2 PRESENT TRUTH August 2, 1934
MARCH of EVENTS
On the Edge of THE recent tragic righteousness, seek meekness; it wherever Roman Catholicism is the Abyss happe ni n g s in may be ye shall be hid in the day in power. Where Rome rules the Germany, followed by the ban- of the Lord's anger." Zeph. 2 :3. Bible is still burned. Of this ning of foreign newspapers that there is abundant evidence in the commented upon the brutality Ui article quoted above from the • employed in suppressing the Christian Irishman. Good News FROM the March threatened revolution, h a v e from Ireland issue of the Chris- "The priests have in many cases aroused world-wide anxiety as to actually gathered the Scriptures sold tian Irishman we learn that the • Germany's future. Evidently and then burnt them or caused them Scriptures are being circulated to be destroyed," continues Mr. there is widespread dissatisfac- in Roman Catholic homes in Gibson. "The cases where this has tion with the present regime, or taken place are too numerous to state Ireland "to an extent unparal- in detail, but we give a number of such drastic measures would not leled in the past." The Rev. Fred instances referred to in the letters of have been considered necessary. C. Gibson, B.A., writes : our colporteurs, showing that the How far the reaction against Scriptures have been burnt in many of the counties in the Free State Hitlerism has gone no one can "The steady increase in the sale of during 1933." tell, but the correspondent of the Scriptures in recent years is indi- cated by the following figures : In Then follow the letters. We was probably Daily Telegraph 1930 the colporteurs of the Irish Mis- wish we had space to print them not far from the truth when he sion sold 9,000; in 1931, 10,800; in 1932, 16,500; and in 1933, over 27,- all. One from Co. Mayo must • said that the present leaders are 000. When we consider that there suffice : sitting not on one powder-keg, are several other colportage societies • "The priest here searched every but on several. connected with the various evangeli- cal churches in Ireland, we are con- home and took away all the Testa- How near we seem to be these fronted with the fact that during the ments and gospels he could find and last ten years hundreds of thousands burnt them. One woman told me that • days to the edge of some dread- he took hers and burnt it. Her hus- ful precipice ! We peer over and of Scriptures must have been pur- chased by the Roman Catholics of band had already read it and thought draw back, only to be confronted Ireland." it was a good book. She could not understand why the priest had burnt with another glimpse of the it." abyss a moment later. From day This is good news indeed and Thus the priests of Rome still to day the world appears to be may God bless the brave Protes- continue their nefarious work, on the very verge of some fright- tant colporteurs who are scatter- keeping the people in darkness, ful calamity, with no one know- ing the seed of the Word in this ignorance, and bondage, shutting ing just how or where it will difficult and dangerous soil. out the light as long as they can. begin. Men's hearts are indeed J/1.1 Let us pray that the day of Ire- failing them for fear as they land's deliverance from the look on the things coming on the Rome Still MANY Roman • Burning Bibles blighting curse of Romanism earth. (Luke 21 :26.) Catholics try to may soon dawn. This is truly a time when ridicule the idea that their Christians everywhere should church ever burnt the Scriptures. 1111 haJ 1.0% • seek God with renewed earnest- And even if it did, they say, it ness, realizing that the coming of was in the bad old days of in- In Praise of the IN these days Ten Commandments the Lord draws nigh. As the tolerance of long ago. But the when so prophet Zephaniah says : "Seek bad days of intolerance exist many ministers of the Gospel August 2, 1934 PRESENT TRUTH 3
worship Him that made heaven, have just announced a discovery that minute electrical charges are vital and earth, and the sea, and the to our brains and bodies. fountains of waters." And those "From their study of electrical who heed and obey will be ac- winds and magnetic storms, solar smoke and electrified dust, the work- claimed as those who "keep the ers hope to find the answers to age- commandments of God, and the old puzzles of nature. Many scien- faith of Jesus." Rev. 14 :6, 7, 12. tists believe that the keys to the most baffling enigmas of earth, the mys- teries of life, heredity, and death, lie LHJ LIiJ LIIJ locked in infinitesimal particles charged with electricity. No other Electricity DISCOVERIES of field of modern research is so packed and Life absorbing interest with mystery and promise. . . . have been made of late demon- "On all sides of us—floating in the air, streaming from the sun, coursing strating the influence that elec- through our bodies, hidden in the tricity wields in all phases of life, things we eat—are minute charges of both animal and vegetable. Writ- electricity. Only in recent years have we known much about these invisible ing in Popular Science Monthly ions. It is thought they usually start for February, 1934, Edwin Teale out as atoms from which an electron @ Topica is removed. On sunny days, it is says : known, there are more ions in the Communist parade in New York show air than on cloudy days; on warm ing men in chains led by "Nazi Storm "Explorers, working in one of the days more than on cold days; on Troopers." strangest realms of science, are un- earthing curious, dramatic facts. clear days more than when smoke "The way cars run, the way seeds pollutes the sky.... make it their business to dis- sprout, the way eggs hatch, the way "The latest tests have shown that credit the law of God, suggest- radios function, and even the way the state of our health and spirits is we feel when we get up in the morn- closely linked to electricity in the air. ing that it has been "done away" ing, the latest tests have shown, are Some mornings, for example, we get and is no longer binding upon affected by flowing, invisible charges up feeling exhilarated; other morn- men, it is refreshing to read a of electric power. Recently, experi- ings we get up feeling depressed. ments in the laboratories of many The difference, say experts, in at- testimony in its favour from so lands have added to our knowledge mospheric electricity is largely a dif- great an authority as Sir Josiah of the magical work of electricity in ference k. f ions in the air. . . Stamp. the air. "The further science plumbs this "In Italy, one scientist has sent mystery, the closer is the link it Speaking at the annual meet- electric waves racing through the at- finds between life and electricity. The ing of the British and Foreign mosphere to alter the heredity of famous Cleveland (Ohio) surgeon, plants. In Holland, another has used Dr. George W. Crile, sums up his Bible Society at the Queen's Hall them to kill bacteria, and preserve discoveries in the words : 'Electric- recently, he took pains to stress foods. In Germany, a third has ob- ity keeps the flame of life burning the importance of the Old Testa- tained astonishing results by adminis- in the cell.' Dr. Charles H. Mayo, tering electrified air to hospital one of the noted surgical brothers ment, remarking that "it is far patients. In the United States, two of Rochester, Minnesota, adds that too precious, too elemental, for of the country's foremost surgeons (Continued on page 13.) us ever to feel we have grown beyond it." Then he added these striking words : "If ever there was a day when the Decalogue was needed to be known inside and out, it is to- day." Sir Josiah was right. The world's troubles are due to the fact that men have "trangressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." Isa. 24 :5. Discord and violence increase because the law of God has been spurned and forgotten. The call of Heaven to this dis- traught modern world is to re- , turn to the observance of His commandments : "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour ()d Topical This huge electric siren has been erected on a high building in Paris to act of His judgment is come : and as a warning to the population in the event of an air raid. 4 PRESENT TRUTH August 2, 1934
