The Churches
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THE MESSENGER or THE CHURCHES: MAGAZINE OF SCRIPTURE EXPOSITION, AND MEDIUM OF INTERCOMMUNICATION ON ALL SOCIAL AND PRACTICAL TOPICS OF IMPORTANCE ITO THE BROTHERHOOD. WITH THE CONGREGATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE YEAR 1866. VOL. II. New Series, EDINBURGH: PRINTED BY A. & W. R. WILSON, 56 HIGH STREET. MDCCCUtVl. Church of God General Conference: McDonough, GA; Digital Archives Library; https://coggc.org/ CONTENTS. PAGE. The Condemned Hierarchy ((e , 1 Messiah’s Mercy to the Poor 8 The Little Horn: The Antichrist ' . 11,26 Miracles . 57 Duration 67 Satan 88 The Ten Kings and the One King 135 The Man of Sin 166, 180 Spiritualising ..... 17 An English Reply to the Rochester Epistle 20 The Gospel Preached to Jew and Gentile . 22 Jesus Christ and Him Crucified . 33, 71 Friendly Greetings across the Sea 37 What is Literalism . 40 Translations of the Seventy Weeks or Heptades Prophecy 46 A Word of Criticism . 47 The Inquirer . • • 447,7, OU,80, 144 The Importance of the Historical Books of the Old Testament in relation to Prophecyr 49 53 The Unwritten Rubric . • • • ' The Gospel of the Kingdom of. God . 55, 77 . 57, 87 The Proximity of the Kingdom . • . • • 61 Letter from Birmingham . 65 Calvary and Zion . 73, 82 . The Witch of Endor................................................................... 76 Persistance of Old Bible Names . 79 The Power of God in His Word . 81 Let Brotherly Love Continue Is the Proximity of the Kingdom, the “ Gospel ” preached by Jesus . 92 " 93 Sacred Criticism . • • ' 97 The Lord’s Prophecy . 99 The Personality of Satan . • ■ • 104 What is the True Age of the World • . 107 Familiar Spirits . • • * Ill Mello . 113 The Annual Meeting, 1866 • • 129 Wherewithal shall we be Clothed . • • ’. 131 Shahvooag; the Hebrew word translated “ Week ” in Dan. ix. ■ 132 Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet 142 The Working Man . • . 145 Remarks on the Genuineness of Revelation xx. 5.. Church of God General Conference: McDonough, GA; Digital Archives Library; https://coggc.org/ CONTENTS. page- The Doctrine of Life ’ 147 Reconnoitring an Eneniy’s Fortress 148 The Inspiration of the Scriptures .... 152 Spirits of Antichrist .... 153, 177 That Blessed Hope . • • 157 A Church’s Testimony to the Word of the Truth of the Gospel ■ 161 Things most surely Believed .... 172 Intelligence— Aberdeen ..... 143 Barrow in Furness .... 31, 95 Birmingham ..... 188 Brooklyn, U.S. 95 Buchan . ... • • • 128 Crossgates ..... 47, 63, 79 Dundee . 95,187 Edinburgh .....47, 63, 79, 95. 174,188 Glasgow ..... 80,95,112,143 Halifax, N.S. ..... 95, 160 Huddersfield . ■ . 128, 159 Innerleithen . ... 15 Jarrow-on-Tyne . 48 Kirkcaldy . 48 Lanarkshire ..... 176, 188 Liverpool ..... 95 Mumbles ..... 15,31, 48, 64,174 Newcastle on-Tyne .... 176 Nottingham . 160 Sheffield ..... 143 Swansea . 31 Tranent ..... 64 Turriff . 16, 32, 64, 96 United States ..... Hi Hymn for the .Evening . ... 31 A Proverb ..... 53 AU is Vanity ..... 62 The Holy Land ..... 141 Invocatory Hymn . 159 All things for Good, 187 Church of God General Conference: McDonough, GA; Digital Archives Library; https://coggc.org/ THE MESSENGER OF THE CHURCHES. > " I SPEAK AS TO WISE MEN, JUDGE YE WHAT I SAY.” No. 1. January 1, 1866. New Series. Vol. II. THE CONDEMNED HIERARCHY. Elucidation Class Notes on Luke xvi. enlarged. This chapter (verses 19-31), is to them in parables, and without a the grand resort of all persons who parable spake he not to the people,” attempt a defence of the unscriptural Matt. xiii. 34. idea of the immortality of the soul. The other reasoners, whilst having Our object then must be to see what truth in admitting its parabolic is the true teaching of this portion of structure, are quite as wide of the Scripture, and thus obtain the best word by deducing an untrue and answer to the suppositious meaning unintended lesson from the parable fastened upon it. —i.e., the existence of a separate We have however to meet two soul. To such we would commend classes of reasoners: those who affirm, Dr Trench’s remarks, who writing of and those who deny, its parobolic these fictitious narratives lays down structure. this law thereupon: “ They may not The latter is the more illogical, rely be made first sources of doctrine. ing almost solely upon the absence When a doctrine is settled by plain of the preface of comparison “the texts, they may illustrate it. But kingdom is like to.” This is but a controversialists, to sustain some feeble reason, because seeing that it weak position, often forget this rule; is not the kingdom which is in con and looking round for arguments, sideration it is unnecessary. But it :invent for themselves supports in is alleged that the words “ there 1these. ” Till the believers in the was,” stamp it as a fact, or real iimmortality of separate souls have history. This7” ' cannot ‘be granted, found the plain texts they must not - for the same mode of expression' use the parable. And knowing that occurs in ver. 1, in chaps, xv. 11, such plain texts cannot be found we xiv. 16, all of which are accepted as may proceed to investigate the na parables. Then, the style of the ture and teaching of this supposed words is evidently parabolic, and case, upon its own merits. especially the appended moral.