
   
  The
  Protest of Spires and the Confession at Augsburg, which marked the
  triumph of the Reformation in Germany, were followed by years of
  conflict and darkness. Weakened by divisions among its supporters,
  and assailed by powerful foes, Protestantism seemed destined to be
  utterly destroyed. Thousands sealed their testimony with their blood.
  Civil war broke out; the Protestant cause was betrayed by one of its
  leading adherents; the noblest of the reformed princes fell into the
  hands of the emperor and were dragged as captives from town to town.
  But in the moment of his apparent triumph, the emperor was smitten
  with defeat. He saw the prey wrested from his grasp, and he was
  forced at last to grant toleration to the doctrines which it had been
  the ambition of his life to destroy. He had staked his kingdom, his
  treasures, and life itself upon the crushing out of the heresy. Now
  he saw his armies wasted by battle, his treasuries drained, his many
  kingdoms threatened by revolt, while everywhere the faith which he
  had vainly endeavoured to suppress, was extending. Charles V had been
  battling against omnipotent power. God had said, "Let there be
  light," but the emperor had sought to keep the darkness
  unbroken. His purposes had failed; and in premature old age, worn out
  with the long struggle, he abdicated the throne and buried himself in
  a cloister.
   
   
  In
  Switzerland, as in Germany, there came dark days for the Reformation.
  While many cantons accepted the reformed faith, others clung with
  blind persistence to the creed of Rome. Their persecution of those
  who desired to receive the truth finally gave rise to civil war.
  Zwingli and many who had united with him in reform fell on the bloody
  field of Cappel. Oecolampadius, overcome by these terrible disasters,
  soon after died. Rome was triumphant, and in many places seemed about
  to recover all that she had lost. But He whose counsels are from
  everlasting had not forsaken His cause or His people. His hand would
  bring deliverance for them. In other lands He had raised up labourers
  to carry forward the reform.
   
   
  In
  France, before the name of Luther had been heard as a Reformer, the
  day had already begun to break. One of the first to catch the light
  was the aged Lefevre, a man of extensive learning, a professor in the
  University of Paris, and a sincere and zealous papist. In his
  researches into ancient literature his attention was directed to the
  Bible, and he introduced its study among his students.  Lefevre was
  an enthusiastic adorer of the saints, and he had undertaken to
  prepare a history of the saints and martyrs as given in the legends
  of the church. This was a work which involved great labour; but he
  had already made considerable progress in it, when, thinking that he
  might obtain useful assistance from the Bible, he began its study
  with this object. Here indeed he found saints brought to view, but
  not such as figured in the Roman calendar. A flood of divine light
  broke in upon his mind. In amazement and disgust he turned away from
  his self-appointed task and devoted himself to the word of God. The
  precious truths which he there discovered he soon began to teach.
   
   
  In
  1512, before either Luther or Zwingli had begun the work of reform,
  Lefevre wrote: "It is God who gives us, by faith, that
  righteousness which by grace alone justifies to eternal
  life."--Wylie, b. 13, ch. 1. Dwelling upon the mysteries of
  redemption, he exclaimed: "Oh, the unspeakable greatness of that
  exchange,--the Sinless One is condemned, and he who is guilty goes
  free; the Blessing bears the curse, and the cursed is brought into
  blessing; the Life dies, and the dead live; the Glory is whelmed in
  darkness, and he who knew nothing but confusion of face is clothed
  with glory."-- D'Aubigne, London ed., b. 12, ch. 2.
   
   
  And
  while teaching that the glory of salvation belongs solely to God, he
  also declared that the duty of obedience belongs to man. "If
  thou art a member of Christ's church," he said, "thou art a
  member of His body; if thou art of His body, then thou art full of
  the divine nature. . . . Oh, if men could but enter into the
  understanding of this privilege, how purely, chastely, and holily
  would they live, and how contemptible, when compared with the glory
  within them,-- that glory which the eye of flesh cannot see,--would
  they deem all the glory of this world."-- Ibid., b. 12, ch. 2.
   
   
  There
  were some among Lefevre's students who listened eagerly to his words,
  and who, long after the teacher's voice should be silenced, were to
  continue to declare the truth. Such was William Farel. The son of
  pious parents, and educated to accept with implicit faith the
  teachings of the church, he might, with the apostle Paul, have
  declared concerning himself: "After the most straitest sect of
  our religion I lived a Pharisee." Acts 26:5. A devoted Romanist,
  he burned with zeal to destroy all who should dare to oppose the
  church. "I would gnash my teeth like a furious wolf," he
  afterward said, referring to this period of his life, "when I
  heard anyone speaking against the pope."-Wylie, b. 13, ch. 2. He
  had been untiring in his adoration of the saints, in company with
  Lefevre making the round of the churches of Paris, worshipping at the
  altars, and adorning with gifts the holy shrines. But these
  observances could not bring peace of soul. Conviction of sin fastened
  upon him, which all the acts of penance that he practiced failed to
  banish. As to a voice from heaven he listened to the Reformer's
  words: "Salvation is of grace." "The Innocent One is
  condemned, and the criminal is acquitted." "It is the cross
  of Christ alone that openeth the gates of heaven, and shutteth the
  gates of hell." -- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 2.
   
   
  Farel
  joyfully accepted the truth. By a conversion like that of Paul he
  turned from the bondage of tradition to the liberty of the sons of
  God. "Instead of the murderous heart of a ravening wolf,"
  he came back, he says, "quietly like a meek and harmless lamb,
  having his heart entirely withdrawn from the pope, and given to Jesus
  Christ."--D'Aubigne, b. 12, ch. 3.  While Lefevre continued to
  spread the light among his students, Farel, as zealous in the cause
  of Christ as he had been in that of the pope, went forth to declare
  the truth in public. A dignitary of the church, the bishop of Meaux,
  soon after united with them. Other teachers who ranked high for their
  ability and learning joined in proclaiming the gospel, and it won
  adherents among all classes, from the homes of artisans and peasants
  to the palace of the king. The sister of Francis I, then the reigning
  monarch, accepted the reformed faith. The king himself, and the queen
  mother, appeared for a time to regard it with favour, and with high
  hopes the Reformers looked forward to the time when France should be
  won to the gospel.
   
   
  But
  their hopes were not to be realized. Trial and persecution awaited
  the disciples of Christ. This, however, was mercifully veiled from
  their eyes. A time of peace intervened, that they might gain strength
  to meet the tempest; and the Reformation made rapid progress. The
  bishop of Meaux laboured zealously in his own diocese to instruct
  both the clergy and the people. Ignorant and immoral priests were
  removed, and, so far as possible, replaced by men of learning and
  piety. The bishop greatly desired that his people might have access
  to the word of God for themselves, and this was soon accomplished.
  Lefevre undertook the translation of the New Testament; and at the
  very time when Luther's German Bible was issuing from the press in
  Wittenberg, the French New Testament was published at Meaux. The
  bishop spared no labour or expense to circulate it in his parishes,
  and soon the peasants of Meaux were in possession of the Holy
  Scriptures.
   
   
  As
  travelers perishing from thirst welcome with joy a living water
  spring, so did these souls receive the message of heaven. The
  labourers in the field, the artisans in the workshop, cheered their
  daily toil by talking of the precious truths of the Bible. At
  evening, instead of resorting to the wine-shops, they assembled in
  one another's homes to read God's word and join in prayer and praise.
  A great change was soon manifest in these communities. Though
  belonging to the humblest class, an unlearned and hard-working
  peasantry, the reforming, uplifting power of divine grace was seen in
  their lives. Humble, loving, and holy, they stood as witnesses to
  what the gospel will accomplish for those who receive it in
  sincerity.
   
   
  The
  light kindled at Meaux shed its beams afar. Every day the number of
  converts was increasing. The rage of the hierarchy was for a time
  held in check by the king, who despised the narrow bigotry of the
  monks; but the papal leaders finally prevailed. Now the stake was set
  up. The bishop of Meaux, forced to choose between the fire and
  recantation, accepted the easier path; but notwithstanding the
  leader's fall, his flock remained steadfast. Many witnessed for the
  truth amid the flames. By their courage and fidelity at the stake,
  these humble Christians spoke to thousands who in days of peace had
  never heard their testimony.
   
   
  It
  was not alone the humble and the poor that amid suffering and scorn
  dared to bear witness for Christ. In the lordly halls of the castle
  and the palace there were kingly souls by whom truth was valued above
  wealth or rank or even life. Kingly armour concealed a loftier and
  more steadfast spirit than did the bishop's robe and miter. Louis de
  Berquin was of noble birth. A brave and courtly knight, he was
  devoted to study, polished in manners, and of blameless morals. "He
  was," says a writer, "a great follower of the papistical
  constitutions, and a great hearer of masses and sermons; . . . and he
  crowned all his other virtues by holding Lutheranism in  special
  abhorrence." But, like so many others, providentially guided to
  the Bible, he was amazed to find there, "not the doctrines of
  Rome, but the doctrines of Luther."--Wylie, b. 13, ch. 9.
  Henceforth he gave himself with entire devotion to the cause of the
  gospel.
   
   
  "The
  most learned of the nobles of France," his genius and eloquence,
  his indomitable courage and heroic zeal, and his influence at
  court,--for he was a favourite with the king,-- caused him to be
  regarded by many as one destined to be the Reformer of his country.
  Said Beza: "Berquin would have been a second Luther, had he
  found in Francis I a second elector." "He is worse than
  Luther," cried the papists.-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 9. More dreaded
  he was indeed by the Romanists of France. They thrust him into prison
  as a heretic, but he was set at liberty by the king. For years the
  struggle continued. Francis, wavering between Rome and the
  Reformation, alternately tolerated and restrained the fierce zeal of
  the monks. Berquin was three times imprisoned by the papal
  authorities, only to be released by the monarch, who, in admiration
  of his genius and his nobility of character, refused to sacrifice him
  to the malice of the hierarchy.
   
   
  Berquin
  was repeatedly warned of the danger that threatened him in France,
  and urged to follow the steps of those who had found safety in
  voluntary exile. The timid and time-serving Erasmus, who with all the
  splendour of his scholarship failed of that moral greatness which
  holds life and honour subservient to truth, wrote to Berquin: "Ask
  to be sent as ambassador to some foreign country; go and travel in
  Germany. You know Beda and such as he--he is a thousand-headed
  monster, darting venom on every side. Your enemies are named legion.
  Were your cause better than that of Jesus Christ, they will not let
  you go till they have miserably destroyed you. Do not trust too much
  to the king's protection. At all events, do not compromise me with
  the faculty of theology."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 9.
   
   
  But
  as dangers thickened, Berquin's zeal only waxed the stronger. So far
  from adopting the politic and self-serving counsel of Erasmus, he
  determined upon still bolder measures. He would not only stand in
  defense of the truth, but he would attack error. The charge of heresy
  which the Romanists were seeking to fasten upon him, he would rivet
  upon them. The most active and bitter of his opponents were the
  learned doctors and monks of the theological department in the great
  University of Paris, one of the highest ecclesiastical authorities
  both in the city and the nation. From the writings of these doctors,
  Berquin drew twelve propositions which he publicly declared to be
  "opposed to the Bible, and heretical;" and he appealed to
  the king to act as judge in the controversy.
   
   
  The
  monarch, not loath to bring into contrast the power and acuteness of
  the opposing champions, and glad of an opportunity of humbling the
  pride of these haughty monks, bade the Romanists defend their cause
  by the Bible. This weapon, they well knew, would avail them little;
  imprisonment, torture, and the stake were arms which they better
  understood how to wield. Now the tables were turned, and they saw
  themselves about to fall into the pit into which they had hoped to
  plunge Berquin. In amazement they looked about them for some way of
  escape.
   
   
  "Just
  at that time an image of the Virgin at the corner of one of the
  streets, was mutilated." There was great excitement in the city.
  Crowds of people flocked to the place, with expressions of mourning
  and indignation. The king also was deeply moved. Here was an
  advantage which the monks could turn to good account, and they were
  quick to improve it. "These are the fruits of the doctrines of
  Berquin," they cried. "All is about to be
  overthrown--religion, the laws, the throne itself--by this Lutheran
  conspiracy."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch. 9.  Again Berquin was
  apprehended. The king withdrew from Paris, and the monks were thus
  left free to work their will. The Reformer was tried and condemned to
  die, and lest Francis should even yet interpose to save him, the
  sentence was executed on the very day it was pronounced. At noon 
  Berquin was conducted to the place of death. An immense throng
  gathered to witness the event, and there were many who saw with
  astonishment and misgiving that the victim had been chosen from the
  best and bravest of the noble families of France. Amazement,
  indignation, scorn, and bitter hatred darkened the faces of that
  surging crowd; but upon one face no shadow rested. The martyr's
  thoughts were far from that scene of tumult; he was conscious only of
  the presence of his Lord.
   
   
  The
  wretched tumbrel upon which he rode, the frowning faces of his
  persecutors, the dreadful death to which he was going--these he
  heeded not; He who liveth and was dead, and is alive for evermore,
  and hath the keys of death and of hell, was beside him. Berquin's
  countenance was radiant with the light and peace of heaven. He had
  attired himself in goodly raiment, wearing "a cloak of velvet, a
  doublet of satin and damask, and golden hose."--D'Aubigne,
  History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, b. 2, ch.
  16. He was about to testify to his faith in the presence of the King
  of kings and the witnessing universe, and no token of mourning should
  belie his joy.
   
   
  As
  the procession moved slowly through the crowded streets, the people
  marked with wonder the unclouded peace, and joyous triumph, of his
  look and bearing. "He is," they said, "like one who
  sits in a temple, and meditates on holy things."--Wylie, b. 13,
  ch. 9.  At the stake, Berquin endeavoured to address a few words to
  the people; but the monks, fearing the result, began to shout, and
  the soldiers to clash their arms, and their clamor drowned the
  martyr's voice. Thus in 1529 the highest literary and ecclesiastical
  authority of cultured Paris "set the populace of 1793 the base
  example of stifling on the scaffold the sacred words of the dying."--
  Ibid., b, 13, ch. 9.  Berquin was strangled, and his body was
  consumed in the flames. The tidings of his death caused sorrow to the
  friends of the Reformation throughout France. But his example was not
  lost. "We, too, are ready," said the witnesses for the
  truth, "to meet death cheerfully, setting our eyes on the life
  that is to come."--D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in
  Europe in the Time of Calvin, b. 2, ch. 16.
   
   
  During
  the persecution of Meaux, the teachers of the reformed faith were
  deprived of their license to preach, and they departed to other
  fields. Lefevre after a time made his way to Germany. Farel returned
  to his native town in eastern France, to spread the light in the home
  of his childhood. Already tidings had been received of what was going
  on at Meaux, and the truth, which he taught with fearless zeal, found
  listeners. Soon the authorities were roused to silence him, and he
  was banished from the city. Though he could no longer labour
  publicly, he traversed the plains and villages, teaching in private
  dwellings and in secluded meadows, and finding shelter in the forests
  and among the rocky caverns which had been his haunts in boyhood. God
  was preparing him for greater trials. "The crosses,
  persecutions, and machinations of Satan, of which I was forewarned,
  have not been wanting," he said; "they are even much
  severer than I could have borne of myself; but God is my Father; He
  has provided and always will provide me the strength which I
  require."-D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth
  Century, b. 12, ch. 9.
   
   
  As
  in apostolic days, persecution had "fallen out rather unto the
  furtherance of the gospel." Philippians 1:12. Driven from Paris
  and Meaux, "they that were scattered abroad went everywhere
  preaching the word." Acts 8:4. And thus the light found its way
  into many of the remote provinces of France.  God was still preparing
  workers to extend His cause. In one of the schools of Paris was a
  thoughtful, quiet youth, already giving evidence of a powerful and
  penetrating mind, and no less marked for the blamelessness of his
  life than for intellectual ardour and religious devotion. His genius
  and application soon made him the pride of the college, and it was
  confidently anticipated that John Calvin would become one of the
  ablest and most honoured defenders of the church. But a ray of divine
  light penetrated even within the walls of scholasticism and
  superstition by which Calvin was enclosed. He heard of the new
  doctrines with a shudder, nothing doubting that the heretics deserved
  the fire to which they were given. Yet all unwittingly he was brought
  face to face with the heresy and forced to test the power of Romish
  theology to combat the Protestant teaching.
   
   
  A
  cousin of Calvin's, who had joined the Reformers, was in Paris. The
  two kinsmen often met and discussed together the matters that were
  disturbing Christendom. "There are but two religions in the
  world," said Olivetan, the Protestant. "The one class of
  religions are those which men have invented, in all of which man
  saves himself by ceremonies and good works; the other is that one
  religion which is revealed in the Bible, and which teaches man to
  look for salvation solely from the free grace of God."
   
   
  "I
  will have none of your new doctrines," exclaimed Calvin; "think
  you that I have lived in error all my days?" --Wylie, b. 13, ch.
  7.   But thoughts had been awakened in his mind which he could not
  banish at will. Alone in his chamber he pondered upon his cousin's
  words. Conviction of sin fastened upon him; he saw himself, without
  an intercessor, in the presence of a holy and just Judge. The
  mediation of saints, good works, the ceremonies of the church, all
  were powerless to atone for sin. He could see before him nothing but
  the blackness of eternal despair. In vain the doctors of the church
  endeavoured to relieve his woe. Confession, penance, were resorted to
  in vain; they could not reconcile the soul with God.
   
   
  While
  still engaged in these fruitless struggles, Calvin, chancing one day
  to visit one of the public squares, witnessed there the burning of a
  heretic. He was filled with wonder at the expression of peace which
  rested upon the martyr's countenance. Amid the tortures of that
  dreadful death, and under the more terrible condemnation of the
  church, he manifested a faith and courage which the young student
  painfully contrasted with his own despair and darkness, while living
  in strictest obedience to the church. Upon the Bible, he knew, the
  heretics rested their faith. He determined to study it, and discover,
  if he could, the secret of their joy. In the Bible he found Christ.
  "O Father," he cried, "His sacrifice has appeased Thy
  wrath; His blood has washed away my impurities; His cross has borne
  my curse; His death has atoned for me. We had devised for ourselves
  many useless follies, but Thou hast placed Thy word before me like a
  torch, and Thou hast touched my heart, in order that I may hold in
  abomination all other merits save those of Jesus." --Martyn,
  vol. 3, ch. 13.
   
   
  Calvin
  had been educated for the priesthood. When only twelve years of age
  he had been appointed to the chaplaincy of a small church, and his
  head had been shorn by the bishop in accordance with the canon of the
  church. He did not receive consecration, nor did he fulfill the
  duties of a priest, but he became a member of the clergy, holding the
  title of his office, and receiving an allowance in consideration
  thereof.  Now, feeling that he could never become a priest, he turned
  for a time to the study of law, but finally abandoned this purpose
  and determined to devote his life to the gospel. But he hesitated to
  become a public teacher. He was naturally timid, and was burdened
  with a sense of the weighty responsibility of the position, and he
  desired still to devote himself to study. The earnest entreaties of
  his friends, however, at last won his consent. "Wonderful it
  is," he said, "that one of so lowly an origin should be
  exalted to so great a dignity."--Wylie, b. 13, ch. 9.
   
   
  Quietly
  did Calvin enter upon his work, and his words were as the dew falling
  to refresh the earth. He had left Paris, and was now in a provincial
  town under the protection of the princess Margaret, who, loving the
  gospel, extended her protection to its disciples. Calvin was still a
  youth, of gentle, unpretentious bearing. His work began with the
  people at their homes. Surrounded by the members of the household, he
  read the Bible and opened the truths of salvation. Those who heard
  the message carried the good news to others, and soon the teacher
  passed beyond the city to the outlying towns and hamlets. To both the
  castle and the cabin he found entrance, and he went forward, laying
  the foundation of churches that were to yield fearless witnesses for
  the truth.
   
   
  A
  few months and he was again in Paris. There was unwonted agitation in
  the circle of learned men and scholars. The study of the ancient
  languages had led men to the Bible, and many whose hearts were
  untouched by its truths were eagerly discussing them and even giving
  battle to the champions of Romanism. Calvin, though an able combatant
  in the fields of theological controversy, had a higher mission to
  accomplish than that of these noisy schoolmen. The minds of men were
  stirred, and now was the time to open to them the truth. While the
  halls of the universities were filled with the clamour of theological
  disputation, Calvin was making his way from house to house, opening
  the Bible to the people, and speaking to them of Christ and Him
  crucified.
   
   
  In
  God's providence, Paris was to receive another invitation to accept
  the gospel. The call of Lefevre and Farel had been rejected, but
  again the message was to be heard by all classes in that great
  capital. The king, influenced by political considerations, had not
  yet fully sided with Rome against the Reformation. Margaret still
  clung to the hope that Protestantism was to triumph in France. She
  resolved that the reformed faith should be preached in Paris. During
  the absence of the king, she ordered a Protestant minister to preach
  in the churches of the city. This being forbidden by the papal
  dignitaries, the princess threw open the palace. An apartment was
  fitted up as a chapel, and it was announced that every day, at a
  specified hour, a sermon would be preached, and the people of every
  rank and station were invited to attend.
   
   
  Crowds
  flocked to the service. Not only the chapel, but the antechambers and
  halls were thronged. Thousands every day assembled--nobles,
  statesmen, lawyers, merchants, and artisans. The king, instead of
  forbidding the assemblies, ordered that two of the churches of Paris
  should be opened. Never before had the city been so moved by the word
  of God. The spirit of life from heaven seemed to be breathed upon the
  people. Temperance, purity, order, and industry were taking the place
  of drunkenness, licentiousness, strife, and idleness.
   
   
  But
  the hierarchy were not idle. The king still refused to interfere to
  stop the preaching, and they turned to the populace. No means were
  spared to excite the fears, the prejudices, and the fanaticism of the
  ignorant and superstitious multitude. Yielding blindly to her false
  teachers, Paris, like Jerusalem of old, knew not the time of her
  visitation nor the things which belonged unto her peace. For two
  years the word of God was preached in the capital; but, while there
  were many who accepted the gospel, the majority of the people
  rejected it. Francis had made a show of toleration, merely to serve
  his own purposes, and the papists succeeded in regaining the
  ascendancy. Again the churches were closed, and the stake was set up.
   
   
  Calvin
  was still in Paris, preparing himself by study, meditation, and
  prayer for his future labours, and continuing to spread the light. At
  last, however, suspicion fastened upon him. The authorities
  determined to bring him to the flames. Regarding himself as secure in
  his seclusion, he had no thought of danger, when friends came
  hurrying to his room with the news that officers were on their way to
  arrest him. At that instant a loud knocking was heard at the outer
  entrance. There was not a moment to be lost. Some of his friends
  detained the officers at the door, while others assisted the Reformer
  to let himself down from a window, and he rapidly made his way to the
  outskirts of the city. Finding shelter in the cottage of a labourer
  who was a friend to the reform, he disguised himself in the garments
  of his host, and, shouldering a hoe, started on his journey.
  Traveling southward, he again found refuge in the dominions of
  Margaret. (See D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in Europe in the
  Time of Calvin, b. 2, ch. 30.)
   
   
  Here
  for a few months he remained, safe under the protection of powerful
  friends, and engaged as before in study. But his heart was set upon
  the evangelisation  of France, and he could not long remain inactive.
  As soon as the storm had somewhat abated, he sought a new field of
  labour in Poitiers, where was a university, and where already the new
  opinions had found favour. Persons of all classes gladly listened to
  the gospel. There was no public preaching, but in the home of the
  chief magistrate, in his own lodgings, and sometimes in a public
  garden, Calvin opened the words of eternal life to those who desired
  to listen. After a time, as the number of hearers increased, it was
  thought safer to assemble outside the city. A cave in the side of a
  deep and narrow gorge, where trees and overhanging rocks made the
  seclusion still more complete, was chosen as the place of meeting.
  Little companies, leaving the city by different routes, found their
  way hither. In this retired spot the Bible was read aloud and
  explained. Here the Lord's Supper was celebrated for the first time
  by the Protestants of France. From this little church several
  faithful evangelists were sent out.
   
   
  Once
  more Calvin returned to Paris. He could not even yet relinquish the
  hope that France as a nation would accept the Reformation. But he
  found almost every door of labour closed. To teach the gospel was to
  take the direct road to the stake, and he at last determined to
  depart to Germany. Scarcely had he left France when a storm burst
  over the Protestants, that, had he remained, must surely have
  involved him in the general ruin. The French Reformers, eager to see
  their country keeping pace with Germany and Switzerland, determined
  to strike a bold blow against the superstitions of Rome, that should
  arouse the whole nation. Accordingly placards attacking the mass were
  in one night posted all over France. Instead of advancing the reform,
  this zealous but ill-judged movement brought ruin, not only upon its
  propagators, but upon the friends of the reformed faith throughout
  France. It gave the Romanists what they had long desired--a pretext
  for demanding the utter destruction of the heretics as agitators
  dangerous to the stability of the throne and the peace of the nation.
   
   
  By
  some secret hand--whether of indiscreet friend or wily foe was never
  known--one of the placards was attached to the door of the king's
  private chamber. The monarch was filled with horror. In this paper,
  superstitions that had received the veneration of ages were attacked
  with an unsparing hand. And the unexampled boldness of obtruding
  these plain and startling utterances into the royal presence aroused
  the wrath of the king. In his amazement he stood for a little time
  trembling and speechless. Then his rage found utterance in the
  terrible words: Let all be seized without distinction who are
  suspected of Lutheresy. I will exterminate them all.-- Ibid., b. 4,
  ch. 10. The die was cast. The king had determined to throw himself
  fully on the side of Rome.
   
   
  Measures
  were at once taken for the arrest of every Lutheran in Paris. A poor
  artisan, an adherent of the reformed faith, who had been accustomed
  to summon the believers to their secret assemblies, was seized and,
  with the threat of instant death at the stake, was commanded to
  conduct the papal emissary to the home of every Protestant in the
  city. He shrank in horror from the base proposal, but at last fear of
  the flames prevailed, and he consented to become the betrayer of his
  brethren. Preceded by the host, and surrounded by a train of priests,
  incense bearers, monks, and soldiers, Morin, the royal detective,
  with the traitor, slowly and silently passed through the streets of
  the city. The demonstration was ostensibly in honour of the "holy
  sacrament," an act of expiation for the insult put upon the mass
  by the protesters. But beneath this pageant a deadly purpose was
  concealed. On arriving opposite the house of a Lutheran, the betrayer
  made a sign, but no word was uttered. The procession halted, the
  house was entered, the family were dragged forth and chained, and the
  terrible company went forward in search of fresh victims. They
  "spared no house, great or small, not even the colleges of the
  University of Paris. . . . Morin made all the city quake. . . . It
  was a reign of terror." -- Ibid., b. 4, ch. 10.
   
   
  The
  victims were put to death with cruel torture, it being specially
  ordered that the fire should be lowered in order to prolong their
  agony. But they died as conquerors. Their constancy were unshaken,
  their peace unclouded. Their persecutors, powerless to move their
  inflexible firmness, felt themselves defeated. "The scaffolds
  were distributed over all the quarters of Paris, and the burnings
  followed on successive days, the design being to spread the terror of
  heresy by spreading the executions. The advantage, however, in the
  end, remained with the gospel. All Paris was enabled to see what kind
  of men the new opinions could produce. There was no pulpit like the
  martyr's pile. The serene joy that lighted up the faces of these men
  as they passed along . . . to the place of execution, their heroism
  as they stood amid the bitter flames, their meek forgiveness of
  injuries, transformed, in instances not a few, anger into pity, and
  hate into love, and pleaded with resistless eloquence in behalf of
  the gospel."--Wylie, b. 13, ch. 20.
   
   
  The
  priests, bent upon keeping the popular fury at its height, circulated
  the most terrible accusations against the Protestants. They were
  charged with plotting to massacre the Catholics, to overthrow the
  government, and to murder the king. Not a shadow of evidence could be
  produced in support of the allegations. Yet these prophecies of evil
  were to have a fulfillment; under far different circumstances,
  however, and from causes of an opposite character. The cruelties that
  were inflicted upon the innocent Protestants by the Catholics
  accumulated in a weight of retribution, and in after centuries
  wrought the very doom they had predicted to be impending, upon the
  king, his government, and his subjects; but it was brought about by
  infidels and by the papists themselves. It was not the establishment,
  but the suppression, of Protestantism, that, three hundred years
  later, was to bring upon France these dire calamities.
   
   
  Suspicion,
  distrust, and terror now pervaded all classes of society. Amid the
  general alarm it was seen how deep a hold the Lutheran teaching had
  gained upon the minds of men who stood highest for education,
  influence, and excellence of character. Positions of trust and honour
  were suddenly found vacant. Artisans, printers, scholars, professors
  in the universities, authors, and even courtiers, disappeared.
  Hundreds fled from Paris, self-constituted exiles from their native
  land, in many cases thus giving the first intimation that they
  favoured the reformed faith. The papists looked about them in
  amazement at thought of the unsuspected heretics that had been
  tolerated among them. Their rage spent itself upon the multitudes of
  humbler victims who were within their power. The prisons were
  crowded, and the very air seemed darkened with the smoke of burning
  piles, kindled for the confessors of the gospel.
   
   
  Francis
  I had gloried in being a leader in the great movement for the revival
  of learning which marked the opening of the sixteenth century. He had
  delighted to gather at his court men of letters from every country.
  To his love of learning and his contempt for the ignorance and
  superstition of the monks was due, in part at least, the degree of
  toleration that had been granted to the reform. But, inspired with
  zeal to stamp out heresy, this patron of learning issued an edict
  declaring printing abolished all over France! Francis I presents one
  among the many examples on record showing that intellectual culture
  is not a safeguard against religious intolerance and persecution. 
  France by a solemn and public ceremony was to commit herself fully to
  the destruction of Protestantism. The priests demanded that the
  affront offered to High Heaven in the condemnation of the mass be
  expiated in blood, and that the king, in behalf of his people,
  publicly give his sanction to the dreadful work.
   
   
  The
  21st of January, 1535, was fixed upon for the awful ceremonial. The
  superstitious fears and bigoted hatred of the whole nation had been
  roused. Paris was thronged with the multitudes that from all the
  surrounding country crowded her streets. The day was to be ushered in
  by a vast and imposing procession. "The houses along the line of
  march were hung with mourning drapery, and altars rose at intervals."
  Before every door was a lighted torch in honour of the "holy
  sacrament." Before daybreak the procession formed at the palace
  of the king. "First came the banners and crosses of the several
  parishes; next appeared the citizens, walking two and two, and
  bearing torches." The four orders of friars followed, each in
  its own peculiar dress. Then came a vast collection of famous relics.
  Following these rode lordly ecclesiastics in their purple and scarlet
  robes and jeweled adornings, a gorgeous and glittering array.
   
   
  "The
  host was carried by the bishop of Paris under a magnificent canopy, .
  . . supported by four princes of the blood. . . . After the host
  walked the king. . . . Francis I on that day wore no crown, nor robe
  of state." With "head uncovered, his eyes cast on the
  ground, and in his hand a lighted taper," the king of France
  appeared "in the character of a penitent."-- Ibid., b. 13,
  ch. 21. At every altar he bowed down in humiliation, nor for the
  vices that defiled his soul, nor the innocent blood that stained his
  hands, but for the deadly sin of his subjects who had dared to
  condemn the mass. Following him came the queen and the dignitaries of
  state, also walking two and two, each with a lighted torch.
   
   
  As
  a part of the services of the day the monarch himself addressed the
  high officials of the kingdom in the great hall of the bishop's
  palace. With a sorrowful countenance he appeared before them and in
  words of moving eloquence bewailed "the crime, the blasphemy,
  the day of sorrow and disgrace," that had come upon the nation.
  And he called upon every loyal subject to aid in the extirpation of
  the pestilent heresy that threatened France with ruin. "As true,
  messieurs, as I am your king," he said, "if I knew one of
  my own limbs spotted or infected with this detestable rottenness, I
  would give it you to cut off. . . . And further, if I saw one of my
  children defiled by it, I would not spare him. . . . I would deliver
  him up myself, and would sacrifice him to God." Tears choked his
  utterance, and the whole assembly wept, with one accord exclaiming:
  "We will live and die for the Catholic religion!"--D'Aubigne,
  History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, b. 4, ch.
  12.
   
   
  Terrible
  had become the darkness of the nation that had rejected the light of
  truth. The grace "that bringeth salvation" had appeared;
  but France, after beholding its power and holiness, after thousands
  had been drawn by its divine beauty, after cities and hamlets had
  been illuminated by its radiance, had turned away, choosing darkness
  rather than light. They had put from them the heavenly gift when it
  was offered them. They had called evil good, and good evil, till they
  had fallen victims to their willful self-deception. Now, though they
  might actually believe that they were doing God service in
  persecuting His people, yet their sincerity did not render them
  guiltless. The light that would have saved them from deception, from
  staining their souls with bloodguiltiness, they had willfully
  rejected.
   
   
  A
  solemn oath to extirpate heresy was taken in the great cathedral
  where, nearly three centuries later, the Goddess of Reason was to be
  enthroned by a nation that had forgotten the living God. Again the
  procession formed, and the representatives of France set out to begin
  the work which they had sworn to do. "At short distances
  scaffolds had been erected, on which certain Protestant Christians
  were to be burned alive, and it was arranged that the fagots should
  be lighted at the moment the king approached, and that the procession
  should halt to witness the execution."--Wylie, b. 13, ch. 21.
  The details of the tortures endured by these witnesses for Christ are
  too harrowing for recital; but there was no wavering on the part of
  the victims. On being urged to recant, one answered: "I only
  believe in what the prophets and the apostles formerly preached, and
  what all the company of saints believed. My faith has a confidence in
  God which will resist all the powers of hell."-D'Aubigne,
  History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, b. 4, ch.
  12.
   
   
  Again
  and again the procession halted at the places of torture. Upon
  reaching their starting point at the royal palace, the crowd
  dispersed, and the king and the prelates withdrew, well satisfied
  with the day's proceedings and congratulating themselves that the
  work now begun would be continued to the complete destruction of
  heresy.  The gospel of peace which France had rejected was to be only
  too surely rooted out, and terrible would be the results. On the 21st
  of January, 1793, two hundred and fifty-eight years from the very day
  that fully committed France to the persecution of the Reformers,
  another procession, with a far different purpose, passed through the
  streets of Paris. "Again the king was the chief figure; again
  there were tumult and shouting; again there was heard the cry for
  more victims; again there were black scaffolds; and again the scenes
  of the day were closed by horrid executions; Louis XVI, struggling
  hand to hand with his jailers and executioners, was dragged forward
  to the block, and there held down by main force till the ax had
  fallen, and his dissevered head rolled on the scaffold."--Wylie,
  b. 13, ch. 21. Nor was the king the only victim; near the same spot
  two thousand and eight hundred human beings perished by the
  guillotine during the bloody days of the Reign of Terror.
   
   
  The
  Reformation had presented to the world an open Bible, unsealing the
  precepts of the law of God and urging its claims upon the consciences
  of the people. Infinite Love had unfolded to men the statutes and
  principles of heaven. God had said: "Keep therefore and do them;
  for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the
  nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this
  great nation is a wise and understanding people." Deuteronomy
  4:6. When France rejected the gift of heaven, she sowed the seeds of
  anarchy and ruin; and the inevitable outworking of cause and effect
  resulted in the Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
   
   
  Long
  before the persecution excited by the placards, the bold and ardent
  Farel had been forced to flee from the land of his birth. He repaired
  to Switzerland, and by his labours, seconding the work of Zwingli, he
  helped to turn the scale in favour of the Reformation. His later
  years were to be spent here, yet he continued to exert a decided
  influence upon the reform in France. During the first years of his
  exile, his efforts were especially directed to spreading the gospel
  in his native country. He spent considerable time in preaching among
  his countrymen near the frontier, where with tireless vigilance he
  watched the conflict and aided by his words of encouragement and
  counsel. With the assistance of other exiles, the writings of the
  German Reformers were translated into the French language and,
  together with the French Bible, were printed in large quantities. By
  colporteurs these works were sold extensively in France. They were
  furnished to the colporteurs at a low price, and thus the profits of
  the work enabled them to continue it.
   
   
  Farel
  entered upon his work in Switzerland in the humble guise of a
  schoolmaster. Repairing to a secluded parish, he devoted himself to
  the instruction of children. Besides the usual branches of learning,
  he cautiously introduced the truths of the Bible, hoping through the
  children to reach the parents. There were some who believed, but the
  priests came forward to stop the work, and the superstitious country
  people were roused to oppose it. "That cannot be the gospel of
  Christ," urged the priest, "seeing the preaching of it does
  not bring peace, but war."--Wylie, b. 14, ch. 3. Like the first
  disciples, when persecuted in one city he fled to another. From
  village to village, from city to city, he went, traveling on foot,
  enduring hunger, cold, and weariness, and everywhere in peril of his
  life. He preached in the market places, in the churches, sometimes in
  the pulpits of the cathedrals. Sometimes he found the church empty of
  hearers; at times his preaching was interrupted by shouts and jeers;
  again he was pulled violently out of the pulpit. More than once he
  was set upon by the rabble and beaten almost to death. Yet he pressed
  forward. Though often repulsed, with unwearying persistence he
  returned to the attack; and, one after another, he saw towns and
  cities which had been strongholds of popery, opening their gates to
  the gospel. The little parish where he had first laboured soon
  accepted the reformed faith. The cities of Morat and Neuchatel also
  renounced the Romish rites and removed the idolatrous images from
  their churches.
   
   
  Farel
  had long desired to plant the Protestant standard in Geneva. If this
  city could be won, it would be a centre for the Reformation in
  France, in Switzerland, and in Italy. With this object before him, he
  had continued his labours until many of the surrounding towns and
  hamlets had been gained. Then with a single companion he entered
  Geneva. But only two sermons was he permitted to preach. The priests,
  having vainly endeavoured to secure his condemnation by the civil
  authorities, summoned him before an ecclesiastical council, to which
  they came with arms concealed under their robes, determined to take
  his life. Outside the hall, a furious mob, with clubs and swords, was
  gathered to make sure of his death if he should succeed in escaping
  the council. The presence of magistrates and an armed force, however,
  saved him. Early next morning he was conducted, with his companion,
  across the lake to a place of safety. Thus ended his first effort to
  evangelise Geneva.
   
   
  For
  the next trial a lowlier instrument was chosen--a young man, so
  humble in appearance that he was coldly treated even by the professed
  friends of reform. But what could such a one do where Farel had been
  rejected? How could one of little courage and experience withstand
  the tempest before which the strongest and bravest had been forced to
  flee? "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the
  Lord." Zechariah 4:6. "God hath chosen the weak things of
  the world to confound the things which are mighty." "Because
  the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
  stronger than men." 1 Corinthians 1:27, 25.
   
   
  Froment
  began his work as a schoolmaster. The truths which he taught the
  children at school they repeated at their homes. Soon the parents
  came to hear the Bible explained, until the schoolroom was filled
  with attentive listeners. New Testaments and tracts were freely
  distributed, and they reached many who dared not come openly to
  listen to the new doctrines. After a time this labourer also was
  forced to flee; but the truths he taught had taken hold upon the
  minds of the people. The Reformation had been planted, and it
  continued to strengthen and extend. The preachers returned, and
  through their labours the Protestant worship was finally established
  in Geneva.  The city had already declared for the Reformation when
  Calvin, after various wanderings and vicissitudes, entered its gates.
  Returning from a last visit to his birthplace, he was on his way to
  Basel, when, finding the direct road occupied by the armies of
  Charles V, he was forced to take the circuitous route by Geneva.
   
   
  In
  this visit Farel recognized the hand of God. Though Geneva had
  accepted the reformed faith, yet a great work remained to be
  accomplished here. It is not as communities but as individuals that
  men are converted to God; the work of regeneration must be wrought in
  the heart and conscience by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the
  decrees of councils. While the people of Geneva had cast off the
  authority of Rome, they were not so ready to renounce the vices that
  had flourished under her rule. To establish here the pure principles
  of the gospel and to prepare this people to fill worthily the
  position to which Providence seemed calling them were not light
  tasks.
   
   
  Farel
  was confident that he had found in Calvin one whom he could unite
  with himself in this work. In the name of God he solemnly adjured the
  young evangelist to remain and labour here. Calvin drew back in
  alarm. Timid and peace-loving, he shrank from contact with the bold,
  independent, and even violent spirit of the Genevese. The feebleness
  of his health, together with his studious habits, led him to seek
  retirement. Believing that by his pen he could best serve the cause
  of reform, he desired to find a quiet retreat for study, and there,
  through the press, instruct and build up the churches. But Farel's
  solemn admonition came to him as a call from Heaven, and he dared not
  refuse. It seemed to him, he said, "that the hand of God was
  stretched down from heaven, that it lay hold of him, and fixed him
  irrevocably to the place he was so impatient to leave."--
  D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of
  Calvin, b. 9, ch. 17.
   
   
  At
  this time great perils surrounded the Protestant cause. The anathemas
  of the pope thundered against Geneva, and mighty nations threatened
  it with destruction. How was this little city to resist the powerful
  hierarchy that had so often forced kings and emperors to submission?
  How could it stand against the armies of the world's great
  conquerors?  Throughout Christendom, Protestantism was menaced by
  formidable foes. The first triumphs of the Reformation past, Rome
  summoned new forces, hoping to accomplish its destruction. At this
  time the order of the Jesuits was created, the most cruel,
  unscrupulous, and powerful of all the champions of popery. Cut off
  from earthly ties and human interests, dead to the claims of natural
  affection, reason and conscience wholly silenced, they knew no rule,
  no tie, but that of their order, and no duty but to extend its power.
   
   
  The
  gospel of Christ had enabled its adherents to meet danger and endure
  suffering, undismayed by cold, hunger, toil, and poverty, to uphold
  the banner of truth in face of the rack, the dungeon, and the stake.
  To combat these forces, Jesuitism inspired its followers with a
  fanaticism that enabled them to endure like dangers, and to oppose to
  the power of truth all the weapons of deception. There was no crime
  too great for them to commit, no deception too base for them to
  practice, no disguise too difficult for them to assume. Vowed to
  perpetual poverty and humility, it was their studied aim to secure
  wealth and power, to be devoted to the overthrow of Protestantism,
  and the re-establishment of the papal supremacy.
   
   
  When
  appearing as members of their order, they wore a garb of sanctity,
  visiting prisons and hospitals, ministering to the sick and the poor,
  professing to have renounced the world, and bearing the sacred name
  of Jesus, who went about doing good. But under this blameless
  exterior the most criminal and deadly purposes were often concealed.
  It was a fundamental principle of the order that the end justifies
  the means. By this code, lying, theft, perjury, assassination, were
  not only pardonable but commendable, when they served the interests
  of the church. Under various disguises the Jesuits worked their way
  into offices of state, climbing up to be the counselors of kings, and
  shaping the policy of nations. They became servants to act as spies
  upon their masters. They established colleges for the sons of princes
  and nobles, and schools for the common people; and the children of
  Protestant parents were drawn into an observance of popish rites. All
  the outward pomp and display of the Romish worship was brought to
  bear to confuse the mind and dazzle and captivate the imagination,
  and thus the liberty for which the fathers had toiled and bled was
  betrayed by the sons. The Jesuits rapidly spread themselves over
  Europe, and wherever they went, there followed a revival of popery.
   
   
  To
  give them greater power, a bull was issued re-establishing the
  inquisition.Notwithstanding the general abhorrence with which it was
  regarded, even in Catholic countries, this terrible tribunal was
  again set up by popish rulers, and atrocities too terrible to bear
  the light of day were repeated in its secret dungeons. In many
  countries, thousands upon thousands of the very flower of the nation,
  the purest and noblest, the most intellectual and highly educated,
  pious and devoted pastors, industrious and patriotic citizens,
  brilliant scholars, talented artists, skillful artisans, were slain
  or forced to flee to other lands.
   
   
  Such
  were the means which Rome had invoked to quench the light of the
  Reformation, to withdraw from men the Bible, and to restore the
  ignorance and superstition of the Dark Ages. But under God's blessing
  and the labours of those noble men whom He had raised up to succeed
  Luther, Protestantism was not overthrown. Not to the favour or arms
  of princes was it to owe its strength. The smallest countries, the
  humblest and least powerful nations, became its strongholds. It was
  little Geneva in the midst of mighty foes plotting her destruction;
  it was Holland on her sandbanks by the northern sea, wrestling
  against the tyranny of Spain, then the greatest and most opulent of
  kingdoms; it was bleak, sterile Sweden, that gained victories for the
  Reformation.
   
   
  For
  nearly thirty years Calvin laboured at Geneva, first to establish
  there a church adhering to the morality of the Bible, and then for
  the advancement of the Reformation throughout Europe. His course as a
  public leader was not faultless, nor were his doctrines free from
  error. But he was instrumental in promulgating truths that were of
  special importance in his time, in maintaining the principles of
  Protestantism against the fast-returning tide of popery, and in
  promoting in the reformed churches simplicity and purity of life, in
  place of the pride and corruption fostered under the Romish teaching.
   
   
  From
  Geneva, publications and teachers went out to spread the reformed
  doctrines. To this point the persecuted of all lands looked for
  instruction, counsel, and encouragement. The city of Calvin became a
  refuge for the hunted Reformers of all Western Europe. Fleeing from
  the awful tempests that continued for centuries, the fugitives came
  to the gates of Geneva. Starving, wounded, bereft of home and
  kindred, they were warmly welcomed and tenderly cared for; and
  finding a home here, they blessed the city of their adoption by their
  skill, their learning, and their piety. Many who sought here a refuge
  returned to their own countries to resist the tyranny of Rome. John
  Knox, the brave Scotch Reformer, not a few of the English Puritans,
  the Protestants of Holland and of Spain, and the Huguenots of France
  carried from Geneva the torch of truth to lighten the darkness of
  their native lands.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 13. The Netherlands and Scandinavia 
   
  In
  The Netherlands the papal tyranny very early called forth resolute
  protest. Seven hundred years before Luther's time the Roman pontiff
  was thus fearlessly impeached by two bishops, who, having been sent
  on an embassy to Rome, had learned the true character of the "holy
  see": God "has made His queen and spouse, the church, a
  noble and everlasting provision for her family, with a dowry that is
  neither fading nor corruptible, and given her an eternal crown and
  scepter; . . . all which benefits you like a thief intercept. You set
  up yourself in the temple of God; instead of a pastor, you are become
  a wolf to the sheep; . . . you would make us believe you are a
  supreme bishop, but you rather behave like a tyrant. . . . Whereas
  you ought to be a servant of servants, as you call yourself, you
  endeavour to become a lord of lords. . . . You bring the commands of
  God into contempt. . . . The Holy Ghost is the builder of all
  churches as far as the earth extends. . . . The city of our God, of
  which we are the citizens, reaches to all the regions of the heavens;
  and it is greater than the city, by the holy prophets named Babylon,
  which pretends to be divine, wins herself to heaven, and brags that
  her wisdom is immortal; and finally, though without reason, that she
  never did err, nor ever can."--Gerard Brandt, History of the
  Reformation in and About the Low Countries, b. 1, p. 6.
   
   
  Others
  arose from century to century to echo this protest. And those early
  teachers who, traversing different lands and known by various names,
  bore the character of the Vaudois missionaries, and spread everywhere
  the knowledge of the gospel, penetrated to the Netherlands. Their
  doctrines spread rapidly. The Waldensian Bible they translated in
  verse into the Dutch language. They declared "that there was
  great advantage in it; no jests, no fables, no trifles, no deceits,
  but the words of truth; that indeed there was here and there a hard
  crust, but that the marrow and sweetness of what was good and holy
  might be easily discovered in it."-- Ibid., b. 1, p. 14. Thus
  wrote the friends of the ancient faith, in the twelfth century.
   
   
  Now
  began the Romish persecutions; but in the midst of fagots and torture
  the believers continued to multiply, steadfastly declaring that the
  Bible is the only infallible authority in religion, and that "no
  man should be coerced to believe, but should be won by
  preaching."--Martyn, vol. 2, p. 87.  The teachings of Luther
  found a congenial soil in the Netherlands, and earnest and faithful
  men arose to preach the gospel. From one of the provinces of Holland
  came Menno Simons. Educated a Roman Catholic and ordained to the
  priesthood, he was wholly ignorant of the Bible, and he would not
  read it for fear of being beguiled into heresy. When a doubt
  concerning the doctrine of transubstantiation forced itself upon him,
  he regarded it as a temptation from Satan, and by prayer and
  confession sought to free himself from it; but in vain. By mingling
  in scenes of dissipation he endeavoured to silence the accusing voice
  of conscience; but without avail. After a time he was led to the
  study of the New Testament, and this, with Luther's writings, caused
  him to accept the reformed faith. He soon after witnessed in a
  neighbouring village the beheading of a man who was put to death for
  having been rebaptised. This led him to study the Bible in regard to
  infant baptism. He could find no evidence for it in the Scriptures,
  but saw that repentance and faith are everywhere required as the
  condition of receiving baptism.
   
   
  Menno
  withdrew from the Roman Church and devoted his life to teaching the
  truths which he had received. In both Germany and the Netherlands a
  class of fanatics had risen, advocating absurd and seditious
  doctrines, outraging order and decency, and proceeding to violence
  and insurrection. Menno saw the horrible results to which these
  movements would inevitably lead, and he strenuously opposed the
  erroneous teachings and wild schemes of the fanatics. There were
  many, however, who had been misled by these fanatics, but who had
  renounced their pernicious doctrines; and there were still remaining
  many descendants of the ancient Christians, the fruits of the
  Waldensian teaching. Among these classes Menno laboured with great
  zeal and success.
   
   
  For
  twenty-five years he travelled, with his wife and children, enduring
  great hardships and privations, and frequently in peril of his life.
  He traversed the Netherlands and northern Germany, labouring chiefly
  among the humbler classes but exerting a widespread influence.
  Naturally eloquent, though possessing a limited education, he was a
  man of unwavering integrity, of humble spirit and gentle manners, and
  of sincere and earnest piety, exemplifying in his own life the
  precepts which he taught, and he commanded the confidence of the
  people. His followers were scattered and oppressed. They suffered
  greatly from being confounded with the fanatical Munsterites. Yet
  great numbers were converted under his labours.
   
   
  Nowhere
  were the reformed doctrines more generally received than in the
  Netherlands. In few countries did their adherents endure more
  terrible persecution. In Germany Charles V had banned the
  Reformation, and he would gladly have brought all its adherents to
  the stake; but the princes stood up as a barrier against his tyranny.
  In the Netherlands his power was greater, and persecuting edicts
  followed each other in quick succession. To read the Bible, to hear
  or preach it, or even to speak concerning it, was to incur the
  penalty of death by the stake. To pray to God in secret, to refrain
  from bowing to an image, or to sing a psalm, was also punishable with
  death. Even those who should abjure their errors were condemned, if
  men, to die by the sword; if women, to be buried alive. Thousands
  perished under the reign of Charles and of Philip II.
   
   
  At
  one time a whole family was brought before the inquisitors, charged
  with remaining away from mass and worshiping at home. On his
  examination as to their practices in secret the youngest son
  answered: "We fall on our knees, and pray that God may enlighten
  our minds and pardon our sins; we pray for our sovereign, that his
  reign may be prosperous and his life happy; we pray for our
  magistrates, that God may preserve them."--Wylie, b. 18, ch. 6.
  Some of the judges were deeply moved, yet the father and one of his
  sons were condemned to the stake.
   
   
  The
  rage of the persecutors was equalled by the faith of the martyrs. Not
  only men but delicate women and young maidens displayed unflinching
  courage. "Wives would take their stand by their husband's stake,
  and while he was enduring the fire they would whisper words of
  solace, or sing psalms to cheer him." "Young maidens would
  lie down in their living grave as if they were entering into their
  chamber of nightly sleep; or go forth to the scaffold and the fire,
  dressed in their best apparel, as if they were going to their
  marriage."-- Ibid., b. 18, ch. 6.
   
   
  As
  in the days when paganism sought to destroy the gospel, the blood of
  the Christians was seed. (See Tertullian, Apology, paragraph 50.)
  Persecution served to increase the number of witnesses for the truth.
  Year after year the monarch, stung to madness by the unconquerable
  determination of the people, urged on his cruel work; but in vain.
  Under the noble William of Orange the Revolution at last brought to
  Holland freedom to worship God.  In the mountains of Piedmont, on the
  plains of France and the shores of Holland, the progress of the
  gospel was marked with the blood of its disciples. But in the
  countries of the North it found a peaceful entrance. Students at
  Wittenberg, returning to their homes, carried the reformed faith to
  Scandinavia. The publication of Luther's writings also spread the
  light. The simple, hardy people of the North turned from the
  corruption, the pomp, and the superstitions of Rome, to welcome the
  purity, the simplicity, and the life-giving truths of the Bible.
   
   
  Tausen,
  "the Reformer of Denmark," was a peasant's son. The boy
  early gave evidence of vigourous intellect; he thirsted for an
  education; but this was denied him by the circumstances of his
  parents, and he entered a cloister. Here the purity of his life,
  together with his diligence and fidelity, won the favour of his
  superior. Examination showed him to possess talent that promised at
  some future day good service to the church. It was determined to give
  him an education at some one of the universities of Germany or the
  Netherlands. The young student was granted permission to choose a
  school for himself, with one proviso, that he must not go to
  Wittenberg. The scholar of the church was not to be endangered by the
  poison of heresy. So said the friars.
   
   
  Tausen
  went to Cologne, which was then, as now, one of the strongholds of
  Romanism. Here he soon became disgusted with the mysticisms of the
  schoolmen. About the same time he obtained Luther's writings. He read
  them with wonder and delight, and greatly desired to enjoy the
  personal instruction of the Reformer. But to do so he must risk
  giving offense to his monastic superior and forfeiting his support.
  His decision was soon made, and erelong he was enrolled as a student
  at Wittenberg.
   
   
  On
  returning to Denmark, he again repaired to his cloister. No one as
  yet suspected him of Lutheranism; he did not reveal his secret, but
  endeavoured, without exciting the prejudices of his companions, to
  lead them to a purer faith and a holier life. He opened the Bible,
  and explained its true meaning, and at last preached Christ to them
  as the sinner's righteousness and his only hope of salvation. Great
  was the wrath of the prior, who had built high hopes upon him as a
  valiant defender of Rome. He was at once removed from his own
  monastery to another and confined to his cell under strict
  supervision.
   
   
  To
  the terror of his new guardians several of the monks soon declared
  themselves converts to Protestantism. Through the bars of his cell
  Tausen had communicated to his companions a knowledge of the truth.
  Had those Danish fathers been skilled in the church's plan of dealing
  with heresy, Tausen's voice would never again have been heard; but
  instead of consigning him to a tomb in some underground dungeon, they
  expelled him from the monastery. Now they were powerless. A royal
  edict, just issued, offered protection to the teachers of the new
  doctrine. Tausen began to preach. The churches were opened to him,
  and the people thronged to listen. Others also were preaching the
  word of God. The New Testament, translated into the Danish tongue,
  was widely circulated. The efforts made by the papists to overthrow
  the work resulted in extending it, and erelong Denmark declared its
  acceptance of the reformed faith.
   
   
  In
  Sweden, also, young men who had drunk from the well of Wittenberg
  carried the water of life to their countrymen. Two of the leaders in
  the Swedish Reformation, Olaf and Laurentius Petri, the sons of a
  blacksmith of Orebro, studied under Luther and Melanchthon, and the
  truths which they thus learned they were diligent to teach. Like the
  great Reformer, Olaf aroused the people by his zeal and eloquence,
  while Laurentius, like Melanchthon, was learned, thoughtful, and
  calm. Both were men of ardent piety, of high theological attainments,
  and of unflinching courage in advancing the truth. Papist opposition
  was not lacking. The Catholic priest stirred up the ignorant and
  superstitious people. Olaf Petri was often assailed by the mob, and
  upon several occasions barely escaped with his life. These Reformers
  were, however, favoured and protected by the king.
   
   
  Under
  the rule of the Roman Church the people were sunken in poverty and
  ground down by oppression. They were destitute of the Scriptures; and
  having a religion of mere signs and ceremonies, which conveyed no
  light to the mind, they were returning to the superstitious beliefs
  and pagan practices of their heathen ancestors. The nation was
  divided into contending factions, whose perpetual strife increased
  the misery of all. The king determined upon a reformation in the
  state and the church, and he welcomed these able assistants in the
  battle against Rome.
   
   
  In
  the presence of the monarch and the leading men of Sweden, Olaf Petri
  with great ability defended the doctrines of the reformed faith
  against the Romish champions. He declared that the teachings of the
  Fathers are to be received only when in accordance with the
  Scriptures; that the essential doctrines of the faith are presented
  in the Bible in a clear and simple manner, so that all men may
  understand them. Christ said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His
  that sent Me" (John 7:16); and Paul declared that should he
  preach any other gospel than that which he had received, he would be
  accursed (Galatians 1:8). "How, then," said the Reformer,
  "shall others presume to enact dogmas at their pleasure, and
  impose them as things necessary to salvation?"--Wylie, b. 10,
  ch. 4. He showed that the decrees of the church are of no authority
  when in opposition to the commands of God, and maintained the great
  Protestant principle that "the Bible and the Bible only" is
  the rule of faith and practice.
   
   
  This
  contest, though conducted upon a stage comparatively obscure, serves
  to show us "the sort of men that formed the rank and file of the
  army of the Reformers. They were not illiterate, sectarian, noisy
  controversialists--far from it; they were men who had studied the
  word of God, and knew well how to wield the weapons with which the
  armoury of the Bible supplied them. In respect of erudition they were
  ahead of their age. When we confine our attention to such brilliant
  centres as Wittenberg and Zurich, and to such illustrious names as
  those of Luther and Melanchthon, of Zwingli and Oecolampadius, we are
  apt to be told, these were the leaders of the movement, and we should
  naturally expect in them prodigious power and vast acquisitions; but
  the subordinates were not like these. Well, we turn to the obscure
  theater of Sweden, and the humble names of Olaf and Laurentius Petri
  --from the masters to the disciples-what do we find? . . . Scholars
  and theologians; men who have thoroughly mastered the whole system of
  gospel truth, and who win an easy victory over the sophists of the
  schools and the dignitaries of Rome."-- Ibid., b. 10, ch.4.
   
   
  As
  the result of this disputation the king of Sweden accepted the
  Protestant faith, and not long afterward the national assembly
  declared in its favour. The New Testament had been translated by Olaf
  Petri into the Swedish language, and at the desire of the king the
  two brothers undertook the translation of the whole Bible. Thus for
  the first time the people of Sweden received the word of God in their
  native tongue. It was ordered by the Diet that throughout the
  kingdom, ministers should explain the Scriptures and that the
  children in the schools should be taught to read the Bible.
   
   
  Steadily
  and surely the darkness of ignorance and superstition was dispelled
  by the blessed light of the gospel. Freed from Romish oppression, the
  nation attained to a strength and greatness it had never before
  reached. Sweden became one of the bulwarks of Protestantism. A
  century later, at a time of sorest peril, this small and hitherto
  feeble nation--the only one in Europe that dared lend a helping
  hand--came to the deliverance of Germany in the terrible struggle of
  the Thirty Years' War. All Northern Europe seemed about to be brought
  again under the tyranny of Rome. It was the armies of Sweden that
  enabled Germany to turn the tide of popish success, to win toleration
  for the Protestants,--Calvinists as well as Lutherans,--and to
  restore liberty of conscience to those countries that had accepted
  the Reformation.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 14. England’s Reforms 
   
  While
  Luther was opening a closed Bible to the people of Germany, Tyndale
  was impelled by the Spirit of God to do the same for England.
  Wycliffe's Bible had been translated from the Latin text, which
  contained many errors. It had never been printed, and the cost of
  manuscript copies was so great that few but wealthy men or nobles
  could procure it; and, furthermore, being strictly proscribed by the
  church, it had had a comparatively narrow circulation. In 1516, a
  year before the appearance of Luther's theses, Erasmus had published
  his Greek and Latin version of the New Testament. Now for the first
  time the word of God was printed in the original tongue. In this work
  many errors of former versions were corrected, and the sense was more
  clearly rendered. It led many among the educated classes to a better
  knowledge of the truth, and gave a new impetus to the work of reform.
  But the common people were still, to a great extent, debarred from
  God's word. Tyndale was to complete the work of Wycliffe in giving
  the Bible to his countrymen.
   
   
  A
  diligent student and an earnest seeker for truth, he had received the
  gospel from the Greek Testament of Erasmus. He fearlessly preached
  his convictions, urging that all doctrines be tested by the
  Scriptures. To the papist claim that the church had given the Bible,
  and the church alone could explain it, Tyndale responded: "Do
  you know who taught the eagles to find their prey? Well, that same
  God teaches His hungry children to find their Father in His word. Far
  from having given us the Scriptures, it is you who have hidden them
  from us; it is you who burn those who teach them, and if you could,
  you would burn the Scriptures themselves."-D'Aubigne, History of
  the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, b. 18, ch. 4.
   
   
  Tyndale's
  preaching excited great interest; many accepted the truth. But the
  priests were on the alert, and no sooner had he left the field than
  they by their threats and misrepresentations endeavoured to destroy
  his work. Too often they succeeded. "What is to be done?"
  he exclaimed. "While I am sowing in one place, the enemy ravages
  the field I have just left. I cannot be everywhere. Oh! if Christians
  possessed the Holy Scriptures in their own tongue, they could of
  themselves withstand these sophists. Without the Bible it is
  impossible to establish the laity in the truth."-- Ibid., b. 18,
  ch. 4.
   
   
  A
  new purpose now took possession of his mind. "It was in the
  language of Israel," said he, "that the psalms were sung in
  the temple of Jehovah; and shall not the gospel speak the language of
  England among us? . . . Ought the church to have less light at
  noonday than at the dawn? . . . Christians must read the New
  Testament in their mother tongue." The doctors and teachers of
  the church disagreed among themselves. Only by the Bible could men
  arrive at the truth. "One holdeth this doctor, another that. . .
  . Now each of these authors contradicts the other. How then can we
  distinguish him who says right from him who says wrong? . . .
  How?...Verily by God's word."-- Ibid., b. 18, ch. 4.
   
   
  It
  was not long after that a learned Catholic doctor, engaging in
  controversy with him, exclaimed: "We were better to be without
  God's laws than the pope's." Tyndale replied: "I defy the
  pope and all his laws; and if God spare my life, ere many years I
  will cause a boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scripture
  than you do."--Anderson, Annals of the English Bible, page 19. 
  The purpose which he had begun to cherish, of giving to  the people
  the New Testament Scriptures in their own language, was now
  confirmed, and he immediately applied himself to the work. Driven
  from his home by persecution, he went to London, and there for a time
  pursued his labours undisturbed. But again the violence of the
  papists forced him to flee. All England seemed closed against him,
  and he resolved to seek shelter in Germany. Here he began the
  printing of the English New Testament. Twice the work was stopped;
  but when forbidden to print in one city, he went to another. At last
  he made his way to Worms, where, a few years before, Luther had
  defended the gospel before the Diet. In that ancient city were many
  friends of the Reformation, and Tyndale there prosecuted his work
  without further hindrance. Three thousand copies of the New Testament
  were soon finished, and another edition followed in the same year.
   
   
  With
  great earnestness and perseverance he continued his labours.
  Notwithstanding the English authorities had guarded their ports with
  the strictest vigilance, the word of God was in various ways secretly
  conveyed to London and thence circulated throughout the country. The
  papists attempted to suppress the truth, but in vain. The bishop of
  Durham at one time bought of a bookseller who was a friend of Tyndale
  his whole stock of Bibles, for the purpose of destroying them,
  supposing that this would greatly hinder the work. But, on the
  contrary, the money thus furnished, purchased material for a new and
  better edition, which, but for this, could not have been published.
  When Tyndale was afterward made a prisoner, his liberty was offered
  him on condition that he would reveal the names of those who had
  helped him meet the expense of printing his Bibles. He replied that
  the bishop of Durham had done more than any other person; for by
  paying a large price for the books left on hand, he had enabled him
  to go on with good courage.
   
   
  Tyndale
  was betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and at one time suffered
  imprisonment for many months. He finally witnessed for his faith by a
  martyr's death; but the weapons which he prepared have enabled other
  soldiers to do battle through all the centuries even to our time.
  Latimer maintained from the pulpit that the Bible ought to be read in
  the language of the people. The Author of Holy Scripture, said he,
  "is God Himself;" and this Scripture partakes of the might
  and eternity of its Author. "There is no king, emperor,
  magistrate, and ruler . . . but are bound to obey . . . His holy
  word." "Let us not take any bywalks, but let God's word
  direct us: let us not walk after . . . our forefathers, nor seek not
  what they did, but what they should have done."--Hugh Latimer,
  "First Sermon Preached Before King Edward VI."
   
   
  Barnes
  and Frith, the faithful friends of Tyndale, arose to defend the
  truth. The Ridleys and Cranmer followed. These leaders in the English
  Reformation were men of learning, and most of them had been highly
  esteemed for zeal or piety in the Romish communion. Their opposition
  to the papacy was the result of their knowledge of the errors of the
  "holy see." Their acquaintance with the mysteries of
  Babylon gave greater power to their testimonies against her.
   
   
  "Now
  I would ask a strange question," said Latimer. "Who is the
  most diligent bishop and prelate in all England? . . . I see you
  listening and hearkening that I should name him. . . . I will tell
  you: it is the devil. . . . He is never out of his diocese; call for
  him when you will, he is ever at home; . . . he is ever at his plow.
  . . . Ye shall never find him idle, I warrant you. . . . Where the
  devil is resident, . . . there away with books, and up with candles;
  away with Bibles, and up with beads; away with the light of the
  gospel, and up with the light of candles, yea, at noondays; . . .
  down with Christ's cross, up with purgatory pickpurse; . . . away
  with clothing the naked, the poor, and impotent, up with decking of
  images and gay garnishing of stocks and stones; up with man's
  traditions and his laws, down with God's traditions and His most holy
  word. . . . O that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the corn
  of good doctrine, as Satan is to sow cockle and darnel!"--
  Ibid., "Sermon of the Plough."
   
   
  The
  grand principle maintained by these Reformers--the same that had been
  held by the Waldenses, by Wycliffe, by John Huss, by Luther, Zwingli,
  and those who united with them--was the infallible authority of the
  Holy Scriptures as a rule of faith and practice. They denied the
  right of popes, councils, Fathers, and kings, to control the
  conscience in matters of religion. The Bible was their authority, and
  by its teaching they tested all doctrines and all claims. Faith in
  God and His word sustained these holy men as they yielded up their
  lives at the stake. "Be of good comfort," exclaimed Latimer
  to his fellow martyr as the flames were about to silence their
  voices, "we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace,
  in England, as I trust shall never be put out." -- Works of Hugh
  Latimer, vol. 1, p. xiii.
   
   
  In
  Scotland the seeds of truth scattered by Columba and his colabourers
  had never been wholly destroyed. For hundreds of years after the
  churches of England submitted to Rome, those of Scotland maintained
  their freedom. In the twelfth century, however, popery became
  established here, and in no country did it exercise a more absolute
  sway. Nowhere was the darkness deeper. Still there came rays of light
  to pierce the gloom and give promise of the coming day. The Lollards,
  coming from England with the Bible and the teachings of Wycliffe, did
  much to preserve the knowledge of the gospel, and every century had
  its witnesses and martyrs.
   
   
  With
  the opening of the Great Reformation came the writings of Luther, and
  then Tyndale's English New Testament. Unnoticed by the hierarchy,
  these messengers silently traversed the mountains and valleys,
  kindling into new life the torch of truth so nearly extinguished in
  Scotland, and undoing the work which Rome for four centuries of
  oppression had done.  Then the blood of martyrs gave fresh impetus to
  the movement. The papist leaders, suddenly awakening to the danger
  that threatened their cause, brought to the stake some of the 
  noblest and most honoured of the sons of Scotland. They did but erect
  a pulpit, from which the words of these dying witnesses were heard
  throughout the land, thrilling the souls of the people with an
  undying purpose to cast off the shackles of Rome.
   
   
  Hamilton
  and Wishart, princely in character as in birth, with a long line of
  humbler disciples, yielded up their lives at the stake. But from the
  burning pile of Wishart there came one whom the flames were not to
  silence, one who under God was to strike the death knell of popery in
  Scotland.  John Knox had turned away from the traditions and
  mysticisms of the church, to feed upon the truths of God's word; and
  the teaching of Wishart had confirmed his determination to forsake
  the communion of Rome and join himself to the persecuted Reformers.
   
   
  Urged
  by his companions to take the office of preacher, he shrank with
  trembling from its responsibility, and it was only after days of
  seclusion and painful conflict with himself that he consented. But
  having once accepted the position, he pressed forward with inflexible
  determination and undaunted courage as long as life continued. This
  truehearted Reformer feared not the face of man. The fires of
  martyrdom, blazing around him, served only to quicken his zeal to
  greater intensity. With the tyrant's ax held menacingly over his
  head, he stood his ground, striking sturdy blows on the right hand
  and on the left to demolish idolatry.  When brought face to face with
  the queen of Scotland, in whose presence the zeal of many a leader of
  the Protestants had abated, John Knox bore unswerving witness for the
  truth. He was not to be won by caresses; he quailed not before
  threats. The queen charged him with heresy. He had taught the people
  to receive a religion prohibited by the state, she declared, and had
  thus transgressed God's command enjoining subjects to obey their
  princes. Knox answered firmly:
   
   
  "As
  right religion took neither original strength nor authority from
  worldly princes, but from the eternal God alone, so are not subjects
  bound to frame their religion according to the appetites of their
  princes. For oft it is that princes are the most ignorant of all
  others in God's true religion. . . . If all the seed of Abraham had
  been of the religion of Pharaoh, whose subjects they long were, I
  pray you, madam, what religion would there have been in the world? Or
  if all men in the days of the apostles had been of the religion of
  the Roman emperors, what religion would there have been upon the face
  of the earth? . . . And so, madam, ye may perceive that subjects are
  not bound to the religion of their princes, albeit they are commanded
  to give them obedience."
   
   
  Said
  Mary: "Ye interpret the Scriptures in one manner, and they [the
  Roman Catholic teachers] interpret in another; whom shall I believe,
  and who shall be judge?"  "Ye shall believe God, that
  plainly speaketh in His word," answered the Reformer; "and
  farther than the word teaches you, ye neither shall believe the one
  nor the other. The word of God is plain in itself; and if there
  appear any obscurity in one place, the Holy Ghost, which is never
  contrary to Himself, explains the same more clearly in other places,
  so that there can remain no doubt but unto such as obstinately remain
  ignorant."--David Laing, The Collected Works of John Knox, vol.
  2, pp. 281, 284.  Such were the truths that the fearless Reformer, at
  the peril of his life, spoke in the ear of royalty. With the same
  undaunted courage he kept to his purpose, praying and fighting the
  battles of the Lord, until Scotland was free from popery.
   
   
  In
  England the establishment of Protestantism as the national religion
  diminished, but did not wholly stop, persecution. While many of the
  doctrines of Rome had been renounced, not a few of its forms were
  retained. The supremacy of the pope was rejected, but in his place
  the monarch was enthroned as the head of the church. In the service
  of the church there was still a wide departure from the purity and
  simplicity of the gospel. The great principle of religious liberty
  was not yet understood. Though the horrible cruelties which Rome
  employed against heresy were resorted to but rarely by Protestant
  rulers, yet the right of every man to worship God according to the
  dictates of his own conscience was not acknowledged. All were
  required to accept the doctrines and observe the forms of worship
  prescribed by the established church. Dissenters suffered
  persecution, to a greater or less extent, for hundreds of years.
   
   
  In
  the seventeenth century thousands of pastors were expelled from their
  positions. The people were forbidden, on pain of heavy fines,
  imprisonment, and banishment, to attend any religious meetings except
  such as were sanctioned by the church. Those faithful souls who could
  not refrain from gathering to worship God were compelled to meet in
  dark alleys, in obscure garrets, and at some seasons in the woods at
  midnight. In the sheltering depths of the forest, a temple of God's
  own building, those scattered and persecuted children of the Lord
  assembled to pour out their souls in prayer and praise. But despite
  all their precautions, many suffered for their faith. The jails were
  crowded. Families were broken up. Many were banished to foreign
  lands. Yet God was with His people, and persecution could not prevail
  to silence their testimony. Many were driven across the ocean to
  America and here laid the foundations of civil and religious liberty
  which have been the bulwark and glory of this country.
   
   
  Again,
  as in apostolic days, persecution turned out to the furtherance of
  the gospel. In a loathsome dungeon crowded with profligates and
  felons, John Bunyan breathed the very atmosphere of heaven; and there
  he wrote his wonderful allegory of the pilgrim's journey from the
  land of destruction to the celestial city. For over two hundred years
  that voice from Bedford jail has spoken with thrilling power to the
  hearts of men. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Grace Abounding to the
  Chief of Sinners have guided many feet into the path of life.
   
   
  Baxter,
  Flavel, Alleine, and other men of talent, education, and deep
  Christian experience stood up in valiant defense of  the faith which
  was once delivered to the saints. The work accomplished by these men,
  proscribed and outlawed by the rulers of this world, can never
  perish. Flavel's Fountain of Life and Method of Grace have taught
  thousands how to commit the keeping of their souls to Christ.
  Baxter's Reformed Pastor has proved a blessing to many who desire a
  revival of the work of God, and his Saints' Everlasting Rest has done
  its work in leading souls to the "rest" that remaineth for
  the people of God.
   
   
  A
  hundred years later, in a day of great spiritual darkness, Whitefield
  and the Wesleys appeared as light bearers for God. Under the rule of
  the established church the people of England had lapsed into a state
  of religious declension hardly to be distinguished from heathenism.
  Natural religion was the favourite study of the clergy, and included
  most of their theology. The higher classes sneered at piety, and
  prided themselves on being above what they called its fanaticism. The
  lower classes were grossly ignorant and abandoned to vice, while the
  church had no courage or faith any longer to support the downfallen
  cause of truth.
   
   
  The
  great doctrine of justification by faith, so clearly taught by
  Luther, had been almost wholly lost sight of; and the Romish
  principle of trusting to good works for salvation, had taken its
  place. Whitefield and the Wesleys, who were members of the
  established church, were sincere seekers for the favour of God, and
  this they had been taught was to be secured by a virtuous life and an
  observance of the ordinances of religion.  When Charles Wesley at one
  time fell ill, and anticipated that death was approaching, he was
  asked upon what he rested his hope of eternal life. His answer was:
  "I have used my best endeavours to serve God." As the
  friend who had put the question seemed not to be fully satisfied with
  his answer, Wesley thought: "What! are not my endeavours a
  sufficient ground of hope? Would he rob me of my endeavours? I have
  nothing else to trust to."--John Whitehead, Life of the Rev.
  Charles Wesley, page 102. Such was the dense darkness  that had
  settled down on the church, hiding the atonement, robbing Christ of
  His glory, and turning the minds of men from their only hope of
  salvation--the blood of the crucified Redeemer.
   
   
  Wesley
  and his associates were led to see that true religion is seated in
  the heart, and that God's law extends to the thoughts as well as to
  the words and actions. Convinced of the necessity of holiness of
  heart, as well as correctness of outward deportment, they set out in
  earnest upon a new life. By the most diligent and prayerful efforts
  they endeavoured to subdue the evils of the natural heart. They lived
  a life of self-denial, charity, and humiliation, observing with great
  rigor and exactness every measure which they thought could be helpful
  to them in obtaining what they most desired--that holiness which
  could secure the favour of God. But they did not obtain the object
  which they sought. In vain were their endeavours to free themselves
  from the condemnation of sin or to break its power. It was the same
  struggle which Luther had experienced in his cell at Erfurt. It was
  the same question which had tortured his soul--"How should man
  be just before God?" Job. 9:2.
   
   
  The
  fires of divine truth, well-nigh extinguished upon the altars of
  Protestantism, were to be rekindled from the ancient torch handed
  down the ages by the Bohemian Christians. After the Reformation,
  Protestantism in Bohemia had been trampled out by the hordes of Rome.
  All who refused to renounce the truth were forced to flee. Some of
  these, finding refuge in Saxony, there maintained the ancient faith.
  It was from the descendants of these Christians that light came to
  Wesley and his associates.
   
   
  John
  and Charles Wesley, after being ordained to the ministry, were sent
  on a mission to America. On board the ship was a company of
  Moravians. Violent storms were encountered on the passage, and John
  Wesley, brought face to face with death, felt that he had not the
  assurance of peace with God. The Germans, on the contrary, manifested
  a calmness and trust to which he was a stranger.  I had long before,"
  he says, "observed the great seriousness of their behavior. Of
  their humility they had given a continual proof, by performing those
  servile offices for the other passengers which none of the English
  would undertake; for which they desired and would receive no pay,
  saying it was good for their proud hearts, and their loving Saviour
  had done more for them.
   
   
  And
  every day had given them occasion of showing a meekness which no
  injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown about, they
  rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth.
  There was now an opportunity of trying whether they were delivered
  from the spirit of fear, as well as from that of pride, anger, and
  revenge. In the midst of the psalm wherewith their service began, the
  sea broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and
  poured in between the decks as if the great deep had already
  swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The
  Germans calmly sang on. I asked one of them afterwards, 'Were you not
  afraid?' He answered, 'I thank God, no.' I asked, 'But were not your
  women and children afraid?' He replied mildly, 'No; our women and
  children are not afraid to die.'--Whitehead, Life of the Rev. John
  Wesley, page 10.
   
   
  Upon
  arriving in Savannah, Wesley for a short time abode with the
  Moravians, and was deeply impressed with their Christian deportment.
  Of one of their religious services, in striking contrast to the
  lifeless formalism of the Church of England, he wrote: "The
  great simplicity as well as solemnity of the whole almost made me
  forget the seventeen hundred years between, and imagine myself in one
  of those assemblies where form and state were not; but Paul, the
  tentmaker, or Peter, the fisherman, presided; yet with the
  demonstration of the Spirit and of power."-- Ibid., pages 11,
  12.
   
   
  On
  his return to England, Wesley, under the instruction of a Moravian
  preacher, arrived at a clearer understanding of Bible faith. He was
  convinced that he must renounce all dependence upon his own works for
  salvation and must trust wholly to "the Lamb of God, which
  taketh away the sin of the world." At a meeting of the Moravian
  society in London a statement was read from Luther, describing the
  change which the Spirit of God works in the heart of the believer. As
  Wesley listened, faith was kindled in his soul. "I felt my heart
  strangely warmed," he says. "I felt I did trust in Christ,
  Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that He
  had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin
  and death."-- Ibid., page 52.
   
   
  Through
  long years of wearisome and comfortless striving-- years of rigorous
  self-denial, of reproach and humiliation-- Wesley had steadfastly
  adhered to his one purpose of seeking God. Now he had found Him; and
  he found that the grace which he had toiled to win by prayers and
  fasts, by almsdeeds and self-abnegation, was a gift, "without
  money and without price."  Once established in the faith of
  Christ, his whole soul burned with the desire to spread everywhere a
  knowledge of the glorious gospel of God's free grace. "I look
  upon all the world as my parish," he said; "in whatever
  part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to
  declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of
  salvation."-- Ibid., page 74.
   
   
  He
  continued his strict and self-denying life, not now as the ground,
  but the result of faith; not the root, but the fruit of holiness. The
  grace of God in Christ is the foundation of the Christian's hope, and
  that grace will be manifested in obedience. Wesley's life was devoted
  to the preaching of the great truths which he had
  received--justification through faith in the atoning blood of Christ,
  and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, bringing
  forth fruit in a life conformed to the example of Christ.
   
   
  Whitefield
  and the Wesleys had been prepared for their work by long and sharp
  personal convictions of their own lost condition; and that they might
  be able to endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ, they had been
  subjected to the fiery ordeal of scorn, derision, and persecution,
  both in the university and as they were entering the ministry. They
  and a few others who sympathized with them were contemptuously called
  Methodists by their ungodly fellow students--a name which is at the
  present time regarded as honourable by one of the largest
  denominations in England and America.
   
   
  As
  members of the Church of England they were strongly attached to her
  forms of worship, but the Lord had presented before them in His word
  a higher standard. The Holy Spirit urged them to preach Christ and
  Him crucified. The power of the Highest attended their labours.
  Thousands were convicted and truly converted. It was necessary that
  these sheep be protected from ravening wolves. Wesley had no thought
  of forming a new denomination, but he organized them under what was
  called the Methodist Connection.
   
   
  Mysterious
  and trying was the opposition which these preachers encountered from
  the established church; yet God, in His wisdom, had overruled events
  to cause the reform to begin within the church itself. Had it come
  wholly from without, it would not have penetrated where it was so
  much needed. But as the revival preachers were churchmen, and
  laboured within the pale of the church wherever they could find
  opportunity, the truth had an entrance where the doors would
  otherwise have remained closed. Some of the clergy were roused from
  their moral stupor and became zealous preachers in their own
  parishes. Churches that had been petrified by formalism were
  quickened into life.
   
   
  In
  Wesley's time, as in all ages of the church's history, men of
  different gifts performed their appointed work. They did not
  harmonize upon every point of doctrine, but all were moved by the
  Spirit of God, and united in the absorbing aim to win souls to
  Christ. The differences between  Whitefield and the Wesleys
  threatened at one time to create alienation;  but as they learned
  meekness in the school of Christ, mutual forbearance and charity
  reconciled them. They had no time to dispute, while error and
  iniquity were teeming everywhere, and sinners were going down to
  ruin.
   
   
  The
  servants of God trod a rugged path. Men of influence and learning
  employed their powers against them. After a time many of the clergy
  manifested determined hostility, and the doors of the churches were
  closed against a pure faith and those who proclaimed it. The course
  of the clergy in denouncing them from the pulpit aroused the elements
  of darkness, ignorance, and iniquity. Again and again did John Wesley
  escape death by a miracle of God's mercy. When the rage of the mob
  was excited against him, and there seemed no way of escape, an angel
  in human form came to his side, the mob fell back, and the servant of
  Christ passed in safety from the place of danger.
   
   
  Of
  his deliverance from the enraged mob on one of these occasions,
  Wesley said: Many endeavoured to throw me down while we were going
  down hill on a slippery path to the town; as well judging that if I
  was once on the ground, I should hardly rise any more. But I made no
  stumble at all, nor the least slip, till I was entirely out of their
  hands. . . . Although many strove to lay hold on my collar or
  clothes, to pull me down, they could not fasten at all: only one got
  fast hold of the flap of my waistcoat, which was soon left in his
  hand; the other flap, in the pocket of which was a bank note, was
  torn but half off. . . . A lusty man just behind, struck at me
  several times, with a large oaken stick; with which if he had struck
  me once on the back part of my head, it would have saved him all
  further trouble. But every time, the blow was turned aside, I know
  not how; for I could not move to the right hand or left. . . .
  Another came rushing through the press, and raising his arm to
  strike, on a sudden let it drop, and only stroked my head, saying,
  'What soft hair he has!' . . . The very first men whose hearts were
  turned were the heroes of the town, the captains of the rabble on all
  occasions, one of them having been a prize fighter at the bear
  gardens. . . .
   
   
  "By
  how gentle degrees does God prepare us for His will! Two years ago, a
  piece of brick grazed my shoulders. It was a year after that the
  stone struck me between the eyes. Last month I received one blow, and
  this evening two, one before we came into the town, and one after we
  were gone out; but both were as nothing: for though one man struck me
  on the breast with all his might, and the other on the mouth with
  such force that the blood gushed out immediately, I felt no more pain
  from either of the blows than if they had touched me with a
  straw."--John Wesley, Works, vol. 3, pp. 297, 298.
   
   
  The
  Methodists of those early days--people as well as preachers--endured
  ridicule and persecution, alike from church members and from the
  openly irreligious who were inflamed by their misrepresentations.
  They were arraigned before courts of justice--such only in name, for
  justice was rare in the courts of that time. Often they suffered
  violence from their persecutors. Mobs went from house to house,
  destroying furniture and goods, plundering whatever they chose, and
  brutally abusing men, women, and children. In some instances, public
  notices were posted, calling upon those who desired to assist in
  breaking the windows and robbing the houses of the Methodists, to
  assemble at a given time and place. These open violations of both
  human and divine law were allowed to pass without a reprimand. A
  systematic persecution was carried on against a people whose only
  fault was that of seeking to turn the feet of sinners from the path
  of destruction to the path of holiness.
   
   
  Said
  John Wesley, referring to the charges against himself and his
  associates: "Some allege that the doctrines of these men are
  false, erroneous, and enthusiastic; that they are new and unheard-of
  till of late; that they are Quakerism, fanaticism, popery. This whole
  pretense has been already cut up by the roots, it having been shown
  at large that every branch of this doctrine is the plain doctrine of
  Scripture interpreted  by our own church. Therefore it cannot be
  either false or erroneous, provided the Scripture be true."
  "Others allege, "Their doctrine is too strict; they make
  the way to heaven too narrow.' And this is in truth the original
  objection, (as it was almost the only one for some time,) and is
  secretly at the bottom of a thousand more, which appear in various
  forms. But do they make the way to heaven any narrower than our Lord
  and His apostles made it? Is their doctrine stricter than that of the
  Bible? Consider only a few plain texts: 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy
  God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul,
  and with all thy strength.' 'For every idle word which men shall
  speak, they shall give an account in the day of judgment.' 'Whether
  ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.'
   
   
  "If
  their doctrine is stricter than this, they are to blame; but you know
  in your conscience it is not. And who can be one jot less strict
  without corrupting the word of God? Can any steward of the mysteries
  of God be found faithful if he change any part of that sacred
  depositum? No. He can abate nothing, he can soften nothing; he is
  constrained to declare to all men, 'I may not bring down the
  Scripture to your taste. You must come up to it, or perish forever.'
  This is the real ground of that other popular cry concerning 'the
  uncharitableness of these men.' Uncharitable, are they? In what
  respect? Do they not feed the hungry and clothe the naked? 'No; that
  is not the thing: they are not wanting in this: but they are so
  uncharitable in judging! they think none can be saved but those of
  their own way.'"-- Ibid., vol. 3, pp. 152, 153.
   
