DUf^ 
 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 070 370 41 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924070370410 
 
J. L. BEANE 
 
THE RIVEN VEIL 
 
 THAT WHICH PERTAINETH UNTO THE 
 
 SPIRITUAL DISPENSATION 
 
 MADE MANIFEST 
 
 J. L. BEANE. 
 
 "And the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the 
 bottom."— Maii. xxvii: $1 
 
 "Seeing then that we have such hope we use great boldness of 
 speech; And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the 
 children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which 
 is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day re- 
 maineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testa- 
 ment; which veil is done away in Christ."—// Cor. Hi: 12-14. 
 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
 New York Chicago Toronto 
 
 Pi^lishers ^Evangelical LiteraUire 
 
Copyrighted iSg6 by 
 Fleming H, Revell Company, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 WAat Is Christian Baptism and What Is the 
 Lord's Supper, and Are There Any Ritual- 
 istic Ordinances Attached to the New Dis- 
 pensation ? 
 
 These questions may be somewhat new in 
 their formation, but not in import. The ques- 
 tion of ritualistic ordinances has been before 
 the church from the time that the Elders met 
 at Jerusalem to settle the dispute concerning 
 circumcising the Gentile converts. 
 
 And in reviewing the questions that have 
 long been questions of controversy, the author 
 of this brief work hopes to be preserved from 
 the spirit of controversy, but must necessa- 
 rily be argumentative. But only, with an eye 
 single to the glory of God, and for the har- 
 mony of the church, would the writer recon- 
 sider the questions named, and others that ap- 
 pear in the chapter of contents. 
 
4 Preface 
 
 And we lay down as a foundation p inciple 
 that in the discussion of scriptural subjects or 
 texts, that all scripture must harmonize, and 
 each text be preserved in its natural relation. 
 A text word may in one place indicate a very 
 different thing than the same word in another 
 connection. One has well observed in regard 
 to the definitions of words, " If we would 
 study our definitions better there would be less 
 difference as to understanding." But in the 
 subjects under consideration the definitions 
 have been better observed than the relation 
 of words to the subject under consideration. 
 We may by detached portions of scripture 
 prove almost anything. But in the harmony 
 of the scriptures is found the truth. 
 
 We cannot expect an unbiased perusal of 
 all the subjects named in this work, inasmuch 
 as the prevalent interpretation of scripture 
 has made it teach certain ritualistic ordi- 
 nances. Hence we only ask that the reader 
 follow us carefv'ly, and wherein we may con- 
 flict with your previous opinions and convic- 
 tions, we would say, search and compare 
 and harmonize the scriptures, and see 
 " whether these things are so." With these 
 
Preface 5 
 
 few introductory remarks the treatment of the 
 above named subjects, with others found in 
 the index, are 
 
 Lovingly submitted. 
 
 Sincerely yours, begotten of God and 
 sealed with the Spirit of Promise, 
 
 J. L. Beane. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Preface 3 
 
 The Veil is Rent, the First Tabernacle Re- 
 moved AND Its Ceremonies Ended g 
 
 What is Christian Baptism ? 23 
 
 Does it Consist in the Application of Water as an 
 Ordinance or the Bestowment of the Spirit — The 
 Great Commission Baptizing Into the Name, etc. — 
 Except a Man be Born of Water, etc. — Why was 
 Jesus Baptized of John in Jordan — Did not Peter 
 Command Water Baptism, Establishing it as an 
 Ordinance— Baptized Into Christ, Buried With, 
 etc. — The Like Figure Whereunto Baptism, etc. 
 
 What is the Lord's Supper 85 
 
 When and Where Instituted. 
 
 Seven Terse Reasons For Not Practicing 
 What Are Claimed to be Christian Ordi- 
 nances . . . , 104 
 
 Tradition so Often the Interpreter of the 
 Scriptures 107 
 
 The Doctrine of the Equality of the Sexes . 114 
 
 Denominationalism— Is it Compatible With our 
 Lord's Prayer for the Oneness of Believers. 124 
 
THE VEIL IS RENT. 
 
 THE FIRST TABERNACLE REMOVED AND ITS 
 CEREMONIES ENDED. 
 
 " And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from 
 the top to the bottom." — Mark xv:38 
 
 The veil that separated the holy place from 
 the most holy, which was rent by supernatural 
 power from the top to the bottom in connec- 
 tion with the expiration of Christ upon the 
 cross, is a circumstance very significant in its 
 teaching. The veil as it separated between 
 the holy and the most holy signified first, the 
 separation between two dispensations. The 
 first dispensation, that of Law, Type, and Cere- 
 mony, as indicated by the furniture of the first 
 tabernacle, called the sanctuary, which con- 
 sisted of such things as were used in the service 
 of the priests. But the second tabernacle, or 
 most holy place, that of Grace, a spiritual dis- 
 pensation indicated also by that which was 
 placed within the veil, with their supernatural 
 manifestations. For instance, the golden pot 
 
lo The Riven Veil 
 
 which had manna, the manifestation of God's 
 special providence in feeding the children of 
 Israel in the wilderness, and also typical of the 
 heavenly manna, the Body of Christ, upon 
 which the church should feed in the spiritual 
 dispensation. 
 
 How striking becomes this type, as we read 
 Jesus' words, John vi:49, 51: "Your fathers 
 did eat manna in the wilderness and are 
 dead." 
 
 " I am the living bread. If any man eat of 
 this bread, he shall live forever." 
 
 And then, there was Aaron's rod that 
 budded, and the tables written by the finger 
 of God, and the ark of the covenant with the 
 cherubims overshadowing the mercy seat, with 
 the presence of the Shechinah resting above it 
 in the pillar of cloud and of fire. Thus we see 
 that all within the veil had upon it the impress 
 of supernatural manifestation, therefore typi- 
 cal of a spiritual dispensation. 
 
 And in the second place, the veil repre- 
 sented the body of Christ, that is to say, His 
 flesh. Hence after He was nailed to the cross, 
 and had received the sop from the Roman 
 soldier, and knowing that all things concern- 
 
The Veil is Rent 1 1 
 
 ing himself were now fulfilled up to the point 
 of making the great atonement, he cries, It is 
 finished, and bows his head and gives up the 
 ghost. 
 
 And his body was broken, and the veil was 
 rent simultaneously with the breaking of the 
 body of Christ, which it typified. And He, 
 the great anti-type, makes an offering of him- 
 self, an offering without spot, with his body 
 and his blood through the eternal spirit unto 
 God. And the way into the holiest of all is 
 made manifest. 
 
 And thus according to God's order, the first 
 Tabernacle, called the sanctuary, with all its 
 typical service and carnal (or outward) ordi- 
 nances setting forth the work of redemption, is 
 now completed and the service ended. 
 
 And so we see as to the work of redemption 
 typified, to be wrought out by the Son of God, 
 it did not merely consist in the living of a pure 
 life, fulfilling the law and the commandments 
 of God and thus vindicate God's requirements 
 given to the first Adam; but that this work 
 should culminate in the great act of atone- 
 ment referred to, which included not simply 
 physical sufferic^, but also that of mental and 
 
12 The Riven Veil 
 
 spiritual. Which suffering was not only finite in 
 its nature but infinite and incomprehensible in its 
 extent. So when Jesus had borne the deepest 
 pang that could pierce that human divine 
 heart, He cries, It is finished. The plan of 
 redemption consummated as he bows his head 
 and yields up the ghost. 
 
 And we behold the fulfillment of prophesy 
 as uttered by the Psalmist relative to the great 
 antitype when he said: " Sacrifice and offer- 
 ings thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou 
 prepared me. In burnt offerings and offerings 
 for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I. 
 Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is 
 written of me, to do thy will, O, God." And 
 thus the old dispensation was completed and 
 the new brought to light, for lo, the veil is rent 
 and the way into the Holiest is now made 
 manifest and we that were afar off are brought 
 nigh by the blood of Christ. 
 
 And as to the Tabernacle proper, we find as 
 we have said it represented the new and 
 spiritual dispensation, having but one ceremony, 
 and that the sprinkling of the blood of atone- 
 ment upon the mercy seat, by the high priest. 
 And inasmuch as the high priest represented 
 
The Veil is Rent 1 3 
 
 Christ, and this one act typified the one offer- 
 ing for sin, even the blood of the everlasting 
 covenant, therefore, inasmuch as that one 
 ceremony has been fulfilled by the one per- 
 petual offering made by Christ, hence we 
 are brought into the new and spiritual dis- 
 pensation, free from all ceremonial observances, 
 relying wholly on the atoning blood. 
 
 For as Paul says: " Christ being come an 
 High Priest of good things to come, by a 
 greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not 
 made with hands. That is to say, not of this 
 building (which is ordinistic), neither by the 
 blood of goats and calves, but by His blood 
 He entered in once into the holy place, having 
 obtained eternal redemption for us." — Heb. 
 ix:ii, 12. 
 
 But it appears that the Jews did not under- 
 stand this significant teaching (and how slow 
 as Christians we have been to perceive it), 
 either in the setting up of the Tabernable or 
 in the rending of the veil. And although 
 the veil of the temple was rent bearing testi- 
 mony to God's purposes, yet the veil re- 
 ferred to by Paul when he says (H Cor. iii:i2); 
 " Seeing then that we have such hope, we use 
 
14 The Riven Veil 
 
 great boldness of speech: and not as Moses 
 which put a veil over his face, that the 
 children of Israel could not steadfastly look 
 to the end of that which is abolished. But 
 their minds were blinded, for unto this day re- 
 maineth the same veil untaken away in the 
 reading of the Old Testament." 
 
 The veil that Paul now refers to is un- 
 doubtedly the veil of tradition. Paul knew 
 by experience what it was to have this veil 
 upon his mind, and says, " I verily thought I 
 ought to do many things contrary to Jesus of 
 Nazareth." But lo, on his way to Damascus, 
 even on a journey of persecution, suddenly 
 there shines a light from heaven, above the 
 brightness of the sun, and supernatural power 
 comes from above and the veil is rent from 
 his mind. And having had the veil removed, 
 he comes to see clearly to the end of that 
 which is abolished, namely, the ceremonial 
 law which stood only in meats and drinks, and 
 divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed 
 on them until the time of reformation (or un- 
 til the new dispensation). And with clearness 
 of vision he says: And seeing we have such 
 hope (or such a Gospel) to declare, we use 
 
The Veil is Rent 1 5 
 
 great boldness of speech (or speak with great 
 assurance); and we would even now in this 
 the nineteenth century of Gospel light that 
 all behevers might come to as clear a vision 
 concerning those things which are abolished 
 as Paul had, and that they might come to 
 grasp the broadness and fullness and com- 
 pleteness of the dispensation of grace. 
 
 For the veil of tradition seems still to re- 
 main upon the minds of many Christians. 
 Not in the reading of the Old Testament, but 
 in the reading of the New, relative to ordi- 
 nances. We use the term in the same sense that 
 Paul uses it in Col. ii:20 when he says to the Co- 
 lossian church, " Wherefore if ye be dead with 
 Christ from the rudiments of the world, why 
 as though living in the world are ye subject to 
 ordinances, (touch not, taste not, handle not; 
 which all are to perish with the using), after 
 the commandments and doctrines of men ' " 
 But those upon whose mind the veil still 
 rests make this read, Jewish ordinances, that 
 this scripture may not conflict with what they 
 believe to be Christian ordinances. But Paul 
 does not say Jewish ordinances; indeed if Paul 
 recognized that there were more than one 
 
1 6 The Riven Veil 
 
 class of ceremonial* ordinances, one class that 
 had served their time and another class to be 
 observed and perpetuated; we should judge 
 him very remiss as to clearness in this pro- 
 hibitory teaching as to ordinances, and that he 
 should have made a distinction and said, where- 
 fore, etc. , are ye subject to Jewish ordinances. 
 
 But Paul saw that the ceremonial law was 
 abolished and that legal ceremonies were 
 ended, by which and through which, favor or 
 grace had been expected, and that Christ had 
 become the end of the law (that is ceremonial) 
 for righteousness to every one that believeth. 
 Therefore to continue the observance of ordi- 
 nances whether Jewish or of later origin would 
 be perpetuating that which was abolished in 
 the removing of the first Tabernacle. 
 
 Or the establishment of ceremonies of the 
 same nature would be an intrusion on the 
 spiritual dispensation. Therefore the apostle 
 explicitly says, touch not, taste not, handle 
 not, which all are to perish with the using, 
 
 *We use the term ceremonial to make clear the ex- 
 pression of Paul in I Cor. xi:2, where he uses the term 
 ordinances relative to the rules for divine worship, but 
 not conflicting with Col. ii:ao. 
 