By J. Beraud Christ crucified by the modern world. C, Braun et CALVARY By Evangelist Clifford R. Anderson
"THERE is none other name Angels gaze in horror as the fections. Pilate's wife uses all under heaven given among men Son of God dies upon a cross. the eloquent power of affection whereby we must be saved." Vicious human hands clamour to to save "that just Man." Her Acts 4 :12. shed the innocent blood of the words haunt the governor all This sad, sorrowing world will world's Redeemer. Crafty priests through the trial. Not one in all never outgrow its need of Cal- desecrate the name of the only the land that day could have laid vary. It will never grow too pure One ever born of woman. a finger on Jesus but Pilate. Yet good, too wise, or too sophisti- (Matt. 27 :1, 2.) rather than risk a misunder- cated for Christ, the Son of God. Pilate, the vacillating coward, standing with the leaders of the Wherever there is a heartache, a the worshipper of worldly fame, nation, he hands over the Son of struggle, or a defeated sinner, is well aware of priestly envy; God for them to dispose of as there is the sure and certain need which only makes his sin they will. Pilate sins deliberately of Calvary. more heinous. Upon the judg- after God has spoken through his The only successful means ment seat he weighs the case, conscience and his wife. "I am that will lift sinking, suffering knowing Jesus is innocent. Will innocent of the blood of this just men, is the way of Calvary. no one rise and plead for the Person," he cries, washing his At Jerusalem, nineteen hun- sufferer? Yes, God has one to hands in water. It is a lie. He dred years ago, was enacted the plead. Pilate, like the rough, is guilty, and water will not wash most stupendous scene the uni- cruel men of his type, is more away the stains of sin. verse has ever witnessed. easily accessible through his af- The worst Roman criminals August 2. 1934 PRESENT TRUTH 5
were crucified, their bodies being "Neither is there salvation in fact. Rose Macaulay writes : allowed to rot upon the cross, or any other." `Crime is news; divorce is news; be devoured by birds of prey. "Once for all, oh sinner, receive it; girl mothers are news ; . . . the When Pilate said, "Let Him be Once for all, oh doubter, believe it; wrongdoing of clergymen is crucified," he knew he was send- Look to the cross, thy burden shall news ; . . . railway accidents are fall, ing an innocent man to the cruel- Christ hath redeemed us once for news.' Why? Railway accidents est of deaths. In effect he cried : all." are news because the vast major- ity of railway journeys are un- "Take Him, torture Him ! Slan- The next scene opens in hea- der, insult, and slay ! Destroy ven. The winepress has been accompanied by accident. Thou- His reputation, mock and trodden alone. Sin's thorns have sands of men and women travel scourge. Let Him carry His own done their worst. (Isa. 63 :1-3.) hundreds of miles daily without mishap. Only very occasionally cross to execution. Let His feet The Son of God is received into bleed on Jerusalem's rough His Father's presence as man's something goes wrong, and the stones. Let Him gasp, faint, substitute, and through the ages reporters are on the spot at once. weep, thirst. Stretch out His He pleads the merits of His This is news—because it is ex- hands. Drive the nails till the sacrifice that men might live. ceptional. No editor would give blood spurts. Plant the cross, But a day of vengeance hastens an inch to a report of a railway and let Him die !" on (Verse 4) when He will re- journey without an accident. And Jesus, knowing it all, turn to take His people home, "It is just the same with sin. answers never a word. (Verse and to bring eternal punishment Suppose you opened your paper 12.) Yet had He willed it, one upon the guilty. The choice is one day and found headlines like • look from those eyes would have ours now. God is recording these : withered the Roman cohorts. One every decision. (Isa. 65 :6.) For " 'Honesty of a Manchester word from those lips, and earth one class there remains nothing Cashier. • would have opened and swal- but vengeance. (Isa. 66 :15, 16.) " 'An Affectionate Mother in lowed up governor and mob en- For the other, everlasting joy in York." tirely. the earth made new. (Verses 22, " 'Neighbours who are on Friendly Terms: Good News All the soldiers are implicated 23.) The decision is ours. Let us make it now, once for all. from Exeter. in the next horror. (Verse 27.) " 'London Couple who Live They strip Him, insult and tor- -4. -4. Happily Together. ture Him. They leer into His " 'Well-known Birmingham face, repeating foul and loath- " Sin" in the Newspapers Firm Meets its Obligations.' some jests—the face that angels " 'SIN is news.' At first "You would either think the loved, and prophets longed to thought it may seem grim and editor and his reporting staff had see. He Who is worshipped cynical, but it is in reality the gone a little mad, or that they above all principalities in the uni- very opposite," writes "Brother were trying a new kind of joke. verse is treated worse than a John" in the Inquirer. And why? Simply because hon- • felon. He is made the centre "There is sound optimism esty, affection, neighbourliness, of a comedy, before becoming behind this epigram. Sin, for all and fidelity in married life and the Victim of a tragedy. it is so old, strikes us as news, in business are the rule and not Crowned with cruel thorns He which means that it is a de- the exception. It is the facts that is led out to die. Gambling parture from the ordinary. Good don't get into the papers—the soldiers heartlessly toss coins behaviour is too commonplace to kindliness, self-denial, courage, round the foot of His cross, get the smallest paragraph in the rightdoing, loyalty—that make while the God-Man writhes and newspapers ; it is the expected up the unrecorded bulk of suffers. Humanity, having done thing, and takes place with most human affairs." its worst, sits down to watch the unexciting regularity. last death agonies. (Verse 36.) "Only exceptional occurences .4. Darkness, dense and impene- find their way into print. Journ- "NEVER think that you have • trable, settles over the land—fit alists have a rule which runs : learned enough, and that you emblem of sin's dreadful reign. `If a dog bites a man, don't may now relax your efforts. The The foul deed is over, and the bother about it. But if a man cultivated mind is the measure of Son of God has tasted death for bites a dog, get on to it at once. the man. Your education should every man. Too late the wit- That's news !' continue during your lifetime; • nesses repeat the echo of many "It is in this sense that sin is every day you should be learn- hearts, "Truly this was the Son news. ing, and putting to practical use of God." (Verse 54.) "Others have noted this same the knowledge gained." 6 PRESENT TRUTH August 2, 1934 SUNDAY SACREDNESS • When and How Did it Begin ?