   
  The
  spiritual declension which had been manifest in England just before
  the time of Wesley was in great degree the result of antinomian
  teaching. Many affirmed that Christ had abolished the moral law and
  that Christians are therefore under no obligation to observe it; that
  a believer is freed from the "bondage of good works."
  Others, though admitting  the perpetuity of the law, declared that it
  was unnecessary for ministers to exhort the people to obedience of
  its precepts, since those whom God had elected to salvation would,
  "by the irresistible impulse of divine grace, be led to the
  practice of piety and virtue," while those who were doomed to
  eternal reprobation "did not have power to obey the divine law."
   
   
  Others,
  also holding that "the elect cannot fall from grace nor forfeit
  the divine favour," arrived at the still more hideous conclusion
  that "the wicked actions they commit are not really sinful, nor
  to be considered as instances of their violation of the divine law,
  and that, consequently, they have no occasion either to confess their
  sins or to break them off by repentance."--McClintock and
  Strong, Cyclopedia, art. "Antinomians." Therefore, they
  declared that even one of the vilest of sins, "considered
  universally an enormous violation of the divine law, is not a sin in
  the sight of God," if committed by one of the elect, "because
  it is one of the essential and distinctive characteristics of the
  elect, that they cannot do anything that is either displeasing to God
  or prohibited by the law."
   
   
  These
  monstrous doctrines are essentially the same as the later teaching of
  popular educators and theologians--that there is no unchangeable
  divine law as the standard of right, but that the standard of
  morality is indicated by society itself, and has constantly been
  subject to change. All these ideas are inspired by the same master
  spirit--by him who, even among the sinless inhabitants of heaven,
  began his work of seeking to break down the righteous restraints of
  the law of God.
   
   
  The
  doctrine of the divine decrees, unalterably fixing the character of
  men, had led many to a virtual rejection of the law of God. Wesley
  steadfastly opposed the errors of the antinomian teachers and showed
  that this doctrine which led to antinomianism was contrary to the
  Scriptures. "The grace  of God that bringeth salvation hath
  appeared to all men ." "This is good and acceptable in the
  sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to
  come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one
  mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself
  a ransom for all ." Titus 2:11; 1 Timothy 2:3-6. The Spirit of
  God is freely bestowed to enable every man to lay hold upon the means
  of salvation. Thus Christ, "the true Light," "lighteth
  every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9. Men fail of
  salvation through their own willful refusal of the gift of life.
   
   
  In
  answer to the claim that at the death of Christ the precepts of the
  Decalogue had been abolished with the ceremonial law, Wesley said:
  The moral law, contained in the Ten Commandments and enforced by the
  prophets, He did not take away. It was not the design of His coming
  to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken,
  which 'stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven.' . . . This was
  from the beginning of the world, being 'written not on tables of
  stone,' but on the hearts of all the children of men, when they came
  out of the hands of the Creator. And however the letters once wrote
  by the finger of God are now in a great measure defaced by sin, yet
  can they not wholly be blotted out, while we have any consciousness
  of good and evil. Every part of this law must remain in force upon
  all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or
  place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature
  of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to
  each other.
   
   
  "'I
  am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.' . . . Without question, His
  meaning in this place is (consistently with all that goes before and
  follows after),--I am come to establish it in its fullness, in spite
  of all the glosses of men: I am come to place in a full and clear
  view whatsoever was dark or obscure therein: I am come to declare the
  true and full import of every part of it; to show the length and
  breadth, the entire extent, of every commandment contained therein,
  and the height and depth, the inconceivable purity and spirituality
  of it in all its branches."--Wesley, sermon 25.
   
   
  Wesley
  declared the perfect harmony of the law and the gospel. There is,
  therefore, the closest connection that can be conceived, between the
  law and the gospel. On the one hand, the law continually makes way
  for, and points us to, the gospel; on the other, the gospel
  continually leads us to a more exact fulfilling of the law. The law,
  for instance, requires us to love God, to love our neighbour, to be
  meek, humble, or holy. We feel that we are not sufficient for these
  things; yea, that 'with man this is impossible;' but we see a promise
  of God to give us that love, and to make us humble, meek, and holy:
  we lay hold of this gospel, of these glad tidings; it is done unto us
  according to our faith; and 'the righteousness of the law is
  fulfilled in us,' through faith which is in Christ Jesus. . . .
   
   
  "In
  the highest rank of the enemies of the gospel of Christ," said
  Wesley, "are they who openly and explicitly 'judge the law'
  itself, and 'speak evil of the law;' who teach men to break (to
  dissolve, to loose, to untie the obligation of) not one only, whether
  of the least or of the greatest, but all the commandments at a
  stroke. . . . The most surprising of all the circumstances that
  attend this strong delusion, is that they who are given up to it,
  really believe that they honour Christ by overthrowing His law, and
  that they are magnifying His office while they are destroying His
  doctrine! Yea, they honour Him just as Judas did when he said, 'Hail,
  Master, and kissed Him.' And He may as justly say to every one of
  them, 'Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? It is no other than
  betraying Him with a kiss, to talk of His blood, and take away His
  crown; to set light by any part of His law, under pretense of
  advancing His gospel. Nor indeed can anyone escape this charge, who
  preaches faith in any such a manner as either directly or indirectly
  tends to set aside any branch of obedience: who preaches Christ so as
  to disannul, or weaken in any wise, the least of the commandments of
  God."-- Ibid .
   
   
  To
  those who urged that "the preaching of the gospel answers all
  the ends of the law," Wesley replied: "This we utterly
  deny. It does not answer the very first end of the law, namely, the
  convincing men of sin, the awakening those who are still asleep on
  the brink of hell." The apostle Paul declares that "by the
  law is the knowledge of sin;" "and not until man is
  convicted of sin, will he truly feel his need of the atoning blood of
  Christ. . . . 'They that be whole,' as our Lord Himself observes,
  'need not a physician, but they that are sick.' It is absurd,
  therefore, to offer a physician to them that are whole, or that at
  least imagine themselves so to be. You are first to convince them
  that they are sick; otherwise they will not thank you for your
  labour. It is equally absurd to offer Christ to them whose heart is
  whole, having never yet been broken."-- Ibid., sermon 35.
   
   
  Thus
  while preaching the gospel of the grace of God, Wesley, like his
  Master, sought to "magnify the law, and make it honourable."
  Faithfully did he accomplish the work given him of God, and glorious
  were the results which he was permitted to behold. At the close of
  his long life of more than fourscore years--above half a century
  spent in itinerant ministry-his avowed adherents numbered more than
  half a million souls. But the multitude that through his labours had
  been lifted from the ruin and degradation of sin to a higher and a
  purer life, and the number who by his teaching had attained to a
  deeper and richer experience, will never be known till the whole
  family of the redeemed shall be gathered into the kingdom of God. His
  life presents a lesson of priceless worth to every Christian. Would
  that the faith and humility, the untiring zeal, self-sacrifice, and
  devotion of this servant of Christ might be reflected in the churches
  of today!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 15. The French Revolution 
   
  In
  the sixteenth century the Reformation, presenting an open Bible to
  the people, had sought admission to all the countries of Europe. Some
  nations welcomed it with gladness, as a messenger of Heaven. In other
  lands the papacy succeeded to a great extent in preventing its
  entrance; and the light of Bible knowledge, with its elevating
  influences, was almost wholly excluded. In one country, though the
  light found entrance, it was not comprehended by the darkness. For
  centuries, truth and error struggled for the mastery. At last the
  evil triumphed, and the truth of Heaven was thrust out. "This is
  the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved
  darkness rather than light." John 3:19. The nation was left to
  reap the results of the course which she had chosen. The restraint of
  God's Spirit was removed from a people that had despised the gift of
  His grace. Evil was permitted to come to maturity. And all the world
  saw the fruit of willful rejection of the light.
   
   
  The
  war against the Bible, carried forward for so many centuries in
  France, culminated in the scenes of the Revolution. That terrible
  outbreaking was but the legitimate result of Rome's suppression of
  the Scriptures.It presented the most striking illustration which the
  world has ever witnessed of the working out of the papal policy-- an
  illustration of the results to which for more than a thousand years
  the teaching of the Roman Church had been tending.  The suppression
  of the Scriptures during the period of papal supremacy was foretold
  by the prophets; and the Revelator points also to the terrible
  results that were to accrue especially to France from the domination
  of the "man of sin."
   
   
  Said
  the angel of the Lord: "The holy city shall they tread underfoot
  forty and two months. And I will give power unto My two witnesses,
  and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days,
  clothed in sackcloth. . . . And when they shall have finished their
  testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall
  make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And
  their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which
  spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was
  crucified. . . . And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice
  over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another;
  because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
  And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered
  into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon
  them which saw them." Revelation 11:2-11.
   
   
  The
  periods here mentioned--"forty and two months," and "a
  thousand two hundred and threescore days"--are the same, alike
  representing the time in which the church of Christ was to suffer
  oppression from Rome. The 1260 years of papal supremacy began in A.D.
  538, and would therefore terminate in 1798. (See Appendix note for
  page 54.) At that time a French army entered Rome and made the pope a
  prisoner, and he died in exile. Though a new pope was soon afterward
  elected, the papal hierarchy has never since been able to wield the
  power which it before possessed.
   
   
  The
  persecution of the church did not continue throughout the entire
  period of the 1260 years. God in mercy to His people cut short the
  time of their fiery trial. In foretelling the  "great
  tribulation" to befall the church, the Saviour said: "Except
  those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but
  for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matthew
  24:22. Through the influence of the Reformation the persecution was
  brought to an end prior to 1798.
   
   
  Concerning
  the two witnesses the prophet declares further: "These are the
  two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of
  the earth." "Thy word," said the psalmist, "is a
  lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Revelation 11:4;
  Psalm 119:105. The two witnesses represent the Scriptures of the Old
  and the New Testament. Both are important testimonies to the origin
  and perpetuity of the law of God. Both are witnesses also to the plan
  of salvation. The types, sacrifices, and prophecies of the Old
  Testament point forward to a Saviour to come. The Gospels and
  Epistles of the New Testament tell of a Saviour who has come in the
  exact manner foretold by type and prophecy.
   
   
  "They
  shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and three-score days, clothed
  in sackcloth." During the greater part of this period, God's
  witnesses remained in a state of obscurity. The papal power sought to
  hide from the people the word of truth, and set before them false
  witnesses to contradict its testimony.When the Bible was proscribed
  by religious and secular authority; when its testimony was perverted,
  and every effort made that men and demons could invent to turn the
  minds of the people from it; when those who dared proclaim its sacred
  truths were hunted, betrayed, tortured, buried in dungeon cells,
  martyred for their faith, or compelled to flee to mountain
  fastnesses, and to dens and caves of the earth--then the faithful
  witnesses prophesied in sackcloth. Yet they continued their testimony
  throughout the entire period of 1260 years. In the darkest times
  there were faithful men who loved God's word and were jealous for His
  honour. To these loyal servants were  given wisdom, power, and
  authority to declare His truth during the whole of this time.
   
   
  "And
  if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and
  devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in
  this manner be killed." Revelation 11:5. Men cannot with
  impunity trample upon the word of God. The meaning of this fearful
  denunciation is set forth in the closing chapter of the Revelation:
  "I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy
  of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add
  unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man
  shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
  shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
  city, and from the things which are written in this book."
  Revelation 22:18, 19.
   
   
  Such
  are the warnings which God has given to guard men against changing in
  any manner that which He has revealed or commanded. These solemn
  denunciations apply to all who by their influence lead men to regard
  lightly the law of God. They should cause those to fear and tremble
  who flippantly declare it a matter of little consequence whether we
  obey God's law or not. All who exalt their own opinions above divine
  revelation, all who would change the plain meaning of Scripture to
  suit their own convenience, or for the sake of conforming to the
  world, are taking upon themselves a fearful responsibility. The
  written word, the law of God, will measure the character of every man
  and condemn all whom this unerring test shall declare wanting.
   
   
  "When
  they shall have finished [are finishing] their testimony." The
  period when the two witnesses were to prophesy clothed in sackcloth,
  ended in 1798. As they were approaching the termination of their work
  in obscurity, war was to be made upon them by the power represented
  as "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit." In
  many of the nations of Europe the powers that ruled in church and
  state had for centuries been controlled by Satan through the medium
  of the papacy. But here is brought to view a new manifestation of
  satanic power.
   
   
  It
  had been Rome's policy, under a profession of reverence for the
  Bible, to keep it locked up in an unknown tongue and hidden away from
  the people. Under her rule the witnesses prophesied "clothed in
  sackcloth." But another power --the beast from the bottomless
  pit--was to arise to make open, avowed war upon the word of God. 
  "The great city" in whose streets the witnesses are slain,
  and where their dead bodies lie, is "spiritually" Egypt. Of
  all nations presented in Bible history, Egypt most boldly denied the
  existence of the living God and resisted His commands. No monarch
  ever ventured upon more open and highhanded rebellion against the
  authority of Heaven than did the king of Egypt. When the message was
  brought him by Moses, in the name of the Lord, Pharaoh proudly
  answered: "Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice
  to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let
  Israel go." Exodus 5:2, A.R.V.
   
   
  This
  is atheism, and the nation represented by Egypt would give voice to a
  similar denial of the claims of the living God and would manifest a
  like spirit of unbelief and defiance. "The great city" is
  also compared, "spiritually," to Sodom. The corruption of
  Sodom in breaking the law of God was especially manifested in
  licentiousness. And this sin was also to be a pre-eminent
  characteristic of the nation that should fulfill the specifications
  of this scripture.  According to the words of the prophet, then, a
  little before the year 1798 some power of satanic origin and
  character would rise to make war upon the Bible. And in the land
  where the testimony of God's two witnesses should thus be silenced,
  there would be manifest the atheism of the Pharaoh and the
  licentiousness of Sodom.  This prophecy has received a most exact and
  striking fulfillment in the history of France. During the Revolution,
  in 1793, "the world for the first time heard an assembly of men,
  born and educated in civilization, and assuming the right to govern
  one of the finest of the European nations, uplift their united voice
  to deny the most solemn truth which man's soul receives, and renounce
  unanimously the belief and worship of a Deity."--Sir Walter
  Scott, Life of Napoleon, vol. 1, ch. 17.
   
   
  "France
  is the only nation in the world concerning which the authentic record
  survives, that as a nation she lifted her hand in open rebellion
  against the Author of the universe. Plenty of blasphemers, plenty of
  infidels, there have been, and still continue to be, in England,
  Germany, Spain, and elsewhere; but France stands apart in the world's
  history as the single state which, by the decree of her Legislative
  Assembly, pronounced that there was no God, and of which the entire
  population of the capital, and a vast majority elsewhere, women as
  well as men, danced and sang with joy in accepting the
  announcement."-- Blackwood's Magazine, November, 1870.
   
   
  France
  presented also the characteristics which especially distinguished
  Sodom. During the Revolution there was manifest a state of moral
  debasement and corruption similar to that which brought destruction
  upon the cities of the plain. And the historian presents together the
  atheism and the licentiousness of France, as given in the prophecy:
  "Intimately connected with these laws affecting religion, was
  that which reduced the union of marriage--the most sacred engagement
  which human beings can form, and the permanence of which leads most
  strongly to the consolidation of society--to the state of a mere
  civil contract of a transitory character, which any two persons might
  engage in and cast loose at pleasure. . . . If fiends had set
  themselves to work to discover a mode of most effectually destroying
  whatever is venerable, graceful, or permanent in domestic life, and
  of obtaining at the same time an assurance that the mischief which it
  was their object to create should be perpetuated from one generation
  to another, they could not have invented a more effectual plan that
  the degradation of marriage. . . . Sophie Arnoult, an actress famous
  for the witty things she said, described the republican marriage as
  'the sacrament of adultery.'"--Scott, vol. 1, ch. 17.
   
   
  "Where
  also our Lord was crucified." This specification of the prophecy
  was also fulfilled by France. In no land had the spirit of enmity
  against Christ been more strikingly displayed. In no country had the
  truth encountered more bitter and cruel opposition. In the
  persecution which France had visited upon the confessors of the
  gospel, she had crucified Christ in the person of His disciples. 
  Century after century the blood of the saints had been shed. While
  the Waldenses laid down their lives upon the mountains of Piedmont
  "for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ,"
  similar witness to the truth had been borne by their brethren, the
  Albigenses of France. In the days of the Reformation its disciples
  had been put to death with horrible tortures. King and nobles,
  highborn women and delicate maidens, the pride and chivalry of the
  nation, had feasted their eyes upon the agonies of the martyrs of
  Jesus. The brave Huguenots, battling for those rights which the human
  heart holds most sacred, had poured out their blood on many a
  hard-fought field. The Protestants were counted as outlaws, a price
  was set upon their heads, and they were hunted down like wild beasts.
   
   
  The
  "Church in the Desert," the few descendants of the ancient
  Christians that still lingered in France in the eighteenth century,
  hiding away in the mountains of the south, still cherished the faith
  of their fathers. As they ventured to meet by night on mountainside
  or lonely moor, they were chased by dragoons and dragged away to
  lifelong slavery in the galleys. The purest, the most refined, and
  the most intelligent of the French were chained, in horrible torture,
  amidst robbers and assassins. (See Wylie, b. 22, ch. 6.) Others, more
  mercifully dealt with, were shot down in cold blood, as, unarmed and
  helpless, they fell upon their knees in prayer. Hundreds of aged men,
  defenseless women, and innocent children were left dead upon the
  earth at their place of meeting. In traversing the mountainside or
  the forest, where they had been accustomed to assemble, it was not
  unusual to find "at every four paces, dead bodies dotting the
  sward, and corpses hanging suspended from the trees." Their
  country, laid waste with the sword, the ax, the fagot, "was
  converted into one vast, gloomy wilderness." "These
  atrocities were enacted . . . in no dark age, but in the brilliant
  era of Louis XIV. Science was then cultivated, letters flourished,
  the divines of the court and of the capital were learned and eloquent
  men, and greatly affected the graces of meekness and charity."--
  Ibid., b. 22, ch. 7.
   
   
  But
  blackest in the black catalogue of crime, most horrible among the
  fiendish deeds of all the dreadful centuries, was the St. Bartholomew
  Massacre. The world still recalls with shuddering horror the scenes
  of that most cowardly and cruel onslaught. The king of France, urged
  on by Romish priests and prelates, lent his sanction to the dreadful
  work. A bell, tolling at dead of night, was a signal for the
  slaughter. Protestants by thousands, sleeping quietly in their homes,
  trusting to the plighted honour of their king, were dragged forth
  without a warning and murdered in cold blood.
   
   
  As
  Christ was the invisible leader of His people from Egyptian bondage,
  so was Satan the unseen leader of his subjects in this horrible work
  of multiplying martyrs. For seven days the massacre was continued in
  Paris, the first three with inconceivable fury. And it was not
  confined to the city itself, but by special order of the king was
  extended to all the provinces and towns where Protestants were found.
  Neither age nor sex was respected. Neither the innocent babe nor the
  man of gray hairs was spared. Noble and peasant, old and young,
  mother and child, were cut down together. Throughout France the
  butchery continued for two months. Seventy thousand of the very
  flower of the nation perished.
   
   
  "When
  the news of the massacre reached Rome, the  exultation among the
  clergy knew no bounds. The cardinal of Lorraine rewarded the
  messenger with a thousand crowns; the cannon of St. Angelo thundered
  forth a joyous salute; and bells rang out from every steeple;
  bonfires turned night into day; and Gregory XIII, attended by the
  cardinals and other ecclesiastical dignitaries, went in long
  procession to the church of St. Louis, where the cardinal of Lorraine
  chanted a Te Deum . . . . A medal was struck to commemorate the
  massacre, and in the Vatican may still be seen three frescoes of
  Vasari, describing the attack upon the admiral, the king in council
  plotting the massacre, and the massacre itself. Gregory sent Charles
  the Golden Rose; and four months after the massacre, . . . he
  listened complacently to the sermon of a French priest, . . . who
  spoke of 'that day so full of happiness and joy, when the most holy
  father received the news, and went in solemn state to render thanks
  to God and St. Louis.'"--Henry White, The Massacre of St.
  Bartholomew, ch. 14, par. 34.
   
   
  The
  same master spirit that urged on the St. Bartholomew Massacre led
  also in the scenes of the Revolution. Jesus Christ was declared to be
  an impostor, and the rallying cry of the French infidels was, "Crush
  the Wretch," meaning Christ. Heaven-daring blasphemy and
  abominable wickedness went hand in hand, and the basest of men, the
  most abandoned monsters of cruelty and vice, were most highly
  exalted. In all this, supreme homage was paid to Satan; while Christ,
  in His characteristics of truth, purity, and unselfish love, was
  crucified.
   
   
  "The
  beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against
  them, and shall overcome them, and kill them." The atheistical
  power that ruled in France during the Revolution and the Reign of
  Terror, did wage such a war against God and His holy word as the
  world had never witnessed. The worship of the Deity was abolished by
  the National Assembly. Bibles were collected and publicly burned with
  every possible manifestation of scorn. The law of God was trampled
  underfoot. The institutions of the Bible were abolished. The weekly
  rest day was set aside, and in its stead every tenth day was devoted
  to reveling and blasphemy. Baptism and the Communion were prohibited.
  And announcements posted conspicuously over the burial places
  declared death to be an eternal sleep.
   
   
  The
  fear of God was said to be so far from the beginning of wisdom that
  it was the beginning of folly. All religious worship was prohibited,
  except that of liberty and the country. The "constitutional
  bishop of Paris was brought forward to play the principal part in the
  most impudent and scandalous farce ever acted in the face of a
  national representation. . . . He was brought forward in full
  procession, to declare to the Convention that the religion which he
  had taught so many years was, in every respect, a piece of
  priestcraft, which had no foundation either in history or sacred
  truth. He disowned, in solemn and explicit terms, the existence of
  the Deity to whose worship he had been consecrated, and devoted
  himself in future to the homage of liberty, equality, virtue, and
  morality. He then laid on the table his episcopal decorations, and
  received a fraternal embrace from the president of the Convention.
  Several apostate priests followed the example of this
  prelate."-Scott, vol. 1, ch. 17.
   
   
  "And
  they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make
  merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two
  prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." Infidel France
  had silenced the reproving voice of God's two witnesses. The word of
  truth lay dead in her streets, and those who hated the restrictions
  and requirements of God's law were jubilant. Men publicly defied the
  King of heaven. Like the sinners of old, they cried: "How doth
  God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?" Psalm 73:11.
   
   
  With
  blasphemous boldness almost beyond belief, one of the priests of the
  new order said: "God, if You exist, avenge Your injured name. I
  bid You defiance! You remain silent; You dare not launch Your
  thunders. Who after this will believe in Your
  existence?"--Lacretelle, History, vol. 11, p. 309; in Sir
  Archibald Alison, History of Europe, vol. 1, ch. 10. What an echo is
  this of the Pharaoh's demand: "Who is Jehovah, that I should
  obey His voice?" "I know not Jehovah!"
   
   
  "The
  fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Psalm 14:1. And
  the Lord declares concerning the perverters of the truth: "Their
  folly shall be manifest unto all." 2 Timothy 3:9. After France
  had renounced the worship of the living God, "the high and lofty
  One that inhabiteth eternity," it was only a little time till
  she descended to degrading idolatry, by the worship of the Goddess of
  Reason, in the person of a profligate woman. And this in the
  representative assembly of the nation, and by its highest civil and
  legislative authorities! Says the historian: One of the ceremonies of
  this insane time stands unrivaled for absurdity combined with
  impiety. The doors of the Convention were thrown open to a band of
  musicians, preceded by whom, the members of the municipal body
  entered in solemn procession, singing a hymn in praise of liberty,
  and escorting, as the object of their future worship, a veiled
  female, whom they termed the Goddess of Reason. Being brought within
  the bar, she was unveiled with great form, and placed on the right of
  the president, when she was generally recognized as a dancing girl of
  the opera. . . . To this person, as the fittest representative of
  that reason whom they worshiped, the National Convention of France
  rendered public homage.
   
   
  "This
  impious and ridiculous mummery had a certain fashion; and the
  installation of the Goddess of Reason was renewed and imitated
  throughout the nation, in such places where the inhabitants desired
  to show themselves equal to all the heights of the
  Revolution."--Scott, vol. 1, ch. 17.  Said the orator who
  introduced the worship of Reason: "Legislators! Fanaticism has
  given way to reason. Its bleared eyes could not endure the brilliancy
  of the light. This day an immense concourse has assembled beneath
  those gothic vaults, which, for the first time, re-echoed the truth.
  There  the French have celebrated the only true worship,--that of
  Liberty, that of Reason. There we have formed wishes for the
  prosperity of the arms of the Republic. There we have abandoned
  inanimate idols for Reason, for that animated image, the masterpiece
  of nature."--M. A. Thiers, History of the French Revolution,
  vol. 2, pp. 370, 371.
   
   
  When
  the goddess was brought into the Convention, the orator took her by
  the hand, and turning to the assembly said: "Mortals, cease to
  tremble before the powerless thunders of a God whom your fears have
  created. Henceforth acknowledge no divinity but Reason. I offer you
  its noblest and purest image; if you must have idols, sacrifice only
  to such as this. . . . Fall before the august Senate of Freedom, oh!
  Veil of Reason!""The goddess, after being embraced by the
  president, was mounted on a magnificent car, and conducted, amid an
  immense crowd, to the cathedral of Notre Dame, to take the place of
  the Deity. There she was elevated on the high altar, and received the
  adoration of all present."--Alison, vol. 1, ch. 10.   This was
  followed, not long afterward, by the public burning of the Bible. On
  one occasion "the Popular Society of the Museum" entered
  the hall of the municipality, exclaiming, "Vive la Raison!"
  and carrying on the top of a pole the half-burned remains of several
  books, among others breviaries, missals, and the Old and New
  Testaments, which "expiated in a great fire," said the
  president, "all the fooleries which they have made the human
  race commit."-- Journal of Paris, 1793, No. 318. Quoted in
  Buchez-Roux, Collection of Parliamentary History, vol. 30, pp. 200,
  201.
   
   
  It
  was popery that had begun the work which atheism was completing. The
  policy of Rome had wrought out those conditions, social, political,
  and religious, that were hurrying France on to ruin. Writers, in
  referring to the horrors of the Revolution, say that these excesses
  are to be charged upon the throne and the church.In strict justice
  they are to be charged upon the church. Popery had poisoned the minds
  of kings against the Reformation, as an enemy to the crown, an
  element of discord that would be fatal to the peace and harmony of
  the nation. It was the genius of Rome that by this means inspired the
  direst cruelty and the most galling oppression which proceeded from
  the throne.
   
   
  The
  spirit of liberty went with the Bible. Wherever the gospel was
  received, the minds of the people were awakened. They began to cast
  off the shackles that had held them bondslaves of ignorance, vice,
  and superstition. They began to think and act as men. Monarchs saw it
  and trembled for their despotism.  Rome was not slow to inflame their
  jealous fears. Said the pope to the regent of France in 1525: "This
  mania [Protestantism] will not only confound and destroy religion,
  but all principalities, nobility, laws, orders, and ranks besides."--
  G. de Felice, History of the Protestants of France, b. 1, ch. 2, par.
  8. A few years later a papal nuncio warned the king: "Sire, be
  not deceived. The Protestants will upset all civil as well as
  religious order. . . . The throne is in as much danger as the altar.
  . . . The introduction of a new religion must necessarily introduce a
  new government."-D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in Europe
  in the Time of Calvin, b. 2, ch. 36.
   
   
  And
  theologians appealed to the prejudices of the people by declaring
  that the Protestant doctrine "entices men away to novelties and
  folly; it robs the king of the devoted affection of his subjects, and
  devastates both church and state." Thus Rome succeeded in
  arraying France against the Reformation. "It was to uphold the
  throne, preserve the nobles, and maintain the laws, that the sword of
  persecution was first unsheathed in France."--Wylie, b. 13, ch.
  4. Little did the rulers of the land foresee the results of that
  fateful policy. The teaching of the Bible would have implanted in the
  minds and hearts of the people those principles of justice,
  temperance, truth, equity, and benevolence which are the very
  cornerstone of a nation's prosperity. "Righteousness exalteth a
  nation." Thereby "the throne is established." Proverbs
  14:34; 16:12. "The work of righteousness shall be peace;"
  and the effect, "quietness and assurance forever." Isaiah
  32:17.
   
   
  He
  who obeys the divine law will most truly respect and obey the laws of
  his country. He who fears God will honour the king in the exercise of
  all just and legitimate authority. But unhappy France prohibited the
  Bible and banned its disciples. Century after century, men of
  principle and integrity, men of intellectual acuteness and moral
  strength, who had the courage to avow their convictions and the faith
  to suffer for the truth--for centuries these men toiled as slaves in
  the galleys, perished at the stake, or rotted in dungeon cells.
  Thousands upon thousands found safety in flight; and this continued
  for two hundred and fifty years after the opening of the Reformation.
   
   
  Scarcely
  was there a generation of Frenchmen during the long period that did
  not witness the disciples of the gospel fleeing before the insane
  fury of the persecutor, and carrying with them the intelligence, the
  arts, the industry, the order, in which, as a rule, they
  pre-eminently excelled, to enrich the lands in which they found an
  asylum. And in proportion as they replenished other countries with
  these good gifts, did they empty their own of them. If all that was
  now driven away had been retained in France; if, during these three
  hundred years, the industrial skill of the exiles had been
  cultivating her soil; if, during these three hundred years, their
  artistic bent had been improving her manufactures; if, during these
  three hundred years, their creative genius and analytic power had
  been enriching her literature and cultivating her science; if their
  wisdom had been guiding her councils, their bravery fighting her
  battles, their equity framing her laws, and the religion of the Bible
  strengthening the intellect and governing the conscience of her
  people, what a glory would at this day have encompassed France! What
  a great, prosperous, and happy country--a pattern to the
  nations--would she have been!
   
   
  "But
  a blind and inexorable bigotry chased from her soil every teacher of
  virtue, every champion of order, every honest defender of the throne;
  it said to the men who would have made their country a 'renown and
  glory' in the earth, Choose which you will have, a stake or exile. At
  last the ruin of the state was complete; there remained no more
  conscience to be proscribed; no more religion to be dragged to the
  stake; no more patriotism to be chased into banishment."--Wylie,
  b. 13, ch. 20. And the Revolution, with all its horrors, was the dire
  result.  "With the flight of the Huguenots a general decline
  settled upon France. Flourishing manufacturing cities fell into
  decay; fertile districts returned to their native wildness;
  intellectual dullness and moral declension succeeded a period of
  unwonted progress. Paris became one vast almshouse, and it is
  estimated that, at the breaking out of the Revolution, two hundred
  thousand paupers claimed charity from the hands of the king. The
  Jesuits alone flourished in the decaying nation, and ruled with
  dreadful tyranny over churches and schools, the prisons and the
  galleys."
   
   
  The
  gospel would have brought to France the solution of those political
  and social problems that baffled the skill of her clergy, her king,
  and her legislators, and finally plunged the nation into anarchy and
  ruin. But under the domination of Rome the people had lost the
  Saviour's blessed lessons of self-sacrifice and unselfish love. They
  had been led away from the practice of self-denial for the good of
  others. The rich had found no rebuke for their oppression of the
  poor, the poor no help for their servitude and degradation. The
  selfishness of the wealthy and powerful grew more and more apparent
  and oppressive. For centuries the greed and profligacy of the noble
  resulted in grinding extortion toward the peasant. The rich wronged
  the poor, and the poor hated the rich.
   
   
  In
  many provinces the estates were held by the nobles, and the labouring
  classes were only tenants; they were at the mercy  of their landlords
  and were forced to submit to their exorbitant demands. The burden of
  supporting both the church and the state fell upon the middle and
  lower classes, who were heavily taxed by the civil authorities and by
  the clergy. The pleasure of the nobles was considered the supreme
  law; the farmers and the peasants might starve, for aught their
  oppressors cared. . . . The people were compelled at every turn to
  consult the exclusive interest of the landlord. The lives of the
  agricultural labourers were lives of incessant work and unrelieved
  misery; their complaints, if they ever dared to complain, were
  treated with insolent contempt.
   
   
  The
  courts of justice would always listen to a noble as against a
  peasant; bribes were notoriously accepted by the judges; and the
  merest caprice of the aristocracy had the force of law, by virtue of
  this system of universal corruption. Of the taxes wrung from the
  commonalty, by the secular magnates on the one hand, and the clergy
  on the other, not half ever found its way into the royal or episcopal
  treasury; the rest was squandered in profligate self-indulgence. And
  the men who thus impoverished their fellow subjects were themselves
  exempt from taxation, and entitled by law or custom to all the
  appointments of the state. The privileged classes numbered a hundred
  and fifty thousand, and for their gratification millions were
  condemned to hopeless and degrading lives.
   
   
  The
  court was given up to luxury and profligacy. There was little
  confidence existing between the people and the rulers. Suspicion
  fastened upon all the measures of the government as designing and
  selfish. For more than half a century before the time of the
  Revolution the throne was occupied by Louis XV, who, even in those
  evil times, was distinguished as an indolent, frivolous, and sensual
  monarch. With a depraved and cruel aristocracy and an impoverished
  and ignorant lower class, the state financially embarrassed and the
  people exasperated, it needed no prophet's eye to foresee a terrible
  impending outbreak. To the warnings of his counsellors the king was
  accustomed to reply: "Try to  make things go on as long as I am
  likely to live; after my death it may be as it will." It was in
  vain that the necessity of reform was urged. He saw the evils, but
  had neither the courage nor the power to meet them. The doom awaiting
  France was but too truly pictured in his indolent and selfish answer,
  "After me, the deluge!"
   
   
  By
  working upon the jealousy of the kings and the ruling classes, Rome
  had influenced them to keep the people in bondage, well knowing that
  the state would thus be weakened, and purposing by this means to
  fasten both rulers and people in her thrall. With farsighted policy
  she perceived that in order to enslave men effectually, the shackles
  must be bound upon their souls; that the surest way to prevent them
  from escaping their bondage was to render them incapable of freedom.
  A thousandfold more terrible than the physical suffering which
  resulted from her policy, was the moral degradation. Deprived of the
  Bible, and abandoned to the teachings of bigotry and selfishness, the
  people were shrouded in ignorance and superstition, and sunken in
  vice, so that they were wholly unfitted for self-government.
   
   
  But
  the outworking of all this was widely different from what Rome had
  purposed. Instead of holding the masses in a blind submission to her
  dogmas, her work resulted in making them infidels and revolutionists.
  Romanism they despised as priestcraft. They beheld the clergy as a
  party to their oppression. The only god they knew was the god of
  Rome; her teaching was their only religion. They regarded her greed
  and cruelty as the legitimate fruit of the Bible, and they would have
  none of it.
   
   
  Rome
  had misrepresented the character of God and perverted His
  requirements, and now men rejected both the Bible and its Author. She
  had required a blind faith in her dogmas, under the pretended
  sanction of the Scriptures. In the reaction, Voltaire and his
  associates cast aside God's word altogether and spread everywhere the
  poison of infidelity. Rome had ground down the people under her iron
  heel; and now the masses, degraded and brutalized, in their recoil
  from her tyranny, cast off all restraint. Enraged at the glittering
  cheat to which they had so long paid homage, they rejected truth and
  falsehood together; and mistaking license for liberty, the slaves of
  vice exulted in their imagined freedom.
   
   
  At
  the opening of the Revolution, by a concession of the king, the
  people were granted a representation exceeding that of the nobles and
  the clergy combined. Thus the balance of power was in their hands;
  but they were not prepared to use it with wisdom and moderation.
  Eager to redress the wrongs they had suffered, they determined to
  undertake the reconstruction of society. An outraged populace, whose
  minds were filled with bitter and long-treasured memories of wrong,
  resolved to revolutionize the state of misery that had grown
  unbearable and to avenge themselves upon those whom they regarded as
  the authors of their sufferings. The oppressed wrought out the lesson
  they had learned under tyranny and became the oppressors of those who
  had oppressed them.
   
   
  Unhappy
  France reaped in blood the harvest she had sown. Terrible were the
  results of her submission to the controlling power of Rome. Where
  France, under the influence of Romanism, had set up the first stake
  at the opening of the Reformation, there the Revolution set up its
  first guillotine. On the very spot where the first martyrs to the
  Protestant faith were burned in the sixteenth century, the first
  victims were guillotined in the eighteenth. In repelling the gospel,
  which would have brought her healing, France had opened the door to
  infidelity and ruin. When the restraints of God's law were cast
  aside, it was found that the laws of man were inadequate to hold in
  check the powerful tides of human passion; and the nation swept on to
  revolt and anarchy. The war against the Bible inaugurated an era
  which stands in the world's history as the Reign of Terror. Peace and
  happiness were banished from the homes and hearts of men. No one was
  secure. He who triumphed today was suspected, condemned, tomorrow.
  Violence and lust held undisputed sway.
   
   
  King,
  clergy, and nobles were compelled to submit to the atrocities of an
  excited and maddened people. Their thirst for vengeance was only
  stimulated by the execution of the king; and those who had decreed
  his death soon followed him to the scaffold. A general slaughter of
  all suspected of hostility to the Revolution was determined. The
  prisons were crowded, at one time containing more than two hundred
  thousand captives. The cities of the kingdom were filled with scenes
  of horror. One party of revolutionists was against another party, and
  France became a vast field for contending masses, swayed by the fury
  of their passions. "In Paris one tumult succeeded another, and
  the citizens were divided into a medley of factions, that seemed
  intent on nothing but mutual extermination." And to add to the
  general misery, the nation became involved in a prolonged and
  devastating war with the great powers of Europe. "The country
  was nearly bankrupt, the armies were clamouring for arrears of pay,
  the Parisians were starving, the provinces were laid waste by
  brigands, and civilisation  was almost extinguished in anarchy and
  license."
   
   
  All
  too well the people had learned the lessons of cruelty and torture
  which Rome had so diligently taught. A day of retribution at last had
  come. It was not now the disciples of Jesus that were thrust into
  dungeons and dragged to the stake. Long ago these had perished or
  been driven into exile. Unsparing Rome now felt the deadly power of
  those whom she had trained to delight in deeds of blood. "The
  example of persecution which the clergy of France had exhibited for
  so many ages, was now retorted upon them with signal vigour. The
  scaffolds ran red with the blood of the priests. The galleys and the
  prisons, once crowded with Huguenots, were now filled with their
  persecutors. Chained to the bench and toiling at the oar, the Roman
  Catholic clergy experienced all those woes which their church had so
  freely inflicted on the gentle heretics."
   
   
  "Then
  came those days when the most barbarous of all codes was administered
  by the most barbarous of all tribunals; when no man could greet his
  neighbours or say his prayers . . . without danger of committing a
  capital crime; when spies lurked in every corner; when the guillotine
  was long and hard at work every morning; when the jails were filled
  as close as the holds of a slave ship; when the gutters ran foaming
  with blood into the Seine. . . . While the daily wagonloads of
  victims were carried to their doom through the streets of Paris, the
  proconsuls, whom the sovereign committee had sent forth to the
  departments, revelled in an extravagance of cruelty unknown even in
  the capital. The knife of the deadly machine rose and fell too slow
  for their work of slaughter. Long rows of captives were mowed down
  with grapeshot. Holes were made in the bottom of crowded barges.
  Lyons was turned into a desert. At Arras even the cruel mercy of a
  speedy death was denied to the prisoners. All down the Loire, from
  Saumur to the sea, great flocks of crows and kites feasted on naked
  corpses, twined together in hideous embraces. No mercy was shown to
  sex or age. The number of young lads and of girls of seventeen who
  were murdered by that execrable government, is to be reckoned by
  hundreds. Babies torn from the breast were tossed from pike to pike
  along the Jacobin ranks."In the short space of ten years,
  multitudes of human beings perished.
   
   
  All
  this was as Satan would have it. This was what for ages he had been
  working to secure. His policy is deception from first to last, and
  his steadfast purpose is to bring woe and wretchedness upon men, to
  deface and defile the workmanship of God, to mar the divine purposes
  of benevolence and love, and thus cause grief in heaven. Then by his
  deceptive arts he blinds the minds of men, and leads them to throw
  back the blame of his work upon God, as if all this misery were the
  result of the Creator's plan. In like manner, when those who have
  been degraded and brutalized through his cruel power achieve their
  freedom, he urges them on to excesses and atrocities. Then this
  picture of unbridled license is pointed out by tyrants and oppressors
  as an illustration of the results of liberty.
   
   
  When
  error in one garb has been detected, Satan only masks it in a
  different disguise, and multitudes receive it as eagerly as at the
  first. When the people found Romanism to be a deception, and he could
  not through this agency lead them to transgression of God's law, he
  urged them to regard all religion as a cheat, and the Bible as a
  fable; and, casting aside the divine statutes, they gave themselves
  up to unbridled iniquity.
   
   
  The
  fatal error which wrought such woe for the inhabitants of France was
  the ignoring of this one great truth: that true freedom lies within
  the proscriptions of the law of God. "O that thou hadst
  hearkened to My commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and
  thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." "There is no
  peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked." "But whoso
  hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear
  of evil." Isaiah 48:18, 22; Proverbs 1:33.  Atheists, infidels,
  and apostates oppose and denounce God's law; but the results of their
  influence prove that the well-being of man is bound up with his
  obedience of the divine statutes. Those who will not read the lesson
  from the book of God are bidden to read it in the history of nations.
   
   
  When
  Satan wrought through the Roman Church to lead men away from
  obedience, his agency was concealed, and his work was so disguised
  that the degradation and misery which resulted were not seen to be
  the fruit of transgression. And his power was so far counteracted by
  the working of the Spirit of God that his purposes were prevented
  from reaching their full fruition. The people did not trace the
  effect to its cause and discover the source of their miseries. But in
  the  Revolution the law of God was openly set aside by the National
  Council. And in the Reign of Terror which followed, the working of
  cause and effect could be seen by all.  When France publicly rejected
  God and set aside the Bible, wicked men and spirits of darkness
  exulted in their attainment of the object so long desired--a kingdom
  free from the restraints of the law of God. Because sentence against
  an evil work was not speedily executed, therefore the heart of the
  sons of men was "fully set in them to do evil."
  Ecclesiastes 8:11. But the transgression of a just and righteous law
  must inevitably result in misery and ruin. Though not visited at once
  with judgments, the wickedness of men was nevertheless surely working
  out their doom. Centuries of apostasy and crime had been treasuring
  up wrath against the day of retribution; and when their iniquity was
  full, the despisers of God learned too late that it is a fearful
  thing to have worn out the divine patience.
   
   
  The
  restraining Spirit of God, which imposes a check upon the cruel power
  of Satan, was in a great measure removed, and he whose only delight
  is the wretchedness of men was permitted to work his will. Those who
  had chosen the service of rebellion were left to reap its fruits
  until the land was filled with crimes too horrible for pen to trace.
  From devastated provinces and ruined cities a terrible cry was
  heard--a cry of bitterest anguish. France was shaken as if by an
  earthquake. Religion, law, social order, the family, the state, and
  the church--all were smitten down by the impious hand that had been
  lifted against the law of God. Truly spoke the wise man: "The
  wicked shall fall by his own wickedness." "Though a sinner
  do evil a hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know
  that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him:
  but it shall not be well with the wicked." Proverbs 11:5;
  Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13. "They hated knowledge, and did not choose
  the fear of the Lord;" "therefore shall they eat of the
  fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."
  Proverbs 1:29, 31.
   
   
  God's
  faithful witnesses, slain by the blasphemous power that "ascendeth
  out of the bottomless pit," were not long to remain silent.
  "After three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered
  into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon
  them which saw them." Revelation 11:11. It was in 1793 that the
  decrees which abolished the Christian religion and set aside the
  Bible passed the French Assembly. Three years and a half later a
  resolution rescinding these decrees, thus granting toleration to the
  Scriptures, was adopted by the same body. The world stood aghast at
  the enormity of guilt which had resulted from a rejection of the
  Sacred Oracles, and men recognized the necessity of faith in God and
  His word as the foundation of virtue and morality. Saith the Lord:
  "Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast
  thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even
  against the Holy One of Israel," Isaiah 37:23. "Therefore,
  behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to
  know My hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is
  Jehovah." Jeremiah 16:21, A.R.V.
   
   
  Concerning
  the two witnesses the prophet declares further: "And they heard
  a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they
  ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."
  Revelation 11:12. Since France made war upon God's two witnesses,
  they have been honoured as never before. In 1804 the British and
  Foreign Bible Society was organized. This was followed by similar
  organizations, with numerous branches, upon the continent of Europe.
  In 1816 the American Bible Society was founded. When the British
  Society was formed, the Bible had been printed and circulated in
  fifty tongues. It has since been translated into many hundreds of
  languages and dialects.
   
   
  For
  the fifty years preceding 1792, little attention was given to the
  work of foreign missions. No new societies were formed, and there
  were but few churches that made any effort for the spread of
  Christianity in heathen lands. But toward the close of the eighteenth
  century a great change took place. Men became dissatisfied with the
  results of rationalism and realized the necessity of divine
  revelation and experimental religion. From this time the work of
  foreign missions attained an unprecedented growth. The improvements
  in printing have given an impetus to the work of circulating the
  Bible. The increased facilities for communication between different
  countries, the breaking down of ancient barriers of prejudice and
  national exclusiveness, and the loss of secular power by the pontiff
  of Rome have opened the way for the entrance of the word of God. For
  some years the Bible has been sold without restraint in the streets
  of Rome, and it has now been carried to every part of the habitable
  globe.
   
   
  The
  infidel Voltaire once boastingly said: "I am weary of hearing
  people repeat that twelve men established the Christian religion. I
  will prove that one man may suffice to overthrow it."
  Generations have passed since his death. Millions have joined in the
  war upon the Bible. But it is so far from being destroyed, that where
  there were a hundred in Voltaire's time, there are now ten thousand,
  yes, a hundred thousand copies of the book of God. In the words of an
  early Reformer concerning the Christian church, "The Bible is an
  anvil that has worn out many hammers." Saith the Lord: "No
  weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue
  that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn."
  Isaiah 54:17.  "The word of our God shall stand forever."
  "All His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and
  ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." Isaiah 40:8; Psalm
  111:7, 8. Whatever is built upon the authority of man will be
  overthrown; but that which is founded upon the rock of God's
  immutable word shall stand forever.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 16. Land of Liberty 
   
  The
  English Reformers, while renouncing the doctrines of Romanism, had
  retained many of its forms. Thus though the authority and the creed
  of Rome were rejected, not a few of her customs and ceremonies were
  incorporated into the worship of the Church of England. It was
  claimed that these things were not matters of conscience; that though
  they were not commanded in Scripture, and hence were nonessential,
  yet not being forbidden, they were not intrinsically evil. Their
  observance tended to narrow the gulf which separated the reformed
  churches from Rome, and it was urged that they would promote the
  acceptance of the Protestant faith by Romanists.
   
   
  To
  the conservative and compromising, these arguments seemed conclusive.
  But there was another class that did not so judge. The fact that
  these customs "tended to bridge over the chasm between Rome and
  the Reformation" (Martyn, volume 5, page 22), was in their view
  a conclusive argument against retaining them. They looked upon them
  as badges of the slavery from which they had been delivered and to
  which they had no disposition to return. They reasoned that God has
  in His word established the regulations governing His worship, and
  that men are not at liberty to add to these or to detract from them.
  The very beginning of the great apostasy was in seeking to supplement
  the authority of God by  that of the church. Rome began by enjoining
  what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had
  explicitly enjoined.
   
   
  Many
  earnestly desired to return to the purity and simplicity which
  characterized the primitive church. They regarded many of the
  established customs of the English Church as monuments of idolatry,
  and they could not in conscience unite in her worship. But the
  church, being supported by the civil authority, would permit no
  dissent from her forms. Attendance upon her service was required by
  law, and unauthorized assemblies for religious worship were
  prohibited, under penalty of imprisonment, exile, and death.
   
   
  At
  the opening of the seventeenth century the monarch who had just
  ascended the throne of England declared his determination to make the
  Puritans "conform, or . . . harry them out of the land, or else
  worse."--George Bancroft, History of the United States of
  America, pt. 1, ch. 12, par. 6. Hunted, persecuted, and imprisoned,
  they could discern in the future no promise of better days, and many
  yielded to the conviction that for such as would serve God according
  to the dictates of their conscience, "England was ceasing
  forever to be a habitable place."--J. G. Palfrey, History of New
  England, ch. 3, par. 43. Some at last determined to seek refuge in
  Holland. Difficulties, losses, and imprisonment were encountered.
  Their purposes were thwarted, and they were betrayed into the hands
  of their enemies. But steadfast perseverance finally conquered, and
  they found shelter on the friendly shores of the Dutch Republic.
   
   
  In
  their flight they had left their houses, their goods, and their means
  of livelihood. They were strangers in a strange land, among a people
  of different language and customs. They were forced to resort to new
  and untried occupations to earn their bread. Middle-aged men, who had
  spent their lives in tilling the soil, had now to learn mechanical
  trades. But they cheerfully accepted the situation and lost no time
  in idleness or repining. Though often pinched with poverty,  they
  thanked God for the blessings which were still granted them and found
  their joy in unmolested spiritual communion. "They knew they
  were pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lifted up
  their eyes to heaven, their dearest country, and quieted their
  spirits."--Bancroft, pt. 1, ch. 12, par. 15.
   
   
  In
  the midst of exile and hardship their love and faith waxed strong.
  They trusted the Lord's promises, and He did not fail them in time of
  need. His angels were by their side, to encourage and support them.
  And when God's hand seemed pointing them across the sea, to a land
  where they might found for themselves a state, and leave to their
  children the precious heritage of religious liberty, they went
  forward, without shrinking, in the path of providence.  God had
  permitted trials to come upon His people to prepare them for the
  accomplishment of His gracious purpose toward them. The church had
  been brought low, that she might be exalted. God was about to display
  His power in her behalf, to give to the world another evidence that
  He will not forsake those who trust in Him. He had overruled events
  to cause the wrath of Satan and the plots of evil men to advance His
  glory and to bring His people to a place of security. Persecution and
  exile were opening the way to freedom.
   
   
  When
  first constrained to separate from the English Church, the Puritans
  had joined themselves together by a solemn covenant, as the Lord's
  free people, "to walk together in all His ways made known or to
  be made known to them." --J. Brown, The Pilgrim Fathers, page
  74. Here was the true spirit of reform, the vital principle of
  Protestantism. It was with this purpose that the Pilgrims departed
  from Holland to find a home in the New World. John Robinson, their
  pastor, who was providentially prevented from accompanying them, in
  his farewell address to the exiles said:
   
   
  "Brethren,
  we are now erelong to part asunder, and the Lord knoweth whether I
  shall live ever to see your faces more. But whether the Lord hath
  appointed it or not, I charge you before God and His blessed angels
  to follow me no farther than I have followed Christ. If God should
  reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to
  receive it as ever you were to receive any truth of my ministry; for
  I am very confident the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break
  forth out of His holy word."--Martyn, vol. 5, p. 70.
   
   
  "For
  my part, I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed
  churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at
  present no farther than the instruments of their reformation. The
  Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; . . . and the
  Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great
  man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be
  lamented; for though they were burning and shining lights in their
  time, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but were
  they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light as that
  which they first received."--D. Neal, History of the Puritans,
  vol. 1, p. 269.
   
   
  "Remember
  your church covenant, in which you have agreed to walk in all the
  ways of the Lord, made or to be made known unto you. Remember your
  promise and covenant with God and with one another, to receive
  whatever light and truth shall be made known to you from His written
  word; but withal, take heed, I beseech you, what you receive for
  truth, and compare it and weigh it with other scriptures of truth
  before you accept it; for it is not possible the Christian world
  should come so lately out of such thick antichristian darkness, and
  that full perfection of knowledge should break forth at
  once."--Martyn, vol. 5, pp. 70, 71.
   
   
  It
  was the desire for liberty of conscience that inspired the Pilgrims
  to brave the perils of the long journey across the sea, to endure the
  hardships and dangers of the wilderness, and with God's blessing to
  lay, on the shores of America, the foundation of a mighty nation. Yet
  honest and Godfearing  as they were, the Pilgrims did not yet
  comprehend the great principle of religious liberty. The freedom
  which they sacrificed so much to secure for themselves, they were not
  equally ready to grant to others. "Very few, even of the
  foremost thinkers and moralists of the seventeenth century, had any
  just conception of that grand principle, the outgrowth of the New
  Testament, which acknowledges God as the sole judge of human
  faith."-- Ibid., vol. 5, p. 297.
   
   
  The
  doctrine that God has committed to the church the right to control
  the conscience, and to define and punish heresy, is one of the most
  deeply rooted of papal errors. While the Reformers rejected the creed
  of Rome, they were not entirely free from her spirit of intolerance.
  The dense darkness in which, through the long ages of her rule,
  popery had enveloped all Christendom, had not even yet been wholly
  dissipated. Said one of the leading ministers in the colony of
  Massachusetts Bay: "It was toleration that made the world
  antichristian; and the church never took harm by the punishment of
  heretics."-- Ibid., vol. 5, p. 335. The regulation was adopted
  by the colonists that only church members should have a voice in the
  civil government. A kind of state church was formed, all the people
  being required to contribute to the support of the clergy, and the
  magistrates being authorized to suppress heresy. Thus the secular
  power was in the hands of the church. It was not long before these
  measures led to the inevitable result --persecution.
   
   
  Eleven
  years after the planting of the first colony, Roger Williams came to
  the New World. Like the early Pilgrims he came to enjoy religious
  freedom; but, unlike them, he saw --what so few in his time had yet
  seen--that this freedom was the inalienable right of all, whatever
  might be their creed. He was an earnest seeker for truth, with
  Robinson holding it impossible that all the light from God's word had
  yet been received. Williams "was the first person in modern
  Christendom to establish civil government on the doctrine of the
  liberty of conscience, the equality of opinions before  the
  law."--Bancroft, pt. 1, ch. 15, par. 16. He declared it to be
  the duty of the magistrate to restrain crime, but never to control
  the conscience. "The public or the magistrates may decide,"
  he said, "what is due from man to man; but when they attempt to
  prescribe a man's duties to God, they are out of place, and there can
  be no safety; for it is clear that if the magistrates has the power,
  he may decree one set of opinions or beliefs today and another
  tomorrow; as has been done in England by different kings and queens,
  and by different popes and councils in the Roman Church; so that
  belief would become a heap of confusion."--Martyn, vol. 5, p.
  340.
   
   
  Attendance
  at the services of the established church was required under a
  penalty of fine or imprisonment. "Williams reprobated the law;
  the worst statute in the English code was that which did but enforce
  attendance upon the parish church. To compel men to unite with those
  of a different creed, he regarded as an open violation of their
  natural rights; to drag to public worship the irreligious and the
  unwilling, seemed only like requiring hypocrisy. . . . 'No one should
  be bound to worship, or,' he added, 'to maintain a worship, against
  his own consent.' 'What!' exclaimed his antagonists, amazed at his
  tenets, 'is not the labourer worthy of his hire?' 'Yes,' replied he,
  'from them that hire him.'"-- Bancroft, pt. 1, ch. 15, par. 2.
   
   
  Roger
  Williams was respected and beloved as a faithful minister, a man of
  rare gifts, of unbending integrity and true benevolence; yet his
  steadfast denial of the right of civil magistrates to authority over
  the church, and his demand for religious liberty, could not be
  tolerated. The application of this new doctrine, it was urged, would
  "subvert the fundamental state and government of the country."--
  Ibid., pt. 1, ch. 15, par. 10. He was sentenced to banishment from
  the colonies, and, finally, to avoid arrest, he was forced to flee,
  amid the cold and storms of winter, into the unbroken forest.
   
   
  "For
  fourteen weeks," he says, "I was sorely tossed in a bitter
  season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean."  But "the
  ravens fed me in the wilderness," and a hollow tree often served
  him for a shelter.--Martyn, vol. 5, pp. 349, 350. Thus he continued
  his painful flight through the snow and the trackless forest, until
  he found refuge with an Indian tribe whose confidence and affection
  he had won while endeavouring to teach them the truths of the gospel.
   
   
  Making
  his way at last, after months of change and wandering, to the shores
  of Narragansett Bay, he there laid the foundation of the first state
  of modern times that in the fullest sense recognized the right of
  religious freedom. The fundamental principle of Roger Williams's
  colony was "that every man should have liberty to worship God
  according to the light of his own conscience."-- Ibid., vol. 5,
  p. 354. His little state, Rhode Island, became the asylum of the
  oppressed, and it increased and prospered until its foundation
  principles--civil and religious liberty--became the cornerstones of
  the American Republic.
   
   
  In
  that grand old document which our forefathers set forth as their bill
  of rights--the Declaration of Independence--they declared: "We
  hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal;
  that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
  rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
  happiness." And the Constitution guarantees, in the most
  explicit terms, the inviolability of conscience: "No religious
  test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office of
  public trust under the United States." "Congress shall make
  no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
  free exercise thereof."
   
   
  "The
  framers of the Constitution recognized the eternal principle that
  man's relation with his God is above human legislation, and his
  rights of conscience inalienable. Reasoning was not necessary to
  establish this truth; we are conscious of it in our own bosoms. It is
  this consciousness which, in defiance of human laws, has sustained so
  many martyrs in tortures and flames. They felt that their duty to God
  was superior to human enactments, and that man could exercise  no
  authority over their consciences. It is an inborn principle which
  nothing can eradicate."-Congressional documents (U.S.A.), serial
  No. 200, document No. 271.
   
   
  As
  the tidings spread through the countries of Europe, of a land where
  every man might enjoy the fruit of his own labour and obey the
  convictions of his own conscience, thousands flocked to the shores of
  the New World. Colonies rapidly multiplied. "Massachusetts, by
  special law, offered free welcome and aid, at the public cost, to
  Christians of any nationality who might fly beyond the Atlantic 'to
  escape from wars or famine, or the oppression of their persecutors.'
  Thus the fugitive and the downtrodden were, by statute, made the
  guests of the commonwealth."--Martyn, vol. 5, p. 417. In twenty
  years from the first landing at Plymouth, as many thousand Pilgrims
  were settled in New England.
   
   
  To
  secure the object which they sought, "they were content to earn
  a bare subsistence by a life of frugality and toil. They asked
  nothing from the soil but the reasonable returns of their own labour.
  No golden vision threw a deceitful halo around their path. . . . They
  were content with the slow but steady progress of their social
  polity. They patiently endured the privations of the wilderness,
  watering the tree of liberty with their tears, and with the sweat of
  their brow, till it took deep root in the land."  The Bible was
  held as the foundation of faith, the source of wisdom, and the
  charter of liberty. Its principles were diligently taught in the
  home, in the school, and in the church, and its fruits were manifest
  in thrift, intelligence, purity, and temperance. One might be for
  years a dweller in the Puritan settlement, "and not see a
  drunkard, or hear an oath, or meet a beggar."--Bancroft, pt. 1,
  ch. 19, par. 25.
   
   
  It
  was demonstrated that the principles of the Bible are the surest
  safeguards of national greatness. The feeble and isolated colonies
  grew to a confederation of powerful states, and the world marked with
  wonder the peace and prosperity of "a church without a pope, and
  a state without a king."  But continually increasing numbers
  were attracted to the shores of America, actuated by motives widely
  different from those of the first Pilgrims. Though the primitive
  faith and purity exerted a widespread and moulding power, yet its
  influence became less and less as the numbers increased of those who
  sought only worldly advantage.
   
   
  The
  regulation adopted by the early colonists, of permitting only members
  of the church to vote or to hold office in the civil government, led
  to most pernicious results. This measure had been accepted as a means
  of preserving the purity of the state, but it resulted in the
  corruption of the church. A profession of religion being the
  condition of suffrage and officeholding, many, actuated solely by
  motives of worldly policy, united with the church without a change of
  heart. Thus the churches came to consist, to a considerable extent,
  of unconverted persons; and even in the ministry were those who not
  only held errors of doctrine, but who were ignorant of the renewing
  power of the Holy Spirit. Thus again was demonstrated the evil
  results, so often witnessed in the history of the church from the
  days of Constantine to the present, of attempting to build up the
  church by the aid of the state, of appealing to the secular power in
  support of the gospel of Him who declared: "My kingdom is not of
  this world." John 18:36. The union of the church with the state,
  be the degree never so slight, while it may appear to bring the world
  nearer to the church, does in reality but bring the church nearer to
  the world.
   
   
  The
  great principle so nobly advocated by Robinson and Roger Williams,
  that truth is progressive, that Christians should stand ready to
  accept all the light which may shine from God's holy word, was lost
  sight of by their descendants. The Protestant churches of
  America,--and those of Europe as well,--so highly favoured in
  receiving the blessings of the Reformation, failed to press forward
  in the path of reform. Though a few faithful men arose, from time to
  time, to proclaim new truth and expose long-cherished error, the
  majority, like the Jews in Christ's day or the papists in the time of
  Luther, were content to believe as their fathers had believed and to
  live as they had lived. Therefore religion again degenerated into
  formalism; and errors and superstitions which would have been cast
  aside had the church continued to walk in the light of God's word,
  were retained and cherished. Thus the spirit inspired by the
  Reformation gradually died out, until there was almost as great need
  of reform in the Protestant churches as in the Roman Church in the
  time of Luther. There was the same worldliness and spiritual stupor,
  a similar reverence for the opinions of men, and substitution of
  human theories for the teachings of God's word.
   
   
  The
  wide circulation of the Bible in the early part of the nineteenth
  century, and the great light thus shed upon the world, was not
  followed by a corresponding advance in knowledge of revealed truth,
  or in experimental religion. Satan could not, as in former ages, keep
  God's word from the people; it had been placed within the reach of
  all; but in order still to accomplish his object, he led many to
  value it but lightly. Men neglected to search the Scriptures, and
  thus they continued to accept false interpretations, and to cherish
  doctrines which had no foundation in the Bible.
   
   
  Seeing
  the failure of his efforts to crush out the truth by persecution,
  Satan had again resorted to the plan of compromise which led to the
  great apostasy and the formation of the Church of Rome. He had
  induced Christians to ally themselves, not now with pagans, but with
  those who, by their devotion to the things of this world, had proved
  themselves to be as truly idolaters as were the worshipers of graven
  images. And the results of this union were no less pernicious now
  than in former ages; pride and extravagance were fostered under the
  guise of religion, and the churches became corrupted. Satan continued
  to pervert the doctrines of the Bible, and traditions that were to
  ruin millions were taking deep root. The church was upholding and
  defending these traditions, instead of contending for "the faith
  which was once delivered unto the saints." Thus were degraded
  the principles for which the Reformers had done and suffered so much.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 17. Heralds of the Morning 
   
  One
  of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible
  is that of Christ's second coming to complete the great work of
  redemption. To God's pilgrim people, so long left to sojourn in "the
  region and shadow of death," a precious, joy-inspiring hope is
  given in the promise of His appearing, who is "the resurrection
  and the life," to "bring home again His banished." The
  doctrine of the second advent is the very keynote of the Sacred
  Scriptures. From the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing
  steps from Eden, the children of faith have waited the coming of the
  Promised One to break the destroyer's power and bring them again to
  the lost Paradise.
   
   
  Holy
  men of old looked forward to the advent of the Messiah in glory, as
  the consummation of their hope. Enoch, only the seventh in descent
  from them that dwelt in Eden, he who for three centuries on earth
  walked with his God, was permitted to behold from afar the coming of
  the Deliverer. "Behold," he declared, "the Lord cometh
  with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all."
  Jude 14, 15. The patriarch Job in the night of his affliction
  exclaimed with unshaken trust: "I know that my Redeemer liveth,
  and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: . . . in my
  flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
  shall behold, and not another." Job 19:25-27.
   
   
  The
  coming of Christ to usher in the reign of righteousness has inspired
  the most sublime and impassioned utterances of the sacred writers.
  The poets and prophets of the Bible have dwelt upon it in words
  glowing with celestial fire. The psalmist sang of the power and
  majesty of Israel's King: "Out of Zion, the perfection of
  beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep
  silence. . . . He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the
  earth, that He may judge His people." Psalm 50:2-4. "Let
  the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad . . . before the Lord:
  for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the
  world with righteousness, and the people with His truth." Psalm
  96:11-13.
   
   
  Said
  the prophet Isaiah: "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for
  thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the
  dead." "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body
  shall they arise." "He will swallow up death in victory;
  and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the
  rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for
  the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this
  is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the
  Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His
  salvation." Isaiah 26:19; 25:8, 9.
   
   
  And
  Habakkuk, rapt in holy vision, beheld His appearing. "God came
  from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the
  heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was
  as the light." "He stood, and measured the earth: He
  beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains
  were scattered, the perpetual hill did bow: His ways are
  everlasting." "Thou didst ride upon Thine horses and Thy
  chariots of salvation." "The mountains saw Thee, and they
  trembled: . . . the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands
  on high. The sun and moon stood still in their  habitation: at the
  light of Thine arrows they went, and at the shining of Thy glittering
  spear." "Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy
  people, even for salvation with Thine anointed." Habakkuk 3:3,
  4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13.
   
   
  When
  the Saviour was about to be separated from His disciples, He
  comforted them in their sorrow with the assurance that He would come
  again: "Let not your heart be troubled. . . . In My Father's
  house are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And
  if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive
  you unto Myself." John 14:1-3. "The Son of man shall come
  in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him." "Then
  shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be
  gathered all nations." Matthew 25:31, 32.  The angels who
  lingered upon Olivet after Christ's ascension repeated to the
  disciples the promise of His return: "This same Jesus, which is
  taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye
  have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11. And the apostle Paul,
  speaking by the Spirit of Inspiration, testified: "The Lord
  Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
  Archangel, and with the trump of God." 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
  Says the prophet of Patmos: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and
  every eye shall see Him." Revelation 1:7.
   
   
  About
  His coming cluster the glories of that "restitution of all
  things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets
  since the world began." Acts 3:21. Then the long-continued rule
  of evil shall be broken; "the kingdoms of this world" will
  become "the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He
  shall reign for ever and ever." Revelation 11:15. "The
  glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
  together." "The Lord God will cause righteousness and
  praise to spring forth before all the nations." He shall be "for
  a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His
  people." Isaiah 40:5; 61:11; 28:5.
   
   
  It
  is then that the peaceful and long-desired kingdom of the Messiah
  shall be established under the whole heaven. "The Lord shall
  comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make
  her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the
  Lord." "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the
  excellency of Carmel and Sharon." "Thou shalt no more be
  termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate:
  but thou shalt be called My Delight, and thy land Beulah." "As
  the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice
  over thee." Isaiah 51:3; 35:2; 62:4, 5, margin.
   
   
  The
  coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His true
  followers. The Saviour's parting promise upon Olivet, that He would
  come again, lighted up the future for His disciples, filling their
  hearts with joy and hope that sorrow could not quench nor trials dim.
  Amid suffering and persecution, the "appearing of the great God
  and our Saviour Jesus Christ" was the "blessed hope."
  When the Thessalonian Christians were filled with grief as they
  buried their loved ones, who had hoped to live to witness the coming
  of the Lord, Paul, their teacher, pointed them to the resurrection,
  to take place at the Saviour's advent. Then the dead in Christ should
  rise, and together with the living be caught up to meet the Lord in
  the air. "And so," he said, "shall we ever be with the
  Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1
  Thessalonians 4:16-18.
   
   
  On
  rocky Patmos the beloved disciple hears the promise, "Surely I
  come quickly," and his longing response voices the prayer of the
  church in all her pilgrimage, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
  Revelation 22:20.  From the dungeon, the stake, the scaffold, where
  saints and martyrs witnessed for the truth, comes down the centuries
  the utterance of their faith and hope. Being "assured of His
  personal resurrection, and consequently of their own at His coming,
  for this cause," says one of these Christians, "they
  despised death, and were found to be above it."--Daniel T.
  Taylor, The Reign of Christ on Earth: or, The Voice of the Church in
  All Ages, page 33. They were willing to go down to the grave, that
  they might "rise free."-- Ibid., page 54. They looked for
  the "Lord to come from heaven in the clouds with the glory of
  His Father," "bringing to the just the times of the
  kingdom." The Waldenses cherished the same faith.-- Ibid., pages
  129-132. Wycliffe looked forward to the Redeemer's appearing as the
  hope of the church.-- Ibid., pages 132-134.
   
   
  Luther
  declared: "I persuade myself verily, that the day of judgment
  will not be absent full three hundred years. God will not, cannot,
  suffer this wicked world much longer." "The great day is
  drawing near in which the kingdom of abominations shall be
  overthrown."-- Ibid., pages 158, 134.  "This aged world is
  not far from its end," said Melanchthon. Calvin bids Christians
  "not to hesitate, ardently desiring the day of Christ's coming
  as of all events most auspicious;" and declares that "the
  whole family of the faithful will keep in view that day." "We
  must hunger after Christ, we must seek, contemplate," he says,
  "till the dawning of that great day, when our Lord will fully
  manifest the glory of His kingdom."-- Ibid., pages 158, 134.
   
   
  "Has
  not the Lord Jesus carried up our flesh into heaven?" said Knox,
  the Scotch Reformer, "and shall He not return? We know that He
  shall return, and that with expedition." Ridley and Latimer, who
  laid down their lives for the truth, looked in faith for the Lord's
  coming. Ridley wrote: "The world without doubt--this I do
  believe, and therefore I say it--draws to an end. Let us with John,
  the servant of God, cry in our hearts unto our Saviour Christ, Come,
  Lord Jesus, come."-- Ibid., pages 151, 145.
   
   
  "The
  thoughts of the coming of the Lord," said Baxter, "are most
  sweet and joyful to me."--Richard Baxter, Works, vol. 17, p.
  555. "It is the work of faith and the character of His saints to
  love His appearing and to look for that blessed hope." "If
  death be the last enemy to be destroyed at the resurrection, we may
  learn how earnestly believers should long and pray for the second
  coming of Christ, when this full and final conquest shall be made."--
  Ibid., vol. 17, p. 500. "This is the day that all believers
  should long, and hope, and wait for, as being the accomplishment of
  all the work of their redemption, and all the desires and endeavours
  of their souls." "Hasten, O Lord, this blessed day!"--
  Ibid., vol. 17, pp. 182, 183. Such was the hope of the apostolic
  church, of the "church in the wilderness," and of the
  Reformers.
   
   
  Prophecy
  not only foretells the manner and object of Christ's coming, but
  presents tokens by which men are to know when it is near. Said Jesus:
  "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the
  stars." Luke 21:25. "The sun shall be darkened, and the
  moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall,
  and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall
  they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and
  glory." Mark 13:24-26. The revelator thus describes the first of
  the signs to precede the second advent: "There was a great
  earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the
  moon became as blood." Revelation 6:12.
   
   
  These
  signs were witnessed before the opening of the nineteenth century. In
  fulfillment of this prophecy there occurred, in the year 1755, the
  most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded. Though commonly
  known as the earthquake of Lisbon, it extended to the greater part of
  Europe, Africa, and America. It was felt in Greenland, in the West
  Indies, in the island of Madeira, in Norway and Sweden, Great Britain
  and Ireland. It pervaded an extent of not less than four million
  square miles. In Africa the shock was almost as severe as in Europe.
  A great part of Algiers was destroyed; and a short distance from
  Morocco, a village containing eight or ten thousand inhabitants was
  swallowed up. A vast wave swept over the coast of Spain and Africa
  engulfing cities and causing great destruction.
   
   
  It
  was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested its extreme
  violence. At Cadiz the inflowing wave was said to be sixty feet high.
  Mountains, "some of the largest in Portugal, were impetuously
  shaken, as it were, from their very foundations, and some of them
  opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful
  manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the adjacent
  valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains."--
  Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, page 495.
   
   
  At
  Lisbon "a sound of thunder was heard underground, and
  immediately afterwards a violent shock threw down the greater part of
  that city. In the course of about six minutes sixty thousand persons
  perished. The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry; it then rolled
  in, rising fifty feet or more above its ordinary level." "Among
  other extraordinary events related to have occurred at Lisbon during
  the catastrophe, was the subsidence of a new quay, built entirely of
  marble, at an immense expense. A great concourse of people had
  collected there for safety, as a spot where they might be beyond the
  reach of falling ruins; but suddenly the quay sank down with all the
  people on it, and not one of the dead bodies ever floated to the
  surface."-- Ibid., page 495.
   
   
  "The
  shock" of the earthquake "was instantly followed by the
  fall of every church and convent, almost all the large public
  buildings, and more than one fourth of the houses. In about two hours
  after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged
  with such violence for the space of nearly three days, that the city
  was completely desolated. The earthquake happened on a holyday, when
  the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom
  escaped."-- Encyclopedia Americana, art. "Lisbon,"
  note (ed. 1831). "The terror of the people was beyond
  description. Nobody wept; it was beyond tears. They ran hither and
  thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces
  and breasts, crying, 'Misericordia! the world's at an end!' Mothers
  forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images.
  Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain
  was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the
  altars; images, priests, and people were buried in one common ruin."
  It has been estimated that ninety thousand persons lost their lives
  on that fatal day.
   
   
  Twenty-five
  years later appeared the next sign mentioned in the prophecy--the
  darkening of the sun and moon. What rendered this more striking was
  the fact that the time of its fulfillment had been definitely pointed
  out. In the Saviour's conversation with His disciples upon Olivet,
  after describing the long period of trial for the church,--the 1260
  years of papal persecution, concerning which He had promised that the
  tribulation should be shortened,--He thus mentioned certain events to
  precede His coming, and fixed the time when the first of these should
  be witnessed: "In those days, after that tribulation, the sun
  shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Mark
  13:24. The 1260 days, or years, terminated in 1798. A quarter of a
  century earlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased. Following this
  persecution, according to the words of Christ, the sun was to be
  darkened. On the 19th of May, 1780, this prophecy was fulfilled.
   
   
  "Almost,
  if not altogether alone, as the most mysterious and as yet
  unexplained phenomenon of its kind, . . . stands the dark day of May
  19, 1780,--a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible
  heavens and atmosphere in New England."--R. M. Devens, Our First
  Century, page 89.  An eyewitness living in Massachusetts describes
  the event as follows: In the morning the sun rose clear, but was soon
  overcast. The clouds became lowery, and from them, black and ominous,
  as they soon appeared, lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and a
  little rain fell. Toward nine o'clock, the clouds became thinner, and
  assumed a brassy or coppery appearance, and earth, rocks, trees,
  buildings, water, and persons were changed by this strange, unearthly
  light. A few minutes later, a heavy black cloud spread over the
  entire sky except a narrow rim at the horizon, and it was as dark as
  it usually is at nine o'clock on a summer evening. . . .
   
   
  Fear,
  anxiety, and awe gradually filled the minds of the people. Women
  stood at the door, looking out upon the dark landscape; men returned
  from their labour in the fields; the carpenter left his tools, the
  blacksmith his forge, the tradesman his counter. Schools were
  dismissed, and tremblingly the children fled homeward. Travelers put
  up at the nearest farmhouse. 'What is coming?' queried every lip and
  heart. It seemed as if a hurricane was about to dash across the land,
  or as if it was the day of the consummation of all things.
   
   
  "Candles
  were used; and hearth fires shone as brightly as on a moonless
  evening in autumn. . . . Fowls retired to their roosts and went to
  sleep, cattle gathered at the pasture bars and lowed, frogs peeped,
  birds sang their evening songs, and bats flew about. But the human
  knew that night had not come. . . ."Dr. Nathanael Whittaker,
  pastor of the Tabernacle church in Salem, held religious services in
  the meeting-house, and preached a sermon in which he maintained that
  the darkness was supernatural. Congregations came together in many
  other places. The texts for the extemporaneous sermons were
  invariably those that seemed to indicate that the darkness was
  consonant with Scriptural prophecy. . . . The darkness was most dense
  shortly after eleven o'clock."-- The Essex Antiquarian, April,
  1899, vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 53, 54. "In most parts of the country
  it was so great in the daytime, that the people could not tell the
  hour by either watch or clock, nor dine, nor manage their domestic
  business, without the light of candles. . . .
   
   
  "The
  extent of this darkness was extraordinary. It was observed as far
  east as Falmouth. To the westward it reached to the farthest part of
  Connecticut, and to Albany. To the southward, it was observed along
  the seacoasts; and to the north as far as the American settlements
  extend."--William Gordon, History of the Rise, Progress, and
  Establishment of the Independence of the U.S.A., vol. 3, p. 57.  The
  intense darkness of the day was succeeded, an hour or two before
  evening, by a partially clear sky, and the sun appeared, though it
  was still obscured by the black, heavy mist. "After sundown, the
  clouds came again overhead, and it grew dark very fast." "Nor
  was the darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying than that
  of the day; notwithstanding there was almost a full moon, no object
  was discernible but by the help of some artificial light, which, when
  seen from the neighbouring houses and other places at a distance,
  appeared through a kind of Egyptian darkness which seemed almost
  impervious to the rays."--Isaiah Thomas, Massachusetts Spy; or,
  American Oracle of Liberty, vol. 10, No. 472 (May 25, 1780).
   
   
  Said
  an eyewitness of the scene: "I could not help conceiving at the
  time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded
  in impenetrable shades, or struck out of existence, the darkness
  could not have been more complete."--Letter by Dr. Samuel
  Tenney, of Exeter, New Hampshire, December, 1785 (in Massachusetts
  Historical Society Collections, 1792, 1st series, vol. 1, p. 97).
  Though at nine o'clock that night the moon rose to the full, "it
  had not the least effect to dispel the deathlike shadows." After
  midnight the darkness disappeared, and the moon, when first visible,
  had the appearance of blood.
   
   
  May
  19, 1780, stands in history as "The Dark Day." Since the
  time of Moses no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and
  duration, has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as
  given by eyewitnesses, is but an echo of the words of the Lord,
  recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years previous to
  their fulfillment: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
  the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord
  come." Joel 2:31.  Christ had bidden His people watch for the
  signs of His advent and rejoice as they should behold the tokens of
  their coming King. "When these things begin to come to pass,"
  He said, "then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
  redemption draweth nigh." He pointed His followers to the
  budding trees of spring, and said: "When they now shoot forth,
  ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
  So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that
  the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Luke 21:28, 30, 31.
   
   
  But
  as the spirit of humility and devotion in the church had given place
  to pride and formalism, love for Christ and faith in His coming had
  grown cold. Absorbed in worldliness and pleasure seeking, the
  professed people of God were blinded to the Saviour's instructions
  concerning the signs of His appearing. The doctrine of the second
  advent had been neglected; the scriptures relating to it were
  obscured by misinterpretation, until it was, to a great extent,
  ignored and forgotten. Especially was this the case in the churches
  of America. The freedom and comfort enjoyed by all classes of
  society, the ambitious desire for wealth and luxury, begetting an
  absorbing devotion to money-making, the eager rush for popularity and
  power, which seemed to be within the reach of all, led men to centre
  their interests and hopes on the things of this life, and to put far
  in the future that solemn day when the present order of things should
  pass away.
   
   
  When
  the Saviour pointed out to His followers the signs of His return, He
  foretold the state of backsliding that would exist just prior to His
  second advent. There would be, as in the days of Noah, the activity
  and stir of worldly business and pleasure seeking--buying, selling,
  planting, building, marrying, and giving in marriage--with
  forgetfulness of God and the future life. For those living at this
  time, Christ's admonition is: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at
  any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness,
  and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares."
  "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted
  worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
  stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:34, 36.
   
   
  The
  condition of the church at this time is pointed out in the Saviour's
  words in the Revelation: "Thou hast a name  that thou livest,
  and art dead." And to those who refuse to arouse from their
  careless security, the solemn warning is addressed: "If
  therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and
  thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Revelation
  3:1, 3.
   
   
  It
  was needful that men should be awakened to their danger; that they
  should be roused to prepare for the solemn events connected with the
  close of probation. The prophet of God declares: "The day of the
  Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" Who
  shall stand when He appeareth who is "of purer eyes than to
  behold evil," and cannot "look on iniquity"? Joel
  2:11; Habakkuk 1:13. To them that cry, "My God, we know Thee,"
  yet have transgressed His covenant, and hastened after another god,
  hiding iniquity in their hearts, and loving the paths of
  unrighteousness-- to these the day of the Lord is "darkness, and
  not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it." Hosea 8:2,
  1; Psalm 16;4; Amos 5:20. "It shall come to pass at that time,"
  saith the Lord, "that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and
  punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their
  heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil."
  Zephaniah 1:12. "I will punish the world for their evil, and the
  wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the
  proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."
  Isaiah 13:11. "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able
  to deliver them;" "their goods shall become a booty, and
  their houses a desolation." Zephaniah 1:18, 13.
   
   
  The
  prophet Jeremiah, looking forward to this fearful time, exclaimed: "I
  am pained at my very heart. . . . I cannot hold my peace, because
  thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of
  war. Destruction upon destruction is cried." Jeremiah 4:19, 20. 
  "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a
  day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a
  day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm."
  Zephaniah 1:15, 16. "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, to lay
  the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of
  it." Isaiah 13:9.
   
   
  In
  view of that great day the word of God, in the most solemn and
  impressive language, calls upon His people to arouse from their
  spiritual lethargy and to seek His face with repentance and
  humiliation: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in
  My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for
  the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." "Sanctify
  a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the
  congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children: . . . let the
  bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
  Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch
  and the altar." "Turn ye even to Me with all your heart,
  and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your
  heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He
  is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness."
  Joel 2:1, 15-17, 12, 13.
   
   
  To
  prepare a people to stand in the day of God, a great work of reform
  was to be accomplished. God saw that many of His professed people
  were not building for eternity, and in His mercy He was about to send
  a message of warning to arouse them from their stupor and lead them
  to make ready for the coming of the Lord.  This warning is brought to
  view in Revelation 14. Here is a threefold message represented as
  proclaimed by heavenly beings and immediately followed by the coming
  of the Son of man to reap "the harvest of the earth." The
  first of these warnings announces the approaching judgment. The
  prophet beheld an angel flying "in the midst of heaven, having
  the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth,
  and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with
  a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His
  judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and
  the sea, and the fountains of waters." Revelation 14:6, 7.
   
   
  This
  message is declared to be a part of "the everlasting gospel."
  The work of preaching the gospel has not been committed to angels,
  but has been entrusted to men. Holy angels have been employed in
  directing this work, they have in charge the great movements for the
  salvation of men; but the actual proclamation of the gospel is
  performed by the servants of Christ upon the earth.  Faithful men,
  who were obedient to the promptings of God's Spirit and the teachings
  of His word, were to proclaim this warning to the world. They were
  those who had taken heed to the "sure word of prophecy,"
  the "light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and
  the daystar arise." 2 Peter 1:19. They had been seeking the
  knowledge of God more than all hid treasures, counting it "better
  than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold."
  Proverbs 3:14. And the Lord revealed to them the great things of the
  kingdom. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and
  He will show them His covenant." Psalm 25:14.
   
   
  It
  was not the scholarly theologians who had an understanding of this
  truth, and engaged in its proclamation. Had these been faithful
  watchmen, diligently and prayerfully searching the Scriptures, they
  would have known the time of night; the prophecies would have opened
  to them the events about to take place. But they did not occupy this
  position, and the message was given by humbler men. Said Jesus: "Walk
  while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." John
  12:35. Those who turn away from the light which God has given, or who
  neglect to seek it when it is within their reach, are left in
  darkness. But the Saviour declares: "He that followeth Me shall
  not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John
  8:12. Whoever is with singleness of purpose seeking to do God's will,
  earnestly heeding the light already given, will receive greater
  light; to that soul some star of heavenly radiance will be sent to
  guide him into all truth.
   
   
  At
  the time of Christ's first advent the priests and scribes of the Holy
  City, to whom were entrusted the oracles of God, might have discerned
  the signs of the times and proclaimed the coming of the Promised One.
  The prophecy of Micah designated His birthplace; Daniel specified the
  time of His advent. Micah 5:2; Daniel 9:25. God committed these
  prophecies to the Jewish leaders; they were without excuse if they
  did not know and declare to the people that the Messiah's coming was
  at hand. Their ignorance was the result of sinful neglect. The Jews
  were building monuments for the slain prophets of God, while by their
  deference to the great men of earth they were paying homage to the
  servants of Satan. Absorbed in their ambitious strife for place and
  power among men, they lost sight of the divine honours proffered them
  by the King of heaven.
   
   
  With
  profound and reverent interest the elders of Israel should have been
  studying the place, the time, the circumstances, of the greatest
  event in the world's history--the coming of the Son of God to
  accomplish the redemption of man. All the people should have been
  watching and waiting that they might be among the first to welcome
  the world's Redeemer. But, lo, at Bethlehem two weary travellers from
  the hills of Nazareth traverse the whole length of the narrow street
  to the eastern extremity of the town, vainly seeking a place of rest
  and shelter for the night. No doors are open to receive them. In a
  wretched hovel prepared for cattle, they at last find refuge, and
  there the Saviour of the world is born.
   
   
  Heavenly
  angels had seen the glory which the Son of God shared with the Father
  before the world was, and they had looked forward with intense
  interest to His appearing on earth as an event fraught with the
  greatest joy to all people. Angels were appointed to carry the glad
  tidings to those who were prepared to receive it and who would
  joyfully make it known to the inhabitants of the earth. Christ had
  stooped to take upon Himself man's nature; He was to bear an infinite
  weight of woe as He should make His soul an offering for sin; yet
  angels desired that even in His humiliation the Son of the Highest
  might appear before men with a dignity and glory befitting His
  character. Would the great men of earth assemble at Israel's capital
  to greet His coming? Would legions of angels present Him to the
  expectant company?
   
   
  An
  angel visits the earth to see who are prepared to welcome Jesus. But
  he can discern no tokens of expectancy. He hears no voice of praise
  and triumph that the period of Messiah's coming is at hand. The angel
  hovers for a time over the chosen city and the temple where the
  divine presence has been manifested for ages; but even here is the
  same indifference. The priests, in their pomp and pride, are offering
  polluted sacrifices in the temple. The Pharisees are with loud voices
  addressing the people or making boastful prayers at the corners of
  the streets. In the palaces of kings, in the assemblies of
  philosophers, in the schools of the rabbis, all are alike unmindful
  of the wondrous fact which has filled all heaven with joy and
  praise--that the Redeemer of men is about to appear upon the earth.
   