The Veil is Rent 1 7 
 
 after the commandments and doctrines of men. 
 Which clearly states that ordinances are 
 not now commanded of God, and prohibits as 
 plainly as words could indicate, the use of any 
 observance or ceremony of a ritualistic nature 
 sufficient to make the name ordinance appro- 
 priate. And as to the expression " which all 
 are to perish with the using, " here the word 
 " all " must be understood as referring to the 
 subject under consideration, namely, ordi- 
 nances, which, says the Apostle, are a shadow 
 of things to come, but the body is of Christ, or 
 substance of that typified which has come; 
 hence the Apostle may well say, " all are to 
 perish with the using," or are now dead sym- 
 bols and therefore cannot confer life or profit 
 to those who are exercised therein, but rather 
 detract from the living reality. And again, 
 Paul says, " Beware lest any man spoil you 
 through philosophy and vain deceit after the 
 tradition of men, after the rudiments (or ele- 
 ments) of the world, and not after Christ, for 
 in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the God- 
 head bodily and ye are complete in Him." 
 And Paul further declares that Christ hath 
 blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that 
 
i8 Tht Riven Veil 
 
 was against us, which was contrary to us, and 
 took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross 
 — and while this refers to the " Law of com- 
 mandments contained in ordinances." Eph, 
 ii:iS. We would ask if ritualistic ceremonies 
 were in a sense against those of the old dis- 
 pensation, seeing they came to trust wholly in 
 the legal transactions of the commandments, 
 rather than exercising faith in God. Is it rea- 
 sonable that Christ would remove one class of 
 ordinances, nailing them to His cross, which 
 commandments were indeed ordained unto 
 life pointing to himself. But not being held in 
 faith, the minds of those that were exercised 
 therein became blinded by traditional service. 
 Is it reasonable, we repeat, that He would again 
 institute ordinances of the same type and out- 
 ward nature 1 It is certainly unreasonable. 
 And yet are not the ordinances which are 
 claimed to be instituted by Christ of the same 
 type and nature as those which it is admitted 
 have been abolished .'' 
 
 Were not water and bread and wine the 
 elements made use of in certain ordinances 
 under the ceremonial law } And was not 
 eating and drinking and washing, or hav- 
 
The Veil is Rent 19 
 
 ing water applied to the body, the mode 
 made use of ? And are not water and bread 
 and wine the elements made use of now ? To 
 claim that the ordinances are for another pur- 
 pose will not relieve one in this dilemma, for 
 the fact remains the same that each element 
 that is now made use of and nearly the same 
 manner as to their use, constituted a portion 
 of the ordinances that were abolished and 
 taken out of the way. And can it be denied 
 but that there has been a building again of 
 that which was destroyed ? As though one 
 should build an house and then tear it down, 
 and then build it up again, using the same 
 material. Although it might be changed some- 
 what in shape, and placed in another locality 
 and be transferred to another party, would it 
 not be the same in substance .■' 
 
 So as we have been settmg forth in figure, a 
 portion of the material that constituted the 
 ordinistic structure that was taken down and 
 removed as an hindrance by the authority of 
 God, even in the old dispensation, has been 
 reared up in the new. It is not so large in its 
 proportions, not exactly the same in shape, 
 but to be used the same in religious service ; the 
 
20 The Riven Veil 
 
 same means, but used for another purpose, and 
 called by the same name, only Christian in- 
 stead of "Jewish Ordinances," is inserted. 
 The question " by what authority has this been 
 done " naturally arises. We dare not say by 
 the authority of God, for Paul says, " Why are 
 ye subject to ordinances which are to perish 
 with the using" after the doctrines and com- 
 mandments of men. We do not question the 
 sincerity of those that practice ordinances, but 
 accept that they verily beheve them to 
 be taught in the New Testament and 
 therefore should be observed. But when 
 the veil of tradition which has come 
 down from century to century shall have been 
 removed, all will come to see how dense the 
 darkness that hath veiled Christendom. So that 
 within the last three hundred years nearly all 
 believed one had to observe the ordinances, es- 
 pecially baptism with water, to be saved, and 
 some believed that infants dying unbaptized 
 would go to perdition. And indeed there are 
 many that teach even now that one must be 
 covered with water to be saved. And there 
 have been instances where those even at death's 
 door and so low that they could not be re- 
 
The Vet lis Rent 21 
 
 moved from their rooms, and not having been 
 baptized, tanks have been made and the in- 
 valids submerged in water when only able to 
 survive a few hours. Under these lines we 
 wish to ask: Was it not the blood of the 
 Lamb that sheltered the Israelite in Egypt 
 from the destroying angel, which typified 
 Christ the Lamb of God that shed his blood 
 for the remission of sin ? And the gospel de- 
 clares that the blood of Christ cleanseth from 
 all sin; and we would ask if one is 
 cleansed from all sin is not that one 
 pure ? And Jesus declares " blessed are the 
 pure in heart, for they shall see God." But 
 tradition says the blood is not sufficient, 
 but ordinances must be added. This as- 
 sertion, however, does not refer to the ma- 
 jority that now practice the ordinances, 
 for light has come to that extent that they do 
 not hold the ordinances to be essential, but 
 observe them as a testimony or confession. 
 And the question is often asked, " When so 
 used, why write or teach against their use, as 
 it cannot harm one unless too much confidence 
 be placed in the ceremony V To which we 
 answer, first, the observance of ordinances is 
 
22 The Riven Veil 
 
 either beneficial or detrimental to the spiritual 
 dispensation, either commanded or prohibited, 
 and if prohibited must be detrimental. 
 
 Secondly, we answer to set forth the har- 
 mony of the Scriptures on this subject that has 
 been much controverted and to disseminate 
 more and more that light that has already 
 pierced through the darkness of the traditional 
 veil, which light broadening and bringing nearer 
 and nearer together God's children, shall ulti- 
 mately cause them to meet, as it were, on the 
 mount of transfiguration, and being enveloped 
 in the shining cloud, beholding the transcend- 
 ent glory of our Lord and the dispensation of 
 grace v/herein the reality has taken the place of 
 the type, spirituality the place of carnality, and 
 in the midst of this glory may hear the Father's 
 voice alone, saying, " This is my beloved son; 
 hear ye him." For the veil hath been rent, the 
 day of types and shadows passed away, and the 
 true light now shineth, the way into the holiest 
 of all having been made manifest. 
 
THE RIVEN VEIL 
 
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN BAPTISM ? 
 
 Does it Consent in the Application of 
 Water as an Ordinance or the Bestow- 
 
 MENT OF the SPIRIT ? 
 
 John truly baptized with water but ye shall be bap- 
 tized with the Holy Ghost — Acts i: v. 
 
 In treating this subject it is proper first to 
 call attention to the fact that two prominent 
 or leading baptisms are taught in the Script- 
 ures. While Paul informs us that there were 
 divers washings and carnal ordinances im- 
 posed until the time of reformation (or until 
 the new dispensation), still, as we have stated, 
 there are but two principal baptisms and 
 these are brought out in the words and text 
 of our Saviour, which are used in the heading 
 of this chapter, and here we find the two 
 brought together in contrast, baptism with 
 water and the baptism with the Holy Ghost. 
 Tracing first the baptism with water as applied 
 to the body, and also including the divers 
 
24 The Riven Veil 
 
 washings, we find that they were used em- 
 blematically of cleansing, as in the washing of 
 garments and the washing of the high priest 
 at the door of the tabernacle. Now it is not 
 to be supposed that the garments were really 
 filthy or that the body of the priest was at all 
 uncleanly at such a time, but the application of 
 water was used as typical of a further cleans- 
 ing that we shall refer to later on. So as to 
 the one principal baptism, under the law it 
 served not only as a part of the ceremony con- 
 nected with legal purification, but secondly as 
 the mode of confession and of being accepted. 
 The Gentile convert was accepted by circum- 
 cision and baptism as the Talmud states 
 (" Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge ") that 
 " Israel does not enter in a covenant but by 
 these three things: Circumcision, baptism 
 and a ' peace offering, ' and all proselytes in like 
 manner." 
 
 And as to John's baptism: we shall not 
 hold that it was the same as was previously 
 practiced under the law, that is, not in the 
 same order, but his commission was a special 
 commission from heaven, his baptism being a 
 culmination of all types as to elementary 
 
What is Christian Baptism 25 
 
 cleansing, just preceding the real cleans- 
 ing baptism, with the Holy Ghost, which 
 it typified. And in connection with this 
 tj'pe he was to preach repentance, and that 
 the kingdom of heaven was at hand. As 
 to the mode, it is quite clear that it was the 
 same that the people had previously known, 
 for they came to John and said, " Why bap- 
 tizest thou then if thou be not that Christ nor 
 Elias ? " And John then confesses his baptism 
 to be unto repentance, and not unto cleansing; 
 to the acknowledgment of sins and to the for- 
 saking of the same, and that they should 
 believe on him that was to come, that is, on 
 Jesus. And secondly, John's baptism was to 
 represent or typify, as we have said, the bap- 
 tism of Christ, as John testified. " I indeed bap- 
 tize you with water unto repentance, but there 
 is one standing among you whom ye know not, 
 he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and 
 with fire (the cleansing baptism)." Thus we 
 see that John understood that his baptism was 
 typical of the baptism that was to follow. 
 Here we would remark that John's baptism 
 differed from the ordinance under the law in 
 this respect. We refer now to the initiatory 
 
26 Tlie Riven Veil 
 
 baptism which was administered to the con- 
 vert or Jewish proselyte, and not to those 
 legal purifications referred to by Paul where 
 he speaks of the divers washings, which were 
 oft repeated upon the same person, and not 
 only upon the people but upon the priests. 
 For in the administration of John's baptism, 
 it was only to the house of Israel. In this we 
 see the clearness of the type of the baptism 
 with the Holy Ghost, which is only bestowed 
 upon the church or the children of God. 
 Thus far we have briefly stated why the out- 
 ward ordinance was instituted, and are free to 
 admit that it existed under the law as an 
 ordinance of God, and that John's baptism 
 was of heaven and not of men, but to our 
 mind the Scriptures are clear that God never 
 intended the two principal baptisms under con- 
 sideration, namely, that of water and that of 
 the Spirit, to run parallel, but that one was to 
 precede the other — first the typical, and then 
 the spiritual. This conclusion seems to be in 
 harmony with John the Baptist's statement 
 when he said of Christ, " I indeed baptize you 
 with water, but He shall baptize you with the 
 Holy Ghost. I must decrease, but He must 
 increase." 
 
What is Christian Baptism 27 
 
 There is nothing plainer to us than that 
 the two baptisms are distinctive of two dis- 
 pensations, the iirst rituaHstic, outward, typ- 
 ical, in perfect harmony with the many carnal 
 ordinances under the old dispensation; the 
 second spiritual, compatible with the new dis- 
 pensation, hence incompatible with the old. 
 The same preposition applied to the ritualistic 
 baptism necessitates this conclusion: that the 
 baptism with water being compatible with a 
 typical or ritualistic dispensation is incom- 
 patible with the new or spiritual dispensation. 
 The Apostle Paul seems to be the first to 
 arrive at the conclusion just stated and to see 
 the inconsistency of carrying over from the old 
 dispensation ritualistic observances and attach- 
 ing them to the new or spiritual, hence in the 
 fourth of Ephesians he declares there is " one 
 Lord, one faith, one baptism." That the one 
 baptism referred to is spiritual and not literal, 
 is made plain by the following allusion by 
 John, when he says, " He (that is Christ) shall 
 baptize you with the Holy Ghost," the same 
 baptism referred to at the heading of this 
 chapter. John truly baptized with water, 
 but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 
 
28 The Riven Veil 
 
 This one text certainly is conclusive. " By 
 one spirit," says the Apostle, " are we all 
 baptized into the one body." Yet at this 
 point, the one taught to believe that water 
 baptism is a Christian ordinance, will ask, but 
 did not Christ command water baptisms } and 
 was He not baptized of John in the Jordan, as 
 an example for us to follow ? and did not His 
 disciples practice water baptism .' These and 
 other questions that may naturally intervene 
 will be considered in their course. First let 
 us state that the word baptism is a very sig- 
 nificant word, and is made use of to signify 
 varied conditions and operations and that 
 which has been so misleading in the teaching 
 on this subject of baptism, substantiating 
 the outward ordinance, has come from the 
 almost universal association of the word 
 water with the term baptism or its 
 equivalent whether the word water be 
 found in the text or context or even in- 
 ferred. But when we come to understand 
 that baptism is to be treated not only as an 
 element but baptism as a condition and also 
 as a bestowment, and the fact dawns upon us 
 that four-fifths of all the texts referring to 
 
What is Christian Baptism 29 
 
 baptism are simply taking up baptism as an 
 element figurative of baptism as a condition 
 or as a bestowment, we shall have come to 
 deeper strata of divine truth than has gener- 
 ally been taught by the accepted theologians 
 of nearly all the churches. 
 
 It is at this point I wish to emphasize the 
 necessity of carefully considering the relation 
 of a word to the subject matter under con- 
 sideration, if we would arrive at the real mean- 
 ing or teaching of the Scriptures. 
 