SUNDAY, the first day of the ship and its degrading tendency pa,dia defines sun worship as the week, was originally a pagan that the apostle Paul referred "main worship of the old past- holiday, but in the course of a when he wrote these words : oral Aryans, as may still be seen few centuries it became a holy in Brahman rites, and it appears "The wrath of God is revealed day to a large number of Chris- from heaven against all ungodliness in the Persian Mithra, the Greek tians, enforced more or less and unrighteousness of men, who Helios, and Egyptian Ra. It hold the truth in unrighteousness; strictly, not only by ecclesiastical because that which may be known flourished in Tartary, in the full- usage, but by civil law. How did of God is manifest in them; for God est development in ancient Peru, this great change come about? hath showed it unto them. For the and widely among the North invisible things of Him from the When men lost the knowledge creation of the world are clearly seen, American Indians. The worship of God, they began to seek out being understood by the things that of the sun lingered long even various objects and forces to are made, even His eternal power under the shadow of Christian- and Godhead; so that they are with- worship. Quite naturally, the out excuse : because that, when they ity, which was skilful to turn its very first object to attract their knew God, they glorified Him not as rites to profit. Thus these sur- attention and by its evident God, neither were thankful; but be- vive disguised in the Easter bon- came vain in their imaginations, and power to make appeal to their their foolish heart was darkened. fires, as do its great festivals in feelings of reverence, was the Professing themselves to be wise, the Yule Log bonfires of Christ- they became fools, and changed the sun. Here was not only their glory of the uncorruptible God into mas Day." chief source of light, but, as far an image made like to corruptible The reader will observe that as men could determine, the man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." Rom. the New Standard Encyclopadia earth's only adequate source of 1 :18-23. refers to the "Persian Mithra" heat. And not only so, but that as one form of sun worship. It luminary seemed to them to be Of the universality of helio- latry, McClintock and Strong's was brought into the Roman not only the source of light and Empire proper by levies of con- heat, but of life also. So far as Biblical, Theological, and Eccle- siastical Encyclopcedia says this : scripts from the East, at least man was able to determine by as early as 67 B.C. In the course what he observed, all life, "The worship of the great orb of some two centuries this cult, whether vegetable or animal, was which ensures to us light, warmth, and life is as ancient as history. It new to the West, had spread all derived from the light and existed in the earliest ages among the along the Roman frontiers, warmth of the sun. Phoenicians, Egyptians, Persians, and Hindus, and later among the Greeks stoutly contesting every inch of At first thought it might be and Romans of the West, venerating ground, especially in the West, supposed that heliolatry would it, object under the different names with Christianity. All over Ger- necessarily be the highest, most of Helios, or Sol, or of Baal, Osiris, or Mithras. Various forms of sacri- many, far up the Danube and ennobling form of nature wor- fice and prayer characterized this along the whole course of the ship, but such has not been the worship among the different nations, Rhine, and as far west as Britain, case. From worshipping the sun but they agreed in regarding the sun as a mighty and superior deity who its course can be tracked by as the source of life, in the ruled the world with an independent monuments and inscriptions."— course of time the worship of the orb of day degenerated into the worship, not only of the sup- posed reproductive power of the By C. P. Bollman sun, but of that same power, not only in man, but in all man- authority more or less complete. The "Mithraism," by W. J. Phythian- ner of life. Cases in point are Greeks alone did not render higher honours to the sun than to the other Adams, pages 22, 23. the sacred bull, worshipped by gods regarded as of superior rank. the Egyptians at Heliopolis and All Eastern nations considered it as And wherever the cult went, at Memphis, constantly attended practically the supreme divinity. The there went the weekly celebration Romans, too, maintained the worship by nude women. Likewise the of the sun after Heliogabalus had of Sunday and the annual cele- scarabxus, or sacred beetle, of introduced it and had built a temple bration of the twenty-fifth of Ptah, was held in reverence as a to Sol."—Vol. 10, page 17. December both in honour of the source of life. It is to such wor- The New Standard Encyclo- sun. August 2, 1934 PRESENT TRUTH 7
This explains how Sunday and the religion of the Roman army, "The most respectable bishops had persuaded themselves that the ignor- the twenty-fifth of December and through Constantine's Sun- ant rustics would more cheerfully re- both come to us bearing German day law of A.D. 321, the week of nounce the superstitions of pagan- and Scandinavian as well as seven days, while not displacing ism if they found some resemblance, • some compensation, in the bosom of Latin names. the ides and calends of the Latin Christianity. The religion of Constan- Mithraism had this advantage, world, obtained royal recogni- tine achieved, in less than a century, tion as a measure of time. the final conquest of the Roman Em- that, like Christianity, it had the pire ; but the victors themselves were free-running week, as had also Even in its earliest introduc- insensibly subdued by the arts of the Jews and the Christians. The tion into the Christian church, their vanquished rivals." seventh day of the week of the Sunday observance bears the ear- The followers of Mithraism Jews and Christians was the Sab- marks of its pagan origin. Until had, as we have already stated, bath of the Lord. The sacred after the sabbatic edict of Con- no sabbath, and Sunday was not day of Mithraism was the first stantine, only those bishops who a day of rest. The idea of a day of the free-running weekly were seeking the aid of the civil weekly day of rest can be traced cycle. power to bolster up the waning only to the fourth commandment The seventh day of the Jews influence of the church ever of the decalogue. The first day and Christians was the Sabbath thought of Sunday as a day of of the week was observed by the of the fourth commandment of rest. It was a neo-pagan festival heathen by greeting the sun with the decalogue. It was not a festi- dedicated to the sun, but was not prayers, sacrifices, and rejoicing • val, but a day devoted to rest and a sabbath, such an institution be- at the hour of his rising on Sun- worship, and so did not appeal ing unknown to the heathen. day, after which every person y • to the pagans generally as did Gibbon, in his Decline and Fall was at full liberty (until the Sun- the Sunday festival of Mithra- of the Roman Empire, chapter day edict of A.D. 321) to spend ism. 28, last paragraph, tells us inci- the remainder of the day as he • This neo-, or new, paganism dentally how certain Christian saw fit. And this custom of Sun- not only sought to displace Chris- bishops took advantage of the day morning worship was tianity, but did in a measure difference between the two days, adopted by many of the early supersede the more gross pagan- the seventh and the first. He Christians, only instead of ador- ism of Rome. It became largely says : (Continued on page 13.)