   
  There
  is no evidence that Christ is expected, and no preparation for the
  Prince of life. In amazement the celestial messenger is about to
  return to heaven with the shameful tidings, when he discovers a group
  of shepherds who are watching their flocks by night, and, as they
  gaze into the starry heavens, are contemplating the prophecy of a
  Messiah to come to earth, and longing for the advent of the world's
  Redeemer. Here is a company that is prepared to receive the heavenly
  message. And suddenly the angel of the Lord appears, declaring the
  good tidings of great joy. Celestial glory floods all the plain, an
  innumerable company of angels is revealed, and as if the joy were too
  great for one messenger to bring from heaven, a multitude of voices
  break forth in the anthem which all the nations of the saved shall
  one day sing: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
  good will toward men." Luke 2:14.
   
   
  Oh,
  what a lesson is this wonderful story of Bethlehem! How it rebukes
  our unbelief, our pride and self-sufficiency. How it warns us to
  beware, lest by our criminal indifference we also fail to discern the
  signs of the times, and therefore know not the day of our visitation.
   It was not alone upon the hills of Judea, not among the lowly
  shepherds only, that angels found the watchers for Messiah's coming.
  In the land of the heathen also were those that looked for Him; they
  were wise men, rich and noble, the philosophers of the East. Students
  of nature, the Magi had seen God in His handiwork. From the Hebrew
  Scriptures they had learned of the Star to arise out of Jacob, and
  with eager desire they awaited His coming, who should be not only the
  "Consolation of Israel," but a "Light to lighten the
  Gentiles," and "for salvation unto the ends of the earth."
  Luke 2:25, 32; Acts 13:47. They were seekers for light, and light
  from the throne of God illumined the path for their feet. While the
  priests and rabbis of Jerusalem, the appointed guardians and
  expounders of the truth, were shrouded in darkness, the Heaven-sent
  star guided these Gentile strangers to the birthplace of the newborn
  King.
   
   
  It
  is "unto them that look for Him" that Christ is to "appear
  the second time without sin unto salvation." Hebrews 9:28. Like
  the tidings of the Saviour's birth, the message of the second advent
  was not committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had
  failed to preserve their connection with God, and had refused light
  from heaven; therefore they were not of the number described by the
  apostle Paul: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that
  day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light,
  and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of
  darkness." 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 5.
   
   
  The
  watchmen upon the walls of Zion should have been the first to catch
  the tidings of the Saviour's advent, the first to lift their voices
  to proclaim Him near, the first to warn the people to prepare for His
  coming. But they were at ease,  dreaming of peace and safety, while
  the people were asleep in their sins. Jesus saw His church, like the
  barren fig tree, covered with pretentious leaves, yet destitute of
  precious fruit. There was a boastful observance of the forms of
  religion, while the spirit of true humility, penitence, and
  faith-which alone could render the service acceptable to God--was
  lacking. Instead of the graces of the Spirit there were manifested
  pride, formalism, vainglory, selfishness, oppression. A backsliding
  church closed their eyes to the signs of the times. God did not
  forsake them, or suffer His faithfulness to fail; but they departed
  from Him, and separated themselves from His love. As they refused to
  comply with the conditions, His promises were not fulfilled to them.
   
   
  Such
  is the sure result of neglect to appreciate and improve the light and
  privileges which God bestows. Unless the church will follow on in His
  opening providence, accepting every ray of light, performing every
  duty which may be revealed, religion will inevitably degenerate into
  the observance of forms, and the spirit of vital godliness will
  disappear. This truth has been repeatedly illustrated in the history
  of the church. God requires of His people works of faith and
  obedience corresponding to the blessings and privileges bestowed.
  Obedience requires a sacrifice and involves a cross; and this is why
  so many of the professed followers of Christ refused to receive the
  light from heaven, and, like the Jews of old, knew not the time of
  their visitation. Luke 19:44. Because of their pride and unbelief the
  Lord passed them by and revealed His truth to those who, like the
  shepherds of Bethlehem and the Eastern Magi, had given heed to all
  the light they had received.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 18. An American Reformer 
   
  An
  upright, honest-hearted farmer, who had been led to doubt the divine
  authority of the Scriptures, yet who sincerely desired to know the
  truth, was the man specially chosen of God to lead out in the
  proclamation of Christ's second coming. Like many other reformers,
  William Miller had in early life battled with poverty and had thus
  learned the great lessons of energy and self-denial. The members of
  the family from which he sprang were characterized by an independent,
  liberty-loving spirit, by capability of endurance, and ardent
  patriotism--traits which were also prominent in his character. His
  father was a captain in the army of the Revolution, and to the
  sacrifices which he made in the struggles and sufferings of that
  stormy period may be traced the straitened circumstances of Miller's
  early life.
   
   
  He
  had a sound physical constitution, and even in childhood gave
  evidence of more than ordinary intellectual strength. As he grew
  older, this became more marked. His mind was active and well
  developed, and he had a keen thirst for knowledge. Though he did not
  enjoy the advantages of a collegiate education, his love of study and
  a habit of careful thought and close criticism rendered him a man of
  sound judgment and comprehensive views. He possessed an
  irreproachable moral character and an enviable reputation, being
  generally esteemed for integrity, thrift, and benevolence. By dint of
  energy and application he early acquired a competence, though his
  habits of study were still maintained. He filled various civil and
  military offices with credit, and the avenues to wealth and honour
  seemed wide open to him.
   
   
  His
  mother was a woman of sterling piety, and in childhood, he had been
  subject to religious impressions. In early childhood, however, he was
  thrown into the society of deists, whose influence was the stronger
  from the fact that they were mostly good citizens and men of humane
  and benevolent disposition. Living, as they did, in the midst of
  Christian institutions, their characters had been to some extent
  moulded by their surroundings. For the excellencies which won them
  respect and confidence they were indebted to the Bible; and yet these
  good gifts were so perverted as to exert an influence against the
  word of God. By association with these men, Miller was led to adopt
  their sentiments. The current interpretations of Scripture presented
  difficulties which seemed to him insurmountable; yet his new belief,
  while setting aside the Bible, offered nothing better to take its
  place, and he remained far from satisfied. He continued to hold these
  views, however, for about twelve years. But at the age of thirty-four
  the Holy Spirit impressed his heart with a sense of his condition as
  a sinner. He found in his former belief no assurance of happiness
  beyond the grave. The future was dark and gloomy. Referring afterward
  to his feelings at this time, he said:
   
   
  "Annihilation
  was a cold and chilling thought, and accountability was sure
  destruction to all. The heavens were as brass over my head, and the
  earth as iron under my feet. Eternity--what was it? And death--why
  was it? The more I reasoned, the further I was from demonstration.
  The more I thought, the more scattered were my conclusions. I tried
  to stop thinking, but my thoughts would not be controlled. I was
  truly wretched, but did not understand the cause. I murmured and
  complained, but knew not of whom. I knew that there was a wrong, but
  knew not how or where to find the right. I mourned, but without
  hope."
   
   
  In
  this state he continued for some months. "Suddenly," he
  says, the character of a Saviour was vividly impressed upon my mind.
  It seemed that there might be a being so good and compassionate as to
  himself atone for our transgressions, and thereby save us from
  suffering the penalty of sin. I immediately felt how lovely such a
  being must be, and imagined that I could cast myself into the arms
  of, and trust in the mercy of, such a one. But the question arose,
  How can it be proved that such a being does exist? Aside from the
  Bible, I found that I could get no evidence of the existence of such
  a Saviour, or even of a future state. . . .
   
   
  "I
  saw that the Bible did bring to view just such a Saviour as I needed;
  and I was perplexed to find how an uninspired book should develop
  principles so perfectly adapted to the wants of a fallen world. I was
  constrained to admit that the Scriptures must be a revelation from
  God. They became my delight; and in Jesus I found a friend. The
  Saviour became to me the chiefest among ten thousand; and the
  Scriptures, which before were dark and contradictory, now became the
  lamp to my feet and light to my path. My mind became settled and
  satisfied. I found the Lord God to be a Rock in the midst of the
  ocean of life. The Bible now became my chief study, and I can truly
  say, I  searched it with great delight. I found the half was never
  told me. I wondered why I had not seen its beauty and glory before,
  and marvelled that I could have ever rejected it. I found everything
  revealed that my heart could desire, and a remedy for every disease
  of the soul. I lost all taste for other reading, and applied my heart
  to get wisdom from God."--S. Bliss, Memoirs of Wm. Miller, pages
  65-67.
   
   
  Miller
  publicly professed his faith in the religion which he had despised.
  But his infidel associates were not slow to bring forward all those
  arguments which he himself had often urged against the divine
  authority of the Scriptures. He was not then prepared to answer them;
  but he reasoned that if the Bible is a revelation from God, it must
  be consistent with itself; and that as it was given for man's
  instruction, it must be adapted to his understanding. He determined
  to study the Scriptures for himself, and ascertain if every apparent
  contradiction could not be harmonized.
   
   
  Endeavouring
  to lay aside all preconceived opinions, and dispensing with
  commentaries, he compared scripture with scripture by the aid of the
  marginal references and the concordance. He pursued his study in a
  regular and methodical manner; beginning with Genesis, and reading
  verse by verse, he proceeded no faster than the meaning of the
  several passages so unfolded as to leave him free from all
  embarrassment. When he found anything obscure, it was his custom to
  compare it with every other text which seemed to have any reference
  to the matter under consideration. Every word was permitted to have
  its proper bearing upon the subject of the text, and if his view of
  it harmonized with every collateral passage, it ceased to be a
  difficulty. Thus whenever he met with a passage hard to be understood
  he found an explanation in some other portion of the Scriptures. As
  he studied with earnest prayer for divine enlightenment, that which
  had before appeared dark to his understanding was made clear. He
  experienced the truth of the psalmist's words: "The entrance of
  Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."
  Psalm 119:130.
   
   
  With
  intense interest he studied the books of Daniel and the Revelation,
  employing the same principles of interpretation as in the other
  scriptures, and found, to his great joy, that the prophetic symbols
  could be understood. He saw that the prophecies, so far as they had
  been fulfilled, had been fulfilled literally; that all the various
  figures, metaphors, parables, similitudes, etc., were either
  explained in their immediate connection, or the terms in which they
  were expressed were defined in other scriptures, and when thus
  explained, were to be literally understood. "I was thus
  satisfied," he says, "that the Bible is a system of
  revealed truths, so clearly and simply given that the wayfaring man,
  though a fool, need not err therein."--Bliss, page 70. Link
  after link of the chain of truth rewarded his efforts, as step by
  step he traced down the great lines of prophecy. Angels of heaven
  were guiding his mind and opening the Scriptures to his
  understanding.
   
   
  Taking
  the manner in which the prophecies had been fulfilled in the past as
  a criterion by which to judge of the fulfillment of those which were
  still future, he became satisfied that the popular view of the
  spiritual reign of Christ--a temporal millennium before the end of
  the world--was not sustained by the word of God. This doctrine,
  pointing to a thousand years of righteousness and peace before the
  personal coming of the Lord, put far off the terrors of the day of
  God. But, pleasing though it may be, it is contrary to the teachings
  of Christ and His apostles, who declared that the wheat and the tares
  and to grow together until the harvest, the end of the world; that
  "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse;" that "in
  the last days perilous times shall come;" and that the kingdom
  of darkness shall continue until the advent of the Lord and shall be
  consumed with the spirit of His mouth and be destroyed with the
  brightness of His coming. Matthew 13:30, 38-41; 2 Timothy 3:13, 1; 2
  Thessalonians 2:8.
   
   
  The
  doctrine of the world's conversion and the spiritual reign of Christ
  was not held by the apostolic church. It was not generally accepted
  by Christians until about the beginning of the eighteenth century.
  Like every other error, its results were evil. It taught men to look
  far in the future for the coming of the Lord and prevented them from
  giving heed to the signs heralding His approach. It induced a feeling
  of confidence and security that was not well founded and led many to
  neglect the preparation necessary in order to meet their Lord.
   
   
  Miller
  found the literal, personal coming of Christ to be plainly taught in
  the Scriptures. Says Paul: "The Lord Himself shall descend from
  heaven with a shout, with the voice  of the Archangel, and with the
  trump of God." 1 Thessalonians 4:16. And the Saviour declares:
  "They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
  with power and great glory." "For as the lightning cometh
  out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the
  coming of the Son of man be." Matthew 24:30, 27. He is to be
  accompanied by all the hosts of heaven. "The Son of man shall
  come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him." Matthew
  25:31. "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a
  trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect." Matthew
  24:31.
   
   
  At
  His coming the righteous dead will be raised, and the righteous
  living will be changed. "We shall not all sleep," says
  Paul, "but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the
  twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
  and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
  put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. And in his letter
  to the Thessalonians, after describing the coming of the Lord, he
  says: "The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are
  alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
  to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
  1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.
   
   
  Not
  until the personal advent of Christ can His people receive the
  kingdom. The Saviour said: "When the Son of man shall come in
  His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon
  the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all
  nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
  divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His
  right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto
  them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the
  kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
  Matthew 25:31-34. We have seen by the scriptures just given that when
  the Son of man comes, the dead are raised incorruptible and the
  living are changed. By this great change they are prepared to receive
  the kingdom; for Paul says: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the
  kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." 1
  Corinthians 15:50. Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible;
  but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible, enduring forever.
  Therefore man in his present state cannot enter into the kingdom of
  God. But when Jesus comes, He confers immortality upon His people;
  and then He calls them to inherit the kingdom of which they have
  hitherto been only heirs.
   
   
  These
  and other scriptures clearly proved to Miller's mind that the events
  which were generally expected to take place before the coming of
  Christ, such as the universal reign of peace and the setting up of
  the kingdom of God upon the earth, were to be subsequent to the
  second advent. Furthermore, all the signs of the times and the
  condition of the world corresponded to the prophetic description of
  the last days. He was forced to the conclusion, from the study of
  Scripture alone, that the period allotted for the continuance of the
  earth in its present state was about to close.
   
   
  "Another
  kind of evidence that vitally affected my mind," he says, "was
  the chronology of the Scriptures. . . . I found that predicted
  events, which had been fulfilled in the past, often occurred within a
  given time. The one hundred and twenty years to the flood (Genesis
  6:3); the seven days that were to precede it, with forty days of
  predicted rain (Genesis 7:4); the four hundred years of the sojourn
  of Abraham's seed (Genesis 15:13); the three days of the butler's and
  baker's dreams (Genesis 40:12-20); the seven years of Pharaoh's
  (Genesis 41:28-54); the forty years in the wilderness (Numbers
  14:34); the three and a half years of famine (1 Kings 17:1) [see Luke
  4:25;] . . . the seventy years' captivity (Jeremiah 25:11);
  Nebuchadnezzar's seven times (Daniel 4:13-16); and the seven weeks,
  threescore and two weeks, and the one week, making seventy weeks,
  determined upon the Jews (Daniel 9:24-27),--the events limited by
  these times were all once only a matter of prophecy, and were
  fulfilled in accordance with the predictions."--Bliss, pages 74,
  75.
   
   
  When,
  therefore, he found, in his study of the Bible, various chronological
  periods that, according to his understanding of them, extended to the
  second coming of Christ, he could not but regard them as the "times
  before appointed," which God had revealed unto His servants.
  "The secret things," says Moses, "belong unto the Lord
  our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to
  our children forever;" and the Lord declares by the prophet
  Amos, that He "will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto
  His servants the prophets." Deuteronomy 29:29; Amos 3:7. The
  students of God's word may, then, confidently expect to find the most
  stupendous event to take place in human history clearly pointed out
  in the Scriptures of truth.
   
   
  "As
  I was fully convinced," says Miller, "that all Scripture
  given by inspiration of God is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16); that it
  came not at any time by the will of man, but was written as holy men
  were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21), and was written 'for our
  learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures
  might have hope' (Romans 15:4), I could but regard the chronological
  portions of the Bible as being as much a portion of the word of God,
  and as much entitled to our serious consideration, as any other
  portion of the Scriptures. I therefore felt that in endeavouring to
  comprehend what God had in His mercy seen fit to reveal to us, I had
  no right to pass over the prophetic periods."-- Bliss, page 75.
   
   
  The
  prophecy which seemed most clearly to reveal the time of the second
  advent was that of Daniel 8:14: "Unto two thousand and three
  hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Following
  his rule of making Scripture its own interpreter, Miller learned that
  a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel
  4:6); he saw that the period of 2300 prophetic days, or literal
  years, would extend far beyond the close of the Jewish dispensation,
  hence it could not refer to the sanctuary of that dispensation.
  Miller accepted the generally received view that in the Christian age
  the earth is the sanctuary, and he therefore understood that the
  cleansing of the sanctuary foretold in Daniel 8:14 represented the
  purification of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ. If,
  then, the correct starting point could be found for the 2300 days, he
  concluded that the time of the second advent could be readily
  ascertained. Thus would be revealed the time of that great
  consummation, the time when the present state, with "all its
  pride and power, pomp and vanity, wickedness and oppression, would
  come to an end;" when the curse would be "removed from off
  the earth, death be destroyed, reward be given to the servants of
  God, the prophets and saints, and them who fear His name, and those
  be destroyed that destroy the earth."--Bliss, page 76.
   
   
  With
  a new and deeper earnestness, Miller continued the examination of the
  prophecies, whole nights as well as days being devoted to the study
  of what now appeared of such stupendous importance and all-absorbing
  interest. In the eighth chapter of Daniel he could find no clue to
  the starting point of the 2300 days; the angel Gabriel, though
  commanded to make Daniel understand the vision, gave him only a
  partial explanation. As the terrible persecution to befall the church
  was unfolded to the prophet's vision, physical strength gave way. He
  could endure no more, and the angel left him for a time. Daniel
  "fainted, and was sick certain days." "And I was
  astonished at the vision," he says, "but none understood
  it."
   
   
  Yet
  God had bidden His messenger: "Make this man to understand the
  vision." That commission must be fulfilled. In obedience to it,
  the angel, some time afterward, returned to Daniel, saying: "I
  am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding;"
  "therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision."
  Daniel 8:27, 16; 9:22, 23, 25-27. There was one important point in
  the vision of chapter 8 which had been left unexplained, namely, that
  relating to time--the period of the 2300 days; therefore the angel,
  in resuming his explanation, dwells chiefly upon the subject of time:
   
   
  "Seventy
  weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy Holy City. . . .
  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
  commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
  Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
  shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And
  after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for
  Himself. . . . And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one
  week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and
  the oblation to cease."
   
   
  The
  angel had been sent to Daniel for the express purpose of explaining
  to him the point which he had failed to understand in the vision of
  the eighth chapter, the statement relative to time--"unto two
  thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
  cleansed." After bidding Daniel "understand the matter, and
  consider the vision," the very first words of the angel are:
  "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy Holy
  City." The word here translated "determined" literally
  signifies "cut off." Seventy weeks, representing 490 years,
  are declared by the angel to be cut off, as specially pertaining to
  the Jews. But from what were they cut off? As the 2300 days was the
  only period of time mentioned in chapter 8, it must be the period
  from which the seventy weeks were cut off; the seventy weeks must
  therefore be a part of the 2300 days, and the two periods must begin
  together. The seventy weeks were declared by the angel to date from
  the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. If
  the date of this commandment could be found, then the starting point
  for the great period of the 2300 days would be ascertained.
   
   
  In
  the seventh chapter of Ezra the decree is found. Verses 12-26. In its
  completest form it was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, 457 B.C.
  But in Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at Jerusalem is said to have
  been built "according to the commandment ["decree,"
  margin] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia."
  These three kings, in  originating, reaffirming, and completing the
  decree, brought it to the perfection required by the prophecy to mark
  the beginning of the 2300 years. Taking 457 B.C., the time when the
  decree was completed, as the date of the commandment, every
  specification of the prophecy concerning the seventy weeks was seen
  to have been fulfilled.
   
   
  "From
  the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
  unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and
  two weeks"--namely, sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years. The decree
  of Artaxerxes went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. From this
  date, 483 years extend to the autumn of A.D. 27.At that time this
  prophecy was fulfilled. The word "Messiah" signifies "the
  Anointed One." In the autumn of A.D. 27 Christ was baptized by
  John and received the anointing of the Spirit. The apostle Peter
  testifies that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
  Ghost and with power." Acts 10:38. And the Saviour Himself
  declared: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath
  anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor." Luke 4:18. After
  His baptism He went into Galilee, "preaching the gospel of the
  kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled." Mark 1:14,
  15.
   
   
  THE
  PROPHECY OF 2,300 DAYS/ YEARS
   
   
  One
  Prophetic Day = One Literal Year
   
   
  34
  According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land,
  forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely
  forty years, and you shall know My rejection. (Numbers 14:34) 6  And
  when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you
  shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid
  on you a day for each year (Ezekiel 4:6)
   
   
  457
  BC – 1844 AD = 2300 Days/ Years. 14 And he said unto me, Unto
  two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
  cleansed. (Daniel 8:14) 24 “Seventy weeks are determined For
  your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To
  make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in
  everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to
  anoint the Most Holy (Daniel 9:24)
   
   
  457
  B.C – The decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem (Order of
  Artaxerxes). 25  …From the going forth of the command to
  restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be
  seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built
  again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (Daniel 9:25)
   
   
  408
  B.C – The Rebuilding of Jerusalem
   
   
  27
    A.D  – The Baptism and Unction of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
   27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in
  the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and
  offering. (Daniel 9:27)
   
   
  31
  A.D – The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 26 “And after the
  sixty-two weeks
   
   
  Messiah
  shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince
  who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of
  it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are
  determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one
  week;
   
   
  But
  in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and
  offering. (Daniel 9:26-27)
   
   
  34
    A.D – The stoning of Stephen [End of term for Jews and the
  gospel preached to the Gentiles/ world] 14 And this gospel of the
  kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
  nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14) 46 Then Paul
  and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the
  word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it,
  and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to
  the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46)
   
   
  70
   A.D – The Destruction of Jerusalem  1 Then Jesus went out and
  departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the
  buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not
  see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be
  left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”.
  (Matthew 24:1,2)  15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination
  of desolation,’[a] spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in
  the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 21 For
  then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the
  beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be
  (Matthew 24: 15, 21)
   
   
  1844
  A.D – Purification of the Most Holy and the Start of Judgment
  in Heaven.
   
   
  1810
  Days/ Years - The work of Jesus Christ as our High Priest as our High
  Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary. 14 Seeing then that we have a great
  High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,
  let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest
  who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points
  tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly
  to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to
  help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16)
   
   
  "And
  He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." The
  "week" here brought to view is the last one of the seventy;
  it is the last seven years of the period allotted especially to the
  Jews. During this time, extending from A.D. 27 to A.D. 34, Christ, at
  first in person and afterward by His disciples, extended the gospel
  invitation especially to the Jews. As the apostles went forth with
  the good tidings of the kingdom, the Saviour's direction was: "Go
  not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans
  enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
  Israel." Matthew 10:5, 6.
   
   
  "In
  the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation
  to cease." In A.D. 31, three and a half years after His baptism,
  our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered upon
  Calvary, ended that system of offerings which for four thousand years
  had pointed forward to the Lamb of God. Type had met antitype, and
  all the sacrifices and oblations of the ceremonial system were there
  to cease.  The seventy weeks, or 490 years, especially allotted to
  the Jews, ended, as we have seen, in A.D. 34. At that time, through
  the action of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the nation sealed its rejection
  of the gospel by the martyrdom of Stephen and the persecution of the
  followers of Christ. Then the message of salvation, no longer
  restricted to the chosen people, was given to the world. The
  disciples, forced by persecution to flee from Jerusalem, "went
  everywhere preaching the word." "Philip went down to the
  city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them." Peter, divinely
  guided, opened the gospel to the centurion of Caesarea, the
  God-fearing Cornelius; and the ardent Paul, won to the faith of
  Christ, was commissioned to carry the glad tidings "far hence
  unto the Gentiles." Acts 8:4, 5; 22:21.
   
   
  Thus
  far every specification of the prophecies is strikingly fulfilled,
  and the beginning of the seventy weeks is fixed beyond question at
  457 B.C., and their expiration in A.D. 34. From this data there is no
  difficulty in finding the termination of the 2300 days. The seventy
  weeks--490 days-having been cut off from the 2300, there were 1810
  days remaining. After the end of 490 days, the 1810 days were still
  to be fulfilled. From A.D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844.
  Consequently the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 terminate in 1844. At the
  expiration of this great prophetic period, upon the testimony of the
  angel of God, "the sanctuary shall be cleansed." Thus the
  time of the cleansing of the sanctuary--which was almost universally
  believed to take place at the second advent--was definitely pointed
  out.
   
   
  Miller
  and his associates at first believed that the 2300 days would
  terminate in the spring of 1844, whereas the prophecy points to the
  autumn of that year.The misapprehension of this point brought
  disappointment and perplexity to those who had fixed upon the earlier
  date as the time of the Lord's coming. But this did not in the least
  affect the strength of the argument showing that the 2300 days
  terminated in the year 1844, and that the great event represented by
  the cleansing of the sanctuary must then take place.
   
   
  Entering
  upon the study of the Scriptures as he had done, in order to prove
  that they were a revelation from God, Miller had not, at the outset,
  the slightest expectation of reaching the conclusion at which he had
  now arrived. He himself could hardly credit the results of his
  investigation. But the Scripture evidence was too clear and forcible
  to be set aside. He had devoted two years to the study of the Bible,
  when, in 1818, he reached the solemn conviction that in about
  twenty-five years Christ would appear for the redemption of His
  people. "I need not speak," says Miller, "of the joy
  that filled my heart in view of the delightful prospect, nor of the
  ardent longings of my soul for a participation in the joys of the
  redeemed. The Bible was now to me a new book. It was indeed a feast
  of reason; all that was dark, mystical, or obscure to me in its
  teachings, had been dissipated from my mind before the clear light
  that now dawned from its sacred pages; and, oh, how bright and
  glorious the truth appeared! All the contradictions and
  inconsistencies I had before found in the word were gone; and
  although there were many portions of which I was not satisfied I had
  a full understanding, yet so much light had emanated from it to the
  illumination of my before darkened mind, that I felt a delight in
  studying the Scripture which I had not before supposed could be
  derived from its teachings."--Bliss, pages 76, 77.
   
   
  "With
  the solemn conviction that such momentous events were predicted in
  the Scriptures to be fulfilled in so short a space of time, the
  question came home to me with mighty  power regarding my duty to the
  world, in view of the evidence that had affected my own mind."--
  Ibid., page 81. He could not but feel that it was his duty to impart
  to others the light which he had received. He expected to encounter
  opposition from the ungodly, but was confident that all Christians
  would rejoice in the hope of meeting the Saviour whom they professed
  to love. His only fear was that in their great joy at the prospect of
  glorious deliverance, so soon to be consummated, many would receive
  the doctrine without sufficiently examining the Scriptures in
  demonstration of its truth. He therefore hesitated to present it,
  lest he should be in error and be the means of misleading others. He
  was thus led to review the evidences in support of the conclusions at
  which he had arrived, and to consider carefully every difficulty
  which presented itself to his mind. He found that objections vanished
  before the light of God's word, as mist before the rays of the sun.
  Five years spent thus left him fully convinced of the correctness of
  his position.
   
   
  And
  now the duty of making known to others what he believed to be so
  clearly taught in the Scriptures, urged itself with new force upon
  him. When I was about my business," he said, "it was
  continually ringing in my ears, 'Go and tell the world of their
  danger.' This text was constantly occurring to me: 'When I say unto
  the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not
  speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in
  his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
  Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if
  he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou
  hast delivered thy soul." Ezekiel 33:8, 9. I felt that if the
  wicked could be effectually warned, multitudes of them would repent;
  and that if they were not warned, their blood might be required at my
  hand."--Bliss, page 92.
   
   
  He
  began to present his views in private as he had opportunity, praying
  that some minister might feel their force and devote himself to their
  promulgation. But he could not banish the conviction that he had a
  personal duty to perform in giving the warning. The words were ever
  recurring to his mind: "Go and tell it to the world; their blood
  will I require at thy hand." For nine years he waited, the
  burden still pressing upon his soul, until in 1831 he for the first
  time publicly gave the reasons of his faith.  As Elisha was called
  from following his oxen in the field, to receive the mantle of
  consecration to the prophetic office, so was William Miller called to
  leave his plow and open to the people the mysteries of the kingdom of
  God. With trembling he entered upon his work, leading his hearers
  down, step by step, through the prophetic periods to the second
  appearing of Christ. With every effort he gained strength and courage
  as he saw the widespread interest excited by his words.
   
   
  It
  was only at the solicitation of his brethren, in whose words he heard
  the call of God, that Miller consented to present his views in
  public. He was now fifty years of age, unaccustomed to public
  speaking, and burdened with a sense of unfitness for the work before
  him. But from the first his labours were blessed in a remarkable
  manner to the salvation of souls. His first lecture was followed by a
  religious awakening in which thirteen entire families, with the
  exception of two persons, were converted. He was immediately urged to
  speak in other places, and in nearly every place his labour resulted
  in a revival of the work of God. Sinners were converted, Christians
  were roused to greater consecration, and deists and infidels were led
  to acknowledge the truth of the Bible and the Christian religion. The
  testimony of those among whom he laboured was: "A class of minds
  are reached by him not within the influence of other men."--
  Ibid., page 138. His preaching was calculated to arouse the public
  mind to the great things of religion and to check the growing
  worldliness and sensuality of the age.
   
   
  In
  nearly every town there were scores, in some, hundreds, converted as
  a result of his preaching. In many places Protestant churches of
  nearly all denominations were thrown open to him, and the invitations
  to labour usually came from the ministers of the several
  congregations. It was his invariable rule not to labour in any place
  to which he had not been invited, yet he soon found himself unable to
  comply with half the requests that poured in upon him. Many who did
  not accept his views as to the exact time of the second advent were
  convinced of the certainty and nearness of Christ's coming and their
  need of preparation. In some of the large cities his work produced a
  marked impression. Liquor dealers abandoned the traffic and turned
  their shops into meeting rooms; gambling dens were broken up;
  infidels, deists, Universalists, and even the most abandoned
  profligates were reformed, some of whom had not entered a house of
  worship for years. Prayer meetings were established by the various
  denominations, in different quarters, at almost every hour,
  businessmen assembling at midday for prayer and praise. There was no
  extravagant excitement, but an almost universal solemnity on the
  minds of the people. His work, like that of the early Reformers,
  tended rather to convince the understanding and arouse the conscience
  than merely to excite the emotions.
   
   
  In
  1833 Miller received a license to preach, from the Baptist Church, of
  which he was a member. A large number of the ministers of his
  denomination also approved his work, and it was with their formal
  sanction that he continued his labours. He traveled and preached
  unceasingly, though his personal labours were confined principally to
  the New England and Middle States. For several years his expenses
  were met wholly from his own private purse, and he never afterward
  received enough to meet the expense of travel to the places where he
  was invited. Thus his public labours, so far from being a pecuniary
  benefit, were a heavy tax upon his property, which gradually
  diminished during this period of his life. He was the father of a
  large family, but as they were all frugal and industrious, his farm
  sufficed for their maintenance as well as his own.
   
   
  In
  1833, two years after Miller began to present in public the evidences
  of Christ's soon coming, the last of the signs appeared which were
  promised by the Saviour as tokens of His second advent. Said Jesus:
  "The stars shall fall from heaven." Matthew 24:29. And John
  in the Revelation declared, as he beheld in vision the scenes that
  should herald the day of God: "The stars of heaven fell unto the
  earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is
  shaken of a mighty wind." Revelation 6:13. This prophecy
  received a striking and impressive fulfillment in the great meteoric
  shower of November 13, 1833. That was the most extensive and
  wonderful display of falling stars which has ever been recorded; "the
  whole firmament, over all the United States, being then, for hours,
  in fiery commotion! No celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this
  country, since its first settlement, which was viewed with such
  intense admiration by one class in the community, or with so much
  dread and alarm by another." "Its sublimity and awful
  beauty still linger in many minds. . . . Never did rain fall much
  thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth; east, west, north,
  and south, it was the same. In a word, the whole heavens seemed in
  motion. . . . The display, as described in Professor Silliman's
  Journal, was seen all over North America. . . . From two o'clock
  until broad daylight, the sky being perfectly serene and cloudless,
  an incessant play of dazzlingly brilliant luminosities was kept up in
  the whole heavens."--R. M. Devens, American Progress; or, The
  Great Events of the Greatest Century, ch. 28, pars. 1-5.
   
   
  "No
  language, indeed, can come up to the splendour of that magnificent
  display; . . . no one who did not witness it can form an adequate
  conception of its glory. It seemed as if the whole starry heavens had
  congregated at one point near the zenith, and were simultaneously
  shooting forth, with the velocity of lightning, to every part of the
  horizon; and yet they were not exhausted--thousands swiftly followed
  in the tracks of thousands, as if created for the occasion."--F.
  Reed, in the Christian Advocate and Journal, Dec. 13, 1833. "A
  more correct picture of a fig tree casting its figs when blown by a
  mighty wind, it was not possible to behold."--"The Old
  Countryman," in Portland Evening Advertiser, Nov. 26, 1833.
   
   
  In
  the New York Journal of Commerce of November 14, 1833, appeared a
  long article regarding this wonderful phenomenon, containing this
  statement: "No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an
  event, I suppose, like that of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen
  hundred years ago foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble
  of understanding stars falling to mean falling stars, . . . in the
  only sense in which it is possible to be literally true."
   
   
  Thus
  was displayed the last of those signs of His coming, concerning which
  Jesus bade His disciples: "When ye shall see all these things,
  know that it is near, even at the doors." Matthew 24:33. After
  these signs, John beheld, as the great event next impending, the
  heavens departing as a scroll, while the earth quaked, mountains and
  islands removed out of their places, and the wicked in terror sought
  to flee from the presence of the Son of man. Revelation 6:12-17. 
  Many who witnessed the falling of the stars, looked upon it as a
  herald of the coming judgment, "an awful type, a sure
  forerunner, a merciful sign, of that great and dreadful day."
  --"The Old Countryman," in Portland Evening Advertiser,
  Nov. 26, 1833. Thus the attention of the people was directed to the
  fulfillment of prophecy, and many were led to give heed to the
  warning of the second advent.
   
   
  In
  the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited
  widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the
  leading ministers preaching the second advent, published an
  exposition of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman
  Empire. According to his calculations, this power was to be
  overthrown "in A.D. 1840, sometime in the month of August;"
  and only a few days previous to its accomplishment he wrote:
  "Allowing the first period, 150 years, to have been exactly
  fulfilled before Deacozes ascended the throne by permission of the
  Turks, and that the 391 years, fifteen days, commenced at the close
  of the first period, it will end on the 11th of August, 1840, when
  the Ottoman power in Constantinople may be expected to be broken. And
  this, I believe, will be found to be the case."-Josiah Litch, in
  Signs of the Times, and Expositor of Prophecy, Aug. 1, 1840.
   
   
  At
  the very time specified, Turkey, through her ambassadors, accepted
  the protection of the allied powers of Europe, and thus placed
  herself under the control of Christian nations. The event exactly
  fulfilled the prediction.When it became known, multitudes were
  convinced of the correctness of the principles of prophetic
  interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates, and a wonderful
  impetus was given to the advent movement. Men of learning and
  position united with Miller, both in preaching and in publishing his
  views, and from 1840 to 1844 the work rapidly extended.
   
   
  William
  Miller possessed strong mental powers, disciplined by thought and
  study; and he added to these the wisdom of heaven by connecting
  himself with the Source of wisdom. He was a man of sterling worth,
  who could not but command respect and esteem wherever integrity of
  character and moral excellence were valued. Uniting true kindness of
  heart with Christian humility and the power of self-control, he was
  attentive and affable to all, ready to listen to the opinions of
  others and to weigh their arguments. Without passion or excitement he
  tested all theories and doctrines by the word of God, and his sound
  reasoning and thorough knowledge of the Scriptures enabled him to
  refute error and expose falsehood.
   
   
  Yet
  he did not prosecute his work without bitter opposition. As with
  earlier Reformers, the truths which he presented were not received
  with favour by popular religious teachers. As these could not
  maintain their position by the Scriptures, they were driven to resort
  to the sayings and doctrines of men, to the traditions of the
  Fathers. But the word of God was the only testimony accepted by the
  preachers of the advent truth. "The Bible, and the Bible only,"
  was their watchword. The lack of Scripture argument on the part of
  their opponents was supplied by ridicule and scoffing. Time, means,
  and talents were employed in maligning those whose only offense was
  that they looked with joy for the return of their Lord and were
  striving to live holy lives and to exhort others to prepare for His
  appearing.
   
   
  Earnest
  were the efforts put forth to draw away the minds of the people from
  the subject of the second advent. It was made to appear a sin,
  something of which men should be ashamed, to study the prophecies
  which relate to the coming of Christ and the end of the world. Thus
  the popular ministry undermined faith in the word of God. Their
  teaching made men infidels, and many took license to walk after their
  own ungodly lusts. Then the authors of the evil charged it all upon
  Adventists.  While drawing crowded houses of intelligent and
  attentive hearers, Miller's name was seldom mentioned by the
  religious press except by way of ridicule or denunciation. The
  careless and ungodly emboldened by the position of religious
  teachers, resorted to opprobrious epithets, to base and blasphemous
  witticisms, in their efforts to heap contumely upon him and his work.
  The grey-headed man who had left a comfortable home to travel at his
  own expense from city to city, from town to town, toiling unceasingly
  to bear to the world the solemn warning of the judgment near, was
  sneeringly denounced as a fanatic, a liar, a speculating knave.
   
   
  The
  ridicule, falsehood, and abuse heaped upon him called forth indignant
  remonstrance, even from the secular press. "To treat a subject
  of such overwhelming majesty and fearful consequences," with
  lightness and ribaldry was declared by worldly men to be "not
  merely to sport with the feelings of its propagators and advocates,"
  but "to make a jest of the day of judgment, to scoff at the
  Deity Himself, and contemn the terrors of His judgment bar."--Bliss,
  page 183.  The instigator of all evil sought not only to counteract
  the effect of the advent message, but to destroy the messenger
  himself. Miller made a practical application of Scripture truth to
  the hearts of his hearers, reproving their sins and disturbing their
  self-satisfaction, and his plain and cutting words aroused their
  enmity. The opposition manifested by church members toward his
  message emboldened the baser classes to go to greater lengths; and
  enemies plotted to take his life as he should leave the place of
  meeting. But holy angels were in the throng, and one of these, in the
  form of a man, took the arm of this servant of the Lord and led him
  in safety from the angry mob. His work was not yet done, and Satan
  and his emissaries were disappointed in their purpose.
   
   
  Despite
  all opposition, the interest in the advent movement had continued to
  increase. From scores and hundreds, the congregations had grown to as
  many thousands. Large accessions had been made to the various
  churches, but after a time the spirit of opposition was manifested
  even against these converts, and the churches began to take
  disciplinary steps with those who had embraced Miller's views. This
  action called forth a response from his pen, in an address to
  Christians of all denominations, urging that if his doctrines were
  false, he should be shown his error from the Scriptures.
   
   
  "What
  have we believed," he said, "that we have not been
  commanded to believe by the word of God, which you yourselves allow
  is the rule, and only rule, of our faith and practice? What have we
  done that should call down such virulent denunciations against us
  from pulpit and press, and give you just cause to exclude us
  [Adventists] from your churches and fellowship?" "If we are
  wrong, pray show us wherein consists our wrong. Show us from the word
  of God that we are in error; we have had ridicule enough; that can
  never convince us that we are in the wrong; the word of God alone can
  change our views. Our conclusions have been formed deliberately and
  prayerfully, as we have seen the evidence in the Scriptures."--
  Ibid., pages 250, 252.
   
   
  From
  age to age the warnings which God has sent to the world by His
  servants have been received with like incredulity and unbelief. When
  the iniquity of the antediluvians moved Him to bring a flood of
  waters upon the earth, He first made known to them His purpose, that
  they might have opportunity to turn from their evil ways. For a
  hundred and twenty years was sounded in their ears the warning to
  repent, lest the wrath of God be manifested in their destruction. But
  the message seemed to them an idle tale, and they believed it not.
  Emboldened in their wickedness they mocked the messenger of God, made
  light of his entreaties, and even accused him of presumption. How
  dare one man stand up against all the great men of the earth? If
  Noah's message were true, why did not all the world see it and
  believe it? One man's assertion against the wisdom of thousands! They
  would not credit the warning, nor would they seek shelter in the ark.
   
   
  Scoffers
  pointed to the things of nature,--to the unvarying succession of the
  seasons, to the blue skies that had never poured out rain, to the
  green fields refreshed by the soft dews of night,--and they cried
  out: "Doth he not speak parables?" In contempt they
  declared the preacher of righteousness to be a wild enthusiast; and
  they went on, more eager in their pursuit of pleasure, more intent
  upon their evil ways, than before. But their unbelief did not hinder
  the predicted event. God bore long with their wickedness, giving them
  ample opportunity for repentance; but at the appointed time His
  judgments were visited upon the rejecters of His mercy.
   
   
  Christ
  declares that there will exist similar unbelief concerning His second
  coming. As the people of Noah's day "knew not until the Flood
  came, and took them all away; so," in the words of our Saviour,
  "shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matthew
  24-39. When the professed people of God are uniting with the world,
  living as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasures;
  when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when
  the marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many
  years of worldly prosperity--then, suddenly as the lightning flashes
  from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and
  delusive hopes.
   
   
  As
  God sent His servant to warn the world of the coming Flood, so He
  sent chosen messengers to make known the nearness of the final
  judgment. And as Noah's contemporaries laughed to scorn the
  predictions of the preacher of righteousness, so in Miller's day
  many, even of the professed people of God, scoffed at the words of
  warning.   And why were the doctrine and preaching of Christ's second
  coming so unwelcome to the churches? While to the wicked the advent
  of the Lord brings woe and desolation, to the righteous it is fraught
  with joy and hope. This great truth had been the consolation of God's
  faithful ones through all the ages; why had it become, like its
  Author, "a stone of stumbling" and "a rock of offense"
  to His professed people? It was our Lord Himself who promised His
  disciples: "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
  again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:3. It was the
  compassionate Saviour, who, anticipating the loneliness and sorrow of
  His followers, commissioned angels to comfort them with the assurance
  that He would come again in person, even as He went into heaven. As
  the disciples stood gazing intently upward to catch the last glimpse
  of Him whom they loved, their attention was arrested by the words:
  "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this
  same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in
  like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11. Hope
  was kindled afresh by the angels' message. The disciples "returned
  to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple,
  praising and blessing God." Luke 24:52, 53. They were not
  rejoicing because Jesus had been separated from them and they were
  left to struggle with the trials and temptations of the world, but
  because of the angels' assurance that He would come again.
   
   
  The
  proclamation of Christ's coming should now be, as when made by the
  angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem,  good tidings of great joy.
  Those who really love the Saviour cannot but hail with gladness the
  announcement founded upon the word of God that He in whom their hopes
  of eternal life are centreed is coming again, not to be insulted,
  despised, and rejected, as at His first advent, but in power and
  glory, to redeem His people. It is those who do not love the Saviour
  that desire Him to remain away, and there can be no more conclusive
  evidence that the churches have departed from God than the irritation
  and animosity excited by this Heaven-sent message.
   
   
  Those
  who accepted the advent doctrine were roused to the necessity of
  repentance and humiliation before God. Many had long been halting
  between Christ and the world; now they felt that it was time to take
  a stand. "The things of eternity assumed to them an unwonted
  reality. Heaven was brought near, and they felt themselves guilty
  before God."-- Bliss, page 146. Christians were quickened to new
  spiritual life. They were made to feel that time was short, that what
  they had to do for their fellow men must be done quickly. Earth
  receded, eternity seemed to open before them, and the soul, with all
  that pertained to its immortal weal or woe, was felt to eclipse every
  temporal object. The Spirit of God rested upon them and gave power to
  their earnest appeals to their brethren, as well as to sinners, to
  prepare for the day of God. The silent testimony of their daily life
  was a constant rebuke to formal and unconsecrated church members.
  These did not wish to be disturbed in their pursuit of pleasure,
  their devotion to money-making, and their ambition for worldly
  honour. Hence the enmity and opposition excited against the advent
  faith and those who proclaimed it.
   
   
  As
  the arguments from the prophetic periods were found to be
  impregnable, opposers endeavoured to discourage investigation of the
  subject by teaching that the prophecies were sealed. Thus Protestants
  followed in the steps of Romanists. While the papal church withholds
  the Bible (See Appendix) from the people, Protestant churches claimed
  that an important part of the Sacred Word--and that the part which
  brings to view truths specially applicable to our time--could not be
  understood.  Ministers and people declared that the prophecies of
  Daniel and the Revelation were incomprehensible mysteries. But Christ
  directed His disciples to the words of the prophet Daniel concerning
  events to take place in their time, and said: "Whoso readeth,
  let him understand." Matthew 24:15. And the assertion that the
  Revelation is a mystery, not to be understood, is contradicted by the
  very title of the book: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which
  God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must
  shortly come to pass. . . . Blessed is he that readeth, and they that
  hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are
  written therein: for the time is at hand." Revelation 1:1-3.
   
   
  Says
  the prophet: "Blessed is he that readeth"--there are those
  who will not read; the blessing is not for them. "And they that
  hear"--there are some, also, who refuse to hear anything
  concerning the prophecies; the blessing is not for this class. "And
  keep those things which are written therein"-- many refuse to
  heed the warnings and instructions contained in the Revelation; none
  of these can claim the blessing promised. All who ridicule the
  subjects of the prophecy and mock at the symbols here solemnly given,
  all who refuse to reform their lives and to prepare for the coming of
  the Son of man, will be unblessed.
   
   
  In
  view of the testimony of Inspiration, how dare men teach that the
  Revelation is a mystery beyond the reach of human understanding? It
  is a mystery revealed, a book opened. The study of the Revelation
  directs the mind to the prophecies of Daniel, and both present most
  important instruction, given of God to men, concerning events to take
  place at the close of this world's history.  To John were opened
  scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the experience of the
  church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final
  deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing messages
  which are to ripen the harvest of the earth, either as sheaves for
  the heavenly garner or as fagots for the fires of destruction.
  Subjects of vast importance were revealed to him, especially for the
  last church, that those who should turn from error to truth might be
  instructed concerning the perils and conflicts before them. None need
  be in darkness in regard to what is coming upon the earth.
   
   
  Why,
  then, this widespread ignorance concerning an important part of Holy
  Writ? Why this general reluctance to investigate its teachings? It is
  the result of a studied effort of the prince of darkness to conceal
  from men that which reveals his deceptions. For this reason, Christ
  the Revelator, foreseeing the warfare that would be waged against the
  study of the Revelation, pronounced a blessing upon all who should
  read, hear, and observe the words of the prophecy.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 19. Light Through Darkness 
   
  The
  work of God in the earth presents, from age to age, a striking
  similarity in every great reformation or religious movement. The
  principles of God's dealing with men are ever the same. The important
  movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past,
  and the experience of the church in former ages has lessons of great
  value for our own time.  No truth is more clearly taught in the Bible
  than that God by His Holy Spirit especially directs His servants on
  earth in the great movements for the carrying forward of the work of
  salvation. Men are instruments in the hand of God, employed by Him to
  accomplish His purposes of grace and mercy. Each has his part to act;
  to each is granted a measure of light, adapted to the necessities of
  his time, and sufficient to enable him to perform the work which God
  has given him to do. But no man, however honoured of Heaven, has ever
  attained to a full understanding of the great plan of redemption, or
  even to a perfect appreciation of the divine purpose in the work for
  his own time. Men do not fully understand what God would accomplish
  by the work which He gives them to do; they do not comprehend, in all
  its bearings, the message which they utter in His name.
   
   
  "Canst
  thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto
  perfection?" "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
  are your ways My ways, saith the  Lord. For as the heavens are higher
  than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts
  than your thoughts." "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." Job 11:7; Isaiah 55:8, 9; 46:9,
  10.  Even the prophets who were favoured with the special
  illumination of the Spirit did not fully comprehend the import of the
  revelations committed to them. The meaning was to be unfolded from
  age to age, as the people of God should need the instruction therein
  contained.
   
   
  Peter,
  writing of the salvation brought to light through the gospel, says:
  Of this salvation "the prophets have inquired and searched
  diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
  searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was
  in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of
  Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed,
  that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister." 1
  Peter 1:10-12.  Yet while it was not given to the prophets to
  understand fully the things revealed to them, they earnestly sought
  to obtain all the light which God had been pleased to make manifest.
  They "inquired and searched diligently," "searching
  what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them
  did signify." What a lesson to the people of God in the
  Christian age, for whose benefit these prophecies were given to His
  servants! "Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves,
  but unto us they did minister." Witness those holy men of God as
  they "inquired and searched diligently" concerning
  revelations given them for generations that were yet unborn. Contrast
  their holy zeal with the listless unconcern with which the favoured
  ones of later ages treat this gift of Heaven. What a rebuke to the
  ease-loving, world-loving indifference which is content to declare
  that the prophecies cannot be understood!
   
   
  Though
  the finite minds of men are inadequate to enter  into the counsels of
  the Infinite One, or to understand fully the working out of His
  purposes, yet often it is because of some error or neglect on their
  own part that they so dimly comprehend the messages of Heaven. Not
  infrequently the minds of the people, and even of God's servants, are
  so blinded by human opinions, the traditions and false teaching of
  men, that they are able only partially to grasp the great things
  which He has revealed in His word. Thus it was with the disciples of
  Christ, even when the Saviour was with them in person. Their minds
  had become imbued with the popular conception of the Messiah as a
  temporal prince, who was to exalt Israel to the throne of the
  universal empire, and they could not understand the meaning of His
  words foretelling His sufferings and death.
   
   
  Christ
  Himself had sent them forth with the message: "The time is
  fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe
  the gospel." Mark 1:15. That message was based on the prophecy
  of Daniel 9. The sixty-nine weeks were declared by the angel to
  extend to "the Messiah the Prince," and with high hopes and
  joyful anticipations the disciples looked forward to the
  establishment of Messiah's kingdom at Jerusalem to rule over the
  whole earth.  They preached the message which Christ had committed to
  them, though they themselves misapprehended its meaning. While their
  announcement was founded on Daniel 9:25, they did not see, in the
  next verse of the same chapter, that Messiah was to be cut off. From
  their very birth their hearts had been set upon the anticipated glory
  of an earthly empire, and this blinded their understanding alike to
  the specifications of the prophecy and to the words of Christ.
   
   
  They
  performed their duty in presenting to the Jewish nation the
  invitation of mercy, and then, at the very time when they expected to
  see their Lord ascend the throne of David, they beheld Him seized as
  a malefactor, scourged, derided, and condemned, and lifted up on the
  cross of  Calvary. What despair and anguish wrung the hearts of those
  disciples during the days while their Lord was sleeping in the tomb! 
  Christ had come at the exact time and in the manner foretold by
  prophecy. The testimony of Scripture had been fulfilled in every
  detail of His ministry. He had preached the message of salvation, and
  "His word was with power." The hearts of His hearers had
  witnessed that it was of Heaven. The word and the Spirit of God
  attested the divine commission of His Son.
   
   
  The
  disciples still clung with undying affection to their beloved Master.
  And yet their minds were shrouded in uncertainty and doubt. In their
  anguish they did not then recall the words of Christ pointing forward
  to His suffering and death. If Jesus of Nazareth had been the true
  Messiah, would they have been thus plunged in grief and
  disappointment? This was the question that tortured their souls while
  the Saviour lay in His sepulcher during the hopeless hours of that
  Sabbath which intervened between His death and His resurrection.
   
   
  Though
  the night of sorrow gathered dark about these followers of Jesus, yet
  were they not forsaken. Saith the prophet: "When I sit in
  darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. . . . He will bring me
  forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness." "Yea,
  the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day:
  the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee." God hath
  spoken: "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness."
  "I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead
  them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light
  before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto
  them, and not forsake them." Micah 7:8, 9; Psalms 139:12; 112:4;
  Isaiah 42:16.
   
   
  The
  announcement which had been made by the disciples in the name of the
  Lord was in every particular correct, and the events to which it
  pointed were even then taking place. "The time is fulfilled, the
  kingdom of God is at hand," had  been their message. At the
  expiration of "the time"--the sixty-nine weeks of Daniel 9,
  which were to extend to the Messiah, "the Anointed One"--Christ
  had received the anointing of the Spirit after His baptism by John in
  Jordan. And the "kingdom of God" which they had declared to
  be at hand was established by the death of Christ. This kingdom was
  not, as they had been taught to believe, an earthly empire. Nor was
  it that future, immortal kingdom which shall be set up when "the
  kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the
  whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
  High;" that everlasting kingdom, in which "all dominions
  shall serve and obey Him." Daniel 7:27.
   
   
  As
  used in the Bible, the expression "kingdom of God" is
  employed to designate both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of
  glory. The kingdom of grace is brought to view by Paul in the Epistle
  to the Hebrews. After pointing to Christ, the compassionate
  intercessor who is "touched with the feeling of our
  infirmities," the apostle says: "Let us therefore come
  boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find
  grace." Hebrews 4:15, 16. The throne of grace represents the
  kingdom of grace; for the existence of a throne implies the existence
  of a kingdom. In many of His parables Christ uses the expression "the
  kingdom of heaven" to designate the work of divine grace upon
  the hearts of men.
   
   
  So
  the throne of glory represents the kingdom of glory; and this kingdom
  is referred to in the Saviour's words: "When the Son of man
  shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall
  He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered
  all nations." Matthew 25:31, 32. This kingdom is yet future. It
  is not to be set up until the second advent of Christ.  The kingdom
  of grace was instituted immediately after the fall of man, when a
  plan was devised for the redemption of the guilty race. It then
  existed in the purpose and by the promise of God; and through faith,
  men could become its subjects. Yet it was not actually established
  until the death of
   
   
  Christ.
  Even after entering upon His earthly mission, the Saviour, wearied
  with the stubbornness and ingratitude of men, might have drawn back
  from the sacrifice of Calvary. In Gethsemane the cup of woe trembled
  in His hand. He might even then have wiped the blood-sweat from His
  brow and have left the guilty race to perish in their iniquity. Had
  He done this, there could have been no redemption for fallen men. But
  when the Saviour yielded up His life, and with His expiring breath
  cried out, "It is finished," then the fulfillment of the
  plan of redemption was assured. The promise of salvation made to the
  sinful pair in Eden was ratified. The kingdom of grace, which had
  before existed by the promise of God, was then established.
   
   
  Thus
  the death of Christ--the very event which the disciples had looked
  upon as the final destruction of their hope --was that which made it
  forever sure. While it had brought them a cruel disappointment, it
  was the climax of proof that their belief had been correct. The event
  that had filled them with mourning and despair was that which opened
  the door of hope to every child of Adam, and in which centreed the
  future life and eternal happiness of all God's faithful ones in all
  the ages.  Purposes of infinite mercy were reaching their
  fulfillment, even though the disappointment of the disciples. While
  their hearts had been won by the divine grace and power of His
  teaching, who "spake as never man spake," yet intermingled
  with the pure gold of their love for Jesus, was the base alloy of
  worldly pride and selfish ambitions. Even in the Passover chamber, at
  that solemn hour when their Master was already entering the shadow of
  Gethsemane, there was "a strife among them, which of them should
  be accounted the greatest." Luke 22:24.
   
   
  Their
  vision was filled with the throne, the crown, and the glory, while
  just before them lay the shame and agony of the garden, the judgment
  hall, the cross of Calvary. It was their pride of heart, their thirst
  for worldly  glory, that had led them to cling so tenaciously to the
  false teaching of their time, and to pass unheeded the Saviour's
  words showing the true nature of His kingdom, and pointing forward to
  His agony and death. And these error resulted in the trial--sharp but
  needful--which was permitted for their correction. Though the
  disciples had mistaken the meaning of their message, and had failed
  to realise their expectations, yet they had preached the warning
  given them of God, and the Lord would reward their faith and honour
  their obedience. To them was to be entrusted the work of heralding to
  all nations the glorious gospel of their risen Lord. It was to
  prepare them for this work that the experience which seemed to them
  so bitter had been permitted.
   
   
  After
  His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples on the way to
  Emmaus, and, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He
  expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
  Himself." Luke 24:27. The hearts of the disciples were stirred.
  Faith was kindled. They were "begotten again into a lively hope"
  even before Jesus revealed Himself to them. It was His purpose to
  enlighten their understanding and to fasten their faith upon the
  "sure word of prophecy." He wished the truth to take firm
  root in their minds, not merely because it was supported by His
  personal testimony, but because of the unquestionable evidence
  presented by the symbols and shadows of the typical law, and by the
  prophecies of the Old Testament. It was needful for the followers of
  Christ to have an intelligent faith, not only in their own behalf,
  but that they might carry the knowledge of Christ to the world. And
  as the very first step in imparting this knowledge, Jesus directed
  the disciples to "Moses and all the prophets." Such was the
  testimony given by the risen Saviour to the value and importance of
  the Old Testament Scriptures.
   
   
  What
  a change was wrought in the hearts of the disciples as they looked
  once more on the loved countenance of their  Master! Luke 24:32. In a
  more complete and perfect sense than ever before they had "found
  Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write." The
  uncertainty, the anguish, the despair, gave place to perfect
  assurance, to unclouded faith. What marvel that after His ascension
  they "were continually in the temple, praising and blessing
  God." The people, knowing only of the Saviour's ignominious
  death, looked to see in their faces the expression of sorrow,
  confusion, and defeat; but they saw there gladness and triumph. What
  a preparation these disciples had received for the work before them!
  They had passed through the deepest trial which it was possible for
  them to experience, and had seen how, when to human vision all was
  lost, the word of God had been triumphantly accomplished.
  Henceforward what could daunt their faith or chill the ardour of
  their love? In the keenest sorrow they had "strong consolation,"
  a hope which was as "an anchor of the soul, both sure and
  steadfast." Hebrews 6:18, 19.
   
   
  They
  had been witness to the wisdom and power of God, and they were
  "persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
  principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
  nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature," would be able to
  separate them from "the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus
  our Lord." "In all these things," they said, "we
  are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Romans
  8:38, 39, 37. "The word of the Lord endureth forever." 1
  Peter 1:25. And "who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that
  died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
  of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:34.
   
   
  Saith
  the Lord: "My people shall never be ashamed." Joel 2:26.
  "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
  Psalm 30:5. When on His resurrection day these disciples met the
  Saviour, and their hearts burned within them as they listened to His
  words; when they looked upon the head and hands and feet that had
  been bruised for them; when, before His ascension, Jesus led them out
  as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands in blessing, bade them,
  "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel," adding,
  "Lo, I am with you alway" (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:20); when
  on the Day of Pentecost the promised Comforter descended and the
  power from on high was given and the souls of the believers thrilled
  with the conscious presence of their ascended Lord--then, even
  though, like His, their pathway led through sacrifice and martyrdom,
  would they have exchanged the ministry of the gospel of His grace,
  with the "crown of righteousness" to be received at His
  coming, for the glory of an earthly throne, which had been the hope
  of their earlier discipleship? He who is "able to do exceeding
  abundantly above all that we ask or think," had granted them,
  with the fellowship of His sufferings, the communion of His joy--the
  joy of "bringing many sons unto glory," joy unspeakable, an
  "eternal weight of glory," to which, says Paul, "our
  light affliction, which is but for a moment," is "not
  worthy to be compared."
   
   
  The
  experience of the disciples who preached the "gospel of the
  kingdom" at the first advent of Christ, had its counterpart in
  the experience of those who proclaimed the message of His second
  advent. As the disciples went out preaching, "The time is
  fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand," so Miller and his
  associates proclaimed that the longest and last prophetic period
  brought to view in the Bible was about to expire, that the judgment
  was at hand, and the everlasting kingdom was to be ushered in. The
  preaching of the disciples in regard to time was based on the seventy
  weeks of Daniel 9. The message given by Miller and his associates
  announced the termination of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, of which
  the seventy weeks form a part. The preaching of each was based upon
  the fulfillment of a different portion of the same great prophetic
  period.
   
   
  Like
  the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not,
  themselves, fully comprehend the import of the message which they
  bore. Errors that had been long established in the church prevented
  them from arriving at a correct interpretation of an important point
  in the prophecy. Therefore, though they proclaimed the message which
  God had committed to them to be given to the world, yet through a
  misapprehension of its meaning they suffered disappointment.
   
   
  In
  explaining Daniel 8:14, "Unto two thousand and three hundred
  days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," Miller, as has been
  stated, adopted the generally received view that the earth is the
  sanctuary, and he believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary
  represented the purification of the earth by fire at the coming of
  the Lord. When, therefore, he found that the close of the 2300 days
  was definitely foretold, he concluded that this revealed the time of
  the second advent. His error resulted from accepting the popular view
  as to what constitutes the sanctuary.
   
   
  In
  the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and
  priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last
  service performed by the high priest in the yearly round of
  ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement --a removal or
  putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the closing work in
  the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the removal or
  blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered in the
  heavenly records. This service involves a work of investigation, a
  work of judgment; and it immediately precedes the coming of Christ in
  the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for when He comes,
  every case has been decided. Says Jesus: "My reward is with Me,
  to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation
  22:12. It is this work of judgment, immediately preceding the second
  advent, that is announced in the first angel's message of Revelation
  14:7: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His
  judgment is come."
   
   
  Those
  who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the right time.
  But as the early disciples declared, "The time is fulfilled, and
  the kingdom of God is at hand,"  based on the prophecy of Daniel
  9, while they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was
  foretold in the same scripture, so Miller and his associates preached
  the message based on Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to
  see that there were still other messages brought to view in
  Revelation 14, which were also to be given before the advent of the
  Lord. As the disciples were mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be
  set up at the end of the seventy weeks, so Adventists were mistaken
  in regard to the event to take place at the expiration of the 2300
  days. In both cases there was an acceptance of, or rather an
  adherence to, popular errors that blinded the mind to the truth. Both
  classes fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message which He
  desired to be given, and both, through their own misapprehension of
  their message, suffered disappointment.
   
   
  Yet
  God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the warning
  of the judgment to be given just as it was. The great day was at
  hand, and in His providence the people were brought to the test of a
  definite time, in order to reveal to them what was in their hearts.
  The message was designed for the testing and purification of the
  church. They were to be led to see whether their affections were set
  upon this world or upon Christ and heaven. They professed to love the
  Saviour; now they were to prove their love. Were they ready to
  renounce their worldly hopes and ambitions, and welcome with joy the
  advent of their Lord? The message was designed to enable them to
  discern their true spiritual state; it was sent in mercy to arouse
  them to seek the Lord with repentance and humiliation.
   
   
  The
  disappointment also, though the result of their own misapprehension
  of the message which they gave, was to be overruled for good. It
  would test the hearts of those who had professed to receive the
  warning. In the face of their disappointment would they rashly give
  up their experience and cast away their confidence in God's word? or
  would they, in prayer and humility, seek to discern where they had
  failed to comprehend the significance of the prophecy? How many had
  moved from fear, or from impulse and excitement? How many were
  halfhearted and unbelieving? Multitudes professed to love the
  appearing of the Lord. When called to endure the scoffs and reproach
  of the world, and the test of delay and disappointment, would they
  renounce the faith? Because they did not immediately understand the
  dealings of God with them, would they cast aside truths sustained by
  the clearest testimony of His word?
   
   
  This
  test would reveal the strength of those who with real faith had
  obeyed what they believed to be the teaching of the word and the
  Spirit of God. It would teach them, as only such an experience could,
  the danger of accepting the theories and interpretations of men,
  instead of making the Bible its own interpreter. To the children of
  faith the perplexity and sorrow resulting from their error would work
  the needed correction. They would be led to a closer study of the
  prophetic word. They would be taught to examine more carefully the
  foundation of their faith, and to reject everything, however widely
  accepted by the Christian world, that was not founded upon the
  Scriptures of truth.
   
   
  With
  these believers, as with the first disciples, that which in the hour
  of trial seemed dark to their understanding would afterward be made
  plain. When they should see the "end of the Lord" they
  would know that, notwithstanding the trial resulting from their
  errors, His purposes of love toward them had been steadily
  fulfilling. They would learn by a blessed experience that He is "very
  pitiful, and of tender mercy;" that all His paths "are
  mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies."
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 20. The Awakening 
   
  A
  great religious awakening under the proclamation of Christ's soon
  coming is foretold in the prophecy of the first angel's message of
  Revelation 14. An angel is seen flying "in the midst of heaven,
  having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the
  earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
  "With a loud voice" he proclaims the message: "Fear
  God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and
  worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
  fountains of waters." Verses 6, 7.  The fact that an angel is
  said to be the herald of this warning is significant. By the purity,
  the glory, and the power of the heavenly messenger, divine wisdom has
  been pleased to represent the exalted character of the work to be
  accomplished by the message and the power and glory that were to
  attend it. And the angel's flight "in the midst of heaven,"
  the "loud voice" with which the warning is uttered, and its
  promulgation to all "that dwell on the earth,"--"to
  every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,"--give
  evidence of the rapidity and world-wide extent of the movement.
   
   
  The
  message itself sheds light as to the time when this movement is to
  take place. It is declared to be a part of the "everlasting
  gospel;" and it announces the opening of the judgment. The
  message of salvation has been preached in all ages; but this message
  is a part of the gospel which could be proclaimed only in the last
  days, for only then would it be true that the hour of judgment had
  come . The prophecies present a succession of events leading down to
  the opening of the judgment. This is especially true of the book of
  Daniel. But that part of his prophecy which related to the last days,
  Daniel was bidden to close up and seal "to the time of the end."
  Not till we reach this time could a message concerning the judgment
  be proclaimed, based on the fulfillment of these prophecies. But at
  the time of the end, says the prophet, "many shall run to and
  fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Daniel 12:4.
   
   
  The
  apostle Paul warned the church not to look for the coming of Christ
  in his day. "That day shall not come," he says, "except
  there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed."
  2 Thessalonians 2:3. Not till after the great apostasy, and the long
  period of the reign of the "man of sin," can we look for
  the advent of our Lord. The "man of sin," which is also
  styled "the mystery of iniquity," "the son of
  perdition," and "that wicked," represents the papacy,
  which, as foretold in prophecy, was to maintain its supremacy for
  1260 years. This period ended in 1798. The coming of Christ could not
  take place before that time. Paul covers with his caution the whole
  of the Christian dispensation down to the year 1798. It is this side
  of that time that the message of Christ's second coming is to be
  proclaimed.
   
   
  No
  such message has ever been given in past ages. Paul, as we have seen,
  did not preach it; he pointed his brethren into the then far-distant
  future for the coming of the Lord. The Reformers did not proclaim it.
  Martin Luther placed the judgment about three hundred years in the
  future from his day. But since 1798 the book of Daniel has been
  unsealed, knowledge of the prophecies has increased, and many have
  proclaimed the solemn message of the judgment near.  Like the great
  Reformation of the sixteenth century, the advent movement appeared in
  different countries of Christendom at the same time. In both Europe
  and America men of faith and prayer were led to the study of the
  prophecies, and, tracing down the inspired record, they saw
  convincing evidence that the end of all things was at hand. In
  different lands there were isolated bodies of Christians who, solely
  by the study of the Scriptures, arrived at the belief that the
  Saviour's advent was near.
   
   
  In
  1821, three years after Miller had arrived at his exposition of the
  prophecies pointing to the time of the judgment, Dr. Joseph Wolff,
  "the missionary to the world," began to proclaim the Lord's
  soon coming. Wolff was born in Germany, of Hebrew parentage, his
  father being a Jewish rabbi. While very young he was convinced of the
  truth of the Christian religion. Of an active, inquiring mind, he had
  been an eager listener to the conversations that took place in his
  father's house as devout Hebrews daily assembled to recount the hopes
  and anticipations of their people, the glory of the coming Messiah,
  and the restoration of Israel. One day hearing Jesus of Nazareth
  mentioned, the boy inquired who He was. "A Jew of the greatest
  talent," was the answer; "but as He pretended to be the
  Messiah, the Jewish tribunal sentenced Him to death." "Why,"
  rejoined the questioner, "is Jerusalem destroyed, and why are we
  in captivity?" "Alas, alas!" answered his father,
  "because the Jews murdered the prophets." The thought was
  at once suggested to the child: "Perhaps Jesus was also a
  prophet, and the Jews killed Him when He was innocent."--
  Travels and Adventures of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, vol. 1, p. 6. So
  strong was this feeling that, though forbidden to enter a Christian
  church, he would often linger outside to listen to the preaching.
   
   
  When
  only seven years old he was boasting to an aged Christian neighbour
  of the future triumph of Israel at the advent of the Messiah, when
  the old man said kindly: "Dear boy, I will tell you who the real
  Messiah was: He was Jesus  of Nazareth, . . . whom your ancestors
  have crucified, as they did the prophets of old. Go home and read the
  fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, and you will be convinced that Jesus
  Christ is the Son of God."-- Ibid., vol. 1, p. 7. Conviction at
  once fastened upon him. He went home and read the scripture,
  wondering to see how perfectly it had been fulfilled in Jesus of
  Nazareth. Were the words of the Christian true? The boy asked of his
  father an explanation of the prophecy, but was met with a silence so
  stern that he never again dared to refer to the subject. This,
  however, only increased his desire to know more of the Christian
  religion.
   
   
  The
  knowledge he sought was studiously kept from him in his Jewish home;
  but, when only eleven years old, he left his father's house and went
  out into the world to gain for himself an education, to choose his
  religion and his lifework. He found a home for a time with kinsmen,
  but was soon driven from them as an apostate, and alone and penniless
  he had to make his own way among strangers. He went from place to
  place, studying diligently and maintaining himself by teaching
  Hebrew. Through the influence of a Catholic instructor he was led to
  accept the Romish faith and formed the purpose of becoming a
  missionary to his own people. With this object he went, a few years
  later, to pursue his studies in the College of the Propaganda at
  Rome. Here his habit of independent thought and candid speech brought
  upon him the imputation of heresy. He openly attacked the abuses of
  the church and urged the necessity of reform. Though at first treated
  with special favour by the papal dignitaries, he was after a time
  removed from Rome.
   
   
  Under
  the surveillance of the church he went from place to place, until it
  became evident that he could never be brought to submit to the
  bondage of Romanism. He was declared to be incorrigible and was left
  at liberty to go where he pleased. He now made his way to England
  and, professing the Protestant faith, united with the English Church.
  After two years' study he set out, in 1821, upon his mission.  While
  Wolff accepted the great truth of Christ's first  advent as "a
  Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief," he saw that the
  prophecies bring to view with equal clearness His second advent with
  power and glory. And while he sought to lead his people to Jesus of
  Nazareth as the Promised One, and to point them to His first coming
  in humiliation as a sacrifice for the sins of men, he taught them
  also of His second coming as a king and deliverer.
   
   
  "Jesus
  of Nazareth, the true Messiah," he said, "whose hands and
  feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, who
  was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, who after the
  scepter was taken from Judah, and the legislative power from between
  his feet, came the first time; shall come the second time in the
  clouds of heaven, and with the trump of the Archangel" (Joseph
  Wolff, Researches and Missionary Labours, page 62) "and shall
  stand upon the Mount of Olives; and that dominion, once consigned to
  Adam over the creation, and forfeited by him (Genesis 1:26; 3:17),
  shall be given to Jesus. He shall be king over all the earth. The
  groanings and lamentations of the creation shall cease, but songs of
  praises and thanksgivings shall be heard. ... When Jesus comes in the
  glory of His Father, with the holy angels,... the dead believers
  shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:32. This is
  what we Christians call the first resurrection. Then the animal
  kingdom shall change its nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), and be subdued unto
  Jesus. Psalm 8. Universal peace shall prevail."-- Journal of the
  Rev. Joseph Wolff, pages 378, 379. "The Lord again shall look
  down upon the earth, and say, 'Behold, it is very good.'"--
  Ibid., page 294.
   
   
  Wolff
  believed the coming of the Lord to be at hand, his interpretation of
  the prophetic periods placing the great consummation within a very
  few years of the time pointed out by Miller. To those who urged from
  the scripture, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man," that
  men are to know nothing concerning the nearness of the advent, Wolff
  replied: "Did our Lord say that that day and hour should never
  be known? Did He not give us signs of the times, in order  that we
  may know at least the approach of His coming, as one knows the
  approach of the summer by the fig tree putting forth its leaves?
  Matthew 24:32. Are we never to know that period, whilst He Himself
  exhorteth us not only to read Daniel the prophet, but to understand
  it? and in that very Daniel, where it is said that the words were
  shut up to the time of the end (which was the case in his time), and
  that 'many shall run to and fro' (a Hebrew expression for observing
  and thinking upon the time), 'and knowledge' (regarding that time)
  'shall be increased.' Daniel 12:4. Besides this, our Lord does not
  intend to say by this, that the approach of the time shall not be
  known, but that the exact 'day and hour knoweth no man.' Enough, He
  does say, shall be known by the signs of the times, to induce us to
  prepare for His coming, as Noah prepared the ark."--Wolff,
  Researches and Missionary Labours, pages 404, 405.
   
   
  Concerning
  the popular system of interpreting, or misinterpreting, the
  Scriptures, Wolff wrote: "The greater part of the Christian
  church have swerved from the plain sense of Scripture, and have
  turned to the phantomizing system of the Buddhists, who believe that
  the future happiness of mankind will consist in moving about in the
  air, and suppose that when they are reading Jews they must understand
  Gentiles; and when they read Jerusalem, they must understand the
  church; and if it is said earth, it means sky; and for coming of the
  Lord they must understand the progress of the missionary societies;
  and going up to the mountain of the Lord's house, signifies a grand
  class meeting of Methodists." --Journal of the Rev. Joseph
  Wolff, page 96.
   
   
  During
  the twenty-four years from 1821 to 1845, Wolff traveled extensively:
  in Africa, visiting Egypt and Abyssinia; in Asia, traversing
  Palestine, Syria, Persia, Bokhara, and India. He also visited the
  United States, on the journey thither preaching on the island of
  Saint Helena. He arrived in New York in August, 1837; and, after
  speaking in that city, he preached in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and
  finally proceeded to Washington. Here, he says, "on a motion
  brought  forward by the ex-President, John Quincy Adams, in one of
  the houses of Congress, the House unanimously granted to me the use
  of the Congress Hall for a lecture, which I delivered on a Saturday,
  honoured with the presence of all the members of Congress, and also
  of the bishop of Virginia, and of the clergy and citizens of
  Washington. The same honour was granted to me by the members of the
  government of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in whose presence I
  delivered lectures on my researches in Asia, and also on the personal
  reign of Jesus Christ."-- Ibid., pages 398, 399.
   
   
  Dr.
  Wolff travelled in the most barbarous countries without the
  protection of any European authority, enduring many hardships and
  surrounded with countless perils. He was bastinadoed and starved,
  sold as a slave, and three times condemned to death. He was beset by
  robbers, and sometimes nearly perished from thirst. Once he was
  stripped of all that he possessed and left to travel hundreds of
  miles on foot through the mountains, the snow beating in his face and
  his naked feet benumbed by contact with the frozen ground.
   
   
  When
  warned against going unarmed among savage and hostile tribes, he
  declared himself "provided with arms"-- "prayer, zeal
  for Christ, and confidence in His help." "I am also,"
  he said, "provided with the love of God and my neighbour in my
  heart, and the Bible is in my hand."-W.H.D. Adams, In Perils
  Oft, page 192. The Bible in Hebrew and English he carried with him
  wherever he went. Of one of his later journeys he says: "I . . .
  kept the Bible open in my hand. I felt my power was in the Book, and
  that its might would sustain me."-- Ibid., page 201.
   
   
  Thus
  he persevered in his labours until the message of the judgment had
  been carried to a large part of the habitable globe. Among Jews,
  Turks, Parsees, Hindus, and many other nationalities and races he
  distributed the word of God in these various tongues and everywhere
  heralded the approaching reign of the Messiah.  In his travels in
  Bokhara he found the doctrine of the Lord's soon coming held by a
  remote and isolated people.  The Arabs of Yemen, he says, "are
  in possession of a book called Seera, which gives notice of the
  second coming of Christ and His reign in glory; and they expect great
  events to take place in the year 1840."-- Journal of the Rev.
  Joseph Wolff, page 377. "In Yemen . . . I spent six days with
  the children of Rechab. They drink no wine, plant no vineyard, sow no
  seed, and live in tents, and remember good old Jonadab, the son of
  Rechab; and I found in their company children of Israel, of the tribe
  of Dan, . . . who expect, with the children of Rechab, the speedy
  arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven."-- Ibid., page
  389.
   
   
  A
  similar belief was found by another missionary to exist in Tatary. A
  Tatar priest put the question to the missionary as to when Christ
  would come the second time. When the missionary answered that he knew
  nothing about it, the priest seemed greatly surprised at such
  ignorance in one who professed to be a Bible teacher, and stated his
  own belief, founded on prophecy, that Christ would come about 1844. 
  As early as 1826 the advent message began to be preached in England.
   
   
  The
  movement here did not take so definite a form as in America; the
  exact time of the advent was not so generally taught, but the great
  truth of Christ's soon coming in power and glory was extensively
  proclaimed. And this not among the dissenters and nonconformists
  only. Mourant Brock, an English writer, states that about seven
  hundred ministers of the Church of England were engaged in preaching
  "this gospel of the kingdom." The message pointing to 1844
  as the time of the Lord's coming was also given in Great Britain.
  Advent publications from the United States were widely circulated.
  Books and journals were republished in England. And in 1842 Robert
  Winter, an Englishman by birth, who had received the advent faith in
  America, returned to his native country to herald the coming of the
  Lord. Many united with him in the work, and the message of the
  judgment was proclaimed in various parts of England.
   
   
  In
  South America, in the midst of barbarism and priest-craft, Lacunza, a
  Spaniard and a Jesuit, found his way to the Scriptures and thus
  received the truth of Christ's speedy return. Impelled to give the
  warning, yet desiring to escape the censures of Rome, he published
  his views under the assumed name of "Rabbi Ben-Ezra,"
  representing himself as a converted Jew. Lacunza lived in the
  eighteenth century, but it was about 1825 that his book, having found
  its way to London, was translated into the English language. Its
  publication served to deepen the interest already awakening in
  England in the subject of the second advent.
   
   
  In
  Germany the doctrine had been taught in the eighteenth century by
  Bengel, a minister in the Lutheran Church and a celebrated Biblical
  scholar and critic. Upon completing his education, Bengel had
  "devoted himself to the study of theology, to which the grave
  and religious tone of his mind, deepened by his early training and
  discipline, naturally inclined him. Like other young men of
  thoughtful character, before and since, he had to struggle with
  doubts and difficulties of a religious nature, and he alludes, with
  much feeling, to the 'many arrows which pierced his poor heart, and
  made his youth hard to bear.'" Becoming a member of the
  consistory of Wurttemberg, he advocated the cause of religious
  liberty. "While maintaining the rights and privileges of the
  church, he was an advocate for all reasonable freedom being accorded
  to those who felt themselves bound, on grounds of conscience, to
  withdraw from her communion."-- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th
  ed., art. "Bengel." The good effects of this policy are
  still felt in his native province.
   
   
  It
  was while preparing a sermon from Revelation 21 for advent Sunday
  that the light of Christ's second coming broke in upon Bengel's mind.
  The prophecies of the Revelation unfolded to his understanding as
  never before. Overwhelmed with a sense of the stupendous importance
  and surpassing glory of the scenes presented by the prophet, he was
  forced to turn for a time from the contemplation of the subject. In
  the  pulpit it again presented itself to him with all its vividness
  and power. From that time he devoted himself to the study of the
  prophecies, especially those of the Apocalypse, and soon arrived at
  the belief that they pointed to the coming of Christ as near. The
  date which he fixed upon as the time of the second advent was within
  a very few years of that afterward held by Miller.
   
   
  Bengel's
  writings have been spread throughout Christendom. His views of
  prophecy were quite generally received in his own state of
  Wurttemberg, and to some extent in other parts of Germany. The
  movement continued after his death, and the advent message was heard
  in Germany at the same time that it was attracting attention in other
  lands. At an early date some of the believers went to Russia and
  there formed colonies, and the faith of Christ's soon coming is still
  held by the German churches of that country.  The light shone also in
  France and Switzerland. At Geneva where Farel and Calvin had spread
  the truth of the Reformation, Gaussen preached the message of the
  second advent.
   
   
  While
  a student at school, Gaussen had encountered that spirit of
  rationalism which pervaded all Europe during the latter part of the
  eighteenth and the opening of the nineteenth century; and when he
  entered the ministry he was not only ignorant of true faith, but
  inclined to skepticism. In his youth he had become interested in the
  study of prophecy. After reading Rollin's Ancient History, his
  attention was called to the second chapter of Daniel, and he was
  struck with the wonderful exactness with which the prophecy had been
  fulfilled, as seen in the historian's record. Here was a testimony to
  the inspiration of the Scriptures, which served as an anchor to him
  amid the perils of later years. He could not rest satisfied with the
  teachings of rationalism, and in studying the Bible and searching for
  clearer light he was, after a time, led to a positive faith.
   
   
  As
  he pursued his investigation of the prophecies he arrived at the
  belief that the coming of the Lord was at hand. Impressed with the
  solemnity and importance of this great  truth, he desired to bring it
  before the people; but the popular belief that the prophecies of
  Daniel are mysteries and cannot be understood was a serious obstacle
  in his way. He finally determined--as Farel had done before him in
  evangelizing Geneva--to begin with the children, through whom he
  hoped to interest the parents.
   
   
  "I
  desire this to be understood," he afterward said, speaking of
  his object in this undertaking, "it is not because of its small
  importance, but on the contrary because of its great value, that I
  wished to present it in this familiar form, and that I addressed it
  to the children. I desired to be heard, and I feared that I would not
  be if I addressed myself to the grown people first." "I
  determined therefore to go to the youngest. I gather an audience of
  children; if the group enlarges, if it is seen that they listen, are
  pleased, interested, that they understand and explain the subject, I
  am sure to have a second circle soon, and in their turn, grown people
  will see that it is worth their while to sit down and study. When
  this is done, the cause is gained."--L. Gaussen, Daniel the
  Prophet, vol. 2, Preface.
   
   
  The
  effort was successful. As he addressed the children, older persons
  came to listen. The galleries of his church were filled with
  attentive hearers. Among them were men of rank and learning, and
  strangers and foreigners visiting Geneva; and thus the message was
  carried to other parts.  Encouraged by this success, Gaussen
  published his lessons, with the hope of promoting the study of the
  prophetic books in the churches of the French-speaking people. "To
  publish instruction given to the children," says Gaussen, "is
  to say to adults, who too often neglect such books under the false
  pretense that they are obscure, 'How can they be obscure, since your
  children understand them?'" "I had a great desire," he
  adds, "to render a knowledge of the prophecies popular in our
  flocks, if possible." "There is no study, indeed, which it
  seems to me answers the needs of the time better." "It is
  by this that we are to prepare for the tribulation near at hand, and
  watch and wait for Jesus Christ."
   
   
  Though
  one of the most distinguished and beloved of preachers in the French
  language, Gaussen was after a time suspended from the ministry, his
  principal offense being that instead of the church's catechism, a
  tame and rationalistic manual, almost destitute of positive faith, he
  had used the Bible in giving instruction to the youth. He afterward
  became teacher in a theological school, while on Sunday he continued
  his work as catechist, addressing the children and instructing them
  in the Scriptures. His works on prophecy also excited much interest.
  From the professor's chair, through the press, and in his favourite
  occupation as teacher of children he continued for many years to
  exert an extensive influence and was instrumental in calling the
  attention of many to the study of the prophecies which showed that
  the coming of the Lord was near.
   
   
  In
  Scandinavia also the advent message was proclaimed, and a widespread
  interest was kindled. Many were roused from their careless security
  to confess and forsake their sins, and seek pardon in the name of
  Christ. But the clergy of the state church opposed the movement, and
  through their influence some who preached the message were thrown
  into prison. In many places where the preachers of the Lord's soon
  coming were thus silenced, God was pleased to send the message, in a
  miraculous manner, through little children. As they were under age,
  the law of the state could not restrain them, and they were permitted
  to speak unmolested.
   
   
  The
  movement was chiefly among the lower class, and it was in the humble
  dwellings of the labourers that the people assembled to hear the
  warning. The child-preachers themselves were mostly poor cottagers.
  Some of them were not more than six or eight years of age; and while
  their lives testified that they loved the Saviour, and were trying to
  live in obedience to God's holy requirements, they ordinarily
  manifested only the intelligence and ability usually seen in children
  of that age. When standing before the people, however, it was evident
  that they were moved by an influence beyond their own natural gifts.
  Tone and manner changed, and with solemn power they gave the warning
  of the judgment, employing the very words of Scripture: "Fear
  God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come."
  They reproved the sins of the people, not only condemning immorality
  and vice, but rebuking worldliness and backsliding, and warning their
  hearers to make haste to flee from the wrath to come.
   
   
  The
  people heard with trembling. The convicting Spirit of God spoke to
  their hearts. Many were led to search the Scriptures with new and
  deeper interest, the intemperate and immoral were reformed, others
  abandoned their dishonest practices, and a work was done so marked
  that even ministers of the state church were forced to acknowledge
  that the hand of God was in the movement.  It was God's will that the
  tidings of the Saviour's coming should be given in the Scandinavian
  countries; and when the voices of His servants were silenced, He put
  His Spirit upon the children, that the work might be accomplished.
   
   
  When
  Jesus drew near to Jerusalem attended by the rejoicing multitudes
  that, with shouts of triumph and the waving of palm branches,
  heralded Him as the Son of David, the jealous Pharisees called upon
  Him to silence them; but Jesus answered that all this was in
  fulfillment of prophecy, and if these should hold their peace, the
  very stones would cry out. The people, intimidated by the threats of
  the priests and rulers, ceased their joyful proclamation as they
  entered the gates of Jerusalem; but the children in the temple courts
  afterward took up the refrain, and, waving their branches of palm,
  they cried: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Matthew 21:8-16.
  When the Pharisees, sorely displeased, said unto Him, "Hearest
  Thou what these say?" Jesus answered, "Yea; have ye never
  read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected
  praise?" As God wrought through children  at the time of
  Christ's first advent, so He wrought through them in giving the
  message of His second advent. God's word must be fulfilled, that the
  proclamation of the Saviour's coming should be given to all peoples,
  tongues, and nations.
   