 Here lies the secret of union, here will be 
 found harmony as to the interpretation of 
 the Scriptures. It is at this very point that 
 teachers and expounders of the Scriptures 
 diverge and cause a seeming contradiction 
 in the Bible, giving rise to the expression 
 we have all heard, namely, " The Script- 
 ures can be made to teach anything." But 
 not so, yet truly they can be interpreted so 
 as to seemingly teach contrary doctrines. 
 And not only on the subject of baptism, 
 which is under consideration, have there been 
 differences of opinion, and hence contrary 
 teaching, but touching several other doctrines ; 
 for instance, the so-called Lord's Supper, the 
 
30 The Riven Veil 
 
 institution of feet washing, concerning women's 
 ministry, and the doctrine of peace, etc. And 
 not only have differences existed as to the use 
 or non-use of certain alleged Christian ordi- 
 nances, but much more controversy has existed 
 as to the mode or manner of administering 
 said ordinances until several different organ- 
 izations exist on account of these very differ- 
 ences, and we have heard very learned 
 men say they beHeved these different 
 organizations to be all right and ordained 
 to be, so that such as might not be suited 
 with one organization might find a congenial 
 home in another, but we have never been 
 able to endorse the proposition. Inasmuch 
 as the different organizations exist on 
 account of a different understanding as 
 to what the word teachers, which cannot 
 be denied. Hence, it would be prepos- 
 terous to state that God is well pleased 
 with his children, differing in understanding as 
 to what the Scriptures teach. And this would 
 be in direct contradiction to Paul's teaching in 
 Phil. iii:i6, where he says: " Whereunto we 
 have attained let us walk by the same rule; let 
 us mind the same thing." And 2 Cor. xiii:ii: 
 
What is Christian Baptism 3 1 
 
 " Be perfect; be of good comfort; be of one 
 mind." And again, Phil. ii:2: " Fulfill ye my 
 joy, that ye be like minded, having the same 
 love; being of one accord, of one mind." 
 
 Having witnessed the direful effect of denom- 
 inational ambition in evangelistic work, where 
 each church was looking out for itself more 
 than for the direct salvation of souls, has 
 brought us to believe that as we come to one- 
 ness in understa:nding as to the teaching of the 
 Scriptures, we will not only be one in love, but 
 essentially one in action. And tending to this 
 end we hope to treat the subjects under consid- 
 eration, answering the questions already men- 
 tioned and others that may naturally arise, and 
 to give a Scriptural reason for the non use of any 
 ritualistic ordinance in this new and spiritual 
 dispensation. 
 
 Having briefly considered water baptism 
 as a type, and how associated in contrast 
 with the spiritual baptism, we will come 
 to the direct question: Is water baptism a 
 Christian ordinance } If so, it must be by 
 divine institution and commandment. But, 
 says one, is it not commanded by Christ to be 
 observed as an ordinance in the new dispensa- 
 
32 The Riven Veil 
 
 tion ? The majority of Christendom answers, 
 Yes; Yet with the exception, perhaps, of two 
 or three organizations, they say that it is not 
 essential to salvation. That is, one may be 
 saved without it, but it should be observed 
 because it is commanded. But at this point 
 we ask the question. Where ? We may be 
 cited to the great COMMISSION where Jesus said 
 to his disciples (Matt, xxviii: 19); " Go ye 
 therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them 
 into the name of the Father, and of the Son 
 and of the Holy Ghost." But why associate 
 water with this text .'' The word is not 
 found in it, nor in the entire conversation; 
 neither is it inferred other than in the word 
 baptizing. But one may say that is sufficient, 
 we would answer, if the word was never used 
 in any other sense only in connection with 
 the application of water it would be. Bat 
 as we have said, when we consider that the 
 term baptism and its equivalents are used five 
 to one setting forth a condition or experience, 
 rather than alluding to any ordinance imply- 
 ing the application of water, we may well 
 stop and investigate its meaning in this im- 
 portant connection. 
 
Wkat is Christian Baptism 33 
 
 First, we would observe that being baptized 
 into the name of the Father and of the Son and 
 of the Holy Ghost implies infinitely more than 
 being baptized into water. 
 
 Again, this being the gospel message unto 
 salvation, if baptism as an ordinance be 
 made such a prominent factor in it, then must 
 it be incomplete without it, and an incom- 
 plete gospel must come short of setting forth 
 a complete salvation, hence it becomes essen- 
 tial unto salvation whatever that baptism 
 means. 
 
 As to the apostle's understanding con- 
 cerning this commission including the ordi- 
 nance of water baptism, to be administered in 
 the name of the Father and of the Son and 
 of the Holy Ghost, it is unquestionably clear 
 that they never so understood it or surely 
 they would have so practiced it, but there is not 
 a single account in all the New Testament of 
 them thus administering water baptism. But 
 the objector says, " they did baptise in the 
 name of Jesus, which is all the same, inasmuch 
 as Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one," but 
 that is only to beg the question. It is to be 
 admitted that they did baptize in the name 
 
34 The Riven Veil 
 
 of Jesus, as a confession of faith on the 
 part of the candidate; that they accepted 
 the apostle's doctrine, and Jesus as the 
 Messiah, and secondly on the apostle's part 
 as a matter and mode of accepting the convert. 
 
 This they did, not by any special com- 
 mandment, but from the force of custom, for 
 this was the prevalent custom of acknowl- 
 edging a new doctrine and of being accepted. 
 Examples to confirm these statements will be 
 produced farther on. 
 
 Again, water baptism as a part of the 
 commission could not have been so under- 
 stood by the apostles; if so, the Apostle 
 Paul could never have said in writing to the 
 Corinthian church, although he found them 
 laying undue stress upon the fact of being 
 baptized one by Paul and one by ApoUos and 
 another by Cephas, " I thank God I baptized 
 none of you except Crispus and Gains and the 
 household of Stephanas: besides I know not 
 whether I baptized any other, for Christ sent 
 me not to baptize but to preach the gospel." 
 And we shall hold here the gospel is the same 
 to all nations and peoples; and the Lord testified 
 of Paul saying: he is a chosen vessel unto me 
 
What is Christian Baptism 3 5 
 
 to bear my name among the Gentiles. Here 
 we have Paul's commission to preach the 
 gospel, which he declares to be the power of 
 God unto salvation, and the conclusion is 
 inevitable, that Paul was commissioned to 
 preach the gospel which is the power of God 
 unto salvation, without water baptism being 
 included. 
 
 At this point it may be admitted by the 
 objector that truly Paul was not sent to bap- 
 tize but had some one to complete the work 
 by administering water baptism. And we 
 have heard cited to evade the above conclusion 
 the text, Paul was to plant and Apollos water. 
 Here again are figurative words interpreted as 
 literal to substantiate water baptism. But 
 we will stop and see if a literal meaning can 
 be applied to this text. We all understand the 
 process of planting; it is placing the seed in 
 the ground and covering it with earth. The 
 process of watering is also very suggestive; as 
 when one plants a garden and the ground is 
 dry the seeds will not swell and germinate 
 unless it be watered, and this may be needful 
 several times before the tender plants appear 
 and also afterward. 
 
36 The Riven Veil 
 
 And thus would the apostle illustrate how, 
 after he had planted or sowed the good seed 
 of the kingdom, Appollos might come with his 
 sympathizing eloquence, his touching words 
 and tender counsel, like the gentle showers 
 and the distilling dews causing a development 
 in the divine life. Thus Paul sets forth figur- 
 atively the process of Christian work and con- 
 cludes with the statement: but God giveth 
 the increase; teaching the converts that their 
 hearts should not be set upon the instrument, 
 but upon God that giveth life. 
 
 Now as to the application, as to a literal 
 meaning, we shall hold that the process is one, 
 only that the work of Appollos was a further 
 development of the same process. Hence, if 
 a literal application of the work be applied to 
 one, it must be applied to the other alike. 
 And it might not be so difficult to make 
 the outward and literal application to the 
 latter, and say it really means water bap- 
 tism; that Appollos was to apply water bap- 
 tism to Paul's converts. 
 
 But as to the former it is more difficult to 
 give it a literal application, for Paul did not go 
 about literally planting people. But he did 
 
Wkat is Christian Baptism 37 
 
 spiritually plant the seed of the kingdom in 
 their hearts, and Appollos watered it in the 
 same way. That is, by the same Spirit, which 
 warrants the assertion. " So he that planteth 
 and he that watereth are one." 
 
 But to return to the commission, " Go ye 
 therefore and teach all nations, baptizing 
 them into the name of the Father and of 
 the Son and of the Holy Ghost." In this 
 short text we find the foundation principles 
 of all that pertains to present, personal, 
 and full salvation. We see in it three 
 dispensations, three separate conditions or 
 experiences. We have stated that water 
 baptism was instituted as a tj'pe, and that bap- 
 tism as an element is freely made use of to 
 illustrate baptism as a condition. And there 
 is not in all the Scriptures a text where this 
 principle is as fully demonstrated as in the one 
 under consideration. We wish to call atten- 
 tion first to the particular wording. " Teach 
 all nations, baptizing them into," etc. We 
 do not find a conjunction setting forth two 
 separate duties to perform; first, that of teach- 
 ing and then of baptizing, but the teaching 
 and baptizing appears as here set forth to be 
 
38 The Riven Veil 
 
 the one and self same act or work. That is, 
 that their teaching should, as received, change 
 the condition of those taught covering them, 
 or baptizing them with the truth of the Gospel. 
 We would call especial attention again to the 
 phrase " Baptizing them into the name." 
 Now the name, as refers to Deity is very sig- 
 nificant. In many places in the Scriptures 
 it implies His power. His grace and His 
 immediate presence. For instance, tha 
 " the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the 
 righteous run into it and are safe." And again, 
 " some trust in horses and some in chariots, 
 but we will trust in the name of the Lord our 
 God," and in the New Testament did not the 
 disciples return and confess to Jesus," even the 
 devils were subject unto us through thy name} " 
 And Peter seeing the impotent man sitting at 
 the beautiful gate beholding him and John, 
 said to him, " Silver and gold have I none, but 
 such as I have give I thee; in the name of 
 Jesus of Nazareth, arise up and walk." We 
 might multiply examples, but will only call at- 
 tention to the words of our Saviour where He 
 says, " Whatsoever ye ask in my name I will 
 do it." In this last instance it is understood 
 
What is Christian Baptism 39 
 
 by all spiritual people that a formation of 
 words, as a petition formally ending with the 
 sentence " this we ask in the name of Jesus," 
 might come infinitely short of the Saviour's 
 meaning. For to ask in His name in this con- 
 nection necessitates the condition of being in 
 His name, that is, in His spirit, which is taught 
 in John xv:7, " If ye abide in me and my 
 word abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will 
 and it shall be done unto you." 
 
 As we consider these teachings in connection 
 with the text under consideration, shall we not 
 tarry a moment and see if there is not a deeper 
 meaning than simply submitting to an outward 
 ordinance with the ceremony attached, in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 As we have already stated, in this text are 
 indicated three dispensations — the dispensa- 
 tion of the Father, the dispensation of the 
 Son, and the dispensation of the Holy Ghost. 
 And inasmuch as the name, referring to the 
 three personalities in the text, may signify 
 as much as the texts referred to denoting 
 the power, the grace, yea, the very per- 
 sonality of God, we shall so treat it in this 
 
40 The Riven Veil 
 
 connection, believing it to be its proper rela- 
 tion. And inasmuch as the name and dispen- 
 sation as we are treating it are synonymous, 
 therefore to make clear the teaching we will 
 use the word dispensation in the place of 
 name. And it will read: " Go ye, &c., bap- 
 tizing them into the dispensation of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." First 
 we notice they were to teach, baptizing their 
 hearers into the name (or dispensation of the 
 Father), which we will see is a dispensation of 
 law, and it is here that we find ourselves sin- 
 ners having the consciousness of having broken 
 the Father's law, as it is declared. 
 
 Secondly, they were to teach baptizing into 
 the name (or dispensation of the Son), which 
 is a dispensation of Grace, and it is here we 
 find forgiveness and the remission of sins. 
 
 Thirdr^ teach, baptizing them into the name 
 (or dispensation of the Holy Ghost), wherein 
 is received the special gift of the Spirit; in- 
 deed, this text is rightly termed the great com- 
 mission. 
 
 Behold the naturalness of the process of sal- 
 vation as couched in this text, each cord 
 touched just at the proper time, bringing out 
 
What is Christian Baptism 41 
 
 the harmony of the echo from the human heart 
 that was heralded by the angels, saying: Glory 
 to God in the highest; on earth peace (salva- 
 tion) to men. Wonderful transition brought 
 about by the transforming power of the gospel! 
 Baptized into the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Not, how- 
 ever, baptism as an element, but infinitely 
 more: baptism as a spiritual condition; not as 
 an outward application, but an inward bestow- 
 ment. 
 
 Except a Man Be Born of Water, etc. 
 — ^JoHN iii:5. 
 
 This expression in Jesus' teaching to Nico- 
 demus has been adduced as substantiating 
 water baptism as set forth in this positive ut- 
 terance. " Verily, verily, I say unto thee ex- 
 cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit 
 he can not seethe Kingdom of God." It is 
 certainly important that we come to under- 
 stand our Lord's teaching at this point, for 
 there is not a more positive utterance to be 
 found in all the Scriptures, and then, as it is 
 on the direct subject of salvation. 
 
 First, it is to be admitted that our Lord 
 
42 The Riven Veil 
 
 is speaking figuratively, with reference to 
 being born of water. But to determine 
 just what that figure denotes is the point. 
 It is evident that He is alluding, in the 
 first clause, to a certain condition that ex- 
 ists, or is to exist, either natural or pro- 
 duced or both; but as to the second clause, 
 it is plain. That a spiritual birth is to be 
 experienced, ye must be born again. But 
 as to the first clause: if we shall understand 
 that being born of water refers to water bap- 
 tism then the whole matter turns as to whether 
 baptism is now sustained by this teaching; in 
 what tense our Lord is to be understood, 
 whether in the past or future tense; that is, if 
 being born of water is a condition yet to be 
 met, then it makes water baptism not only 
 obligatory but a saving ordinance, for then 
 the emphasis and the essentiality falls 
 upon the twofold expression ahke, namely, 
 being born of water and of the Spirit. 
 And one is forced to the conclusion that 
 all such as have died unbaptized with 
 water have perished, for the language is em- 
 phatic, and to make the matter plain we will 
 eliminate the words (born of) in the text and 
 
What is Christian Baptism 43 
 
 insert (baptized with) which would be perfectly 
 proper if that is what it means. And it will 
 read Verily, verily, I say unto thee except a 
 man be (baptised with) water and born of the 
 Spirit, he can not see the Kingdom of God. 
 This is the only conclusion that can be ad- 
 duced if water baptism can be sustained at all 
 by this text as a present requirement, for there 
 is no half-way ground to be taken. 
 