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ox k'hotos Stonehenge—the world-renowned relic of sun-worship on Salisbury Plain. 8 PRESENT TRUTH August 2, 1934
AN OPEN LETTER TO EVERY SINCERE CHRISTIAN
WHO ARE THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS ? DO THEY STAND FOURSQUARE ON THE GOSPEL ? from E. G. Lindsay Essery TEN YEARS MISSIONARY IN EGYPT A
Dear Brother in Christ, THE Christian body known as the Seventh-Day Adventists is coming more and more before the public eye, not only because its members observe the seventh- day Sabbath (Saturday), but also on account of the aggressive missionary campaign they are conducting by means of their evangelical, medical, educational, and literature work in all parts of the world in some 485 languages. Who Are They ? They are a body of Protestants who have come out of the various churches as a result of their obedience to the special Bible truths which they believe are now due to the world. They did not form a new organization from fad or fancy, but that they might more freely proclaim God's special truths for these days. Are They Absolutely, although the misrepresentations of their enemies have led some Fundamental ? folk to think otherwise. Let us quote from one who knows and whose testimony is of weight, John Edward Brown, President of the International Federation of • Christian Workers. He says : "On all cardinal doctrines of the Bible, the miraculous conception, the virgin birth, the crucifixion, the ascension, the deity of Christ, the atonement of Christ, the second coming, the personality of the Holy Spirit, and the infallible Bible, the Seventh-Day Adventist rings as true as steel. He may disagree, profoundly so, on a great many different angles of these different lines of teaching but, in the essential parts, he stands with the organized church of Jesus Christ."—The Cult Kingdom. Yes, the Seventh-Day Adventists are entirely fundamental, and all hearsay to the contrary is incorrect. Seekers of truth who sincerely desire to know what the Seventh-Day Adventists teach, and why they differ on certain points, from generally accepted orthodoxy, will naturally take the trouble to investigate for themselves. To accept, without proof, statements made by enemies is not logical, neither fair nor sincere. What Is It is essentially a reform message It is based upon Revelation 14 :6-14, and Their Message ? calls people away from modern unbelief back to the God of creation, and to His revelation, the Bible, as the only foundation of Christian doctrine. Christ our Righteousness is the central theme of the message. In these days when people trust so much in their own works and merits, this truth needs special emphasis. The fulfilment of Bible prophecy shows clearly that the work of the Gospel is soon to close and Jesus return; and God's message is destined to prepare His people for these events. The message embraces true Sabbath reform (see Isaiah 56 and 58; Rev. 14 :12), calling us to be loyal to God's commandments and to reject the counterfeit rest day which was cradled in sun-worship and foisted upon Christians by apostasy. Is God's Message No ! and this is no exception to the rule of sacred history. Reform messages for To-Day Popular ? which run counter to established custom are not popular, but are generally mis- represented and maligned. Many would-be friends who admire the work of Seventh-Day Adventists and their solid stand on the Bible as the platform of truth, often advise them to drop "this Sabbath idea" and preach the Gospel. They forget, however, that the very purpose of the Gospel is to save man from sin, and "sin is the transgression of the law." The Law of God (i.e. the ten command- August 2, 1934 PRESENT TRUTH 9
tents) is God's perfect standard of righteousness; abolish this standard, and every man will make a law for himself. As Spurgeon finely says : "The Gospel itself would be destroyed could you destroy the law. To tamper with the law is to trifle with the Gospel. 'Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.'"—"The Perpetuity of the Law of God," page 12. Therefore, loyalty to God demands that we call attention to the neglected fourth commandment of the Decalogue.