   
  To
  William Miller and his colabourers it was given to preach the warning
  in America. This country became the centre of the great advent
  movement. It was here that the prophecy of the first angel's message
  had its most direct fulfillment. The writings of Miller and his
  associates were carried to distant lands. Wherever missionaries had
  penetrated in all the world, were sent the glad tidings of Christ's
  speedy return. Far and wide spread the message of the everlasting
  gospel: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His
  judgment is come."
   
   
  The
  testimony of the prophecies which seemed to point to the coming of
  Christ in the spring of 1844 took deep hold of the minds of the
  people. As the message went from state to state, there was everywhere
  awakened widespread interest. Many were convinced that the arguments
  from the prophetic periods were correct, and, sacrificing their pride
  of opinion, they joyfully received the truth. Some ministers laid
  aside their sectarian views and feelings, left their salaries and
  their churches, and united in proclaiming the coming of Jesus. There
  were comparatively few ministers, however, who would accept this
  message; therefore it was largely committed to humble laymen. Farmers
  left their fields, mechanics their tools, traders their merchandise,
  professional men their positions; and yet the number of workers was
  small in comparison with the work to be accomplished. The condition
  of an ungodly church and a world lying in wickedness, burdened the
  souls of the true watchmen, and they willingly endured toil,
  privation, and suffering, that they might call men to repentance unto
  salvation.
   
   
  Though
  opposed by Satan, the work went steadily forward, and the advent
  truth was accepted by many thousands. Everywhere the searching
  testimony was heard, warning sinners, both worldlings and church
  members, to flee from the wrath to come. Like John the Baptist, the
  forerunner of Christ, the preachers laid the ax at the root of the
  tree and urged all to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. Their
  stirring appeals were in marked contrast to the assurances of peace
  and safety that were heard from popular pulpits; and wherever the
  message was given, it moved the people. The simple, direct testimony
  of the Scriptures, set home by the power of the Holy Spirit, brought
  a weight of conviction which few were able wholly to resist.
  Professors of religion were roused from their false security. They
  saw their backslidings, their worldliness and unbelief, their pride
  and selfishness.
   
   
  Many
  sought the Lord with repentance and humiliation. The affections that
  had so long clung to earthly things they now fixed upon heaven. The
  Spirit of God rested upon them, and with hearts softened and subdued
  they joined to sound the cry: "Fear God, and give glory to Him;
  for the hour of His judgment is come."  Sinners inquired with
  weeping: "What must I do to be saved?" Those whose lives
  had been marked with dishonesty were anxious to make restitution. All
  who found peace in Christ longed to see others share the blessing.
  The hearts of parents were turned to their children, and the hearts
  of children to their parents. The barriers of pride and reserve were
  swept away. Heartfelt confessions were made, and the members of the
  household laboured for the salvation of those who were nearest and
  dearest. Often was heard the sound of earnest intercession.
  Everywhere were souls in deep anguish pleading with God. Many
  wrestled all night in prayer for the assurance that their own sins
  were pardoned, or for the conversion of their relatives or
  neighbours.
   
   
  All
  classes flocked to the Adventist meetings. Rich and poor, high and
  low, were, from various causes, anxious to hear for themselves the
  doctrine of the second advent. The Lord held the spirit of opposition
  in check while His servants explained the reasons of their faith.
  Sometimes the instrument was feeble; but the Spirit of God gave power
  to His truth. The presence of holy angels was felt in these
  assemblies, and many were daily added to the believers. As the
  evidences of Christ's soon coming were repeated, vast crowds listened
  in breathless silence to the solemn words. Heaven and earth seemed to
  approach each other. The power of God was felt upon old and young and
  middle-aged. Men sought their homes with praises upon their lips, and
  the glad sound rang out upon the still night air. None who attended
  those meetings can ever forget those scenes of deepest interest.
   
   
  The
  proclamation of a definite time for Christ's coming called forth
  great opposition from many of all classes, from the minister in the
  pulpit down to the most reckless, Heaven-daring sinner. The words of
  prophecy were fulfilled: "There shall come in the last days
  scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the
  promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things
  continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2
  Peter 3:3, 4. Many who professed to love the Saviour, declared that
  they had no opposition to the doctrine of the second advent; they
  merely objected to the definite time. But God's all-seeing eye read
  their hearts. They did not wish to hear of Christ's coming to judge
  the world in righteousness. They had been unfaithful servants, their
  works would not bear the inspection of the heart-searching God, and
  they feared to meet their Lord. Like the Jews at the time of Christ's
  first advent they were not prepared to welcome Jesus. They not only
  refused to listen to the plain arguments from the Bible, but
  ridiculed those who were looking for the Lord. Satan and his angels
  exulted, and flung the taunt in the face of Christ and holy angels
  that His professed people had so little love for Him that they did
  not desire His appearing.
   
   
  "No
  man knoweth the day nor the hour" was the argument most often
  brought forward by rejecters of the advent faith. The scripture is:
  "Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of
  heaven, but My Father only." Matthew 24:36. A clear and
  harmonious explanation of this text was given by those who were
  looking for the Lord, and the wrong use made of it by their opponents
  was clearly shown. The words were spoken by Christ in that memorable
  conversation with His disciples upon Olivet after He had for the last
  time departed from the temple. The disciples had asked the question:
  "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the
  world?" Jesus gave them signs, and said: "When ye shall see
  all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
  Verses 3, 33.
   
   
  One
  saying of the Saviour must not be made to destroy another. Though no
  man knoweth the day nor the hour of His coming, we are instructed and
  required to know when it is near. We are further taught that to
  disregard His warning, and refuse or neglect to know when His advent
  is near, will be as fatal for us as it was for those who lived in the
  days of Noah not to know when the flood was coming. And the parable
  in the same chapter, contrasting the faithful and the unfaithful
  servant, and giving the doom of him who said in his heart, "My
  Lord delayeth His coming," shows in what light Christ will
  regard and reward those whom He finds watching, and teaching His
  coming, and those denying it. "Watch therefore," He says.
  "Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall
  find so doing." Verses 42, 46. "If therefore thou shalt not
  watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what
  hour I will come upon thee." Revelation 3:3.
   
   
  Paul
  speaks of a class to whom the Lord's appearing will come unawares.
  "The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when
  they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon
  them, . . . and they shall not escape." But he adds, to those
  who have given heed to the Saviour's warning: "Ye, brethren, are
  not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are
  all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of
  the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thessalonians 5:2-5.
   
   
  Thus
  it was shown that Scripture gives no warrant for men to remain in
  ignorance concerning the nearness of Christ's coming. But those who
  desired only an excuse to reject the truth closed their ears to this
  explanation, and the words "No man knoweth the day nor the hour"
  continued to be echoed by the bold scoffer and even by the professed
  minister of Christ. As the people were roused, and began to inquire
  the way of salvation, religious teachers stepped in between them and
  the truth, seeking to quiet their fears by falsely interpreting the
  word of God. Unfaithful watchmen united in the work of the great
  deceiver, crying, Peace, peace, when God had not spoken peace. Like
  the Pharisees in Christ's day, many refused to enter the kingdom of
  heaven themselves, and those who were entering in they hindered. The
  blood of these souls will be required at their hand.
   
   
  The
  most humble and devoted in the churches were usually the first to
  receive the message. Those who studied the Bible for themselves could
  not but see the unscriptural character of the popular views of
  prophecy; and wherever the people were not controlled by the
  influence of the clergy, wherever they would search the word of God
  for themselves, the advent doctrine needed only to be compared with
  the Scriptures to establish its divine authority.  Many were
  persecuted by their unbelieving brethren. In order to retain their
  position in the church, some consented to be silent in regard to
  their hope; but others felt that loyalty to God forbade them thus to
  hide the truths which He had committed to their trust. Not a few were
  cut off from the fellowship of the church for no other reason than
  expressing their belief in the coming of Christ. Very precious to
  those who bore this trial of their faith were the words of the
  prophet: "Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My
  name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but He shall appear to
  your joy, and they shall be ashamed." Isaiah 66:5.
   
   
  Angels
  of God were watching with the deepest interest  the result of the
  warning. When there was a general rejection of the message by the
  churches, angels turned away in sadness. But there were many who had
  not yet been tested in regard to the advent truth. Many were misled
  by husbands, wives, parents, or children, and were made to believe it
  a sin even to listen to such heresies as were taught by the
  Adventists. Angels were bidden to keep faithful watch over these
  souls, for another light was yet to shine upon them from the throne
  of God.
   
   
  With
  unspeakable desire those who had received the message watched for the
  coming of their Saviour. The time when they expected to meet Him was
  at hand. They approached this hour with a calm solemnity. They rested
  in sweet communion with God, and earnest of the peace that was to be
  theirs in the bright hereafter. None who experienced this hope and
  trust can forget those precious hours of waiting. For some weeks
  preceding the time, worldly business was for the most part laid
  aside. The sincere believers carefully examined every thought and
  emotion of their hearts as if upon their deathbeds and in a few hours
  to close their eyes upon earthly scenes. There was no making of
  "ascension robes" ; but all felt the need of internal
  evidence that they were prepared to meet the Saviour; their white
  robes were purity of soul--characters cleansed from sin by the
  atoning blood of Christ. Would that there were still with the
  professed people of God the same spirit of heart searching, the same
  earnest, determined faith. Had they continued thus to humble
  themselves before the Lord and press their petitions at the mercy
  seat they would be in possession of a far richer experience than they
  now have. There is too little prayer, too little real conviction of
  sin, and the lack of living faith leaves many destitute of the grace
  so richly provided by our Redeemer.
   
   
  God
  designed to prove His people. His hand covered a mistake in the
  reckoning of the prophetic periods. Adventists  did not discover the
  error, nor was it discovered by the most learned of their opponents.
  The latter said: "Your reckoning of the prophetic periods is
  correct. Some great event is about to take place; but it is not what
  Mr. Miller predicts; it is the conversion of the world, and not the
  second advent of Christ." The time of expectation passed, and
  Christ did not appear for the deliverance of His people. Those who
  with sincere faith and love had looked for their Saviour, experienced
  a bitter disappointment. Yet the purposes of God were being
  accomplished; He was testing the hearts of those professed to be
  waiting for His appearing. There were among them many who had been
  actuated by no higher motive than fear. Their profession of faith had
  not affected their hearts or their lives. When the expected event
  failed to take place, these persons declared that they were not
  disappointed; they had never believed that Christ would come. They
  were among the first to ridicule the sorrow of the true believers.
   
   
  But
  Jesus and all the heavenly host looked with love and sympathy upon
  the tried and faithful yet disappointed ones. Could the evil
  separating the visible world have been swept back, angels would have
  been seen drawing near to these steadfast souls and shielding them
  from the shafts of Satan.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 21. A Warning Rejected 
   
  In
  preaching the doctrine of the second advent, William Miller and his
  associates had laboured with the sole purpose of arousing men to a
  preparation for the judgment. They had sought to awaken professors of
  religion to the true hope of the church and to their need of a deeper
  Christian experience, and they laboured also to awaken the
  unconverted to the duty of immediate repentance and conversion to
  God. "They made no attempt to convert men to a sect or party in
  religion. Hence they laboured among all parties and sects, without
  interfering with their organisation  or discipline."
   
   
  "In
  all my labours," said Miller, "I never had the desire or
  thought to establish any separate interest from that of existing
  denominations, or to benefit one at the expense of another. I thought
  to benefit all. Supposing that all Christians would rejoice in the
  prospect of Christ's coming, and that those who could not see as I
  did would not love any the less those who should embrace this
  doctrine, I did not conceive there would ever be any necessity for
  separate meetings. My whole object was a desire to convert souls to
  God, to notify the world of a coming judgment, and to induce my
  fellow men to make that preparation of heart which will enable them
  to meet their God in peace. The great majority of those who were
  converted under my labours united with the various existing
  churches."-Bliss, page 328.
   
   
  As
  his work tended to build up the churches, it was for a time regarded
  with favour. But as ministers and religious leaders decided against
  the advent doctrine and desired to suppress all agitation of the
  subject, they not only opposed it from the pulpit, but denied their
  members the privilege of attending preaching upon the second advent,
  or even of speaking of their hope in the social meetings of the
  church. Thus the believers found themselves in a position of great
  trial and perplexity. They loved their churches and were loath to
  separate from them; but as they saw the testimony of God's word
  suppressed and their right to investigate the prophecies denied they
  felt that loyalty to God forbade them to submit. Those who sought to
  shut out the testimony of God's word they could not regard as
  constituting the church of Christ, "the pillar and ground of the
  truth." Hence they felt themselves justified in separating from
  their former connection. In the summer of 1844 about fifty thousand
  withdrew from the churches.
   
   
  About
  this time a marked change was apparent in most of the churches
  throughout the United States. There had been for many years a gradual
  but steadily increasing conformity to worldly practices and customs,
  and a corresponding decline in real spiritual life; but in that year
  there were evidences of a sudden and marked declension in nearly all
  the churches of the land. While none seemed able to suggest the
  cause, the fact itself was widely noted and commented upon by both
  the press and the pulpit.  At a meeting of the presbytery of
  Philadelphia, Mr. Barnes, author of a commentary widely used and
  pastor of one of the leading churches in that city, "stated that
  he had been in the ministry for twenty years, and never, till the
  last Communion, had he administered the ordinance without receiving
  more or less into the church. But now there are no awakenings, no
  conversions, not much apparent growth in grace in professors, and
  none come to his study to converse about the salvation of their
  souls. With the increase of  business, and the brightening prospects
  of commerce and manufacture, there is an increase of
  worldly-mindedness. Thus it is with all the denominations." --
  Congregational Journal, May 23, 1844.
   
   
  In
  the month of February of the same year, Professor Finney of Oberlin
  College said: "We have had the fact before our minds, that, in
  general, the Protestant churches of our country, as such, were either
  apathetic or hostile to nearly all the moral reforms of the age.
  There are partial exceptions, yet not enough to render the fact
  otherwise than general. We have also another corroborated fact: the
  almost universal absence of revival influence in the churches. The
  spiritual apathy is almost all-pervading, and is fearfully deep; so
  the religious press of the whole land testifies. . . . Very
  extensively, church members are becoming devotees of fashion, --join
  hands with the ungodly in parties of pleasure, in dancing, in
  festivities, etc. . . . But we need not expand this painful subject.
  Suffice it that the evidence thickens and rolls heavily upon us, to
  show that the churches generally are becoming sadly degenerate . They
  have gone very far from the Lord, and He has withdrawn Himself from
  them."
   
   
  And
  a writer in the Religious Telescope testified: "We have never
  witnessed such a general declension of religion as at the present.
  Truly, the church should awake, and search into the cause of this
  affliction; for as an affliction everyone that loves Zion must view
  it. When we call to mind how 'few and far between' cases of true
  conversion are, and the almost unparalleled impertinence and hardness
  of sinners, we almost involuntarily exclaim, 'Has God forgotten to be
  gracious? or, Is the door of mercy closed?'"  Such a condition
  never exists without cause in the church itself. The spiritual
  darkness which falls upon nations, upon churches and individuals, is
  due, not to an arbitrary withdrawal of the succors of divine grace on
  the part of God, but to neglect or rejection of divine light on the
  part of men. A  striking illustration of this truth is presented in
  the history of the Jewish people in the time of Christ. By their
  devotion to the world and forgetfulness of God and His word, their
  understanding had become darkened, their hearts earthly and sensual.
  Thus they were in ignorance concerning Messiah's advent, and in their
  pride and unbelief they rejected the Redeemer. God did not even then
  cut off the Jewish nation from a knowledge of, or a participation in,
  the blessings of salvation. But those who rejected the truth lost all
  desire for the gift of Heaven. They had "put darkness for light,
  and light for darkness," until the light which was in them
  became darkness; and how great was that darkness!
   
   
  It
  suits the policy of Satan that men should retain the forms of
  religion if but the spirit of vital godliness is lacking. After their
  rejection of the gospel, the Jews continued zealously to maintain
  their ancient rites, they rigorously preserved their national
  exclusiveness, while they themselves could not but admit that the
  presence of God was no longer manifest among them. The prophecy of
  Daniel pointed so unmistakably to the time of Messiah's coming, and
  so directly foretold His death, that they discouraged its study, and
  finally the rabbis pronounced a curse on all who should attempt a
  computation of the time. In blindness and impenitence the people of
  Israel during succeeding centuries have stood, indifferent to the
  gracious offers of salvation, unmindful of the blessings of the
  gospel, a solemn and fearful warning of the danger of rejecting light
  from heaven.
   
   
  Wherever
  the cause exists, the same results will follow. He who deliberately
  stifles his convictions of duty because it interferes with his
  inclinations will finally lose the power to distinguish between truth
  and error. The understanding becomes darkened, the conscience
  callous, the heart hardened, and the soul is separated from God.
  Where the message of divine truth is spurned or slighted, there the
  church will be enshrouded in darkness; faith and love grow cold,  and
  estrangement and dissension enter. Church members centre their
  interests and energies in worldly pursuits, and sinners become
  hardened in their impenitence.
   
   
  The
  first angel's message of Revelation 14, announcing the hour of God's
  judgment and calling upon men to fear and worship Him, was designed
  to separate the professed people of God from the corrupting
  influences of the world and to arouse them to see their true
  condition of worldliness and backsliding. In this message, God has
  sent to the church a warning, which, had it been accepted, would have
  corrected the evils that were shutting them away from Him. Had they
  received the message from heaven, humbling their hearts before the
  Lord and seeking in sincerity a preparation to stand in His presence,
  the Spirit and power of God would have been manifested among them.
  The church would again have reached that blessed state of unity,
  faith, and love which existed in apostolic days, when the believers
  "were of one heart and of one soul," and "spake the
  word of God with boldness," when "the Lord added to the
  church daily such as should be saved." Acts 4:32, 31; 2:47.
   
   
  If
  God's professed people would receive the light as it shines upon them
  from His word, they would reach that unity for which Christ prayed,
  that which the apostle describes, "the unity of the Spirit in
  the bond of peace." "There is," he says, " one
  body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your
  calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Ephesians 4:3-5. 
  Such were the blessed results experienced by those who accepted the
  advent message. They came from different denominations, and their
  denominational barriers were hurled to the ground; conflicting creeds
  were shivered to atoms; the unscriptural hope of a temporal
  millennium was abandoned, false views of the second advent were
  corrected, pride and conformity to the world were swept away; wrongs
  were made right; hearts were united in the sweetest fellowship, and
  love and joy reigned supreme. If this doctrine did this for the few
  who did receive it, it would have done the same for all if all had
  received it.
   
   
  But
  the churches generally did not accept the warning. Their ministers,
  who, as watchmen "unto the house of Israel," should have
  been the first to discern the tokens of Jesus' coming, had failed to
  learn the truth either from the testimony of the prophets or from the
  signs of the times. As worldly hopes and ambitions filled the heart,
  love for God and faith in His word had grown cold; and when the
  advent doctrine was presented, it only aroused their prejudice and
  unbelief. The fact that the message was, to a great extent, preached
  by laymen, was urged as an instrument against it. As of old, the
  plain testimony of God's word was met with the inquiry: "Have
  any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed?" And finding how
  difficult a task it was to refute the arguments drawn from the
  prophetic periods, many discouraged the study of the prophecies,
  teaching that the prophetic books were sealed and were not to be
  understood. Multitudes, trusting implicitly to their pastors, refused
  to listen to the warning; and others, though convinced of the truth,
  dared not confess it, lest they should be "put out of the
  synagogue." The message which God had sent for the testing and
  purification of the church revealed all too surely how great was the
  number who had set their affections on this world rather than upon
  Christ. The ties which bound them to earth were stronger than the
  attractions heavenward. They chose to listen to the voice of worldly
  wisdom and turned away from the heart-searching message of truth.
   
   
  In
  refusing the warning of the first angel, they rejected the means
  which Heaven had provided for their restoration. They spurned the
  gracious messenger that would have corrected the evils which
  separated them from God, and with greater eagerness they turned to
  seek the friendship of the world. Here was the cause of that fearful
  condition of worldliness, backsliding, and spiritual death which
  existed in the churches in 1844.  In Revelation 14 the first angel is
  followed by a second proclaiming: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen,
  that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of
  the wrath of her fornication." Revelation 14:8. The term
  "Babylon" is derived from "Babel," and signifies
  confusion. It is employed in Scripture to designate the various forms
  of false or apostate religion. In Revelation 17 Babylon is
  represented as a woman --a figure which is used in the Bible as the
  symbol of a church, a virtuous woman representing a pure church, a
  vile woman an apostate church.
   
   
  In
  the Bible the sacred and enduring character of the relation that
  exists between Christ and His church is represented by the union of
  marriage. The Lord has joined His people to Himself by a solemn
  covenant, He promising to be their God, and they pledging themselves
  to be His and His alone. He declares: "I will betroth thee unto
  Me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in
  judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies." Hosea 2:19.
  And, again: "I am married unto you." Jeremiah 3:14. And
  Paul employs the same figure in the New Testament when he says: "I
  have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste
  virgin to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:2.
   
   
  The
  unfaithfulness of the church to Christ in permitting her confidence
  and affection to be turned from Him, and allowing the love of worldly
  things to occupy the soul, is likened to the violation of the
  marriage vow. The sin of Israel in departing from the Lord is
  presented under this figure; and the wonderful love of God which they
  thus despised is touchingly portrayed: "I sware unto thee, and
  entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou
  becamest Mine." "And thou wast exceeding beautiful and thou
  didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among the
  heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through My comeliness,
  which I had put upon thee. . . . But thou didst trust in thine own
  beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown." "As
  a wife treacherously departeth from her  husband, so have ye dealt
  treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord;" "as
  a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of
  her husband!" Ezekiel 16:8, 13-15, 32; Jeremiah 3:20.
   
   
  In
  the New Testament, language very similar is addressed to professed
  Christians who seek the friendship of the world above the favour of
  God. Says the apostle James: "Ye adulterers and adulteresses,
  know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
  whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of
  God."  The woman (Babylon) of Revelation 17 is described as
  "arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and
  precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of
  abominations and filthiness:...and upon her forehead was a name
  written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots."
   
   
  Says
  the prophet: "I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the
  saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Babylon is
  further declared to be "that great city, which reigneth over the
  kings of the earth." Revelation 17:4-6, 18. The power that for
  so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of
  Christendom is Rome. The purple and scarlet colour, the gold and
  precious stones and pearls, vividly picture the magnificence and more
  than kingly pomp affected by the haughty see of Rome. And no other
  power could be so truly declared "drunken with the blood of the
  saints" as that church which has so cruelly persecuted the
  followers of Christ. Babylon is also charged with the sin of unlawful
  connection with "the kings of the earth." It was by
  departure from the Lord, and alliance with the heathen, that the
  Jewish church became a harlot; and Rome, corrupting herself in like
  manner by seeking the support of worldly powers, receives a like
  condemnation.
   
   
  Babylon
  is said to be "the mother of harlots." By her daughters
  must be symbolized churches that cling to her doctrines and
  traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing  the truth and the
  approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the
  world. The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon
  must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become
  corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it
  must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the
  Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition
  for many centuries. Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter of the
  Revelation the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon.
  According to this scripture, many of God's people must still be in
  Babylon.
   
   
  And
  in what religious bodies are the greater part of the followers of
  Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches
  professing the Protestant faith. At the time of their rise these
  churches took a noble stand for God and the truth, and His blessing
  was with them. Even the unbelieving world was constrained to
  acknowledge the beneficent results that followed an acceptance of the
  principles of the gospel. In the words of the prophet to Israel: "Thy
  renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was
  perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the
  Lord God." But they fell by the same desire which was the curse
  and ruin of Israel--the desire of imitating the practices and
  courting the friendship of the ungodly. "Thou didst trust in
  thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown."
  Ezekiel 16:14, 15.
   
   
  Many
  of the Protestant churches are following Rome's example of iniquitous
  connection with "the kings of the earth"--the state
  churches, by their relation to secular governments; and other
  denominations, by seeking the favour of the world. And the term
  "Babylon"--confusion--may be appropriately applied to these
  bodies, all professing to derive their doctrines from the Bible, yet
  divided into almost innumerable sects, with widely conflicting creeds
  and theories.
   
   
  Besides
  a sinful union with the world, the churches that separated from Rome
  present other of her characteristics.  A Roman Catholic work argues
  that "if the Church of Rome were ever guilty of idolatry in
  relation to the saints, her daughter, the Church of England, stands
  guilty of the same, which has ten churches dedicated to Mary for one
  dedicated to Christ."--Richard Challoner, The Catholic Christian
  Instructed, Preface, pages 21, 22.  And Dr. Hopkins, in "A
  Treatise on the Millennium," declares: "There is no reason
  to consider the antichristian spirit and practices to be confined to
  that which is now called the Church of Rome. The Protestant churches
  have much of antichrist in them, and are far from being wholly
  reformed from . . . corruptions and wickedness."--Samuel
  Hopkins, Works, vol. 2, p. 328.
   
   
  Concerning
  the separation of the Presbyterian Church from Rome, Dr. Guthrie
  writes: "Three hundred years ago, our church, with an open Bible
  on her banner, and this motto, 'Search the Scriptures,' on her
  scroll, marched out from the gates of Rome." Then he asks the
  significant question: "Did they come clean out of
  Babylon?"--Thomas Guthrie, The Gospel in Ezekiel, page 237. 
  "The Church of England," says Spurgeon, "seems to be
  eaten through and through with sacramentarianism; but nonconformity
  appears to be almost as badly riddled with philosophical infidelity.
  Those of whom we thought better things are turning aside one by one
  from the fundamentals of the faith. Through and through, I believe,
  the very heart of England is honeycombed with a damnable infidelity
  which dares still go into the pulpit and call itself Christian."
   
   
  What
  was the origin of the great apostasy? How did the church first depart
  from the simplicity of the gospel? By conforming to the practices of
  paganism, to facilitate the acceptance of Christianity by the
  heathen. The apostle Paul declared, even in his day, "The
  mystery of iniquity doth already work." 2 Thessalonians 2:7.
  During the lives of the apostles the church remained comparatively
  pure. But "toward the latter end of the second century most of
  the churches assumed a new form; the first simplicity disappeared,
  and insensibly, as the old disciples retired to their graves, their
  children, along with new converts, . . . came forward and
  new-modelled the cause."--Robert Robinson, Ecclesiastical
  Researches, ch. 6, par. 17, p. 51. To secure converts, the exalted
  standard of the Christian faith was lowered, and as the result "a
  pagan flood, flowing into the church, carried with it its customs,
  practices, and idols." --Gavazzi, Lectures, page 278. As the
  Christian religion secured the favour and support of secular rulers,
  it was nominally accepted by multitudes; but while in appearance
  Christians, many "remained in substance pagans, especially
  worshiping in secret their idols."-- Ibid., page 278.
   
   
  Has
  not the same process been repeated in nearly every church calling
  itself Protestant? As the founders, those who possessed the true
  spirit of reform, pass away, their descendants come forward and
  "new-model the cause." While blindly clinging to the creed
  of their fathers and refusing to accept any truth in advance of what
  they saw, the children of the reformers depart widely from their
  example of humility, self-denial, and renunciation of the world. Thus
  "the first simplicity disappears." A worldly flood, flowing
  into the church, carries "with it its customs, practices, and
  idols."
   
   
  Alas,
  to what a fearful extent is that friendship of the world which is
  "enmity with God," now cherished among the professed
  followers of Christ! How widely have the popular churches throughout
  Christendom departed from the Bible standard of humility,
  self-denial, simplicity, and godliness! Said John Wesley, in speaking
  of the right use of money: "Do not waste any part of so precious
  a talent, merely in gratifying the desire of the eye, by superfluous
  or expensive apparel, or by needless ornaments. Waste no part of it
  in curiously adorning your houses; in superfluous or expensive
  furniture; in costly pictures, painting, gilding. . . . Lay out
  nothing to gratify the pride of life, to gain the admiration or
  praise of men. . . . 'So long as thou doest well unto thyself, men
  will speak good of thee.' So long as thou art 'clothed in purple and
  fine linen,' and farest 'sumptuously  every day,' no doubt many will
  applaud thy elegance of taste, thy generosity and hospitality. But do
  not buy their applause so dear. Rather be content with the honour
  that cometh from God."--Wesley, Works, Sermon 50, "The Use
  of Money." But in many churches of our time such teaching is
  disregarded.
   
   
  A
  profession of religion has become popular with the world. Rulers,
  politicians, lawyers, doctors, merchants, join the church as a means
  of securing the respect and confidence of society, and advancing
  their own worldly interests. Thus they seek to cover all their
  unrighteous transactions under a profession of Christianity. The
  various religious bodies, re-enforced by the wealth and influence of
  these baptized worldlings, make a still higher bid for popularity and
  patronage. Splendid churches, embellished in the most extravagant
  manner, are erected on popular avenues. The worshipers array
  themselves in costly and fashionable attire. A high salary is paid
  for a talented minister to entertain and attract the people. His
  sermons must not touch popular sins, but be made smooth and pleasing
  for fashionable ears. Thus fashionable sinners are enrolled on the
  church records, and fashionable sins are concealed under a pretense
  of godliness.
   
   
  Commenting
  on the present attitude of professed Christians toward the world, a
  leading secular journal says: "Insensibly the church has yielded
  to the spirit of the age, and adapted its forms of worship to modern
  wants." "All things, indeed, that help to make religion
  attractive, the church now employs as its instruments." And a
  writer in the New York Independent speaks thus concerning Methodism
  as it is: "The line of separation between the godly and the
  irreligious fades out into a kind of penumbra, and zealous men on
  both sides are toiling to obliterate all difference between their
  modes of action and enjoyment." "The popularity of religion
  tends vastly to increase the number of those who would secure its
  benefits without squarely meeting its duties."
   
   
  Says
  Howard Crosby: "It is a matter of deep concern that we find
  Christ's church so little fulfilling the designs of its Lord. Just as
  the ancient Jews let a familiar intercourse with the idolatrous
  nations steal away their hearts from God, . . . so the church of
  Jesus now is, by its false partnerships with an unbelieving world,
  giving up the divine methods of its true life, and yielding itself to
  the pernicious, though often plausible, habits of a Christless
  society, using the arguments and reaching the conclusions which are
  foreign to the revelation of God, and directly antagonistic to all
  growth in grace."-- The Healthy Christian: An Appeal to the
  Church, pages 141, 142.
   
   
  In
  this tide of worldliness and pleasure seeking, self-denial and
  self-sacrifice for Christ's sake are almost wholly lost. "Some
  of the men and women now in active life in our churches were
  educated, when children, to make sacrifices in order to be able to
  give or do something for Christ." But "if funds are wanted
  now, . . . nobody must be called on to give. Oh, no! have a fair,
  tableau, mock trial, antiquarian supper, or something to
  eat--anything to amuse the people."  Governor Washburn of
  Wisconsin in his annual message, January 9, 1873, declared: "Some
  law seems to be required to break up the schools where gamblers are
  made. These are everywhere. Even the church (unwittingly, no doubt)
  is sometimes found doing the work of the devil. Gift concerts, gift
  enterprises and raffles, sometimes in aid of religious or charitable
  objects, but often for less worthy purposes, lotteries, prize
  packages, etc., are all devices to obtain money without value
  received. Nothing is so demoralizing or intoxicating, particularly to
  the young, as the acquisition of money or property without labour.
  Respectable people engaging in these change enterprises, and easing
  their consciences with the reflection that the money is to go to a
  good object, it is not strange that the youth of the state should so
  often fall into the habits which the excitement of games of hazard is
  almost certain to engender."
   
   
  The
  spirit of worldly conformity in invading the churches throughout
  Christendom. Robert Atkins, in a sermon preached in London, draws a
  dark picture of the spiritual declension that prevails in England:
  "The truly righteous are diminished from the earth, and no man
  layeth it to heart. The professors of religion of the present day, in
  every church, are lovers of the world, conformers to the world,
  lovers of creature comfort, and aspirers after respectability. They
  are called to suffer with Christ, but they shrink from even
  reproach.... Apostasy, apostasy, apostasy, is engraven on the very
  front of every church; and did they know it, and did they feel it,
  there might be hope; but, alas! they cry, 'We are rich, and increased
  in goods, and stand in need of nothing.'" --Second Advent
  Library, tract No. 39.
   
   
  The
  great sin charged against Babylon is that she "made all nations
  drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." This cup of
  intoxication which she presents to the world represents the false
  doctrines that she has accepted as the result of her unlawful
  connection with the great ones of the earth. Friendship with the
  world corrupts her faith, and in her turn she exerts a corrupting
  influence upon the world by teaching doctrines which are opposed to
  the plainest statements of Holy Writ.
   
   
  Rome
  withheld the Bible from the people and required all men to accept her
  teachings in its place. It was the work of the Reformation to restore
  to men the word of God; but is it not too true that in the churches
  of our time men are taught to rest their faith upon their creed and
  the teachings of their church rather than on the Scriptures? Said
  Charles Beecher, speaking of the Protestant churches: "They
  shrink from any rude word against creeds with the same sensitiveness
  with which those holy fathers would have shrunk from a rude word
  against the rising veneration of saints and martyrs which they were
  fostering. . . . The Protestant evangelical denominations have so
  tied up one another's hands, and their own, that, between them all, a
  man cannot become a preacher at all, anywhere, without accepting some
  book besides the Bible.... There is nothing imaginary in the
  statement that the creed power is now beginning to prohibit the Bible
  as really as Rome did, though in a subtler way."--Sermon on "The
  Bible a Sufficient Creed," delivered at Fort Wayne, Indiana,
  Feb. 22, 1846.
   
   
  When
  faithful teachers expound the word of God, there arise men of
  learning, ministers professing to understand the Scriptures, who
  denounce sound doctrine as heresy, and thus turn away inquirers after
  truth. Were it not that the world is hopelessly intoxicated with the
  wine of Babylon, multitudes would be convicted and converted by the
  plain, cutting truths of the word of God. But religious faith appears
  so confused and discordant that the people know not what to believe
  as truth. The sin of the world's impenitence lies at the door of the
  church.
   
   
  The
  second angel's message of Revelation 14 was first preached in the
  summer of 1844, and it then had a more direct application to the
  churches of the United States, where the warning of the judgment had
  been most widely proclaimed and most generally rejected, and where
  the declension in the churches had been most rapid. But the message
  of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844.
  The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their
  refusal of the light of the advent message; but that fall was not
  complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for
  this time they have fallen lower and lower. Not yet, however, can it
  be said that "Babylon is fallen,... because she made all nations
  drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." She has not
  yet made all nations do this. The spirit of world conforming and
  indifference to the testing truths for our time exists and has been
  gaining ground in churches of the Protestant faith in all the
  countries of Christendom; and these churches are included in the
  solemn and terrible denunciation of the second angel. But the work of
  apostasy has not yet reached its culmination.
   
   
  The
  Bible declares that before the coming of the Lord, Satan will work
  "with all power and signs and lying wonders,  and with all
  deceivableness of unrighteousness;" and they that "received
  not the love of the truth, that they might be saved," will be
  left to receive "strong delusion, that they should believe a
  lie." 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11. Not until this condition shall be
  reached, and the union of the church with the world shall be fully
  accomplished throughout Christendom, will the fall of Babylon be
  complete. The change is a progressive one, and the perfect
  fulfillment of Revelation 14:8 is yet future.
   
   
  Notwithstanding
  the spiritual darkness and alienation from God that exist in the
  churches which constitute Babylon, the great body of Christ's true
  followers are still to be found in their communion. There are many of
  these who have never seen the special truths for this time. Not a few
  are dissatisfied with their present condition and are longing for
  clearer light. They look in vain for the image of Christ in the
  churches with which they are connected. As these bodies depart
  further and further from the truth, and ally themselves more closely
  with the world, the difference between the two classes will widen,
  and it will finally result in separation. The time will come when
  those who love God supremely can no longer remain in connection with
  such as are "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having
  a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."
   
   
  Revelation
  18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold
  warning of Revelation 14:6-12, the church will have fully reached the
  condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still
  in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion. This
  message is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will
  accomplish its work. When those that "believed not the truth,
  but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thessalonians 2:12),
  shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a lie, then
  the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to
  receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon
  will heed the call: "Come out of her, My people"
  (Revelation 18:4).
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 22. Prophecies Fulfilled 
   
  When
  the time passed at which the Lord's coming was first expected,--in
  the spring of 1844,--those who had looked in faith for His appearing
  were for a season involved in doubt and uncertainty. While the world
  regarded them as having been utterly defeated and proved to have been
  cherishing a delusion, their source of consolation was still the word
  of God. Many continued to search the Scriptures, examining anew the
  evidences of their faith and carefully studying the prophecies to
  obtain further light. The Bible testimony in support of their
  position seemed clear and conclusive. Signs which could not be
  mistaken pointed to the coming of Christ as near. The special
  blessing of the Lord, both in the conversion of sinners and the
  revival of spiritual life among Christians, had testified that the
  message was of Heaven. And though the believers could not explain
  their disappointment, they felt assured that God had led them in
  their past experience.
   
   
  Interwoven
  with prophecies which they had regarded as applying to the time of
  the second advent was instruction specially adapted to their state of
  uncertainty and suspense, and encouraging them to wait patiently in
  the faith that what was now dark to their understanding would in due
  time be made plain.  Among these prophecies was that of Habakkuk
  2:1-4: "I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower,
  and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall
  answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write
  the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that
  readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the
  end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it;
  because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul
  which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by
  his faith."
   
   
  As
  early as 1842 the direction given in this prophecy to "write the
  vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth
  it," had suggested to Charles Fitch the preparation of a
  prophetic chart to illustrate the visions of Daniel and the
  Revelation. The publication of this chart was regarded as a
  fulfillment of the command given by Habakkuk. No one, however, then
  noticed than an apparent delay in the accomplishment of the vision--a
  tarrying time--is presented in the same prophecy. After the
  disappointment, this scripture appeared very significant: "The
  vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak,
  and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely
  come, it will not tarry. . . . The just shall live by his faith."
   
   
  A
  portion of Ezekiel's prophecy also was a source of strength and
  comfort to believers: "The word of the Lord came unto me,
  saying, Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of
  Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
  Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God. . . . The days are at
  hand, and the effect of every vision. . . . I will speak, and the
  word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more
  prolonged." "They of the house of Israel say, The vision
  that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the
  times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
  God; There shall none of My words be prolonged any more, but the word
   which I have spoken shall be done." Ezekiel 12:21-25, 27, 28.
   
   
  The
  waiting ones rejoiced, believing that He who knows the end from the
  beginning had looked down through the ages and, foreseeing their
  disappointment, had given them words of courage and hope. Had it not
  been for such portions of Scripture, admonishing them to wait with
  patience and to hold fast their confidence in God's word, their faith
  would have failed in that trying hour.  The parable of the ten
  virgins of Matthew 25 also illustrates the experience of the
  Adventist people. In Matthew 24, in answer to the question of His
  disciples concerning the sign of His coming and of the end of the
  world, Christ had pointed out some of the most important events in
  the history of the world and of the church from His first to His
  second advent; namely, the destruction of Jerusalem, the great
  tribulation of the church under the pagan and papal persecutions, the
  darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars. After
  this He spoke of His coming in His kingdom, and related the parable
  describing the two classes of servants who look for His appearing.
  Chapter. 25 opens with the words: "Then shall the kingdom of
  heaven be likened unto ten virgins." Here is brought to view the
  church living in the last days, the same that is pointed out in the
  close of chapter 24. In this parable their experience is illustrated
  by the incidents of an Eastern marriage.
   
   
  "Then
  shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
  their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them
  were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their
  lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their
  vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all
  slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold,
  the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him."
   
   
  The
  coming of Christ, as announced by the first angel's message, was
  understood to be represented by the coming  of the bridegroom. The
  widespread reformation under the proclamation of His soon coming,
  answered to the going forth of the virgins. In this parable, as in
  that of Matthew 24, two classes are represented. All had taken their
  lamps, the Bible, and by its light had gone forth to meet the
  Bridegroom. But while "they that were foolish took their lamps,
  and took no oil with them," the wise took oil in their vessels
  with their lamps. The latter class had received the grace of God, the
  regenerating, enlightening power of the Holy Spirit, which renders
  His word a lamp to the feet and a light to the path.
   
   
  In
  the fear of God they had studied the Scriptures to learn the truth,
  and had earnestly sought for purity of heart and life. These had a
  personal experience, a faith in God and in His word, which could not
  be overthrown by disappointment and delay. Others "took their
  lamps, and took no oil with them." They had moved from impulse.
  Their fears had been excited by the solemn message, but they had
  depended upon the faith of their brethren, satisfied with the
  flickering light of good emotions, without a thorough understanding
  of the truth or a genuine work of grace in the heart. These had gone
  forth to meet the Lord, full of hope in the prospect of immediate
  reward; but they were not prepared for delay and disappointment. When
  trials came, their faith failed, and their lights burned dim.
   
   
  "While
  the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept." By the
  tarrying of the bridegroom is represented the passing of the time
  when the Lord was expected, the disappointment, and the seeming
  delay. In this time of uncertainty, the interest of the superficial
  and halfhearted soon began to waver, and their efforts to relax; but
  those whose faith was based on a personal knowledge of the Bible had
  a rock beneath their feet, which the waves of disappointment could
  not wash away. "They all slumbered and slept;" one class in
  unconcern and abandonment of their faith, the other class patiently
  waiting till clearer light should be given. Yet  in the night of
  trial the latter seemed to lose, to some extent, their zeal and
  devotion. The halfhearted and superficial could no longer lean upon
  the faith of their brethren. Each must stand or fall for himself.
   
   
  About
  this time, fanaticism began to appear. Some who had professed to be
  zealous believers in the message rejected the word of God as the one
  infallible guide and, claiming to be led by the Spirit, gave
  themselves up to the control of their own feelings, impressions, and
  imaginations. There were some who manifested a blind and bigoted
  zeal, denouncing all who would not sanction their course. Their
  fanatical ideas and exercises met with no sympathy from the great
  body of Adventists; yet they served to bring reproach upon the cause
  of truth.
   
   
  Satan
  was seeking by this means to oppose and destroy the work of God. The
  people had been greatly stirred by the advent movement, thousands of
  sinners had been converted, and faithful men were giving themselves
  to the work of proclaiming the truth, even in the tarrying time. The
  prince of evil was losing his subjects; and in order to bring
  reproach upon the cause of God, he sought to deceive some who
  professed the faith and to drive them to extremes. Then his agents
  stood ready to seize upon every error, every failure, every
  unbecoming act, and hold it up before the people in the most
  exaggerated light, to render Adventists and their faith odious. Thus
  the greater the number whom he could crowd in to make a profession of
  faith in the second advent while his power controlled their hearts,
  the greater advantage would he gain by calling attention to them as
  representatives of the whole body of believers.
   
   
  Satan
  is "the accuser of the brethren," and it is his spirit that
  inspires men to watch for the errors and defects of the Lord's
  people, and to hold them up to notice, while their good deeds are
  passed by without a mention. He is always active when God is at work
  for the salvation of souls. When the sons of God come to present
  themselves before the Lord,  Satan comes also among them. In every
  revival he is ready to bring in those who are unsanctified in heart
  and unbalanced in mind. When these have accepted some points of
  truth, and gained a place with believers, he works through them to
  introduce theories that will deceive the unwary. No man is proved to
  be a true Christian because he is found in company with the children
  of God, even in the house of worship and around the table of the
  Lord. Satan is frequently there upon the most solemn occasions in the
  form of those whom he can use as his agents.
   
   
  The
  prince of evil contests every inch of ground over which God's people
  advance in their journey toward the heavenly city. In all the history
  of the church no reformation has been carried forward without
  encountering serious obstacles. Thus it was in Paul's day. Wherever
  the apostle raised up a church, there were some who professed to
  receive the faith, but who brought in heresies, that, if received,
  would eventually crowd out the love of the truth. Luther also
  suffered great perplexity and distress from the course of fanatical
  persons who claimed that God had spoken directly through them, and
  who therefore set their own ideas and opinions above the testimony of
  the Scriptures. Many who were lacking in faith and experience, but
  who had considerable self-sufficiency, and who loved to hear and tell
  some new thing, were beguiled by the pretensions of the new teachers,
  and they joined the agents of Satan in their work of tearing down
  what God had moved Luther to build up. And the Wesleys, and others
  who blessed the world by their influence and their faith, encountered
  at every step the wiles of Satan in pushing overzealous, unbalanced,
  and unsanctified ones into fanaticism of every grade.
   
   
  William
  Miller had no sympathy with those influences that led to fanaticism.
  He declared, with Luther, that every spirit should be tested by the
  word of God. "The devil," said Miller, "has great
  power over the minds of some at the  present day. And how shall we
  know what manner of spirit they are of? The Bible answers: 'By their
  fruits ye shall know them.'. . . There are many spirits gone out into
  the world; and we are commanded to try the spirits. The spirit that
  does not cause us to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
  present world, is not the Spirit of Christ. I am more and more
  convinced that Satan has much to do in these wild movements. . . .
  Many among us who pretend to be wholly sanctified, are following the
  traditions of men, and apparently are as ignorant of truth as others
  who make no such pretensions."--Bliss, pages 236, 237.
   
   
  "The
  spirit of error will lead us from the truth; and the Spirit of God
  will lead us into truth. But, say you, a man may be in an error, and
  think he has the truth. What then? We answer, The Spirit and word
  agree. If a man judges himself by the word of God, and finds a
  perfect harmony through the whole word, then he must believe he has
  the truth; but if he finds the spirit by which he is led does not
  harmonize with the whole tenor of God's law or Book, then let him
  walk carefully, lest he be caught in the snare of the devil."--
  The Advent Herald and Signs of the Times Reporter, vol. 8, No. 23
  (Jan. 15, 1845). "I have often obtained more evidence of inward
  piety from a kindling eye, a wet cheek, and a choked utterance, than
  from all the noise of Christendom."--Bliss, page 282.
   
   
  In
  the days of the Reformation its enemies charged all the evils of
  fanaticism upon the very ones who were labouring most earnestly
  against it. A similar course was pursued by the opposers of the
  advent movement. And not content with misrepresenting and
  exaggerating the errors of extremists and fanatics, they circulated
  unfavourable reports that had not the slightest semblance of truth.
  These persons were actuated by prejudice and hatred. Their peace was
  disturbed by the proclamation of Christ at the door. They feared it
  might be true, yet hoped it was not, and this was the secret of their
  warfare against Adventists and their faith.
   
   
  The
  fact that a few fanatics worked their way into the ranks of
  Adventists is no more reason to decide that the movement was not of
  God than was the presence of fanatics and deceivers in the church in
  Paul's or Luther's day a sufficient excuse for condemning their work.
  Let the people of God arouse out of sleep and begin in earnest the
  work of repentance and reformation; let them search the Scriptures to
  learn the truth as it is in Jesus; let them make an entire
  consecration to God, and evidence will not be wanting that Satan is
  still active and vigilant. With all possible deception he will
  manifest his power, calling to his aid all the fallen angels of his
  realm.
   
   
  It
  was not the proclamation of the second advent that caused fanaticism
  and division. These appeared in the summer of 1844, when Adventists
  were in a state of doubt and perplexity concerning their real
  position. The preaching of the first angel's message and of the
  "midnight cry" tended directly to repress fanaticism and
  dissension. Those who participated in these solemn movements were in
  harmony; their hearts were filled with love for one another and for
  Jesus, whom they expected soon to see. The one faith, the one blessed
  hope, lifted them above the control of any human influence, and
  proved a shield against the assaults of Satan.
   
   
  "While
  the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight
  there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to
  meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps."
  Matthew 25:5-7. In the summer of 1844, midway between the time when
  it had been first thought that the 2300 days would end, and the
  autumn of the same year, to which it was afterward found that they
  extended, the message was proclaimed in the very words of Scripture:
  "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!"
   
   
  THE
  PROPHECY OF 2,300 DAYS/ YEARS
   
   
  One
  Prophetic Day = One Literal Year
   
   
  34
  According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land,
  forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely
  forty years, and you shall know My rejection. (Numbers 14:34) 6  And
  when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you
  shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid
  on you a day for each year (Ezekiel 4:6)
   
   
  457
  BC – 1844 AD = 2300 Days/ Years. 14 And he said unto me, Unto
  two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
  cleansed. (Daniel 8:14) 24 “Seventy weeks are determined For
  your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To
  make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in
  everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to
  anoint the Most Holy (Daniel 9:24)
   
   
  457
  B.C – The decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem (Order of
  Artaxerxes). 25  …From the going forth of the command to
  restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be
  seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built
  again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (Daniel 9:25)
   
   
  408
  B.C – The Rebuilding of Jerusalem
   
   
  27
    A.D  – The Baptism and Unction of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
   27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in
  the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and
  offering. (Daniel 9:27)
   
   
  31
  A.D – The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 26 “And after the
  sixty-two weeks
   
   
  Messiah
  shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince
  who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of
  it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are
  determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one
  week;
   
   
  But
  in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and
  offering. (Daniel 9:26-27)
   
   
  34
    A.D – The stoning of Stephen [End of term for Jews and the
  gospel preached to the Gentiles/ world] 14 And this gospel of the
  kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
  nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14) 46 Then Paul
  and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the
  word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it,
  and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to
  the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46)
   
   
  70
   A.D – The Destruction of Jerusalem  1 Then Jesus went out and
  departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the
  buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not
  see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be
  left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”.
  (Matthew 24:1,2)  15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination
  of desolation,’[a] spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in
  the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 21 For
  then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the
  beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be
  (Matthew 24: 15, 21)
   
   
  1844
  A.D – Purification of the Most Holy and the Start of Judgment
  in Heaven.
   
   
  1810
  Days/ Years - The work of Jesus Christ as our High Priest as our High
  Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary. 14 Seeing then that we have a great
  High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,
  let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest
  who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points
  tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly
  to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to
  help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16)
   
   
  That
  which led to this movement was the discovery that the decree of
  Artaxerxes for the restoration of Jerusalem, which formed the
  starting point for the period of the 2300 days, went into effect in
  the autumn of the year 457 B.C., and not at the beginning of the
  year, as had been formerly believed. Reckoning from the autumn of
  457, the 2300 years terminate in the autumn of 1844. (See Appendix
  note for page 329.)  Arguments drawn from the Old Testament types
  also pointed to the autumn as the time when the event represented by
  the "cleansing of the sanctuary" must take place. This was
  made very clear as attention was given to the manner in which the
  types relating to the first advent of Christ had been fulfilled.
   
   
  The
  slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death of Christ.
  Says Paul: "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." 1
  Corinthians 5:7. The sheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the
  Passover was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection
  of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord and
  of all His people: "Christ the first fruits; afterward they that
  are Christ's at His coming." 1 Corinthians 15:23. Like the wave
  sheaf, which was the first ripe grain gathered before the harvest,
  Christ is the first fruits of that immortal harvest of redeemed ones
  that at the future resurrection shall be gathered into the garner of
  God.
   
   
  These
  types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time.
  One of the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and
  month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been
  slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples,
  instituted that feast which was to commemorate His own death as "the
  Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." That same
  night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And as
  the antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on
  the third day, "the first fruits of them that slept," a
  sample of all the resurrected just, whose "vile body" shall
  be changed, and "fashioned like unto His glorious body."
  Verse 20; Philippians 3:21.
   
   
  In
  like manner the types which relate to the second advent must be
  fulfilled at the time pointed out in the symbolic service. Under the
  Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day of
  Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month
  (Leviticus 16:29-34), when the high priest, having made an atonement
  for all Israel, and thus removed their sins from the sanctuary, came
  forth and blessed the people. So it was believed that Christ, our
  great High Priest, would appear to purify the earth by the
  destruction of sin and sinners, and to bless His waiting people with
  immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of
  Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in the
  year 1844 fell upon the twenty-second of October, was regarded as the
  time of the Lord's coming. This was in harmony with the proofs
  already presented that the 2300 days would terminate in the autumn,
  and the conclusion seemed irresistible.
   
   
  In
  the parable of Matthew 25 the time of waiting and slumber is followed
  by the coming of the bridegroom. This was in accordance with the
  arguments just presented, both from prophecy and from the types. They
  carried strong conviction of their truthfulness; and the "midnight
  cry" was heralded by thousands of believers.  Like a tidal wave
  the movement swept over the land. From city to city, from village to
  village, and into remote country places it went, until the waiting
  people of God were fully aroused. Fanaticism disappeared before this
  proclamation like early frost before the rising sun.
   
   
  Believers
  saw their doubt and perplexity removed, and hope and courage animated
  their hearts. The work was free from those extremes which are ever
  manifested when there is human excitement without the controlling
  influence of the word and Spirit of God. It was similar in character
  to those seasons of humiliation and returning unto the Lord which
  among ancient Israel followed messages of reproof from His servants.
  It bore the characteristics that mark the work of God in every age.
  There was little ecstatic joy, but rather deep searching of heart,
  confession of sin, and forsaking of the world. A  preparation to meet
  the Lord was the burden of agonizing spirits. There was persevering
  prayer and unreserved consecration to God.
   
   
  Said
  Miller in describing that work: "There is no great expression of
  joy: that is, as it were, suppressed for a future occasion, when all
  heaven and earth will rejoice together with joy unspeakable and full
  of glory. There is no shouting: that, too, is reserved for the shout
  from heaven. The singers are silent: they are waiting to join the
  angelic hosts, the choir from heaven. . . . There is no clashing of
  sentiments: all are of one heart and of one mind."--Bliss, pages
  270, 271.
   
   
  Another
  who participated in the movement testified: "It produced
  everywhere the most deep searching of heart and humiliation of soul
  before the God of high heaven. It caused a weaning of affections from
  the things of this world, a healing of controversies and animosities,
  a confession of wrongs, a breaking down before God, and penitent,
  brokenhearted supplications to Him for pardon and acceptance. It
  caused self-abasement and prostration of soul, such as we never
  before witnessed. As God by Joel commanded, when the great day of God
  should be at hand, it produced a rending of hearts and not of
  garments, and a turning unto the Lord with fasting, and weeping, and
  mourning. As God said by Zechariah, a spirit of grace and
  supplication was poured out upon His children; they looked to Him
  whom they had pierced, there was a great mourning in the land, . . .
  and those who were looking for the Lord afflicted their souls before
  Him."--Bliss, in Advent Shield and Review, vol. I, p. 271
  (January, 1845).
   
   
  Of
  all the great religious movements since the days of the apostles,
  none have been more free from human imperfection and the wiles of
  Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844. Even now, after the lapse
  of many years, all who shared in that movement and who have stood
  firm upon the platform of truth still feel the holy influence of that
  blessed work and bear witness that it was of God.  At the call, "The
  Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him," the waiting ones
  "arose and trimmed their lamps;" they studied the word of
  God with an intensity of interest before unknown.
   
   
  Angels
  were sent from heaven to arouse those who had become discouraged and
  prepare them to receive the message. The work did not stand in the
  wisdom and learning of men, but in the power of God. It was not the
  most talented, but the most humble and devoted, who were the first to
  hear and obey the call. Farmers left their crops standing in the
  fields, mechanics laid down their tools, and with tears and rejoicing
  went out to give the warning. Those who had formerly led in the cause
  were among the last to join in this movement. The churches in general
  closed their doors against this message, and a large company of those
  who received it withdrew from their connection. In the providence of
  God this proclamation united with the second angel's message and gave
  power to that work.
   
   
  The
  message, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!" was not so much a
  matter of argument, though the Scripture proof was clear and
  conclusive. There went with it an impelling power that moved the
  soul. There was no doubt, no questioning. Upon the occasion of
  Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem the people who were assembled
  from all parts of the land to keep the feast flocked to the Mount of
  Olives, and as they joined the throng that were escorting Jesus they
  caught the inspiration of the hour and helped to swell the shout:
  "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!"
  Matthew 21:9. In like manner did unbelievers who flocked to the
  Adventist meetings--some from curiosity, some merely to
  ridicule--feel the convincing power attending the message: "Behold,
  the Bridegroom cometh!"
   
   
  At
  that time there was faith that brought answers to prayer--faith that
  had respect to the recompense of reward. Like showers of rain upon
  the thirsty earth, the Spirit of grace descended upon the earnest
  seekers. Those who  expected soon to stand face to face with their
  Redeemer felt a solemn joy that was unutterable. The softening,
  subduing power of the Holy Spirit melted the heart as His blessing
  was bestowed in rich measure upon the faithful, believing ones.
   
   
  Carefully
  and solemnly those who received the message came up to the time when
  they hoped to meet their Lord. Every morning they felt that it was
  their first duty to secure the evidence of their acceptance with God.
  Their hearts were closely united, and they prayed much with and for
  one another. They often met together in secluded places to commune
  with God, and the voice of intercession ascended to heaven from the
  fields and groves. The assurance of the Saviour's approval was more
  necessary to them than their daily food; and if a cloud darkened
  their minds, they did not rest until it was swept away. As they felt
  the witness of pardoning grace, they longed to behold Him whom their
  souls loved.
   
   
  But
  again they were destined to disappointment. The time of expectation
  passed, and their Saviour did not appear. With unwavering confidence
  they had looked forward to His coming, and now they felt as did Mary
  when, coming to the Saviour's tomb and finding it empty, she
  exclaimed with weeping: "They have taken away my Lord, and I
  know not where they have laid Him." John 20:13.
   
   
  A
  feeling of awe, a fear that the message might be true, had for a time
  served as a restraint upon the unbelieving world. After the passing
  of the time this did not at once disappear; at first they dared not
  triumph over the disappointed ones; but as no tokens of God's wrath
  were seen, they recovered from their fears and resumed their reproach
  and ridicule. A large class who had professed to believe in the
  Lord's soon coming, renounced their faith. Some who had been very
  confident were so deeply wounded in their pride that they felt like
  fleeing from the world. Like Jonah, they complained of God, and chose
  death rather than life.  Those who had based their faith upon the
  opinions of others, and not upon the word of God, were now as ready
  again to change their views. The scoffers won the weak and cowardly
  to their ranks, and all these united in declaring that there could be
  no more fears or expectations now. The time had passed, the Lord had
  not come, and the world might remain the same for thousands of years.
   
   
  The
  earnest, sincere believers had given up all for Christ and had shared
  His presence as never before. They had, as they believed, given their
  last warning to the world; and, expecting soon to be received into
  the society of their divine Master and the heavenly angels, they had,
  to a great extent, withdrawn from the society of those who did not
  receive the message. With intense desire they had prayed: "Come,
  Lord Jesus, and come quickly." But He had not come. And now to
  take up again the heavy burden of life's cares and perplexities, and
  to endure the taunts and sneers of a scoffing world, was a terrible
  trial of faith and patience.
   
   
  Yet
  this disappointment was not so great as was that experienced by the
  disciples at the time of Christ's first advent. When Jesus rode
  triumphantly into Jerusalem, His followers believed that He was about
  to ascend the throne of David and deliver Israel from her oppressors.
  With high hopes and joyful anticipations they vied with one another
  in showing honour to their King. Many spread their outer garments as
  a carpet in His path, or strewed before Him the leafy branches of the
  palm. In their enthusiastic joy they united in the glad acclaim:
  "Hosanna to the Son of David!" When the Pharisees,
  disturbed and angered by this outburst of rejoicing, wished Jesus to
  rebuke His disciples, He replied: "If these should hold their
  peace, the stones would immediately cry out." Luke 19:40.
  Prophecy must be fulfilled. The disciples were accomplishing the
  purpose of God; yet they were doomed to a bitter disappointment. But
  a few days had passed ere they witnessed the Saviour's agonizing
  death, and laid Him in the tomb. Their expectations had not been
  realized in a single particular, and their hopes died with Jesus. Not
  till their Lord had come forth triumphant from the grave could they
  perceive that all had been foretold by prophecy, and "that
  Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead."
  Acts 17:3.
   
   
  Five
  hundred years before, the Lord had declared by the prophet Zechariah:
  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of
  Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having
  salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of
  an ass." Zechariah 9:9. Had the disciples realized that Christ
  was going to judgment and to death, they could not have fulfilled
  this prophecy.  In like manner Miller and his associates fulfilled
  prophecy and gave a message which Inspiration had foretold should be
  given to the world, but which they could not have given had they
  fully understood the prophecies pointing out their disappointment,
  and presenting another message to be preached to all nations before
  the Lord should come. The first and second angel's messages were
  given at the right time and accomplished the work which God designed
  to accomplish by them.
   
   
  The
  world had been looking on, expecting that if the time passed and
  Christ did not appear, the whole system of Adventism would be given
  up. But while many, under strong temptation, yielded their faith,
  there were some who stood firm. The fruits of the advent movement,
  the spirit of humility and heart searching, of renouncing of the
  world and reformation of life, which had attended the work, testified
  that it was of God. They dared not deny that the power of the Holy
  Spirit had witnessed to the preaching of the second advent, and they
  could detect no error in their reckoning of the prophetic periods.
  The ablest of their opponents had not succeeded in overthrowing their
  system of prophetic interpretation. They could not consent, without
  Bible evidence, to renounce positions which had been reached through
  earnest, prayerful study of the Scriptures, by minds enlightened  by
  the Spirit of God and hearts burning with its living power; positions
  which had withstood the most searching criticisms and the most bitter
  opposition of popular religious teachers and worldlywise men, and
  which had stood firm against the combined forces of learning and
  eloquence, and the taunts and revilings alike of the honourable and
  the base.
   
   
  True,
  there had been a failure as to the expected event, but even this
  could not shake their faith in the word of God. When Jonah proclaimed
  in the streets of Nineveh that within forty days the city would be
  overthrown, the Lord accepted the humiliation of the Ninevites and
  extended their period of probation; yet the message of Jonah was sent
  of God, and Nineveh was tested according to His will. Adventists
  believed that in like manner God had led them to give the warning of
  the judgment. "It has," they declared, "tested the
  hearts of all who heard it, and awakened a love for the Lord's
  appearing; or it has called forth a hatred, more or less perceivable,
  but known to God, of His coming. It has drawn a line, . . . so that
  those who will examine their own hearts, may know on which side of it
  they would have been found, had the Lord then come--whether they
  would have exclaimed, 'Lo! this is our God, we have waited for Him,
  and He will save us;' or whether they would have called to the rocks
  and mountains to fall on them to hide them from the face of Him that
  sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. God thus, as
  we believe, has tested His people, has tried their faith, has proved
  them, and seen whether they would shrink, in the hour of trial, from
  the position in which He might see fit to place them; and whether
  they would relinquish this world and rely with implicit confidence in
  the word of God."-- The Advent Herald and Signs of the Times
  Reporter, vol. 8, No. 14 (Nov 13, 1844).
   
   
  The
  feelings of those who still believed that God had led them in their
  past experience are expressed in the words of William Miller: "Were
  I to live my life over again, with the  same evidence that I then
  had, to be honest with God and man I should have to do as I have
  done." "I hope that I have cleansed my garments from the
  blood of souls. I feel that, as far as it was in my power, I have
  freed myself from all guilt in their condemnation." "Although
  I have been twice disappointed," wrote this man of God, "I
  am not yet cast down or discouraged. . . . My hope in the coming of
  Christ is as strong as ever. I have done only what, after years of
  solemn consideration, I felt it my solemn duty to do. If I have
  erred, it has been on the side of charity, love to my fellow men, and
  conviction of duty to God."
   
   
  "One
  thing I do know, I have preached nothing but what I believed; and God
  has been with me; His power has been manifested in the work, and much
  good has been effected." "Many thousands, to all human
  appearance, have been made to study the Scriptures by the preaching
  of the time; and by that means, through faith and the sprinkling of
  the blood of Christ, have been reconciled to God." --Bliss,
  pages 256, 255, 277, 280, 281. "I have never courted the smiles
  of the proud, nor quailed when the world frowned. I shall not now
  purchase their favour, nor shall I go beyond duty to tempt their
  hate. I shall never seek my life at their hands, nor shrink, I hope,
  from losing it, if God in His good providence so orders." --J.
  White, Life of Wm. Miller, page 315.
   
   
  God
  did not forsake His people; His Spirit still abode with those who did
  not rashly deny the light which they had received, and denounce the
  advent movement. In the Epistle to the Hebrews are words of
  encouragement and warning for the tried, waiting ones at this crisis:
  "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great
  recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye
  have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a
  little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul
  shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back
  unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."
  Hebrews 10:35-39.
   
   
  That
  this admonition is addressed to the church in the last days is
  evident from the words pointing to the nearness of the Lord's coming:
  "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come and
  will not tarry." And it is plainly implied that there would be a
  seeming delay and that the Lord would appear to tarry. The
  instruction here given is especially adapted to the experience of
  Adventists at this time. The people here addressed were in danger of
  making shipwreck of faith. They had done the will of God in following
  the guidance of His Spirit and His word; yet they could not
  understand His purpose in their past experience, nor could they
  discern the pathway before them, and they were tempted to doubt
  whether God had indeed been leading them.
   
   
  At
  this time the words were applicable: "Now the just shall live by
  faith." As the bright light of the "midnight cry" had
  shone upon their pathway, and they had seen the prophecies unsealed
  and the rapidly fulfilling signs telling that the coming of Christ
  was near, they had walked, as it were, by sight. But now, bowed down
  by disappointed hopes, they could stand only by faith in God and in
  His word. The scoffing world were saying: "You have been
  deceived. Give up your faith, and say that the advent movement was of
  Satan." But God's word declared: "If any man draw back, My
  soul shall have no pleasure in him." To renounce their faith
  now, and deny the power of the Holy Spirit which had attended the
  message, would be drawing back toward perdition. They were encouraged
  to steadfastness by the words of Paul: "Cast not away therefore
  your confidence;" "ye have need of patience," "for
  yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not
  tarry." Their only safe course was to cherish the light which
  they had already received of God, hold fast to His promises, and
  continue to search the Scriptures, and patiently wait and watch to
  receive further light.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 23. What is the Sanctuary? 
   
  The
  scripture which above all others had been both the foundation and the
  central pillar of the advent faith was the declaration: "Unto
  two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
  cleansed." Daniel 8:14. These had been familiar words to all
  believers in the Lord's soon coming. By the lips of thousands was
  this prophecy repeated as the watchword of their faith. All felt that
  upon the events therein foretold depended their brightest
  expectations and most cherished hopes. These prophetic days had been
  shown to terminate in the autumn of 1844. In common with the rest of
  the Christian world, Adventists then held that the earth, or some
  portion of it, was the sanctuary. They understood that the cleansing
  of the sanctuary was the purification of the earth by the fires of
  the last great day, and that this would take place at the second
  advent. Hence the conclusion that Christ would return to the earth in
  1844.
   
   
  But
  the appointed time had passed, and the Lord had not appeared. The
  believers knew that God's word could not fail; their interpretation
  of the prophecy must be at fault; but where was the mistake? Many
  rashly cut the knot of difficulty by denying that the 2300 days ended
  in 1844. No reason could be given for this except that Christ had not
  come at the time they expected Him. They argued that if the prophetic
  days had ended in 1844, Christ would then have returned to cleanse
  the sanctuary by the purification of the earth by fire; and that
  since He had not come, the days could not have ended.
   
   
  To
  accept this conclusion was to renounce the former reckoning of the
  prophetic periods. The 2300 days had been found to begin when the
  commandment of Artaxerxes for the restoration and building of
  Jerusalem went into effect, in the autumn of 457 B.C.  Taking this as
  the starting point, there was perfect harmony in the application of
  all the events foretold in the explanation of that period in Daniel
  9:25-27. Sixty-nine weeks, the first 483 of the 2300 years, were to
  reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One; and Christ's baptism and
  anointing by the Holy Spirit, A.D. 27, exactly fulfilled the
  specification. In the midst of the seventieth week, Messiah was to be
  cut off. Three and a half years after His baptism, Christ was
  crucified, in the spring of A.D. 31. The seventy weeks, or 490 years,
  were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of this
  period the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecution
  of His disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, A.D. 34.
  The first 490 years of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years would
  remain. From A.D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. "Then,"
  said the angel, "shall the sanctuary be cleansed." All the
  preceding specifications of the prophecy had been unquestionably
  fulfilled at the time appointed.
   
   
  With
  this reckoning, all was clear and harmonious, except that it was not
  seen that any event answering to the cleansing of the sanctuary had
  taken place in 1844. To deny that the days ended at that time was to
  involve the whole question in confusion, and to renounce positions
  which had been established by unmistakable fulfillments of prophecy. 
  But God had led His people in the great advent movement; His power
  and glory had attended the work, and He would not permit it to end in
  darkness and disappointment, to be reproached as a false and
  fanatical excitement. He would not leave His word involved in doubt
  and uncertainty.
   
   
  Though
  many abandoned their former reckoning of the prophetic periods and
  denied the correctness of the movement based thereon, others were
  unwilling to renounce points of faith and experience that were
  sustained by the Scriptures and by the witness of the Spirit of God.
  They believed that they had adopted sound principles of
  interpretation in their study of the prophecies, and that it was
  their duty to hold fast the truths already gained, and to continue
  the same course of Biblical research. With earnest prayer they
  reviewed their position and studied the Scriptures to discover their
  mistake. As they could see no error in their reckoning of the
  prophetic periods, they were led to examine more closely the subject
  of the sanctuary.
   
   
  In
  their investigation they learned that there is no Scripture evidence
  sustaining the popular view that the earth is the sanctuary; but they
  found in the Bible a full explanation of the subject of the
  sanctuary, its nature, location, and services; the testimony of the
  sacred writers being so clear and ample as to place the matter beyond
  all question. The apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, says:
  "Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine
  service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made;
  the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the
  shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil,
  the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the
  golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with
  gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that
  budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of
  glory shadowing the mercy seat." Hebrews 9:1-5.
   
   
  The
  sanctuary to which Paul here refers was the tabernacle built by Moses
  at the command of God as the earthly dwelling place of the Most High.
  "Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them"
  (Exodus 25:8), was the direction given to Moses while in the mount
  with God. The Israelites were journeying through the wilderness,  and
  the tabernacle was so constructed that it could be removed from place
  to place; yet it was a structure of great magnificence. Its walls
  consisted of upright boards heavily plated with gold and set in
  sockets of silver, while the roof was formed of a series of curtains,
  or coverings, the outer of skins, the innermost of fine linen
  beautifully wrought with figures of cherubim. Besides the outer
  court, which contained the altar of burnt offering, the tabernacle
  itself consisted of two apartments called the holy and the most holy
  place, separated by a rich and beautiful curtain, or veil; a similar
  veil closed the entrance to the first apartment.
   
   
  In
  the holy place was the candlestick, on the south, with its seven
  lamps giving light to the sanctuary both by day and by night; on the
  north stood the table of shewbread; and before the veil separating
  the holy from the most holy was the golden altar of incense, from
  which the cloud of fragrance, with the prayers of Israel, was daily
  ascending before God.  In the most holy place stood the ark, a chest
  of precious wood overlaid with gold, the depository of the two tables
  of stone upon which God had inscribed the law of Ten Commandments.
  Above the ark, and forming the cover to the sacred chest, was the
  mercy seat, a magnificent piece of workmanship, surmounted by two
  cherubim, one at each end, and all wrought of solid gold. In this
  apartment the divine presence was manifested in the cloud of glory
  between the cherubim.
   
   
  After
  the settlement of the Hebrews in Canaan, the tabernacle was replaced
  by the temple of Solomon, which, though a permanent structure and
  upon a larger scale, observed the same proportions, and was similarly
  furnished. In this form the sanctuary existed--except while it lay in
  ruins in Daniel's time--until its destruction by the Romans, in A.D.
  70.  This is the only sanctuary that ever existed on the earth, of
  which the Bible gives any information. This was declared by Paul to
  be the sanctuary of the first covenant. But has the new covenant no
  sanctuary?  Turning again to the book of Hebrews, the seekers for
  truth found that the existence of a second, or new-covenant
  sanctuary, was implied in the words of Paul already quoted: "Then
  verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and
  a worldly sanctuary." And the use of the word "also"
  intimates that Paul has before made mention of this sanctuary.
  Turning back to the beginning of the previous chapter, they read:
  "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have
  such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of
  the Majesty in the heavens; a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the
  true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Hebrews
  8:1, 2.
   
   
  Here
  is revealed the sanctuary of the new covenant. The sanctuary of the
  first covenant was pitched by man, built by Moses; this is pitched by
  the Lord, not by man. In that sanctuary the earthly priests performed
  their service; in this, Christ, our great High Priest, ministers at
  God's right hand. One sanctuary was on earth, the other is in heaven.
   Further, the tabernacle built by Moses was made after a pattern. The
  Lord directed him: "According to all that I show thee, after the
  pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments
  thereof, even so shall ye make it." And again the charge was
  given, "Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was
  showed thee in the mount." Exodus 25:9, 40. And Paul says that
  the first tabernacle "was a figure for the time then present, in
  which were offered both gifts and sacrifices;" that its holy
  places were "patterns of things in the heavens;" that the
  priests who offered gifts according to the law served "unto the
  example and shadow of heavenly things," and that "Christ is
  not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the
  figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
  presence of God for us." Hebrews 9:9, 23; 8:5; 9:24.
   
   
  The
  sanctuary in heaven, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf, is the
  great original, of which the sanctuary built by Moses was a copy. God
  placed His Spirit upon the builders of the earthly sanctuary. The
  artistic skill displayed in its construction was a manifestation of
  divine wisdom. The walls had the appearance of massive gold,
  reflecting in every direction the light of the seven lamps of the
  golden candlestick. The table of shewbread and the altar of incense
  glittered like burnished gold. The gorgeous curtain which formed the
  ceiling, inwrought with figures of angels in blue and purple and
  scarlet, added to the beauty of the scene. And beyond the second veil
  was the holy Shekinah, the visible manifestation of God's glory,
  before which none but the high priest could enter and live.
   
   
  The
  matchless splendour of the earthly tabernacle reflected to human
  vision the glories of that heavenly temple where Christ our
  forerunner ministers for us before the throne of God. The abiding
  place of the King of kings, where thousand thousands minister unto
  Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him (Daniel
  7:10); that temple, filled with the glory of the eternal throne,
  where seraphim, its shining guardians, veil their faces in adoration,
  could find, in the most magnificent structure ever reared by human
  hands, but a faint reflection of its vastness and glory. Yet
  important truths concerning the heavenly sanctuary and the great work
  there carried forward for man's redemption were taught by the earthly
  sanctuary and its services.
   
   
  The
  holy places of the sanctuary in heaven are represented by the two
  apartments in the sanctuary on earth. As in vision the apostle John
  was granted a view of the temple of God in heaven, he beheld there
  "seven lamps of fire burning before the throne." Revelation
  4:5. He saw an angel "having a golden censer; and there was
  given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers
  of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne."
  Revelation 8:3. Here the prophet was permitted to behold the first
  apartment of the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw there the "seven
  lamps of fire" and "the golden altar," represented by
  the golden candlestick and the altar of incense in the sanctuary on
  earth. Again, "the temple of God was opened" (Revelation
  11:19), and he looked within the inner veil, upon the holy of holies.
  Here he beheld "the ark of His testament," represented by
  the sacred chest constructed by Moses to contain the law of God.
   
   
  Thus
  those who were studying the subject found indisputable proof of the
  existence of a sanctuary in heaven. Moses made the earthly sanctuary
  after a pattern which was shown him. Paul teaches that that pattern
  was the true sanctuary which is in heaven. And John testifies that he
  saw it in heaven.  In the temple in heaven, the dwelling place of
  God, His throne is established in righteousness and judgment. In the
  most holy place is His law, the great rule of right by which all
  mankind are tested. The ark that enshrines the tables of the law is
  covered with the mercy seat, before which Christ pleads His blood in
  the sinner's behalf. Thus is represented the union of justice and
  mercy in the plan of human redemption.
   
   
  This
  union infinite wisdom alone could devise and infinite power
  accomplish; it is a union that fills all heaven with wonder and
  adoration. The cherubim of the earthly sanctuary, looking reverently
  down upon the mercy seat, represent the interest with which the
  heavenly host contemplate the work of redemption. This is the mystery
  of mercy into which angels desire to look--that God can be just while
  He justifies the repenting sinner and renews His intercourse with the
  fallen race; that Christ could stoop to raise unnumbered multitudes
  from the abyss of ruin and clothe them with the spotless garments of
  His own righteousness to unite with angels who have never fallen and
  to dwell forever in the presence of God.
   
   
  The
  work of Christ as man's intercessor is presented in that beautiful
  prophecy of Zechariah concerning Him "whose name is the Branch."
  Says the prophet: "He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He
  shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His [the Father's]
  throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of
  peace shall be between Them both." Zechariah 6:12, 13.   "He
  shall build the temple of the Lord." By His sacrifice and
  mediation Christ is both the foundation and the builder of the church
  of God. The apostle Paul points to Him as "the chief
  Cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
  into an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also," he says, "are
  builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
  Ephesians 2:20-22.  "He shall bear the glory." To Christ
  belongs the glory of redemption for the fallen race. Through the
  eternal ages, the song of the ransomed ones will be: "Unto Him
  that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, . . . to
  Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." Revelation 1:5, 6.
   
   
  He
  "shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest
  upon His throne." Not now "upon the throne of His glory;"
  the kingdom of glory has not yet been ushered in. Not until His work
  as a mediator shall be ended will God "give unto Him the throne
  of His father David," a kingdom of which "there shall be no
  end." Luke 1:32, 33. As a priest, Christ is now set down with
  the Father in His throne. Revelation 3:21. Upon the throne with the
  eternal, self-existent One is He who "hath borne our griefs, and
  carried our sorrows," who "was in all points tempted like
  as we are, yet without sin," that He might be "able to
  succor them that are tempted." "If any man sin, we have an
  advocate with the Father." Isaiah 53:4; Hebrews 4:15; 2:18; 1
  John 2:1. His intercession is that of a pierced and broken body, of a
  spotless life. The wounded hands, the pierced side, the marred feet,
  plead for fallen man, whose redemption was purchased at such infinite
  cost.
   
   
  "And
  the counsel of peace shall be between Them both." The love of
  the Father, no less than of the Son, is the fountain of salvation for
  the lost race. Said Jesus to His disciples before He went away: "I
  say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father
  Himself loveth you." John 16:26, 27. God was "in Christ,
  reconciling the world unto Himself." 2 Corinthians 5:19. And in
  the ministration in the sanctuary above, "the counsel of peace
  shall be between Them both." "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.
   
   
  The
  question, What is the sanctuary? is clearly answered in the
  Scriptures. The term "sanctuary," as used in the Bible,
  refers, first, to the tabernacle built by Moses, as a pattern of
  heavenly things; and, secondly, to the "true tabernacle" in
  heaven, to which the earthly sanctuary pointed. At the death of
  Christ the typical service ended. The "true tabernacle" in
  heaven is the sanctuary of the new covenant. And as the prophecy of
  Daniel 8:14 is fulfilled in this dispensation, the sanctuary to which
  it refers must be the sanctuary of the new covenant. At the
  termination of the 2300 days, in 1844, there had been no sanctuary on
  earth for many centuries. Thus the prophecy, "Unto two thousand
  and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,"
  unquestionably points to the sanctuary in heaven.
   
   
  But
  the most important question remains to be answered: What is the
  cleansing of the sanctuary? That there was such a service in
  connection with the earthly sanctuary is stated in the Old Testament
  Scriptures. But can there be anything in heaven to be cleansed? In
  Hebrews 9 the cleansing of both the earthly and the heavenly
  sanctuary is plainly taught. "Almost all things are by the law
  purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It
  was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens
  should be purified with these [the blood of animals]; but the
  heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these"
  (Hebrews 9:22, 23), even the precious blood of Christ.
   
   
  The
  cleansing, both in the typical and in the real service, must be
  accomplished with blood: in the former, with the blood of animals; in
  the latter, with the blood of Christ. Paul states, as the reason why
  this cleansing must be performed with blood, that without shedding of
  blood is no remission . Remission, or putting away of sin, is the
  work to be accomplished. But how could there be sin connected with
  the sanctuary, either in heaven or upon the earth? This may be
  learned by reference to the symbolic service; for the priests who
  officiated on earth, served "unto the example and shadow of
  heavenly things." Hebrews 8:5.
   
   
  The
  ministration of the earthly sanctuary consisted of two divisions; the
  priests ministered daily in the holy place, while once a year the
  high priest performed a special work of atonement in the most holy,
  for the cleansing of the sanctuary. Day by day the repentant sinner
  brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle and, placing his
  hand upon the victim's head, confessed his sins, thus in figure
  transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. The animal
  was then slain. "Without shedding of blood," says the
  apostle, there is no remission of sin. "The life of the flesh is
  in the blood." Leviticus 17:11. The broken law of God demanded
  the life of the transgressor. The blood, representing the forfeited
  life of the sinner, whose guilt the victim bore, was carried by the
  priest into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, behind
  which was the ark containing the law that the sinner had
  transgressed. By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood,
  transferred in figure to the sanctuary. In some cases the blood was
  not taken into the holy place; but the flesh was then to be eaten by
  the priest, as Moses directed the sons of Aaron, saying: "God
  hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation."
  Leviticus 10:17. Both ceremonies alike symbolized the transfer of the
  sin from the penitent to the sanctuary.
   
   
  Such
  was the work that went on, day by day, throughout the year. The sins
  of Israel were thus transferred to the sanctuary, and a special work
  became necessary for their removal. God commanded that an atonement
  be made for each of the sacred apartments. "He shall make an
  atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the
  children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their
  sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that
  remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness." An
  atonement was also to be made for the altar, to "cleanse it, and
  hallow if from the uncleanness of the children of Israel."
  Leviticus 16:16, 19.
   
   
  Once
  a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the priest entered the most
  holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary. The work there
  performed completed the yearly round of ministration. On the Day of
  Atonement two kids of the goats were brought to the door of the
  tabernacle, and lots were cast upon them, "one lot for the Lord,
  and the other lot for the scapegoat." Verse 8. The goat upon
  which fell the lot for the Lord was to be slain as a sin offering for
  the people. And the priest was to bring his blood within the veil and
  sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. The blood
  was also to be sprinkled upon the altar of incense that was before
  the veil.
   
   
  "And
  Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and
  confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and
  all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the
  head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man
  into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their
  iniquities unto a land not inhabited." Verses 21, 22. The
  scapegoat came no more into the camp of Israel, and the man who led
  him away was required to wash himself and his clothing with water
  before returning to the camp.
   
   
  The
  whole ceremony was designed to impress the Israelites with the
  holiness of God and His abhorrence of sin; and, further, to show them
  that they could not come in contact with sin without becoming
  polluted. Every man was required to afflict his soul while this work
  of atonement was going forward. All business was to be laid aside,
  and the whole congregation of Israel were to spend the day in solemn
  humiliation before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of
  heart.  Important truths concerning the atonement are taught by the
  typical service. A substitute was accepted in the sinner's stead; but
  the sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim. A means was thus
  provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary.
   
   
  By
  the offering of blood the sinner acknowledged the authority of the
  law, confessed his guilt in transgression, and expressed his desire
  for pardon through faith in a Redeemer to come; but he was not yet
  entirely released from the condemnation of the law. On the Day of
  Atonement the high priest, having taken an offering from the
  congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood of this
  offering, and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, directly over the
  law, to make satisfaction for its claims. Then, in his character of
  mediator, he took the sins upon himself and bore them from the
  sanctuary. Placing his hands upon the head of the scapegoat, he
  confessed over him all these sins, thus in figure transferring them
  from himself to the goat. The goat then bore them away, and they were
  regarded as forever separated from the people.
   
   
  Such
  was the service performed "unto the example and shadow of
  heavenly things." And what was done in type in the ministration
  of the earthly sanctuary is done in reality in the ministration of
  the heavenly sanctuary. After His ascension our Saviour began His
  work as our high priest. Says Paul: "Christ is not entered into
  the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true;
  but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."
  Hebrews 9:24. The ministration of the priest throughout the year in
  the first apartment of the sanctuary, "within the veil"
  which formed the door and separated the holy place from the outer
  court, represents the work of ministration upon which Christ entered
  at His ascension. It was the work of the priest in the daily
  ministration to present before God the blood of the sin offering,
  also the incense which ascended with the prayers of Israel. So did
  Christ plead His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and
  present before Him also, with the precious fragrance of His own
  righteousness, the prayers of penitent believers. Such was the work
  of ministration in the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven.
   
   
  Thither
  the faith of Christ's disciples followed Him as He ascended from
  their sight. Here their hopes centreed, "which hope we have,"
  said Paul, "as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,
  and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner
  is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever."
  "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood
  He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
  redemption for us." Hebrews 6:19, 20; 9:12.
   
   
  For
  eighteen centuries, this work of ministration continued in the first
  apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of
  penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the
  Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record. As in
  the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the
  year, so before Christ's work for the redemption of men is completed
  there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the
  sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended.
  At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest
  entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn
  work--to cleanse the sanctuary.
   
   
  As
  anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin
  offering and through its blood transferred, in figure, to the earthly
  sanctuary, so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by
  faith placed upon Christ and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly
  sanctuary. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was
  accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been
  polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be
  accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are
  there recorded. But before this can be accomplished, there must be an
  examination of the books of record to determine who, through
  repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits
  of His atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a
  work of investigation--a work of judgment. This work must be
  performed prior to the coming of Christ to redeem His people; for
  when He comes, His reward is with Him to give to every man according
  to his works. Revelation 22:12. Thus those who followed in the light
  of the prophetic word saw that, instead of coming to the earth at the
  termination of the 2300 days in 1844, Christ then entered the most
  holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of
  atonement preparatory to His coming.
   