 But if our Lord is speaking in the past 
 tense, of a condition or experience that has al- 
 ready existed, the table turns, and it will show 
 an incompetency as to the condition existing 
 and that another condition is necessary. We 
 hold to the last position, that Jesus — after he 
 tells Nicodemus that a second birth must 
 be experienced, and Nicodemus taking it 
 literally, marvels — sets forth to him by the 
 text under consideration, that although an 
 Israelite and having observed the law as to 
 purification by water, another condition is 
 essential, even being born of the Spirit. And 
 as an answer to Nicodemus' question " How 
 can a man be born when he is old," Jesus ex- 
 plains by stating ' 'That which is born of the flesh 
 is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is 
 
44 The Riven Veil 
 
 Spirit," and then takes occasion to teach Nico- 
 demus, a master in Israel, that types and sym- 
 bols can not bring salvation, but that they 
 point to another dispensation of a spiritual 
 nature. Therefore, " marvel not that I said 
 unto thee ye must be born again." And by 
 way of analogy says: " the wind bloweth where 
 it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof 
 but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither 
 it goeth. So is every one that is born of tha 
 Spirit." This illustration teaches that the 
 spiritual birth is supernatural and an unseen 
 transaction, but the result is to be apparent. 
 But Nicodemus still answers and says. How 
 can these things be .' Which demonstrates 
 Paul's assertion concerning Israel, that in the 
 reading of Moses the veil remaineth untaken 
 away. For after Jesus had plainly declared 
 the necessity of the new birth and that it was 
 not a natural but a spiritual birth which had 
 been typified by the divers washings and puri- 
 fications in the ceremonial law, and still after 
 an explanation by way of analogy had been 
 given, still Nicodemus exclaims, " How can 
 these things be .' " It is at this point that Jesus 
 upbraids him and says, ' 'Art thou a master in Is- 
 
What is Christian Baptism 45 
 
 rael and knoweth not these things ? " that the 
 sanctuary and tabernacle, with all its ritual, are 
 earthly things, patterns and figures of heavenly 
 things ? " And if I have told you (or explained 
 to you the import of these earthly things) and 
 ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I shall 
 tell you of heavenly things ?" 
 
 Again some think that Jesus used the word 
 water in a figurative sense, as referring to a 
 spiritual cleansing as set forth in Titus iii: 5. 
 " Not by works of righteousness that we have 
 done but according to His mercy He saved us 
 by the washing of regeneration and the renew- 
 ing of the Holy Ghost," as setting forth the 
 two-fold work of grace; and some think that 
 the term water may refer to the experience 
 set forth in Eph. v: 25-26, where it says 
 " Christ loved the church and gave himself 
 for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it by 
 the washing of water by the word;" and also 
 the expression in Ezekiel xxxvi: 25-. " Then 
 will I sprinkle clean water upon you and ye 
 shall be clean: from all your filthiness and 
 all your idols will I cleanse you," the word 
 water now made use of not indicating the 
 symbol but the thing symbolized, the real in- 
 
46 The Riven Veil 
 
 ward cleansing, which is certainly true as to 
 these texts. But as to their direct relation to 
 our Lord's expression, " except a man be born 
 of water, ' ' is not so clear.. For the second.cQn- 
 dition in the text referring to the spiritual birth 
 would include the spiritual cleansing as re- 
 ferred to in the symbolic teachings referred to, 
 which would leave us to the inference that 
 Jesus refers to the ceremonial or outward legal 
 cleansing as being born of water, setting forth 
 the inward or spiritual cleansing being born of 
 the spirit, and may also include the natural 
 birth in this sense to the Israelite, that being 
 of the seed of Abraham would not assure sal- 
 vation. However that may be, one thing is 
 beyond dispute, Jesus did not teach that be- 
 ing born of water was essential unto salvation. 
 But that which is essential and that alone, is 
 the spiritual birth. So Jesus opens the sub- 
 ject in this teaching by saying, " Verily, 
 verily I say unto thee, except a man be born 
 again he can not see the Kingdom of God," 
 and virtually closes this part of the subject 
 that is in a declarative sense by saying " Mar- 
 vel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born 
 again." That the whole stress of the teaching 
 
W/iai is Christian Baptism 47 
 
 falls upon the second birth as referring to sal- 
 vation, is plain. Therefore, in the Saviour's 
 second allusion to the new birth, although He 
 makes use of the emphasis previous to stating, 
 " except a man be born of water," it is evident 
 that the emphasis does not rest upon being 
 born of water, making it one of the essential 
 conditions, but the entire subject shows that 
 the emphasis rests upon the second condition 
 in the text in this sense. Although thou hast 
 undergone the legal purification Nicodemus, 
 having been born of water, and art of the 
 seed of Abraham, it is not sufficient; for that 
 which is born of the flesh is flesh; ye must be 
 born again, ye must be born of the Spirit. 
 This makes the analogy plain that being 
 born of water as addressed to Nicodemus, re- 
 ferred to the legal purification by water as 
 practiced under the law, which harmonizes 
 this teaching of our Saviour with other of 
 his teachings, and Paul's, and the entire Scrip- 
 tures setting forth the conditions of salvation 
 wholly upon the ground of repentance and faith 
 in Christ. But to make this text teach bap- 
 tism with water, as we have said, would make 
 water baptism an essential element in the 
 
48 The Riven Veil 
 
 process of salvation, which the whole trend of 
 the Scriptures deny. Hence the conclusion, 
 that although our Saviour did refer to water 
 baptism as practiced under the law, when that 
 dispensation ended, that ceremony would nec- 
 essarily stop, and the spiritual birth or baptism 
 which it typified only remain. 
 
 Why was Jesus Baptized of John if not 
 TO Set us an Example .' 
 
 This oft repeated question we will endeavor 
 to answer. First, we will remark that an act 
 instituting an ordinance is quite a different 
 thing than an act fulfilling one alrea,dy insti- 
 tuted, and Jesus distinctly said when he came 
 to John to be baptized, as John forbade him, 
 " Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh 
 us to fulfill all righteousness, then he suffered 
 Him." It is to be remembered "that Jesus said 
 in another place, " I come not to destroy the 
 law but to fulfill," that is, He did not come to 
 set aside any ordinance or ritual or dispensa- 
 tion until it had accomplished its end. 
 Therefore we see just tvy^o reasons for Christ 
 being baptized: First, coming under the dis- 
 pensation of John, or while his special mission 
 
What is Christian Baptism 49 
 
 was being executed, He could not set it aside, 
 but would honor it and establish it as of divine 
 institution, and must of necessity, even as an 
 Israelite, honor this heaven sent messenger by 
 submitting to his baptism. Secondly, He 
 must be baptized to fulfill the priestly type, 
 for we find the priest before he was per- 
 mitted to enter upon his priestly office, was 
 brought before the door of the Tabernacle and 
 washed, or baptizsd with water. So, Jesus 
 was not only to come as the Son of God and 
 Saviour of the world, but was to be ordained a 
 priest, as we read in Heb. v:S-6: " He 
 that said thou art my Son; to-day have I 
 begotten thee, also saith in another place thou 
 art a priest forever after the order of Mel- 
 chisedec." Now this Melchisedec we read 
 was king of Salem, which is king of peace to 
 whom Abraham paid tithes on his return from 
 the slaughter of the kings. This Melchise- 
 dec was without father, and without mother, 
 without beginning of days or end of life. 
 That is, we understand He was without any 
 special lineage, and no preserved account of 
 his birth or death; that he merely comes 
 upon the scene and that Abraham bears him 
 
50 The Riven Veil 
 
 honor in paying him tithes. And thus was 
 Christ to be a priest, not after the order of 
 Aaron but after the order of Melchisedec. 
 So when He had come to the age of thirty, 
 the age priests under the law entered upon 
 their priestly office, Jesus comes to John to be 
 baptized to fulfill the type of priesthood. He 
 could not have been baptized by one of the 
 priests that officiated under the law, for that 
 would have attached Him to the priesthood 
 after the order of Aaron. So we see in the 
 wisdom of God, John the Baptist was not only 
 sent as a forerunner to preach repentance, and 
 that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, and 
 to baptize those who would thus confess 
 their sins, and that the Messiah was about 
 to appear; but he was to be the honored 
 one to baptize the priest of God, even Him of 
 whom it is declared thou art a priest forever 
 after the order of Melchisedec. 
 
 Thus we understand Jesus' expression : Suffer 
 it to 1)6 so now for thus it becometh us to ful- 
 fill (the type of priesthood, and that I should 
 bear witness to thy commission). 
 
 That He did not receive baptism as an ex- 
 ample for us to follow is plain from this form 
 
What is Christian Baptism 51 
 
 of expression, " Suffer it to be so now," show- 
 ing that there was, as we have stated, an ex- 
 press purpose why it should be administered 
 and when thus accomplished, had served its 
 end. 
 
 And the type of cleansing and the type of 
 Priesthood was thus fulfilled. Yet as to the 
 anointing oil, wherewith the piriests were to 
 be anointed, it was not administered, but that 
 which it typified, even the bestowment or 
 baptism with the Holy Ghost. So we read 
 (Matt. iii:i6, 19) that Jesus after He was bap- 
 tized came up straightway out of the water, 
 and lo the Heavens were opened unto Him 
 and He saw the Spirit of God descending 
 like a dove and lighting upon Him and a voice 
 from heaven saying, " This is My beloved 
 Son in whom I am well pleased." And thus 
 was the eternal Priest of God ordained. 
 
 Did Not Peter Command Water Baptism, 
 Establishing an Ordinance > 
 
 For as the people cried out on the day of 
 Pentecost under the preaching of Peter, being 
 convicted by the Spirit, " Men and brethren 
 what shall we do.'" Peter answering, said, 
 
52 The Riven Veil 
 
 " Repent and be baptized every one of you in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus for the remission 
 of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost." (Acts ii:38.) It is to be observed 
 as we review this text that the general trend of 
 the Scriptures teach three essential conditions 
 to salvation, namely: repentance, confession 
 and faith in Christ Jesus, and that nothing can 
 be taken from or added to these three essentials 
 without doing violence to the gospel. That is, 
 if we take from our theology either of the three 
 named essentials, the harmony is broken and 
 the other conditions are meaningless. For 
 instance, if there be no repentance there is no 
 need of confession, and without confession 
 what reason can one give for the necessity of 
 faith as pertains to salvation } But as these 
 three essential conditions are experienced, all 
 the conditions of acceptance are met. Hence 
 we are accepted of God. 
 
 It is true these conditions are not always 
 classed together, but one neccessitates the 
 other as we have stated. 
 
 Paul says to the Ephesians, " I have not 
 shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel 
 of God declaring repentance towards God and 
 
What is Christian Baptism 53 
 
 faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." John 
 says, " If we confess our sins, He is faithful 
 and just to forgive us our sins," and Jesus says, 
 " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting 
 life and shall not come into condemnation." 
 Therefore, when we add anything as a rite or 
 ritual or ordinance, as necessary to salvation in 
 connection with man's volition and the exer- 
 cise of his mind complying with the three con- 
 ditions, namely, that of repentance, confes- 
 sion and faith in Christ, we simply say that 
 the fact of the atonement, although believed in 
 and accepted in the heart, is not sufficient to 
 save the sinner without the intervening of 
 human instrumentality in the administering of 
 a ritual. Such a position is preposterous, un- 
 tenable and unscriptural. 
 
 The thought seems ever to have been in 
 man's mind that he must do something to 
 merit salvation or that by some act of his own 
 he may assist God in completing that work in 
 himself. It was this thought that caused the 
 young man that came to Jesus to inquire 
 " What good thing shall I do that I may 
 inherit eternal life," and also the man that 
 ssdd, " What shall I do that I may wojik the 
 
54 The Riven Veil 
 
 works of God?" And Jesus taught the first 
 that a rigid keeping of the moral law was not 
 sufficient, that the essential part was in the 
 condition of the heart, that of consecration 
 and love to God; and to the second He made 
 answer, " this is the work of God, that ye be- 
 lieve on Him whom He hath sent" And Paul 
 says, " by Grace are ye saved through faith and 
 that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not 
 of works (neither by works) lest any man 
 should boast." Again " it is not by works of 
 righteousness that we have done (or can do) 
 but according to his Grace he saveth us." 
 We need not multiply evidence to prove that 
 no outward rite or ordinance in the dispensa- 
 tion of Grace is necessary to the saving of the 
 soul. 
 