The controversy waging around the rival claims of the Sabbath of the Bible Many (Saturday) and Sunday is drawing the attention of Christians everywhere. In Discordant Voices their efforts to avoid the obligation of the seventh-day Sabbath, controversialists have used many arguments but, like the witnesses who tried to condemn Christ, their testimony does not agree. Some say the Sabbath was changed by Christ, others that the apostles changed the day, while still others assert that there has been no change but that it really does not matter which day we keep. Some adopt the peculiar argument that you cannot keep the Sabbath on a round world— although they do not see any such difficulty in Sunday observance ! There are people who even think that the seventh-day Sabbath was part of the Jewish ceremonials which were abolished at the Cross, but no person who has memorized the ten commandments could fail to see the futility of this argument. It is true that certain Bible texts are quoted in the effort to support the claims of the first day, but Sunday observers themselves have admitted that Sunday as a day of rest finds no sanction in the New Testament. Speaking of the few New Testament texts which are often quoted in the endeavour to prove the sanctity of Sunday, Dr. William Smith, LL.D., says : "Taken separately, perhaps, and even all together, these passages seem scarcely adequate to prove that the dedication of the first day of the week to the purposes above mentioned was a matter of apostolic institution, or even of apostolic practice."—"A Dictionary of the Bible," art. "Lord's Day," page 356. Lyman Abbot, editor of the Christian Union, in that paper of January 19, Candid Admissions 1882, said : of First-Day Writers "The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament." Dr. R. W. Dale, M.A. (Congregationalist), said :
• "It is quite clear that, however rigidly or devoutly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath. . . . The Sabbath was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday. . . . There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."—"The Ten Commandments," pages 106, 107 (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1871). The above are a few extracts from first-day writers and apologists. Such quotations could be multiplied. Comment is needless !
Some people, however, in their efforts to nullify the fourth commandment Destroying all for would abolish the whole Decalogue ! But those who adopt this extreme measure the Sake of One : overstep themselves, for they run counter to the fundamental Gospel position The Fallacy of the accepted by Protestant churches everywhere. Such people ill-advisedly repeat Herodian Argument Paul's words, "We are not under law, but under grace," as though Paul sanctions the abolition of the law. Paul, however, clearly says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." The actual teaching of Paul is that only the obedient through faith are free from the law's condemnation. One who breaks a law is condemned by that law, but if he is obedient, he is no more under it—not condemned by it. It is true that we can never be saved by our own works, for, apart from Christ, the human race is under the sentence of death, 10 PRESENT TRUTH August 2, 1934
and nothing we can do could atone for our guilt. Seventh-Day Adventists do not believe that the keeping of the Sabbath or the other commandments can ever give them any credit with God. Christ alone is our Righteousness. It is, however, equally true that genuine faith in a living Saviour leads to obedience, and this is the object of the Gospel. This also is sound fundamental teaching. The Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, speaking of the work of grace, said : "God has not set aside His law, but He has found a way by which man can fulfil that law, and so be free from it."—"The Ten Commandments" (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1901). It is really amazing how anyone can assert that the Ten Commandments are abolished. Had it been possible to set aside the law of God, the standard of righteousness, Christ need not have died for us. John Wesley used the following severe words of those who teach that the law was abolished by the Gospel : "In the highest rank of the enemies of the Gospel of Christ are they who teach, without any cover, in so many words, 'What did our Lord do with the law? He abolished it. There is but one duty, which is that of believing.' ... This is withstanding our Lord to the face.... 0 Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. 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. . .. Yes, they honour Him just as Judas did. . .. 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 pretence of advancing His Gospel." [Italics ours.]— "Works of Wesley," Sermon XXV (7 Vol. ed.), Vol. 1, pages 225,226 (New York: Waugh & Mason, 1833). This quotation effectively shows the anti-Christian position of those who teach that Christ abolished the Decalogue, or that faith makes the law void. The Testimony In order to show that the position of the Seventh-Day Adventist concerning of Christian Writers the law is entirely fundamental and in accord with the teaching of other Protestant bodies, we quote the following from Bishop M. Simpson : "There are many preachers who love to dwell on the Gospel alone. Such a gospel may rear a beautiful structure; but its foundation is on the sand; . . . the law must be preached. It brings a sinner to the recognition of his sins.... The law without the Gospel is dark and hopeless; the Gospel without the law is inefficient and powerless."—"Lectures on Preaching," Lecture 4, pages 128, 129 (New York : Eaton & Mains, 1906). Luther's Shorter Catechism, page 16 (ed. 1834), says : "Q. Are we under obligation to keep the moral law? "A. Yes; because it is founded on the nature of God and cannot be changed. It is of universal application which was impossible with respect to the ceremonial and civil laws. Christ demands obedience to His law." And according to the Baptist Church Directory : "The inability which the Scriptures ascribe to fallen man to fulfil its precepts arises entirely from their love of sin, to deliver them from which, and to restore them through a Mediator to unfeigned obedience to the Holy Law, is the one great end of the Gospel."— Pages 167, 168 (ed. 1877). Many other quotations, just as explicit, could be given from other authorities, but the above will suffice. The Predicament Roman Catholic writers openly taunt Protestants with being inconsistent in of Scriptural their keeping of Sunday, for while Protestants claim to found their doctrine on First-Day Apologists the Bible and the Bible only, they continue to hold to ideas passed on to them by the Roman Catholic Church without any scriptural basis. The Catholic Mirror (Baltimore), Sept. 23, 1893, makes this accusation : "The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday [Council of Laodicea about A.D. 364]. . . . The Protestant world at its birth [in the Reformation of the
• August 2, 1934 PRESENT TRUTH 11
sixteenth century] found the Christian Sabbath too strongly entrenched to run counter to its existence; it was therefore placed under the necessity of acquiescing in the arrangement. The • Christian Sabbath is therefore to this day the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church as spouse of the Holy Ghost, without a word of remonstrance from the Protestant • world." One of the volumes of the Library of Christian Doctrine (R.C.), entitled, Why Don't You Keep the Sabbath Day? also says : "You will tell me that Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, but that the Christian Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed ! but by whom? Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments. You believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly altered."—Pages 3, 4 (London: Burns & Oates). These quotations make the issue clear. That the Roman Catholic hierarchy established the Sunday rest-day cannot be disputed (this attempt to change the law of God is also a subject of Bible prophecy. See Dan. 7 :25). They freely • admit, however, that the change was not. made on the authority of the Scriptures, for the Roman Catholic doctrine gives to the hierarchy the power to command and appoint in place of Christ, and exalts tradition above Scripture. Roman Catholic writers have offered large rewards in their challenge to Protestants to show scriptural proof for the change, yet no Protestant has accepted the offer. Why? Simply because there is not the slightest hint of such a change in all Scripture. Finally, I shall quote from a leading Protestant, Dr. Hiscox, who clearly The Dilemma admits the dilemma of Protestantism : of Protestantism "There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week. I wish to say that this Sabbath question, in this aspect of it, is the gravest and most perplexing question connected with Christian institutions which at present claims attention from Christian people; and the only reason that it is not a more disturbing element in Christian thought and in religious discussions is because the Christian world has settled down content on the conviction that somehow a transference has taken place at the beginning of Christian history. . . . Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of paganism, • and christened with the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism." [Italics ours.]—From a paper read before a New York Ministers' Conference held Nov. 13, 1893. This statement of Dr. Hiscox expresses the line of thought of many sincere Protestants to-day. The Sabbath question is now actually becoming a disturbing element in Christian thought and in religious discussions because leading Protes- tants who have studied the question unbiasedly are convinced, with Dr. Hiscox, that there is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution. In conclusion, we might say that the above is not meant as a statement of the teachings of the Seventh-Day Adventists, nor is it intended as a full presentation of the Sabbath question. We have given merely a few facts to show the sincere layman that the Seventh-Day Adventists are sound fundamentalists and that the position they take on the law is entirely orthodox. It is our prayer that these few words may awaken a desire in the mind of the reader to study further and to learn what is God's message for these days. Sincerely your brother in Christ, (Signed) E. G. LINDSAY ESSERY.