   
  It
  was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a
  sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the
  scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of
  the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by
  virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from the
  sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue
  of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly
  sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon
  Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final
  penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never
  to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be
  forever banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will
  be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and
  sinners.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 24. The Most Holy Place 
   
  The
  subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of
  the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of
  truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God's hand had directed
  the great advent movement and revealing present duty as it brought to
  light the position and work of His people. As the disciples of Jesus
  after the terrible night of their anguish and disappointment were
  "glad when they saw the Lord," so did those now rejoice who
  had looked in faith for His second coming. They had expected Him to
  appear in glory to give reward to His servants. As their hopes were
  disappointed, they had lost sight of Jesus, and with Mary at the
  sepulcher they cried: "They have taken away my Lord, and I know
  not where they have laid Him." Now in the holy of holies they
  again beheld Him, their compassionate High Priest, soon to appear as
  their king and deliverer. Light from the sanctuary illumined the
  past, the present, and the future. They knew that God had led them by
  His unerring providence. Though, like the first disciples, they
  themselves had failed to understand the message which they bore, yet
  it had been in every respect correct. In proclaiming it they had
  fulfilled the purpose of God, and their labour had not been in vain
  in the Lord. Begotten "again unto a lively hope," they
  rejoiced "with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
   
   
  Both
  the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, "Unto two thousand and three
  hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," and the
  first angel's message, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the
  hour of His judgment is come," pointed to Christ's ministration
  in the most holy place, to the investigative judgment, and not to the
  coming of Christ for the redemption of His people and the destruction
  of the wicked. The mistake had not been in the reckoning of the
  prophetic periods, but in the event to take place at the end of the
  2300 days. Through this error the believers had suffered
  disappointment, yet all that was foretold by the prophecy, and all
  that they had any Scripture warrant to expect, had been accomplished.
  At the very time when they were lamenting the failure of their hopes,
  the event had taken place which was foretold by the message, and
  which must be fulfilled before the Lord could appear to give reward
  to His servants.
   
   
  Christ
  had come, not to the earth, as they expected, but, as foreshadowed in
  the type, to the most holy place of the temple of God in heaven. He
  is represented by the prophet Daniel as coming at this time to the
  Ancient of Days: "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one
  like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came"--not
  to the earth, but--"to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him
  near before Him." Daniel 7:13.
   
   
  This
  coming is foretold also by the prophet Malachi: "The Lord, whom
  ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the
  covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord
  of hosts." Malachi 3:1. The coming of the Lord to His temple was
  sudden, unexpected, to His people. They were not looking to Him there
  . They expected Him to come to earth, "in flaming fire taking
  vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel."
  2 Thessalonians 1:8.  But the people were not yet ready to meet their
  Lord. There was still a work of preparation to be accomplished for
  them. Light was to be given, directing their minds to the temple of
  God in heaven; and as they should by faith follow their High Priest
  in His ministration there, new duties would be revealed. Another
  message of warning and instruction was to be given to the church.
   
   
  Says
  the prophet: "Who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall
  stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like
  fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver:
  and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and
  silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in
  righteousness." Malachi 3:2, 3. Those who are living upon the
  earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary
  above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator.
  Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from
  sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their
  own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil.
  While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while
  the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary,
  there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of
  sin, among God's people upon earth. This work is more clearly
  presented in the messages of Revelation 14.
   
   
  When
  this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will
  be ready for His appearing. "Then shall the offering of Judah
  and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and
  as in former years." Malachi 3:4. Then the church which our Lord
  at His coming is to receive to Himself will be a "glorious
  church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing."
  Ephesians 5:27. Then she will look "forth as the morning, fair
  as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners."
  Song of Solomon 6:10.
   
   
  Besides
  the coming of the Lord to His temple, Malachi also foretells His
  second advent, His coming for the execution of the judgment, in these
  words: "And I will come near  to you to judgment; and I will be
  a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers,
  and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the
  hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn
  aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the Lord of
  hosts." Malachi 3:5. Jude refers to the same scene when he says,
  "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to
  execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among
  them of all their ungodly deeds." Jude 14, 15. This coming, and
  the coming of the Lord to His temple, are distinct and separate
  events. The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy
  place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel
  8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as
  presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple,
  foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is
  also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage,
  described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.
   
   
  In
  the summer and autumn of 1844 the proclamation, "Behold, the
  Bridegroom cometh," was given. The two classes represented by
  the wise and foolish virgins were then developed--one class who
  looked with joy to the Lord's appearing, and who had been diligently
  preparing to meet Him; another class that, influenced by fear and
  acting from impulse, had been satisfied with a theory of the truth,
  but were destitute of the grace of God. In the parable, when the
  bridegroom came, "they that were ready went in with him to the
  marriage." The coming of the bridegroom, here brought to view,
  takes place before the marriage. The marriage represents the
  reception by Christ of His kingdom. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem,
  which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is called
  "the bride, the Lamb's wife."
   
   
  Said
  the angel to John: "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the
  Lamb's wife." "He carried me away in the spirit," says
  the prophet, "and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
  descending out of heaven from God." Revelation  21:9, 10.
  Clearly, then, the bride represents the Holy City, and the virgins
  that go out to meet the bridegroom are a symbol of the church. In the
  Revelation the people of God are said to be the guests at the
  marriage supper. Revelation 19:9. If guests, they cannot be
  represented also as the bride . Christ, as stated by the prophet
  Daniel, will receive from the Ancient of Days in heaven, "dominion,
  and glory, and a kingdom;" He will receive the New Jerusalem,
  the capital of His kingdom, "prepared as a bride adorned for her
  husband." Daniel 7:14; Revelation 21:2. Having received the
  kingdom, He will come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord of
  lords, for the redemption of His people, who are to "sit down
  with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob," at His table in His kingdom
  (Matthew 8:11; Luke 22:30), to partake of the marriage supper of the
  Lamb.
   
   
  The
  proclamation, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh," in the
  summer of 1844, led thousands to expect the immediate advent of the
  Lord. At the appointed time the Bridegroom came, not to the earth, as
  the people expected, but to the Ancient of Days in heaven, to the
  marriage, the reception of His kingdom. "They that were ready
  went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut." They
  were not to be present in person at the marriage; for it takes place
  in heaven, while they are upon the earth. The followers of Christ are
  to "wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding."
  Luke 12:36. But they are to understand His work, and to follow Him by
  faith as He goes in before God. It is in this sense that they are
  said to go in to the marriage.
   
   
  In
  the parable it was those that had oil in their vessels with their
  lamps that went in to the marriage. Those who, with a knowledge of
  the truth from the Scriptures, had also the Spirit and grace of God,
  and who, in the night of their bitter trial, had patiently waited,
  searching the Bible for clearer light-these saw the truth concerning
  the sanctuary in heaven and the Saviour's change in ministration, and
  by faith they followed Him in His work in the sanctuary above. And
  all who through the testimony of the Scriptures accept the  same
  truths, following Christ by faith as He enters in before God to
  perform the last work of mediation, and at its close to receive His
  kingdom--all these are represented as going in to the marriage.
   
   
  In
  the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is
  introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as
  taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king
  comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding
  garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the
  blood of the Lamb. Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14. He who is found
  wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to have
  the wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted worthy of a
  share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne. This work of
  examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the
  kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the closing of
  work in the sanctuary above.
   
   
  When
  the work of investigation shall be ended, when the cases of those who
  in all ages have professed to be followers of Christ have been
  examined and decided, then, and not till then, probation will close,
  and the door of mercy will be shut. Thus in the one short sentence,
  "They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the
  door was shut," we are carried down through the Saviour's final
  ministration, to the time when the great work for man's salvation
  shall be completed.
   
   
  In
  the service of the earthly sanctuary, which, as we have seen, is a
  figure of the service in the heavenly, when the high priest on the
  Day of Atonement entered the most holy place, the ministration in the
  first apartment ceased. God commanded: "There shall be no man in
  the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an
  atonement in the holy place, until he comes out." Leviticus
  16:17. So when Christ entered the holy of holies to perform the
  closing work of the atonement, He ceased His ministration in the
  first apartment. But when the ministration in the first apartment
  ended, the ministration in the second apartment began. When in the
  typical service the high priest left the holy on the Day of
  Atonement, he went in before God to present the blood of the sin
  offering in behalf of all Israel who truly repented of their sins. So
  Christ had only completed one part of His work as our intercessor, to
  enter upon another portion of the work, and He still pleaded His
  blood before the Father in behalf of sinners.  This subject was not
  understood by Adventists in 1844. After the passing of the time when
  the Saviour was expected, they still believed His coming to be near;
  they held that they had reached an important crisis and that the work
  of Christ as man's intercessor before God had ceased.
   
   
  It
  appeared to them to be taught in the Bible that man's probation would
  close a short time before the actual coming of the Lord in the clouds
  of heaven. This seemed evident from those scriptures which point to a
  time when men will seek, knock, and cry at the door of mercy, and it
  will not be opened. And it was a question with them whether the date
  to which they had looked for the coming of Christ might not rather
  mark the beginning of this period which was immediately to precede
  His coming. Having given the warning of the judgment near, they felt
  that their work for the world was done, and they lost their burden of
  soul for the salvation of sinners, while the bold and blasphemous
  scoffing of the ungodly seemed to them another evidence that the
  Spirit of God had been withdrawn from the rejecters of His mercy. All
  this confirmed them in the belief that probation had ended, or, as
  they then expressed it, "the door of mercy was shut."
   
   
  But
  clearer light came with the investigation of the sanctuary question.
  They now saw that they were correct in believing that the end of the
  2300 days in 1844 marked an important crisis. But while it was true
  that that door of hope and mercy by which men had for eighteen
  hundred years found access to God, was closed, another door was
  opened, and forgiveness of sins was offered to men through the
  intercession of Christ in the most holy. One part of His ministration
  had closed, only to give place to another. There was still an "open
  door" to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ was ministering in
  the sinner's behalf. Now was seen the application of those words of
  Christ in the Revelation, addressed to the church at this very time:
  "These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that
  hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and
  shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set
  before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." Revelation
  3:7, 8.
   
   
  It
  is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement
  who receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf, while
  those who reject the light which brings to view this work of
  ministration are not benefited thereby. The Jews who rejected the
  light given at Christ's first advent, and refused to believe on Him
  as the Saviour of the world, could not receive pardon through Him.
  When Jesus at His ascension entered by His own blood into the
  heavenly sanctuary to shed upon His disciples the blessings of His
  mediation, the Jews were left in total darkness to continue their
  useless sacrifices and offerings. The ministration of types and
  shadows had ceased. That door by which men had formerly found access
  to God was no longer open. The Jews had refused to seek Him in the
  only way whereby He could then be found, through the ministration in
  the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore they found no communion with God.
  To them the door was shut. They had no knowledge of Christ as the
  true sacrifice and the only mediator before God; hence they could not
  receive the benefits of His mediation.
   
   
  The
  condition of the unbelieving Jews illustrates the condition of the
  careless and unbelieving among professed Christians, who are
  willingly ignorant of the work of our merciful High Priest. In the
  typical service, when the high priest  entered the most holy place,
  all Israel were required to gather about the sanctuary and in the
  most solemn manner humble their souls before God, that they might
  receive the pardon of their sins and not be cut off from the
  congregation. How much more essential in this antitypical Day of
  Atonement that we understand the work of our High Priest and know
  what duties are required of us.
   
   
  Men
  cannot with impunity reject the warning which God in mercy sends
  them. A message was sent from heaven to the world in Noah's day, and
  their salvation depended upon the manner in which they treated that
  message. Because they rejected the warning, the Spirit of God was
  withdrawn from the sinful race, and they perished in the waters of
  the Flood. In the time of Abraham, mercy ceased to plead with the
  guilty inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot with his wife and two
  daughters were consumed by the fire sent down from heaven. So in the
  days of Christ. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of
  that generation: "Your house is left unto you desolate."
  Matthew 23:38. Looking down to the last days, the same Infinite Power
  declares, concerning those who "received not the love of the
  truth, that they might be saved": "For this cause God shall
  send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they
  all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
  unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. As they reject the
  teachings of His word, God withdraws His Spirit and leaves them to
  the deceptions which they love.
   
   
  But
  Christ still intercedes in man's behalf, and light will be given to
  those who seek it. Though this was not at first understood by
  Adventists, it was afterward made plain as the Scriptures which
  define their true position began to open before them.  The passing of
  the time in 1844 was followed by a period of great trial to those who
  still held the advent faith. Their only relief, so far as
  ascertaining their true position was concerned, was the light which
  directed their minds to the sanctuary above. Some renounced their
  faith in their former reckoning of the prophetic periods and ascribed
  to human or satanic agencies the powerful influence of the Holy
  Spirit which had attended the advent movement. Another class firmly
  held that the Lord had led them in their past experience; and as they
  waited and watched and prayed to know the will of God they saw that
  their great High Priest had entered upon another work of
  ministration, and, following Him by faith, they were led to see also
  the closing work of the church. They had a clearer understanding of
  the first and second angels' messages, and were prepared to receive
  and give to the world the solemn warning of the third angel of
  Revelation 14
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 25. God's Law 
   
  The
  temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple
  the ark of His testament. Revelation 11:19. The ark of God's
  testament is in the holy of holies, the second apartment of the
  sanctuary. In the ministration of the earthly tabernacle, which
  served "unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,"
  this apartment was opened only upon the great Day of Atonement for
  the cleansing of the sanctuary. Therefore the announcement that the
  temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of His testament was
  seen points to the opening of the most holy place of the heavenly
  sanctuary in 1844 as Christ entered there to perform the closing work
  of the atonement. Those who by faith followed their great High Priest
  as He entered upon His ministry in the most holy place, beheld the
  ark of His testament. As they had studied the subject of the
  sanctuary they had come to understand the Saviour's change of
  ministration, and they saw that He was now officiating before the ark
  of God, pleading His blood in behalf of sinners.
   
   
  The
  ark in the tabernacle on earth contained the two tables of stone,
  upon which were inscribed the precepts of the law of God. The ark was
  merely a receptacle for the tables of the law, and the presence of
  these divine precepts gave to it its value and sacredness. When the
  temple of God was opened in heaven, the ark of His testament was
  seen.  Within the holy of holies, in the sanctuary in heaven, the
  divine law is sacredly enshrined--the law that was spoken by God
  Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with His own finger on
  the tables of stone.
   
   
  The
  law of God in the sanctuary in heaven is the great original, of which
  the precepts inscribed upon the tables of stone and recorded by Moses
  in the Pentateuch were an unerring transcript. Those who arrived at
  an understanding of this important point were thus led to see the
  sacred, unchanging character of the divine law. They saw, as never
  before, the force of the Saviour's words: "Till heaven and earth
  pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law."
  Matthew 5:18. The law of God, being a revelation of His will, a
  transcript of His character, must forever endure, "as a faithful
  witness in heaven." Not one command has been annulled; not a jot
  or tittle has been changed. Says the psalmist: "Forever, O Lord,
  Thy word is settled in heaven." "All His commandments are
  sure. They stand fast for ever and ever." Psalms 119:89; 111:7,
  8.
   
   
  In
  the very bosom of the Decalogue is the fourth commandment, as it was
  first proclaimed: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day
  is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,
  thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy
  maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy
  gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and
  all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord
  blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11.  The
  Spirit of God impressed the hearts of those students of His word.
   
   
  The
  conviction was urged upon them that they had ignorantly transgressed
  this precept by disregarding the Creator's rest day. They began to
  examine the reasons for observing the first day of the week instead
  of the day which God had sanctified. They could find no evidence in
  the Scriptures that the fourth commandment had been abolished, or
  that the Sabbath had been changed; the blessing which first hallowed
  the seventh day had never been removed. They had been honestly
  seeking to know and to do God's will; now, as they saw themselves
  transgressors of His law, sorrow filled their hearts, and they
  manifested their loyalty to God by keeping His Sabbath holy.
   
   
  Many
  and earnest were the efforts made to overthrow their faith. None
  could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or
  pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth was an
  exact transcript of the law in the ark in heaven; and that an
  acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved an
  acknowledgment of the claims of God's law and the obligation of the
  Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the bitter
  and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the
  Scriptures that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly
  sanctuary. Men sought to close the door which God had opened, and to
  open the door which He had closed. But "He that openeth, and no
  man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth," had declared:
  "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can
  shut it." Revelation 3:7, 8. Christ had opened the door, or
  ministration, of the most holy place, light was shining from that
  open door of the sanctuary in heaven, and the fourth commandment was
  shown to be included in the law which is there enshrined; what God
  had established, no man could overthrow.
   
   
  Those
  who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the
  perpetuity of the law of God found that these were the truths
  presented in Revelation 14. The messages of this chapter constitute a
  threefold warning (See Appendix) which is to prepare the inhabitants
  of the earth for the Lord's second coming. The announcement, "The
  hour of His judgment is come," points to the closing work of
  Christ's ministration for the salvation of men. It heralds a  truth
  which must be proclaimed until the Saviour's intercession shall cease
  and He shall return to the earth to take His people to Himself. The
  work of judgment which began in 1844 must continue until the cases of
  all are decided, both of the living and the dead; hence it will
  extend to the close of human probation.
   
   
  That
  men may be prepared to stand in the judgment, the message commands
  them to "fear God, and give glory to Him," "and
  worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
  fountains of waters." The result of an acceptance of these
  messages is given in the word: "Here are they that keep the
  commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." In order to be
  prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the
  law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the
  judgment. The apostle Paul declares: "As many as have sinned in
  the law shall be judged by the law, . . . in the day when God shall
  judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." And he says that "the
  doers of the law shall be justified." Romans 2:12-16. Faith is
  essential in order to the keeping of the law of God; for "without
  faith it is impossible to please Him." And "whatsoever is
  not of faith is sin." Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.
   
   
  By
  the first angel, men are called upon to "fear God, and give
  glory to Him" and to worship Him as the Creator of the heavens
  and the earth. In order to do this, they must obey His law. Says the
  wise man: "Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the
  whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13. Without obedience to His
  commandments no worship can be pleasing to God. "This is the
  love of God, that we keep His commandments." "He that
  turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be
  abomination." 1 John 5:3; Proverbs 28:9.
   
   
  The
  duty to worship God is based upon the fact that He is the Creator and
  that to Him all other beings owe their existence. And wherever, in
  the Bible, His claim to reverence and worship, above the gods of the
  heathen, is presented, there is cited the evidence of His creative
  power. "All the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made
  the heavens." Psalm 96:5. "To whom then will ye liken Me,
  or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high,
  and behold who hath created these things." "Thus saith the
  Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and
  made it: . . . I am the Lord; and there is none else." Isaiah
  40:25, 26; 45:18. Says the psalmist: "Know ye that the Lord He
  is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves." "O
  come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our
  Maker." Psalms 100:3; 95:6. And the holy beings who worship God
  in heaven state, as the reason why their homage is due to Him: "Thou
  art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou
  hast created all things." Revelation 4:11.
   
   
  In
  Revelation 14, men are called upon to worship the Creator; and the
  prophecy brings to view a class that, as the result of the threefold
  message, are keeping the commandments of God. One of these
  commandments points directly to God as the Creator. The fourth
  precept declares: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
  thy God: . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the
  sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore
  the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus
  20:10, 11. Concerning the Sabbath, the Lord says, further, that it is
  "a sign, . . . that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."
  Ezekiel 20:20. And the reason given is: "For in six days the
  Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was
  refreshed." Exodus 31:17.
   
   
  "The
  importance of the Sabbath as the memorial of creation is that it
  keeps ever present the true reason why worship is due to
  God"--because He is the Creator, and we are His creatures. "The
  Sabbath therefore lies at the very foundation of divine worship, for
  it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no
  other institution does this. The true ground of divine worship, not
  of that on the seventh day  merely, but of all worship, is found in
  the distinction between the Creator and His creatures. This great
  fact can never become obsolete, and must never be forgotten."--J.
  N. Andrews, History of the Sabbath, chapter 27. It was to keep this
  truth ever before the minds of men, that God instituted the Sabbath
  in Eden; and so long as the fact that He is our Creator continues to
  be a reason why we should worship Him, so long the Sabbath will
  continue as its sign and memorial. Had the Sabbath been universally
  kept, man's thoughts and affections would have been led to the
  Creator as the object of reverence and worship, and there would never
  have been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel. The keeping of the
  Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to the true God, "Him that made
  heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." It
  follows that the message which commands men to worship God and keep
  His commandments will especially call upon them to keep the fourth
  commandment.
   
   
  In
  contrast to those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith
  of Jesus, the third angel points to another class, against whose
  errors a solemn and fearful warning is uttered: "If any man
  worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
  forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the
  wrath of God." Revelation 14:9, 10. A correct interpretation of
  the symbols employed is necessary to an understanding of this
  message. What is represented by the beast, the image, the mark?  The
  line of prophecy in which these symbols are found begins with
  Revelation 12, with the dragon that sought to destroy Christ at His
  birth. The dragon is said to be Satan (Revelation 12:9); he it was
  that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the chief
  agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the
  first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman Empire, in which
  paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon,
  primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of
  pagan Rome.
   
   
  In
  chapter 13 (verses 1-10) is described another beast, "like unto
  a leopard," to which the dragon gave "his power, and his
  seat, and great authority." This symbol, as most Protestants
  have believed, represents the papacy, which succeeded to the power
  and seat and authority once held by the ancient Roman empire. Of the
  leopardlike beast it is declared: "There was given unto him a
  mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. . . . And he opened his
  mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His
  tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him
  to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was
  given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." This
  prophecy, which is nearly identical with the description of the
  little horn of Daniel 7, unquestionably points to the papacy.
   
   
  "Power
  was given unto him to continue forty and two months." And, says
  the prophet, "I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to
  death." And again: "He that leadeth into captivity shall go
  into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with
  the sword." The forty and two months are the same as the "time
  and times and the dividing of time," three years and a half, or
  1260 days, of Daniel 7-- the time during which the papal power was to
  oppress God's people. This period, as stated in preceding chapters,
  began with the supremacy of the papacy, A.D. 538, and terminated in
  1798. At that time the pope was made captive by the French army, the
  papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was
  fulfilled, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into
  captivity."
   
   
  At
  this point another symbol is introduced. Says the prophet: "I
  beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns
  like a lamb." Verse II. Both the appearance of this beast and
  the manner of its rise indicate that the nation which it represents
  is unlike those presented under the preceding symbols. The great
  kingdoms that have ruled the world were presented to the prophet
  Daniel as  beasts of prey, rising when "the four winds of the
  heaven strove upon the great sea." Daniel 7:2. In Revelation 17
  an angel explained that waters represent "peoples, and
  multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Revelation 17:15. Winds
  are a symbol of strife. The four winds of heaven striving upon the
  great sea represent the terrible scenes of conquest and revolution by
  which kingdoms have attained to power.
   
   
  But
  the beast with lamblike horns was seen "coming up out of the
  earth." Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish
  itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory
  preciously unoccupied and grow up gradually and peacefully. It could
  not, then, arise among the crowded and struggling nationalities of
  the Old World--that turbulent sea of "peoples, and multitudes,
  and nations, and tongues." It must be sought in the Western
  Continent.  What nation of the New World was in 1798 rising into
  power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the
  attention of the world? The application of the symbol admits of no
  question. One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this
  prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of America.
  Again and again the thought, almost the exact words, of the sacred
  writer has been unconsciously employed by the orator and the
  historian in describing the rise and growth of this nation. The beast
  was seen "coming up out of the earth;" and, according to
  the translators, the word here rendered "coming up"
  literally signifies "to grow or spring up as a plant."
   
   
  And,
  as we have seen, the nation must arise in territory previously
  unoccupied. A prominent writer, describing the rise of the United
  States, speaks of "the mystery of her coming forth from
  vacancy," and says: "Like a silent seed we grew into
  empire."--G. A. Townsend, The New World Compared With the Old,
  page 462. A European journal in 1850 spoke of the United States as a
  wonderful empire, which was "emerging," and " amid the
  silence of the earth daily adding to its power and pride." --The
  Dublin Nation . Edward Everett, in an oration on the Pilgrim founders
  of this nation, said: "Did they look for a retired spot,
  inoffensive for its obscurity, and safe in its remoteness, where the
  little church of Leyden might enjoy the freedom of conscience? Behold
  the mighty regions over which, in peaceful conquest, . . . they have
  borne the banners of the cross!"--Speech delivered at Plymouth,
  Massachusetts, Dec. 22, 1824, page 11.
   
   
  "And
  he had two horns like a lamb." The lamblike horns indicate
  youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the character of
  the United States when presented to the prophet as "coming up"
  in 1798. Among the Christian exiles who first fled to America and
  sought an asylum from royal oppression and priestly intolerance were
  many who determined to establish a government upon the broad
  foundation of civil and religious liberty. Their views found place in
  the Declaration of Independence, which sets forth the great truth
  that "all men are created equal" and endowed with the
  inalienable right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of
  happiness." And the Constitution guarantees to the people the
  right of self-government, providing that representatives elected by
  the popular vote shall enact and administer the laws. Freedom of
  religious faith was also granted, every man being permitted to
  worship God according to the dictates of his conscience.
  Republicanism and Protestantism became the fundamental principles of
  the nation. These principles are the secret of its power and
  prosperity. The oppressed and downtrodden throughout Christendom have
  turned to this land with interest and hope. Millions have sought its
  shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most
  powerful nations of the earth.
   
   
  But
  the beast with lamblike horns "spake as a dragon. And he
  exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth
  the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,
  whose deadly wound was healed; . . . saying to them that dwell on the
  earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the
  wound by a sword, and did live." Revelation 13:11-14.  The
  lamblike horns and dragon voice of the symbol point to a striking
  contradiction between the professions and the practice of the nation
  thus represented. The "speaking" of the nation is the
  action of its legislative and judicial authorities.
   
   
  By
  such action it will give the lie to those liberal and peaceful
  principles which it has put forth as the foundation of its policy.
  The prediction that it will speak "as a dragon" and
  exercise "all the power of the first beast" plainly
  foretells a development of the spirit of intolerance and persecution
  that was manifested by the nations represented by the dragon and the
  leopardlike beast. And the statement that the beast with two horns
  "causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the
  first beast" indicates that the authority of this nation is to
  be exercised in enforcing some observance which shall be an act of
  homage to the papacy.
   
   
  Such
  action would be directly contrary to the principles of this
  government, to the genius of its free institutions, to the direct and
  solemn avowals of the Declaration of Independence, and to the
  Constitution. The founders of the nation wisely sought to guard
  against the employment of secular power on the part of the church,
  with its inevitable result-- intolerance and persecution. The
  Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law
  respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
  exercise thereof," and that "no religious test shall ever
  be required as a qualification to any office of public trust under
  the United States." Only in flagrant violation of these
  safeguards to the nation's liberty, can any religious observance be
  enforced by civil authority. But the inconsistency of such action is
  no greater than is represented in the symbol. It is the beast with
  lamblike horns--in profession pure, gentle, and harmless--that speaks
  as a dragon.  "Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they
  should  make an image to the beast." Here is clearly presented a
  form of government in which the legislative power rests with the
  people, a most striking evidence that the United States is the nation
  denoted in the prophecy.
   
   
  But
  what is the "image to the beast"? and how is it to be
  formed? The image is made by the twohorned beast, and is an image to
  the beast. It is also called an image of the beast. Then to learn
  what the image is like and how it is to be formed we must study the
  characteristics of the beast itself--the papacy.  When the early
  church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the
  gospel and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit
  and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the
  people, she sought the support of the secular power. The result was
  the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the state and
  employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of
  "heresy." In order for the United States to form an image
  of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil
  government that the authority of the state will also be employed by
  the church to accomplish her own ends.
   
   
  Whenever
  the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish
  dissent from her doctrines. Protestant churches that have followed in
  the steps of Rome by forming alliance with worldly powers have
  manifested a similar desire to restrict liberty of conscience. An
  example of this is given in the long-continued persecution of
  dissenters by the Church of England. During the sixteenth and
  seventeenth centuries, thousands of nonconformist ministers were
  forced to flee from their churches, and many, both of pastors and
  people, were subjected to fine, imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom.
   
   
  It
  was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civil
  government, and this prepared the way for the development of the
  papacy--the beast. Said Paul: "There" shall "come a
  falling away, . . . and that man of sin be revealed." 2
  Thessalonians 2:3. So apostasy in the church will prepare the way for
  the image to the beast.  The Bible declares that before the coming of
  the Lord there will exist a state of religious declension similar to
  that in the first centuries.
   
   
  "In
  the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of
  their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
  to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
  trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of
  those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of
  pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but
  denying the power thereof." 2 Timothy 3:1-5. "Now the
  Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart
  from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
  devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. Satan will work "with all power and
  signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of
  unrighteousness." And all that "received not the love of
  the truth, that they might be saved," will be left to accept
  "strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." 2
  Thessalonians 2:9-11. When this state of ungodliness shall be
  reached, the same results will follow as in the first centuries.
   
   
  The
  wide diversity of belief in the Protestant churches is regarded by
  many as decisive proof that no effort to secure a forced uniformity
  can ever be made. But there has been for years, in churches of the
  Protestant faith, a strong and growing sentiment in favour of a union
  based upon common points of doctrine. To secure such a union, the
  discussion of subjects upon which all were not agreed-however
  important they might be from a Bible standpoint--must necessarily be
  waived.
   
   
  Charles
  Beecher, in a sermon in the year 1846, declared that the ministry of
  "the evangelical Protestant denominations" is "not
  only formed all the way up under a tremendous pressure of merely
  human fear, but they live, and move, and breathe in a state of things
  radically corrupt, and appealing every hour to every baser element of
  their nature to hush up  the truth, and bow the knee to the power of
  apostasy. Was not this the way things went with Rome? Are we not
  living her life over again? And what do we see just ahead? Another
  general council! A world's convention! Evangelical alliance, and
  universal creed!"--Sermon on "The Bible a Sufficient
  Creed," delivered at Fort Wayne, Indiana, Feb. 22, 1846. When
  this shall be gained, then, in the effort to secure complete
  uniformity, it will be only a step to the resort to force.  When the
  leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of
  doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to
  enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then
  Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy,
  and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably
  result.
   
   
  The
  beast with two horns "causeth [commands] all, both small and
  great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
  hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save
  he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his
  name." Revelation 13:16, 17. The third angel's warning is: "If
  any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
  forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the
  wrath of God." "The beast" mentioned in this message,
  whose worship is enforced by the two-horned beast, is the first, or
  leopardlike beast of Revelation 13--the papacy. The "image to
  the beast" represents that form of apostate Protestantism which
  will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of
  the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas. The "mark
  of the beast" still remains to be defined.
   
   
  After
  the warning against the worship of the beast and his image the
  prophecy declares: "Here are they that keep the commandments of
  God, and the faith of Jesus." Since those who keep God's
  commandments are thus placed in contrast with those that worship the
  beast and his image and receive his mark, it follows that the keeping
  of God's law, on the  one hand, and its violation, on the other, will
  make the distinction between the worshipers of God and the worshipers
  of the beast.  The special characteristic of the beast, and therefore
  of his image, is the breaking of God's commandments. Says Daniel, of
  the little horn, the papacy: "He shall think to change times and
  the law." Daniel 7:25, R.V. And Paul styled the same power the
  "man of sin," who was to exalt himself above God. One
  prophecy is a complement of the other. Only by changing God's law
  could the papacy exalt itself above God; whoever should
  understandingly keep the law as thus changed would be giving supreme
  honour to that power by which the change was made. Such an act of
  obedience to papal laws would be a mark of allegiance to the pope in
  the place of God.
   
   
  The
  papacy has attempted to change the law of God. The second
  commandment, forbidding image worship, has been dropped from the law,
  and the fourth commandment has been so changed as to authorise the
  observance of the first instead of the seventh day as the Sabbath.
  But papists urge, as a reason for omitting the second commandment,
  that it is unnecessary, being included in the first, and that they
  are giving the law exactly as God designed it to be understood. This
  cannot be the change foretold by the prophet. An intentional,
  deliberate change is presented: "He shall think to change the
  times and the law." The change in the fourth commandment exactly
  fulfills the prophecy. For this the only authority claimed is that of
  the church. Here the papal power openly sets itself above God.
   
   
  While
  the worshipers of God will be especially distinguished by their
  regard for the fourth commandments,--since this is the sign of His
  creative power and the witness to His claim upon man's reverence and
  homage,--the worshipers of the beast will be distinguished by their
  efforts to tear down the Creator's memorial, to exalt the institution
  of Rome. It was in behalf of the Sunday that popery first asserted
  its arrogant claims ;and its first resort to the power of the state
  was to compel the observance of Sunday as "the Lord's day."
  But the Bible points to the seventh day, and not to the first, as the
  Lord's day. Said Christ: "The Son of man is Lord also of the
  Sabbath." The fourth commandment declares: "The seventh day
  is the Sabbath of the Lord." And by the prophet Isaiah the Lord
  designates it: "My holy day." Mark 2:28; Isaiah 58:13.
   
   
  The
  claim so often put forth that Christ changed the Sabbath is disproved
  by His own words. In His Sermon on the Mount He said: "Think not
  that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
  destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
  earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
  till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
  least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the
  least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach
  them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven,"
  Matthew 5:17-19.  It is a fact generally admitted by Protestants that
  the Scriptures give no authority for the change of the Sabbath. This
  is plainly stated in publications issued by the American Tract
  Society and the American Sunday School Union. One of these works
  acknowledges "the complete silence of the New Testament so far
  as any explicit command for the Sabbath [Sunday, the first day of the
  week] or definite rules for its observance are concerned."--George
  Elliott, The Abiding Sabbath, page 184.
   
   
  Another
  says: "Up to the time of Christ's death, no change had been made
  in the day;" and, "so far as the record shows, they [the
  apostles] did not . . . give any explicit command enjoining the
  abandonment of the seventh-day Sabbath, and its observance on the
  first day of the week."--A. E. Waffle, The Lord's Day, pages
  186-188.  Roman Catholics acknowledge that the change of the Sabbath
  was made by their church, and declare that Protestants by observing
  the Sunday are recognizing her power. In the Catholic Catechism of
  Christian Religion, in answer to a question as to the day to be
  observed in obedience to the fourth commandment, this statement is
  made: "During the old law, Saturday was the day sanctified; but
  the church, instructed by Jesus Christ, and directed by the Spirit of
  God, has substituted Sunday for Saturday; so now we sanctify the
  first, not the seventh day. Sunday means, and now is, the day of the
  Lord."
   
   
  As
  the sign of the authority of the Catholic Church, papist writers cite
  "the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which
  Protestants allow of; . . . because by keeping Sunday, they
  acknowledge the church's power to ordain feasts, and to command them
  under sin."--Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian
  Doctrine, page 58. What then is the change of the Sabbath, but the
  sign, or mark, of the authority of the Roman Church--"the mark
  of the beast"?
   
   
  The
  Roman Church has not relinquished her claim to supremacy; and when
  the world and the Protestant churches accept a sabbath of her
  creating, while they reject the Bible Sabbath, they virtually admit
  this assumption. They may claim the authority of tradition and of the
  Fathers for the change; but in so doing they ignore the very
  principle which separates them from Rome--that "the Bible, and
  the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants." The papist can
  see that they are deceiving themselves, willingly closing their eyes
  to the facts in the case. As the movement for Sunday enforcement
  gains favour, he rejoices, feeling assured that it will eventually
  bring the whole Protestant world under the banner of Rome.
   
   
  Romanists
  declare that "the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an
  homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the
  [Catholic] Church."--Mgr. Segur, Plain Talk About the
  Protestantism of Today, page 213. The enforcement of Sunday-keeping
  on the part of Protestant churches is an enforcement of the worship
  of the papacy--of the beast. Those who, understanding the claims of
  the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false instead of the
  true Sabbath are thereby paying homage to that power by which alone
  it is commanded. But in the very act of enforcing a religious duty by
  secular power, the churches would themselves form an image to the
  beast; hence the enforcement of Sunday-keeping in the United States
  would be an enforcement of the worship of the beast and his image.
   
   
  But
  Christians of past generations observed the Sunday, supposing that in
  so doing they were keeping the Bible Sabbath; and there are now true
  Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic
  communion, who honestly believe that Sunday is the Sabbath of divine
  appointment. God accepts their sincerity of purpose and their
  integrity before Him. But when Sunday observance shall be enforced by
  law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of
  the true Sabbath, then whoever shall transgress the command of God,
  to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome,
  will thereby honour popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome and
  to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is
  worshipping the beast and his image. As men then reject the
  institution which God has declared to be the sign of His authority,
  and honour in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of
  her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to
  Rome--"the mark of the beast." And it is not until the
  issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to
  choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men,
  that those who continue in transgression will receive "the mark
  of the beast."
   
   
  The
  most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals is contained in
  the third angel's message. That must be a terrible sin which calls
  down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. Men are not to be left in
  darkness concerning this important matter; the warning against this
  sin is to be given to the world before the visitation of God's
  judgments, that all may know why they are to be inflicted, and have
  opportunity to escape them. Prophecy declares that the first angel
  would make his announcement to "every nation, and kindred, and
  tongue, and people." The warning of the third angel, which forms
  a part of the same threefold message, is to be no less widespread. It
  is represented in the prophecy as being proclaimed with a loud voice,
  by an angel flying in the midst of heaven; and it will command the
  attention of the world.
   
   
  In
  the issue of the contest all Christendom will be divided into two
  great classes--those who keep the commandments of God and the faith
  of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his image and receive
  his mark. Although church and state will unite their power to compel
  "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond"
  (Revelation 13:16), to receive "the mark of the beast," yet
  the people of God will not receive it. The prophet of Patmos beholds
  "them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his
  image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on
  the sea of glass, having the harps of God" and singing the song
  of Moses and the Lamb. Revelation 15:2, 3.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 26. A Work of Reform 
   
  The
  work of Sabbath reform to be accomplished in the last days is
  foretold in the prophecy of Isaiah: "Thus saith the Lord, Keep
  ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My
  righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and
  the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from
  polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." "The
  sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
  and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone that
  keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My
  covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them
  joyful in My house of prayer." Isaiah 56:1, 2, 6, 7.
   
   
  These
  words apply in the Christian age, as shown by the context: "The
  Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I
  gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him."
  Verse 8. Here is foreshadowed the gathering in of the Gentiles by the
  gospel. And upon those who then honour the Sabbath, a blessing is
  pronounced. Thus the obligation of the fourth commandment extends
  past the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, to the
  time when His servants should preach to all nations the message of
  glad tidings.
   
   
  The
  Lord commands by the same prophet: "Bind up the testimony, seal
  the law among My disciples." Isaiah 8:16. The seal of God's law
  is found in the fourth commandment. This only, of all the ten, brings
  to view both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It declares Him
  to be the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and thus shows His
  claim to reverence and worship above all others. Aside from this
  precept, there is nothing in the Decalogue to show by whose authority
  the law is given. When the Sabbath was changed by the papal power,
  the seal was taken from the law. The disciples of Jesus are called
  upon to restore it by exalting the Sabbath of the fourth commandment
  to its rightful position as the Creator's memorial and the sign of
  His authority.
   
   
  "To
  the law and to the testimony." While conflicting doctrines and
  theories abound, the law of God is the one unerring rule by which all
  opinions, doctrines, and theories are to be tested. Says the prophet:
  "If they speak not according to this word, it is because there
  is no light in them." Verse 20.  Again, the command is given:
  "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and
  show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their
  sins." It is not the wicked world, but those whom the Lord
  designates as "my people," that are to be reproved for
  their transgressions. He declares further: "Yet they seek Me
  daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did
  righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God."
  Isaiah 58:1, 2. Here is brought to view a class who think themselves
  righteous and appear to manifest great interest in the service of
  God; but the stern and solemn rebuke of the Searcher of hearts proves
  them to be trampling upon the divine precepts.
   
   
  The
  prophet thus points out the ordinance which has been forsaken: "Thou
  shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be
  called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell
  in. If thou turn away  thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy
  pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of
  the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways,
  nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then
  shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Verses 12-14. This
  prophecy also applies in our time. The breach was made in the law of
  God when the Sabbath was changed by the Roman power. But the time has
  come for that divine institution to be restored. The breach is to be
  repaired and the foundation of many generations to be raised up.
   
   
  Hallowed
  by the Creator's rest and blessing, the Sabbath was kept by Adam in
  his innocence in holy Eden; by Adam, fallen yet repentant, when he
  was driven from his happy estate. It was kept by all the patriarchs,
  from Abel to righteous Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob. When the chosen
  people were in bondage in Egypt, many, in the midst of prevailing
  idolatry, lost their knowledge of God's law; but when the Lord
  delivered Israel, He proclaimed His law in awful grandeur to the
  assembled multitude, that they might know His will and fear and obey
  Him forever.  From that day to the present the knowledge of God's law
  has been preserved in the earth, and the Sabbath of the fourth
  commandment has been kept. Though the "man of sin"
  succeeded in trampling underfoot God's holy day, yet even in the
  period of his supremacy there were, hidden in secret places, faithful
  souls who paid it honour. Since the Reformation, there have been some
  in every generation to maintain its observance. Though often in the
  midst of reproach and persecution, a constant testimony has been
  borne to the perpetuity of the law of God and the sacred obligation
  of the creation Sabbath.
   
   
  These
  truths, as presented in Revelation 14 in connection with "the
  everlasting gospel," will distinguish the church of Christ at
  the time of His appearing. For as the result of the threefold message
  it is announced: "Here are they that keep the commandments of
  God, and the faith of Jesus." And this message is the last to be
  given before the coming of the Lord. Immediately following its
  proclamation the Son of man is seen by the prophet, coming in glory
  to reap the harvest of the earth.
   
   
  Those
  who received the light concerning the sanctuary and the immutability
  of the law of God were filled with joy and wonder as they saw the
  beauty and harmony of the system of truth that opened to their
  understanding. They desired that the light which appeared to them so
  precious might be imparted to all Christians; and they could not but
  believe that it would be joyfully accepted. But truths that would
  place them at variance with the world were not welcome to many who
  claimed to be followers of Christ. Obedience to the fourth
  commandment required a sacrifice from which the majority drew back.
   
   
  As
  the claims of the Sabbath were presented, many reasoned from the
  worldling's standpoint. Said they: "We have always kept Sunday,
  our fathers kept it, and many good and pious men have died happy
  while keeping it. If they were right, so are we. The keeping of this
  new Sabbath would throw us out of harmony with the world, and we
  would have no influence over them. What can a little company keeping
  the seventh day hope to accomplish against all the world who are
  keeping Sunday?" It was by similar arguments that the Jews
  endeavoured to justify their rejection of Christ. Their fathers had
  been accepted of God in presenting the sacrificial offerings, and why
  could not the children find salvation in pursuing the same course?
  So, in the time of Luther, papists reasoned that true Christians had
  died in the Catholic faith, and therefore that religion was
  sufficient for salvation.
   
   
  Such
  reasoning would prove an effectual barrier to all advancement in
  religious faith or practice.  Many urged that Sunday-keeping had been
  an established doctrine and a widespread custom of the church for
  many centuries. Against this argument it was shown that the Sabbath
  and its observance were more ancient and widespread, even as old as
  the world itself, and bearing the sanction both of angels and of God.
  When the foundations of the earth were laid, when the morning stars
  sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, then was laid
  the foundation of the Sabbath. Job 38:6, 7; Genesis 2:1-3. Well may
  this institution demand our reverence; it was ordained by no human
  authority and rests upon no human traditions; it was established by
  the Ancient of Days and commanded by His eternal word.
   
   
  As
  the attention of the people was called to the subject of Sabbath
  reform, popular ministers perverted the word of God, placing such
  interpretations upon its testimony as would best quiet inquiring
  minds. And those who did not search the Scriptures for themselves
  were content to accept conclusions that were in accordance with their
  desires. By argument, sophistry, the traditions of the Fathers, and
  the authority of the church, many endeavoured to overthrow the truth.
  Its advocates were driven to their Bibles to defend the validity of
  the fourth commandment. Humble men, armed with the word of truth
  alone, withstood the attacks of men of learning, who, with surprise
  and anger, found their eloquent sophistry powerless against the
  simple, straightforward reasoning of men who were versed in the
  Scriptures rather than in the subtleties of the schools.
   
   
  In
  the absence of Bible testimony in their favour, many with unwearying
  persistence urged-forgetting how the same reasoning had been employed
  against Christ and His apostles: "Why do not our great men
  understand this Sabbath question? But few believe as you do. It
  cannot be that you are right and that all the men of learning in the
  world are wrong."  To refute such arguments it was needful only
  to cite the teachings of the Scriptures and the history of the Lord's
  dealings with His people in all ages. God works through  those who
  hear and obey His voice, those who will, if need be, speak
  unpalatable truths, those who do not fear to reprove popular sins.
   
   
  The
  reason why He does not oftener choose men of learning and high
  position to lead out in reform movements is that they trust to their
  creeds, theories, and theological systems, and feel no need to be
  taught of God. Only those who have a personal connection with the
  Source of wisdom are able to understand or explain the Scriptures.
  Men who have little of the learning of the schools are sometimes
  called to declare the truth, not because they are unlearned, but
  because they are not too self-sufficient to be taught of God. They
  learn in the school of Christ, and their humility and obedience make
  them great. In committing to them a knowledge of His truth, God
  confers upon them an honour, in comparison with which earthly honour
  and human greatness sink into insignificance.
   
   
  The
  majority of Adventists rejected the truths concerning the sanctuary
  and the law of God, and many also renounced their faith in the advent
  movement and adopted unsound and conflicting views of the prophecies
  which applied to that work. Some were led into the error of
  repeatedly fixing upon a definite time for the coming of Christ. The
  light which was now shining on the subject of the sanctuary should
  have shown them that no prophetic period extends to the second
  advent; that the exact time of this advent is not foretold. But,
  turning from the light, they continued to set time after time for the
  Lord to come, and as often they were disappointed.
   
   
  When
  the Thessalonian church received erroneous views concerning the
  coming of Christ, the apostle Paul counselled them to test their
  hopes and anticipations carefully by the word of God. He cited them
  to prophecies revealing the events to take place before Christ should
  come, and showed that they had no ground to expect Him in their day.
  "Let no man deceive you by any means" (2 Thessalonians
  2:3), are his words of warning. Should they indulge expectations that
  were not sanctioned by the Scriptures, they would be led to a
  mistaken course of action; disappointment would expose them to the
  derision of unbelievers, and they would be in danger of yielding to
  discouragement and would be tempted to doubt the truths essential for
  their salvation.
   
   
  The
  apostle's admonition to the Thessalonians contains an important
  lesson for those who live in the last days. Many Adventists have felt
  that unless they could fix their faith upon a definite time for the
  Lord's coming, they could not be zealous and diligent in the work of
  preparation. But as their hopes are again and again excited, only to
  be destroyed, their faith receives such a shock that it becomes
  well-nigh impossible for them to be impressed by the great truths of
  prophecy.  The preaching of a definite time for the judgment, in the
  giving of the first message, was ordered by God. The computation of
  the prophetic periods on which that message was based, placing the
  close of the 2300 days in the autumn of 1844, stands without
  impeachment.
   
   
  The
  repeated efforts to find new dates for the beginning and close of the
  prophetic periods, and the unsound reasoning necessary to sustain
  these positions, not only lead minds away from the present truth, but
  throw contempt upon all efforts to explain the prophecies. The more
  frequently a definite time is set for the second advent, and the more
  widely it is taught, the better it suits the purposes of Satan. After
  the time has passed, he excites ridicule and contempt of its
  advocates, and thus casts reproach upon the great advent movement of
  1843 and 1844. Those who persist in this error will at last fix upon
  a date too far in the future for the coming of Christ. Thus they will
  be led to rest in a false security, and many will not be undeceived
  until it is too late.
   
   
  The
  history of ancient Israel is a striking illustration of the past
  experience of the Adventist body. God led His people in the advent
  movement, even as He led the children of Israel from Egypt. In the
  great disappointment their faith was tested as was that of the
  Hebrews at the Red Sea. Had they still trusted to the guiding hand
  that had been with them in  their past experience, they would have
  seen the salvation of God. If all who had laboured unitedly in the
  work in 1844, had received the third angel's message and proclaimed
  it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought
  mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed
  upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have
  been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come
  for the redemption of His people.
   
   
  It
  was not the will of God that Israel should wander forty years in the
  wilderness; He desired to lead them directly to the land of Canaan
  and establish them there, a holy, happy people. But "they could
  not enter in because of unbelief." Hebrews 3:19. Because of
  their backsliding and apostasy they perished in the desert, and
  others were raised up to enter the Promised Land. In like manner, it
  was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be so long
  delayed and His people should remain so many years in this world of
  sin and sorrow. But unbelief separated them from God. As they refused
  to do the work which He had appointed them, others were raised up to
  proclaim the message. In mercy to the world, Jesus delays His coming,
  that sinners may have an opportunity to hear the warning and find in
  Him a shelter before the wrath of God shall be poured out.
   
   
  Now
  as in former ages, the presentation of a truth that reproves the sins
  and errors of the times will excite opposition. "Everyone that
  doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
  deeds should be reproved." John 3:20. As men see that they
  cannot maintain their position by the Scriptures, many determine to
  maintain it at all hazards, and with a malicious spirit they assail
  the character and motives of those who stand in defense of unpopular
  truth. It is the same policy which has been pursued in all ages.
  Elijah was declared to be a troubler in Israel, Jeremiah a traitor,
  Paul a polluter of the temple. From that day to this, those who would
  be loyal to truth have been denounced as seditious,  heretical, or
  schismatic. Multitudes who are too unbelieving to accept the sure
  word of prophecy will receive with unquestioning credulity an
  accusation against those who dare to reprove fashionable sins. This
  spirit will increase more and more. And the Bible plainly teaches
  that a time is approaching when the laws of the state will so
  conflict with the law of God that whosoever would obey all the divine
  precepts must brave reproach and punishment as an evildoer.
   
   
  In
  view of this, what is the duty of the messenger of truth? Shall he
  conclude that the truth ought not to be presented, since often its
  only effect is to arouse men to evade or resist its claims? No; he
  has no more reason for withholding the testimony of God's word,
  because it excites opposition, than had earlier Reformers. The
  confession of faith made by saints and martyrs was recorded for the
  benefit of succeeding generations. Those living examples of holiness
  and steadfast integrity have come down to inspire courage in those
  who are now called to stand as witnesses for God. They received grace
  and truth, not for themselves alone, but that, through them, the
  knowledge of God might enlighten the earth. Has God given light to
  His servants in this generation? Then they should let it shine forth
  to the world.
   
   
  Anciently
  the Lord declared to one who spoke in His name: "The house of
  Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto
  Me." Nevertheless He said: "Thou shalt speak My words unto
  them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear."
  Ezekiel 3:7; 2:7. To the servant of God at this time is the command
  addressed: "Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people
  their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins."
   
   
  So
  far as his opportunities extend, everyone who has received the light
  of truth is under the same solemn and fearful responsibility as was
  the prophet of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying:
  "Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of
  Israel; therefore thou shalt hear  the word at My mouth, and warn
  them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt
  surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way,
  that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I
  require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his
  way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in
  his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." Ezekiel 33:7-9.
   
   
  The
  great obstacle both to the acceptance and to the promulgation of
  truth is the fact that it involves inconvenience and reproach. This
  is the only argument against the truth which its advocates have never
  been able to refute. But this does not deter the true followers of
  Christ. These do not wait for truth to become popular. Being
  convinced of their duty, they deliberately accept the cross, with the
  apostle Paul counting that "our light affliction, which is but
  for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight
  of glory;" with one of old, "esteeming the reproach of
  Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." 2
  Corinthians 4:17; Hebrews 11:26.
   
   
  Whatever
  may be their profession, it is only those who are world servers at
  heart that act from policy rather than principle in religious things.
  We should choose the right because it is right, and leave
  consequences with God. To men of principle, faith, and daring, the
  world is indebted for its great reforms. By such men the work of
  reform for this time must be carried forward.  Thus saith the Lord:
  "Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in
  whose heart is My law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye
  afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a
  garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but My righteousness
  shall be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation."
  Isaiah 51:7, 8.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 27. Revival 
   
  Wherever
  the word of God has been faithfully preached, results have followed
  that attested its divine origin. The Spirit of God accompanied the
  message of His servants, and the word was with power. Sinners felt
  their consciences quickened. The "light which lighteth every man
  that cometh into the world" illumined the secret chambers of
  their souls, and the hidden things of darkness were made manifest.
  Deep conviction took hold upon their minds and hearts. They were
  convinced of sin and of righteousness and of judgment to come. They
  had a sense of the righteousness of Jehovah and felt the terror of
  appearing, in their guilt and uncleanness, before the Searcher of
  hearts. In anguish they cried out: "Who shall deliver me from
  the body of this death?" As the cross of Calvary, with its
  infinite sacrifice for the sins of men, was revealed, they saw that
  nothing but the merits of Christ could suffice to atone for their
  transgressions; this alone could reconcile man to God. With faith and
  humility they accepted the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of
  the world. Through the blood of Jesus they had "remission of
  sins that are past."
   
   
  These
  souls brought forth fruit meet for repentance. They believed and were
  baptized, and rose to walk in newness of life--new creatures in
  Christ Jesus; not to fashion themselves according to the former
  lusts, but by the faith of the Son of God to follow in His steps, to
  reflect His character, and to purify themselves even as He is pure.
  The things they once hated they now loved, and the things they once
  loved they hated. The proud and self-assertive became meek and lowly
  of heart. The vain and supercilious became serious and unobtrusive.
  The profane became reverent, the drunken sober, and the profligate
  pure. The vain fashions of the world were laid aside. Christians
  sought not the "outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of
  wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but . . . the hidden
  man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament
  of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great
  price." 1 Peter 3:3, 4.
   
   
  Revivals
  brought deep heart-searching and humility. They were characterized by
  solemn, earnest appeals to the sinner, by yearning compassion for the
  purchase of the blood of Christ. Men and women prayed and wrestled
  with God for the salvation of souls. The fruits of such revivals were
  seen in souls who shrank not at self-denial and sacrifice, but
  rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer reproach and trial
  for the sake of Christ. Men beheld a transformation in the lives of
  those who had professed the name of Jesus. The community was
  benefited by their influence. They gathered with Christ, and sowed to
  the Spirit, to reap life everlasting.
   
   
  It
  could be said of them: "Ye sorrowed to repentance." "For
  godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of:
  but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame
  thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it
  wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what
  indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what
  zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to
  be clear in this matter." 2 Corinthians 7:9-11. This is the
  result of the work of the Spirit of God. There is no evidence of
  genuine repentance unless it works reformation.
   
   
  If
  he restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, confess his
  sins, and love God and his fellow men, the sinner may be sure that he
  has found peace with God. Such were the effects that in former years
  followed seasons of religious awakening. Judged by their fruits, they
  were known to be blessed of God in the salvation of men and the
  uplifting of humanity.  But many of the revivals of modern times have
  presented a marked contrast to those manifestations of divine grace
  which in earlier days followed the labours of God's servants. It is
  true that a widespread interest is kindled, many profess conversion,
  and there are large accessions to the churches; nevertheless the
  results are not such as to warrant the belief that there has been a
  corresponding increase of real spiritual life. The light which flames
  up for a time soon dies out, leaving the darkness more dense than
  before.
   
   
  Popular
  revivals are too often carried by appeals to the imagination, by
  exciting the emotions, by gratifying the love for what is new and
  startling. Converts thus gained have little desire to listen to Bible
  truth, little interest in the testimony of prophets and apostles.
  Unless a religious service has something of a sensational character,
  it has no attractions for them. A message which appeals to
  unimpassioned reason awakens no response. The plain warnings of God's
  word, relating directly to their eternal interests, are unheeded.
   
   
  With
  every truly converted soul the relation to God and to eternal things
  will be the great topic of life. But where, in the popular churches
  of today, is the spirit of consecration to God? The converts do not
  renounce their pride and love of the world. They are no more willing
  to deny self, to take up the cross, and follow the meek and lowly
  Jesus, than before their conversion. Religion has become the sport of
  infidels and skeptics because so many who bear its name are ignorant
  of its principles. The power of godliness has well-nigh departed from
  many of the churches. Picnics, church theatricals, church fairs, fine
  houses, personal display, have banished thoughts of God. Lands and
  goods and worldly occupations engross the mind, and things of eternal
  interest receive hardly a passing notice.
   
   
  Notwithstanding
  the widespread declension of faith and piety, there are true
  followers of Christ in these churches. Before the final visitation of
  God's judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the
  Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed
  since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out
  upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from
  those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love
  for God and His word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly
  accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at
  this time to prepare a people for the Lord's second coming. The enemy
  of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a
  movement shall come, he will endeavour to prevent it by introducing a
  counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive
  power he will make it appear that God's special blessing is poured
  out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious
  interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvellously for
  them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious
  guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian
  world.
   
   
  In
  many of the revivals which have occurred during the last half
  century, the same influences have been at work, to a greater or less
  degree, that will be manifest in the more extensive movements of the
  future. There is an emotional excitement, a mingling of the true with
  the false, that is well adapted to mislead. Yet none need be
  deceived. In the light of God's word it is not difficult to determine
  the nature of these movements. Wherever men neglect the testimony of
  the Bible, turning away from those plain, soul-testing truths which
  require self-denial and renunciation of the world, there we may be
  sure that God's blessing is not bestowed.
   
   
  And
  by the rule which Christ Himself has given, "Ye shall know them
  by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16), it is evident that these
  movements are not the work of the Spirit of God.  In the truths of
  His word, God has given to men a revelation of Himself; and to all
  who accept them they are a shield against the deceptions of Satan. It
  is a neglect of these truths that has opened the door to the evils
  which are now becoming so widespread in the religious world. The
  nature and the importance of the law of God have been, to a great
  extent, lost sight of. A wrong conception of the character, the
  perpetuity, and the obligation of the divine law has led to errors in
  relation to conversion and sanctification, and has resulted in
  lowering the standard of piety in the church. Here is to be found the
  secret of the lack of the Spirit and power of God in the revivals of
  our time.
   
   
  There
  are, in the various denominations, men eminent for their piety, by
  whom this fact is acknowledged and deplored. Professor Edwards A.
  Park, in setting forth the current religious perils, ably says: One
  source of danger is the neglect of the pulpit to enforce the divine
  law. In former days the pulpit was an echo of the voice of
  conscience. . . . Our most illustrious preachers gave a wonderful
  majesty to their discourses by following the example of the Master,
  and giving prominence to the law, its precepts, and its threatenings.
  They repeated the two great maxims, that the law is a transcript of
  the divine perfections, and that a man who does not love the law does
  not love the gospel; for the law, as well as the gospel, is a mirror
  reflecting the true character of God. This peril leads to another,
  that of underrating the evil of sin, the extent of it, the demerit of
  it. In proportion to the rightfulness of the commandment is the
  wrongfulness of disobeying it. . . .
   
   
  "Affiliated
  to the dangers already named is the danger of underestimating the
  justice of God. The tendency of the modern pulpit is to strain out
  the divine justice from the divine benevolence, to sink benevolence
  into a sentiment rather than exalt it into a principle. The new
  theological prism puts asunder what God has joined together. Is the
  divine law a good or an evil? It is a good. Then justice is good; for
  it is a disposition to execute the law. From the habit of underrating
  the divine law and justice, the extent and demerit of human
  disobedience, men easily slide into the habit of underestimating the
  grace which has provided an atonement for sin." Thus the gospel
  loses its value and importance in the minds of men, and soon they are
  ready practically to cast aside the Bible itself.
   
   
  Many
  religious teachers assert that Christ by His death abolished the law,
  and men are henceforth free from its requirements. There are some who
  represent it as a grievous yoke, and in contrast to the bondage of
  the law they present the liberty to be enjoyed under the gospel.  But
  not so did prophets and apostles regard the holy law of God. Said
  David: "I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts."
  Psalm 119:45. The apostle James, who wrote after the death of Christ,
  refers to the Decalogue as "the royal law" and "the
  perfect law of liberty." James 2:8; 1:25. And the revelator,
  half a century after the crucifixion, pronounces a blessing upon them
  "that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree
  of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
  Revelation 22:14.
   
   
  The
  claim that Christ by His death abolished His Father's law is without
  foundation. Had it been possible for the law to be changed or set
  aside, then Christ need not have died to save man from the penalty of
  sin. The death of Christ, so far from abolishing the law, proves that
  it is immutable. The Son of God came to "magnify the law, and
  make it honourable." Isaiah 42:21. He said: "Think not that
  I am come to destroy the law;" "till heaven and earth pass,
  one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law."
  Matthew 5;17, 18. And concerning Himself He declares: "I delight
  to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within My heart."
  Psalm 40:8.
   
   
  The
  law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation
  of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law
  is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man.
  "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:10. The
  character of God is righteousness and truth; such is the nature of
  His law. Says the psalmist: "Thy law is the truth:" "all
  Thy commandments are righteousness." Psalm 119:142, 172. And the
  apostle Paul declares: "The law is holy, and the commandment
  holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12. Such a law, being an
  expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its
  Author.
   
   
  It
  is the work of conversion and sanctification to reconcile men to God
  by bringing them into accord with the principles of His law. In the
  beginning, man was created in the image of God. He was in perfect
  harmony with the nature and the law of God; the principles of
  righteousness were written upon his heart. But sin alienated him from
  his Maker. He no longer reflected the divine image. His heart was at
  war with the principles of God's law. "The carnal mind is enmity
  against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
  can be." Romans 8:7. But "God so loved the world, that He
  gave His only-begotten Son," that man might be reconciled to
  God. Through the merits of Christ he can be restored to harmony with
  his Maker. His heart must be renewed by divine grace; he must have a
  new life from above. This change is the new birth, without which,
  says Jesus, "he cannot see the kingdom of God."
   
   
  The
  first step in reconciliation to God is the conviction of sin. Sin is
  the transgression of the law." By the law is the knowledge of
  sin." 1 John 3:4; Romans 3:20. In order to see his guilt, the
  sinner must test his character by God's great standard of
  righteousness. It is a mirror which shows the perfection of a
  righteous character and enables him to discern the defects in his
  own.  The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy.
  While it promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is the
  portion of the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him
  from the condemnation or the defilement of sin. He must exercise
  repentance toward God, whose law has been transgressed; and faith in
  Christ, his atoning sacrifice. Thus he obtains "remission of
  sins that are past" and becomes a partaker of the divine nature.
  He is a child of God, having received the spirit of adoption, whereby
  he cries: "Abba, Father!"
   
   
  Is
  he now free to transgress God's law? Says Paul: "Do we then make
  void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
  "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
  And John declares: "This is the love of God, that we keep His
  commandments: and His commandments are not grievous." Romans
  3:31; 6:2; 1 John 5:3. In the new birth the heart is brought into
  harmony with God, as it is brought into accord with His law. When
  this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from
  death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and
  rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The old life of alienation from
  God has ended; the new life of reconciliation, of faith and love, has
  begun. Then "the righteousness of the law" will "be
  fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
  Romans 8:4. And the language of the soul will be: "O how love I
  Thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97.
   
   
  "The
  law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Psalm 19:7.
  Without the law, men have no just conception of the purity and
  holiness of God or of their own guilt and uncleanness. They have no
  true conviction of sin and feel no need of repentance. Not seeing
  their lost condition as violators of God's law, they do not realise
  their need of the atoning blood of Christ. The hope of salvation is
  accepted without a radical change of heart or reformation of life.
  Thus superficial conversions abound, and multitudes are joined to the
  church who have never been united to Christ.
   
   
  Erroneous
  theories of sanctification, also, springing from neglect or rejection
  of the divine law, have a prominent place in the religious movements
  of the day. These theories are both false in doctrine and dangerous
  in practical results; and the fact that they are so generally finding
  favour, renders it doubly essential that all have a clear
  understanding of what the Scriptures teach upon this point.  True
  sanctification is a Bible doctrine. The apostle Paul, in his letter
  to the Thessalonian church, declares: "This is the will of God,
  even your sanctification." And he prays: "The very God of
  peace sanctify you wholly." 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23.
   
   
  The
  Bible clearly teaches what sanctification is and how it is to be
  attained. The Saviour prayed for His disciples: "Sanctify them
  through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." John 17:17. And Paul
  teaches that believers are to be "sanctified by the Holy Ghost."
  Romans 15:16. What is the work of the Holy Spirit? Jesus told His
  disciples: "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide
  you into all truth." John 16:13. And the psalmist says: "Thy
  law is the truth." By the word and the Spirit of God are opened
  to men the great principles of righteousness embodied in His law. And
  since the law of God is "holy, and just, and good," a
  transcript of the divine perfection, it follows that a character
  formed by obedience to that law will be holy. Christ is a perfect
  example of such a character. He says: "I have kept My Father's
  commandments." "I do always those things that please Him."
  John 15:10; 8:29.
   
   
  The
  followers of Christ are to become like Him--by the grace of God to
  form characters in harmony with the principles of His holy law. This
  is Bible sanctification.  This work can be accomplished only through
  faith in Christ, by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. Paul
  admonishes believers: "Work out your own salvation with fear and
  trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do
  of His good pleasure." Philippians 2:12, 13. The Christian will
  feel the promptings of sin, but he will maintain a constant warfare
  against it. Here is where Christ's help is needed. Human weakness
  becomes united to divine strength, and faith exclaims: "Thanks
  be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
  Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57.
   
   
  The
  Scriptures plainly show that the work of sanctification is
  progressive. When in conversion the sinner finds peace with God
  through the blood of the atonement, the Christian life has but just
  begun. Now he is to "go on unto perfection;" to grow up
  "unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
  Says the apostle Paul: "This one thing I do, forgetting those
  things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which
  are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
  of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13, 14. And Peter sets
  before us the steps by which Bible sanctification is to be attained:
  "Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
  knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience;
  and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and
  to brotherly kindness charity. . . . If ye do these things, ye shall
  never fall." 2 Peter 1:5-10.
   
   
  Those
  who experience the sanctification of the Bible will manifest a spirit
  of humility. Like Moses, they have had a view of the awful majesty of
  holiness, and they see their own unworthiness in contrast with the
  purity and exalted perfection of the Infinite One. The prophet Daniel
  was an example of true sanctification. His long life was filled up
  with noble service for his Master. He was a man "greatly
  beloved" (Daniel 10:11) of Heaven. Yet instead of claiming to be
  pure and holy, this honoured prophet identified himself with the
  really sinful of Israel as he pleaded before God in behalf of his
  people: "We do not present our supplications before Thee for our
  righteousness, but for Thy great mercies." "We have sinned,
  we have done wickedly." He declares: "I was speaking, and
  praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people." And
  when at a later time the Son of God appeared, to give him
  instruction, Daniel says: "My comeliness was turned in me into
  corruption, and I retained no strength." Daniel 9:18, 15,20;
  10:8.
   
   
  When
  Job heard the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind, he exclaimed:
  "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:6.
  It was when Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, and heard the cherubim
  crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts," that he
  cried out, "Woe is me! for I am undone." Isaiah 6:3, 5.
  Paul, after he was caught up into the third heaven and heard things
  which it was not possible for a man to utter, speaks of himself as
  "less than the least of all saints." 2 Corinthians 12:2-4,
  margin; Ephesians 3:8. It was the beloved John, who leaned on Jesus'
  breast and beheld His glory, that fell as one dead before the feet of
  the angel. Revelation 1:17.  There can be no self-exaltation, no
  boastful claim to freedom from sin, on the part of those who walk in
  the shadow of Calvary's cross. They feel that it was their sin which
  caused the agony that broke the heart of the Son of God, and this
  thought will lead them to self-abasement. Those who live nearest to
  Jesus discern most clearly the frailty and sinfulness of humanity,
  and their only hope is in the merit of a crucified and risen Saviour.
   
   
  The
  sanctification now gaining prominence in the religious world carries
  with it a spirit of self-exaltation and a disregard for the law of
  God that mark it as foreign to the religion of the Bible. Its
  advocates teach that sanctification is an instantaneous work, by
  which, through faith alone, they attain to perfect holiness. "Only
  believe," say they, "and the blessing is yours." No
  further effort on the part of the receiver is supposed to be
  required. At the same time they deny the authority of the law of God,
  urging that they are released from obligation to keep the
  commandments. But is it possible for men to be holy, in accord with
  the will and character of God, without coming into harmony with the
  principles which are an expression of His nature and will, and which
  show what is well pleasing to Him?
   
   
  The
  desire for an easy religion that requires no striving, no
  self-denial, no divorce from the follies of the world, has made the
  doctrine of faith, and faith only, a popular doctrine; but what saith
  the word of God? Says the apostle James: "What doth it profit,
  my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can
  faith save him? . . . Wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without
  works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he
  had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith
  wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? . . . Ye
  see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith
  only." James 2:14-24.
   
   
  The
  testimony of the word of God is against this ensnaring doctrine of
  faith without works. It is not faith that claims the favour of Heaven
  without complying with the conditions upon which mercy is to be
  granted, it is presumption; for genuine faith has its foundation in
  the promises and provisions of the Scriptures.  Let none deceive
  themselves with the belief that they can become holy while willfully
  violating one of God's requirements. The commission of a known sin
  silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit and separates the soul
  from God. "Sin is the transgression of the law." And
  "whosoever sinneth [transgresseth the law] hath not seen Him,
  neither known Him." 1 John 3:6. Though John in his epistles
  dwells so fully upon love, yet he does not hesitate to reveal the
  true character of that class who claim to be sanctified while living
  in transgression of the law of God.
   
   
  "He
  that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar,
  and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him
  verily is the love of God perfected." 1 John 2:4, 5. Here is the
  test of every man's profession. We cannot accord holiness to any man
  without bringing him to the measurement of God's only standard of
  holiness in heaven and in earth. If men feel no weight of the moral
  law, if they belittle and make light of God's precepts, if they break
  one of the least of  these commandments, and teach men so, they shall
  be of no esteem in the sight of Heaven, and we may know that their
  claims are without foundation.
   
   
  And
  the claim to be without sin is, in itself, evidence that he who makes
  this claim is far from holy. It is because he has no true conception
  of the infinite purity and holiness of God or of what they must
  become who shall be in harmony with His character; because he has no
  true conception of the purity and exalted loveliness of Jesus, and
  the malignity and evil of sin, that man can regard himself as holy.
  The greater the distance between himself and Christ, and the more
  inadequate his conceptions of the divine character and requirements,
  the more righteous he appears in his own eyes.
   
   
  The
  sanctification set forth in the Scriptures embraces the entire
  being--spirit, soul, and body. Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that
  their "whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless
  unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
  Again he writes to believers: "I beseech you therefore,
  brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
  sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." Romans 12:1. In the time
  of ancient Israel every offering brought as a sacrifice to God was
  carefully examined. If any defect was discovered in the animal
  presented, it was refused; for God had commanded that the offering be
  "without blemish." So Christians are bidden to present
  their bodies, "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God."
  In order to do this, all their powers must be preserved in the best
  possible condition. Every practice that weakens physical or mental
  strength unfits man for the service of his Creator. And will God be
  pleased with anything less than the best we can offer? Said Christ:
  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart."
  Those who do love God with all the heart will desire to give Him the
  best service of their life, and they will be constantly seeking to
  bring every power of their being into harmony with the laws that will
  promote their ability to do His will. They will not, by the
  indulgence of appetite or passion, enfeeble or defile the offering
  which they present to their heavenly Father.
   
   
  Peter
  says: "Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul."
  1 Peter 2:11. Every sinful gratification tends to benumb the
  faculties and deaden the mental and spiritual perceptions, and the
  word or the Spirit of God can make but a feeble impression upon the
  heart. Paul writes to the Corinthians: "Let us cleanse ourselves
  from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
  the fear of God." 2 Corinthians 7:1. And with the fruits of the
  Spirit--"love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
  faith, meekness"--he classes "temperance." Galatians
  5:22, 23.
   
   
  Notwithstanding
  these inspired declarations, how many professed Christians are
  enfeebling their powers in the pursuit of gain or the worship of
  fashion; how many are debasing their godlike manhood by gluttony, by
  wine drinking, by forbidden pleasure. And the church, instead of
  rebuking, too often encourages the evil by appealing to appetite, to
  desire for gain or love of pleasure, to replenish her treasury, which
  love for Christ is too feeble to supply. Were Jesus to enter the
  churches of today and behold the feasting and unholy traffic there
  conducted in the name of religion, would He not drive out those
  desecrators, as He banished the money-changers from the temple?
   
   
  The
  apostle James declares that the wisdom from above is "first
  pure." Had he encountered those who take the precious name of
  Jesus upon lips defiled by tobacco, those whose breath and person are
  contaminated by its foul odor, and who pollute the air of heaven and
  force all about them to inhale the poison--had the apostle come in
  contact with a practice so opposed to the purity of the gospel, would
  he not have denounced it as "earthly, sensual, devilish"?
  Slaves of tobacco, claiming the blessing of entire sanctification,
  talk of their hope of heaven; but God's word plainly declares that
  "there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth."
  Revelation 21:27.
   
   
  "Know
  ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
  you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? for ye are bought
  with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
  which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. He whose body is the
  temple of the Holy Spirit will not be enslaved by a pernicious habit.
  His powers belong to Christ, who has bought him with the price of
  blood. His property is the Lord's. How could he be guiltless in
  squandering this entrusted capital? Professed Christians yearly
  expend an immense sum upon useless and pernicious indulgences, while
  souls are perishing for the word of life. God is robbed in tithes and
  offerings, while they consume upon the altar of destroying lust more
  than they give to relieve the poor or for the support of the gospel.
  If all who profess to be followers of Christ were truly sanctified,
  their means, instead of being spent for needless and even hurtful
  indulgences, would be turned into the Lord's treasury, and Christians
  would set an example of temperance, self-denial, and self-sacrifice.
  Then they would be the light of the world.
   
   
  The
  world is given up to self-indulgence. "The lust of the flesh,
  and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" control the
  masses of the people. But Christ's followers have a holier calling.
  "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
  and touch not the unclean." In the light of God's word we are
  justified in declaring that sanctification cannot be genuine which
  does not work this utter renunciation of the sinful pursuits and
  gratifications of the world.
   
   
  To
  those who comply with the conditions, "Come out from among them,
  and be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean," God's
  promise is, "I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you,
  and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
  2 Corinthians 6:17, 18. It is the privilege and the duty of every
  Christian to have a rich and abundant experience in the things of
  God. "I am the light of  the world," said Jesus. "He
  that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
  light of life." John 8:12. "The path of the just is as the
  shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
  Proverbs 4:18. Every step of faith and obedience brings the soul into
  closer connection with the Light of the world, in whom there "is
  no darkness at all." The bright beams of the Sun of
  Righteousness shine upon the servants of God, and they are to reflect
  His rays. As the stars tell us that there is a great light in heaven
  with whose glory they are made bright, so Christians are to make it
  manifest that there is a God on the throne of the universe whose
  character is worthy of praise and imitation. The graces of His
  Spirit, the purity and holiness of His character, will be manifest in
  His witnesses.
   
   
  Paul
  in his letter to the Colossians sets forth the rich blessings granted
  to the children of God. He says: We "do not cease to pray for
  you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His
  will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk
  worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
  work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all
  might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and
  long-suffering with joyfulness." Colossians 1:9-11.
   
   
  Again
  he writes of his desire that the brethren at Ephesus might come to
  understand the height of the Christian's privilege. He opens before
  them, in the most comprehensive language, the marvellous power and
  knowledge that they might possess as sons and daughters of the Most
  High. It was theirs "to be strengthened with might by His Spirit
  in the inner man," to be "rooted and grounded in love,"
  to "comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length,
  and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth
  knowledge." But the prayer of the apostle reaches the climax of
  privilege when he prays that "ye might be filled with all the
  fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19.
   
   
  Here
  are revealed the heights of attainment that we may reach through
  faith in the promises of our heavenly Father, when we fulfill His
  requirements. Through the merits of Christ we have access to the
  throne of Infinite Power. "He that spared not His own Son, but
  delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
  give us all things?" Romans 8:32. The Father gave His Spirit
  without measure to His Son, and we also may partake of its fullness.
  Jesus says, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
  unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
  Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" Luke 11:13. "If ye shall
  ask anything in My name, I will do it." "Ask, and ye shall
  receive, that your joy may be full." John 14:14, 16:24.
   
   
  While
  the Christian's life will be characterized by humility, it should not
  be marked with sadness and self-depreciation. It is the privilege of
  everyone so to live that God will approve and bless him. It is not
  the will of our heavenly Father that we should be ever under
  condemnation and darkness. There is no evidence of true humility in
  going with the head bowed down and the heart filled with thoughts of
  self. We may go to Jesus and be cleansed, and stand before the law
  without shame and remorse. "There is therefore now no
  condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
  the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1.
   
   
  Through
  Jesus the fallen sons of Adam become "sons of God." "Both
  He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for
  which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Hebrews
  2:11. The Christian's life should be one of faith, of victory, and
  joy in God. "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and
  this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
  I John 5:4. Truly spoke God's servant Nehemiah: "The joy of the
  Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10. And Paul says: "Rejoice
  in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." "Rejoice
  evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this
  is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Philippians
  4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
   
   
  Such
  are the fruits of Bible conversion and sanctification; and it is
  because the great principles of righteousness set forth in the law of
  God are so indifferently regarded by the Christian world that these
  fruits are so rarely witnessed. This is why there is manifest so
  little of that deep, abiding work of the Spirit of God which marked
  revivals in former years.  It is by beholding that we become changed.
  And as those sacred precepts in which God has opened to men the
  perfection and holiness of His character are neglected, and the minds
  of the people are attracted to human teachings and theories, what
  marvel that there has followed a decline of living piety in the
  church. Saith the Lord: "They have forsaken Me the fountain of
  living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can
  hold no water." Jeremiah 2:13.
   
   
  "Blessed
  is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. . . . But
  his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he
  meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the
  rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his
  leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
  Psalm 1:1-3. It is only as the law of God is restored to its rightful
  position that there can be a revival of primitive faith and godliness
  among His professed people. "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in
  the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
  and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."
  Jeremiah 6:16.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 28. Facing Life's Record 
   
  "I
  beheld," says the prophet Daniel, "till thrones were
  placed, and One that was Ancient of Days did sit: His raiment was
  white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne
  was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. A fiery stream
  issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered
  unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the
  judgment was set, and the books were opened." Daniel 7:9, 10, 
  R.V.
   
   
  Thus
  was presented to the prophet's vision the great and solemn day when
  the characters and the lives of men should pass in review before the
  Judge of all the earth, and to every man should be rendered
  "according to his works." The Ancient of Days is God the
  Father. Says the psalmist: "Before the mountains were brought
  forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from
  everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." Psalm 90:2. It is He,
  the source of all being, and the fountain of all law, that is to
  preside in the judgment. And holy angels as ministers and witnesses,
  in number "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
  thousands," attend this great tribunal.
   
   
  "And,
  behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and
  came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.
  And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all
  people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an
  everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away." Daniel 7:13,
  14. The coming of Christ here described is not His second coming to
  the earth. He comes to the Ancient of Days in heaven to receive
  dominion and glory and a kingdom, which will be given Him at the
  close of His work as a mediator. It is this coming, and not His
  second advent to the earth, that was foretold in prophecy to take
  place at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844. Attended by
  heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies and
  there appears in the presence of God to engage in the last acts of
  His ministration in behalf of man--to perform the work of
  investigative judgment and to make an atonement for all who are shown
  to be entitled to its benefits.
   
   
  In
  the typical service only those who had come before God with
  confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the
  sin offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the
  service of the Day of Atonement. So in the great day of final
  atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are
  those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a
  distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period.
  "Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin
  at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?"
  1 Peter 4:17.
   
   
  The
  books of record in heaven, in which the names and the deeds of men
  are registered, are to determine the decisions of the judgment. Says
  the prophet Daniel: "The judgment was set, and the books were
  opened." The revelator, describing the same scene, adds:
  "Another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
  dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
  according to their works." Revelation 20:12.  The book of life
  contains the names of all who have ever entered the service of God.
  Jesus bade His disciples: "Rejoice, because your names are
  written in heaven." Luke 10:20. Paul speaks of his faithful
  fellow workers, "whose names are in the book of life."
  Philippians 4:3. Daniel, looking down to "a time of trouble,
  such as never was," declares that God's people shall be
  delivered, "everyone that shall be found written in the book."
  And the revelator says that those only shall enter the city of God
  whose names "are written in the Lamb's book of life."
  Daniel 12:1; Revelation 21:27.
   
   
  "A
  book of remembrance" is written before God, in which are
  recorded the good deeds of "them that feared the Lord, and that
  thought upon His name." Malachi 3:16. Their words of faith,
  their acts of love, are registered in heaven. Nehemiah refers to this
  when he says: "Remember me, O my God, . . . and wipe not out my
  good deeds that I have done for the house of my God." Nehemiah
  13:14. In the book of God's remembrance every deed of righteousness
  is immortalized. There every temptation resisted, every evil
  overcome, every word of tender pity expressed, is faithfully
  chronicled. And every act of sacrifice, every suffering and sorrow
  endured for Christ's sake, is recorded. Says the psalmist: "Thou
  tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they
  not in Thy book?" Psalm 56:8.
   
   
  There
  is a record also of the sins of men. "For God shall bring every
  work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or
  whether it be evil." Every idle word that men shall speak, they
  shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Says the
  Saviour: "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words
  thou shalt be condemned." Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36, 37.
  The secret purposes and motives appear in the unerring register; for
  God "will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will
  make manifest the counsels of the hearts." I Corinthians 4:5.
  "Behold, it is written before Me, . . . your iniquities, and the
  iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord. Isaiah 65:6, 7.
   
   
  Every
  man's work passes in review before God and is registered for
  faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the books of
  heaven is entered with terrible exactness every wrong word, every
  selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret sin, with every
  artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected,
  wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted for
  good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled
  by the recording angel.  The law of God is the standard by which the
  characters and the lives of men will be tested in the judgment. Says
  the wise man: "Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is
  the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment."
  Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. The apostle James admonishes his brethren:
  "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law
  of liberty." James 2:12
   
   
  Those
  who in the judgment are "accounted worthy" will have a part
  in the resurrection of the just. Jesus said: "They which shall
  be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from
  the dead, . . . are equal unto the angels; and are the children of
  God, being the children of the resurrection." Luke 20:35, 36.
  And again He declares that "they that have done good" shall
  come forth "unto the resurrection of life." John 5:29. The
  righteous dead will not be raised until after the judgment at which
  they are accounted worthy of "the resurrection of life."
  Hence they will not be present in person at the tribunal when their
  records are examined and their cases decided.
   
   
  Jesus
  will appear as their advocate, to plead in their behalf before God.
  "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
  Christ the righteous." I John 2:1. "For Christ is not
  entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures
  of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of
  God for us." "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the
  uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make
  intercession for them." Hebrews 9:24; 7:25.  As the books of
  record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed
  on Jesus come in review before God.
   
   
  Beginning
  with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the
  cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living.
  Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are
  accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books
  of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted
  out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be
  erased from the book of God's remembrance. The Lord declared to
  Moses: "Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of
  My book." Exodus 32:33. And says the prophet Ezekiel: "When
  the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth
  iniquity, . . . all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be
  mentioned." Ezekiel 18:24.
   
   
  All
  who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of
  Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against
  their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of
  the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in
  harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they
  themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life. The Lord
  declares, by the prophet Isaiah: "I, even I, am He that blotteth
  out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy
  sins." Isaiah 43:25. Said Jesus: "He that overcometh, the
  same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his
  name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My
  Father, and before His angels." "Whosoever therefore shall
  confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which
  is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also
  deny before My Father which is in heaven." Revelation 3:5;
  Matthew 10:32, 33.
   
   
  The
  deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of earthly
  tribunals but faintly represents the interest evinced in the heavenly
  courts when the names entered in the book of life come up in review
  before the Judge of all the earth. The divine Intercessor presents
  the plea that all who have overcome through faith in His blood be
  forgiven their transgressions, that they be restored to their Eden
  home, and crowned as joint heirs with Himself to "the first
  dominion." Micah 4:8. Satan in his efforts to deceive and tempt
  our race had thought to frustrate the divine plan in man's creation;
  but Christ now asks that this plan be carried into effect as if man
  had never fallen. He asks for His people not only pardon and
  justification, full and complete, but a share in His glory and a seat
  upon His throne.
   
   
  While
  Jesus is pleading for the subjects of His grace, Satan accuses them
  before God as transgressors. The great deceiver has sought to lead
  them into skepticism, to cause them to lose confidence in God, to
  separate themselves from His love, and to break His law. Now he
  points to the record of their lives, to the defects of character, the
  unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonoured their Redeemer, to all
  the sins that he has tempted them to commit, and because of these he
  claims them as his subjects.
   
   
  Jesus
  does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and faith, and,
  claiming for them forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the
  Father and the holy angels, saying: I know them by name. I have
  graven them on the palms of My hands. "The sacrifices of God are
  a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not
  despise." Psalm 51:17. And to the accuser of His people He
  declares: "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that
  hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of
  the fire?" Zechariah 3:2. Christ will clothe His faithful ones
  with His own righteousness, that He may present them to His Father "a
  glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing."
  Ephesians 5:27. Their names stand enrolled in the book of life, and
  concerning them it is written: "They shall walk with Me in
  white: for they are worthy." Revelation 3:4.
   
   
  Thus
  will be realized the complete fulfillment of the new-covenant
  promise: "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
  their sin no more." "In those days, and in that time, saith
  the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall
  be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found."
  Jeremiah 31:34; 50:20. "In that day shall the branch of the Lord
  be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be
  excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it
  shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that
  remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone that is
  written among the living in Jerusalem." Isaiah 4:2, 3.
   
   
  The
  work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to
  be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. Since the dead
  are to be judged out of the things written in the books, it is
  impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after the
  judgment at which their cases are to be investigated. But the apostle
  Peter distinctly states that the sins of believers will be blotted
  out "when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence
  of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ." Acts 3:19, 20.
  When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and His
  reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be.
   