 But as to the text under consideration: are we 
 out of harmony with that .' and was not the 
 proposition laid down that all Scripture must 
 harmonize "i Indeed, and so if the first and most 
 natural interpretation will not let it coincide 
 with the general teaching of the Scripture, 
 we must look again and see if it has not 
 another, a relative or figurative or spiritual 
 interpretation. In this case should we say, 
 
WAai is Christian Baptism 5 5 
 
 Peter under the immediate power and presence 
 and teaching of the Holy Ghost commanded 
 them to be baptized with water as a part of 
 the work of regeneration, subsequent to forgive- 
 ness and the receiving of the Holy Ghost, and 
 that herein is strong evidence, yea a clear com- 
 mand substantiating water baptism in the 
 church, which proposition may seem to be in 
 harmony with a plain rendering of the text; 
 but if so rendered the text is thrown out of 
 harmony with other Scripture teaching. The 
 interpretation as we have given it unques- 
 tionably teaches baptismal regeneration. That 
 is, that water baptism being a command of 
 God must be observed, and is a necessary 
 prerequisite in the work of regeneration and 
 the forgiveness of sins. But it has already 
 been shown that the Scriptures emphatically 
 teach that repentance, confession, and faith 
 are the absolute conditions of salvation. 
 " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth 
 the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart 
 that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou 
 shalt be saved." At this point we will give an 
 example or two of forgiveness without any 
 ritualistic observance. 
 
S6 The Riven Veil 
 
 When Jesus healed the man sick of the 
 palsy He did not take him to the Jordao 
 and there baptize him for the remission of sins, 
 but without rite or ritual said unto him, " Thy 
 sins are forgiven thee. " And, the woman that 
 was brought before him, of whom the Jews 
 said that Moses commanded in the law that 
 such should be stoned, to whom Jesus said in 
 reply, " Let him that is without sin among you 
 cast the first stone, and they being convicted 
 went out one by one, and left the woman 
 standing in the midst. " And who can doubt but 
 in the presence of such purity and such com- 
 passion, she too was brought to a deep sense 
 of her sin; and truly her answer implies that 
 her heart had become contrite, for when Jesus 
 addressed her and saith " hath no man con- 
 demned thee .■"' she answering said, " no man 
 Lord. " Jesus saith unto her " neither do I con- 
 demn thee, go and sin no more." Here is for- 
 giveness again without a ritualistic observance. 
 And again, the thief upon the cross was also 
 accepted without an ordinance, having re- 
 pented, and having beUeved and confessed 
 Jesus, as Lord. But if any shall here object 
 and say " but these instances are under the old 
 
What is Christian Baft ism 57 
 
 dispensation," to such we answer: if under 
 the old dispensation, which was a dispensation 
 of ordinances, the Master should forgive sins 
 and accept the penitent sinner, apart from any 
 outward ordinance, is it not much more rea- 
 sonable to suppose that now in this new and 
 spiritual dispensation, the Lord will accept the 
 sinner without rite or ritual. 
 
 Again, if Peter taught and commanded water 
 baptism as an ordinance, and to precede the 
 forgiveness of sins, a real factor in the work of 
 salvation, to be included in the gospel message, 
 how could Paul deny the entire position by 
 saying, " I am not a whit behind the very 
 chiefest apostle," having a full commission as 
 to the gospel message, which does not include 
 the ordinance of water baptism. " For the 
 Lord sent me not to baptize." I Cor. i:i7. 
 
 We are now ready to reconsider Peter's 
 words and see after all if there is not a real 
 harmony with the texts we have produced at 
 variance with our first interpretation of Peter's 
 expression, which we would term a very lit- 
 eral interpretation, but in the main a very 
 common, yea, a general interpretation, with 
 the exception of the baptismal regeneration 
 
58 The Riven Veil 
 
 doctrine, and that is held by some; and in- 
 deed, was it not for other teaching showing 
 that the apostle Peter could not mean that the 
 ordinance of water baptism should be sub- 
 mitted to for the remission of sins, it might be 
 established by this text. And thus having 
 shown that a literal interpretation of the text 
 will not do, shall we not see if Peter may not 
 be commanding baptism in a relative sense, 
 that is, relative to a confession. As we have 
 already stated, baptism under the Mosaic dis- 
 pensation served two purposes: first to the 
 Jew it was given as a type of spiritual cleans- 
 ing, but used as a legal purification; second, 
 it was the mode of confessing a new faith or 
 doctrine, and at the same time being accepted 
 by the founder, or organization holding such 
 faith or doctrine. And thus the proselyte to 
 the Jewish church confessed, was received and 
 acknowledged in connection with circumcision 
 and sacrifice. The following circumstances 
 will fully establish our position as to the use 
 and purpose of baptism, as to confession and 
 acceptance. When John the Baptist came 
 preaching repentance, atid that the kingdom of 
 heaven was at hand, those that accepted him 
 
JVkat is Christian Baptism 59 
 
 as a prophet confessed it by receiving his bap- 
 tism. When Philip taught the eunuch con- 
 cerning Christ, as he was reading the Book of 
 Esaias, and the eunuch being convinced as 
 Philip preached Christ, and coming to a pool 
 of water, being familiar with the common 
 mode of confession, he exclaims, " Here is 
 water; what doth hinder me that I should be 
 baptized." He was ready to make use of the 
 common mode of confession, acknowledging 
 himself as a believer in Jesus, that was cruci- 
 fied. This is plain from Phihp's answer, " If 
 thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest." 
 And when Peter had preached the gospel to 
 the household of Cornelius (he being a Gen- 
 tile), Peter still held by tradition, knew it 
 was not lawful for one being a Jew to even go 
 into the home of a Gentile, and was only in- 
 duced to go thus far by a special vision and 
 authority of the Spirit. So after that the Holy 
 Ghost had fallen upon those to whom he had 
 been preaching, the question of accepting them 
 into fellowship came into his mind, which gave 
 rise to the expression, " Can any man forbid 
 water that these should be baptized who have 
 received the Holy Ghost as well as we .' " The 
 
6o The Riven Veil 
 
 question was not whether any might object to 
 baptism, but whether any would forbid water 
 and thus hinder or object to these Gentile con- 
 verts being accepted into fellowship with the 
 company of believers, or the new church now 
 made up only of Jews. Thus we see that bap- 
 tism was used as the prevalent mode of ac- 
 cepting those embracing a new faith or religion. 
 We hope to make plain at this point the texts 
 under consideration, showing that in the case 
 of the eunuch it was used as the mode of con- 
 fession. But in the case of Cornelius as an ac- 
 knowledgement of being accepted into fel- 
 lowship. So when Peter in the 2d of Acts 
 said, " Repent and be baptized, every one 
 of you, in the name of Jesus," he is to 
 be understood as speaking in a relative 
 sense as he alludes to baptism, that is, com- 
 manding it in the sense of confession or ac- 
 knowledgment of Him whom they had denied, 
 accepting the truth which they had just heard 
 concerning Jesus, and they should receive re- 
 mission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 This relative interpretation brings our text into 
 harmony with all Scripture teaching, and the 
 three essential conditions — repentance, confes- 
 sion siaA faith in Christ. 
 
What is Christian Baptism 6 1 
 
 So after carefully considering this text we 
 do not find that the apostle taught baptismal 
 regeneration, neither can it be harmonized 
 with other Scripture as substantiating an ordi- 
 nance to the Christian church. But simply 
 that Peter commanded them to repent and 
 make confession in the accepted mode of con- 
 fession then prevalent. 
 
 And in concluding this chapter we would 
 state that while confession was made by the 
 use of an ordinance under the dispensation 
 of types and shadows, it is plain that now 
 in the new and spiritual dispensation, the 
 confession that is required and the only one 
 taught is a confession of the mouth from 
 the heart, the new man thus speaking forth 
 from within. Therefore Jesus says, " Con- 
 fess me before men and I will Confess you be- 
 fore my Father and the Holy Angels." As to 
 the mode of confession referred to by our 
 Saviour the following text will show: 
 
 In Phil, ii: 1 1 Paul declares that " every knee 
 should bow and every tongue should confess 
 that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
 the Father," and again in Rom. x:9, lo, as we 
 have cited before, " If thou shalt confess with 
 
62 The Riven Veil 
 
 thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt beUeve in 
 thy heart that God hath raised Him from the 
 dead thou shalt be saved, for with the heart man 
 believeth unto righteousness and with the 
 mouth confession is made unto salvation." 
 What could be plainer than these statements 
 showing that confession in the gospel dis- 
 pensation is that of testimony taking the place 
 of confession by ordinance in the old or ritual- 
 istic dispensation? 
 
 Having considered the two baptisms as 
 brought together, the one typifying the other, 
 and having considered the great commission 
 and the Saviour's statement to Nicodemus, also 
 his being baptized of John, and Peter's utter- 
 ance on the day of Pentecost, and not having 
 found anything to establish water baptism as 
 an ordinance or ritual now attached to the new 
 and spiritual dispensation, we will turn to 
 consider those texts found in the epistles which 
 are quoted as teaching water baptism. 
 
 Baptized Into, Buried With. 
 
 We will first consider the text having the 
 form of expression as just quoted. 
 
 Paul in Rom. vi:3-6, says: " Know ye 
 
W^at is Christian Baptism 63 
 
 not that so many of us as were (margin are) 
 baptized into Jesus Christ were (are) baptized 
 into his death ? " " Therefore we are buried 
 with him by baptism into death that like as 
 Christ was raised up from the dead by the 
 glory of the Father, even so we also should 
 walk in newness of life. " " For if we have been 
 planted together in the likeness of His death 
 we shall be also in the likeness of His resur- 
 rection." 
 
 In reviewing these texts and the apostle's 
 teaching, taking into consideration the preced- 
 ing part of the chapter and the general theme, 
 it is evident that the apostle is striking at the 
 sin question, and in figure is setting forth the 
 process of deliverance from the sin nature, 
 taking up baptism and crucifixion as a vehicle of 
 thought to convey spiritual truth. And while 
 figurative words are made use of relative to an 
 outward ordinance, an investigation of the en- 
 tire matter will show that the apostle does not 
 teach that the condition referred to as being 
 baptized into Jesus Christ, and of being planted 
 in the likeness of his death necessitates the or- 
 dinance of water baptism to produce or com- 
 plete the conditions named, but on the other 
 
64 The Riven Veil 
 
 hand that He is setting forth a spiritual work, 
 a spiritual baptism, an internal planting, dying 
 to sin and being raised into newness of life. 
 
 To those who think to be planted in the 
 likeness of His death necessitates being cov- 
 ered or baptized in water, we would ask, 
 Where did Christ die ? Truly not in Jordan, 
 when receiving the elementary baptism, but 
 upon Calvary, when nailed to the cross, hav- 
 ing received the baptism of suffering which He 
 spoke of in Luke xii:50, where he says, "I 
 have a baptism to be baptized with, and how 
 am I straightened until it shall be accom- 
 plished." This baptism of suffering was 
 experienced when He was enveloped with 
 a sense of the sins of the whole world 
 and its fearful consequence unforgiven, and 
 at this point he yielded up His life and 
 died for sin (or for the sinner). Now, 
 as to the analogy: " Baptized into His death," 
 " Buried with Him by baptism," " Planted in 
 the likeness of His death," etc. The real 
 baptism that produces the conditions just 
 named is set forth by the analogy of the out- 
 ward baptism, "Buried with Him." Where 
 two are buried together certain conditions 
 
What is Christian Baptism 65 
 
 must be the same to both thus buried, that is, 
 if it be of the same nature ; therefore, if it be 
 a literal burying, either earth or water or some 
 other physical or tangible substance must 
 envelop both. Apply this in a spiritual sense 
 to the subject under consideration, and we 
 shall come to see the strength and clearness 
 of this allegorical teaching — baptized into 
 death, in the likeness of His death, that we 
 may be in the likeness of His resurrection. 
 At this point we would note that the figure or 
 analogy of burial and resurrection breaks, in- 
 asmuch as the body of Christ that was cruci- 
 fied, and laid in Joseph's sepulchre was raised 
 up; while in the case in hand, as to the old 
 man to be crucified, buried, planted, it is to 
 be destroyed and not to be resurrected, but 
 there is to be a new man, which is to be in 
 the likeness of His resurrection. By taking 
 up the Apostle's paradoxical teaching in Gal. ii: 
 20, where he states, I am crucified with Christ, 
 nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth 
 in me, makes clear the break in the analogy just 
 referred to, " Buried yet risen." The force of 
 the entire subject culminates in these two 
 expressions. First, there is to be a real death 
 
66 The Riven Veil 
 
 experienced — not physical, but spiritual — in 
 the likeness of Christ's death upon the cross. 
 In other words, the death of Christ, while it 
 was propitiatory for the sinner, at the same 
 time is emblematical of the death we must 
 experience. Therefore, inasmuch as Christ 
 underwent a baptism of suffering, in which He 
 died for sin (or the sinner), the sinner in like 
 manner must experience a baptism of suffering 
 wherein the old man is yielded up to be cruci- 
 fied, dying to sin, baptized into death, buried 
 with Him. Herein are we planted in the like- 
 ness of his death, and it is out of this planting 
 and in this baptism in which we are baptized 
 into Christ that the new life springs, the old 
 life being destroyed. So that as Christ was 
 raised up by the glory of the Father, even so 
 we also are to walk in newness of life (or in a 
 new life) . This is plainly established in Rom. vi, 
 the 5 th and 6th verses, for if we have been 
 planted together in the likeness of His death 
 (that is, if we have really experienced the pro- 
 cess of dying to sin), we shall be also in the like- 
 ness of His resurrection. Now notice, knowing 
 this, that our old man is crucified with Him, 
 that the body of sin might be destroyed. It 
 
Wkai is Christian Baptism 6j 
 
 seems to us unquestionably plain that the 
 apostle is settinfj forth in figurative language 
 the spiritual process of dying to sin, and being 
 made alive to God. 
 