• 12 PRESENT TRUTH August 2, 1934
The Lessening
Consciousness of Sin *,
THERE is a lessening con- ing his own thoughts, with turn- sciousness of sin in the world ing his mind away from the around us. The human mind is things of God to those of the not shocked and appalled by evil world. Theft has its root in as it was a few years ago. Crime covetous desire. Cherished anger has become so widespread, so and malice may result in mur- hideous and menacing in its der. The violation of the seventh Jesus, character, that we are inclined commandment begins with the writing to pass over it with little thought. impure thought. Perhaps no on the Some crimes which a few years reader of PRESENT TRUTH would ground, reminds ago occupied the front page of be tempted by Satan at the out- the the paper and were announced set to steal, to commit murder, Pharisees in bold, glaring headlines, are to- or to commit any other outstand- of their ■ sins. day regarded as of little impor- ing sin against God or crime tance and are passed by with a against society. But every one mere mention. must guard himself against sin's up to the final judgment self- This state of affairs in the stealthy approach. "Keep thy deceived. They will think they world, this mental attitude to- heart with all diligence; for out are right when they are alto- ward crime and sin, creates of it are the issues of life." gether wrong. They will plead a dangerous atmosphere for The man who thinks purely their good works before the the child of God. He must and nobly and honestly will live Lord, but He will be compelled guard himself continually lest his a pure, noble, honest life. The to say, "Depart from Me; I own vision become clouded and man who labours with right never knew you." his own sensibilities benumbed motives, who in love for God We need to pray earnestly by what is taking place around and love for his fellow-men, is that God will save us from the him, and he himself lose that endeavouring to perform his sin of self-deception, from be- lively sense of God's holiness duty honestly and faithfully coming self-deluded in thinking and the heinousness of sin in from day to day, will not be that our ways please God and His sight that the Christian found withholding from God that we are accepted in the should ever cherish. His own in tithes and offerings, Beloved, when the pure eye of The approach of sin to the nor will he cheat his neighbour God discerns in our hearts im- child of God is almost always in a business deal. purity, dishonesty, love of self, insidious and seductive. Satan We need to give good heed a sense of self-righteousness does not come with some bold continually to the motives and over what we have done. Terri- proposition to enter upon a purposes that possess our lives. ble indeed will be our awaken- ing if we find that our lives have been controlled by these evil principles. By F. M. Wilcox On the other hand, it is our privilege to have the conscious- ness, as did Enoch of old, that course of wrongdoing. That It is well for us often to en- our ways please God; the knowl- • would be repulsed at the outset. deavour to discern, by the aid of edge that in spite of our un- But the suggestion is made so the Spirit of God, the motives worthiness, our sins have been seductively, so insinuatingly, that prompt our actions, the pur- forgiven for Christ's sake. It is that it loses much of its appear- poses that possess our lives. Of possible for us to have the con- ance of evil. all the deceptions in the world, sciousness that, notwithstanding The overt act of Sabbath- the greatest is self-deception. our failures in judgment, we breaking starts with one think- There are some who will come have done the best we knew. August 2, 1934 PRESENT TRUTH 13
And surely we cannot afford to pagan world, especially that part and was followed from time to which had admitted any tendency to- do less than that. If we do not ward the Oriental theology [Mithra- time by other laws, forbidding do the best we know, if we are ism]."—Id., chap. 4, page 393. not only labour of all kinds on going on living in conscious sin, Sunday, but also outlawing It is unquestionably true that • how can we confidently seek God shows and other amusements, during the first and second cen- in prayer, and how can we ex- that the people might have more turies of the Christian era, the pect to pass the test of His judg- time to attend church. This was Sabbath of the fourth command- ment at last? We need daily to then, as it is now, the real pur- ment of the decalogue was ob- take time for the study of the pose of Sunday legislation. served by both Jewish and Gen- Bible. We need to find, every tile believers in the Gospel. But -0- -0- -4.- hour of the day, communion there was a growing tendency with the Lord. Wherever we are among the Gentile converts to we may enjoy this communion. The March of Eyenfs reject everything Jewish. The The soul may find sanctuary (Continued from page 4.) motive for this is thus revealed with God on the crowded street, minute electrical charges are vital to in the midst of the multitude. 1121155812VhnneM-Marat-155024unuMMTS% the functioning of the brain. Dr. J. This is the blessed privilege N. Washburne, of Syracuse Univer- sity, N.Y., recently told a meeting of which God accords His children. the American Association for the Ad- There is nothing good in us. Mot-her vancement of Science that recent re- We have no righteousness of searches have led him to believe that The heart of her, that beat against learning is a process of arranging our own. Our only hope is in my own, into different patterns the ions that the Lord, in His infinite mercy The love of her, outbreathed in every are found in the nerve fibres of the tone, brain... . and love, and in the righteous- The eyes of her, that saw my smallest "Plants, as well as animals, other ness which He is willing to im- grief, tests have shown, respond to electric- part to us through His grace. The feet of her, that flew to my ity acting in the air. When the • relief, Italian scientist, Dr. M. Mexadroli, The hands of her, that mind and carried on his experiments with high- body fed, frequency electric waves at Bologna, The voice of her, that soothed and he found that onions subjected to the comforted, wave for thirty minutes a day ma- Sunday Sacredness The ears of her, that heard my child- tured fully ten days ahead of nor- ish plaint, mal. Seeds, bombarded by the elec- (Continued from page 7.) The