- But— Before doing so we must, however, the evangelist’s words settle the ques take note of the direct scripture tion : “ All these things spake Jesus testimony, which utterly negativing Church of God General Conference: McDonough, GA; Digital Archives Library; https://coggc.org/ 2 THE MESSENGER OF THE CHURCHES. January 1,1806. the popular ideas of the nature of whilst the subject is in “the cold man and his state in death, leave no damp grave.” foothold for the ordinary understand If, then, the uniform teaching of ing of this parable. We shall do scripture is against the popular ideas, this from the parable as a basis. we may be sure this parable will . 1. It is said that the subjects, not prove them. And so, having both the poor and the rich man died. demonstrated the negative, we may Now death is to cease to exist (Gen. proceed to consider the affirmative iii. 19, vi. 17, vii. 21-23; ~Ecc. iii. teaching: of the fiction. 19, 20). Life and its antithesis The first inquiry should be,— death are spoken of in terms the Whose is the parable? Scholars very opposite of immortal soulism have' doubted our Lord’s authorship, (Job xiv. 12, viii. 9, x. 19, 20, xiii. and; indeed not without reason, see 28, iv. 19, vii. 6; 1 Pet. i. 24). ing it is not at all of his character With life perish its results ; e.q., ac istic utterances. M‘Culloch says,— tion, thought, speech, &c., so that of “ Neither is it directly said that our them it is said,—“ they know not Saviour did use the parable, but it is anything, ... their love, their hatred, abruptly introduced. I am unable their envy, is now perished,” Ecc. ix. to learn whether a similar parable 4-6. “ His breath goeth forth, he has been recognised in the rabbinical returnethIcillLUClll toIV hisA11O earth&O/L Vll ;, in that very writings, but the complexion .of it day his thoughts perish," Ps. cxlvi. 4. certainly accords with their mode of 2. The rich man was in hades, i.e., illustration much better than it does in the grave ; concerning which it is with that of our Saviour.” Dodd said, “ there is no work, nor device, ridge goes further, and affirms that nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the “ Dr Lightfoot and others have grave,” Ecc. ix. 10. “ In death is shown that the Jews in their Genera no remembrance of Thee; in the have a parable much to the same grave, who shall give Thee thanks'?” purpose.” And in Josephus we have Ps. vi. 5 ; Is. xxxviii. 18, 19. what we think ample confirmatory 3. Lazarus was in Abraham’s bo testimony. It will not be mis spent som. Now, as Abraham was dead labour to give an abstract of his and buried (Gen. xxv. 8, 10, xv, 15 ; Dissertation on Hades, both because Zeeh. i. 5; Luke xx. 37, 38), it fol it shows us the original of the pop lows, that for Lazarus to lie in his ular teaching, and because of its bosom, he must find it in the bearing on this parable. grave. “ Hades, wherein the souls of the 4. Hell, as the place of punish righteous and unrighteous are de ment, is not yet in existence. This tained, a subterraneous region, in (in the New Testament, Gehenna, perpetual darkness, a place of custody , not hades') is always represented as for. souls,___ , in which__ angelsa are guard- future. The punishment of Gehenna ians, who distribute to them tern- is everlasting destruction, 2 Thes. i. porary punishments. In this region 9 ; for there the wicked will be burnt is a lake oj unquenchable fire, where- up, consumed into smoke, Ps. xxxvii. into we suppose no one hath hitherto 20, so as to “ be no more," Ps. civ. been cast; but is prepared for a day 35 ; become ashes under the feet of afore-determined by God, when the the righteous, &c., Mai. iv. 1-3. So• unjust shall be adjudged to this that it is impossible for the parable■ everlasting punishment, while the just . to teach ordinary notions of hell-fire■ shall obtain an incorruptible and i Church of God General Conference: McDonough, GA; Digital Archives Library; https://coggc.org/ January 1,1865. THE MESSENGER OF THE CHURCHES. 3 never-fading kingdom. There is one sequence, as an exposition of the descent into this region, at whose original vain philosophy, out of which gate we believe there stands an arch- sprang purgatory, the wild, God angel with a host; which gate when dishonouring fancies of eternal tor those pass through who are conducted ments, shown in the writings of such by the angels, they do not go the men as Jonathan Edwards; and also same way; but the just are guided of the more modern notion of Hades, to the right-hand, to a region of light, as the ante-judgment prison (or in in which the just have dwelt since termediate state) of the naked souls.