   
  In
  the typical service the high priest, having made the atonement for
  Israel, came forth and blessed the congregation. So Christ, at the
  close of His work as mediator, will appear, "without sin unto
  salvation" (Hebrews 9:28), to bless His waiting people with
  eternal life. As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary,
  confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place
  all these sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. The
  scapegoat, bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away "unto a
  land not inhabited" (Leviticus 16:22); so Satan, bearing the
  guilt of all the sins which he has caused God's people to commit,
  will be for a thousand years confined to the earth, which will then
  be desolate, without inhabitant, and he will at last suffer the  full
  penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked. Thus
  the great plan of redemption will reach its accomplishment in the
  final eradication of sin and the deliverance of all who have been
  willing to renounce evil.
   
   
  At
  the time appointed for the judgment--the close of the 2300 days, in
  1844--began the work of investigation and blotting out of sins. All
  who have ever taken upon themselves the name of Christ must pass its
  searching scrutiny. Both the living and the dead are to be judged
  "out of those things which were written in the books, according
  to their works."  Sins that have not been repented of and
  forsaken will not be pardoned and blotted out of the books of record,
  but will stand to witness against the sinner in the day of God. He
  may have committed his evil deeds in the light of day or in the
  darkness of night; but they were open and manifest before Him with
  whom we have to do. Angels of God witnessed each sin and registered
  it in the unerring records. Sin may be concealed, denied, covered up
  from father, mother, wife, children, and associates; no one but the
  guilty actors may cherish the least suspicion of the wrong; but it is
  laid bare before the intelligences of heaven. The darkness of the
  darkest night, the secrecy of all deceptive arts, is not sufficient
  to veil one thought from the knowledge of the Eternal. God has an
  exact record of every unjust account and every unfair dealing. He is
  not deceived by appearances of piety. He makes no mistakes in His
  estimation of character. Men may be deceived by those who are corrupt
  in heart, but God pierces all disguises and reads the inner life.
   
   
  How
  solemn is the thought! Day after day, passing into eternity, bears
  its burden of records for the books of heaven. Words once spoken,
  deeds once done, can never be recalled. Angels have registered both
  the good and the evil. The mightiest conqueror upon the earth cannot
  call back the record of even a single day. Our acts, our words, even
  our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our
  destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they
  will bear their testimony to justify or condemn.
   
   
  As
  the features of the countenance are reproduced with unerring accuracy
  on the polished plate of the artist, so the character is faithfully
  delineated in the books above. Yet how little solicitude is felt
  concerning that record which is to meet the gaze of heavenly beings.
  Could the veil which separates the visible from the invisible world
  be swept back, and the children of men behold an angel recording
  every word and deed, which they must meet again in the judgment, how
  many words that are daily uttered would remain unspoken, how many
  deeds would remain undone.
   
   
  In
  the judgment the use made of every talent will be scrutinized. How
  have we employed the capital lent us of Heaven? Will the Lord at His
  coming receive His own with usury? Have we improved the powers
  entrusted us, in hand and heart and brain, to the glory of God and
  the blessing of the world? How have we used our time, our pen, our
  voice, our money, our influence? What have we done for Christ, in the
  person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, or the widow? God has
  made us the depositaries of His holy word; what have we done with the
  light and truth given us to make men wise unto salvation? No value is
  attached to a mere profession of faith in Christ; only the love which
  is shown by works is counted genuine. Yet it is love alone which in
  the sight of Heaven makes any act of value. Whatever is done from
  love, however small it may appear in the estimation of men, is
  accepted and rewarded of God.
   
   
  The
  hidden selfishness of men stands revealed in the books of heaven.
  There is the record of unfulfilled duties to their fellow men, of
  forgetfulness of the Saviour's claims. There they will see how often
  were given to Satan the time, thought, and strength that belonged to
  Christ. Sad is the record which angels bear to heaven. Intelligent
  beings, professed followers of Christ, are absorbed in the
  acquirement of worldly possessions or the enjoyment of earthly
  pleasures. Money, time, and strength are sacrificed for display and
  self-indulgence; but few are the moments devoted to prayer, to the
  searching of the Scriptures, to humiliation of soul and confession of
  sin.  Satan invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds, that they
  may not dwell upon the very work with which we ought to be best
  acquainted. The archdeceiver hates the great truths that bring to
  view an atoning sacrifice and an all-powerful mediator. He knows that
  with him everything depends on his diverting minds from Jesus and His
  truth.
   
   
  Those
  who would share the benefits of the Saviour's mediation should permit
  nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear
  of God. The precious hours, instead of being given to pleasure, to
  display, or to gain seeking, should be devoted to an earnest,
  prayerful study of the word of truth. The subject of the sanctuary
  and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the
  people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position
  and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible
  for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to
  occupy the position which God designs them to fill. Every individual
  has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of
  God. Each must meet the great Judge face to face. How important,
  then, that every mind contemplate often the solemn scene when the
  judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, when, with Daniel,
  every individual must stand in his lot, at the end of the days.
   
   
  All
  who have received the light upon these subjects are to bear testimony
  of the great truths which God has committed to them. The sanctuary in
  heaven is the very centre of Christ's work in behalf of men. It
  concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens to view the plan
  of redemption, bringing us down to the very close of time and
  revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between righteousness
  and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should thoroughly
  investigate these subjects and be able to give an answer to everyone
  that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.
   
   
  The
  intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as
  essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross.
  By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He
  ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the
  veil, "whither the forerunner is for us entered." Hebrews
  6:20. There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There
  we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The
  salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven;
  the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law
  of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father's throne, and through
  His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may
  be presented before God.
   
   
  "He
  that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and
  forsaketh them shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13. If those who
  hide and excuse their faults could see how Satan exults over them,
  how he taunts Christ and holy angels with their course, they would
  make haste to confess their sins and to put them away. Through
  defects in the character, Satan works to gain control of the whole
  mind, and he knows that if these defects are cherished, he will
  succeed. Therefore he is constantly seeking to deceive the followers
  of Christ with his fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to
  overcome. But Jesus pleads in their behalf His wounded hands, His
  bruised body; and He declares to all who would follow Him: "My
  grace is sufficient for thee." 2 Corinthians 12:9. "Take My
  yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and
  ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My
  burden is light." Matthew 11:29, 30. Let none, then, regard
  their defects as incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome
  them.
   
   
  We
  are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service,
  while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were
  required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation
  before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like
  manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life
  should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict
  their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There
  must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous
  spirit indulged by so many professed Christians must be put away.
  There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil
  tendencies that strive for the mastery. The work of preparation is an
  individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion
  of one will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Though
  all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine
  the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as
  if there were not another being upon the earth. Everyone must be
  tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
   
   
  Solemn
  are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement.
  Momentous are the interests involved therein. The judgment is now
  passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in
  progress. Soon--none know how soon--it will pass to the cases of the
  living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in
  review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed
  the Saviour's admonition: "Watch and pray: for ye know not when
  the time is." Mark 13:33. "If therefore thou shalt not
  watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what
  hour I will come upon thee." Revelation 3:3.
   
   
  When
  the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all
  will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short
  time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ
  in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares: "He
  that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let
  him be filthy still: and he that is righteous let him be righteous
  still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I
  come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according
  as his work shall be." Revelation 22:11, 12.
   
   
  The
  righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their
  mortal state--men will be planting and building, eating and drinking,
  all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been
  pronounced in the sanctuary above. Before the Flood, after Noah
  entered the ark, God shut him in and shut the ungodly out; but for
  seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was fixed,
  continued their careless, pleasure-loving life and mocked the
  warnings of impending judgment. "So," says the Saviour,
  "shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matthew
  24:39. Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the
  decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny, the
  final withdrawal of mercy's offer to guilty men.
   
   
  "Watch
  ye therefore: . . . lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping."
  Mark 13:35, 36. Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary
  of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the man
  of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure
  lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is
  arranging her adornments--it may be in that hour the Judge of all the
  earth will pronounce the sentence: "Thou art weighed in the
  balances, and art found wanting." Daniel 5:27.   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 29. Why So Much Suffering? 
   
  To
  many minds the origin of sin and the reason for its existence are a
  source of great perplexity. They see the work of evil, with its
  terrible results of woe and desolation, and they question how all
  this can exist under the sovereignty of One who is infinite in
  wisdom, in power, and in love. Here is a mystery of which they find
  no explanation. And in their uncertainty and doubt they are blinded
  to truths plainly revealed in God's word and essential to salvation.
  There are those who, in their inquiries concerning the existence of
  sin, endeavour to search into that which God has never revealed;
  hence they find no solution of their difficulties; and such as are
  actuated by a disposition to doubt and cavil seize upon this as an
  excuse for rejecting the words of Holy Writ. Others, however, fail of
  a satisfactory understanding of the great problem of evil, from the
  fact that tradition and misinterpretation have obscured the teaching
  of the Bible concerning the character of God, the nature of His
  government, and the principles of His dealing with sin.
   
   
  It
  is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for
  its existence. Yet enough may be understood concerning both the
  origin and the final disposition of sin to make fully manifest the
  justice and benevolence of God in all His dealings with evil. Nothing
  is more plainly taught in Scripture than that God was in no wise
  responsible for the entrance of sin; that there was no arbitrary
  withdrawal of divine grace, no deficiency in the divine government,
  that gave occasion for the uprising of rebellion. Sin is an intruder,
  for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious,
  unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be
  found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin.
  Our only definition of sin is that given in the word of God; it is
  "the transgression of the law;" it is the outworking of a
  principle at war with the great law of love which is the foundation
  of the divine government.
   
   
  Before
  the entrance of evil there was peace and joy throughout the universe.
  All was in perfect harmony with the Creator's will. Love for God was
  supreme, love for one another impartial. Christ the Word, the Only
  Begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,--one in nature, in
  character, and in purpose,--the only being in all the universe that
  could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. By Christ the
  Father wrought in the creation of all heavenly beings. "By Him
  were all things created, that are in heaven,. whether they be
  thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers" (Colossians
  1:16); and to Christ, equally with the Father, all heaven gave
  allegiance.
   
   
  The
  law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the
  happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect accord
  with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His
  creatures the service of love--homage that springs from an
  intelligent appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a
  forced allegiance, and to all He grants freedom of will, that they
  may render Him voluntary service.  But there was one that chose to
  pervert this freedom. Sin originated with him who, next to Christ,
  had been most honoured of God and who stood highest in power and
  glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Before his fall, Lucifer was
  first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. "Thus saith
  the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in
  beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious
  stone was thy covering. . . .Thou art the anointed cherub that
  covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of
  God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,
  till iniquity was found in thee." Ezekiel 28:12-15.
   
   
  Lucifer
  might have remained in favour with God, beloved and honoured by all
  the angelic host, exercising his noble powers to bless others and to
  glorify his Maker. But, says the prophet, "Thine heart was
  lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by
  reason of thy brightness." Verse 17. Little by little, Lucifer
  came to indulge a desire for self-exaltation. "Thou hast set
  thine heart as the heart of God." "Thou hast said, I will
  exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
  mount of the congregation....I will ascend above the heights of the
  clouds; I will be like the Most High." Verse 6; Isaiah 14:13,
  14. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and
  allegiance of His creatures, it was Lucifer's endeavour to win their
  service and homage to himself. And coveting the honour which the
  infinite Father had bestowed upon His Son, this prince of angels
  aspired to power which it was the prerogative of Christ alone to
  wield.
   
   
  All
  heaven had rejoiced to reflect the Creator's glory and to show forth
  His praise. And while God was thus honoured, all had been peace and
  gladness. But a note of discord now marred the celestial harmonies.
  The service and exaltation of self, contrary to the Creator's plan,
  awakened forebodings of evil in minds to whom God's glory was
  supreme. The heavenly councils pleaded with Lucifer. The Son of God
  presented before him the greatness, the goodness, and the justice of
  the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law. God
  Himself had established the order of heaven; and in departing from
  it, Lucifer would dishonour his Maker, and bring ruin upon himself.
  But the warning, given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a
  spirit of resistance. Lucifer allowed jealousy of Christ to prevail,
  and he became the more determined.
   
   
  Pride
  in his own glory nourished the desire for supremacy. The high honours
  conferred upon Lucifer were not appreciated as the gift of God and
  called forth no gratitude to the Creator. He gloried in his
  brightness and exaltation, and aspired to be equal with God. He was
  beloved and reverenced by the heavenly host. Angels delighted to
  execute his commands, and he was clothed with wisdom and glory above
  them all. Yet the Son of God was the acknowledged Sovereign of
  heaven, one in power and authority with the Father. In all the
  councils of God, Christ was a participant, while Lucifer was not
  permitted thus to enter into the divine purposes. "Why,"
  questioned this mighty angel, "should Christ have the supremacy?
  Why is He thus honoured above Lucifer?"
   
   
  Leaving
  his place in the immediate presence of God, Lucifer went forth to
  diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. Working with
  mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealing his real purpose under
  an appearance of reverence for God, he endeavoured to excite
  dissatisfaction concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings,
  intimating that they imposed an unnecessary restraint. Since their
  natures were holy, he urged that the angels should obey the dictates
  of their own will. He sought to create sympathy for himself by
  representing that God had dealt unjustly with him in bestowing
  supreme honour upon Christ. He claimed that in aspiring to greater
  power and honour he was not aiming at self-exaltation, but was
  seeking to secure liberty for all the inhabitants of heaven, that by
  this means they might attain to a higher state of existence.
   
   
  God
  in His great mercy bore long with Lucifer. He was not immediately
  degraded from his exalted station when he first indulged the spirit
  of discontent, nor even when he began to present his false claims
  before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven. Again and
  again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and
  submission. Such efforts as only infinite love and wisdom could
  devise were made to convince him of his error. The spirit of
  discontent had never before been known in heaven. Lucifer himself did
  not at first see whither he was drifting; he did not understand the
  real nature of his feelings. But as his dissatisfaction was proved to
  be without cause, Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong,
  that the divine claims were just, and that he ought to acknowledge
  them as such before all heaven. Had he done this, he might have saved
  himself and many angels. He had not at this time fully cast off his
  allegiance to God. Though he had forsaken his position as covering
  cherub, yet if he had been willing to return to God, acknowledging
  the Creator's wisdom, and satisfied to fill the place appointed him
  in God's great plan, he would have been reinstated in his office. But
  pride forbade him to submit. He persistently defended his own course,
  maintained that he had no need of repentance, and fully committed
  himself, in the great controversy, against his Maker.
   
   
  All
  the powers of his master mind were now bent to the work of deception,
  to secure the sympathy of the angels that had been under his command.
  Even the fact that Christ had warned and counseled him was perverted
  to serve his traitorous designs. To those whose loving trust bound
  them most closely to him, Satan had represented that he was wrongly
  judged, that his position was not respected, and that his liberty was
  to be abridged. From misrepresentation of the words of Christ he
  passed to prevarication and direct falsehood, accusing the Son of God
  of a design to humiliate him before the inhabitants of heaven. He
  sought also to make a false issue between himself and the loyal
  angels. All whom he could not subvert and bring fully to his side he
  accused of indifference to the interests of heavenly beings. The very
  work which he himself was doing he charged upon those  who remained
  true to God. And to sustain his charge of God's injustice toward him,
  he resorted to misrepresentation of the words and acts of the
  Creator. It was his policy to perplex the angels with subtle
  arguments concerning the purposes of God. Everything that was simple
  he shrouded in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the
  plainest statements of Jehovah. His high position, in such close
  connection with the divine administration, gave greater force to his
  representations, and many were induced to unite with him in rebellion
  against Heaven's authority.
   
   
  God
  in His wisdom permitted Satan to carry forward his work, until the
  spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt. It was necessary
  for his plans to be fully developed, that their true nature and
  tendency might be seen by all. Lucifer, as the anointed cherub, had
  been highly exalted; he was greatly loved by the heavenly beings, and
  his influence over them was strong. God's government included not
  only the inhabitants of heaven, but of all the worlds that He had
  created; and Satan thought that if he could carry the angels of
  heaven with him in rebellion, he could carry also the other worlds.
  He had artfully presented his side of the question, employing
  sophistry and fraud to secure his objects. His power to deceive was
  very great, and by disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood he had
  gained an advantage. Even the loyal angels could not fully discern
  his character or see to what his work was leading.
   
   
  Satan
  had been so highly honoured, and all his acts were so clothed with
  mystery, that it was difficult to disclose to the angels the true
  nature of his work. Until fully developed, sin would not appear the
  evil thing it was. Heretofore it had had no place in the universe of
  God, and holy beings had no conception of its nature and malignity.
  They could not discern the terrible consequences that would result
  from setting aside the divine law. Satan had, at first, concealed his
  work under a specious profession of loyalty to God. He claimed to be
  seeking to promote the honour of God, the stability of His
  government, and the good of all the inhabitants of heaven. While
  instilling discontent into the minds of the angels under him, he had
  artfully made it appear that he was seeking to remove
  dissatisfaction. When he urged that changes be made in the order and
  laws of God's government, it was under the pretense that these were
  necessary in order to preserve harmony in heaven.
   
   
  In
  His dealing with sin, God could employ only righteousness and truth.
  Satan could use what God could not-- flattery and deceit. He had
  sought to falsify the word of God and had misrepresented His plan of
  government before the angels, claiming that God was not just in
  laying laws and rules upon the inhabitants of heaven; that in
  requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, He was seeking
  merely the exaltation of Himself. Therefore it must be demonstrated
  before the inhabitants of heaven, as well as of all the worlds, that
  God's government was just, His law perfect. Satan had made it appear
  that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the universe. The
  true character of the usurper, and his real object, must be
  understood by all. He must have time to manifest himself by his
  wicked works.
   
   
  The
  discord which his own course had caused in heaven, Satan charged upon
  the law and government of God. All evil he declared to be the result
  of the divine administration. He claimed that it was his own object
  to improve upon the statutes of Jehovah. Therefore it was necessary
  that he should demonstrate the nature of his claims, and show the
  working out of his proposed changes in the divine law. His own work
  must condemn him. Satan had claimed from the first that he was not in
  rebellion. The whole universe must see the deceiver unmasked.  Even
  when it was decided that he could no longer remain in heaven,
  Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since the service of love can
  alone be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest
  upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of
  heaven and of other worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature
  or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice and
  mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately
  blotted from existence, they would have served God from fear rather
  than from love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been
  fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly
  eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to maturity. For the good
  of the entire universe through ceaseless ages Satan must more fully
  develop his principles, that his charges against the divine
  government might be seen in their true light by all created beings,
  that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law
  might forever be placed beyond all question.
   
   
  Satan's
  rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages,
  a perpetual testimony to the nature and terrible results of sin. The
  working out of Satan's rule, its effects upon both men and angels,
  would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine
  authority. It would testify that with the existence of God's
  government and His law is bound up the well-being of all the
  creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment
  of rebellion was to be perpetual safeguard to all holy intelligences,
  to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of
  transgression, to save them from committing sin and suffering its
  punishments.
   
   
  To
  the very close of the controversy in heaven the great usurper
  continued to justify himself. When it was announced that with all his
  sympathizers he must be expelled from the abodes of bliss, then the
  rebel leader boldly avowed his contempt for the Creator's law. He
  reiterated his claim that angels needed no control, but should be
  left to follow their own will, which would ever guide them right. He
  denounced the divine statutes as a restriction of their liberty and
  declared that it was his purpose to secure the abolition of law;
  that, freed from this restraint, the hosts of heaven might enter upon
  a more exalted, more glorious state of existence.
   
   
  With
  one accord, Satan and his host threw the blame of their rebellion
  wholly upon Christ, declaring that if they had not been reproved,
  they would never have rebelled. Thus stubborn and defiant in their
  disloyalty, seeking vainly to overthrow the government of God, yet
  blasphemously claiming to be themselves the innocent victims of
  oppressive power, the archrebel and all his sympathizers were at last
  banished from heaven.  The same spirit that prompted rebellion in
  heaven still inspires rebellion on earth. Satan has continued with
  men the same policy which he pursued with the angels. His spirit now
  reigns in the children of disobedience. Like him they seek to break
  down the restraints of the law of God and promise men liberty through
  transgression of its precepts. Reproof of sin still arouses the
  spirit of hatred and resistance. When God's messages of warning are
  brought home to the conscience, Satan leads men to justify themselves
  and to seek the sympathy of others in their course of sin. Instead of
  correcting their errors, they excite indignation against the
  reprover, as if he were the sole cause of difficulty. From the days
  of righteous Abel to our own time such is the spirit which has been
  displayed toward those who dare to condemn sin.
   
   
  By
  the same misrepresentation of the character of God as he had
  practiced in heaven, causing Him to be regarded as severe and
  tyrannical, Satan induced man to sin. And having succeeded thus far,
  he declared that God's unjust restrictions had led to man's fall, as
  they had led to his own rebellion.  But the Eternal One Himself
  proclaims His character: "The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
  longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
  thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that
  will by no means clear the guilty." Exodus 34:6, 7.  In the
  banishment of Satan from heaven, God declared His justice and
  maintained the honour of His throne. But when man had sinned through
  yielding to the deceptions of this apostate spirit, God gave an
  evidence of His love by yielding up His only-begotten Son to die for
  the fallen race.
   
   
  In
  the atonement the character of God is revealed. The mighty argument
  of the cross demonstrates to the whole universe that the course of
  sin which Lucifer had chosen was in no wise chargeable upon the
  government of God.  In the contest between Christ and Satan, during
  the Saviour's earthly ministry, the character of the great deceiver
  was unmasked. Nothing could so effectually have uprooted Satan from
  the affections of the heavenly angels and the whole loyal universe as
  did his cruel warfare upon the world's Redeemer. The daring blasphemy
  of his demand that Christ should pay him homage, his presumptuous
  boldness in bearing Him to the mountain summit and the pinnacle of
  the temple, the malicious intent betrayed in urging Him to cast
  Himself down from the dizzy height, the unsleeping malice that hunted
  Him from place to place, inspiring the hearts of priests and people
  to reject His love, and at the last to cry, Crucify Him! crucify
  Him!--all this excited the amazement and indignation of the universe.
   
   
  It
  was Satan that prompted the world's rejection of Christ. The prince
  of evil exerted all his power and cunning to destroy Jesus; for he
  saw that the Saviour's mercy and love, His compassion and pitying
  tenderness, were representing to the world the character of God.
  Satan contested every claim put forth by the Son of God and employed
  men as his agents to fill the Saviour's life with suffering and
  sorrow. The sophistry and falsehood by which he had sought to hinder
  the work of Jesus, the hatred manifested through the children of
  disobedience, his cruel accusations against Him whose life was one of
  unexampled goodness, all sprang from deep-seated revenge. The pent-up
  fires of envy and malice, hatred and revenge, burst forth on Calvary
  against the Son of God, while all heaven gazed upon the scene in
  silent horror.  When the great sacrifice had been consummated, Christ
  ascended on high, refusing the adoration of angels until He had
  presented the request: "I will that they also, whom Thou hast
  given Me, be with Me where I am." John 17:24. Then with
  inexpressible love and power came forth the answer from the Father's
  throne: "Let all the angels of God worship Him." Hebrews
  1:6. Not a stain rested upon Jesus. His humiliation ended, His
  sacrifice completed, there was given unto Him a name that is above
  every name.
   
   
  Now
  the guilt of Satan stood forth without excuse. He had revealed his
  true character as a liar and a murderer. It was seen that the very
  same spirit with which he ruled the children of men, who were under
  his power, he would have manifested had he been permitted to control
  the inhabitants of heaven. He had claimed that the transgression of
  God's law would bring liberty and exaltation; but it was seen to
  result in bondage and degradation.
   
   
  Satan's
  lying charges against the divine character and government appeared in
  their true light. He had accused God of seeking merely the exaltation
  of Himself in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures,
  and had declared that, while the Creator exacted self-denial from all
  others, He Himself practiced no self-denial and made no sacrifice.
  Now it was seen that for the salvation of a fallen and sinful race,
  the Ruler of the universe had made the greatest sacrifice which love
  could make; for "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
  Himself." 2 Corinthians 5:19. It was seen, also, that while
  Lucifer had opened the door for the entrance of sin by his desire for
  honour and supremacy, Christ had, in order to destroy sin, humbled
  Himself and become obedient unto death. God had manifested His
  abhorrence of the principles of rebellion. All heaven saw His justice
  revealed, both in the condemnation of Satan and in the redemption of
  man. Lucifer had declared that if the law of God was changeless, and
  its penalty could not be remitted, every transgressor must be forever
  debarred from the Creator's favour. He had claimed that the sinful
  race were placed beyond redemption and were therefore his rightful
  prey. But the death of Christ was an argument in man's behalf that
  could not be overthrown. The penalty of the law fell upon Him who was
  equal with God, and man was free to accept the righteousness of
  Christ and by a life of penitence and humiliation to triumph, as the
  Son of God had triumphed, over the power of Satan. Thus God is just
  and yet the justifier of all who believe in Jesus.
   
   
  But
  it was not merely to accomplish the redemption of man that Christ
  came to the earth to suffer and to die. He came to "magnify the
  law" and to "make it honourable." Not alone that the
  inhabitants of this world might regard the law as it should be
  regarded; but it was to demonstrate to all the worlds of the universe
  that God's law is unchangeable. Could its claims have been set aside,
  then the Son of God need not have yielded up His life to atone for
  its transgression. The death of Christ proves it immutable. And the
  sacrifice to which infinite love impelled the Father and the Son,
  that sinners might be redeemed, demonstrates to all the
  universe--what nothing less than this plan of atonement could have
  sufficed to do--that justice and mercy are the foundation of the law
  and government of God.
   
   
  In
  the final execution of the judgment it will be seen that no cause for
  sin exists. When the Judge of all the earth shall demand of Satan,
  "Why hast thou rebelled against Me, and robbed Me of the
  subjects of My kingdom?" the originator of evil can render no
  excuse. Every mouth will be stopped, and all the hosts of rebellion
  will be speechless.  The cross of Calvary, while it declares the law
  immutable, proclaims to the universe that the wages of sin is death.
  In the Saviour's expiring cry, "It is finished," the death
  knell of Satan was rung. The great controversy which had been so long
  in progress was then decided, and the final eradication of evil was
  made certain. The Son of God passed through the portals of the tomb,
  that "through death He might destroy him that had the power of
  death, that is, the devil." Hebrews 2:14. Lucifer's desire for
  self-exaltation had led him to say: "I will exalt my throne
  above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the Most High." God
  declares: "I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, . . . and
  never shalt thou be any more." Isaiah 14:13, 14; Ezekiel 28:18,
  19. When "the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;. . . .all
  the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the
  day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it
  shall leave them neither root nor branch." Malachi 4:1.
   
   
  The
  whole universe will have become witnesses to the nature and results
  of sin. And its utter extermination, which in the beginning would
  have brought fear to angels and dishonour to God, will now vindicate
  His love and establish His honour before the universe of beings who
  delight to do His will, and in whose heart is His law. Never will
  evil again be manifest. Says the word of God: "Affliction shall
  not rise up the second time." Nahum 1:9. The law of God, which
  Satan has reproached as the yoke of bondage, will be honoured as the
  law of liberty. A tested and proved creation will never again be
  turned from allegiance to Him whose character has been fully
  manifested before them as fathomless love and infinite wisdom.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 30. Infernal Enmity 
   
  "I
  will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and
  her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
  Genesis 3:15. The divine sentence pronounced against Satan after the
  fall of man was also a prophecy, embracing all the ages to the close
  of time and foreshadowing the great conflict to engage all the races
  of men who should live upon the earth.
   
   
  God
  declares: "I will put enmity." This enmity is not naturally
  entertained. When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became
  evil, and he was in harmony, and not at variance, with Satan. There
  exists naturally no enmity between sinful man and the originator of
  sin. Both became evil through apostasy. The apostate is never at
  rest, except as he obtains sympathy and support by inducing others to
  follow his example. For this reason fallen angels and wicked men
  unite in desperate companionship. Had not God specially interposed,
  Satan and man would have entered into an alliance against Heaven; and
  instead of cherishing enmity against Satan, the whole human family
  would have been united in opposition to God.
   
   
  Satan
  tempted man to sin, as he had caused angels to rebel, that he might
  thus secure co-operation in his warfare against Heaven. There was no
  dissension between himself and the fallen angels as regards their
  hatred of Christ; while on all  other points there was discord, they
  were firmly united in opposing the authority of the Ruler of the
  universe. But when Satan heard the declaration that enmity should
  exist between himself and the woman, and between his seed and her
  seed, he knew that his efforts to deprave human nature would be
  interrupted; that by some means man was to be enabled to resist his
  power.
   
   
  Satan's
  enmity against the human race is kindled because, through Christ,
  they are the objects of God's love and mercy. He desires to thwart
  the divine plan for man's redemption, to cast dishonour upon God, by
  defacing and defiling His handiwork; he would cause grief in heaven
  and fill the earth with woe and desolation. And he points to all this
  evil as the result of God's work in creating man.  It is the grace
  that Christ implants in the soul which creates in man enmity against
  Satan. Without this converting grace and renewing power, man would
  continue the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his
  bidding. But the new principle in the soul creates conflict where
  hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ imparts enables man
  to resist the tyrant and usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin
  instead of loving it, whoever resists and conquers those passions
  that have held sway within, displays the operation of a principle
  wholly from above.
   
   
  The
  antagonism that exists between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of
  Satan was most strikingly displayed in the world's reception of
  Jesus. It was not so much because He appeared without worldly wealth,
  pomp, or grandeur that the Jews were led to reject Him. They saw that
  He possessed power which would more than compensate for the lack of
  these outward advantages. But the purity and holiness of Christ
  called forth against Him the hatred of the ungodly. His life of
  self-denial and sinless devotion was a perpetual reproof to a proud,
  sensual people. It was this that evoked enmity against the Son of
  God. Satan and evil angels joined with evil men. All the energies of
  apostasy conspired against the Champion of truth.
   
   
  The
  same enmity is manifested toward Christ's followers as was manifested
  toward their Master. Whoever sees the repulsive character of sin, and
  in strength from above resists temptation, will assuredly arouse the
  wrath of Satan and his subjects. Hatred of the pure principles of
  truth, and reproach and persecution of its advocates, will exist as
  long as sin and sinners remain. The followers of Christ and the
  servants of Satan cannot harmonize. The offense of the cross has not
  ceased. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
  persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12.
   
   
  Satan's
  agents are constantly working under his direction to establish his
  authority and build up his kingdom in opposition to the government of
  God. To this end they seek to deceive Christ's followers and allure
  them from their allegiance. Like their leader, they misconstrue and
  pervert the Scriptures to accomplish their object. As Satan
  endeavoured to cast reproach upon God, so do his agents seek to
  malign God's people. The spirit which put Christ to death moves the
  wicked to destroy His followers. All this is foreshadowed in that
  first prophecy: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
  and between thy seed and her seed." And this will continue to
  the close of time.
   
   
  Satan
  summons all his forces and throws his whole power into the combat.
  Why is it that he meets with no greater resistance? Why are the
  soldiers of Christ so sleepy and indifferent? Because they have so
  little real connection with Christ; because they are so destitute of
  His Spirit. Sin is not to them repulsive and abhorrent, as it was to
  their Master. They do not meet it, as did Christ, with decisive and
  determined resistance. They do not realise the exceeding evil and
  malignity of sin, and they are blinded both to the character and the
  power of the prince of darkness. There is little enmity against Satan
  and his works, because there is so great ignorance concerning his
  power and malice, and the vast extent of his warfare against Christ
  and His church. Multitudes are deluded here. They do not know that
  their enemy is a mighty general who controls the minds of evil
  angels, and that with well-matured plans and skillful movements he is
  warring against Christ to prevent the salvation of souls. Among
  professed Christians, and even among ministers of the gospel, there
  is heard scarcely a reference to Satan, except perhaps an incidental
  mention in the pulpit. They overlook the evidences of his continual
  activity and success; they neglect the many warnings of his subtlety;
  they seem to ignore his very existence.
   
   
  While
  men are ignorant of his devices, this vigilant foe is upon their
  track every moment. He is intruding his presence in every department
  of the household, in every street of our cities, in the churches, in
  the national councils, in the courts of justice, perplexing,
  deceiving, seducing, everywhere ruining the souls and bodies of men,
  women, and children, breaking up families, sowing hatred, emulation,
  strife, sedition, murder. And the Christian world seem to regard
  these things as though God had appointed them and they must exist.
   
   
  Satan
  is continually seeking to overcome the people of God by breaking down
  the barriers which separate them from the world. Ancient Israel were
  enticed into sin when they ventured into forbidden association with
  the heathen. In a similar manner are modern Israel led astray. "The
  god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
  lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
  God, should shine unto them." 2 Corinthians 4:4. All who are not
  decided followers of Christ are servants of Satan. In the
  unregenerate heart there is love of sin and a disposition to cherish
  and excuse it. In the renewed heart there is hatred of sin and
  determined resistance against it. When Christians choose the society
  of the ungodly and unbelieving, they expose themselves to temptation.
  Satan conceals himself from view and stealthily draws his deceptive
  covering over their eyes. They cannot see that such company is
  calculated to do them harm; and while all the time assimilating to
  the world in character, words, and actions, they are becoming more
  and more blinded.
   
   
  Conformity
  to worldly customs converts the church to the world; it never
  converts the world to Christ. Familiarity with sin will inevitably
  cause it to appear less repulsive. He who chooses to associate with
  the servants of Satan will soon cease to fear their master. When in
  the way of duty we are brought into trial, as was Daniel in the
  king's court, we may be sure that God will protect us; but if we
  place ourselves under temptation we shall fall sooner or later. The
  tempter often works most successfully through those who are least
  suspected of being under his control. The possessors of talent and
  education are admired and honoured, as if these qualities could atone
  for the absence of the fear of God or entitle men to His favour.
   
   
  Talent
  and culture, considered in themselves, are gifts of God; but when
  these are made to supply the place of piety, when, instead of
  bringing the soul nearer to God, they lead away from Him, then they
  become a curse and a snare. The opinion prevails with many that all
  which appears like courtesy or refinement must, in some sense,
  pertain to Christ. Never was there a greater mistake. These qualities
  should grace the character of every Christian, for they would exert a
  powerful influence in favour of true religion; but they must be
  consecrated to God, or they also are a power for evil. Many a man of
  cultured intellect and pleasant manners, who would not stoop to what
  is commonly regarded as an immoral act, is but a polished instrument
  in the hands of Satan. The insidious, deceptive character of his
  influence and example renders him a more dangerous enemy to the cause
  of Christ than are those who are ignorant and uncultured.
   
   
  By
  earnest prayer and dependence upon God, Solomon obtained the wisdom
  which excited the wonder and admiration of the world. But when he
  turned from the Source of his strength, and went forward relying upon
  himself, he fell a prey to temptation. Then the marvellous powers
  bestowed on this wisest of kings only rendered him a more effective
  agent of the adversary of souls.  While Satan is constantly seeking
  to blind their minds to the fact, let Christians never forget that
  they "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
  principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
  this world, against wicked spirits in high places." Ephesians
  6:12, margin. The inspired warning is sounding down the centuries to
  our time: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
  devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
  1 Peter 5:8. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be
  able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:11.
   
   
  From
  the days of Adam to our own time, our great enemy has been exercising
  his power to oppress and destroy. He is now preparing for his last
  campaign against the church. All who seek to follow Jesus will be
  brought into conflict with this relentless foe. The more nearly the
  Christian imitates the divine Pattern, the more surely will he make
  himself a mark for the attacks of Satan. All who are actively engaged
  in the cause of God, seeking to unveil the deceptions of the evil one
  and to present Christ before the people, will be able to join in the
  testimony of Paul, in which he speaks of serving the Lord with all
  humility of mind, with many tears and temptations.
   
   
  Satan
  assailed Christ with his fiercest and most subtle temptations, but he
  was repulsed in every conflict. Those battles were fought in our
  behalf; those victories make it possible for us to conquer. Christ
  will give strength to all who seek it. No man without his own consent
  can be overcome by Satan. The tempter has no power to control the
  will or to force the soul to sin. He may distress, but he cannot
  contaminate. He can cause agony, but not defilement. The fact that
  Christ has conquered should inspire His followers with courage to
  fight manfully the battle against sin and Satan.   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 31. Evil Spirits 
   
  The
  connection of the visible with the invisible world, the ministration
  of angels of God, and the agency of evil spirits, are plainly
  revealed in the Scriptures, and inseparably interwoven with human
  history. There is a growing tendency to disbelief in the existence of
  evil spirits, while the holy angels that "minister for them who
  shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 1:14) are regarded by many
  as spirits of the dead. But the Scriptures not only teach the
  existence of angels, both good and evil, but present unquestionable
  proof that these are not disembodied spirits of dead men.
   
   
  Before
  the creation of man, angels were in existence; for when the
  foundations of the earth were laid, "the morning stars sang
  together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:7.
  After the fall of man, angels were sent to guard the tree of life,
  and this before a human being had died. Angels are in nature superior
  to men, for the psalmist says that man was made "a little lower
  than the angels." Psalm 8:5.  We are informed in Scripture as to
  the number, and the power and glory, of the heavenly beings, of their
  connection with the government of God, and also of their relation to
  the work of redemption. "The Lord hath prepared His throne in
  the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all." And, says the
  prophet, "I heard the voice of many angels round about the
  throne." In the presence chamber of the King of kings they
  wait--"angels, that excel in strength," "ministers of
  His, that do His pleasure," "hearkening unto the voice of
  His word." Psalm 103:19-21; Revelation 5:11. Ten thousand times
  ten thousand and thousands of thousands, were the heavenly messengers
  beheld by the prophet Daniel.
   
   
  The
  apostle Paul declared them "an innumerable company." Daniel
  7:10; Hebrews 12:22. As God's messengers they go forth, like "the
  appearance of a flash of lightning," (Ezekiel 1:14), so dazzling
  their glory, and so swift their flight. The angel that appeared at
  the Saviour's tomb, his countenance "like lightning, and his
  raiment white as snow," caused the keepers for fear of him to
  quake, and they "became as dead men." Matthew 28:3, 4. When
  Sennacherib, the haughty Assyrian, reproached and blasphemed God, and
  threatened Israel with destruction, "it came to pass that night,
  that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the
  Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand." There were
  "cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and
  captains," from the army of Sennacherib. "So he returned
  with shame of face to his own land." 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chronicles
  32:21.
   
   
  Angels
  are sent on missions of mercy to the children of God. To Abraham,
  with promises of blessing; to the gates of Sodom, to rescue righteous
  Lot from its fiery doom; to Elijah, as he was about to perish from
  weariness and hunger in the desert; to Elisha, with chariots and
  horses of fire surrounding the little town where he was shut in by
  his foes; to Daniel, while seeking divine wisdom in the court of a
  heathen king, or abandoned to become the lions' prey; to Peter,
  doomed to death in Herod's dungeon; to the prisoners at Philippi; to
  Paul and his companions in the night of tempest on the sea; to open
  the mind of Cornelius to receive the gospel; to dispatch Peter with
  the message of salvation to the Gentile stranger--thus holy angels
  have, in all ages, ministered to God's people.
   
   
  A
  guardian angel is appointed to every follower of Christ. These
  heavenly watchers shield the righteous from the power of the wicked
  one. This Satan himself recognized when he said: "Doth Job fear
  God for nought? Hast not Thou made an hedge about him, and about his
  house, and about all that he hath on every side?" Job 1:9, 10.
  The agency by which God protects His people is presented in the words
  of the psalmist: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about
  them that fear Him, and delivereth them." Psalm 34:7. Said the
  Saviour, speaking of those that believe in Him: "Take heed that
  ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in
  heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father."
  Matthew 18:10. The angels appointed to minister to the children of
  God have at all times access to His presence.
   
   
  Thus,
  God's people, exposed to the deceptive power and unsleeping malice of
  the prince of darkness, and in conflict with all the forces of evil,
  are assured of the unceasing guardianship of heavenly angels. Nor is
  such assurance given without need. If God has granted to His children
  promise of grace and protection, it is because there are mighty
  agencies of evil to be met--agencies numerous, determined, and
  untiring, of whose malignity and power none can safely be ignorant or
  unheeding.  Evil spirits, in the beginning created sinless, were
  equal in nature, power, and glory with the holy beings that are now
  God's messengers. But fallen through sin, they are leagued together
  for the dishonour of God and the destruction of men. United with
  Satan in his rebellion, and with him cast out from heaven, they have,
  through all succeeding ages, co-operated with him in his warfare
  against the divine authority. We are told in Scripture of their
  confederacy and government, of their various orders, of their
  intelligence and subtlety, and of their malicious designs against the
  peace and happiness of men.
   
   
  Old
  Testament history presents occasional mention of their existence and
  agency; but it was during the time when Christ was upon the earth
  that evil spirits manifested their power in the most striking manner.
  Christ had come to enter upon the plan devised for man's redemption,
  and Satan determined to assert his right to control the world. He had
  succeeded in establishing idolatry in every part of the earth except
  the land of Palestine. To the only land that had not fully yielded to
  the tempter's sway, Christ came to shed upon the people the light of
  heaven. Here two rival powers claimed supremacy. Jesus was stretching
  out His arms of love, inviting all who would to find pardon and peace
  in Him. The hosts of darkness saw that they did not possess unlimited
  control, and they understood that if Christ's mission should be
  successful, their rule was soon to end. Satan raged like a chained
  lion and defiantly exhibited his power over the bodies as well as the
  souls of men.
   
   
  The
  fact that men have been possessed with demons, is clearly stated in
  the New Testament. The persons thus afflicted were not merely
  suffering with disease from natural causes. Christ had perfect
  understanding of that with which He was dealing, and He recognized
  the direct presence and agency of evil spirits.   A striking example
  of their number, power, and malignity, and also of the power and
  mercy of  Christ, is given in the Scripture account of the healing of
  the demoniacs at Gadara. Those wretched maniacs, spurning all
  restraint, writhing, foaming, raging, were filling the air with their
  cries, doing violence to themselves, and endangering all who should
  approach them. Their bleeding and disfigured bodies and distracted
  minds presented a spectacle well pleasing to the prince of darkness.
  One of the demons controlling the sufferers declared: "My name
  is Legion: for we are many." Mark 5:9. In the Roman army a
  legion consisted of from three to five thousand men. Satan's hosts
  also are marshalled in companies, and the single company to which
  these demons belonged numbered no less than a legion.
   
   
  At
  the command of Jesus the evil spirits departed from their victims,
  leaving them calmly sitting at the Saviour's feet, subdued,
  intelligent, and gentle. But the demons were permitted to sweep a
  herd of swine into the sea; and to the dwellers of Gadara the loss of
  these outweighed the blessings which Christ had bestowed, and the
  divine Healer was entreated to depart. This was the result which
  Satan designed to secure. By casting the blame of their loss upon
  Jesus, he aroused the selfish fears of the people and prevented them
  from listening to His words. Satan is constantly accusing Christians
  as the cause of loss, misfortune, and suffering, instead of allowing
  the reproach to fall where it belongs-- upon himself and his agents.
   
   
  But
  the purposes of Christ were not thwarted. He allowed the evil spirits
  to destroy the herd of swine as a rebuke to those Jews who were
  raising these unclean beasts for the sake of gain. Had not Christ
  restrained the demons, they would have plunged into the sea, not only
  the swine, but also their keepers and owners. The preservation of
  both the keepers and the owners was due alone to His power,
  mercifully exercised for their deliverance. Furthermore, this event
  was permitted to take place that the disciples might witness the
  cruel power of Satan upon both man and beast. The Saviour desired His
  followers to have a knowledge of the foe whom they were to meet, that
  they might not be deceived and overcome by his devices. It was also
  His will that the people of that region should behold His power to
  break the bondage of Satan and release his captives. And though Jesus
  Himself departed, the men so marvellously delivered, remained to
  declare the mercy of their Benefactor.
   
   
  Other
  instances of a similar nature are recorded in the Scriptures. The
  daughter of the Syrophoenician woman was grievously vexed with a
  devil, whom Jesus cast out by His word. (Mark 7:26-30). "One
  possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb" (Matthew 12:22; a youth
  who had a dumb spirit, that ofttimes "cast him into the fire,
  and into the waters, to destroy him" (Mark 9:1727); the maniac
  who, tormented by "a spirit of an unclean devil" (Luke
  4:33-36), disturbed the Sabbath quiet of the synagogue at
  Capernaum--all were healed by the compassionate Saviour. In nearly
  every instance, Christ addressed the demon as an intelligent entity,
  commanding him to come out of his victim and to torment him no more.
  The worshipers at Capernaum, beholding His mighty power, "were
  all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this!
  for with authority and power He commandeth the unclean spirits, and
  they come out." Luke 4:36.
   
   
  Those
  possessed with devils are usually represented as being in a condition
  of great suffering; yet there were exceptions to this rule. For the
  sake of obtaining supernatural power, some welcomed the satanic
  influence. These of course had no conflict with the demons. Of this
  class were those who possessed the spirit of divination,--Simon
  Magus, Elymas the sorcerer, and the damsel who followed Paul and
  Silas at Philippi. None are in greater danger from the influence of
  evil spirits than those who, notwithstanding the direct and ample
  testimony of the Scriptures, deny the existence and agency of the
  devil and his angels. So long as we are ignorant of their wiles, they
  have almost inconceivable advantage; many give heed to their
  suggestions while they suppose themselves to be following the
  dictates of their own wisdom. This is why, as we approach the close
  of time, when Satan is to work with greatest power to deceive and
  destroy, he spreads everywhere the belief that he does not exist. It
  is his policy to conceal himself and his manner of working.
   
   
  There
  is nothing that the great deceiver fears so much as that we shall
  become acquainted with his devices. The better to disguise his real
  character and purposes, he has caused himself to be so represented as
  to excite no stronger emotion than ridicule or contempt. He is well
  pleased to be painted as a ludicrous or loathsome object, misshapen,
  half animal and half human. He is pleased to hear his name used in
  sport and mockery by those who think themselves intelligent and well
  informed.  It is because he has masked himself with consummate skill
  that the question is so widely asked: "Does such a being really
  exist?" It is an evidence of his success that theories giving
  the lie to the plainest testimony of the Scriptures are so generally
  received in the religious world. And it is because Satan can most
  readily control the minds of those who are unconscious of his
  influence, that the word of God gives us so many examples of his
  malignant work, unveiling before us his secret forces, and thus
  placing us on our guard against his assaults.
   
   
  The
  power and malice of Satan and his host might justly alarm us were it
  not that we may find shelter and deliverance in the superior power of
  our Redeemer. We carefully secure our houses with bolts and locks to
  protect our property and our lives from evil men; but we seldom think
  of the evil angels who are constantly seeking access to us, and
  against whose attacks we have, in our own strength, no method of
  defense. If permitted, they can distract our minds, disorder and
  torment our bodies, destroy our possessions and our lives. Their only
  delight is in misery and destruction. Fearful is the condition of
  those who resist the divine claims and yield to Satan's temptations,
  until God gives them up to the control of evil spirits. But those who
  follow Christ are ever safe under His watchcare. Angels that excel in
  strength are sent from heaven to protect them. The wicked one cannot
  break through the guard which God has stationed about His people. 
  
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 32. Deadly Deceptions Exposed 
   
  The
  great controversy between Christ and Satan, that has been carried
  forward for nearly six thousand years, is soon to close; and the
  wicked one redoubles his efforts to defeat the work of Christ in
  man's behalf and to fasten souls in his snares. To hold the people in
  darkness and impenitence till the Saviour's mediation is ended, and
  there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, is the object which he seeks
  to accomplish. When there is no special effort made to resist his
  power, when indifference prevails in the church and the world, Satan
  is not concerned; for he is in no danger of losing those whom he is
  leading captive at his will. But when the attention is called to
  eternal things, and souls are inquiring, "What must I do to be
  saved?" he is on the ground, seeking to match his power against
  the power of Christ and to counteract the influence of the Holy
  Spirit.
   
   
  The
  Scriptures declare that upon one occasion, when the angels of God
  came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among
  them (Job 1:6), not to bow before the Eternal King, but to further
  his own malicious designs against the righteous. With the same
  object, he is in attendance when men assemble for the worship of God.
  Though hidden from sight, he is working with all diligence to control
  the minds of the worshipers. Like a skillful general he lays his
  plans beforehand. As he sees the messenger of God searching the
  Scriptures, he takes note of the subject to be presented to the
  people. Then he employs all his cunning and shrewdness so to control
  circumstances that the message may not reach those whom he is
  deceiving on that very point. The one who most needs the warning will
  be urged into some business transaction which requires his presence,
  or will by some other means be prevented from hearing the words that
  might prove to him a savor of life unto life.
   
   
  Again,
  Satan sees the Lord's servants burdened because of the spiritual
  darkness that enshrouds the people. He hears their earnest prayers
  for divine grace and power to break the spell of indifference,
  carelessness, and indolence. Then with renewed zeal he plies his
  arts. He tempts men to the indulgence of appetite or to some other
  form of self-gratification, and thus benumbs their sensibilities so
  that they fail to hear the very things which they most need to learn.
   Satan well knows that all whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the
  searching of the Scriptures, will be overcome by his attacks.
  Therefore he invents every possible device to engross the mind.
   
   
  There
  has ever been a class professing godliness, who, instead of following
  on to know the truth, make it their religion to seek some fault of
  character or error of faith in those with whom they do not agree.
  Such are Satan's right-hand helpers. Accusers of the brethren are not
  few, and they are always active when God is at work and His servants
  are rendering Him true homage. They will put a false colouring upon
  the words and acts of those who love and obey the truth. They will
  represent the most earnest, zealous, self-denying servants of Christ
  as deceived or deceivers. It is their work to misrepresent the
  motives of every true and noble deed, to circulate insinuations, and
  arouse suspicion in the minds of the inexperienced. In every
  conceivable manner they will seek to cause that which is pure and
  righteous to be regarded as foul and deceptive.
   
   
  But
  none need be deceived concerning them. It may be readily seen whose
  children they are, whose example they follow, and whose work they do.
  "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16. Their
  course resembles that of Satan, the envenomed slanderer, "the
  accuser of our brethren." Revelation 12:10. The great deceiver
  has many agents ready to present any and every kind of error to
  ensnare souls-heresies prepared to suit the varied tastes and
  capacities of those whom he would ruin. It is his plan to bring into
  the church insincere, unregenerate elements that will encourage doubt
  and unbelief, and hinder all who desire to see the work of God
  advance and to advance with it. Many who have no real faith in God or
  in His word assent to some principles of truth and pass as
  Christians, and thus they are enabled to introduce their errors as
  Scriptural doctrines.
   
   
  The
  position that it is of no consequence what men believe is one of
  Satan's most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth, received
  in the love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore he
  is constantly seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another
  gospel. From the beginning the servants of God have contended against
  false teachers, not merely as vicious men, but as inculcators of
  falsehoods that were fatal to the soul. Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul,
  firmly and fearlessly opposed those who were turning men from the
  word of God. That liberality which regards a correct religious faith
  as unimportant found no favour with these holy defenders of the
  truth.
   
   
  The
  vague and fanciful interpretations of Scripture, and the many
  conflicting theories concerning religious faith, that are found in
  the Christian world are the work of our great adversary to confuse
  minds so that they shall not discern the truth. And the discord and
  division which exist among the churches of Christendom are in a great
  measure due to the prevailing custom of wresting the Scriptures to
  support a favourite theory. Instead of carefully studying God's word
  with humility of heart to obtain a knowledge of His will, many seek
  only to discover something odd or original.
   
   
  In
  order to sustain erroneous doctrines or unchristian practices, some
  will seize upon passages of Scripture separated from the context,
  perhaps quoting half of a single verse as proving their point, when
  the remaining portion would show the meaning to be quite the
  opposite. With the cunning of the serpent they entrench themselves
  behind disconnected utterances construed to suit their carnal
  desires. Thus do many willfully pervert the word of God. Others, who
  have an active imagination, seize upon the figures and symbols of
  Holy Writ, interpret them to suit their fancy, with little regard to
  the testimony of Scripture as its own interpreter, and then they
  present their vagaries as the teachings of the Bible.
   
   
  Whenever
  the study of the Scriptures is entered upon without a prayerful,
  humble, teachable spirit, the plainest and simplest as well as the
  most difficult passages will be wrested from their true meaning. The
  papal leaders select such portions of Scripture as best serve their
  purpose, interpret to suit themselves, and then present these to the
  people, while they deny them the privilege of studying the Bible and
  understanding its sacred truths for themselves. The whole Bible
  should be given to the people just as it reads. It would be better
  for them not to have Bible instruction at all than to have the
  teaching of the Scriptures thus grossly misrepresented.
   
   
  The
  Bible was designed to be a guide to all who wish to become acquainted
  with the will of their Maker. God gave to men the sure word of
  prophecy; angels and even Christ Himself came to make known to Daniel
  and John the things that must shortly come to pass. Those important
  matters that concern our salvation were not left involved in mystery.
  They were not revealed in such a way as to perplex and mislead the
  honest seeker after truth. Said the Lord by the prophet Habakkuk:
  "Write the vision, and make it plain, . . . that he may run that
  readeth it." Habakkuk 2:2. The word of God is plain to all who
  study it with a prayerful heart. Every truly honest soul will come to
  the light of truth. "Light is sown for the righteous."
  Psalm 97:11. And no church can advance in holiness unless its members
  are earnestly seeking for truth as for hid treasure.
   
   
  By
  the cry, Liberality, men are blinded to the devices of their
  adversary, while he is all the time working steadily for the
  accomplishment of his object. As he succeeds in supplanting the Bible
  by human speculations, the law of God is set aside, and the churches
  are under the bondage of sin while they claim to be free. To many,
  scientific research has become a curse. God has permitted a flood of
  light to be poured upon the world in discoveries in science and art;
  but even the greatest minds, if not guided by the word of God in
  their research, become bewildered in their attempts to investigate
  the relations of science and revelation.
   
   
  Human
  knowledge of both material and spiritual things is partial and
  imperfect; therefore many are unable to harmonize their views of
  science with Scripture statements. Many accept mere theories and
  speculations as scientific facts, and they think that God's word is
  to be tested by the teachings of "science falsely so called."
  1 Timothy 6:20. The Creator and His works are beyond their
  comprehension; and because they cannot explain these by natural laws,
  Bible history is regarded as unreliable. Those who doubt the
  reliability of the records of the Old and New Testaments too often go
  a step further and doubt the existence of God and attribute infinite
  power to nature. Having let go their anchor, they are left to beat
  about upon the rocks of infidelity.
   
   
  Thus
  many err from the faith and are seduced by the devil. Men have
  endeavoured to be wiser than their Creator; human philosophy has
  attempted to search out and explain mysteries which will never be
  revealed through the eternal ages. If men would but search and
  understand what God had made known of Himself and His purposes, they
  would obtain such a view of the glory, majesty, and power of Jehovah
  that they would realise their own littleness and would be content
  with that which has been revealed for themselves and their children.
   
   
  It
  is a masterpiece of Satan's deceptions to keep the minds of men
  searching and conjecturing in regard to that which God has not made
  known and which He does not intend that we shall understand. It was
  thus that Lucifer lost his place in heaven. He became dissatisfied
  because all the secrets of God's purposes were not confided to him,
  and he entirely disregarded that which was revealed concerning his
  own work in the lofty position assigned him. By arousing the same
  discontent in the angels under his command, he caused their fall. Now
  he seeks to imbue the minds of men with the same spirit and to lead
  them also to disregard the direct commands of God.
   
   
  Those
  who are unwilling to accept the plain, cutting truths of the Bible
  are continually seeking for pleasing fables that will quiet the
  conscience. The less spiritual, self-denying, and humiliating the
  doctrines presented, the greater the favour with which they are
  received. These persons degrade the intellectual powers to serve
  their carnal desires. Too wise in their own conceit to search the
  Scriptures with contrition of soul and earnest prayer for divine
  guidance, they have no shield from delusion. Satan is ready to supply
  the heart's desire, and he palms off his deceptions in the place of
  truth. It was thus that the papacy gained its power over the minds of
  men; and by rejection of the truth because it involves a cross,
  Protestants are following the same path. All who neglect the word of
  God to study convenience and policy, that they may not be at variance
  with the world, will be left to receive damnable heresy for religious
  truth.
   
   
  Every
  conceivable form of error will be accepted by those who willfully
  reject the truth. He who looks with horror upon one deception will
  readily receive another. The apostle Paul, speaking of a class who
  "received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,"
  declares: "For this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
  that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who
  believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2
  Thessalonians 2:10-12. With such a warning before us it behooves us
  to be on our guard as to what doctrines we receive. Among the most
  successful agencies of the great deceiver are the delusive teachings
  and lying wonders of spiritualism. Disguised as an angel of light, he
  spreads his nets where least suspected. If men would but study the
  Book of God with earnest prayer that they might understand it, they
  would not be left in darkness to receive false doctrines. But as they
  reject the truth they fall a prey to deception.
   
   
  Another
  dangerous error is the doctrine that denies the deity of Christ,
  claiming that He had no existence before His advent to this world.
  This theory is received with favour by a large class who profess to
  believe the Bible; yet it directly contradicts the plainest
  statements of our Saviour concerning His relationship with the
  Father, His divine character, and His pre-existence. It cannot be
  entertained without the most unwarranted wresting of the Scriptures.
  It not only lowers man's conceptions of the work of redemption, but
  undermines faith in the Bible as a revelation from God. While this
  renders it the more dangerous, it makes it also harder to meet. If
  men reject the testimony of the inspired Scriptures concerning the
  deity of Christ, it is in vain to argue the point with them; for no
  argument, however conclusive, could convince them. "The natural
  man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
  foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
  spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14. None who hold this
  error can have a true conception of the character or the mission of
  Christ, or of the great plan of God for man's redemption.
   
   
  Still
  another subtle and mischievous error is the fast-spreading belief
  that Satan has no existence as a personal being; that the name is
  used in Scripture merely to represent men's evil thoughts and
  desires.  The teaching so widely echoed from popular pulpits, that
  the second advent of Christ is His coming to each individual at
  death, is a device to divert the minds of men from His personal
  coming in the clouds of heaven. For years Satan has thus been saying,
  "Behold, He is in the secret chambers" (Matthew 24:23-26);
  and many souls have been lost by accepting this deception.
   
   
  Again,
  worldly wisdom teaches that prayer is not essential. Men of science
  claim that there can be no real answer to prayer; that this would be
  a violation of law, a miracle, and that miracles have no existence.
  The universe, say they, is governed by fixed laws, and God Himself
  does nothing contrary to these laws. Thus they represent God as bound
  by His own laws--as if the operation of divine laws could exclude
  divine freedom. Such teaching is opposed to the testimony of the
  Scriptures. Were not miracles wrought by Christ and His apostles? The
  same compassionate Saviour lives today, and He is as willing to
  listen to the prayer of faith as when He walked visibly among men.
  The natural cooperates with the supernatural. It is a part of God's
  plan to grant us, in answer to the prayer of faith, that which He
  would not bestow did we not thus ask.
   
   
  Innumerable
  are the erroneous doctrines and fanciful ideas that are obtaining
  among the churches of Christendom. It is impossible to estimate the
  evil results of removing one of the landmarks fixed by the word of
  God. Few who venture to do this stop with the rejection of a single
  truth. The majority continue to set aside one after another of the
  principles of truth, until they become actual infidels.  The errors
  of popular theology have driven many a soul to skepticism who might
  otherwise have been a believer in the Scriptures. It is impossible
  for him to accept doctrines which outrage his sense of justice,
  mercy, and benevolence; and since these are represented as the
  teaching of the Bible, he refuses to receive it as the word of God.
   
   
  And
  this is the object which Satan seeks to accomplish. There is nothing
  that he desires more than to destroy confidence in God and in His
  word. Satan stands at the head of the great army of doubters, and he
  works to the utmost of his power to beguile souls into his ranks. It
  is becoming fashionable to doubt. There is a large class by whom the
  word of God is looked upon with distrust for the same reason as was
  its Author--because it reproves and condemns sin. Those who are
  unwilling to obey its requirements endeavour to overthrow its
  authority. They read the Bible, or listen to its teachings as
  presented from the sacred desk, merely to find fault with the
  Scriptures or with the sermon. Not a few become infidels in order to
  justify or excuse themselves in neglect of duty. Others adopt
  skeptical principles from pride and indolence.
   
   
  Too
  ease-loving to distinguish themselves by accomplishing anything
  worthy of honour, which requires effort and self-denial, they aim to
  secure a reputation for superior wisdom by criticizing the Bible.
  There is much which the finite mind, unenlightened by divine wisdom,
  is powerless to comprehend; and thus they find occasion to criticize.
  There are many who seem to feel that it is a virtue to stand on the
  side of unbelief, skepticism, and infidelity. But underneath an
  appearance of candour it will be found that such persons are actuated
  by self-confidence and pride. Many delight in finding something in
  the Scriptures to puzzle the minds of others. Some at first criticize
  and reason on the wrong side, from a mere love of controversy. They
  do not realise that they are thus entangling themselves in the snare
  of the fowler. But having openly expressed unbelief, they feel that
  they must maintain their position. Thus they unite with the ungodly
  and close to themselves the gates of Paradise.
   
   
  God
  has given in His word sufficient evidence of its divine character.
  The great truths which concern our redemption are clearly presented.
  By the aid of the Holy Spirit, which is promised to all who seek it
  in sincerity, every man may understand these truths for himself. God
  has granted to men a strong foundation upon which to rest their
  faith.  Yet the finite minds of men are inadequate fully to
  comprehend the plans and purposes of the Infinite One. We can never
  by searching find out God. We must not attempt to lift with
  presumptuous hand the curtain behind which He veils His majesty. The
  apostle exclaims: "How unsearchable are His judgments, and His
  ways past finding out!" Romans 11:33. We can so far comprehend
  His dealings with us, and the motives by which He is actuated, that
  we may discern boundless love and mercy united to infinite power. Our
  Father in heaven orders everything in wisdom and righteousness, and
  we are not to be dissatisfied and distrustful, but to bow in reverent
  submission. He will reveal to us as much of His purposes as it is for
  our good to know, and beyond that we must trust the Hand that is
  omnipotent, the Heart that is full of love.
   
   
  While
  God has given ample evidence for faith, He will never remove all
  excuse for unbelief. All who look for hooks to hang their doubts upon
  will find them. And those who refuse to accept and obey God's word
  until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an
  opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light.  Distrust of God
  is the natural outgrowth of the unrenewed heart, which is at enmity
  with Him. But faith is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it will
  flourish only as it is cherished. No man can become strong in faith
  without a determined effort. Unbelief strengthens as it is
  encouraged; and if men, instead of dwelling upon the evidences which
  God has given to sustain their faith, permit themselves to question
  and cavil, they will find their doubts constantly becoming more
  confirmed.
   
   
  But
  those who doubt God's promises and distrust the assurance of His
  grace are dishonouring Him; and their influence, instead of drawing
  others to Christ, tends to repel them from Him. They are unproductive
  trees, that spread their dark branches far and wide, shutting away
  the sunlight from other plants, and causing them to droop and die
  under the chilling shadow. The lifework of these persons will appear
  as a never-ceasing witness against them. They are sowing seeds of
  doubt and skepticism that will yield an unfailing harvest.  There is
  but one course for those to pursue who honestly desire to be freed
  from doubts. Instead of questioning and caviling concerning that
  which they do not understand, let them give heed to the light which
  already shines upon them, and they will receive greater light. Let
  them do every duty which has been made plain to their understanding,
  and they will be enabled to understand and perform those of which
  they are now in doubt.
   
   
  Satan
  can present a counterfeit so closely resembling the truth that it
  deceives those who are willing to be deceived, who desire to shun the
  self-denial and sacrifice demanded by the truth; but it is impossible
  for him to hold under his power one soul who honestly desires, at
  whatever cost, to know the truth. Christ is the truth and the "Light,
  which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9.
  The Spirit of truth has been sent to guide men into all truth. And
  upon the authority of the Son of God it is declared: "Seek, and
  ye shall find." "If any man will do His will, he shall know
  of the doctrine." Matthew 7:7; John 7:17.
   
   
  The
  followers of Christ know little of the plots which Satan and his
  hosts are forming against them. But He who sitteth in the heavens
  will overrule all these devices for the accomplishment of His deep
  designs. The Lord permits His people to be subjected to the fiery
  ordeal of temptation, not because He takes pleasure in their distress
  and affliction, but because this process is essential to their final
  victory. He could not, consistently with His own glory, shield them
  from temptation; for the very object of the trial is to prepare them
  to resist all the allurements of evil.
   
   
  Neither
  wicked men nor devils can hinder the work of God, or shut out His
  presence from His people, if they will, with subdued, contrite
  hearts, confess and put away their sins, and in faith claim His
  promises. Every temptation, every opposing influence, whether open or
  secret, may be successfully resisted, "not by might, nor by
  power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zechariah
  4:6.  "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears
  are open unto their prayers. . . . And who is he that will harm you,
  if ye be followers of that which is good?" 1 Peter 3:12, 13.
   
   
  When
  Balaam, allured by the promise of rich rewards, practiced
  enchantments against Israel, and by sacrifices to the Lord sought to
  invoke a curse upon His people, the Spirit of God forbade the evil
  which he longed to pronounce, and Balaam was forced to exclaim: "How
  shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom
  the Lord hath not defied?" "Let me die the death of the
  righteous, and let my last end be like his!" When sacrifice had
  again been offered, the ungodly prophet declared: "Behold, I
  have received commandment to bless: and He hath blessed; and I cannot
  reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He
  seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the
  shout of a King is among them." "Surely there is no
  enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against
  Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of
  Israel, What hath God wrought!"
   
   
  Yet
  a third time altars were erected, and again Balaam essayed to secure
  a curse. But from the unwilling lips of the prophet, the Spirit of
  God declared the prosperity of His chosen, and rebuked the folly and
  malice of their foes: "Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and
  cursed is he that curseth thee." Numbers 23:8, 10, 20, 21, 23;
  24:9.  The people of Israel were at this time loyal to God; and so
  long as they continued in obedience to His law, no power in earth or
  hell could prevail against them. But the curse which Balaam had not
  been permitted to pronounce against God's people, he finally
  succeeded in bringing upon them by seducing them into sin. When they
  transgressed God's commandments, then they separated themselves from
  Him, and they were left to feel the power of the destroyer.
   
   
  Satan
  is well aware that the weakest soul who abides in Christ is more than
  a match for the hosts of darkness, and that, should he reveal himself
  openly, he would be met and resisted. Therefore he seeks to draw away
  the soldiers of the cross from their strong fortification, while he
  lies in ambush with his forces, ready to destroy all who venture upon
  his ground. Only in humble reliance upon God, and obedience to all
  His commandments, can we be secure.  No man is safe for a day or an
  hour without prayer. Especially should we entreat the Lord for wisdom
  to understand His word. Here are revealed the wiles of the tempter
  and the means by which he may be successfully resisted. Satan is an
  expert in quoting Scripture, placing his own interpretation upon
  passages, by which he hopes to cause us to stumble. We should study
  the Bible with humility of heart, never losing sight of our
  dependence upon God. While we must constantly guard against the
  devices of Satan, we should pray in faith continually: "Lead us
  not into temptation."   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 33. First Great Deception 
   
  With
  the earliest history of man, Satan began his efforts to deceive our
  race. He who had incited rebellion in heaven desired to bring the
  inhabitants of the earth to unite with him in his warfare against the
  government of God. Adam and Eve had been perfectly happy in obedience
  to the law of God, and this fact was a constant testimony against the
  claim which Satan had urged in heaven, that God's law was oppressive
  and opposed to the good of His creatures. And furthermore, Satan's
  envy was excited as he looked upon the beautiful home prepared for
  the sinless pair. He determined to cause their fall, that, having
  separated them from God and brought them under his own power, he
  might gain possession of the earth and here establish his kingdom in
  opposition to the Most High.
   
   
  Had
  Satan revealed himself in his real character, he would have been
  repulsed at once, for Adam and Eve had been warned against this
  dangerous foe; but he worked in the dark, concealing his purpose,
  that he might more effectually accomplish his object. Employing as
  his medium the serpent, then a creature of fascinating appearance, he
  addressed himself to Eve: "Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of
  every tree of the garden?" Genesis 3:1. Had Eve refrained from
  entering into argument with the tempter, she would have been safe;
  but she ventured to parley with him and fell a victim to his wiles.
  It is thus that many are still overcome. They doubt and argue
  concerning the requirements of God; and instead of obeying the divine
  commands, they accept human theories, which but disguise the devices
  of Satan.
   
   
  "The
  woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of
  the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
  garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch
  it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not
  surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then
  your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
  evil." Verses 2-5. He declared that they would become like God,
  possessing greater wisdom than before and being capable of a higher
  state of existence. Eve yielded to temptation; and through her
  influence, Adam was led into sin. They accepted the words of the
  serpent, that God did not mean what He said; they distrusted their
  Creator and imagined that He was restricting their liberty and that
  they might obtain great wisdom and exaltation by transgressing His
  law.
   
   
  But
  what did Adam, after his sin, find to be the meaning of the words,
  "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"?
  Did he find them to mean, as Satan had led him to believe, that he
  was to be ushered into a more exalted state of existence? Then indeed
  there was great good to be gained by transgression, and Satan was
  proved to be a benefactor of the race. But Adam did not find this to
  be the meaning of the divine sentence. God declared that as a penalty
  for his sin, man should return to the ground whence he was taken:
  "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Verse 19.
  The words of Satan, "Your eyes shall be opened," proved to
  be true in this sense only: After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God,
  their eyes were opened to discern their folly; they did know evil,
  and they tasted the bitter fruit of transgression.
   
   
  In
  the midst of Eden grew the tree of life, whose fruit had the power of
  perpetuating life. Had Adam remained  obedient to God, he would have
  continued to enjoy free access to this tree and would have lived
  forever. But when he sinned he was cut off from partaking of the tree
  of life, and he became subject to death. The divine sentence, "Dust
  thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," points to the utter
  extinction of life.  Immortality, promised to man on condition of
  obedience, had been forfeited by transgression. Adam could not
  transmit to his posterity that which he did not possess; and there
  could have been no hope for the fallen race had not God, by the
  sacrifice of His Son, brought immortality within their reach. While
  "death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,"
  Christ "hath brought life and immortality to light through the
  gospel." Romans 5:12; 2 Timothy 1:10. And only through Christ
  can immortality be obtained. Said Jesus: "He that believeth on
  the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
  shall not see life." John 3:36. Every man may come into
  possession of this priceless blessing if he will comply with the
  conditions. All "who by patient continuance in well-doing seek
  for glory and honour and immortality," will receive "eternal
  life." Romans 2:7.
   
   
  The
  only one who promised Adam life in disobedience was the great
  deceiver. And the declaration of the serpent to Eve in Eden--"Ye
  shall not surely die"--was the first sermon ever preached upon
  the immortality of the soul. Yet this declaration, resting solely
  upon the authority of Satan, is echoed from the pulpits of
  Christendom and is received by the majority of mankind as readily as
  it was received by our first parents. The divine sentence, "The
  soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20), is made to
  mean: The soul that sinneth, it shall not die, but live eternally. We
  cannot but wonder at the strange infatuation which renders men so
  credulous concerning the words of Satan and so unbelieving in regard
  to the words of God.  Had man after his fall been allowed free access
  to the tree  of life, he would have lived forever, and thus sin would
  have been immortalized. But cherubim and a flaming sword kept "the
  way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24), and not one of the
  family of Adam has been permitted to pass that barrier and partake of
  the life-giving fruit. Therefore there is not an immortal sinner.
   
   
  But
  after the Fall, Satan bade his angels make a special effort to
  inculcate the belief in man's natural immortality; and having induced
  the people to receive this error, they were to lead them on to
  conclude that the sinner would live in eternal misery. Now the prince
  of darkness, working through his agents, represents God as a
  revengeful tyrant, declaring that He plunges into hell all those who
  do not please Him, and causes them ever to feel His wrath; and that
  while they suffer unutterable anguish and writhe in the eternal
  flames, their Creator looks down upon them with satisfaction.
   
   
  Thus
  the archfiend clothes with his own attributes the Creator and
  Benefactor of mankind. Cruelty is satanic. God is love; and all that
  He created was pure, holy, and lovely, until sin was brought in by
  the first great rebel. Satan himself is the enemy who tempts man to
  sin, and then destroys him if he can; and when he has made sure of
  his victim, then he exults in the ruin he has wrought. If permitted,
  he would sweep the entire race into his net. Were it not for the
  interposition of divine power, not one son or daughter of Adam would
  escape.
   
   
  Satan
  is seeking to overcome men today, as he overcame our first parents,
  by shaking their confidence in their Creator and leading them to
  doubt the wisdom of His government and the justice of His laws. Satan
  and his emissaries represent God as even worse than themselves, in
  order to justify their own malignity and rebellion. The great
  deceiver endeavours to shift his own horrible cruelty of character
  upon our heavenly Father, that he may cause himself to appear as one
  greatly wronged by his expulsion from heaven because he would not
  submit to so unjust a governor. He presents before the world the
  liberty which they may enjoy under his mild sway, in contrast with
  the bondage imposed by the stern decrees of Jehovah. Thus he succeeds
  in luring souls away from their allegiance to God.
   
   
  How
  repugnant to every emotion of love and mercy, and even to our sense
  of justice, is the doctrine that the wicked dead are tormented with
  fire and brimstone in an eternally burning hell; that for the sins of
  a brief earthly life they are to suffer torture as long as God shall
  live. Yet this doctrine has been widely taught and is still embodied
  in many of the creeds of Christendom. Said a learned doctor of
  divinity: "The sight of hell torments will exalt the happiness
  of the saints forever. When they see others who are of the same
  nature and born under the same circumstances, plunged in such misery,
  and they so distinguished, it will make them sensible of how happy
  they are." Another used these words: "While the decree of
  reprobation is eternally executing on the vessels of wrath, the smoke
  of their torment will be eternally ascending in view of the vessels
  of mercy, who, instead of taking the part of these miserable objects,
  will say, Amen, Alleluia! praise ye the Lord!"
   
   
  Where,
  in the pages of God's word, is such teaching to be found? Will the
  redeemed in heaven be lost to all emotions of pity and compassion,
  and even to feelings of common humanity? Are these to be exchanged
  for the indifference of the stoic or the cruelty of the savage? No,
  no; such is not the teaching of the Book of God. Those who present
  the views expressed in the quotations given above may be learned and
  even honest men, but they are deluded by the sophistry of Satan. He
  leads them to misconstrue strong expressions of Scripture, giving to
  the language the colouring of bitterness and malignity which pertains
  to himself, but not to our Creator. "As I live, saith the Lord
  God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
  wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil
  ways; for why will ye die?" Ezekiel 33:11.
   
   
  What
  would be gained to God should we admit that He delights in witnessing
  unceasing tortures; that He is regaled with the groans and shrieks
  and imprecations of the suffering creatures whom He holds in the
  flames of hell? Can these horrid sounds be music in the ear of
  Infinite Love? It is urged that the infliction of endless misery upon
  the wicked would show God's hatred of sin as an evil which is ruinous
  to the peace and order of the universe. Oh, dreadful blasphemy! As if
  God's hatred of sin is the reason why it is perpetuated. For,
  according to the teachings of these theologians, continued torture
  without hope of mercy maddens its wretched victims, and as they pour
  out their rage in curses and blasphemy, they are forever augmenting
  their load of guilt. God's glory is not enhanced by thus perpetuating
  continually increasing sin through ceaseless ages.
   
   
  It
  is beyond the power of the human mind to estimate the evil which has
  been wrought by the heresy of eternal torment. The religion of the
  Bible, full of love and goodness, and abounding in compassion, is
  darkened by superstition and clothed with terror. When we consider in
  what false colours Satan has painted the character of God, can we
  wonder that our merciful Creator is feared, dreaded, and even hated?
  The appalling views of God which have spread over the world from the
  teachings of the pulpit have made thousands, yes, millions, of
  skeptics and infidels.
   
   
  The
  theory of eternal torment is one of the false doctrines that
  constitute the wine of the abomination of Babylon, of which she makes
  all nations drink. Revelation 14:8; 17:2. That ministers of Christ
  should have accepted this heresy and proclaimed it from the sacred
  desk is indeed a mystery. They received it from Rome, as they
  received the false sabbath. True, it has been taught by great and
  good men; but the light on this subject had not come to them as it
  has come to us. They were responsible only for the light which shone
  in their time; we are accountable for that which shines in our day.
  If we turn from the testimony of God's word, and accept false
  doctrines because our fathers taught them, we fall under the
  condemnation pronounced upon Babylon; we are drinking of the wine of
  her abomination.
   
   
  A
  large class to whom the doctrine of eternal torment is revolting are
  driven to the opposite error. They see that the Scriptures represent
  God as a being of love and compassion, and they cannot believe that
  He will consign His creatures to the fires of an eternally burning
  hell. But holding that the soul is naturally immortal, they see no
  alternative but to conclude that all mankind will finally be saved.
  Many regard the threatenings of the Bible as designed merely to
  frighten men into obedience, and not to be literally fulfilled. Thus
  the sinner can live in selfish pleasure, disregarding the
  requirements of God, and yet expect to be finally received into His
  favour. Such a doctrine, presuming upon God's mercy, but ignoring His
  justice, pleases the carnal heart and emboldens the wicked in their
  iniquity.
   
   
  To
  show how believers in universal salvation wrest the Scriptures to
  sustain their soul-destroying dogmas, it is needful only to cite
  their own utterances. At the funeral of an irreligious young man, who
  had been killed instantly by an accident, a Universalist minister
  selected as his text the Scripture statement concerning David: "He
  was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead." 2 Samuel
  13:39.  "I am frequently asked," said the speaker, what
  will be the fate of those who leave the world in sin, die, perhaps,
  in a state of inebriation, die with the scarlet stains of crime
  unwashed from their robes, or die as this young man died, having
  never made a profession or enjoyed an experience of religion. We are
  content with the Scriptures; their answer shall solve the awful
  problem. Amnon was exceedingly sinful; he was unrepentant, he was
  made drunk, and while drunk was killed. David was a prophet of God;
  he must have known whether it would be ill or well for Amnon in the
  world to come. What were the expressions of his heart?
   
   
  `The
  soul of King David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was
  comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.' Verse 39.  And what
  is the inference to be deduced from this language? Is it not that
  endless suffering formed no part of his religious belief? So we
  conceive; and here we discover a triumphant argument in support of
  the more pleasing, more enlightened, more benevolent hypothesis of
  ultimate universal purity and peace. He was comforted, seeing his son
  was dead. And why so? Because by the eye of prophecy he could look
  forward into the glorious future and see that son far removed from
  all temptations, released from the bondage and purified from the
  corruptions of sin, and after being made sufficiently holy and
  enlightened, admitted to the assembly of ascended and rejoicing
  spirits. His only comfort was that, in being removed from the present
  state of sin and suffering, his beloved son had gone where the
  loftiest breathings of the Holy Spirit would be shed upon his
  darkened soul, where his mind would be unfolded to the wisdom of
  heaven and the sweet raptures of immortal love, and thus prepared
  with a sanctified nature to enjoy the rest and society of the
  heavenly inheritance.
   
   
  "In
  these thoughts we would be understood to believe that the salvation
  of heaven depends upon nothing which we can do in this life; neither
  upon a present change of heart, nor upon present belief, or a present
  profession of religion."  Thus does the professed minister of
  Christ reiterate the falsehood uttered by the serpent in Eden: "Ye
  shall not surely die." "In the day ye eat thereof, then
  your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods." He declares
  that the vilest of sinners--the murderer, the thief, and the
  adulterer--will after death be prepared to enter into immortal bliss.
   
   
  And
  from what does this perverter of the Scriptures draw his conclusions?
  From a single sentence expressing David's submission to the
  dispensation of Providence. His soul "longed to go forth unto
  Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead."
  The poignancy of his grief having been softened by time, his thoughts
  turned from the dead to the living son, self-banished through fear of
  the just punishment of his crime. And this is the evidence that the
  incestuous, drunken Amnon was at death immediately transported to the
  abodes of bliss, there to be purified and prepared for the
  companionship of sinless angels! A pleasing fable indeed, well suited
  to gratify the carnal heart! This is Satan's own doctrine, and it
  does his work effectually. Should we be surprised that, with such
  instruction, wickedness abounds?
   
   
  The
  course pursued by this one false teacher illustrates that of many
  others. A few words of Scripture are separated from the context,
  which would in many cases show their meaning to be exactly opposite
  to the interpretation put upon them; and such disjointed passages are
  perverted and used in proof of doctrines that have no foundation in
  the word of God. The testimony cited as evidence that the drunken
  Amnon is in heaven is a mere inference directly contradicted by the
  plain and positive statement of the Scriptures that no drunkard shall
  inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:10. It is thus that
  doubters, unbelievers, and skeptics turn the truth into a lie. And
  multitudes have been deceived by their sophistry and rocked to sleep
  in the cradle of carnal security.
   
   
  If
  it were true that the souls of all men passed directly to heaven at
  the hour of dissolution, then we might well covet death rather than
  life. Many have been led by this belief to put an end to their
  existence. When overwhelmed with trouble, perplexity, and
  disappointment, it seems an easy thing to break the brittle thread of
  life and soar away into the bliss of the eternal world. God has given
  in His word decisive evidence that He will punish the transgressors
  of His law.
   
   
  Those
  who flatter  themselves that He is too merciful to execute justice
  upon the sinner, have only to look to the cross of Calvary. The death
  of the spotless Son of God testifies that "the wages of sin is
  death," that every violation of God's law must receive its just
  retribution. Christ the sinless became sin for man. He bore the guilt
  of transgression, and the hiding of His Father's face, until His
  heart was broken and His life crushed out. All this sacrifice was
  made that sinners might be redeemed. In no other way could man be
  freed from the penalty of sin. And every soul that refuses to become
  a partaker of the atonement provided at such a cost must bear in his
  own person the guilt and punishment of transgression.
   
   
  Let
  us consider what the Bible teaches further concerning the ungodly and
  unrepentant, whom the Universalist places in heaven as holy, happy
  angels.  "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain
  of the water of life freely." Revelation 21:6. This promise is
  only to those that thirst. None but those who feel their need of the
  water of life, and seek it at the loss of all things else, will be
  supplied. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I
  will be his God, and he shall be My son." Verse 7. Here, also,
  conditions are specified. In order to inherit all things, we must
  resist and overcome sin.
   
   
  The
  Lord declares by the prophet Isaiah: "Say ye to the righteous,
  that it shall be well with him." "Woe unto the wicked! it
  shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given
  him." Isaiah 3:10, 11. "Though a sinner do evil an hundred
  times," says the wise man, "and his days be prolonged, yet
  surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which
  fear before Him: but it shall not be well with the wicked."
  Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13. And Paul testifies that the sinner is
  treasuring up unto himself "wrath against the day of wrath and
  revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every
  man according to his deeds;" "tribulation and anguish upon
  every soul of man that doeth evil." Romans 2:5, 6,9.
   
   
  "No
  fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater,
  hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."
  Ephesians 5:5, A.R.V. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness,
  without which no man shall see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14.
  "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have
  right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into
  the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
  murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."
  Revelation 22:14, 15.
   
   
  God
  has given to men a declaration of His character and of His method of
  dealing with sin. "The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
  long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
  thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that
  will by no means clear the guilty." Exodus 34:6, 7. "All
  the wicked will He destroy." "The transgressors shall be
  destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off."
  Psalms 145:20; 37:38. The power and authority of the divine
  government will be employed to put down rebellion; yet all the
  manifestations of retributive justice will be perfectly consistent
  with the character of God as a merciful, longsuffering, benevolent
  being.
   
   
  God
  does not force the will or judgment of any. He takes no pleasure in a
  slavish obedience. He desires that the creatures of His hands shall
  love Him because He is worthy of love. He would have them obey Him
  because they have an intelligent appreciation of His wisdom, justice,
  and benevolence. And all who have a just conception of these
  qualities will love Him because they are drawn toward Him in
  admiration of His attributes.  The principles of kindness, mercy, and
  love, taught and exemplified by our Saviour, are a transcript of the
  will and character of God. Christ declared that He taught nothing
  except that which He had received from His Father.
   
   
  The
  principles of the divine government are in perfect harmony with the
  Saviour's precept, "Love your enemies." God executes
  justice upon the wicked, for the good of the universe, and even for
  the good of those upon whom His judgments are visited. He would make
  them happy if He could do so in accordance with the laws of His
  government and the justice of His character. He surrounds them with
  the tokens of His love, He grants them a knowledge of His law, and
  follows them with the offers of His mercy; but they despise His love,
  make void His law, and reject His mercy. While constantly receiving
  His gifts, they dishonour the Giver; they hate God because they know
  that He abhors their sins. The Lord bears long with their perversity;
  but the decisive hour will come at last, when their destiny is to be
  decided. Will He then chain these rebels to His side? Will He force
  them to do His will?
   
   
  Those
  who have chosen Satan as their leader and have been controlled by his
  power are not prepared to enter the presence of God. Pride,
  deception, licentiousness, cruelty, have become fixed in their
  characters. Can they enter heaven to dwell forever with those whom
  they despised and hated on earth? Truth will never be agreeable to a
  liar; meekness will not satisfy self-esteem and pride; purity is not
  acceptable to the corrupt; disinterested love does not appear
  attractive to the selfish. What source of enjoyment could heaven
  offer to those who are wholly absorbed in earthly and selfish
  interests?
   
   
  Could
  those whose lives have been spent in rebellion against God be
  suddenly transported to heaven and witness the high, the holy state
  of perfection that ever exists there,-- every soul filled with love,
  every countenance beaming with joy, enrapturing music in melodious
  strains rising in honour of God and the Lamb, and ceaseless streams
  of light flowing upon the redeemed from the face of Him who sitteth
  upon the throne,--could those whose hearts are filled with hatred of
  God, of truth and holiness, mingle with the heavenly throng and join
  their songs of praise? Could they endure the glory of God and the
  Lamb? No, no; years of probation were granted them, that they might
  form characters for heaven; but they have never trained the mind to
  love purity; they have never learned the language of heaven, and now
  it is too late.
   