face of her, with halo like a tric waves, often showed altered saint, characteristics of heredity when they ing the sun, the great luminary, The lips of her, that smiled her sprouted. In other tests this scientist these Christians paid their de- motherhood, found that he could speed up the ac- votions to the Son, the Saviour The mind of her, my own that under- tivity of silkworms by placing them stood, in the path of two-metre radio waves. of men. And this custom still The prayers of her—oh, I would "In its various forms, electricity, survives in the Sunday morning worthy be drifting or working in the air around Of all my mother was and is to me. us, is rapidly assuming a more im- mass made prominent in both the IDA S. TAYLOR. portant place in science's picture of Greek and the Latin churches. nature. Spectacular advances have Touching the acceptability of s:242uSS3est:ZuWeQ2AC2eitZuWeRZIKS}:e.W• been made recently in this study. It still remains, however, a realm of in- the Sunday institution to the finite possibilities and many mys- heathen, especially to the de- by a remark made by Constan- teries." votees of Mithraism, Dean Mil- tine himself in the Council of Nicwa, in these words : In this connection it is of in- man says : terest to recall that the relation "Let us, then, have nothing in com- "The rescript commanding the cele- mon with the most hostile rabble of electricity to life was out- bration of the Christian Sabbath of the Jews."—"Boyle's Historical lined by one of the pioneers of bears no allusion to its peculiar sanc- View of the Council of Niccea," page the great second advent move- tity as a Christian institution. It is 52 (Edition of 1842). the day of the sun, which is to be ment—Mrs. E. G. White—forty observed by the general veneration; Constantine's Sunday law of years ago. Here are three quota- the courts were to be closed, and the noise and tumult of public business A.D. 321 was so phrased as to tions from her writings : and legal litigation were no longer to make it as acceptable as possible "Whatever disturbs the circulation violate the repose of the sacred day. to the worshippers of Mithra. It of the electric currents in the nervous But the believer in the new paganism, system lessens the strength of the of which the solar worship was the was the first compulsory Sunday vital powers." characteristic, might acquiesce with- law. It is true it applied only "The electric power of the brain, out scruple in the sanctity of the first to towns, to people engaged in promoted by mental activity, vitalizes day of the week."—"History of the whole system, and is thus an in- Christianity," Book 3, chapter 1; Vol. trade and manufacture; but it valuable aid in resisting disease." 2, pages 291, 292. was a beginning, and suggested "The showers of rain must refresh "In fact, as we have before ob- to the Christian bishops among the thirsty fields; the sun must im- served, the day of the sun would be part warmth; electricity must be con- willingly hallowed by almost all the the Gentiles great possibilities, veyed to the buried seed." 14 PRESENT TRUTH August 2,1934
"And what have you been col- The Children's Two Pages lecting all these years?" asked Anthony. • EDITED BY UNCLE ARTHUR Jeremy took him home and Author of Undo Arthur's Biscitim• Storiass " showed him; and Anthony walked from case to case, nod- ding and listening gravely, while Jeremy recounted the wonders of the things beneath the glass. "Burglars are my one fear," said Jeremy. "Though I am in- sured I could never replace the things themselves." "I could never replace the things I have collected," said Anthony. "But I have not in- sured them against burglars. His eyes twinkled. "Come and see," he continued. So they went out of Jeremy's silent house and took a taxi into the country, where Anthony lived. The sound of voices and laughter greeted them as they en- tered the garden, and they saw a number of people having tea on the lawn. Inside the house they met many more people-- laughing people, chatting people, old, middle-aged, and young. Anthony's Collection Jeremy gasped. "What a Two young men, Anthony books came next ; and precious houseful !" he said. "Who are Beckett and Jeremy Paul, were stones ; and so time slipped by they all?" left a fortune between them on until his wonderful collection "Friends," said Anthony, the death of their guardian, on filled the house to overflowing, beaming. "I've been collecting • condition that each of them used and he had to take the house them for years !"—Selected. a portion of his money to collect next door as well. things. The things he collected were Now, Anthony Beckett did not rare and very valuable ; they want to collect anything, but he were all set out under glass cases What do You See ? wanted the money, so he under- like a museum, and never used. A GERMAN allegory tells of took to obey the condition, and He would wander through the two little girls. They had been duly received his half of the rooms of an evening, pausing playing together in a strange fortune. every now and then before one garden, and soon one ran to her The idea of collecting things of the cases, and peering close to mother full of disappointment. rather appealed to Jeremy Paul, the glass, would mutter to him- "The garden's a sad place, and when he came into his share self and rub his hands quietly Mother." of the fortune, he rubbed his together. "Why, my child?" asked her hands together quietly and Yet, somehow, he never felt mother. settled down to enjoy himself. quite contented. Years passed, "I've been all around, and He took a high, empty house, and he had almost forgotten every rose-tree has cruel thorns furnished it sparsely, and then about Anthony Beckett, when upon it." started to collect. one day he came face to face Then the second child came First he collected silver snuff- with him. in, breathless. boxes and pictures; and then his Anthony hailed him with de- "Oh, Mother, the garden's a 4 fancy turned towards rare china, light, and the two walked away beautiful place !" butterflies, and old firearms; together. "How so, my child?" August 2, 1934 PRESENT TRUTH 15