 And inasmuch as the crucifixion referred to, 
 to be experienced cannot be understood as a 
 literal crucifixion, no more can the baptism re- 
 ferred to be interpreted as a literal baptism, 
 but a spiritual, and one that is ever to rest 
 upon us, and is to be treated in the present 
 tense as in the margin of third verse. Know 
 ye not that as many of us as are baptized 
 into Jesus Christ, are baptized into His death. 
 
 We quote from same apostle Gal. iii:27: 
 " For as many of you as have been baptized 
 into Christ have put on Christ." 
 
 We will only call attention to two or three 
 points in connection with this text. First we 
 find the same form of expression as in Rom. 
 vi:3 baptized into Christ. Second, how these 
 texts coincide with the Saviour's commission 
 in this particular, baptizing them into the 
 name, etc. The apostle says emphatically 
 that as many as have been baptized into 
 Christ have put on Christ, which makes it 
 conclusive that he is not referring to a baptism 
 
68 The Riven Veil 
 
 with water, for it could not be said as many 
 as were baptized with water have put on 
 Christ, for the Scriptures inform us to the 
 contrary, foi: there was one Simon Magus that 
 was baptized by the apostle to whom Peter 
 said, " I perceive thou art in the gall of bitter- 
 ness and bond of iniquity. " Lastly, it cannot be 
 taken in a literal sense for the apostle says: 
 as many as have thus been baptized into Christ, 
 come into a condition that they are neither 
 Jew nor Greek, bond or free, neither male 
 or female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus; 
 setting forth a spiritual condition resulting 
 from a spiritual baptism. In Col. ii:i2 we 
 quote again from the Apostle Paul: " Buried 
 with Him in baptism wherein also ye are risen 
 with him through the faith of the operation of 
 God, who hath raised Him from the dead." As 
 we turn back to the first texts considered in 
 Rom. vi:3 to 8 also in Gal. iii:27 and the 
 one just cited from Col. ii:i2, we find the 
 teaching one, only in this instance the verse 
 just preceding refers to circumcision in a 
 figurative sense in the place of crucifixion 
 as used in Rom. vi:6. So after stating in the 
 tenth verse: " And ye are complete in him 
 
Wkat is Christian Baptism 69 
 
 (that is Christ), in whom also ye are circum- 
 cised with the circu«ncision made without 
 hands in putting off the body of the sins of the 
 flesh by the circumcision of Christ (a spirit- 
 ual circumcision)." And after using the 
 figure of circumcision, the Apostle takes up 
 the figure of baptism as an emphasis of the 
 same thought, buried with him in baptism (not 
 in water) wherein (that is in the same bap- 
 tism) : " Also ye are risen with Him through 
 the faith of the operation of God who hath 
 raised Him from the dead." Col. ii:i2. 
 
 The baptism referred to in all the places 
 mentioned cannot mean other than a spiritual 
 baptism, for in the same baptism in which we 
 are buried or planted we are also risen, and 
 the text says we are raised up in this baptism 
 by the faith of the operation of God. 
 
 So we conclude as one is raised up in this 
 baptism by the faith of the operation of God, 
 he must also be planted by the operation of 
 God in this baptism by the Spirit. For 
 truly those who are raised up out of the 
 literal burial or baptism with water by human 
 agency, are also buried by the same human 
 agency. Again, baptism, crucifixion and cir- 
 
70 The Riven Veil 
 
 cumcision are used as figures associated to- 
 gether, setting forth the one and self-same ex- 
 perience. Therefore if baptism is to be un- 
 derstood Uterally it will necessitate the literal 
 application of the other symbols, but inasmuch 
 as they cannot be so interpreted, hence bap- 
 tism in these connections can only be under- 
 stood as setting forth a spiritual work. 
 
 Lastly, how could the apostle in this con- 
 nection teach the use of an ordinance of a 
 ritualistic nature and then immediately follow 
 the teaching by saying: " And the circum- 
 cision of your flesh hath He quickened together 
 with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 
 blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 
 that were against us." 
 
 We will now call back Peter for a short 
 time -and consider his statement as found in 
 his first epistle, iii:2 1 : " The like figure where- 
 unto even baptism doth also now save us." 
 
 We do not speak at a venture when we say 
 that a soul was never saved by the virtue of 
 water baptism. For it is the cardinal doctrine 
 to which all Scripture witnesseth that we ar ; 
 saved by Christ through the virtue of His 
 precious atoning blood. We would here at 
 
What is Christian Baptism 71 
 
 the outset in the consideration of this text 
 note that Peter does not state, " Whereunto 
 even Water baptism doth also now save us." 
 But the objector may ask, does He not say 
 that eight souls were saved by water ? True, 
 but not by water baptism. The apostle is 
 here referring to Noah and the ark in which 
 eight souls were saved by water, and makes 
 use of the ark and the water as a figure of sal- 
 vation, typical of the essential baptism and 
 says whereunto even baptism doth now save 
 us. And here Peter stops and puts in 
 parenthesis lest reference to water baptism 
 might be understood (not the putting away 
 of the filth of the flesh but the answer of 
 a good conscience toward God by the resur- 
 rection of Jesus Christ). First, it is to be 
 observed that those saved by water as re- 
 ferred to by Peter did not undergo an applica- 
 tion of the element to their bodies, but were 
 shielded entirely from it by the ark. This being 
 a fact, where, we would ask is there any simi- 
 larity between those eight souls as to bein;j 
 saved by water within the ark with not a hair 
 of their head wet, and those that claim to 
 be fulfilling the figure, having water sprinkled or 
 
72 The Riven Veil 
 
 poured upon them, and others that would fulfill 
 the type or figure as they conceive of it, submit- 
 ing their bodies to be entirely covered with the 
 element, and coming out of the water drenched. 
 If there is any similarity here we fail to see it. 
 And should not the fulfilling of a figure be in as 
 close keeping with the thing prefigured as pos- 
 sible ? And yet in this, water baptism must 
 be admitted as wholly dissimilar. Here it will 
 be proper to investigate what the apostle does 
 mean by the like figure. 
 
 Where in this circumstance of the flood do 
 we find the figure of safety or of salvation .' 
 Truly not in the water, for that was the agent 
 of destruction. But as we view the deluge, 
 the earth opening and the fountains of the 
 great deep gushing up, and the torrents of rain 
 coming down until the highest mountains were 
 covered, and as we look upon the face of the 
 deep, only to see one object upon the univer- 
 sal ocean encircling the entire globe, and that 
 the ark of gopher wood, riding majestically 
 upon her bosom, bearing on in safety eight 
 human souls, and have we not a most beauti- 
 ful figure of salvation .■' Can any fail to see 
 that the ark is the figure of safety, and will 
 
Wkai is Christian Baptism 73 
 
 any one wonder that Peter calls it up as one 
 of God's types ? As to the eight souls being 
 saved by water: As we have shown, the 
 ark was emphatically that which saved, but 
 inasmuch as it was borne up upon the waters, 
 and thus borne safe above the deep caverns 
 that were made as the earth opened her 
 mouth to swallow up the wicked that had 
 polluted her, it would be proper to state that 
 the ark was saved by water, and hence those 
 that were within it, and as to the like figure 
 whereunto even baptism doth now save us, 
 keeping in mind at this point that the ark is 
 typical of Christ, and that Noah and his family 
 were saved by entering into it — and the Script- 
 ures are full of the teaching, that those that 
 are saved by Christ are saved in Him — here 
 let us go back to the subject of baptism as 
 treated by Paul, in Romans, Galatians and Co- 
 lossians, referring to being baptized into Christ, 
 and we have come to the proper meaning of the 
 expression referred to by Peter where he says, 
 " whereunto even baptism doth also now save 
 us. " It is evident that he refers to the inward 
 and spiritual baptism by which alone we are 
 baptized into Christ, and as we have said, he for- 
 
74 The Riven Veil 
 
 tifies against the conclusion that an elementary 
 baptism was meant by saying, " not the put- 
 ting away the filth of the flesh but the answer 
 of a good conscience toward God by the resur- 
 rection of Jesus Christ." But some that plead 
 for water baptism as commanded but not 
 essential, say they observe it that they may 
 have the answer of a good conscience, or to 
 complete a good conscience. But the Script- 
 ures teach that a good conscience was 
 never obtained or completed by the observance 
 of ritualistic observances, for the apostle Paul 
 declares, Heb. ix:9, that observances under the 
 law of the most sacred character, even of gifts 
 and sacrifices could not make him that did the 
 service perfect as pertaining to the conscience, 
 which stood in meats and drinks and divers 
 washings and carnal ordinances. For the law 
 made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a 
 better hope did, whereby we draw nigh unto 
 God. Heb. vii: 19. Now we ask if under all the 
 ritualistic observances and ordinances that 
 were under the law and rigidly observed, if it 
 could not perfect the conscience, why 
 should we now, seeing the better hope has 
 come, still observe ritualistic observances of 
 
What is Christian Baptism 75 
 
 the same type and nature, and teach that we do 
 it to perfect the conscience ? To us it seems 
 a grave inconsistency. But as to the perfect- 
 ing of the conscience Paul declares it comes by 
 the bringing in of the better hope, which hope 
 is by the death and resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ; and that which alone can produce a 
 good or perfect conscience, is faith in His blood 
 and the operation of the Holy Spirit, wherein 
 the conscience is purged from dead works to 
 serve the living God. Heb. ix:i4. 
 
 But after all, one may ask, although we 
 cannot find a direct command given by the 
 Saviour or His apostles authorizing water bap- 
 tism; inasmuch as the disciples practised it, is 
 it not all and the sama as though they had 
 commanded it.? To which we answer: not 
 so, for from this standpoint we would be under 
 obligations also to keep nearly all of the rit- 
 ualistic law under the old dispensation; for the 
 apostles, held by tradition, kept circumcision 
 and most of the law for thirty years. One 
 may marvel at this statement and say, how 
 could it be so after the gift of the Holy Ghost 
 that they did not see just what to observe and 
 just what to discontinue.' To which we can 
 
76 The Riven Veil 
 
 only answer: two reasons may be suggested; 
 the first in harmony with the Saviour's state- 
 ment when He said unto His disciples, " I 
 have many things to say unto you, but ye are 
 not able to bear them now." 
 
 And secondly, had the clear light of the 
 spiritual dispensation been given the apostles, 
 and they had broken away at once from all 
 ritualistic service, the people, bound by tradi- 
 tion, might not have followed them. 
 
 Paul alone, in the early history of the 
 church, seems to have come to the clear 
 understanding of the new dispensation, and 
 has given us the teaching setting forth a dis- 
 pensation of grace and salvation without at- 
 taching a single ritualistic ordinance. And He 
 being sent to the Gentiles that were not bound 
 by Jewish traditions, may be given as a reason 
 that the Lord so fully opened his understand- 
 ing that he should set forth, so making clear, 
 the distinction between the dispensation of 
 type and shadow, and the dispensation of grace. 
 
 But the objector may still urge, " the apos- 
 tles could not baptize with the Holy Ghost ; 
 Christ alone can do that; therefore the bap- 
 tism commanded by the Saviour in the com- 
 
What is Christian Baptism yj 
 
 mission must be understood as a baptism 
 with water. " To which we answer: truly in an 
 absolute sense Christ alone baptizeth with the 
 Holy Ghost, but in a relative sense it was be- 
 stowed through or by the apostles. For it is 
 recorded in several places when the apostles 
 had laid their hands upon certain believers 
 they received the Holy Ghost. 
 
 It may be helpful to remember at this point 
 that Jesus said to His disciples, " Without me 
 ye can do nothing," and just before giving the 
 great commission He tells them, " All power 
 is given me in heaven and in earth," and closes 
 by saying, " Lo, I am with you alway." And 
 it is clear beyond a question that the Holy Ghost 
 was given through them on certain occasions; 
 that they did teach baptizing into the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son and of theHoly Ghost. 
 For through their teaching men were brought 
 to repentance, through their teaching they were 
 brought to accept Christ, and through their 
 teaching they received the Holy Ghost. For 
 as Peter was preaching, the Holy Ghost de- 
 scended upon the household of Cornelius, 
 showing that the Holy Ghost was given both 
 through their ministrations and by the laying 
 
78 The Riven Veil 
 
 on of their hands. One illustration will make 
 our thought plain. Taking up the feeding of 
 the four thousand: in an absolute sense it was 
 Jesus that fed the multitude, but in a relative 
 S3nse it was the disciples, for the people re- 
 ceived the food directly from their hands. 
 