   
  A
  life of rebellion against God has unfitted them for heaven. Its
  purity, holiness, and peace would be torture to them; the glory of
  God would be a consuming fire. They would long to flee from that holy
  place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from
  the face of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is
  fixed by their own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary
  with themselves, and just and merciful on the part of God.  Like the
  waters of the Flood the fires of the great day declare God's verdict
  that the wicked are incurable. They have no disposition to submit to
  divine authority. Their will has been exercised in revolt; and when
  life is ended, it is too late to turn the current of their thoughts
  in the opposite direction, too late to turn from transgression to
  obedience, from hatred to love.
   
   
  In
  sparing the life of Cain the murderer, God gave the world an example
  of what would be the result of permitting the sinner to live to
  continue a course of unbridled iniquity. Through the influence of
  Cain's teaching and example, multitudes of his descendants were led
  into sin, until "the wickedness of man was great in the earth"
  and "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
  evil continually." "The earth also was corrupt before God,
  and the earth was filled with violence." Genesis 6:5, 11.  In
  mercy to the world, God blotted out its wicked inhabitants in Noah's
  time. In mercy He destroyed the corrupt dwellers in Sodom. Through
  the deceptive power of Satan the workers of iniquity obtain sympathy
  and admiration, and are thus constantly leading others to rebellion.
  It was so in Cain's and in Noah's day, and in the time of Abraham and
  Lot; it is so in our time. It is in mercy to the universe that God
  will finally destroy the rejecters of His grace.
   
   
  "The
  wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
  Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. While life is the
  inheritance of the righteous, death is the portion of the wicked.
  Moses declared to Israel: "I have set before thee this day life
  and good, and death and evil." Deuteronomy 30:15. The death
  referred to in these scriptures is not that pronounced upon Adam, for
  all mankind suffer the penalty of his transgression. It is "the
  second death" that is placed in contrast with everlasting life.
   
   
  In
  consequence of Adam's sin, death passed upon the whole human race.
  All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the
  plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves.
  "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and
  unjust;" "for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall
  all be made alive." Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:22. But a
  distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth.
  "All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come
  forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
  they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
  John 5:28, 29. They who have been "accounted worthy" of the
  resurrection of life are "blessed and holy." "On such
  the second death hath no power." Revelation 20:6.
   
   
  But
  those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon,
  must receive the penalty of transgression--"the wages of sin."
  They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, "according
  to their works," but finally ending in the second death. Since
  it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to
  save the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which
  his transgressions have forfeited and of which he has proved himself
  unworthy. Says an inspired writer: "Yet a little while, and the
  wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place,
  and it shall not be." And another declares: "They shall be
  as though  they had not been." Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered
  with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.
   
   
  Thus
  will be made an end of sin, with all the woe and ruin which have
  resulted from it. Says the psalmist: "Thou hast destroyed the
  wicked, Thou hast put out their name forever and ever. O thou enemy,
  destructions are come to a perpetual end." Psalm 9:5, 6. John,
  in the Revelation, looking forward to the eternal state, hears a
  universal anthem of praise undisturbed by one note of discord. Every
  creature in heaven and earth was heard ascribing glory to God.
  Revelation 5:13. There will then be no lost souls to blaspheme God as
  they writhe in never-ending torment; no wretched beings in hell will
  mingle their shrieks with the songs of the saved.
   
   
  Upon
  the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of
  consciousness in death--a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to
  the teachings of the Scriptures,to the dictates of reason, and to our
  feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the redeemed
  in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and
  especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind.
  But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the
  troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by their own
  loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows,
  disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of heaven's bliss
  would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on
  earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the
  breath leaves the body the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the
  flames of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged who
  see their friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon an
  eternity of woe and sin! Many have been driven to insanity by this
  harrowing thought.
   
   
  What
  say the Scriptures concerning these things? David declares that man
  is not conscious in death. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth
  to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Psalm
  146:4. Solomon bears the same testimony: "The living know that
  they shall die: but the dead know not anything." "Their
  love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have
  they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the
  sun." "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor
  wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6,
  10.
   
   
  When,
  in answer to his prayer, Hezekiah's life was prolonged fifteen years,
  the grateful king rendered to God a tribute of praise for His great
  mercy. In this song he tells the reason why he thus rejoices: "The
  grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee: they that go
  down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living,
  he shall praise Thee, as I do this day." Isaiah 38:18, 19.
  Popular theology represents the righteous dead as in heaven, entered
  into bliss and praising God with an immortal tongue; but Hezekiah
  could see no such glorious prospect in death. With his words agrees
  the testimony of the psalmist: "In death there is no remembrance
  of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" "The
  dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence."
  Psalms 6:5; 115:17.
   
   
  Peter
  on the Day of Pentecost declared that the patriarch David "is
  both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day."
  "For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29,
  34. The fact that David remains in the grave until the resurrection
  proves that the righteous do not go to heaven at death. It is only
  through the resurrection, and by virtue of the fact that Christ has
  risen, that David can at last sit at the right hand of God.  And said
  Paul: "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if
  Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."
  I Corinthians 15:16-18. If for four thousand years the righteous had
  gone directly to heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if
  there is no resurrection, "they also which are fallen asleep in
  Christ are perished"? No resurrection would be necessary.
   
   
  The
  martyr Tyndale, referring to the state of the dead, declared: "I
  confess openly, that I am not persuaded that they be already in the
  full glory that Christ is in, or the elect angels of God are in.
  Neither is it any article of my faith; for if it were so, I see not
  but then the preaching of the resurrection of the flesh were a thing
  in vain."--William Tyndale, Preface to New Testament (ed. 1534).
  Reprinted in British Reformers--Tindal, Frith, Barnes, page 349.  It
  is an undeniable fact that the hope of immortal blessedness at death
  has led to a widespread neglect of the Bible doctrine of the
  resurrection. This tendency was remarked by Dr. Adam Clarke, who
  said: "The doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been
  thought of much more consequence among the primitive Christians than
  it is now! How is this? The apostles were continually insisting on
  it, and exciting the followers of God to diligence, obedience, and
  cheerfulness through it. And their successors in the present day
  seldom mention it! So apostles preached, and so primitive Christians
  believed; so we preach, and so our hearers believe. There is not a
  doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not
  a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is treated with
  more neglect!"-- Commentary, remarks on I Corinthians 15,
  paragraph 3.
   
   
  This
  has continued until the glorious truth of the resurrection has been
  almost wholly obscured and lost sight of by the Christian world. Thus
  a leading religious writer, commenting on the words of Paul in I
  Thessalonians 4:13-18, says: "For all practical purposes of
  comfort the doctrine of the blessed immortality of the righteous
  takes the place for us of any doubtful doctrine of the Lord's second
  coming. At our death the Lord comes for us. That is what we are to
  wait and watch for. The dead are already passed into glory. They do
  not wait for the trump for their judgment and blessedness."
   
   
  But
  when about to leave His disciples, Jesus did not tell them that they
  would soon come to Him. "I go to prepare a place for you,"
  He said. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
  again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:2, 3. And Paul
  tells us, further, that "the Lord Himself shall descend from
  heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the
  trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which
  are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
  clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
  Lord." And he adds: "Comfort one another with these words."
  I Thessalonians 4:16-18. How wide the contrast between these words of
  comfort and those of the Universalist minister previously quoted! The
  latter consoled the bereaved friends with the assurance that, however
  sinful the dead might have been, when he breathed out his life here
  he was to be received among the angels. Paul points his brethren to
  the future coming of the Lord, when the fetters of the tomb shall be
  broken, and the "dead in Christ" shall be raised to eternal
  life.
   
   
  Before
  any can enter the mansions of the blessed, their cases must be
  investigated, and their characters and their deeds must pass in
  review before God. All are to be judged according to the things
  written in the books and to be rewarded as their works have been.
  This judgment does not take place at death. Mark the words of Paul:
  "He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world
  in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath
  given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the
  dead." Acts 17:31. Here the apostle plainly stated that a
  specified time, then future, had been fixed upon for the judgment of
  the world.
   
   
  Jude
  refers to the same period: "The angels which kept not their
  first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in
  everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great
  day." And, again, he quotes the words of Enoch: "Behold,
  the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His  saints, to execute
  judgment upon all." Jude 6, 14, 15. John declares that he "saw
  the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
  opened: . . . and the dead were judged out of those things which were
  written in the books." Revelation 20:12.
   
   
  But
  if the dead are already enjoying the bliss of heaven or writhing in
  the flames of hell, what need of a future judgment? The teachings of
  God's word on these important points are neither obscure nor
  contradictory; they may be understood by common minds. But what
  candid mind can see either wisdom or justice in the current theory?
  Will the righteous, after the investigation of their cases at the
  judgment, receive the commendation, "Well done, thou good and
  faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,"
  when they have been dwelling in His presence, perhaps for long ages?
  Are the wicked summoned from the place of torment to receive sentence
  from the Judge of all the earth: "Depart from Me, ye cursed,
  into everlasting fire"? Matthew 25:21, 41. Oh, solemn mockery!
  shameful impeachment of the wisdom and justice of God!
   
   
  The
  theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false
  doctrines that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the
  religion of Christendom. Martin Luther classed it with the "monstrous
  fables that form part of the Roman dunghill of decretals."--E.
  Petavel, The Problem of Immortality, page 255. Commenting on the
  words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that the dead know not anything,
  the Reformer says: "Another place proving that the dead have no
  . . . feeling. There is, saith he, no duty, no science, no knowledge,
  no wisdom there. Solomon judgeth that the dead are asleep, and feel
  nothing at all. For the dead lie there, accounting neither days nor
  years, but when they are awaked, they shall seem to have slept scarce
  one minute."-- Martin Luther, Exposition of Solomon's Booke
  Called Ecclesiastes, page 152.
   
   
  Nowhere
  in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement  that the righteous
  go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The
  patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His
  apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the
  dead do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as
  sleeping until the resurrection. I Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10-12.
  In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl
  broken (Ecclesiastes 12:6), man's thoughts perish. They that go down
  to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is
  done under the sun. Job 14:21. Blessed rest for the weary righteous!
   
   
  Time,
  be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are
  awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. "For the
  trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. . .
  . So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
  mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
  the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." I
  Corinthians 15:52-54. As they are called forth from their deep
  slumber they begin to think just where they ceased. The last
  sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were
  falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the
  tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout:
  "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
  Verse 55.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 34. Can Our Dead Speak to Us? 
   
  The
  ministration of holy angels, as presented in the Scriptures, is a
  truth most comforting and precious to every follower of Christ. But
  the Bible teaching upon this point has been obscured and perverted by
  the errors of popular theology. The doctrine of natural immortality,
  first borrowed from the pagan philosophy, and in the darkness of the
  great apostasy incorporated into the Christian faith, has supplanted
  the truth, so plainly taught in Scripture, that "the dead know
  not anything." Multitudes have come to believe that it is
  spirits of the dead who are the "ministering spirits, sent forth
  to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." And this
  notwithstanding the testimony of Scripture to the existence of
  heavenly angels, and their connection with the history of man, before
  the death of a human being.
   
   
  The
  doctrine of man's consciousness in death, especially the belief that
  spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared
  the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the
  presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far
  exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to
  the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? If, as taught by
  popular theologians, spirits of the dead are hovering about their
  friends on earth, why should they not be permitted to communicate
  with them, to warn them against evil, or to comfort  them in sorrow?
  How can those who believe in man's consciousness in death reject what
  comes to them as divine light communicated by glorified spirits? Here
  is a channel regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the
  accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his bidding
  appear as messengers from the spirit world. While professing to bring
  the living into communication with the dead, the prince of evil
  exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds.
   
   
  He
  has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed
  friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words,
  the tone, are reproduced with marvellous distinctness. Many are
  comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the
  bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear "to
  seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."  When they have been
  led to believe that the dead actually return to communicate with
  them, Satan causes those to appear who went into the grave
  unprepared. They claim to be happy in heaven and even to occupy
  exalted positions there, and thus the error is widely taught that no
  difference is made between the righteous and the wicked. The
  pretended visitants from the world of spirits sometimes utter
  cautions and warnings which prove to be correct. Then, as confidence
  is gained, they present doctrines that directly undermine faith in
  the Scriptures.
   
   
  With
  an appearance of deep interest in the well-being of their friends on
  earth, they insinuate the most dangerous errors. The fact that they
  state some truths, and are able at times to foretell future events,
  gives to their statements an appearance of reliability; and their
  false teachings are accepted by the multitudes as readily, and
  believed as implicitly, as if they were the most sacred truths of the
  Bible. The law of God is set aside, the Spirit of grace despised, the
  blood of the covenant counted an unholy thing. The spirits deny the
  deity of Christ and place even the Creator on a level with
  themselves. Thus under a new disguise the great rebel still carries
  on his warfare against God, begun in heaven and for nearly six
  thousand years continued upon the earth.
   
   
  Many
  endeavour to account for spiritual manifestations by attributing them
  wholly to fraud and sleight of hand on the part of the medium. But
  while it is true that the results of trickery have often been palmed
  off as genuine manifestations, there have been, also, marked
  exhibitions of supernatural power. The mysterious rapping with which
  modern spiritualism began was not the result of human trickery or
  cunning, but was the direct work of evil angels, who thus introduced
  one of the most successful of soul-destroying delusions. Many will be
  ensnared through the belief that spiritualism is a merely human
  imposture; when brought face to face with manifestations which they
  cannot but regard as supernatural, they will be deceived, and will be
  led to accept them as the great power of God.
   
   
  These
  persons overlook the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the
  wonders wrought by Satan and his agents. It was by satanic aid that
  Pharaoh's magicians were enabled to counterfeit the work of God. Paul
  testifies that before the second advent of Christ there will be
  similar manifestations of satanic power. The coming of the Lord is to
  be preceded by "the working of Satan with all power and signs
  and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness."
  2 Thessalonians 2:9,10. And the apostle John, describing the
  miracle-working power that will be manifested in the last days,
  declares: "He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
  down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them
  that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had
  power to do." Revelation 13:13, 14. No mere impostures are here
  foretold. Men are deceived by the miracles which Satan's agents have
  power to do, not which they pretend to do.
   
   
  The
  prince of darkness, who has so long bent the powers of his mastermind
  to the work of deception, skillfully adapts his temptations to men of
  all classes and conditions. To persons of culture and refinement he
  presents spiritualism in its more refined and intellectual aspects,
  and thus succeeds in drawing many into his snare. The wisdom which
  spiritualism imparts is that described by the apostle James, which
  "descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish."
  James 3:15. This, however, the great deceiver conceals when
  concealment will best suit his purpose. He who could appear clothed
  with the brightness of the heavenly seraphs before Christ in the
  wilderness of temptation, comes to men in the most attractive manner
  as an angel of light. He appeals to the reason by the presentation of
  elevating themes; he delights the fancy with enrapturing scenes; and
  he enlists the affections by his eloquent portrayals of love and
  charity. He excites the imagination to lofty flights, leading men to
  take so great pride in their own wisdom that in their hearts they
  despise the Eternal One. That mighty being who could take the world's
  Redeemer to an exceedingly high mountain and bring before Him all the
  kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them, will present his
  temptations to men in a manner to pervert the senses of all who are
  not shielded by divine power.
   
   
  Satan
  beguiles men now as he beguiled Eve in Eden by flattery, by kindling
  a desire to obtain forbidden knowledge, by exciting ambition for
  self-exaltation. It was cherishing these evils that caused his fall,
  and through them he aims to compass the ruin of men. "Ye shall
  be as gods," he declares, "knowing good and evil."
  Genesis 3:5. Spiritualism teaches "that man is the creature of
  progression; that it is his destiny from his birth to progress, even
  to eternity, toward the Godhead." And again: "Each mind
  will judge itself and not another." "The judgment will be
  right, because it is the judgment of self. . . . The throne is within
  you." Said a spiritualistic teacher, as the "spiritual
  consciousness" awoke within him: "My fellow men, all were
  unfallen demigods." And another declares: "Any just and
  perfect being is Christ."  Thus, in place of the righteousness
  and perfection of the infinite God, the true object of adoration; in
  place of the perfect righteousness of His law, the true standard of
  human attainment, Satan has substituted the sinful, erring nature of
  man himself as the only object of adoration, the only rule of
  judgment, or standard of character. This is progress, not upward, but
  downward.
   
   
  It
  is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by
  beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the
  subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to
  that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never
  rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self
  is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted.
  Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God
  alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must
  inevitably be downward.
   
   
  To
  the self-indulgent, the pleasure-loving, the sensual, spiritualism
  presents itself under a less subtle disguise than to the more refined
  and intellectual; in its grosser forms they find that which is in
  harmony with their inclinations. Satan studies every indication of
  the frailty of human nature, he marks the sins which each individual
  is inclined to commit, and then he takes care that opportunities
  shall not be wanting to gratify the tendency to evil. He tempts men
  to excess in that which is in itself lawful, causing them, through
  intemperance, to weaken physical, mental, and moral power. He has
  destroyed and is destroying thousands through the indulgence of the
  passions, thus brutalizing the entire nature of man. And to complete
  his work, he declares, through the spirits that "true knowledge
  places man above all law;" that "whatever is, is right;"
  that "God doth not condemn;" and that " all sins which
  are committed are innocent." When the people are thus led to
  believe that desire is the highest law, that liberty is license, and
  that man is accountable only to himself, who can wonder that
  corruption and depravity teem on every hand? Multitudes eagerly
  accept teachings that leave them at liberty to obey the promptings of
  the carnal heart. The reins of self-control are laid upon the neck of
  lust, the powers of mind and soul are made subject to the animal
  propensities, and Satan exultingly sweeps into his net thousands who
  profess to be followers of Christ.
   
   
  But
  none need be deceived by the lying claims of spiritualism. God has
  given the world sufficient light to enable them to discover the
  snare. As already shown, the theory which forms the very foundation
  of spiritualism is at war with the plainest statements of Scripture.
  The Bible declares that the dead know not anything, that their
  thoughts have perished; they have no part in anything that is done
  under the sun; they know nothing of the joys or sorrows of those who
  were dearest to them on earth.
   
   
  Furthermore,
  God has expressly forbidden all pretended communication with departed
  spirits. In the days of the Hebrews there was a class of people who
  claimed, as do the spiritualists of today, to hold communication with
  the dead. But the "familiar spirits," as these visitants
  from other worlds were called, are declared by the Bible to be "the
  spirits of devils." (Compare Numbers 25:1-3; Psalm 106:28; I
  Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 16:14.) The work of dealing with
  familiar spirits was pronounced an abomination to the Lord, and was
  solemnly forbidden under penalty of death. Leviticus 19:31; 20:27.
  The very name of witchcraft is now held in contempt. The claim that
  men can hold intercourse with evil spirits is regarded as a fable of
  the Dark Ages. But spiritualism, which numbers its converts by
  hundreds of thousands, yea, by millions, which has made its way into
  scientific circles, which has invaded churches, and has found favour
  in legislative bodies, and even in the courts of kings-- this mammoth
  deception is but a revival, in a new disguise, of the witchcraft
  condemned and prohibited of old.
   
   
  If
  there were no other evidence of the real character of spiritualism,
  it should be enough for the Christian that the spirits make no
  difference between righteousness and sin, between the noblest and
  purest of the apostles of Christ and the most corrupt of the servants
  of Satan. By representing the basest of men as in heaven, and highly
  exalted there, Satan says to the world: "No matter how wicked
  you are; no matter whether you believe or disbelieve God and the
  Bible. Live as you please; heaven is your home." The
  spiritualist teachers virtually declare: "Everyone that doeth
  evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delighteth in them; or,
  Where is the God of judgment?" Malachi 2:17. Saith the word of
  God: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put
  darkness for light, and light for darkness." Isaiah 5:20.
   
   
  The
  apostles, as personated by these lying spirits, are made to
  contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when
  on earth. They deny the divine origin of the Bible, and thus tear
  away the foundation of the Christian's hope and put out the light
  that reveals the way to heaven. Satan is making the world believe
  that the Bible is a mere fiction, or at least a book suited to the
  infancy of the race, but now to be lightly regarded, or cast aside as
  obsolete. And to take the place of the word of God he holds our
  spiritual manifestations. Here is a channel wholly under his control;
  by this means he can make the world believe what he will. The Book
  that is to judge him and his followers he puts in the shade, just
  where he wants it; the Saviour of the world he makes to be no more
  than a common man. And as the Roman guard that watched the tomb of
  Jesus spread the lying report which the priests and elders put into
  their mouths to disprove His resurrection, so do the believers in
  spiritual manifestations try to make it appear that there is nothing
  miraculous in the circumstances of our Saviour's life. After thus
  seeking to put Jesus in the background, they call attention to their
  own miracles, declaring that these far exceed the works of Christ.
   
   
  It
  is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and, veiling some
  of its more objectionable features, is assuming a Christian guise.
  But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before
  the public for many years, and in these its real character stands
  revealed. These teachings cannot be denied or hidden.  Even in its
  present form, so far from being more worthy of toleration than
  formerly, it is really a more dangerous, because a more subtle,
  deception. While it formerly denounced Christ and the Bible, it now
  professes to accept both. But the Bible is interpreted in a manner
  that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital
  truths are made of no effect. Love is dwelt upon as the chief
  attribute of God, but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism, making
  little distinction between good and evil. God's justice, His
  denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are all kept
  out of sight. The people are taught to regard the Decalogue as a dead
  letter. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses and lead men
  to reject the Bible as the foundation of their faith. Christ is as
  verily denied as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the
  people that the deception is not discerned.
   
   
  There
  are few who have any just conception of the deceptive power of
  spiritualism and the danger of coming under its influence. Many
  tamper with it merely to gratify their curiosity. They have no real
  faith in it and would be filled with horror at the thought of
  yielding themselves to the spirits' control. But they venture upon
  the forbidden ground, and the mighty destroyer exercises his power
  upon them against their will. Let them once be induced to submit
  their minds to his direction, and he holds them captive. It is
  impossible, in their own strength, to break away from the bewitching,
  alluring spell. Nothing but the power of God, granted in answer to
  the earnest prayer of faith, can deliver these ensnared souls.  All
  who indulge sinful traits of character, or willfully cherish a known
  sin, are inviting the temptations of Satan.  They separate themselves
  from God and from the watchcare of His angels; as the evil one
  presents his deceptions, they are without defense and fall an easy
  prey. Those who thus place themselves in his power little realise
  where their course will end. Having achieved their overthrow, the
  tempter will employ them as his agents to lure others to ruin.
   
   
  Says
  the prophet Isaiah: "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto
  them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that
  mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to
  the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
  according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
  Isaiah 8:19, 20. If men had been willing to receive the truth so
  plainly stated in the Scriptures concerning the nature of man and the
  state of the dead, they would see in the claims and manifestations of
  spiritualism the working of Satan with power and signs and lying
  wonders. But rather than yield the liberty so agreeable to the carnal
  heart, and renounce the sins which they love, multitudes close their
  eyes to the light and walk straight on, regardless of warnings, while
  Satan weaves his snares about them, and they become his prey.
  "Because they received not the love of the truth, that they
  might be saved," therefore "God shall send them strong
  delusion, that they should believe a lie." 2 Thessalonians 2:10,
  11.
   
   
  Those
  who oppose the teachings of spiritualism are assailing, not men
  alone, but Satan and his angels. They have entered upon a contest
  against principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places.
  Satan will not yield one inch of ground except as he is driven back
  by the power of heavenly messengers. The people of God should be able
  to meet him, as did our Saviour, with the words: "It is
  written." Satan can quote Scripture now as in the days of
  Christ, and he will pervert its teachings to sustain his delusions.
  Those who would stand in this time of peril must understand for
  themselves the testimony of the Scriptures.
   
   
  Many
  will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved
  relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These
  visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work
  miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to
  withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything
  and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils.  Just before
  us is "the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the
  world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Revelation 3:10.
   
   
  All
  whose faith is not firmly established upon the word of God will be
  deceived and overcome. Satan "works with all deceivableness of
  unrighteousness" to gain control of the children of men, and his
  deceptions will continually increase. But he can gain his object only
  as men voluntarily yield to his temptations. Those who are earnestly
  seeking a knowledge of the truth and are striving to purify their
  souls through obedience, thus doing what they can to prepare for the
  conflict, will find, in the God of truth, a sure defense. "Because
  thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee"
  (verse 10), is the Saviour's promise. He would sooner send every
  angel out of heaven to protect His people than leave one soul that
  trusts in Him to be overcome by Satan.
   
   
  The
  prophet Isaiah brings to view the fearful deception which will come
  upon the wicked, causing them to count themselves secure from the
  judgments of God: "We have made a covenant with death, and with
  hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
  through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge,
  and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." Isaiah 28:15. In the
  class here described are included those who in their stubborn
  impenitence comfort themselves with the assurance that there is to be
  no punishment for the sinner; that all mankind, it matters not how
  corrupt, are to be exalted to heaven, to become as the angels of God.
  But still more emphatically are those making a covenant with death
  and an agreement with hell, who renounce the truths which Heaven has
  provided as a defense for the righteous in the day of trouble, and
  accept the refuge of lies offered by Satan in its stead--the delusive
  pretensions of spiritualism.
   
   
  Marvellous
  beyond expression is the blindness of the people of this generation.
  Thousands reject the word of God as unworthy of belief and with eager
  confidence receive the deceptions of Satan. Skeptics and scoffers
  denounce the bigotry of those who contend for the faith of prophets
  and apostles, and they divert themselves by holding up to ridicule
  the solemn declarations of the Scriptures concerning Christ and the
  plan of salvation, and the retribution to be visited upon the
  rejecters of the truth. They affect great pity for minds so narrow,
  weak, and superstitious as to acknowledge the claims of God and obey
  the requirements of His law. They manifest as much assurance as if,
  indeed, they had made a covenant with death and an agreement with
  hell-- as if they had erected an impassable, impenetrable barrier
  between themselves and the vengeance of God. Nothing can arouse their
  fears. So fully have they yielded to the tempter, so closely are they
  united with him, and so thoroughly imbued with his spirit, that they
  have no power and no inclination to break away from his snare.
   
   
  Satan
  has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world.
  The foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in
  Eden: "Ye shall not surely die." "In the day ye eat
  thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,
  knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4, 5. Little by little he has
  prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development
  of spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of
  his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time. Says
  the prophet: "I saw three unclean spirits like frogs; . . . they
  are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the
  kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
  battle of that great day of God Almighty." Revelation 16:13, 14.
  Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His
  word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion.
  The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened
  only by the outpouring of the wrath of God.
   
   
  Saith
  the Lord God: "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and
  righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the
  refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And
  your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement
  with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
  through, then ye shall be trodden down by it." Isaiah 28:17, 18.
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 35. Liberty of Conscience Threatened 
   
  Romanism
  is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favour than in former
  years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the ascendancy,
  and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in order to gain
  influence, there is an increasing indifference concerning the
  doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal
  hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not
  differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a
  little concession on our part will bring us into a better
  understanding with Rome. The time was when Protestants placed a high
  value upon the liberty of conscience which had been so dearly
  purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery and held that
  to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely
  different are the sentiments now expressed!
   
   
  The
  defenders of the papacy declare that the church has been maligned,
  and the Protestant world are inclined to accept the statement. Many
  urge that it is unjust to judge the church of today by the
  abominations and absurdities that marked her reign during the
  centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty
  as the result of the barbarism of the times and plead that the
  influence of modern civilisation  has changed her sentiments.  Have
  these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility put forth for
  eight hundred years by this haughty power? So far from being
  relinquished, this claim was affirmed in the nineteenth century with
  greater positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts that the
  "church never erred; nor will it, according to the Scriptures,
  ever err " (John L. von Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical
  History, book 3, century II, part 2, chapter 2, section 9, note 17),
  how can she renounce the principles which governed her course in past
  ages?
   
   
  The
  papal church will never relinquish her claim to infallibility. All
  that she has done in her persecution of those who reject her dogmas
  she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the same acts, should
  the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now imposed by
  secular governments be removed and Rome be reinstated in her former
  power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and
  persecution. A well-known writer speaks thus of the attitude of the
  papal hierarchy as regards freedom of conscience, and of the perils
  which especially threaten the United States from the success of her
  policy:
   
   
  "There
  are many who are disposed to attribute any fear of Roman Catholicism
  in the United States to bigotry or childishness. Such see nothing in
  the character and attitude of Romanism that is hostile to our free
  institutions, or find nothing portentous in its growth. Let us, then,
  first compare some of the fundamental principles of our government
  with those of the Catholic Church.  "The Constitution of the
  United States guarantees liberty of conscience . Nothing is dearer or
  more fundamental. Pope Pius IX, in his Encyclical Letter of August
  15, 1854, said: `The absurd and erroneous doctrines or ravings in
  defense of liberty of conscience are a most pestilential error--a
  pest, of all others, most to be dreaded in a state.' The same pope,
  in his Encyclical Letter of December 8, 1864, anathematized `those
  who assert the liberty of conscience and of religious worship,' also
  'all such as maintain that the church may not employ force.'
   
   
  "The
  pacific tone of Rome in the United States does not imply a change of
  heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says Bishop O'Connor:
  'Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be
  carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.'. . . The
  archbishop of St. Louis once said: 'Heresy and unbelief are crimes;
  and in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance,
  where all the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion
  is an essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as
  other crimes.'…"Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop in
  the Catholic Church takes an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which
  occur the following words: 'Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our
  said lord (the pope), or his aforesaid successors, I will to my
  utmost persecute and oppose.'--Josiah Strong, Our Country, ch. 5,
  pars. 2-4.
   
   
  It
  is true that there are real Christians in the Roman Catholic
  communion. Thousands in that church are serving God according to the
  best light they have. They are not allowed access to His word, and
  therefore they do not discern the truth.[* Published in 1888 and
  1911. See Appendix.] They have never seen the contrast between a
  living heart service and a round of mere forms and ceremonies. God
  looks with pitying tenderness upon these souls, educated as they are
  in a faith that is delusive and unsatisfying. He will cause rays of
  light to penetrate the dense darkness that surrounds them. He will
  reveal to them the truth as it is in Jesus, and many will yet take
  their position with His people.
   
   
  But
  Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the gospel of Christ
  now than at any former period in her history. The Protestant churches
  are in great darkness, or they would discern the signs of the times.
  The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of operation.
  She is employing every device to extend her influence and increase
  her power in preparation for a fierce and determined  conflict to
  regain control of the world, to re-establish persecution, and to undo
  all that Protestantism has done. Catholicism is gaining ground upon
  every side. See the increasing number of her churches and chapels in
  Protestant countries. Look at the popularity of her colleges and
  seminaries in America, so widely patronized by Protestants. Look at
  the growth of ritualism in England and the frequent defections to the
  ranks of the Catholics. These things should awaken the anxiety of all
  who prize the pure principles of the gospel.
   
   
  Protestants
  have tampered with and patronized popery; they have made compromises
  and concessions which papists themselves are surprised to see and
  fail to understand. Men are closing their eyes to the real character
  of Romanism and the dangers to be apprehended from her supremacy. The
  people need to be aroused to resist the advances of this most
  dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.  Many Protestants
  suppose that the Catholic religion is unattractive and that its
  worship is a dull, meaningless round of ceremony. Here they mistake.
  While Romanism is based upon deception, it is not a coarse and clumsy
  imposture. The religious service of the Roman Church is a most
  impressive ceremonial. Its gorgeous display and solemn rites
  fascinate the senses of the people and silence the voice of reason
  and of conscience. The eye is charmed. Magnificent churches, imposing
  processions, golden altars, jewelled shrines, choice paintings, and
  exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of beauty. The ear also is
  captivated. The music is unsurpassed. The rich notes of the
  deep-toned organ, blending with the melody of many voices as it
  swells through the lofty domes and pillared aisles of her grand
  cathedrals, cannot fail to impress the mind with awe and reverence.
   
   
  This
  outward splendour, pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks the longings
  of the sin-sick soul, is an evidence of inward corruption. The
  religion of Christ needs not such attractions to recommend it. In the
  light shining from the cross, true Christianity appears so pure and
  lovely that no external decorations can enhance its true worth. It is
  the beauty of holiness, a meek and quiet spirit, which is of value
  with God.  Brilliancy of style is not necessarily an index of pure,
  elevated thought. High conceptions of art, delicate refinement of
  taste, often exist in minds that are earthly and sensual. They are
  often employed by Satan to lead men to forget the necessities of the
  soul, to lose sight of the future, immortal life, to turn away from
  their infinite Helper, and to live for this world alone.
   
   
  A
  religion of externals is attractive to the unrenewed heart. The pomp
  and ceremony of the Catholic worship has a seductive, bewitching
  power, by which many are deceived; and they come to look upon the
  Roman Church as the very gate of heaven. None but those who have
  planted their feet firmly upon the foundation of truth, and whose
  hearts are renewed by the Spirit of God, are proof against her
  influence. Thousands who have not an experimental knowledge of Christ
  will be led to accept the forms of godliness without the power. Such
  a religion is just what the multitudes desire.
   
   
  The
  church's claim to the right to pardon leads the Romanist to feel at
  liberty to sin; and the ordinance of confession, without which her
  pardon is not granted, tends also to give license to evil. He who
  kneels before fallen man, and opens in confession the secret thoughts
  and imaginations of his heart, is debasing his manhood and degrading
  every noble instinct of his soul. In unfolding the sins of his life
  to a priest,--an erring, sinful mortal, and too often corrupted with
  wine and licentiousness,--his standard of character is lowered, and
  he is defiled in consequence. His thought of God is degraded to the
  likeness of fallen humanity, for the priest stands as a
  representative of God. This degrading confession of man to man is the
  secret spring from which has flowed much of the evil that is defiling
  the world and fitting it for the final destruction. Yet to him who
  loves self-indulgence,  it is more pleasing to confess to a fellow
  mortal than to open the soul to God. It is more palatable to human
  nature to do penance than to renounce sin; it is easier to mortify
  the flesh by sackcloth and nettles and galling chains than to crucify
  fleshly lusts. Heavy is the yoke which the carnal heart is willing to
  bear rather than bow to the yoke of Christ.
   
   
  There
  is a striking similarity between the Church of Rome and the Jewish
  Church at the time of Christ's first advent. While the Jews secretly
  trampled upon every principle of the law of God, they were outwardly
  rigorous in the observance of its precepts, loading it down with
  exactions and traditions that made obedience painful and burdensome.
  As the Jews professed to revere the law, so do Romanists claim to
  reverence the cross. They exalt the symbol of Christ's sufferings,
  while in their lives they deny Him whom it represents.
   
   
  Papists
  place crosses upon their churches, upon their altars, and upon their
  garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the cross. Everywhere it
  is outwardly honoured and exalted. But the teachings of Christ are
  buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions, false interpretations,
  and rigorous exactions. The Saviour's words concerning the bigoted
  Jews, apply with still greater force to the leaders of the Roman
  Catholic Church: "They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be
  borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not
  move them with one of their fingers." Matthew 23:4.
  Conscientious souls are kept in constant terror fearing the wrath of
  an offended God, while many of the dignitaries of the church are
  living in luxury and sensual pleasure.
   
   
  The
  worship of images and relics, the invocation of saints, and the
  exaltation of the pope are devices of Satan to attract the minds of
  the people from God and from His Son. To accomplish their ruin, he
  endeavours to turn their attention from Him through whom alone they
  can find salvation. He will direct them to any object that can be
  substituted for the One who has said: "Come unto Me, all ye that
  labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew
  11:28.  It is Satan's constant effort to misrepresent the character
  of God, the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the great
  controversy. His sophistry lessens the obligation of the divine law
  and gives men license to sin. At the same time he causes them to
  cherish false conceptions of God so that they regard Him with fear
  and hate rather than with love. The cruelty inherent in his own
  character is attributed to the Creator; it is embodied in systems of
  religion and expressed in modes of worship. Thus the minds of men are
  blinded, and Satan secures them as his agents to war against God. By
  perverted conceptions of the divine attributes, heathen nations were
  led to believe human sacrifices necessary to secure the favour of
  Deity; and horrible cruelties have been perpetrated under the various
  forms of idolatry.
   
   
  The
  Roman Catholic Church, uniting the forms of paganism and
  Christianity, and, like paganism, misrepresenting the character of
  God, had resorted to practices no less cruel and revolting. In the
  days of Rome's supremacy there were instruments of torture to compel
  assent to her doctrines. There was the stake for those who would not
  concede to her claims. There were massacres on a scale that will
  never be known until revealed in the judgment. Dignitaries of the
  church studied, under Satan their master, to invent means to cause
  the greatest possible torture and not end the life of the victim. In
  many cases the infernal process was repeated to the utmost limit of
  human endurance, until nature gave up the struggle, and the sufferer
  hailed death as a sweet release.
   
   
  Such
  was the fate of Rome's opponents. For her adherents she had the
  discipline of the scourge, of famishing hunger, of bodily austerities
  in every conceivable, heart-sickening form. To secure the favour of
  Heaven, penitents violated the laws of God by violating the laws of
  nature. They were taught to sunder the ties which He has formed to
  bless and gladden man's earthly sojourn. The churchyard contains
  millions of  victims who spent their lives in vain endeavours to
  subdue their natural affections, to repress, as offensive to God,
  every thought and feeling of sympathy with their fellow creatures.
   
   
  If
  we desire to understand the determined cruelty of Satan, manifested
  for hundreds of years, not among those who never heard of God, but in
  the very heart and throughout the extent of Christendom, we have only
  to look at the history of Romanism. Through this mammoth system of
  deception the prince of evil achieves his purpose of bringing
  dishonour to God and wretchedness to man. And as we see how he
  succeeds in disguising himself and accomplishing his work through the
  leaders of the church, we may better understand why he has so great
  antipathy to the Bible. If that Book is read, the mercy and love of
  God will be revealed; it will be seen that He lays upon men none of
  these heavy burdens. All that He asks is a broken and contrite heart,
  a humble, obedient spirit.
   
   
  Christ
  gives no example in His life for men and women to shut themselves in
  monasteries in order to become fitted for heaven. He has never taught
  that love and sympathy must be repressed. The Saviour's heart
  overflowed with love. The nearer man approaches to moral perfection,
  the keener are his sensibilities, the more acute is his perception of
  sin, and the deeper his sympathy for the afflicted. The pope claims
  to be the vicar of Christ; but how does his character bear comparison
  with that of our Saviour? Was Christ ever known to consign men to the
  prison or the rack because they did not pay Him homage as the King of
  heaven? Was His voice heard condemning to death those who did not
  accept Him? When He was slighted by the people of a Samaritan
  village, the apostle John was filled with indignation, and inquired:
  "Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven,
  and consume them, even as Elias did?" Jesus looked with pity
  upon His disciple, and rebuked his harsh spirit, saying: "The
  Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."
  Luke 9:54, 56. How different from the spirit manifested by Christ is
  that of His professed vicar.
   
   
  The
  Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with
  apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself
  in Christlike garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the
  papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised
  in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The
  papacy that Protestants are now so ready to honour is the same that
  ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood
  up, at the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She
  possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over
  kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is
  no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out human
  liberty and slew the saints of the Most High.
   
   
  The
  papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy
  of the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. It is a part of her
  policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her
  purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she
  conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. "Faith ought not
  to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy"
  (L’Enfant, volume 1, page 516), she declares. Shall this power,
  whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of the
  saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?  It is
  not without reason that the claim has been put forth in Protestant
  countries that Catholicism differs less widely from Protestantism
  than in former times. There has been a change; but the change is not
  in the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the Protestantism
  that now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly degenerated
  since the days of the Reformers.
   
   
  As
  the Protestants churches have been seeking the favour of the world,
  false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that it is
  right to believe good of all evil, and as the inevitable result they
  will finally believe evil of all good.  Instead of standing in
  defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, they are now, as
  it were, apologizing to Rome for their uncharitable opinion of her,
  begging pardon for their bigotry.  A large class, even of those who
  look upon Romanism with no favour, apprehend little danger from her
  power and influence.
   
   
  Many
  urge that the intellectual and moral darkness prevailing during the
  Middle Ages favoured the spread of her dogmas, superstitions, and
  oppression, and that the greater intelligence of modern times, the
  general diffusion of knowledge, and the increasing liberality in
  matters of religion forbid a revival of intolerance and tyranny. The
  very thought that such a state of things will exist in this
  enlightened age is ridiculed. It is true that great light,
  intellectual, moral, and religious, is shining upon this generation.
  In the open pages of God's Holy Word, light from heaven has been shed
  upon the world. But it should be remembered that the greater the
  light bestowed, the greater the darkness of those who pervert and
  reject it.
   
   
  A
  prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the real
  character of the papacy and would cause them to abhor and to shun it;
  but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need of
  humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although
  priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of
  the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of
  quieting their consciences, and they seek that which is least
  spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting
  God which shall pass as a method of remembering Him. The papacy is
  well adapted to meet the wants of all these. It is prepared for two
  classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world--those who would
  be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins.
  Here is the secret of its power.
   
   
  A
  day of great intellectual darkness has been shown to be favourable to
  the success of the papacy. It will yet be demonstrated that a day of
  great intellectual light is equally favourable for its success. In
  past ages, when men were without God's word and without the knowledge
  of the truth, their eyes were blindfolded, and thousands were
  ensnared, not seeing the net spread for their feet. In this
  generation there are many whose eyes become dazzled by the glare of
  human speculations, "science falsely so called;" they
  discern not the net, and walk into it as readily as if blindfolded.
  God designed that man's intellectual powers should be held as a gift
  from his Maker and should be employed in the service of truth and
  righteousness; but when pride and ambition are cherished, and men
  exalt their own theories above the word of God, then intelligence can
  accomplish greater harm than ignorance. Thus the false science of the
  present day, which undermines faith in the Bible, will prove as
  successful in preparing the way for the acceptance of the papacy,
  with its pleasing forms, as did the withholding of knowledge in
  opening the way for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages.
   
   
  In
  the movements now in progress in the United States to secure for the
  institutions and usages of the church the support of the state,
  Protestants are following in the steps of papists. Nay, more, they
  are opening the door for the papacy to regain in Protestant America
  the supremacy which she has lost in the Old World. And that which
  gives greater significance to this movement is the fact that the
  principal object contemplated is the enforcement of Sunday
  observance--a custom which originated with Rome, and which she claims
  as the sign of her authority. It is the spirit of the papacy--the
  spirit of conformity to worldly customs, the veneration for human
  traditions above the commandments of God--that is permeating the
  Protestant churches and leading them on to do the same work of Sunday
  exaltation which the papacy has done before them.
   
   
  If
  the reader would understand the agencies to be employed in the
  soon-coming contest, he has but to trace the record of the means
  which Rome employed for the same object in ages past. If he would
  know how papists and Protestants united will deal with those who
  reject their dogmas, let him see the spirit which Rome manifested
  toward the Sabbath and its defenders.   Royal edicts, general
  councils, and church ordinances sustained by secular power were the
  steps by which the pagan festival attained its position of honour in
  the Christian world. The first public measure enforcing Sunday
  observance was the law enacted by Constantine. (A.D. 321; See
  Appendix.) This edict required townspeople to rest on "the
  venerable day of the sun," but permitted countrymen to continue
  their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a heathen statute, it
  was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of
  Christianity.
   
   
  The
  royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for divine
  authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favour of princes, and
  who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the
  claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single
  testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new
  doctrine. Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity and
  points to the real authors of the change. "All things," he
  says, "whatever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we
  have transferred to the Lord's Day."--Robert Cox, Sabbath Laws
  and Sabbath Duties, page 538. But the Sunday argument, groundless as
  it was, served to embolden men in trampling upon the Sabbath of the
  Lord. All who desired to be honoured by the world accepted the
  popular festival.
   
   
  As
  the papacy became firmly established, the work of Sunday exaltation
  was continued. For a time the people engaged in agricultural labour
  when not attending church, and the seventh day was still regarded as
  the Sabbath. But steadily a change was effected. Those in holy office
  were forbidden to pass judgment in any civil controversy on the
  Sunday. Soon after, all persons, of whatever rank, were commanded to
  refrain from common labour on pain of a fine for freemen and stripes
  in the case of servants. Later it was decreed that rich men should be
  punished with the loss of half of their estates; and finally, that if
  still obstinate they should be made slaves. The lower classes were to
  suffer perpetual banishment.
   
   
  Miracles
  also were called into requisition. Among other wonders it was
  reported that as a husbandman who was about to plow his field on
  Sunday cleaned his plow with an iron, the iron stuck fast in his
  hand, and for two years he carried it about with him, "to his
  exceeding great pain and shame."--Francis West, Historical and
  Practical Discourse on the Lord's Day, page 174.  Later the pope gave
  directions that the parish priest should admonish the violators of
  Sunday and wish them to go to church and say their prayers, lest they
  bring some great calamity on themselves and neighbours.
   
   
  An
  ecclesiastical council brought forward the argument, since so widely
  employed, even by Protestants, that because persons had been struck
  by lightning while labouring on Sunday, it must be the Sabbath. "It
  is apparent," said the prelates, "how high the displeasure
  of God was upon their neglect of this day." An appeal was then
  made that priests and ministers, kings and princes, and all faithful
  people "use their utmost endeavours and care that the day be
  restored to its honour, and, for the credit of Christianity, more
  devoutly observed for the time to come."--Thomas Morer,
  Discourse in Six Dialogues on the Name, Notion, and Observation of
  the Lord's Day, page 271.
   
   
  The
  decrees of councils proving insufficient, the secular authorities
  were besought to issue an edict that would strike terror to the
  hearts of the people and force them to refrain from labour on the
  Sunday. At a synod held in Rome, all previous decisions were
  reaffirmed with greater force and solemnity. They were also
  incorporated into the ecclesiastical law and enforced by the civil
  authorities throughout nearly all Christendom. (See Heylyn, History
  of the Sabbath, pt. 2, ch. 5, sec. 7.)
   
   
  Still
  the absence of Scriptural authority for Sundaykeeping occasioned no
  little embarrassment. The people questioned the right of their
  teachers to set aside the positive declaration of Jehovah, "The
  seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," in order to
  honour the day of the sun. To supply the lack of Bible testimony,
  other expedients were necessary. A zealous advocate of Sunday, who
  about the close of the twelfth century visited the churches of
  England, was resisted by faithful witnesses for the truth; and so
  fruitless were his efforts that he departed from the country for a
  season and cast about him for some means to enforce his teachings.
  When he returned, the lack was supplied, and in his after labours he
  met with greater success. He brought with him a roll purporting to be
  from God Himself, which contained the needed command for Sunday
  observance, with awful threats to terrify the disobedient. This
  precious document-- as base a counterfeit as the institution it
  supported--was said to have fallen from heaven and to have been found
  in Jerusalem, upon the altar of St. Simeon, in Golgotha. But, in
  fact, the pontifical palace at Rome was the source whence it
  proceeded. Frauds and forgeries to advance the power and prosperity
  of the church have in all ages been esteemed lawful by the papal
  hierarchy.
   
   
  The
  roll forbade labour from the ninth hour, three o'clock, on Saturday
  afternoon, till sunrise on Monday; and its authority was declared to
  be confirmed by many miracles. It was reported that persons labouring
  beyond the appointed hour were stricken with paralysis. A miller who
  attempted to grind his corn, saw, instead of flour, a torrent of
  blood come forth, and the mill wheel stood still, notwithstanding the
  strong rush of water. A woman who placed dough in the oven found it
  raw when taken out, though the oven was very hot. Another who had
  dough prepared for baking at the ninth hour, but determined to set it
  aside till Monday, found, the next day, that it had been made into
  loaves and baked by divine power. A man who baked bread after the
  ninth hour on Saturday found, when he broke it the next morning, that
  blood started therefrom. By such absurd and superstitious
  fabrications did the advocates of Sunday endeavour to establish its
  sacredness. (See Roger de Hoveden, Annals, vol. 2, pp. 528-530.)
   
   
  In
  Scotland, as in England, a greater regard for Sunday was secured by
  uniting with it a portion of the ancient Sabbath. But the time
  required to be kept holy varied. An edict from the king of Scotland
  declared that "Saturday from twelve at noon ought to be
  accounted holy," and that no man, from that time till Monday
  morning, should engage in worldly business.--Morer, pages 290, 291. 
  But notwithstanding all the efforts to establish Sunday sacredness,
  papists themselves publicly confessed the divine authority of the
  Sabbath and the human origin of the institution by which it had been
  supplanted. In the sixteenth century a papal council plainly
  declared: "Let all Christians remember that the seventh day was
  consecrated by God, and hath been received and observed, not only by
  the Jews, but by all others who pretend to worship God; though we
  Christians have changed their Sabbath into the Lord's Day."--
  Ibid., pages 281, 282. Those who were tampering with the divine law
  were not ignorant of the character of their work. They were
  deliberately setting themselves above God.
   
   
  A
  striking illustration of Rome's policy toward those who disagree with
  her was given in the long and bloody persecution of the Waldenses,
  some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. Others suffered in a
  similar manner for their fidelity to the fourth commandment. The
  history of the churches of Ethiopia and Abyssinia is especially
  significant. Amid the gloom of the Dark Ages, the Christians of
  Central Africa were lost sight of and forgotten by the world, and for
  many centuries they enjoyed freedom in the exercise of their faith.
  But at last Rome learned of their existence, and the emperor of
  Abyssinia was soon beguiled into an acknowledgment of the pope as the
  vicar of Christ. Other concessions followed.
   
   
  An
  edict was issued forbidding the observance of the Sabbath under the
  severest penalties. (See Michael Geddes, Church History of Ethiopia,
  pages 311, 312.) But papal tyranny soon became a yoke so galling that
  the Abyssinians determined to break it from their necks. After a
  terrible struggle the Romanists were banished from their dominions,
  and the ancient faith was restored. The churches rejoiced in their
  freedom, and they never forgot the lesson they had learned concerning
  the deception, the fanaticism, and the despotic power of Rome. Within
  their solitary realm they were content to remain, unknown to the rest
  of Christendom.
   
   
  The
  churches of Africa held the Sabbath as it was held by the papal
  church before her complete apostasy. While they kept the seventh day
  in obedience to the commandment of God, they abstained from labour on
  the Sunday in conformity to the custom of the church. Upon obtaining
  supreme power, Rome had trampled upon the Sabbath of God to exalt her
  own; but the churches of Africa, hidden for nearly a thousand years,
  did not share in this apostasy. When brought under the sway of Rome,
  they were forced to set aside the true and exalt the false sabbath;
  but no sooner had they regained their independence than they returned
  to obedience to the fourth commandment.
   
   
  These
  records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the true
  Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honour
  the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that these
  scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants shall
  unite for the exaltation of the Sunday.  The prophecy of Revelation
  13 declares that the power represented by the beast with lamblike
  horns shall cause "the earth and them which dwell therein"
  to worship the papacy --there symbolized by the beast "like unto
  a leopard." The beast with two horns is also to say "to
  them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
  beast;" and, furthermore, it is to command all, "both small
  and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive the mark of
  the beast. Revelation 13:11-16. It has been shown that the United
  States is the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and
  that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall
  enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special
  acknowledgment of her supremacy.
   
   
  But
  in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone. The
  influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her
  dominion is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a
  restoration of her power. "I saw one of his heads as it were
  wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
  wondered after the beast." Verse 3. The infliction of the deadly
  wound points to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this, says
  the prophet, "his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
  wondered after the beast." Paul states plainly that the "man
  of sin" will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians
  2:3-8. To the very close of time he will carry forward the work of
  deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy:
  "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names
  are not written in the book of life." Revelation 13:8. In both
  the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the
  honour paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the
  authority of the Roman Church.
   
   
  Since
  the middle of the nineteenth century, students of prophecy in the
  United States have presented this testimony to the world. In the
  events now taking place is seen a rapid advance toward the
  fulfillment of the prediction. With Protestant teachers there is the
  same claim of divine authority for Sunday-keeping, and the same lack
  of Scriptural evidence, as with the papal leaders who fabricated
  miracles to supply the place of a command from God. The assertion
  that God's judgments are visited upon men for their violation of the
  Sunday-sabbath, will be repeated; already it is beginning to be
  urged. And a movement to enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining
  ground.
   
   
  Marvellous
  in her shrewdness and cunning is the Roman Church. She can read what
  is to be. She bides her time, seeing that the Protestant churches are
  paying her homage in their acceptance of the false sabbath and that
  they are preparing to enforce it by the very means which she herself
  employed in bygone days. Those who reject the light of truth will yet
  seek the aid of this self-styled infallible power to exalt an
  institution that originated with her. How readily she will come to
  the help of Protestants in this work it is not difficult to
  conjecture. Who understands better than the papal leaders how to deal
  with those who are disobedient to the church?  The Roman Catholic
  Church, with all its ramifications throughout the world, forms one
  vast organisation  under the control, and designed to serve the
  interests, of the papal see. Its millions of communicants, in every
  country on the globe, are instructed to hold themselves as bound in
  allegiance to the pope. Whatever their nationality or their
  government, they are to regard the authority of the church as above
  all other. Though they may take the oath pledging their loyalty to
  the state, yet back of this lies the vow of obedience to Rome,
  absolving them from every pledge inimical to her interests.
   
   
  History
  testifies of her artful and persistent efforts to insinuate herself
  into the affairs of nations; and having gained a foothold, to further
  her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and people. In the year
  1204, Pope Innocent III extracted from Peter II, king of Arragon, the
  following extraordinary oath: "I, Peter, king of Arragonians,
  profess and promise to be ever faithful and obedient to my lord, Pope
  Innocent, to his Catholic successors, and the Roman Church, and
  faithfully to preserve my kingdom in his obedience, defending the
  Catholic faith, and persecuting heretical pravity." --John
  Dowling, The History of Romanism, b. 5, ch. 6, sec.  55. This is in
  harmony with the claims regarding the power of the Roman pontiff
  "that it is lawful for him to depose emperors" and "that
  he can absolve subjects from their allegiance to unrighteous
  rulers."--Mosheim, b. 3, cent. 11, pt. 2, ch. 2, sec. 9, note
  17.
   
   
  And
  let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes.
  The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the
  principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power,
  she would put them in practice with as much vigour now as in past
  centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they
  propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation.
  While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is
  aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let
  the principle once be established in the United States that the
  church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious
  observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the
  authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the
  triumph of Rome in this country is assured.  God's word has given
  warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the
  Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are,
  only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing
  into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative
  halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up
  her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her
  former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly
  she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time
  shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground,
  and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel
  what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and
  obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 36. The Impending Conflict 
   
  From
  the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been
  Satan's purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish
  this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and
  though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare
  upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress
  God's law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether
  this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by
  rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the
  same. He that offends "in one point," manifests contempt
  for the whole law; his influence and example are on the side of
  transgression; he becomes "guilty of all." James 2:10.
   
   
  In
  seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes, Satan has
  perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become
  incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe the
  Scriptures. The last great conflict between truth and error is but
  the final struggle of the longstanding controversy concerning the law
  of God. Upon this battle we are now entering--a battle between the
  laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the
  Bible and the religion of fable and tradition.
   
   
  The
  agencies which will unite against truth and righteousness in this
  contest are now actively at work. God's holy word, which has been
  handed down to us at such a cost of suffering and blood, is but
  little valued. The Bible is within the reach of all, but there are
  few who really accept it as the guide of life. Infidelity prevails to
  an alarming extent, not in the world merely, but in the church. Many
  have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the
  Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the
  inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity
  of the law of God, are practically rejected, either wholly or in
  part, by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands
  who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it as
  an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible;
  they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the
  Scriptures and to spiritualise and explain away their most important
  truths. Many ministers are teaching their people, and many professors
  and teachers are instructing their students, that the law of God has
  been changed or abrogated; and those who regard its requirements as
  still valid, to be literally obeyed, are thought to be deserving only
  of ridicule or contempt.
   
   
  In
  rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law
  of God, they deny the authority of the Law-giver. It is as easy to
  make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of
  wood or stone. By misrepresenting the attributes of God, Satan leads
  men to conceive of Him in a false character. With many, a
  philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the
  living God, as He is revealed in His word, in Christ, and in the
  works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature
  while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form,
  idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed
  among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The god of many
  professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians,
  journalists--the god of polished fashionable circles, of many
  colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions--is
  little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia.
   
   
  No
  error accepted by the Christian world strikes more boldly against the
  authority of Heaven, none is more directly opposed to the dictates of
  reason, none is more pernicious in its results, than the modern
  doctrine, so rapidly gaining ground, that God's law is no longer
  binding upon men. Every nation has its laws, which command respect
  and obedience; no government could exist without them; and can it be
  conceived that the Creator of the heavens and the earth has no law to
  govern the beings He has made? Suppose that prominent ministers were
  publicly to teach that the statutes which govern their land and
  protect the rights of its citizens were not obligatory--that they
  restricted the liberties of the people, and therefore ought not to be
  obeyed; how long would such men be tolerated in the pulpit? But is it
  a graver offense to disregard the laws of states and nations than to
  trample upon those divine precepts which are the foundation of all
  government?
   
   
  It
  would be far more consistent for nations to abolish their statutes,
  and permit the people to do as they please, than for the Ruler of the
  universe to annul His law, and leave the world without a standard to
  condemn the guilty or justify the obedient. Would we know the result
  of making void the law of God? The experiment has been tried.
  Terrible were the scenes enacted in France when atheism became the
  controlling power. It was then demonstrated to the world that to
  throw off the restraints which God has imposed is to accept the rule
  of the cruelest of tyrants. When the standard of righteousness is set
  aside, the way is open for the prince of evil to establish his power
  in the earth.
   
   
  Wherever
  the divine precepts are rejected, sin ceases to appear sinful or
  righteousness desirable. Those who refuse to submit to the government
  of God are wholly unfitted to govern themselves. Through their
  pernicious teachings the spirit of insubordination is implanted in
  the hearts of children and youth, who are naturally impatient of
  control; and a lawless, licentious state of society results. While
  scoffing at the credulity of those who obey the requirements of God,
  the multitudes eagerly accept the delusions of Satan. They give the
  rein to lust and practice the sins which have called down judgments
  upon the heathen.
   
   
  Those
  who teach the people to regard lightly the commandments of God sow
  disobedience to reap disobedience. Let the restraint imposed by the
  divine law be wholly cast aside, and human laws would soon be
  disregarded. Because God forbids dishonest practices, coveting,
  lying, and defrauding, men are ready to trample upon His statutes as
  a hindrance to their worldly prosperity; but the results of banishing
  these precepts would be such as they do not anticipate. If the law
  were not binding, why should any fear to transgress? Property would
  no longer be safe. Men would obtain their neighbour's possessions by
  violence, and the strongest would become richest. Life itself would
  not be respected. The marriage vow would no longer stand as a sacred
  bulwark to protect the family. He who had the power, would, if he
  desired, take his neighbour's wife by violence. The fifth commandment
  would be set aside with the fourth. Children would not shrink from
  taking the life of their parents if by so doing they could obtain the
  desire of their corrupt hearts. The civilized world would become a
  horde of robbers and assassins; and peace, rest, and happiness would
  be banished from the earth.
   
   
  Already
  the doctrine that men are released from obedience to God's
  requirements has weakened the force of moral obligation and opened
  the floodgates of iniquity upon the world. Lawlessness, dissipation,
  and corruption are sweeping in upon us like an overwhelming tide. In
  the family, Satan is at work. His banner waves, even in professedly
  Christian households. There is envy, evil surmising, hypocrisy,
  estrangement, emulation, strife, betrayal of sacred trusts,
  indulgence of lust.
   
   
  The
  whole system of religious principles and doctrines, which should form
  the foundation and framework of social life, seems to be a tottering
  mass, ready to fall to ruin. The vilest of criminals, when thrown
  into prison for their offenses, are often made the recipients of
  gifts and  attentions as if they had attained an enviable
  distinction. Great publicity is given to their character and crimes.
  The press publishes the revolting details of vice, thus initiating
  others into the practice of fraud, robbery, and murder; and Satan
  exults in the success of his hellish schemes. The infatuation of
  vice, the wanton taking of life, the terrible increase of
  intemperance and iniquity of every order and degree, should arouse
  all who fear God, to inquire what can be done to stay the tide of
  evil.
   
   
  Courts
  of justice are corrupt. Rulers are actuated by desire for gain and
  love of sensual pleasure. Intemperance has beclouded the faculties of
  many so that Satan has almost complete control of them. Jurists are
  perverted, bribed, deluded. Drunkenness and revelry, passion, envy,
  dishonesty of every sort, are represented among those who administer
  the laws. "Justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the
  street, and equity cannot enter." Isaiah 59:14.
   
   
  The
  iniquity and spiritual darkness that prevailed under the supremacy of
  Rome were the inevitable result of her suppression of the Scriptures;
  but where is to be found the cause of the widespread infidelity, the
  rejection of the law of God, and the consequent corruption, under the
  full blaze of gospel light in an age of religious freedom? Now that
  Satan can no longer keep the world under his control by withholding
  the Scriptures, he resorts to other means to accomplish the same
  object. To destroy faith in the Bible serves his purpose as well as
  to destroy the Bible itself. By introducing the belief that God's law
  is not binding, he as effectually leads men to transgress as if they
  were wholly ignorant of its precepts. And now, as in former ages, he
  has worked through the church to further his designs. The religious
  organizations of the day have refused to listen to unpopular truths
  plainly brought to view in the Scriptures, and in combating them they
  have adopted interpretations and taken positions which have sown
  broadcast the seeds of skepticism.
   
   
  Clinging
  to the papal error of natural immortality and man's consciousness in
  death, they have rejected the only defense against the delusions of
  spiritualism. The doctrine of eternal torment has led many to
  disbelieve the Bible. And as the claims of the fourth commandment are
  urged upon the people, it is found that the observance of the
  seventh-day Sabbath is enjoined; and as the only way to free
  themselves from a duty which they are unwilling to perform, many
  popular teachers declare that the law of God is no longer binding.
  Thus they cast away the law and the Sabbath together. As the work of
  Sabbath reform extends, this rejection of the divine law to avoid the
  claims of the fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal. The
  teachings of religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to
  spiritualism, and to contempt for God's holy law; and upon these
  leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists
  in the Christian world.
   
   
  Yet
  this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading
  corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the
  so-called "Christian sabbath," and that the enforcement of
  Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. This
  claim is especially urged in America, where the doctrine of the true
  Sabbath has been most widely preached. Here the temperance work, one
  of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often
  combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter
  represent themselves as labouring to promote the highest interest of
  society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the
  enemies of temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to
  establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is
  not an argument in favour of the error. We may disguise poison by
  mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On
  the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to
  be taken unawares. It is one of Satan's devices to combine with
  falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of
  the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need,
  principles which are in harmony with the Bible; yet while there is
  with these a requirement which is contrary to God's law, His servants
  cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the
  commandments of God for the precepts of men.
   
   
  Through
  the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday
  sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While
  the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a
  bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will
  be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the
  hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands
  with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold
  union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on
  the rights of conscience.
   
   
  As
  spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the
  day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is
  converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the
  character of an angel of light. Through the agency of spiritualism,
  miracles will be wrought,the sick will be healed, and many undeniable
  wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in
  the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church,
  their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power.
   
   
  The
  line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is
  now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves
  and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them
  in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the
  ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain
  sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this
  wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of
  truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings
  will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they
  will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the
  world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium.
   
   
  Through
  spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the
  diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more
  exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a
  destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin.
  Intemperance dethrones reason; sensual indulgence, strife, and
  bloodshed follow. Satan delights in war, for it excites the worst
  passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternity its victims
  steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to
  war against one another, for he can thus divert the minds of the
  people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God.
   
   
  Satan
  works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared
  souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and
  he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows.
  When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds,
  servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding
  another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and
  hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian
  world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will
  do just what He has declared that He would--He will withdraw His
  blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those
  who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to
  do the same. Satan has control of all whom God does not especially
  guard. He will favour and prosper some in order to further his own
  designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to
  believe that it is God who is afflicting them.
   
   
  While
  appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal
  all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until
  populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at
  work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great
  conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in
  tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every
  place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He
  sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He
  imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the
  pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent
  and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. "The
  earth mourneth and fadeth away," "the haughty people . . .
  do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof;
  because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance,
  broken the everlasting covenant." Isaiah 24:4, 5.
   
   
  And
  then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God
  are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure
  of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience
  to God's commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It
  will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the
  Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not
  cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that
  those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus
  destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people,
  preventing their restoration to divine favour and temporal
  prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of
  God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: "And
  it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art
  thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled
  Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken
  the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim." 1
  Kings 18:17, 18.
   
   
  As
  the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will
  pursue a course toward God's ambassadors very similar to that which
  apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah.  The miracle-working power
  manifested through spiritualism will exert its influence against
  those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the
  spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters
  of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should
  be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in
  the world and second the testimony of religious teachers that the
  degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday.
  Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to
  accept their testimony.
   
   
  Satan's
  policy in this final conflict with God's people is the same that he
  employed in the opening of the great controversy in heaven. He
  professed to be seeking to promote the stability of the divine
  government, while secretly bending every effort to secure its
  overthrow. And the very work which he was thus endeavouring to
  accomplish he charged upon the loyal angels. The same policy of
  deception has marked the history of the Roman Church. It has
  professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt
  itself above God and to change His law. Under the rule of Rome, those
  who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as
  evildoers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every
  possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause
  them to appear in the eyes of the people and even to themselves as
  the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While Satan seeks to
  destroy those who honour God's law, he will cause them to be accused
  as lawbreakers, as men who are dishonouring God and bringing
  judgments upon the world.
   
   
  God
  never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan's constant
  resort--to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce--is
  compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavours to rule
  the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this,
  he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them
  to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God.
   
   
  Those
  who honour the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and
  order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing
  anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon
  the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy,
  stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of
  disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation
  of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding
  obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative
  halls and courts of justice, commandment keepers will be
  misrepresented and condemned. A false colouring will be given to
  their words; the worst construction will be put upon their motives. 
  As the Protestant churches reject the clear, Scriptural arguments in
  defense of God's law, they will long to silence those whose faith
  they cannot overthrow by the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes
  to the fact, they are now adopting a course which will lead to the
  persecution of those who conscientiously refuse to do what the rest
  of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the claims of the
  papal sabbath.
   
   
  The
  dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or
  compel all classes to honour the Sunday. The lack of divine authority
  will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is
  destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free
  America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favour,
  will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday
  observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a
  sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict
  we shall see exemplified the prophet's words: "The dragon was
  wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her
  seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of
  Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:17.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 37. The Only Safeguard 
   
  "To
  the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this
  word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20. The
  people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard
  against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of
  spirits of darkness. Satan employs every possible device to prevent
  men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances
  reveal his deceptions. At every revival of God's work the prince of
  evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth his
  utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers.
  The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to
  perform his marvellous works in our sight. So closely will the
  counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to
  distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their
  testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested.
   
   
  Those
  who endeavour to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and
  derided. They can stand only in God. In order to endure the trial
  before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His
  word; they can honour Him only as they have a right conception of His
  character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them.
  None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the
  Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will
  come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? The
  decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock
  of God's immutable word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of
  the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?
   
   
  Before
  His crucifixion the Saviour explained to His disciples that He was to
  be put to death and to rise again from the tomb, and angels were
  present to impress His words on minds and hearts. But the disciples
  were looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke, and they
  could not tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes
  centered should suffer an ignominious death. The words which they
  needed to remember were banished from their minds; and when the time
  of trial came, it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus as fully
  destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them. So in the
  prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened
  to the disciples by the words of Christ. The events connected with
  the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of
  trouble, are clearly presented.
   
   
  But
  multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than
  if they had never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every
  impression that would make them wise unto salvation, and the time of
  trouble will find them unready.  When God sends to men warnings so
  important that they are represented as proclaimed by holy angels
  flying in the midst of heaven, He requires every person endowed with
  reasoning powers to heed the message. The fearful judgments denounced
  against the worship of the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9-11),
  should lead all to a diligent study of the prophecies to learn what
  the mark of the beast is, and how they are to avoid receiving it. But
  the masses of the people turn away their ears from hearing the truth
  and are turned unto fables. The apostle Paul declared, looking down
  to the last days: "The time will come when they will not endure
  sound doctrine." 2 Timothy 4:3. That time has fully come. The
  multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it interferes with the
  desires of the sinful, world-loving heart; and Satan supplies the
  deceptions which they love.
   
   
  But
  God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the
  Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all
  reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the
  creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and
  discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the
  majority--not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for
  or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any
  doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain "Thus saith the
  Lord" in its support.  Satan is constantly endeavouring to
  attract attention to man in the place of God. He leads the people to
  look to bishops, to pastors, to professors of theology, as their
  guides, instead of searching the Scriptures to learn their duty for
  themselves. Then, by controlling the minds of these leaders, he can
  influence the multitudes according to his will.
   
   
  When
  Christ came to speak the words of life, the common people heard Him
  gladly; and many, even of the priests and rulers, believed on Him.
  But the chief of the priesthood and the leading men of the nation
  were determined to condemn and repudiate His teachings. Though they
  were baffled in all their efforts to find accusations against Him,
  though they could not but feel the influence of the divine power and
  wisdom attending His words, yet they incased themselves in prejudice;
  they rejected the clearest evidence of His Messiahship, lest they
  should be forced to become His disciples. These opponents of Jesus
  were men whom the people had been taught from infancy to reverence,
  to whose authority they had been accustomed implicitly to bow. "How
  is it," they asked, "that our rulers and learned scribes do
  not believe on Jesus? Would not these pious men receive Him if He
  were the Christ?" It was the influence of such teachers that led
  the Jewish nation to reject their Redeemer.  The spirit which
  actuated those priests and rulers is still manifested by many who
  make a high profession of piety. They refuse to examine the testimony
  of the Scriptures concerning the special truths for this time. They
  point to their own numbers, wealth, and popularity, and look with
  contempt upon the advocates of truth as few, poor, and unpopular,
  having a faith that separates them from the world.
   
   
  Christ
  foresaw that the undue assumption of authority indulged by the
  scribes and Pharisees would not cease with the dispersion of the
  Jews. He had a prophetic view of the work of exalting human authority
  to rule the conscience, which has been so terrible a curse to the
  church in all ages. And His fearful denunciations of the scribes and
  Pharisees, and His warnings to the people not to follow these blind
  leaders, were placed on record as an admonition to future
  generations.
   
   
  The
  Roman Church reserves to the clergy the right to interpret the
  Scriptures. On the ground that ecclesiastics alone are competent to
  explain God's word, it is withheld from the common people. Though the
  Reformation gave the Scriptures to all, yet the self-same principle
  which was maintained by Rome prevents multitudes in Protestant
  churches from searching the Bible for themselves. They are taught to
  accept its teachings as interpreted by the church; and there are
  thousands who dare receive nothing, however plainly revealed in
  Scripture, that is contrary to their creed or the established
  teaching of their church.
   
   
  Notwithstanding
  the Bible is full of warnings against false teachers, many are ready
  thus to commit the keeping of their souls to the clergy. There are
  today thousands of professors of religion who can give no other
  reason for points of faith which they hold than that they were so
  instructed by their religious leaders. They pass by the Saviour's
  teachings almost unnoticed, and place implicit confidence in the
  words of the ministers. But are ministers infallible? How can we
  trust our souls to their guidance unless we know from God's word that
  they are light bearers? A lack of moral courage to step aside from
  the beaten track of the world leads many to follow in the steps of
  learned men; and by their reluctance to investigate for themselves,
  they are becoming hopelessly fastened in the chains of error. They
  see that the truth for this time is plainly brought to view in the
  Bible; and they feel the power of the Holy Spirit attending its
  proclamation; yet they allow the opposition of the clergy to turn
  them from the light. Though reason and conscience are convinced,
  these deluded souls dare not think differently from the minister; and
  their individual judgment, their eternal interests, are sacrificed to
  the unbelief, the pride and prejudice, of another.
   
   
  Many
  are the ways by which Satan works through human influence to bind his
  captives. He secures multitudes to himself by attaching them by the
  silken cords of affection to those who are enemies of the cross of
  Christ. Whatever this attachment may be, parental, filial, conjugal,
  or social, the effect is the same; the opposers of truth exert their
  power to control the conscience, and the souls held under their sway
  have not sufficient courage or independence to obey their own
  convictions of duty.  The truth and the glory of God are inseparable;
  it is impossible for us, with the Bible within our reach, to honour
  God by erroneous opinions. Many claim that it matters not what one
  believes, if his life is only right. But the life is moulded by the
  faith. If light and truth is within our reach, and we neglect to
  improve the privilege of hearing and seeing it, we virtually reject
  it; we are choosing darkness rather than light.
   
   
  "There
  is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the
  ways of death." Proverbs 16:25. Ignorance is no excuse for error
  or sin, when there is every opportunity to know the will of God. A
  man is traveling and comes to a place where there are several roads
  and a guideboard indicating where each one leads. If he disregards
  the guideboard, and takes whichever road seems to him to be right, he
  may be ever so sincere, but will in all probability find himself on
  the wrong road.
   
   
  God
  has given us His word that we may become acquainted with its
  teachings and know for ourselves what He requires of us. When the
  lawyer came to Jesus with the inquiry, "What shall I do to
  inherit eternal life?" the Saviour referred him to the
  Scriptures, saying: "What is written in the law? how readest
  thou?" Ignorance will not excuse young or old, nor release them
  from the punishment due for the transgression of God's law; because
  there is in their hands a faithful presentation of that law and of
  its principles and claims. It is not enough to have good intentions;
  it is not enough to do what a man thinks is right or what the
  minister tells him is right. His soul's salvation is at stake, and he
  should search the Scriptures for himself. However strong may be his
  convictions, however confident he may be that the minister knows what
  is truth, this is not his foundation. He has a chart pointing out
  every waymark on the heavenward journey, and he ought not to guess at
  anything.
   
   
  It
  is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from
  the Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light and
  encourage others to follow his example. We should day by day study
  the Bible diligently, weighing every thought and comparing scripture
  with scripture. With divine help we are to form our opinions for
  ourselves as we are to answer for ourselves before God.  The truths
  most plainly revealed in the Bible have been involved in doubt and
  darkness by learned men, who, with a pretense of great wisdom, teach
  that the Scriptures have a mystical, a secret, spiritual meaning not
  apparent in the language employed. These men are false teachers. It
  was to such a class that Jesus declared: "Ye know not the
  Scriptures, neither the power of God." Mark 12:24. The language
  of the Bible should be explained according to its obvious meaning,
  unless a symbol or figure is employed. Christ has given the promise:
  "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine."
  John 7:17. If men would but take the Bible as it reads, if there were
  no false teachers to mislead and confuse their minds, a work would be
  accomplished that would make angels glad and that would bring into
  the fold of Christ thousands upon thousands who are now wandering in
  error.
   
   
  We
  should exert all the powers of the mind in the study of the
  Scriptures and should task the understanding to comprehend, as far as
  mortals can, the deep things of God; yet we must not forget that the
  docility and submission of a child is the true spirit of the learner.
  Scriptural difficulties can never be mastered by the same methods
  that are employed in grappling with philosophical problems. We should
  not engage in the study of the Bible with that self-reliance with
  which so many enter the domains of science, but with a prayerful
  dependence upon God and a sincere desire to learn His will. We must
  come with a humble and teachable spirit to obtain knowledge from the
  great I AM. Otherwise, evil angels will so blind our minds and harden
  our hearts that we shall not be impressed by the truth.
   
   
  Many
  a portion of Scripture which learned men pronounce a mystery, or pass
  over as unimportant, is full of comfort and instruction to him who
  has been taught in the school of Christ. One reason why many
  theologians have no clearer understanding of God's word is, they
  close their eyes to truths which they do not wish to practice. As
  understanding of Bible truth depends not so much on the power of
  intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of purpose, the
  earnest longing after righteousness.
   
   
  The
  Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone
  can cause us to feel the importance of those things easy to be
  understood, or prevent us from wresting truths difficult of
  comprehension. It is the office of heavenly angels to prepare the
  heart so to comprehend God's word that we shall be charmed with its
  beauty, admonished by its warnings, or animated and strengthened by
  its promises. We should make the psalmist's petition our own: "Open
  Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law."
  Psalm 119:18. Temptations often appear irresistible because, through
  neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot
  readily remember God's promises and meet Satan with the Scripture
  weapons. But angels are round about those who are willing to be
  taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will
  bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus
  "when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the
  Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19.
   
   
  Jesus
  promised His disciples: "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
  whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things,
  and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
  you." John 14:26. But the teachings of Christ must previously
  have been stored in the mind in order for the Spirit of God to bring
  them to our remembrance in the time of peril. "Thy word have I
  hid in mine heart," said David, "that I might not sin
  against Thee." Psalm 119:11.
   
   
  All
  who value their eternal interests should be on their guard against
  the inroads of skepticism. The very pillars of truth will be
  assailed. It is impossible to keep beyond the reach of the sarcasms
  and sophisms, the insidious and pestilent teachings, of modern
  infidelity. Satan adapts his temptations to all classes. He assails
  the illiterate with a jest or sneer, while he meets the educated with
  scientific objections and philosophical reasoning, alike calculated
  to excite distrust or contempt of the Scriptures. Even youth of
  little experience presume to insinuate doubts concerning the
  fundamental principles of Christianity. And this youthful infidelity,
  shallow as it is, has its influence. Many are thus led to jest at the
  faith of their fathers and to do despite to the Spirit of grace.
  Hebrews 10:29. Many a life that promised to be an honour to God and a
  blessing to the world has been blighted by the foul breath of
  infidelity. All who trust to the boastful decisions of human reason
  and imagine that they can explain divine mysteries and arrive at
  truth unaided by the wisdom of God are entangled in the snare of
  Satan.
   
   
  We
  are living in the most solemn period of this world's history. The
  destiny of earth's teeming multitudes is about to be decided. Our own
  future well-being and also the salvation of other souls depend upon
  the course which we now pursue. We need to be guided by the Spirit of
  truth. Every follower of Christ should earnestly inquire: "Lord,
  what wilt Thou have me to do?" We need to humble ourselves
  before the Lord, with fasting and prayer, and to meditate much upon
  His word, especially upon the scenes of the judgment. We should now
  seek a deep and living experience in the things of God. We have not a
  moment to lose. Events of vital importance are taking place around
  us; we are on Satan's enchanted ground. Sleep not, sentinels of God;
  the foe is lurking near, ready at any moment, should you become lax
  and drowsy, to spring upon you and make you his prey.
   
   
  Many
  are deceived as to their true condition before God. They congratulate
  themselves upon the wrong acts which they do not commit, and forget
  to enumerate the good and noble deeds which God requires of them, but
  which they have neglected to perform. It is not enough that they are
  trees in the garden of God. They are to answer His expectation by
  bearing fruit. He holds them accountable for their failure to
  accomplish all the good which they could have done, through His grace
  strengthening them. In the books of heaven they are registered as
  cumberers of the ground. Yet the case of even this class is not
  utterly hopeless. With those who have slighted God's mercy and abused
  His grace, the heart of long-suffering love yet pleads. "Wherefore
  He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and
  Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, .
  . . redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians
  5:14-16.
   
   
  When
  the testing time shall come, those who have made God's word their
  rule of life will be revealed. In summer there is no noticeable
  difference between evergreens and other trees; but when the blasts of
  winter come, the evergreens remain unchanged, while other trees are
  stripped of their foliage. So the falsehearted professor may not now
  be distinguished from the real Christian, but the time is just upon
  us when the difference will be apparent. Let opposition arise, let
  bigotry and intolerance again bear sway, let persecution be kindled,
  and the halfhearted and hypocritical will waver and yield the faith;
  but the true Christian will stand firm as a rock, his faith stronger,
  his hope brighter, than in days of prosperity.  Says the psalmist:
  "Thy testimonies are my meditation." "Through Thy
  precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way."
  Psalm 119:99, 104.
   
   
  "Happy
  is the man that findeth wisdom." "He shall be as a tree
  planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river,
  and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and
  shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from
  yielding fruit." Proverbs 3:13; Jeremiah 17:8.   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 38. The Final Warning 
   
  "I
  saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the
  earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a
  strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is
  become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,
  and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." "And I heard
  another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that
  ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
  plagues." Revelation 18:1, 2, 4.
   
   
  This
  scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall
  of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14 (verse 8),
  is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions
  which have been entering the various organizations that constitute
  Babylon, since that message was first given, in the summer of 1844. A
  terrible condition of the religious world is here described. With
  every rejection of truth the minds of the people will become darker,
  their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel
  hardihood. In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will
  continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue, until
  they are led to persecute those who hold it sacred. Christ is set at
  nought in the contempt placed upon His word and His people. As the
  teachings of spiritualism are accepted by the churches, the 
  restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is removed, and the
  profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest
  iniquity. A belief in spiritual manifestations opens the door to
  seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of
  evil angels will be felt in the churches.
   
   
  Of
  Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is
  declared: "Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
  remembered her iniquities." Revelation 18:5. She has filled up
  the measure of her guilt, and destruction is about to fall upon her.
  But God still has a people in Babylon; and before the visitation of
  His judgments these faithful ones must be called out, that they
  partake not of her sins and "receive not of her plagues."
  Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven,
  lightening the earth with his glory and crying mightily with a strong
  voice, announcing the sins of Babylon. In connection with his message
  the call is heard: "Come out of her, My people." These
  announcements, uniting with the third angel's message, constitute the
  final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth.
   
   
  Fearful
  is the issue to which the world is to be brought. The powers of
  earth, uniting to war against the commandments of God, will decree
  that "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond"
  (Revelation 13:16), shall conform to the customs of the church by the
  observance of the false sabbath. All who refuse compliance will be
  visited with civil penalties, and it will finally be declared that
  they are deserving of death. On the other hand, the law of God
  enjoining the Creator's rest day demands obedience and threatens
  wrath against all who transgress its precepts.
   
   
  With
  the issue thus clearly brought before him, whoever shall trample upon
  God's law to obey a human enactment receives the mark of the beast;
  he accepts the sign of allegiance to the power which he chooses to
  obey instead of God. The warning from heaven is: "If any man
  worship the beast  and his image, and receive his mark in his
  forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the
  wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His
  indignation." Revelation 14:9, 10.
   
   
  But
  not one is made to suffer the wrath of God until the truth has been
  brought home to his mind and conscience, and has been rejected. There
  are many who have never had an opportunity to hear the special truths
  for this time. The obligation of the fourth commandment has never
  been set before them in its true light. He who reads every heart and
  tries every motive will leave none who desire a knowledge of the
  truth, to be deceived as to the issues of the controversy. The decree
  is not to be urged upon the people blindly. Everyone is to have
  sufficient light to make his decision intelligently.
   
   
  The
  Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of
  truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought
  to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between
  those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance
  of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state,
  contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance
  to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true
  Sabbath, in obedience to God's law, is an evidence of loyalty to the
  Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to
  earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other choosing the
  token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God.
   
   
  Heretofore
  those who presented the truths of the third angel's message have
  often been regarded as mere alarmists. Their predictions that
  religious intolerance would gain control in the United States, that
  church and state would unite to persecute those who keep the
  commandments of God, have been pronounced groundless and absurd. It
  has been confidently declared that this land could never become other
  than what it has been--the defender of religious freedom. But as the
  question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event
  so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the
  third message will produce an effect which it could not have had
  before.
   
   
  In
  every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin, both in the
  world and in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken
  to them, and the pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many
  reformers, in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great
  prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They
  hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people
  back to the doctrines of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon
  them as it came upon Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins of a
  wicked king and an apostate people; they could not refrain from
  preaching the plain utterances of the Bible-- doctrines which they
  had been reluctant to present. They were impelled to zealously
  declare the truth and the danger which threatened souls. The words
  which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of consequences, and
  the people were compelled to hear the warning.
   
   
  Thus
  the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes
  for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through
  humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate
  themselves to His service. The labourers will be qualified rather by
  the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary
  institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth
  with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of
  Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the
  observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of
  spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power--all
  will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be
  stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard
  words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon
  is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her
  rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven.
   
   
  As
  the people go to their former teachers with the eager inquiry, Are
  these things so? the ministers present fables, prophesy smooth
  things, to soothe their fears and quiet the awakened conscience. But
  since many refuse to be satisfied with the mere authority of men and
  demand a plain "Thus saith the Lord," the popular ministry,
  like the Pharisees of old, filled with anger as their authority is
  questioned, will denounce the message as of Satan and stir up the
  sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it. 
  As the controversy extends into new fields and the minds of the
  people are called to God's downtrodden law, Satan is astir. The power
  attending the message will only madden those who oppose it. The
  clergy will put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the
  light lest it should shine upon their flocks. By every means at their
  command they will endeavour to suppress the discussion of these vital
  questions.
   
   
  The
  church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and, in this work,
  papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday enforcement
  becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against
  commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and
  imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and
  other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith.
  But their steadfast answer is: "Show us from the word of God our
  error"--the same plea that was made by Luther under similar
  circumstances. Those who are arraigned before the courts make a
  strong vindication of the truth, and some who hear them are led to
  take their stand to keep all the commandments of God. Thus light will
  be brought before thousands who otherwise would know nothing of these
  truths.
   
   
  Conscientious
  obedience to the word of God will be treated as rebellion. Blinded by
  Satan, the parent will exercise harshness and severity toward the
  believing child; the master or mistress will oppress the
  commandment-keeping servant. Affection will be alienated; children
  will be disinherited and driven from home. The words of Paul will be
  literally fulfilled: "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus
  shall suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12. As the defenders of
  truth refuse to honour the Sunday-sabbath, some of them will be
  thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as
  slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible; but as the
  restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men, and they shall
  be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there
  will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God's
  fear and love are removed.
   
   
  As
  the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the
  third angel's message, but have not been sanctified through obedience
  to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the
  opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit,
  they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the
  test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side.
  Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth,
  employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the
  most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are
  brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates
  are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse
  them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers
  against them.
   