"Why, I've been all around, And the mother wondered at for. He told them to count the and every thorn-bush has lovely the difference in the two chil- days until July 20th, and to come roses growing on it !" dren.—Zion's Outlook. to the Mission door at nine o'clock in the morning, when 4 there would be two buses wait- ing—but he got no farther than Our Sunbeams' Corner that ! At the mention of the word "buses"—no, he called them "char ab an c s"—they My dear Sunbeams, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, just shouted for joy. They knew Sweetest name I know, A FEW days ago you could Fills my every longing, what that meant, and it was a have seen me finding my way, Keeps me singing as I go." long time before they quietened down again. Mr. Burtt turned with several friends, through And as they sang we forgot apologetically to me with, "You busy London streets on a visit their grubby hands and faces, must forgive them, they're so to the Hoxton Market Mission. their ragged clothes and the poor excited !" We arrived just in time for the homes from which they came. Just as if I minded about event of the day—the Children's We only saw how wonderfully that ! Why, I was pleased that Tea ! the Mission is working to change they were excited about it, and It was all so new and strange their little hearts, and plant there couldn't help laughing at the way that we entered the Mission the melody of Jesu's love. they expressed their delight ! rather nervously, wondering Then came the tea, with eight Everything will be over when what was in store for us. hundred little conjurors doing this letter reaches you, and we "You have come to see our vanishing tricks with pies and hope it will have been the happi- children?" a kindly voice said, puddings ! And as they passed est day of all the year for our in welcome. And the smile that out, well-fed and happy, Mr. 150 little guests ! I'll tell you all accompanied it reassured us. It Burtt told us of the rich man about it next time. was the "Mother" of the Mis- who left enough money to pro- Yours affectionately, sion who had spoken—"Ma" as vide one meal a day for all these ELLA PADMORE. they call her—and you should children. He was a practical WE wish to express our thanks for the see how those children love her ! man, indeed ! following gifts which we have received She's such a sympathetic soul. towards the Hoxton Outing Fund: One little mite came back into 7/6, H.S.S.; 6/6, M.A.B.; 2/6, L.W.,• In poured the children to their 2/6, W.O.D.; 2/6, I.H.; 12/6, S. and the Mission, crying bitterly. M.G.G.; A.C. and M.T.; 10/-, E.R.; seats, while we watched them "I've dropped—my jam roll—in 2/6, P.B.; 5/-, Anon; £1, H.M.B.; 1/-, C.B.; 2/6, F.A.B. 5/-, Anon; 5/-, S.A.K.; from the platform—children of the street," he sobbed. But you 2/6, Anon; 3/6, L.Y.; 1/-, A.C. all ages and sizes, some dirty, should have seen his tear-stained -4.- some pretty, many poorly face light up as "Ma" found him Competition No. 16 dressed, but all of them hungry 4. another piece. He toddled out, Paint the little picture on the and eager for their promised tightly holding his second sticky opposite page and send your attempts tea, as only children can be ! prize, the happiest boy in Hoxton to me before August 16th.—E.P. Oh, for lots of soap and at that moment. ....- water ! I thought. I wanted to Those were the only tears we Results of Painting Competition scrub every one of them clean, saw that day; but his woe No. 13 put them into different clothes Prize-winner.—D or een Mather, 11 seemed like an echo of all the Arthur Road,Holloway, N.7. Age 9. and take them away to new sur- Honourable mention.—Joan Rum sby childish misery in Hoxton. And, (Lowestoft). roundings. How changed they we reflected, while his tears were Those who tried hard.—Vera Boles (Bel- fast); Linda Britton (Cardiff); David Hop- would be ! Why, even their own soon wiped away, there must be son (Greenford Park); Ina Hopson (Green- ford Park); Kenneth Mason (Liverpool); mothers wouldn't know them ! myriads of little sorrows that Mary Milward (Derby). But my' wild dreams were in- go unnoticed and uncomforted. RECEIVED from A.B.C. and I.M.H. 2/6 terrupted as the children began After the tea, Mr. Burtt said each with many thanks for The Stan- to sing. Like lots of "Tommy to us, "We're giving out the 150 boroughs Hospital Fund.—En. Tuckers" before their tea they tickets to the children, and send- sang with all their might, and ing them upstairs to wait for PRESENT TRUTH never did words from the lips you. Won't you go up and see Printed and published in Great Britain fortnightly on Thursday by of heavenly choirs ring out more them ?" truthfully. The STANBOROUCH PRESS LTD. So up we went to make Watford, Herts. "In my heart there rings a melody friends with those boys and EDITOR: A. S. MAXWELL There rings a melody of love." girls, while Mr. Burtt explained Annual subscription 4/6 post free And then : to them what their tickets were Vol. 50. No. 16. Price 2d Nl
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A SURE GUIDE "THERE are so many religions and sects that no one can be sure which to believe; and there is not one that can escape the brand of Ichabod." Thus spoke an acquaintance the other day. Then he added, "We are all aiming for the same place, . . . and one is just as good as another." True, an ever-increasing number of cults and sects, which have no relish for sound doctrine, have arisen, appearing to endorse what my friend has said. But is there any real difficulty in ascertaining what is truth? ti An analogy in nature will help us. Take the example of time. • Do our countless clocks, in their ever-varying moods, affect the true time? No, because time is measured by the sun, and its marvellous accuracy can be gauged from the fact that not a second is ever lost. "The sun knoweth his going down." Psa. 104 : 19. Without his guidance, Big Ben at Westminster would become an unreliable .1 I timepiece, and the observatory at Greenwich could no longer send us the correct time nightly over the wireless as it does now. It is the sun alone that preserves our time-keeping in perfect order. In the Word of God we have a similar authority. It is like the sun in its strength, pointing out the errors of mankind. If we let its light shine into our souls, those precious truths that have long been neglected or rejected will appear in all clarity. Beside this master-clock we shall see how inaccurate our feeble timepieces have been. The old, elusive question, "What is truth ?" will at last find an abundant answer.
"How precious is the Boole divine, By inspiration given! By Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine W. DOWSON To guide our souls to heaven."
4 Printed and published in Great Britain by The Stanborough Press Ltd., Watford, Herts.