 Surely if water baptism had been intended 
 as an ordinance in the Church of Christ, 
 special instructions would have been given 
 how it should be administered, but we do not 
 find a single paragraph. And one says bap- 
 tism means immersion — that one must be 
 covered with water; and another, fully as well 
 read in Scripture and as good a scholar in 
 Greek, asserts it may be administered by 
 sprinkling or pouring; and the first declares 
 that the second has not fulfilled the ordinance 
 at all. The third comes up and says three- 
 fold immersion is necessary and nothing short 
 fulfills the Scriptures, Then again some be- 
 lieve in infant baptism, although they claim 
 that the ordinance is to be observed as an 
 outward sign of an inward grace. Saying 
 and witnessing thereby that they renounce 
 the world and that baptism is a confession 
 of dying to sin. Still holding that infant bap- 
 
W/tai is Christiau Baptism 79 
 
 tism will serve as a testimony to the re- 
 nouncing of sin to the world, even though 
 it has been administered years previous to 
 the candidate becoming a sinner by the act of 
 volition. And so the conscience is clear and 
 the church satisfied. But another church 
 says there is no Scriptural ground for infant 
 baptism, that it should only be administered 
 to the penitent as a confession after he has re- 
 nounced sin. We only mention these facts to 
 demonstrate that the church is at sea with ref- 
 erence to what it deems the Scriptures to 
 teach as to the mode of baptism. 
 
 There is one point still, we wish to call at- 
 tention to before closing this subject. 
 Whether the gift of the Holy Ghost, or the 
 baptism with the Holy Ghost is in anywise de- 
 pendent, or in any sense necessarily attached 
 to water baptism, or water baptism attached 
 to it other than in a typical sense. 
 
 This question is raised inasmuch as there 
 are those who clami that the baptism with the 
 Spirit is received in connection with the sym- 
 bol, and that the outward and the inward con- 
 stitute the one baptism as referred to by Paul, 
 
8o The Riven Veil 
 
 Eph. iv:5. But the Scriptures are clear that 
 such is not the case. We would not deny but 
 what the baptism with the Spirit might be be- 
 stowed upon the candidate while receiving the 
 outward symbol. But it is a very noticeable 
 fact that not a single instance is to be found 
 in the Scriptures where the baptism with the 
 Holy Ghost was thus bestowed. 
 
 But in each instance the Scriptures are ex- 
 plicit, showing that the baptism with the 
 Spirit was separate, and apart from the outward 
 ordinance. So in the 2d of Acts, Peter says: 
 " Repent and be baptized for the remission of 
 sins, and ye shall receive the Gift of the Holy 
 Ghost." What could be plainer.' First re- 
 pent and confess by baptism your sins, and 
 ye shall be forgiven, and then ye shall receive 
 the gift or baptism with the Holy Ghost. 
 And again, Acts viii:i4-i7: " Now when the 
 apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that 
 Samaria had received the Word of God, they 
 sent unto them Peter and John, who, when 
 they were come down, prayed for those that 
 they might receive the Holy Ghost (for as yet 
 He was fallen upon none of them, only they 
 were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 
 
What is Christian Baptism 8i 
 
 Then laid they their hands on them, and they 
 received the Holy Ghost." 
 
 And in Acts xix:2-6, a parallel circumstance 
 occurs after certain disciples at Ephesus had 
 been baptized in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands 
 upon them, then it was that the Holy 
 Ghost came upon them, or the baptism 
 with the Spirit. Would any one say that 
 these examples are simply coincidences or 
 happen so's .' One hath well said " Nothing 
 happens with God." But these examples are 
 certainly conclusive in their teaching, showing 
 that God designed that baptism with the 
 Spirit, should hold a distinctive place in the 
 new and spiritual dispensation, and was not to 
 be blended into the typical or ritualistic 
 baptism. And not only this, but has plainly set 
 forth that it is in no wise dependent upon it, 
 and that now there is no relation existing be- 
 tween them as to application — that is, whether 
 water baptism should precede or follow the 
 baptism of the Spirit, which should certainly be 
 the case if both v/ere to have a place in the 
 dispensation of Grace, for the plan and work 
 of salvation is indeed a most systematie one. 
 
82 The Riven Veil 
 
 Hence in the case under consideration, it would 
 be a factor in the work of redemption. 
 
 At this point the one advocating the continu- 
 ance of the outward baptism may ask: do we 
 not find in the passages cited that the outward 
 or typical baptism came regularly first, and then 
 the spiritual afterwards ? Indeed, but the order 
 changes and God establishes the position that 
 we have taken, namely, that the spir'.tual 
 baptism is in no wise dependent upon the out- 
 ward; and secondly that no relation now as to 
 application exists between them, for in the 
 case of Cornelius when the gospel door was 
 opened to the Gentiles, God immediately, so 
 soon as the gospel of Grace was declared and 
 accepted by those that heard the word, 
 poured out upon them the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost, disregarding any ritualistic ordinance; 
 and thus was the ordinance of water baptism 
 shut out by God, in the opening of the gospel 
 door to the Gentile world, inasmuch as the 
 crowning blessing of the new dispensation, 
 even the baptism of the Spirit, was not per- 
 mitted to tarry or to be intercepted by the 
 outward baptism that had typified it. 
 
 And does it not seem that to those who still 
 hold that typical baptism must be admin-* 
 
Wkai is Christian Baptism 83 
 
 istered, although the one infinitely greater, 
 (the one typified) has come, that Paul's ex- 
 pression to the Galatians would be applicable? 
 " Are ye so foolish ? having begun in the Spirit 
 would ye be made perfect by the flesh ? " Or 
 wouldst thou expect to be benefited by sub- 
 mitting to a carnal ordinance, which is of the 
 earth earthy, after having received that bap- 
 tism which is as high as heaven ? and hast re- 
 ceived the power of an endless life having 
 been brought thereby into Him, even Jesus, in 
 the person of the Holy Ghost, and art com- 
 plete in him in whom all fulness dwells ? 
 
 Lastly, a gospel adapted to all nations and 
 climes and circumstances could not include 
 water baptism, for in many places and under 
 many circumstances it could not be admin- 
 istered; but the spiritual baptism, Christ can 
 administer either through human agency, or 
 without it, to every needy soul that shall make 
 request unto God. And we find this baptism 
 was prophesied of, being pointed out by the 
 holy prophets centuries before the advent of 
 our Lord and Saviour, and referred to by Him as 
 the promise of the Father which He says to His 
 disciples, ye have heard of me telling them, 
 " Ye shall receive power after that the Holy 
 
84 The Riven Veil 
 
 Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be wit- 
 nesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all 
 Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
 part of the earth. And when He had spoken 
 these things, while they beheld him, a cloud 
 received him out of their sight." 
 
 And is it not a circumstance worthy of 
 special note in connection with the treatment 
 of this subject, that in the last discourse the 
 Saviour had with his disciples, his parting 
 words were words of assurance that the 
 promise of the Father should coma upon 
 them, even the gift of the Holy Ghost; 
 showing that it was a matter of the highest 
 importance, above and beyond any outward 
 baptism; for he says in words chosen at the 
 heading of this subject: " For John truly 
 baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized 
 with the Holy Ghost." Therefore the con- 
 clusion is inevitable that Christian bap- 
 tism is spiritual and not literal, the one baptism 
 referred to by Paul, the baptism spoken of 
 by Peter as the baptism that now saveth, and 
 that this is the baptism of the new covenant, 
 which God held in reserve, to be the crowning 
 blessing of the dispensation of his Son. 
 
WHAT IS THE LORD'S SUPPER ? 
 
 When and Where Instituted. 
 
 We are fully aware that those believing in 
 and practicing what is now termed the sacra- 
 ment, which is also termed the Lord's supper, 
 and of which Dr. Adam Clark says: " Though 
 this name (Lord's supper) is now a pretty gen- 
 eral appellation of the eucharist, I cannot help 
 thinking it is a very improper one. It does 
 not appear that this name (Lord's supper) 
 was anciently used to signify the eucharist. 
 The Christians held a supper before 
 the eucharist . . . and it is very likely 
 that it is to this and not to the eucharist that 
 St. Paul refers." I Cor. xi:2o: " Discourse 
 on the Eucharist." 
 
 As we were remarking: we are aware that 
 the ordinance as now practiced, with simply 
 bread and wine, is claimed to have been in- 
 stituted by our Saviour at the close of the last 
 Passover Supper that He ate with his disciples. 
 But with our conception of what it takes to 
 
86 The Riven Veil 
 
 institute and establish a ritualistic ordinance, 
 it necessitates a form of action, a statement 
 of what is to be used and at what intervals 
 and by whom it should be administered. Such 
 is notably the fact in the establishment of all 
 ordinances under the dispensation of ordi- 
 nances. But in this case no such specifica- 
 tions are found. Jesus simply takes that which 
 was provided for the Passover, and gives an 
 object lesson showing what the Passover 
 typified, and also explaining his figurative 
 teaching concerning eating the flesh of the 
 Son of Man, and that of drinking His blood. 
 
 At the time Jesus taught His disciples con- 
 cerning the living bread, and closed with the 
 expressions just quoted, the seventy disciples, 
 taking it literally, marvelled and said: " this is a 
 hard saying, who can hear it (or who can ac- 
 cept it), and the seventy turned away and 
 would no more walk with Him. " 
 
 And as He turned to the twelve and exclaimed 
 in these words so full of pathos: " Will ye 
 also go away.?" has not the reader often 
 wondered that the Master did not then ex- 
 plain that He was speaking figuratively, and 
 that the partaking was of a spiritual nature, by 
 faith, after that He should offer up Himself ? 
 
WAai is the Lord's Supper 87 
 
 But He could not now explain, as it would 
 be premature, so He waits until the time under 
 consideration, and according to His own 
 statement anxiously waits, to explain the 
 greatest of all types relative to the atonement; 
 for He tells His disciples, " With desire have I 
 desired to eat with you this passover before I 
 suffer, for I say unto you I will not any more 
 eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom 
 of God." And as they were eating, Jesus took 
 bread and blessed it, and brake it and gave it 
 to his disciples, and said. Take, eat; this is 
 my body. And he took the cup and gave 
 thanks, and gave it to them, saying. Drink ye 
 all of it, for this is my blood of the new testa- 
 ment, that is shed for many for the remission 
 of sins. As we have just stated, Jesus was 
 eating with His disciples the Jewish Passover, 
 and the acts performed and the words spoken, 
 with a little variation, in all reasonable proba- 
 bility, were acts and words which were done 
 and said in every inhabited house in Jerusalem, 
 as the following extracts will show: 
 
 " The following custom, observed by the 
 modern Jews, after the practice of their fore- 
 fathers, strongly reminds us of what passed at 
 
88 The Riven Veil 
 
 the last supper. Before they sit down they 
 wash their hands very carefully. ... A 
 blessing is then asked. The master, or chief 
 person, takes a loaf, and, breaking it, says, 
 ' Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, the King 
 of the world, who produced bread out of the 
 earth. ' The guests answer, ' Amen, ' and the 
 bread is distributed to them. He then takes 
 the vessel which holds the wine in his right 
 hand, and says: 'Blessed art thou, O Lord 
 our God, King of the world, who hast created 
 the fruit of the vine.' The 23d psalm is then 
 repeated. When the meal is finished the 
 master takes a piece of bread, which has been 
 left on purpose, and filling a glass or cup with 
 wine, says: ' Let us bless Him of whose bene- 
 fits we have partaken.' The company reply: 
 ' Blessed be He who has heaped His favors on 
 us, and has now fed us with His goodness.' 
 The master then repeats a prayer thanking 
 God . . . entreating Him to have pity 
 on Jerusalem and the temple, to restore the 
 throne of David to Elias and the Messiah, and 
 to deliver them from their low estate. The 
 guests all answer 'Amen,' and repeat Ps. xxxiv: 
 
W/iai is the Lord's Supper 89 
 
 9, 10. Then each guest drinks a little of that 
 which is left, and goes from the table."* 
 
 Again, " The benedictions which he (Jesus) 
 pronounced on bread and wine separately, at 
 His celebration of this last Passover with His 
 apostles, are related with the very same cir- 
 cumstances as are to be met with in the Jewish 
 rituals." + 
 
 And again ..." Supper is then put 
 on the table, and is a meal of social rejoicing. 
 The supper is ended, two large cups are filled 
 with wine. One of these is taken by the mas- 
 ter of the house, and a blessing pronounced. 
 This blessing refers distinctly to the time of 
 the Messiah's reign. ' O, Most Merciful ! O, 
 Most Merciful ! make us worthy to see the 
 days of the Messiah and of life in the world to 
 come. . . . Amen." After the blessing 
 the head of the family gives the cup to all 
 sitting around. . . . It is most likely that 
 our Lord and His disciples, in all the cere- 
 monial part, commemorated it in the same 
 
 * " Manners and Customs of the Jews and Other Na- 
 tions Mentioned in the Bible." Published by the Re- 
 ligious Tract Society. 
 
 t Extracted from "Ceremonies of the Jews." 
 
90 The Riven Veil 
 
 manner as we do now. The custom of dip- 
 ping the bitter herbs seems to accord with 
 Christ's words, ' he that dippeth with me in 
 the dish; he to whom I shall give a sup when 
 I have dipped it.' In Luke xxii:i7 it is writ- 
 ten, ' he took the cup and gave thanks,' and 
 verse 20, ' Likewise also the cup after supper. 
 This cup is the new testament in my blood.' 
 The breaking of the bread being mentioned in 
 connection with this cup, gives every reason 
 to suppose that it was the hidden cake our 
 Saviour used for this purpose, which is used 
 in commemoration of the hidden manna. . 
 Our Lord said unto them at a former 
 period: 'Your fathers did eat manna in the 
 wilderness and are dead; he that eateth me 
 or the bread that I give shall never die. The 
 bread which I will give is my flesh which I 
 will give for the life of the world.' It seems 
 very appropriate to take that which was an 
 emblem of the hidden manna, to represent 
 the broken body, given for the life and nour- 
 ishment of the world, as the manna v^as given 
 to the children of Israel. * 
 
 * Brief sketch of "The Present State of the Jews," 
 by R. M. Herschel, a converted Jew. 
 