   
  In
  this time of persecution the faith of the Lord's servants will be
  tried. They have faithfully given the warning, looking to God and to
  His word alone. God's Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has
  constrained them to speak. Stimulated with holy zeal, and with the
  divine impulse strong upon them, they entered upon the performance of
  their duties without coldly calculating the consequences of speaking
  to the people the word which the Lord had given them. They have not
  consulted their temporal interests, nor sought to preserve their
  reputation or their lives. Yet when the storm of opposition and
  reproach bursts upon them, some, overwhelmed with consternation, will
  be ready to exclaim: "Had we foreseen the consequences of our
  words, we would have held our peace." They are hedged in with
  difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations. The work
  which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to
  accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm
  which animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then, feeling
  their utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength.
  They remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs,
  but His who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their
  hearts, and they could not forbear to proclaim it.
   
   
  The
  same trials have been experienced by men of God in ages past.
  Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley, urged that all
  doctrines be brought to the test of the Bible and declared that they
  would renounce everything which it condemned. Against these men
  persecution raged with relentless fury; yet they ceased not to
  declare the truth. Different periods in the history of the church
  have each been marked by the development of some special truth,
  adapted to the necessities of God's people at that time. Every new
  truth has made its way against hatred and opposition; those who were
  blessed with its light were tempted and tried. The Lord gives a
  special truth for the people in an emergency. Who dare refuse to
  publish it? He commands His servants to present the last invitation
  of mercy to the world. They cannot remain silent, except at the peril
  of their souls. Christ's ambassadors have nothing to do with
  consequences. They must perform their duty and leave results with
  God.
   
   
  As
  the opposition rises to a fiercer height, the servants of God are
  again perplexed; for it seems to them that they have brought the
  crisis. But conscience and the word of God assure them that their
  course is right; and although the trials continue, they are
  strengthened to bear them. The contest grows closer and sharper, but
  their faith and courage rise with the emergency. Their testimony is:
  "We dare not tamper with God's word, dividing His holy law;
  calling one portion essential and another nonessential, to gain the
  favour of the world. The Lord whom we serve is able to deliver us.
  Christ has conquered the powers of earth; and shall we be afraid of a
  world already conquered?"
   
   
  Persecution
  in its varied forms is the development of a principle which will
  exist as long as Satan exists and Christianity has vital power. No
  man can serve God without enlisting against himself the opposition of
  the hosts of darkness. Evil angels will assail him, alarmed that his
  influence is taking the prey from their hands. Evil men, rebuked by
  his example, will unite with them in seeking to separate him from God
  by alluring temptations. When these do not succeed, then a compelling
  power is employed to force the conscience.  But so long as Jesus
  remains man's intercessor in the sanctuary above, the restraining
  influence of the Holy Spirit is felt by rulers and people. It still
  controls to some extent the laws of the land. Were it not for these
  laws, the condition of the world would be much worse than it now is.
   
   
  While
  many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His
  agents among the leading men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his
  servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of
  God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to
  oppose such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men
  will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the
  enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel's message
  may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will
  arrest the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is
  now working, and some of them will accept it, and will stand with the
  people of God through the time of trouble. The angel who unites in
  the proclamation of the third angel's message is to lighten the whole
  earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and unwonted power
  is here foretold. The advent movement of 1840-44 was a glorious
  manifestation of the power of God; the first angel's message was
  carried to every missionary station in the world, and in some
  countries there was the greatest religious interest which has been
  witnessed in any land since the Reformation of the sixteenth century;
  but these are to be exceeded by the mighty movement under the last
  warning of the third angel.
   
   
  The
  work will be similar to that of the Day of Pentecost. As the "former
  rain" was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the
  opening of the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed,
  so the "latter rain" will be given at its close for the
  ripening of the harvest. "Then shall we know, if we follow on to
  know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He
  shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto
  the earth." Hosea 6:3. "Be glad then, ye children of Zion,
  and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former
  rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the
  former rain, and the latter rain." Joel 2:23. "In the last
  days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh."
  "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the
  name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:17, 21.
   
   
  The
  great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of
  the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were
  fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the
  gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close.
  Here are "the times of refreshing" to which the apostle
  Peter looked forward when he said: "Repent ye therefore, and be
  converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
  refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall
  send Jesus." Acts 3:19, 20.  Servants of God, with their faces
  lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place
  to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices,
  all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be
  wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow
  the believers.
   
   
  Satan
  also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven
  in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the
  earth will be brought to take their stand.  The message will be
  carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the
  Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been
  sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications
  distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet
  many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully
  comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of
  light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and
  the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them.
  Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now.
  Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies
  combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the
  Lord's side.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 39. Anarchy Unleashed 
   
  "At
  that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for
  the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble,
  such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:
  and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall
  be found written in the book." Daniel 12:1.
   
   
  When
  the third angel's message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the
  guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished
  their work. They have received "the latter rain," "the
  refreshing from the presence of the Lord," and they are prepared
  for the trying hour before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in
  heaven. An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is
  done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who
  have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received
  "the seal of the living God." Then Jesus ceases His
  intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands and with a
  loud voice says, "It is done;" and all the angelic host lay
  off their crowns as He makes the solemn announcement: "He that
  is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him
  be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous
  still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Revelation
  22:11.
   
   
  Every
  case has been decided for life or death. Christ has made the
  atonement for His people and blotted out their sins. The number of
  His subjects is made up; "the kingdom and dominion, and the
  greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven," is about to be
  given to the heirs of salvation, and Jesus is to reign as King of
  kings and Lord of lords.  When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness
  covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the
  righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an
  intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed,
  and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God's
  longsuffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised
  His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the
  boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently
  resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace,
  they have no protection from the wicked one.
   
   
  Satan
  will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final
  trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds
  of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The
  whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which
  came upon Jerusalem of old.  A single angel destroyed all the
  first-born of the Egyptians and filled the land with mourning. When
  David offended against God by numbering the people, one angel caused
  that terrible destruction by which his sin was punished. The same
  destructive power exercised by holy angels when God commands, will be
  exercised by evil angels when He permits. There are forces now ready,
  and only waiting the divine permission, to spread desolation
  everywhere.
   
   
  Those
  who honour the law of God have been accused of bringing judgments
  upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of the fearful
  convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among men that are
  filling the earth with woe. The power attending the last warning has
  enraged the wicked; their anger is kindled against all who have
  received the message, and Satan will excite to still greater
  intensity the spirit of hatred and persecution.  When God's presence
  was finally withdrawn from the Jewish nation, priests and people knew
  it not. Though under the control of Satan, and swayed by the most
  horrible and malignant passions, they still regarded themselves as
  the chosen of God. The ministration in the temple continued;
  sacrifices were offered upon its polluted altars, and daily the
  divine blessing was invoked upon a people guilty of the blood of
  God's dear Son and seeking to slay His ministers and apostles.
   
   
  So
  when the irrevocable decision of the sanctuary has been pronounced
  and the destiny of the world has been forever fixed, the inhabitants
  of the earth will know it not. The forms of religion will be
  continued by a people from whom the Spirit of God has been finally
  withdrawn; and the satanic zeal with which the prince of evil will
  inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant designs, will
  bear the semblance of zeal for God.  As the Sabbath has become the
  special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious
  and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance of
  the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to
  the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It
  will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution
  of the church and a law of the state ought not to be tolerated; that
  it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown
  into confusion and lawlessness.
   
   
  The
  same argument eighteen hundred years ago was brought against Christ
  by the "rulers of the people." "It is expedient for
  us," said the wily Caiaphas, "that one man should die for
  the people, and that the whole nation perish not." John 11:50.
  This argument will appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be
  issued against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth
  commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment
  and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to
  death. Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the
  New will pursue a similar course toward those who honour all the
  divine precepts.  The people of God will then be plunged into those
  scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the
  time of Jacob's trouble.
   
   
  "Thus
  saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not
  of peace. . . . All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! for that
  day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's
  trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." Jeremiah 30:5-7. 
  Jacob's night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance
  from the hand of Esau (Genesis 32:24-30), represents the experience
  of God's people in the time of trouble. Because of the deception
  practiced to secure his father's blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob
  had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother's deadly threats. After
  remaining for many years an exile, he had set out, at God's command,
  to return with his wives and children, his flocks and herds, to his
  native country.
   
   
  On
  reaching the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the
  tidings of Esau's approach at the head of a band of warriors,
  doubtless bent upon revenge. Jacob's company, unarmed and
  defenseless, seemed about to fall helpless victims of violence and
  slaughter. And to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the
  crushing weight of self-reproach, for it was his own sin that had
  brought this danger. His only hope was in the mercy of God; his only
  defense must be prayer. Yet he leaves nothing undone on his own part
  to atone for the wrong to his brother and to avert the threatened
  danger. So should the followers of Christ, as they approach the time
  of trouble, make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light
  before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger which
  threatens liberty of conscience.
   
   
  Having
  sent his family away, that they may not witness his distress, Jacob
  remains alone to intercede with God. He confesses his sin and
  gratefully acknowledges the mercy of God toward him while with deep
  humiliation he pleads the covenant made with his fathers and the
  promises to himself in the night vision at Bethel and in the land of
  his exile. The crisis in his life has come; everything is at stake.
  In the darkness and solitude he continues praying and humbling
  himself before God. Suddenly a hand is laid upon his shoulder. He
  thinks that an enemy is seeking his life, and with all the energy of
  despair he wrestles with his assailant. As the day begins to break,
  the stranger puts forth his superhuman power; at his touch the strong
  man seems paralyzed, and he falls, a helpless, weeping suppliant,
  upon the neck of his mysterious antagonist.
   
   
  Jacob
  knows now that it is the Angel of the covenant with whom he has been
  in conflict. Though disabled and suffering the keenest pain, he does
  not relinquish his purpose. Long has he endured perplexity, remorse,
  and trouble for his sin; now he must have the assurance that it is
  pardoned. The divine visitant seems about to depart; but Jacob clings
  to Him, pleading for a blessing. The Angel urges, "Let Me go,
  for the day breaketh;" but the patriarch exclaims, "I will
  not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." What confidence, what
  firmness and perseverance, are here displayed! Had this been a
  boastful, presumptuous claim, Jacob would have been instantly
  destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who confesses his
  weakness and unworthiness, yet trusts the mercy of a covenant-keeping
  God.
   
   
  "He
  had power over the Angel, and prevailed." Hosea 12:4. Through
  humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring
  mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had fastened his
  trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite
  Love could not turn away the sinner's plea. As an evidence of his
  triumph and an encouragement to others to imitate his example, his
  name was changed from one which was a reminder of his sin, to one
  that commemorated his victory. And the fact that Jacob had prevailed
  with God was an assurance that he would prevail with men. He no
  longer feared to encounter his brother's anger, for the Lord was his
  defense.
   
   
  Satan
  had accused Jacob before the angels of God, claiming the right to
  destroy him because of his sin; he had moved upon Esau to march
  against him; and during the patriarch's long night of wrestling,
  Satan endeavoured to force upon him a sense of his guilt in order to
  discourage him and break his hold upon God. Jacob was driven almost
  to despair; but he knew that without help from heaven he must perish.
  He had sincerely repented of his great sin, and he appealed to the
  mercy of God. He would not be turned from his purpose, but held fast
  the Angel and urged his petition with earnest, agonizing cries until
  he prevailed.
   
   
  As
  Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the
  wicked to destroy God's people in the time of trouble. And as he
  accused Jacob, he will urge his accusations against the people of
  God. He numbers the world as his subjects; but the little company who
  keep the commandments of God are resisting his supremacy. If he could
  blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. He sees that
  holy angels are guarding them, and he infers that their sins have
  been pardoned; but he does not know that their cases have been
  decided in the sanctuary above. He has an accurate knowledge of the
  sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these
  before God in the most exaggerated light, representing this people to
  be just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favour of God.
  He declares that the Lord cannot in justice forgive their sins and
  yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as his prey and
  demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.
   
   
  As
  Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the Lord
  permits him to try them to the uttermost. Their confidence in God,
  their faith and firmness, will be severely tested. As they review the
  past, their hopes sink; for in their whole lives they can see little
  good. They are fully conscious of their weakness and unworthiness.
  Satan endeavours to terrify them with the thought that their cases
  are hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed
  away. He hopes so to destroy their faith that they will yield to his
  temptations and turn from their allegiance to God.
   
   
  Though
  God's people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their
  destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of
  persecution for the truth's sake; they fear that every sin has not
  been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will
  fail to realise the fulfillment of the Saviour's promise: I "will
  keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the
  world." Revelation 3:10. If they could have the assurance of
  pardon they would not shrink from torture or death; but should they
  prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of
  character, then God's holy name would be reproached.
   
   
  On
  every hand they hear the plottings of treason and see the active
  working of rebellion; and there is aroused within them an intense
  desire, an earnest yearning of soul, that this great apostasy may be
  terminated and the wickedness of the wicked may come to an end. But
  while they plead with God to stay the work of rebellion, it is with a
  keen sense of self-reproach that they themselves have no more power
  to resist and urge back the mighty tide of evil. They feel that had
  they always employed all their ability in the service of Christ,
  going forward from strength to strength, Satan's forces would have
  less power to prevail against them.
   
   
  They
  afflict their souls before God, pointing to their past repentance of
  their many sins, and pleading the Saviour's promise: "Let him
  take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he
  shall make peace with Me." Isaiah 27:5. Their faith does not
  fail because their prayers  are not immediately answered. Though
  suffering the keenest anxiety, terror, and distress, they do not
  cease their intercessions. They lay hold of the strength of God as
  Jacob laid hold of the Angel; and the language of their souls is: "I
  will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me."
   
   
  Had
  not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright
  by fraud, God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully
  preserved his life. So, in the time of trouble, if the people of God
  had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear
  and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their
  faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for
  deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness,
  they have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins have gone
  beforehand to judgment and have been blotted out, and they cannot
  bring them to remembrance.
   
   
  Satan
  leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in
  the minor affairs of life; but the Lord shows in His dealings with
  Jacob that He will in no wise sanction or tolerate evil. All who
  endeavour to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain
  upon the books of heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be
  overcome by Satan. The more exalted their profession and the more
  honourable the position which they hold, the more grievous is their
  course in the sight of God and the more sure the triumph of their
  great adversary. Those who delay a preparation for the day of God
  cannot obtain it in the time of trouble or at any subsequent time.
  The case of all such is hopeless.
   
   
  Those
  professed Christians who come up to that last fearful conflict
  unprepared will, in their despair, confess their sins in words of
  burning anguish, while the wicked exult over their distress. These
  confessions are of the same character as was that of Esau or of
  Judas. Those who make them, lament the result of transgression, but
  not its guilt. They feel no true contrition, no abhorrence of evil.
  They acknowledge their sin, through fear of punishment; but, like
  Pharaoh of old, they would return to their defiance of Heaven should
  the judgments be removed.
   
   
  Jacob's
  history is also an assurance that God will not cast off those who
  have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin, but who have
  returned unto Him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to destroy
  this class, God will send His angels to comfort and protect them in
  the time of peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined,
  his delusions are terrible; but the Lord's eye is upon His people,
  and His ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is great, the
  flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner
  will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God's love for His
  children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and
  tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful
  for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must
  be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.
   
   
  The
  season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that
  can endure weariness, delay, and hunger--a faith that will not faint
  though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to
  prepare for that time. Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and
  determined. His victory is an evidence of the power of importunate
  prayer. All who will lay hold of God's promises, as he did, and be as
  earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded.
  Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray
  long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it.
   
   
  Wrestling
  with God--how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls
  drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on
  the stretch. When waves of despair which no language can express
  sweep over the suppliant, how few cling with unyielding faith to the
  promises of God.  Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the
  greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and
  the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test
  they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of
  trouble, because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The
  lessons of faith which they have neglected they will be forced to
  learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement.
   
   
  We
  should now acquaint ourselves with God by proving His promises.
  Angels record every prayer that is earnest and sincere. We should
  rather dispense with selfish gratifications than neglect communion
  with God. The deepest poverty, the greatest self-denial, with His
  approval, is better than riches, honours, ease, and friendship
  without it. We must take time to pray. If we allow our minds to be
  absorbed by worldly interests, the Lord may give us time by removing
  from us our idols of gold, of houses, or of fertile lands.
   
   
  The
  young would not be seduced into sin if they would refuse to enter any
  path save that upon which they could ask God's blessing. If the
  messengers who bear the last solemn warning to the world would pray
  for the blessing of God, not in a cold, listless, lazy manner, but
  fervently and in faith, as did Jacob, they would find many places
  where they could say: "I have seen God face to face, and my life
  is preserved." Genesis 32:30. They would be accounted of heaven
  as princes, having power to prevail with God and with men.
   
   
  The
  "time of trouble, such as never was," is soon to open upon
  us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess and
  which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that
  trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not
  true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot
  reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul
  must stand for himself before God. "Though Noah, Daniel, and
  Job" were in the land, "as I live, saith the Lord God, they
  shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their
  own souls by their righteousness." Ezekiel 14:20.
   
   
  Now,
  while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should
  seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our
  Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Satan finds
  in human hearts some point where he can gain a foothold; some sinful
  desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their
  power. But Christ declared of Himself: "The prince of this world
  cometh, and hath nothing in Me." John 14:30. Satan could find
  nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory.
  He had kept His Father's commandments, and there was no sin in Him
  that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition in which
  those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.
   
   
  It
  is in this life that we are to separate sin from us, through faith in
  the atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Saviour invites us to join
  ourselves to Him, to unite our weakness to His strength, our
  ignorance to His wisdom, our unworthiness to His merits. God's
  providence is the school in which we are to learn the meekness and
  lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting before us, not the way
  we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the
  true aims of life. It rests with us to co-operate with the agencies
  which Heaven employs in the work of conforming our characters to the
  divine model. None can neglect or defer this work but at the most
  fearful peril to their souls.
   
   
  The
  apostle John in vision heard a loud voice in heaven exclaiming: "Woe
  to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come
  down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath
  but a short time." Revelation 12:12. Fearful are the scenes
  which call forth this exclamation from the heavenly voice. The wrath
  of Satan increases as his time grows short, and his work of deceit
  and destruction will reach its culmination in the time of trouble.
   
   
  Fearful
  sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed in the
  heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons. The spirits
  of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the whole
  world, to fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite with
  Satan in his last struggle against the government of heaven. By these
  agencies, rulers and subjects will be alike deceived. Persons will
  arise pretending to be Christ Himself, and claiming the title and
  worship which belong to the world's Redeemer. They will perform
  wonderful miracles of healing and will profess to have revelations
  from heaven contradicting the testimony of the Scriptures.
   
   
  As
  the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will
  personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the
  Saviour's advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great
  deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts
  of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic
  being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son
  of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-15. The glory
  that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have
  yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air: "Christ
  has come! Christ has come!" The people prostrate themselves in
  adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a
  blessing upon them, as Christ blessed His disciples when He was upon
  the earth.
   
   
  His
  voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle,
  compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly
  truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the
  people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to
  have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the
  day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in
  keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to
  listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth. This is the
  strong, almost overmastering delusion. Like the Samaritans who were
  deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes, from the least to the
  greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying: This is "the
  great power of God." Acts 8:10.
   
   
  But
  the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false
  christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures. His blessing is
  pronounced upon the worshipers of the beast and his image, the very
  class upon whom the Bible declares that God's unmingled wrath shall
  be poured out.  And, furthermore, Satan is not permitted to
  counterfeit the manner of Christ's advent. The Saviour has warned His
  people against deception upon this point, and has clearly foretold
  the manner of His second coming. "There shall arise false
  christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders;
  insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect
  …. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the
  desert; go not forth; behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe
  it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even
  unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
  Matthew 24:24-27, 31; 25:31; Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,
  17. This coming there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It will be
  universally known--witnessed by the whole world.
   
   
  Only
  those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have
  received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful
  delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these
  will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time
  will come. By the sifting of temptation the genuine Christian will be
  revealed. Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His
  word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would
  they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan
  will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand
  in that day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up their way,
  entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them to carry a heavy,
  wearisome burden, that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares
  of this life and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief.
   
   
  As
  the decree issued by the various rulers of Christendom against
  commandment keepers shall withdraw the protection of government and
  abandon them to those who desire their destruction, the people of God
  will flee from the cities and villages and associate together in
  companies, dwelling in the most desolate and solitary places. Many
  will find refuge in the strongholds of the mountains. Like the
  Christians of the Piedmont valleys, they will make the high places of
  the earth their sanctuaries and will thank God for "the
  munitions of rocks." Isaiah 33:16. But many of all nations and
  of all classes, high and low, rich and poor, black and white, will be
  cast into the most unjust and cruel bondage. The beloved of God pass
  weary days, bound in chains, shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be
  slain, some apparently left to die of starvation in dark and
  loathsome dungeons. No human ear is open to hear their moans; no
  human hand is ready to lend them help.
   
   
  Will
  the Lord forget His people in this trying hour? Did He forget
  faithful Noah when judgments were visited upon the antediluvian
  world? Did He forget Lot when the fire came down from heaven to
  consume the cities of the plain? Did He forget Joseph surrounded by
  idolaters in Egypt? Did He forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel
  threatened him with the fate of the prophets of Baal? Did He forget
  Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his prison house? Did He
  forget the three worthies in the fiery furnace? or Daniel in the den
  of lions?
   
   
  "Zion
  said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a
  woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion
  on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget
  thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands."
  Isaiah 49:14-16. The Lord hosts has said: "He that toucheth you
  toucheth the apple of His eye." Zechariah 2:8.  Though enemies
  may thrust them into prison, yet dungeon walls cannot cut off the
  communication between their souls and Christ. One who sees their
  every weakness, who is acquainted with every trial, is above all
  earthly powers; and angels will come to them in lonely cells,
  bringing light and peace from heaven. The prison will be as a palace;
  for the rich in faith dwell there, and the gloomy walls will be
  lighted up with heavenly light as when Paul and Silas prayed and sang
  praises at midnight in the Philippian dungeon.
   
   
  God's
  judgments will be visited upon those who are seeking to oppress and
  destroy His people. His long forbearance with the wicked emboldens
  men in transgression, but their punishment is nonetheless certain and
  terrible because it is long delayed. The Lord shall rise up as in
  Mount Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He
  may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His
  strange act." Isaiah 28:21. To our merciful God the act of
  punishment is a strange act. "As I live, saith the Lord God, I
  have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." Ezekiel 33:11. The
  Lord is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in
  goodness and truth, . .. forgiving iniquity and transgression and
  sin." Yet He will "by no means clear the guilty." The
  Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit
  the wicked." Exodus 34:6, 7; Nahum 1:3. By terrible things in
  righteousness He will vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law.
  The severity of the retribution awaiting the transgressor may be
  judged by the Lord's reluctance to execute justice. The nation with
  which He bears long, and which He will not smite until it has filled
  up the measure of its iniquity in God's account, will finally drink
  the cup of wrath unmixed with mercy.
   
   
  When
  Christ ceases His intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled wrath
  threatened against those who worship the beast and his image and
  receive his mark (Revelation 14:9, 10), will be poured out. The
  plagues upon Egypt when God was about to deliver Israel were similar
  in character to those  more terrible and extensive judgments which
  are to fall upon the world just before the final deliverance of God's
  people. Says the revelator, in describing those terrific scourges:
  "There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had
  the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image."
  The sea became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died
  in the sea.
   
   
  "
  And "the rivers and fountains of waters . . . became blood."
  Terrible as these inflictions are, God's justice stands fully
  vindicated. The angel of God declares: "Thou art righteous, O
  Lord, . . . because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the
  blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to
  drink; for they are worthy." Revelation 16:2-6. By condemning
  the people of God to death, they have as truly incurred the guilt of
  their blood as if it had been shed by their hands. In like manner
  Christ declared the Jews of His time guilty of all the blood of holy
  men which had been shed since the days of Abel; for they possessed
  the same spirit and were seeking to do the same work with these
  murderers of the prophets.
   
   
  In
  the plague that follows, power is given to the sun "to scorch
  men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat." Verses 8,
  9. The prophets thus describe the condition of the earth at this
  fearful time: "The land mourneth; . . . because the harvest of
  the field is perished. . . . All the trees of the field are withered:
  because joy is withered away from the sons of men." "The
  seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate. . .
  . How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because
  they have no pasture. . . . The rivers of water are dried up, and the
  fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness." "The
  songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord
  God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast
  them forth with silence." Joel 1:10-12, 17-20; Amos 8:3.
   
   
  These
  plagues are not universal, or the inhabitants of the earth would be
  wholly cut off. Yet they will be the most awful scourges that have
  ever been known to mortals. All the judgments upon men, prior to the
  close of probation, have been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood
  of Christ has shielded the sinner from receiving the full measure of
  his guilt; but in the final judgment, wrath is poured out unmixed
  with mercy. In that day, multitudes will desire the shelter of God's
  mercy which they have so long despised. "Behold, the days come,
  saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a
  famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of
  the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north
  even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the
  Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11, 12.
   
   
  The
  people of God will not be free from suffering; but while persecuted
  and distressed, while they endure privation and suffer for want of
  food they will not be left to perish. That God who cared for Elijah
  will not pass by one of His self-sacrificing children. He who numbers
  the hairs of their head will care for them, and in time of famine
  they shall be satisfied. While the wicked are dying from hunger and
  pestilence, angels will shield the righteous and supply their wants.
  To him that "walketh righteously" is the promise: "Bread
  shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." "When the
  poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue
  faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel
  will not forsake them." Isaiah 33:15, 16; 41:17.
   
   
  "Although
  the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines;
  the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no
  meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no
  herd in the stalls;" yet shall they that fear Him "rejoice
  in the Lord" and joy in the God of their salvation. Habakkuk
  3:17, 18.  "The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon
  thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by
  night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:  He shall preserve
  thy soul." "He shall deliver thee from the snare of the
  fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His
  fathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy
  shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
  nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that
  walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right
  hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt
  thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made
  the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation;
  there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh
  thy dwelling." Psalms 121:5-7; 91:3-10.
   
   
  Yet
  to human sight it will appear that the people of God must soon seal
  their testimony with their blood as did the martyrs before them. They
  themselves begin to fear that the Lord has left them to fall by the
  hand of their enemies. It is a time of fearful agony. Day and night
  they cry unto God for deliverance. The wicked exult, and the jeering
  cry is heard: "Where now is your faith? Why does not God deliver
  you out of our hands if you are indeed His people?" But the
  waiting ones remember Jesus dying upon Calvary's cross and the chief
  priests and rulers shouting in mockery: "He saved others;
  Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come
  down from the cross, and we will believe Him." Matthew 27:42.
  Like Jacob, all are wrestling with God. Their countenances express
  their internal struggle. Paleness sits upon every face. Yet they
  cease not their earnest intercession.
   
   
  Could
  men see with heavenly vision, they would behold companies of angels
  that excel in strength stationed about those who have kept the word
  of Christ's patience. With sympathizing tenderness, angels have
  witnessed their distress and have heard their prayers. They are
  waiting the word of their Commander to snatch them from their peril.
  But they must wait yet a little longer. The people of God must drink 
  of the cup and be baptized with the baptism. The very delay, so
  painful to them, is the best answer to their petitions. As they
  endeavour to wait trustingly for the Lord to work they are led to
  exercise faith, hope, and patience, which have been too little
  exercised during their religious experience. Yet for the elect's sake
  the time of trouble will be shortened. "Shall not God avenge His
  own elect, which cry day and night unto Him? . . . I tell you that He
  will avenge them speedily." Luke 18:7, 8. The end will come more
  quickly than men expect. The wheat will be gathered and bound in
  sheaves for the garner of God; the tares will be bound as fagots for
  the fires of destruction.
   
   
  The
  heavenly sentinels, faithful to their trust, continue their watch.
  Though a general decree has fixed the time when commandment keepers
  may be put to death, their enemies will in some cases anticipate the
  decree, and before the time specified, will endeavour to take their
  lives. But none can pass the mighty guardians stationed about every
  faithful soul. Some are assailed in their flight from the cities and
  villages; but the swords raised against them break and fall powerless
  as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form of men of war.
   
   
  In
  all ages, God has wrought through holy angels for the succor and
  deliverance of His people. Celestial beings have taken an active part
  in the affairs of men. They have appeared clothed in garments that
  shone as the lightning; they have come as men in the garb of
  wayfarers. Angels have appeared in human form to men of God. They
  have rested, as if weary, under the oaks at noon. They have accepted
  the hospitalities of human homes. They have acted as guides to
  benighted travelers. They have, with their own hands, kindled the
  fires at the altar. They have opened prison doors and set free the
  servants of the Lord. Clothed with the panoply of heaven, they came
  to roll away the stone from the Saviour's tomb.
   
   
  In
  the form of men, angels are often in the assemblies of the righteous;
  and they visit the assemblies of the wicked, as they went to Sodom,
  to make a record of their deeds, to determine whether they have
  passed the boundary of God's forbearance. The Lord delights in mercy;
  and for the sake of a few who really serve Him, He restrains
  calamities and prolongs the tranquillity of multitudes. Little do
  sinners against God realise that they are indebted for their own
  lives to the faithful few whom they delight to ridicule and oppress.
   
   
  Though
  the rulers of this world know it not, yet often in their councils
  angels have been spokesmen. Human eyes have looked upon them; human
  ears have listened to their appeals; human lips have opposed their
  suggestions and ridiculed their counsels; human hands have met them
  with insult and abuse. In the council hall and the court of justice
  these heavenly messengers have shown an intimate acquaintance with
  human history; they have proved themselves better able to plead the
  cause of the oppressed than were their ablest and most eloquent
  defenders. They have defeated purposes and arrested evils that would
  have greatly retarded the work of God and would have caused great
  suffering to His people. In the hour of peril and distress "the
  angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and
  delivereth them." Psalm 34:7.
   
   
  With
  earnest longing, God's people await the tokens of their coming King.
  As the watchmen are accosted, "What of the night?" the
  answer is given unfalteringly, "'The morning cometh, and also
  the night.' Isaiah 21:11, 12. Light is gleaming upon the clouds above
  the mountaintops. Soon there will be a revealing of His glory. The
  Sun of Righteousness is about to shine forth. The morning and the
  night are both at hand--the opening of endless day to the righteous,
  the settling down of eternal night to the wicked."
   
   
  As
  the wrestling ones urge their petitions before God, the veil
  separating them from the unseen seems almost withdrawn. The heavens
  glow with the dawning of eternal day, and like the melody of angel
  songs the words fall upon the  ear: "Stand fast to your
  allegiance. Help is coming." Christ, the almighty Victor, holds
  out to His weary soldiers a crown of immortal glory; and His voice
  comes from the gates ajar: "Lo, I am with you. Be not afraid. I
  am acquainted with all your sorrows; I have borne your griefs. You
  are not warring against untried enemies. I have fought the battle in
  your behalf, and in My name you are more than conquerors."  The
  precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The way to
  heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our
  feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear He has
  borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for
  peace. The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God's people; but
  it is the time for every true believer to look up, and by faith he
  may see the bow of promise encircling him.
   
   
  "The
  redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion;
  and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain
  gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I,
  am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be
  afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be
  made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker; . . . and hast
  feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as
  if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
  The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should
  not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the Lord
  thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts
  is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered
  thee in the shadow of Mine hand." Isaiah 51:11-16.
   
   
  "Therefore
  hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus
  saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His
  people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling,
  even the dregs of the cup of My fury; thou shalt no more drink it
  again: but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee;
  which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou
  hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that
  went over." Verses 21-23.  The eye of God, looking down the
  ages, was fixed upon the crisis which His people are to meet, when
  earthly powers shall be arrayed against them. Like the captive exile,
  they will be in fear of death by starvation or by violence. But the
  Holy One who divided the Red Sea before Israel, will manifest His
  mighty power and turn their captivity. "They shall be Mine,
  saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I
  will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him."
  Malachi 3:17. If the blood of Christ's faithful witnesses were shed
  at this time, it would not, like the blood of the martyrs, be as seed
  sown to yield a harvest for God.
   
   
  Their
  fidelity would not be a testimony to convince others of the truth;
  for the obdurate heart has beaten back the waves of mercy until they
  return no more. If the righteous were now left to fall a prey to
  their enemies, it would be a triumph for the prince of darkness. Says
  the psalmist: "In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His
  pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me."
  Psalm 27:5. Christ has spoken: "Come, My people, enter thou into
  thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were
  for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold,
  the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the
  earth for their iniquity." Isaiah 26:20, 21. Glorious will be
  the deliverance of those who have patiently waited for His coming and
  whose names are written in the book of life.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 40. Great Deliverance 
   
  When
  the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honour
  the law of God, there will be, in different lands, a simultaneous
  movement for their destruction. As the time appointed in the decree
  draws near, the people will conspire to root out the hated sect. It
  will be determined to strike in one night a decisive blow, which
  shall utterly silence the voice of dissent and reproof.
   
   
  The
  people of God--some in prison cells, some hidden in solitary retreats
  in the forests and the mountains--still plead for divine protection,
  while in every quarter companies of armed men, urged on by hosts of
  evil angels, are preparing for the work of death. It is now, in the
  hour of utmost extremity, that the God of Israel will interpose for
  the deliverance of His chosen. Saith the Lord; "Ye shall have a
  song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of
  heart, as when one goeth . . . to come into the mountain of the Lord,
  to the Mighty One of Israel. And the Lord shall cause His glorious
  voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of His arm, with
  the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire,
  with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones." Isaiah 30:29, 30.
   
   
  With
  shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are
  about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a  dense blackness, deeper
  than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow,
  shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens and
  seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are
  suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their
  murderous rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings they gaze upon
  the symbol of God's covenant and long to be shielded from its
  overpowering brightness.
   
   
  By
  the people of God a voice, clear and melodious, is heard, saying,
  "Look up," and lifting their eyes to the heavens, they
  behold the bow of promise. The black, angry clouds that covered the
  firmament are parted, and like Stephen they look up steadfastly into
  heaven and see the glory of God and the Son of man seated upon His
  throne. In His divine form they discern the marks of His humiliation;
  and from His lips they hear the request presented before His Father
  and the holy angels: "I will that they also, whom Thou hast
  given Me, be with Me where I am." John 17:24. Again a voice,
  musical and triumphant, is heard, saying: "They come! they come!
  holy, harmless, and undefiled. They have kept the word of My
  patience; they shall walk among the angels;" and the pale,
  quivering lips of those who have held fast their faith utter a shout
  of victory.
   
   
  It
  is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of
  His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and
  wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and
  amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy
  the tokens of their deliverance. Everything in nature seems turned
  out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come
  up and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is
  one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God
  like the sound of many waters, saying: "It is done."
  Revelation 16:17.
   
   
  That
  voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a  mighty
  earthquake, "such as was not since men were upon the earth, so
  mighty an earthquake, and so great." Verses 17, 18. The
  firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the throne of God
  seems flashing through. The mountains shake like a reed in the wind,
  and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a
  coming tempest. The sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the
  shriek of a hurricane like the voice of demons upon a mission of
  destruction. The whole earth heaves and swells like the waves of the
  sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be
  giving way. Mountain chains are sinking. Inhabited islands disappear.
  The seaports that have become like Sodom for wickedness are swallowed
  up by the angry waters. Babylon the great has come in remembrance
  before God, "to give unto her the cup of the wine of the
  fierceness of His wrath."
   
   
  Great
  hailstones, every one "about the weight of a talent," are
  doing their work of destruction. Verses 19, 21. The proudest cities
  of the earth are laid low. The lordly palaces, upon which the world's
  great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves,
  are crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent
  asunder, and God's people, who have been held in bondage for their
  faith, are set free.  Graves are opened, and "many of them that
  sleep in the dust of the earth. . . awake, some to everlasting life,
  and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2. All
  who have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth
  from the tomb glorified, to hear God's covenant of peace with those
  who have kept His law. "They also which pierced Him"
  (Revelation 1:7), those that mocked and derided Christ's dying
  agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and His people,
  are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honour placed
  upon the loyal and obedient.
   
   
  Thick
  clouds still cover the sky; yet the sun now and then breaks through,
  appearing like the avenging eye of Jehovah.  Fierce lightnings leap
  from the heavens, enveloping the earth in a sheet of flame. Above the
  terrific roar of thunder, voices, mysterious and awful, declare the
  doom of the wicked. The words spoken are not comprehended by all; but
  they are distinctly understood by the false teachers. Those who a
  little before were so reckless, so boastful and defiant, so exultant
  in their cruelty to God's commandment-keeping people, are now
  overwhelmed with consternation and shuddering in fear. Their wails
  are heard above the sound of the elements. Demons acknowledge the
  deity of Christ and tremble before His power, while men are
  supplicating for mercy and grovelling in abject terror.
   
   
  Said
  the prophets of old, as they beheld in holy vision the day of God:
  "Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a
  destruction from the Almighty." Isaiah 13:6. "Enter into
  the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for
  the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
  and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone
  shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall
  be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is
  lifted up; and he shall be brought low." "In that day a man
  shall cast the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which
  they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the
  bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the
  ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty,
  when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Isaiah 2:10-12,
  20, 21, margin.
   
   
  Through
  a rift in the clouds there beams a star whose brilliancy is increased
  fourfold in contrast with the darkness. It speaks hope and joy to the
  faithful, but severity and wrath to the transgressors of God's law.
  Those who have sacrificed all for Christ are now secure, hidden as in
  the secret of the Lord's pavilion. They have been tested, and before
  the world and the despisers of truth they have evinced their fidelity
  to Him who died for them. A marvellous change has come over those who
  have held fast their integrity in the very face of death. They have
  been suddenly delivered from the dark and terrible tyranny of men
  transformed to demons. Their faces, so lately pale, anxious, and
  haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love. Their voices
  rise in triumphant song: "God is our refuge and strength, a very
  present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth
  be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the
  sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the
  mountains shake with the swelling thereof." Psalm 46:1-3.
   
   
  While
  these words of holy trust ascend to God, the clouds sweep back, and
  the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with
  the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the
  celestial city streams from the gates ajar. Then there appears
  against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together.
  Says the prophet: "The heavens shall declare His righteousness:
  for God is judge Himself." Psalm 50:6. That holy law, God's
  righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai
  as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment.
  The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the
  Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that
  all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition
  and heresy is swept from every mind, and God's ten words, brief,
  comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all
  the inhabitants of the earth.
   
   
  It
  is impossible to describe the horror and despair of those who have
  trampled upon God's holy requirements. The Lord gave them His law;
  they might have compared their characters with it and learned their
  defects while there was yet opportunity for repentance and reform;
  but in order to secure the favour of the world, they set aside its
  precepts and taught others to transgress. They have endeavoured to
  compel God's people to profane His Sabbath. Now they are condemned by
  that law which they have despised. With awful distinctness they see
  that they are without excuse. They chose whom they would serve and
  worship. "Then shall ye return, and discern between the
  righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that
  serveth Him not." Malachi 3:18.
   
   
  The
  enemies of God's law, from the ministers down to the least among
  them, have a new conception of truth and duty. Too late they see that
  the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God.
  Too late they see the true nature of their spurious sabbath and the
  sandy foundation upon which they have been building. They find that
  they have been fighting against God. Religious teachers have led
  souls to perdition while professing to guide them to the gates of
  Paradise. Not until the day of final accounts will it be known how
  great is the responsibility of men in holy office and how terrible
  are the results of their unfaithfulness. Only in eternity can we
  rightly estimate the loss of a single soul. Fearful will be the doom
  of him to whom God shall say: Depart, thou wicked servant.
   
   
  The
  voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of
  Jesus' coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to His people.
  Like peals of loudest thunder His words roll through the earth. The
  Israel of God stand listening, with their eyes fixed upward. Their
  countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face
  of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked cannot look upon
  them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have honoured
  God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.
   
   
  Soon
  there appears in the east a small black cloud, about half the size of
  a man's hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour and which
  seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God
  know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they
  gaze upon it as it  draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more
  glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like
  consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus rides
  forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a "Man of Sorrows," to
  drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes, victor in heaven and
  earth, to judge the living and the dead. "Faithful and True,"
  "in righteousness He doth judge and make war." And "the
  armies which were in heaven" (Revelation 19:11, 14) follow Him.
  With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered
  throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with
  radiant forms--"ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands
  of thousands." No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal
  mind is adequate to conceive its splendour. "His glory covered
  the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness
  was as the light." Habakkuk 3:3,4. As the living cloud comes
  still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of
  thorns now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His
  holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the
  noonday sun. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name
  written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:16.
   
   
  Before
  His presence "all faces are turned into paleness;" upon the
  rejecters of God's mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. "The
  heart melteth, and the knees smite together, . . . and the faces of
  them all gather blackness." Jeremiah 30:6; Nahum 2:10. The
  righteous cry with trembling: "Who shall be able to stand?"
  The angels' song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence.
  Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying: "My grace is
  sufficient for you." The faces of the righteous are lighted up,
  and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher and
  sing again as they draw still nearer to the earth.  The King of kings
  descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are
  rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every
  mountain and island is moved out of its place. "Our God shall
  come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and
  it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the
  heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people."
  Psalm 50:3,4.
   
   
  "And
  the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the
  chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every
  freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the
  mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide
  us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
  wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who
  shall be able to stand?" Revelation 6:15-17.  The derisive jests
  have ceased. Lying lips are hushed into silence. The clash of arms,
  the tumult of battle, "with confused noise, and garments rolled
  in blood" (Isaiah 9:5), is stilled. Nought now is heard but the
  voice of prayer and the sound of weeping and lamentation. The cry
  bursts forth from lips so lately scoffing: "The great day of His
  wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" The wicked pray
  to be buried beneath the rocks of the mountains rather than meet the
  face of Him whom they have despised and rejected.
   
   
  That
  voice which penetrates the ear of the dead, they know. How often have
  its plaintive, tender tones called them to repentance. How often has
  it been heard in the touching entreaties of a friend, a brother, a
  Redeemer. To the rejecters of His grace no other could be so full of
  condemnation, so burdened with denunciation, as that voice which has
  so long pleaded: "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why
  will ye die?" Ezekiel 33:11. Oh, that it were to them the voice
  of a stranger! Says Jesus: "I have called, and ye refused; I
  have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at
  nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof." Proverbs
  1:24, 25. That voice awakens memories which they would fain blot
  out--warnings despised, invitations refused, privileges slighted.
   
   
  There
  are those who mocked Christ in His humiliation. With thrilling power
  come to their minds the Sufferer's words, when, adjured by the high
  priest, He solemnly declared: "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of
  man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of
  heaven." Matthew 26:64. Now they behold Him in His glory, and
  they are yet to see Him sitting on the right hand of power.  Those
  who derided His claim to be the Son of God are speechless now. There
  is the haughty Herod who jeered at His royal title and bade the
  mocking soldiers crown Him king. There are the very men who with
  impious hands placed upon His form the purple robe, upon His sacred
  brow the thorny crown, and in His unresisting hand the mimic scepter,
  and bowed before Him in blasphemous mockery. The men who smote and
  spit upon the Prince of life now turn from His piercing gaze and seek
  to flee from the overpowering glory of His presence. Those who drove
  the nails through His hands and feet, the soldier who pierced His
  side, behold these marks with terror and remorse.
   
   
  With
  awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of
  Calvary. With shuddering horror they remember how, wagging their
  heads in satanic exultation, they exclaimed: "He saved others;
  Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come
  down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let
  Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him." Matthew 27:42, 43. 
  Vividly they recall the Saviour's parable of the husbandmen who
  refused to render to their lord the fruit of the vineyard, who abused
  his servants and slew his son. They remember, too, the sentence which
  they themselves pronounced: The lord of the vineyard "will
  miserably destroy those wicked men." In the sin and punishment
  of those unfaithful men the priests and elders see their own course
  and their own just doom. And now there rises a cry of mortal agony.
  Louder than the shout, "Crucify Him, crucify Him," which
  rang through the streets of Jerusalem, swells the awful, despairing
  wail, "He is the Son of God! He is the true Messiah!" They
  seek to flee from the presence of the King of kings. In the deep
  caverns of the earth, rent asunder by the warring of the elements,
  they vainly attempt to hide.
   
   
  In
  the lives of all who reject truth there are moments when conscience
  awakens, when memory presents the torturing recollection of a life of
  hypocrisy and the soul is harassed with vain regrets. But what are
  these compared with the remorse of that day when "fear cometh as
  desolation," when "destruction cometh as a whirlwind"!
  Proverbs 1:27. Those who would have destroyed Christ and His faithful
  people now witness the glory which rests upon them. In the midst of
  their terror they hear the voices of the saints in joyful strains
  exclaiming: "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He
  will save us." Isaiah 25:9.
   
   
  Amid
  the reeling of the earth, the flash of lightning, and the roar of
  thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints.
  He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then, raising His hands to
  heaven, He cries: "Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the
  dust, and arise!" Throughout the length and breadth of the earth
  the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live. And
  the whole earth shall ring with the tread of the exceeding great army
  of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From the prison house
  of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying: "O
  death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1
  Corinthians 15:55. And the living righteous and the risen saints
  unite their voices in a long, glad shout of victory.
   
   
  All
  come forth from their graves the same in stature as when they entered
  the tomb. Adam, who stands among the risen throng, is of lofty height
  and majestic form, in stature but little below the Son of God. He
  presents a marked contrast to the people of later generations; in
  this one respect is shown the great degeneracy of the race. But all
  arise with the freshness and vigour of eternal youth. In the
  beginning, man was created in the likeness of God, not only in
  character, but in form and feature. Sin defaced and almost
  obliterated the divine image; but Christ came to restore that which
  had been lost. He will change our vile bodies and fashion them like
  unto His glorious body. The mortal, corruptible form, devoid of
  comeliness, once polluted with sin, becomes perfect, beautiful, and
  immortal. All blemishes and deformities are left in the grave.
  Restored to the tree of life in the long-lost Eden, the redeemed will
  "grow up" (Malachi 4:2) to the full stature of the race in
  its primeval glory. The last lingering traces of the curse of sin
  will be removed, and Christ's faithful ones will appear in "the
  beauty of the Lord our God," in mind and soul and body
  reflecting the perfect image of their Lord. Oh, wonderful redemption!
  long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation,
  but never fully understood.
   
   
  The
  living righteous are changed "in a moment, in the twinkling of
  an eye." At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are
  made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their
  Lord in the air. Angels "gather together His elect from the four
  winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Little children are
  borne by holy angels to their mothers' arms. Friends long separated
  by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness
  ascend together to the City of God.  On each side of the cloudy
  chariot are wings, and beneath it are living wheels; and as the
  chariot rolls upward, the wheels cry, "Holy," and the
  wings, as they move, cry, "Holy," and the retinue of angels
  cry, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." And the
  redeemed shout, "Alleluia!" as the chariot moves onward
  toward the New Jerusalem.
   
   
  Before
  entering the City of God, the Saviour bestows upon His followers the
  emblems of victory and invests them with the insignia of their royal
  state. The glittering ranks are drawn up in the form of a hollow
  square about their King, whose form rises in majesty high above saint
  and angel, whose countenance beams upon them full of benignant love.
  Throughout the unnumbered host of the redeemed every glance is fixed
  upon Him, every eye beholds His glory whose "visage was so
  marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men."
  Upon the heads of the overcomers, Jesus with His own right hand
  places the crown of glory. For each there is a crown, bearing his own
  "new name" (Revelation 2:17), and the inscription,
  "Holiness to the Lord." In every hand are placed the
  victor's palm and the shining harp. Then, as the commanding angels
  strike the note, every hand sweeps the harp strings with skillful
  touch, awaking sweet music in rich, melodious strains. Rapture
  unutterable thrills every heart, and each voice is raised in grateful
  praise: "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
  His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His
  Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever."
  Revelation 1:5, 6.
   
   
  Before
  the ransomed throng is the Holy City. Jesus opens wide the pearly
  gates, and the nations that have kept the truth enter in. There they
  behold the Paradise of God, the home of Adam in his innocency. Then
  that voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, is
  heard, saying: "Your conflict is ended." "Come, ye
  blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
  foundation of the world."  Now is fulfilled the Saviour's prayer
  for His disciples: "I will that they also, whom Thou hast given
  Me, be with Me where I am." "Faultless before the presence
  of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24), Christ presents to
  the Father the purchase of His blood, declaring: "Here am I, and
  the children whom Thou hast given Me." "Those that Thou
  gavest Me I have kept." Oh, the wonders of redeeming love! the
  rapture of that hour when the infinite Father, looking upon the
  ransomed, shall behold His image, sin's discord banished, its blight
  removed, and the human once more in harmony with the divine!
   
   
  With
  unutterable love, Jesus welcomes His faithful ones to the joy of
  their Lord. The Saviour's joy is in seeing, in the kingdom of glory,
  the souls that have been saved by His agony and humiliation. And the
  redeemed will be sharers in His joy, as they behold, among the
  blessed, those who have been won to Christ through their prayers,
  their labours, and their loving sacrifice. As they gather about the
  great white throne, gladness unspeakable will fill their hearts, when
  they behold those whom they have won for Christ, and see that one has
  gained others, and these still others, all brought into the haven of
  rest, there to lay their crowns at Jesus' feet and praise Him through
  the endless cycles of eternity.
   
   
  As
  the ransomed ones are welcomed to the City of God, there rings out
  upon the air an exultant cry of adoration. The two Adams are about to
  meet. The Son of God is standing with outstretched arms to receive
  the father of our race--the being whom He created, who sinned against
  his Maker, and for whose sin the marks of the crucifixion are borne
  upon the Saviour's form. As Adam discerns the prints of the cruel
  nails, he does not fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but in
  humiliation casts himself at His feet, crying: "Worthy, worthy
  is the Lamb that was slain!" Tenderly the Saviour lifts him up
  and bids him look once more upon the Eden home from which he has so
  long been exiled.
   
   
  After
  his expulsion from Eden, Adam's life on earth was filled with sorrow.
  Every dying leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the
  fair face of nature, every stain upon man's purity, was a fresh
  reminder of his sin. Terrible was the agony of remorse as he beheld
  iniquity abounding, and, in answer to his warnings, met the
  reproaches cast upon himself as the cause of sin. With patient
  humility he bore, for nearly a thousand years, the penalty of
  transgression. Faithfully did he repent of his sin and trust in the
  merits of the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of a
  resurrection. The Son of God redeemed man's failure and fall; and
  now, through the work of the atonement, Adam is reinstated in his
  first dominion.
   
   
  Transported
  with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his delight--the very
  trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his
  innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands have trained,
  the very flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the
  reality of the scene; he comprehends that this is indeed Eden
  restored, more lovely now than when he was banished from it. The
  Saviour leads him to the tree of life and plucks the glorious fruit
  and bids him eat. He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his
  family redeemed, standing in the Paradise of God. Then he casts his
  glittering crown at the feet of Jesus and, falling upon His breast,
  embraces the Redeemer. He touches the golden harp, and the vaults of
  heaven echo the triumphant song: "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the
  Lamb that was slain, and lives again!" The family of Adam take
  up the strain and cast their crowns at the Saviour's feet as they bow
  before Him in adoration.
   
   
  This
  reunion is witnessed by the angels who wept at the fall of Adam and
  rejoiced when Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended to heaven,
  having opened the grave for all who should believe on His name. Now
  they behold the work of redemption accomplished, and they unite their
  voices in the song of praise.  Upon the crystal sea before the
  throne, that sea of glass as it were mingled with fire,--so
  resplendent is it with the glory of God,--are gathered the company
  that have "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his
  image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name." With
  the Lamb upon Mount Zion, "having the harps of God," they
  stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed
  from among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many waters, and
  as the sound of a great thunder, "the voice of harpers harping
  with their harps."
   
   
  And
  they sing "a new  song" before the throne, a song which no
  man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the
  song of Moses and the Lamb--a song of deliverance. None but the
  hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the
  song of their experience--an experience such as no other company have
  ever had. "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He
  goeth." These, having been translated from the earth, from among
  the living, are counted as "the first fruits unto God and to the
  Lamb." Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1-5. "These are they which
  came out of great tribulation;" they have passed through the
  time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; they have
  endured the anguish of the time of Jacob's trouble; they have stood
  without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God's
  judgments. But they have been delivered, for they have "washed
  their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
   
   
  "In
  their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault"
  before God. "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and
  serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the
  throne shall dwell among them." They have seen the earth wasted
  with famine and pestilence, the sun having power to scorch men with
  great heat, and they themselves have endured suffering, hunger, and
  thirst. But "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
  neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which
  is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them
  unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears
  from their eyes." Revelation 7:14-17.
   
   
  In
  all ages the Saviour's chosen have been educated and disciplined in
  the school of trial. They walked in narrow paths on earth; they were
  purified in the furnace of affliction. For Jesus' sake they endured
  opposition, hatred, calumny. They followed Him through conflicts
  sore; they endured self-denial and experienced bitter
  disappointments. By their  own painful experience they learned the
  evil of sin, its power, its guilt, its woe; and they look upon it
  with abhorrence. A sense of the infinite sacrifice made for its cure
  humbles them in their own sight and fills their hearts with gratitude
  and praise which those who have never fallen cannot appreciate. They
  love much because they have been forgiven much. Having been partakers
  of Christ's sufferings, they are fitted to be partakers with Him of
  His glory.
   
   
  The
  heirs of God have come from garrets, from hovels, from dungeons, from
  scaffolds, from mountains, from deserts, from the caves of the earth,
  from the caverns of the sea. On earth they were "destitute,
  afflicted, tormented." Millions went down to the grave loaded
  with infamy because they steadfastly refused to yield to the
  deceptive claims of Satan. By human tribunals they were adjudged the
  vilest of criminals. But now "God is judge Himself." Psalm
  50:6. Now the decisions of earth are reversed. "The rebuke of
  His people shall He take away." Isaiah 25:8. "They shall
  call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord." He hath
  appointed "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy
  for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."
  Isaiah 62:12; 61:3.
   
   
  They
  are no longer feeble, afflicted, scattered, and oppressed. Henceforth
  they are to be ever with the Lord. They stand before the throne clad
  in richer robes than the most honoured of the earth have ever worn.
  They are crowned with diadems more glorious than were ever placed
  upon the brow of earthly monarchs. The days of pain and weeping are
  forever ended. The King of glory has wiped the tears from all faces;
  every cause of grief has been removed. Amid the waving of palm
  branches they pour forth a song of praise, clear, sweet, and
  harmonious; every voice takes up the strain, until the anthem swells
  through the vaults of heaven: "Salvation to our God which
  sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." And all the
  inhabitants of heaven respond in the ascription: "Amen:
  Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and
  power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever." Revelation
  7:10, 12.
   
   
  In
  this life we can only begin to understand the wonderful theme of
  redemption. With our finite comprehension we may consider most
  earnestly the shame and the glory, the life and the death, the
  justice and the mercy, that meet in the cross; yet with the utmost
  stretch of our mental powers we fail to grasp its full significance.
  The length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of redeeming
  love are but dimly comprehended. The plan of redemption will not be
  fully understood, even when the ransomed see as they are seen and
  know as they are known; but through the eternal ages new truth will
  continually unfold to the wondering and delighted mind. Though the
  griefs and pains and temptations of earth are ended and the cause
  removed, the people of God will ever have a distinct, intelligent
  knowledge of what their salvation has cost.
   
   
  The
  cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed
  through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ
  crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and
  upheld the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the
  Beloved of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining
  seraph delighted to adore--humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that
  He bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father's
  face, till the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out
  His life on Calvary's cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the
  Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate
  Himself from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of
  the universe. As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer
  and behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in His
  countenance; as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to
  everlasting, and know that His kingdom is to have no end, they break
  forth in rapturous song: "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was
  slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His own most precious blood!"
   
   
  The
  mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries. In the light that
  streams from Calvary the attributes of God which had filled us with
  fear and awe appear beautiful and attractive. Mercy, tenderness, and
  parental love are seen to blend with holiness, justice, and power.
  While we behold the majesty of His throne, high and lifted up, we see
  His character in its gracious manifestations, and comprehend, as
  never before, the significance of that endearing title, "Our
  Father."
   
   
  It
  will be seen that He who is infinite in wisdom could devise no plan
  for our salvation except the sacrifice of His Son. The compensation
  for this sacrifice is the joy of peopling the earth with ransomed
  beings, holy, happy, and immortal. The result of the Saviour's
  conflict with the powers of darkness is joy to the redeemed,
  redounding to the glory of God throughout eternity. And such is the
  value of the soul that the Father is satisfied with the price paid;
  and Christ Himself, beholding the fruits of His great sacrifice, is
  satisfied.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 41. Final Judgments 
   
  "Her
  sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
  iniquities. . . . In the cup which she hath filled fill to her
  double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,
  so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I
  sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore
  shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine;
  and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God
  who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed
  fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and
  lament for her, . . . saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon,
  that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come."
  Revelation 18:5-10.
   
   
  "The
  merchants of the earth," that have "waxed rich through the
  abundance of her delicacies," "shall stand afar off for the
  fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas that
  great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet,
  and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one
  hour so great riches is come to nought." Revelation 18:11, 3,
  15-17.  Such are the judgments that fall upon Babylon in the day of
  the visitation of God's wrath. She has filled up the measure of her
  iniquity; her time has come; she is ripe for destruction.
   
   
  When
  the voice of God turns the captivity of His people, there is a
  terrible awakening of those who have lost all in the great conflict
  of life. While probation continued they were blinded by Satan's
  deceptions, and they justified their course of sin. The rich prided
  themselves upon their superiority to those who were less favoured;
  but they had obtained their riches by violation of the law of God.
  They had neglected to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to deal
  justly, and to love mercy. They had sought to exalt themselves and to
  obtain the homage of their fellow creatures. Now they are stripped of
  all that made them great and are left destitute and defenseless. They
  look with terror upon the destruction of the idols which they
  preferred before their Maker. They have sold their souls for earthly
  riches and enjoyments, and have not sought to become rich toward God.
  The result is, their lives are a failure; their pleasures are now
  turned to gall, their treasures to corruption. The gain of a lifetime
  is swept away in a moment. The rich bemoan the destruction of their
  grand houses, the scattering of their gold and silver. But their
  lamentations are silenced by the fear that they themselves are to
  perish with their idols.
   
   
  The
  wicked are filled with regret, not because of their sinful neglect of
  God and their fellow men, but because God has conquered. They lament
  that the result is what it is; but they do not repent of their
  wickedness. They would leave no means untried to conquer if they
  could.  The world see the very class whom they have mocked and
  derided, and desired to exterminate, pass unharmed through
  pestilence, tempest, and earthquake. He who is to the transgressors
  of His law a devouring fire, is to His people a safe pavilion.  The
  minister who has sacrificed truth to gain the favour of men now
  discerns the character and influence of his teachings. It is apparent
  that the omniscient eye was following him as he stood in the desk, as
  he walked the streets, as he mingled with men in the various scenes
  of life. Every emotion of the soul, every line written, every word
  uttered, every act that led men to rest in a refuge of falsehood, has
  been scattering seed; and now, in the wretched, lost souls around
  him, he beholds the harvest.
   
   
  Saith
  the Lord: "They have healed the hurt of the daughter of My
  people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace."
  "With lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I
  have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he
  should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life."
  Jeremiah 8:11; Ezekiel 13:22.  "Woe be unto the pastors that
  destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! . . . Behold, I will
  visit upon you the evil of your doings." "Howl, ye
  shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal
  of the flock: for your days for slaughter and of your dispersions are
  accomplished;… and the shepherds shall have no way to flee,
  nor the principal of the flock to escape." Jeremiah 23:1, 2;
  25:34, 35, margin.
   
   
  Ministers
  and people see that they have not sustained the right relation to
  God. They see that they have rebelled against the Author of all just
  and righteous law. The setting aside of the divine precepts gave rise
  to thousands of springs of evil, discord, hatred, iniquity, until the
  earth became one vast field of strife, one sink of corruption. This
  is the view that now appears to those who rejected truth and chose to
  cherish error. No language can express the longing which the
  disobedient and disloyal feel for that which they have lost
  forever--eternal life. Men whom the world has worshiped for their
  talents and eloquence now see these things in their true light. They
  realise what they have forfeited by transgression, and they fall at
  the feet of those whose fidelity they have despised and derided, and
  confess that God has loved them.
   
   
  The
  people see that they have been deluded. They accuse one another of
  having led them to destruction; but all unite in heaping their
  bitterest condemnation upon the ministers. Unfaithful pastors have
  prophesied smooth things; they have led their hearers to make void
  the law of God and to persecute those who would keep it holy. Now, in
  their despair, these teachers confess before the world their work of
  deception. The multitudes are filled with fury. "We are lost!"
  they cry, "and you are the cause of our ruin;" and they
  turn upon the false shepherds. The very ones that once admired them
  most will pronounce the most dreadful curses upon them. The very
  hands that once crowned them with laurels will be raised for their
  destruction. The swords which were to slay God's people are now
  employed to destroy their enemies. Everywhere there is strife and
  bloodshed.
   
   
  "A
  noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a
  controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will
  give them that are wicked to the sword." Jeremiah 25:31. For six
  thousand years the great controversy has been in progress; the Son of
  God and His heavenly messengers have been in conflict with the power
  of the evil one, to warn, enlighten, and save the children of men.
  Now all have made their decisions; the wicked have fully united with
  Satan in his warfare against God. The time has come for God to
  vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law. Now the controversy
  is not alone with Satan, but with men. "The Lord hath a
  controversy with the nations;" "He will give them that are
  wicked to the sword."
   
   
  The
  mark of deliverance has been set upon those "that sigh and that
  cry for all the abominations that be done." Now the angel of
  death goes forth, represented in Ezekiel's vision by the men with the
  slaughtering weapons, to whom the command is given: "Slay
  utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women:
  but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My
  sanctuary." Says the prophet: "They began at the ancient
  men which were before the house." Ezekiel 9:1-6. The work of
  destruction begins among those who have professed to be the spiritual
  guardians of the people. The false watchmen are the first to fall.
  There are none to pity or to spare. Men, women, maidens, and little
  children perish together.
   
   
  "The
  Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth
  for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and
  shall no more cover her slain." Isaiah 26:21. "And this
  shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that
  have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while
  they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in
  their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And
  it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord
  shall be among them; and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of
  his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his
  neighbour." Zechariah 14:12, 13. In the mad strife of their own
  fierce passions, and by the awful outpouring of God's unmingled
  wrath, fall the wicked inhabitants of the earth--priests, rulers, and
  people, rich and poor, high and low. "And the slain of the Lord
  shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other
  end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor
  buried." Jeremiah 25:33.
   
   
  At
  the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the
  whole earth--consumed with the spirit of His mouth and destroyed by
  the brightness of His glory. Christ takes His people to the City of
  God, and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants. "Behold, the
  Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it
  upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof."
  "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the
  Lord hath spoken this word." "Because they have
  transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting
  covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that
  dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth
  are burned." Isaiah 24:1, 3, 5, 6.
   
   
  The
  whole earth appears like a desolate wilderness. The ruins of cities
  and villages destroyed by the earthquake, uprooted trees, ragged
  rocks thrown out by the sea or torn out of the earth itself, are
  scattered over its surface, while vast caverns mark the spot where
  the mountains have been rent from their foundations. Now the event
  takes place foreshadowed in the last solemn service of the Day of
  Atonement. When the ministration in the holy of holies had been
  completed, and the sins of Israel had been removed from the sanctuary
  by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, then the scapegoat was
  presented alive before the Lord; and in the presence of the
  congregation the high priest confessed over him "all the
  iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in
  all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat."
  Leviticus 16:21. In like manner, when the work of atonement in the
  heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God
  and heavenly angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God's
  people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all
  the evil which he has caused them to commit. And as the scapegoat was
  sent away into a land not inhabited, so Satan will be banished to the
  desolate earth, an uninhabited and dreary wilderness.
   
   
  The
  revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of
  chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he
  declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years. After
  presenting the scenes of the Lord's second coming and the destruction
  of the wicked, the prophecy continues: "I saw an angel come down
  from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
  in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which
  is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him
  into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him,
  that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years
  should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little
  season." Revelation 20:1-3.
   
   
  That
  the expression "bottomless pit" represents the earth in a
  state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures.
  Concerning the condition of the earth "in the beginning,"
  the Bible record says that it "was without form, and void; and
  darkness was upon the face of the deep."[The Hebrew word here
  translated ‘deep’ is rendered in the Septugint Greek
  Translation of the Hebrew Old Testament by the same word rendered
  ‘bottomless pit’ in Revelation 20:1-3; Genesis 1:2.
  Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back, partially at least, to
  this condition. Looking forward to the great day of God, the prophet
  Jeremiah declares: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without
  form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the
  mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I
  beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens
  were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
  and all the cities thereof were broken down." Jeremiah 4:23-26.
   
   
  Here
  is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand years.
  Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds to
  tempt and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that
  he is bound: there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise his
  power. He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin which
  for so many centuries has been his sole delight.  The prophet Isaiah,
  looking forward to the time of Satan's overthrow, exclaims: "How
  art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
  thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! . . .
  Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
  exalt my throne above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the Most
  High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the
  pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider
  thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that
  did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and
  destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his
  prisoners?" Isaiah 14:12-17.
   
   
  For
  six thousand years, Satan's work of rebellion has "made the
  earth to tremble." He had "made the world as a wilderness,
  and destroyed the cities thereof." And he "opened not the
  house of his prisoners." For six thousand years his prison house
  has received God's people, and he would have held them captive
  forever; but Christ had broken his bonds and set the prisoners free. 
  Even the wicked are now placed beyond the power of Satan, and alone
  with his evil angels he remains to realise the effect of the curse
  which sin has brought. "The kings of the nations, even all of
  them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house [the grave]. But thou
  art cast out thy grave like an abominable branch. . . . Thou shalt
  not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy
  land, and slain thy people." Isaiah 14:18-20.
   
   
  For
  a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth
  to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During
  this time his sufferings are intense. Since his fall his life of
  unceasing activity has banished reflection; but he is now deprived of
  his power and left to contemplate the part which he has acted since
  first he rebelled against the government of heaven, and to look
  forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future when he must
  suffer for all the evil that he has done and be punished for the sins
  that he has caused to be committed.
   
   
  To
  God's people the captivity of Satan will bring gladness and
  rejoicing. Says the prophet: "It shall come to pass in the day
  that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy
  trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,
  that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon
  [here representing Satan], and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! .
  . . Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the
  rulers; that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that
  ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained."
  Verses 36, R.V.
   
   
  During
  the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the
  judgment of the wicked takes place. The apostle Paul points to this
  judgment as an event that follows the second advent. "Judge
  nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to
  light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the
  counsels of the hearts." 1 Corinthians 4:5. Daniel declares that
  when the Ancient of Days came, "judgment was given to the saints
  of the Most High." Daniel 7:22. At this time the righteous reign
  as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: "I
  saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
  them." "They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
  shall reign with Him a thousand years." Revelation 20:4, 6. It
  is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, "the saints shall
  judge the world." 1 Corinthians 6:2. In union with Christ they
  judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the
  Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the
  body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out,
  according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in
  the book of death.
   
   
  Satan
  also and evil angels are judged by Christ and His people. Says Paul:
  "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" Verse 3. And Jude
  declares that "the angels which kept not their first estate, but
  left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains
  under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 6.  At
  the close of the thousand years the second resurrection will take
  place. Then the wicked will be raised from the dead and appear before
  God for the execution of "the judgment written." Thus the
  revelator, after describing the resurrection of the righteous, says:
  "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years
  were finished." Revelation 20:5. And Isaiah declares, concerning
  the wicked: "They shall be gathered together, as prisoners are
  gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after
  many days shall they be visited." Isaiah 24:22.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Chapter 42. Controversy Ended 
   
  At
  the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth.
  He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed and attended by a
  retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty He bids the
  wicked dead arise to receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty
  host, numberless as the sands of the sea. What a contrast to those
  who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed
  with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease
  and death.  Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the
  glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim:
  "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!" It is
  not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth
  urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into their
  graves, so they come forth with the same enmity to Christ and the
  same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation in which
  to remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by
  this. A lifetime of transgression has not softened their hearts. A
  second probation, were it given them, would be occupied as was the
  first in evading the requirements of God and exciting rebellion
  against Him.
   
   
  Christ
  descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He
  ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. Says
  the prophet: "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints
  with Thee." "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the
  Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount
  of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, . . . and there shall be
  a very great valley." "And the Lord shall be king over all
  the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one."
  Zechariah 14:5, 4, 9. As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling
  splendour, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified
  and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the
  angels, enters the Holy City.
   
   
  Now
  Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While
  deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the
  prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are
  raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes
  revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will
  marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them
  endeavour to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan's captives. In
  rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader.
  They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet,
  true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be
  Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the
  world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He
  represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring
  them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that
  he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny. The presence
  of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his
  claims. He makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own spirit
  and energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints
  and to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation
  he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the
  dead and declares that as their leader he is well able to overthrow
  the city and regain his throne and his kingdom.
   
   
  In
  that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed
  before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who,
  yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and
  knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works
  of art led the world to idolise their genius, but whose cruelty and
  evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God,
  caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation. There are
  kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost
  a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms
  tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from
  the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it
  ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled
  them when they fell.
   
   
  Satan
  consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors
  and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their
  side, and declare that the army within the city is small in
  comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their
  plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New
  Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful
  artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for
  their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and
  divisions.  At last the order to advance is given, and the countless
  host moves on--an army such as was never summoned by earthly
  conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began
  on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads
  the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle.
  Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in
  vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military
  precision the serried ranks advance over the earth's broken and
  uneven surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of
  the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the
  city and make ready for the onset.  Now Christ again appears to the
  view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of
  burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne
  sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom.
  The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen
  portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The
  brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out
  beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.
   
   
  Nearest
  the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but
  who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour
  with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian
  characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who
  honoured the law of God when the Christian world declared it void,
  and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And
  beyond is the "great multitude, which no man could number, of
  all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the
  throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in
  their hands." Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their
  victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm
  branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an
  emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.
   
   
  The
  redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes and re-echoes through the
  vaults of heaven: "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the
  throne, and unto the Lamb." Verse 10. And angel and seraph unite
  their voices in adoration. As the redeemed have beheld the power and
  malignity of Satan, they have seen, as never before, that no power
  but that of Christ could have made them conquerors. In all that
  shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to themselves, as
  if they had prevailed by their own power and goodness. Nothing is
  said of what they have done or suffered; but the burden of every
  song, the keynote of every anthem, is: Salvation to our God and unto
  the Lamb.
   
   
  In
  the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the
  final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested
  with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence
  upon the rebels against His government and executes justice upon
  those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people. Says
  the prophet of God: "I saw a great white throne, and Him that
  sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
  there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
  great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book
  was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out
  of those things which were written in the books, according to their
  works." Revelation 20:11, 12.  As soon as the books of record
  are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are
  conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They see just
  where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just
  how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the
  law of God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by
  indulgence in sin, the blessings perverted, the messengers of God
  despised, the warnings rejected, the waves of mercy beaten back by
  the stubborn, unrepentant heart--all appear as if written in letters
  of fire.
   
   
  Above
  the throne is revealed the cross; and like a panoramic view appear
  the scenes of Adam's temptation and fall, and the successive steps in
  the great plan of redemption. The Saviour's lowly birth; His early
  life of simplicity and obedience; His baptism in Jordan; the fast and
  temptation in the wilderness; His public ministry, unfolding to men
  heaven's most precious blessings; the days crowded with deeds of love
  and mercy, the nights of prayer and watching in the solitude of the
  mountains; the plottings of envy, hate, and malice which repaid His
  benefits; the awful, mysterious agony in Gethsemane beneath the
  crushing weight of the sins of the whole world; His betrayal into the
  hands of the murderous  mob; the fearful events of that night of
  horror--the unresisting prisoner, forsaken by His best-loved
  disciples, rudely hurried through the streets of Jerusalem; the Son
  of God exultingly displayed before Annas, arraigned in the high
  priest's palace, in the judgment hall of Pilate, before the cowardly
  and cruel Herod, mocked, insulted, tortured, and condemned to
  die--all are vividly portrayed.
   
   
  And
  now before the swaying multitude are revealed the final scenes--the
  patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of heaven
  hanging upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble
  deriding His expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving
  earth, the rent rocks, the open graves, marking the moment when the
  world's Redeemer yielded up His life.  The awful spectacle appears
  just as it was. Satan, his angels, and his subjects have no power to
  turn from the picture of their own work. Each actor recalls the part
  which he performed. Herod, who slew the innocent children of
  Bethlehem that he might destroy the King of Israel; the base
  Herodias, upon whose guilty soul rests the blood of John the Baptist;
  the weak, timeserving Pilate; the mocking soldiers; the priests and
  rulers and the maddened throng who cried, "His blood be on us,
  and on our children!"--all behold the enormity of their guilt.
  They vainly seek to hide from the divine majesty of His countenance,
  outshining the glory of the sun, while the redeemed cast their crowns
  at the Saviour's feet, exclaiming: "He died for me!"
   
   
  Amid
  the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the
  ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their truehearted
  brethren, and with them the vast host of martyrs; while outside the
  walls, with every vile and abominable thing, are those by whom they
  were persecuted, imprisoned, and slain. There is Nero, that monster
  of cruelty and vice, beholding the joy and exaltation of those whom
  he once tortured, and in whose extremest anguish he found satanic
  delight. His mother is there to witness the result of her own work;
  to see how the evil stamp of character transmitted to her son, the
  passions encouraged and developed by her influence and example, have
  borne fruit in crimes that caused the world to shudder.  There are
  papist priests and prelates, who claimed to be Christ's ambassadors,
  yet employed the rack, the dungeon, and the stake to control the
  consciences of His people. There are the proud pontiffs who exalted
  themselves above God and presumed to change the law of the Most High.
  Those pretended fathers of the church have an account to render to
  God from which they would fain be excused. Too late they are made to
  see that the Omniscient One is jealous of His law and that He will in
  no wise clear the guilty. They learn now that Christ identifies His
  interest with that of His suffering people; and they feel the force
  of His own words: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
  least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." Matthew
  25:40.
   
   
  The
  whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God on the charge of
  high treason against the government of heaven. They have none to
  plead their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of
  eternal death is pronounced against them.  It is now evident to all
  that the wages of sin is not noble independence and eternal life, but
  slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they have forfeited by
  their life of rebellion. The far more exceeding and eternal weight of
  glory was despised when offered them; but how desirable it now
  appears. "All this," cries the lost soul, "I might
  have had; but I chose to put these things far from me. Oh, strange
  infatuation! I have exchanged peace, happiness, and honour for
  wretchedness, infamy, and despair." All see that their exclusion
  from heaven is just. By their lives they have declared: "We will
  not have this Man [Jesus] to reign over us."  As if entranced,
  the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. They
  see in His hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which
  they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of
  wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of
  melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one
  voice exclaim, "Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God
  Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints"
  (Revelation 15:3); and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of
  life.
   
   
  Satan
  seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He who
  was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining
  seraph, "son of the morning;" how changed, how degraded!
  From the council where once he was honoured, he is forever excluded.
  He sees another now standing near to the Father, veiling His glory.
  He has seen the crown placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of
  lofty stature and majestic presence, and he knows that the exalted
  position of this angel might have been his.  Memory recalls the home
  of his innocence and purity, the peace and content that were his
  until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of Christ. His
  accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and
  support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort
  for self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness --all
  come vividly before him. He reviews his work among men and its
  results--the enmity of man toward his fellow man, the terrible
  destruction of life, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the overturning
  of thrones, the long succession of tumults, conflicts, and
  revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of
  Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees that his hellish
  plots have been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust
  in Jesus. As Satan looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he
  sees only failure and ruin. He has led the multitudes to believe that
  the City of God would be an easy prey; but he knows that this is
  false.
   
   
  Again
  and again, in the progress of the great controversy, he has been
  defeated and compelled to yield. He knows too well the power and
  majesty of the Eternal.  The aim of the great rebel has ever been to
  justify himself and to prove the divine government responsible for
  the rebellion. To this end he has bent all the power of his giant
  intellect. He has worked deliberately and systematically, and with
  marvellous success, leading vast multitudes to accept his version of
  the great controversy which has been so long in progress. For
  thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood
  for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be
  finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In
  his last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and
  take possession of the City of God, the archdeceiver has been fully
  unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his
  cause. Christ's followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent
  of his machinations against the government of God. He is the object
  of universal abhorrence.
   
   
  Satan
  sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has
  trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony
  of heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against
  the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he
  has endeavoured to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And
  now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence.  "Who
  shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art
  holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy
  judgments are made manifest." Verse 4. Every question of truth
  and error in the long-standing controversy has now been made plain.
  The results of rebellion, the fruits of setting aside the divine
  statutes, have been laid open to the view of all created
  intelligences. The working out of Satan's rule in contrast with the
  government of God has been presented to the whole universe.
   
   
  Satan's
  own works have condemned him. God's wisdom, His justice, and His
  goodness stand fully vindicated. It is seen that all His dealings in
  the great controversy have been conducted  with respect to the
  eternal good of His people and the good of all the worlds that He has
  created. "All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord; and Thy
  saints shall bless Thee." Psalm 145:10. The history of sin will
  stand to all eternity as a witness that with the existence of God's
  law is bound up the happiness of all the beings He has created. With
  all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe,
  both loyal and rebellious, with one accord declare: "Just and
  true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints."
   
   
  Before
  the universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made by
  the Father and the Son in man's behalf. The hour has come when Christ
  occupies His rightful position and is glorified above principalities
  and powers and every name that is named. It was for the joy that was
  set before Him-that He might bring many sons unto glory--that He
  endured the cross and despised the shame. And inconceivably great as
  was the sorrow and the shame, yet greater is the joy and the glory.
  He looks upon the redeemed, renewed in His own image, every heart
  bearing the perfect impress of the divine, every face reflecting the
  likeness of their King. He beholds in them the result of the travail
  of His soul, and He is satisfied. Then, in a voice that reaches the
  assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, He declares:
  "Behold the purchase of My blood! For these I suffered, for
  these I died, that they might dwell in My presence throughout eternal
  ages." And the song of praise ascends from the white-robed ones
  about the throne: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive
  power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory,
  and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
   
   
  Notwithstanding
  that Satan has been constrained to acknowledge God's justice and to
  bow to the supremacy of Christ, his character remains unchanged. The
  spirit of rebellion, like a mighty torrent, again bursts forth.
  Filled with frenzy, he determines not to yield the great controversy.
  The time has come for a last desperate struggle against the King of
  heaven. He rushes into the midst of his subjects and endeavours to
  inspire them with his own fury and arouse them to instant battle. But
  of all the countless millions whom he has allured into rebellion,
  there are none now to acknowledge his supremacy. His power is at an
  end. The wicked are filled with the same hatred of God that inspires
  Satan; but they see that their case is hopeless, that they cannot
  prevail against Jehovah. Their rage is kindled against Satan and
  those who have been his agents in deception, and with the fury of
  demons they turn upon them.
   
   
  Saith
  the Lord: "Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of
  God; behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible
  of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty
  of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring
  thee down to the pit." "I will destroy thee, O covering
  cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. . . . I will cast thee
  to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold
  thee. . . . I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of
  all them that behold thee. . . . Thou shalt be a terror, and never
  shalt thou be any more." Ezekiel 28:6-8, 16-19.
   
   
  "Every
  battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in
  blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire." "The
  indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all
  their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them
  to the slaughter." "Upon the wicked He shall rain quick
  burning coals, fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest: this shall
  be the portion of their cup." Isaiah 9:5; 34:2; Psalm 11:6,
  margin. Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken
  up. The weapons concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring
  flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire.
  The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with
  fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are
  burned up. Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:10. The earth's surface seems one
  molten mass--a vast, seething lake of fire. It is the time of the
  judgment and perdition of ungodly men--"the day of the Lord's
  vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion."
  Isaiah 34:8.
   
   
  The
  wicked receive their recompense in the earth. Proverbs 11:31. They
  "shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up,
  saith the Lord of hosts." Malachi 4:1. Some are destroyed as in
  a moment, while others suffer many days. All are punished "according
  to their deeds." The sins of the righteous having been
  transferred to Satan, he is made to suffer not only for his own
  rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused God's people to
  commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that of those whom
  he has deceived. After all have perished who fell by his deceptions,
  he is still to live and suffer on. In the cleansing flames the wicked
  are at last destroyed, root and branch-Satan the root, his followers
  the branches. The full penalty of the law has been visited; the
  demands of justice have been met; and heaven and earth, beholding,
  declare the righteousness of Jehovah.
   
   
  Satan's
  work of ruin is forever ended. For six thousand years he has wrought
  his will, filling the earth with woe and causing grief throughout the
  universe. The whole creation has groaned and travailed together in
  pain. Now God's creatures are forever delivered from his presence and
  temptations. "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they
  [the righteous] break forth into singing." Isaiah 14:7. And a
  shout of praise and triumph ascends from the whole loyal universe.
  "The voice of a great multitude," "as the voice of
  many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings," is heard,
  saying: "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
  Revelation 19:6.
   
   
  While
  the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode
  safely in the Holy City. Upon those that had part in the first
  resurrection, the second death has no power. While God is to the
  wicked a consuming fire, He is to His people both a sun and a shield.
  Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11.  "I saw a new heaven and a new
  earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away."
  Revelation 21:1. The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the
  earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning
  hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin. 
  One reminder alone remains: Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of
  His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and
  feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought.
  Says the prophet, beholding Christ in His glory: "He had bright
  beams coming out of His side: and there was the hiding of His power."
  Habakkuk 3:4, margin. That pierced side whence flowed the crimson
  stream that reconciled man to God--there is the Saviour's glory,
  there "the hiding of His power." "Mighty to save,"
  through the sacrifice of redemption, He was therefore strong to
  execute justice upon them that despised God's mercy. And the tokens
  of His humiliation are His highest honour; through the eternal ages
  the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His
  power.
   
   
  "O
  Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee
  shall it come, even the first dominion." Micah 4:8. The time has
  come to which holy men have looked with longing since the flaming
  sword barred the first pair from Eden, the time for "the
  redemption of the purchased possession." Ephesians 1:14. The
  earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into
  the hands of Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been
  brought back by the great plan of redemption. All that was lost by
  sin has been restored. "Thus saith the Lord . . . that formed
  the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in
  vain, He formed it to be inhabited." Isaiah 45:18. God's
  original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is
  made the eternal abode of the redeemed. "The righteous shall
  inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Psalm 37:29.
   
   
  A
  fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many
  to spiritualise away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as
  our home. Christ assured His disciples that He went to prepare
  mansions for them in the Father's house. Those who accept the
  teachings of God's word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the
  heavenly abode. And yet, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
  neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
  prepared for them that love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9. Human
  language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It
  will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can
  comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God. In the Bible the
  inheritance of the saved is called "a country." Hebrews
  11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of
  living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the
  leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are
  ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees
  cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the
  Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and
  the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful
  plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims
  and wanderers, shall find a home.
   
   
  "My
  people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings,
  and in quiet resting places." "Violence shall no more be
  heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but
  thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise."
  "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant
  vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and
  another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: . . . Mine
  elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Isaiah 32:18;
  60:18; 65:21, 22.  There, "the wilderness and the solitary place
  shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as
  the rose." "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir
  tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree."
  "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall 
  lie down with the kid; . . . and a little child shall lead them."
  "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,"
  saith the Lord. Isaiah 35:1; 55:13; 11:6, 9.  Pain cannot exist in
  the atmosphere of heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral
  trains, no badges of mourning.
   
   
  "There
  shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying: . . . for the
  former things are passed away." "The inhabitant shall not
  say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their
  iniquity." Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24.  There is the New
  Jerusalem, the metropolis of the glorified new earth, "a crown
  of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of
  thy God." "Her light was like unto a stone most precious,
  even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." "The nations
  of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings
  of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it." Saith the
  Lord: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people."
  "The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them,
  and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and
  be their God." Isaiah 62:3; Revelation 21:11, 24; Isaiah 65:19;
  Revelation 21:3.
   
   
  In
  the City of God "there shall be no night." None will need
  or desire repose. There will be no weariness in doing the will of God
  and offering praise to His name. We shall ever feel the freshness of
  the morning and shall ever be far from its close. "And they need
  no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them
  light." Revelation 22:5. The light of the sun will be superseded
  by a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which immeasurably
  surpasses the brightness of our noontide. The glory of God and the
  Lamb floods the Holy City with unfading light. The redeemed walk in
  the sunless glory of perpetual day.  "I saw no temple therein:
  for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it."
  Revelation 21:22. The people of God are privileged to hold open
  communion with the Father and the Son. "Now we see through a
  glass, darkly." .PG 677  1 Corinthians 13:12. We behold the
  image of God reflected, as in a mirror, in the works of nature and in
  His dealings with men; but then we shall see Him face to face,
  without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in His presence and
  behold the glory of His countenance. There the redeemed shall know,
  even as also they are known. The loves and sympathies which God
  Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest
  exercise. The pure communion with holy beings, the harmonious social
  life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of all ages
  who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
  Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together "the whole family in
  heaven and earth" (Ephesians 3:15)--these help to constitute the
  happiness of the redeemed.
   
   
  There,
  immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the
  wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There
  will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God.
  Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The
  acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the
  energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the
  loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and
  still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to
  admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the
  powers of mind and soul and body.  All the treasures of the universe
  will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality,
  they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar--worlds that thrilled
  with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of
  gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight
  the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen
  beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding
  gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork.
   
   
  With
  undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation-suns and stars
  and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of
  Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's
  name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed. 
  And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still
  more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is
  progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The
  more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His
  character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and
  the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the
  hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with
  more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand
  times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to
  swell the mighty chorus of praise.  
  
   
   
  "And
  every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
  earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
  saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that
  sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."
  Revelation 5:13. The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are
  no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and
  gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all,
  flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of
  illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all
  things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect
  joy, declare that God is love.
   
   
   
   
  
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   Publication Date: August 30th 2021 https://www.bookrix.com/-dodacd82b430706