JVAai is the Lord's Supper 91 
 
 How clearly is set forth by these ex- 
 tracts that the Saviour did not break from 
 the usual custom of the passover as they 
 were eating, as has been so much taught, 
 and thus institute a new ordinance, by the 
 use of the bread and the cup as referred 
 to, but most beautifully gives their figur- 
 ative meaning. Thus taking the hidden cake 
 typical of the hidden manna, even of Him- 
 self, saying " this is My body " (that is in 
 type), and as He breaks it says, " that is 
 broken for you." And also takes the second 
 cup, according to the custom of the Jewish 
 ritual, and says, " this cup is the new testa- 
 ment in My blood" (or it represents the new 
 testament, or new covenant in My blood). 
 And when we take into account, that in con- 
 nection with the hidden cake and second cup 
 as used in the passover, that the prayer used 
 had reference to the Messiah, what could 
 be more appropriate than that Jesus shduld 
 use the very expressions that he did in con- 
 nection with this the closing ceremony of the 
 pascal supper, and thus expresses to them 
 that which He has longed to express indicated 
 by His words, " With desire have I desired to 
 
92 The Riven Veil 
 
 eat with you this passover before I suffer," 
 showing them that they are soon to receive 
 through Him that which is typified; and thus it 
 makes plain after His crucifixion the passover 
 as a type of Christ — the Lamb that was 
 slain representing the Lamb of God; and as 
 the blood sheltered the Israelites in Egypt, so 
 shall ye be sheltered by the blood of remission. 
 
 Secondly he explains how it is possible to par- 
 take of His body and of His blood, truly not by 
 physically partaking of the typical elements, 
 but spiritually by faith, as they should rely 
 upon the fulfillment of that which the element 
 typified, even the breaking of His body and 
 the shedding of His blood, which types were 
 so soon to be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God, 
 even on the morrow. 
 
 And we may infer further, Jesus' expressions 
 to teach that as ye eat and drink for your 
 physical sustenance, so by faith ye must 
 partake of the benefits of the atonement, 
 in order to have spiritual life. " For except 
 ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink 
 his blood ye have no life in you, for ray flesh 
 is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed." 
 
 Thus in this account of our Saviour breaking 
 
What is the Lord's Supper 93 
 
 bread and handing the cup, we fail to see the 
 institution of an ordinance, but rather an ex- 
 planation of an ordinance already instituted. 
 How can we see more ? We find no language 
 from the Saviour indicating the setting up of 
 a new ordinance. No specifications as to a 
 supper apart from the Jewish Passover, no 
 time mentioned when or how often it should 
 be observed. In fact, Matthew and Mark 
 only, make a statement of what Jesus said and 
 did, without any intimation whatever that it 
 should ever be observed again. John does not 
 mention it. And Luke simply adds " this do 
 in remembrance of Me," and in I Cor. xi:24 is 
 inserted " as oft as ye do this, do it in remem- 
 brance of me." 
 
 But as to the disciples observing what is 
 now called the sacrament or eucharist, we have 
 no Scripture evidence that they ever did. 
 Paul refers in I Cor. xi:24 to the observance 
 which he designates as the Lord's supper which 
 was evidently, says Dr. Adam Clark, " a social 
 meal with a religious association. Not the 
 eucharist, for the early Christians held a sup- 
 per before the eucharist. " And inasmuch as 
 Paul refers to this social and religious meal, 
 
94 The Riven Veil 
 
 associating the last Passover, it substan- 
 tiates beyond controversy that they were ob- 
 serving it in memory of that occasion; but 
 Paul is faulting them for the manner in which 
 they had desecrated it by not waiting one for 
 another, manifesting disorder, and states that 
 when they come together he hears there are 
 divisions or schisms among them, which may 
 account in part for their not waiting one for an- 
 other. It is also evident that on these social 
 occasions (as they were designed to be) each as 
 they were able, brought a part of the provision. 
 But instead of putting all into a common 
 stock and waiting until all had arrived, and 
 then enjoy something like a modern love feast, 
 with conversation commemorative of the cru- 
 cifixion, they had for some reason fallen 
 into the improper practice of eating one before 
 another and thus putting the poor to shame, 
 they having but a scant supply of the coarser 
 sort. Which practice the apostle condemns, 
 telling them that although they come together 
 into one place this is not to eat the Lord's 
 supper, (or ye cannot thus eat the Lord's sup- 
 per), which is essentially a representation of 
 social religious fellowship in memory of Him 
 
What is the Lard's Supper 95 
 
 who, by his death, had made them brethren. 
 He tells them that their coming together is 
 not for the better, but for the worse. That 
 such disorder and disunity, under a pretense of a 
 religious observance, was to despise the Church 
 of God, or was to disgrace it. And then goes 
 on and remarks, " what shall I say to you .' 
 Shall I praise you in this 1 I praise you not." 
 Paul then to give weight and force to his re- 
 proof reminds them of what he had revealed 
 unto them before by saying, " for I received 
 of the Lord that which also I delivered unto 
 you," and then reiterated to them what the 
 Lord had done and said the same night in which 
 he was betrayed, in connection with the clos- 
 ing ceremony of the passover, closing the 
 ceremony by saying, " This do in remembrance 
 of Me." And of the cup, " This do as oft as ye 
 drink it in remembrance of Me. " As much as 
 to say to them, that which is done in remem- 
 brance of so important an occasion, typical of 
 such a sacrifice, in memory of such a loving 
 Saviour must be done, if done at all, with 
 order and in the true spirit of fellowship. 
 " Wherefore my brethren when ye come 
 together to eat, tarry one for another." 
 
96 The Riven Veil 
 
 It seems to us that nothing could be plainer 
 than that this observance which we have just 
 referred to was the original Lord's supper, and 
 a social religious love feast in memory of the 
 crucifixion, and that the apostle recognizes in 
 this supper, when orderly and truthfully ob- 
 served, a compliance with all that might be 
 inferred by the Saviour's words, " This do in 
 remembrance of me." 
 
 And if this be so, and the Lord's supper as 
 referred to in I Cor. xi:20-26 by Paul is not 
 the eucharist, or sacrament, administered with 
 bread and wine alone, (And Dr. Adam Clark 
 says: " It is very likely that it is to this — "the 
 Lord's supper — " and not to the eucharist, that 
 St. Paul refers," in the above narrative), 
 where, then, we would ask, may we find 
 any Scripture as a warrant or foundation for 
 such an ordinance as the sacrament .' Again, 
 as to the Saviour's utterance, " this do in re- 
 membrance of me:" it cannot be understood as 
 commanding his disciples to keep that part of 
 the Jewish passover which they were cele- 
 brating, neither as instituting a new ordinance, 
 for with reference to partaking of the cup, 
 which was a joint ceremony in connection with 
 
What is the Lord's Supper 97 
 
 the hidden cake, Jesus says in his closing re- 
 mark as to this ceremony, " this do as oft as 
 ye drink it in remembrance of me," which 
 leaves it wholly optional. The cup referred 
 to evidently was the passover cup, and that 
 hereafter as oft as they should partake of it, 
 (still the passover cup) it should be in memory 
 of Him who had fulfilled its typical meaning. 
 But inasmuch as the breaking of the bread 
 typified Kis broken body, even so all our 
 breaking of bread is in a sense emblematical 
 of His body that was broken for us, and as 
 Christians we should so eat in memory of the 
 broken body and shed blood of our Saviour, 
 and thus fulfill the expression, " this do in re- 
 membrance of me." This the church was 
 doing collectively, and the apostle tells them 
 as oft as they thus meet, they do show forth 
 the Lord's death, breaking bread as emblem- 
 atical of His broken body. And hence, as we 
 have observed, should be engaged in with 
 proper decorum, and not with disorder. There- 
 fore the apostle says, " Whosoever shall eat 
 this bread and drink this cup unworthily, 
 shall be guilty of the body and blood of 
 Christ." I Cor. xi: 2 7. That is, guilty of sinning 
 
98 The Riven Veil 
 
 against and desecrating a religious observance. 
 " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, 
 eateth and drinketh damnation to him- 
 self, not discerning the Lord's body." This 
 text is much of the same import as the former 
 ones referred to, only seems to be stronger in 
 its denunciations against hypocrisy, not recog- 
 nizing the real dignity of the church, but com- 
 mitting sacrilege, bringing reproach and dis- 
 honor upon her, not discerning the Lord's 
 body; that is, that the church, thus met, is 
 the representation of Christ, and that to bring 
 dishonor upon her, is to dishonor Christ. 
 
 And what has been said in regard to the 
 desecration of this religious observance, will 
 hold good as touching any part of the worship 
 and work of the church. If one does not act 
 honestly they act wickedly, hypocritically, and 
 shall heap unto themselves condemnation. 
 
 Thus we have shown that the original 
 Lord's supper, as referred to, was purely a 
 religious fellowship meal, not an ordinance. 
 Arid that even this was not commanded, but 
 that the supposed and alleged command as 
 found in Luke xxii:i9: "This do in remem- 
 brance of me," is more fully brought out in I 
 
What is tho Lord's Supper 99 
 
 Cor. xi:20, 26, that inasmuch as the breaking 
 of the bread and the partaking of the second cup 
 were joint ceremonies, as we have said, hence 
 Jesus in saying, with reference to the cup, 
 " This do, as oft as ye drink it, " reheves the en- 
 tire ceremony of a command, and certainly 
 demonstrates that our Saviour had reference 
 to the passover cup and Jewish ceremony. 
 
 And that which is- now termed the sacra- 
 ment, or eucharist, is of later origin than the 
 Lord's supper to which St. Paul alludes in 
 I Cor. xi:20, 26. 
 
 The sacrament was instituted as the church 
 broke from her simplicity; and as she became 
 less spiritual she became more ritualistic, until 
 this simple, social, religious fellowship meal 
 became a rigid ordinance, and that without 
 Scriptural authority, and was termed a sacra- 
 ment or the Holy Eucharist, and the elements 
 were finally taught to contain the actual flesh 
 and blood of Christ, according to the doctrine 
 of trans-substantiation, to which we can but 
 say: Alas ! to what unreasonable length and 
 unwarrantable conclusions have tradition and 
 superstition led the church ! 
 
 But in all her shortcomings and extrav- 
 
lOO The Riven Veil 
 
 agances as to opinions, there is nothing that 
 may make her face blush, as the awful con- 
 sequences that followed the yielding of herself 
 to this ritualistic fetter, as relating to the 
 sacrament. That firmly bound, as it were, 
 her right arm, and when she would free her- 
 self from this, the strongest chain that bound 
 her, it cost her rivers of blood, and the yield- 
 ing of her noblest and best talent, to die in 
 dungeons, upon the rack, or at the stake 
 mid burning faggots, all of which suffering and 
 bloodshed the infidel attaches and blames to 
 Christianity. 
 
 But while these cruelties were perpetrated 
 in the name of Christ and the church, to 
 maintain the Holy Sacrament and to make all 
 subscribe to the mystical body and blood of 
 the Lord, as alleged to be contained therein, 
 yet, indeed, not by the true church, but by a 
 church overshadowed by ritualism and doc- 
 trines of men. And it is out of this formal, 
 legal, traditional church, bound by Papacy 
 that sprang again the true spiritual church that 
 received persecution from the hand of her that 
 was swallowed up of priestcraft and ritualistic 
 observance. And, although the Protestant 
 
What is the Lord's Supper lOi 
 
 church raised above the doctrine of trans- 
 substantiation, still as to the original Lord's 
 Supper she failed to come back to the apostolic 
 simplicity, but retained the unscriptural appel- 
 lation of sacrament; and as to the administer- 
 ing of it: its form is but little changed from the 
 Papal mode, and wholly unlike the mode as 
 referred to by Paul in I Cor. xi:20, 26. 
 
 And now, in closing this brief review of the 
 so-called sacrament, or communion service, 
 v/e would say: while we have proven cur posi- 
 tion that the Lord's supper, as referred to in 
 Scripture, is not an ordinance; yet we see no 
 objection, but rather a beauty in eating col- 
 lected together as a church, in memory of our 
 Lord, if done in its original simplicity. And 
 as we have said, in our homes, as we feed upon 
 God's bounty for the sustenance of the phys- 
 ical man, we should remember by whom 
 and through whom we have spiritual life, and 
 spiritual renewings. Which, indeed, we can 
 not fail to do, if we abide in Him and He 
 abides in us. 
 
 Hence we object to the ordinance, as made 
 use of in the sense of a reminder to the one 
 observing it, " calling to our remembrance," 
 
I02 The Riven Veil 
 
 quickening one's sensibility as to His death, 
 etc. And we also object to it in the sense of 
 communion — that one takes communion 
 weekly, or quarterly, or semi-yearly; for we 
 believe that one communes by faith, and that 
 this must be constant — that the true com- 
 munion is set forth by our Saviour when he 
 said, " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of 
 Man and drink his blood, ye have no life in 
 you." 
 
 " And he that eateth me the same shall live 
 by me." And again, " Behold I stand at the 
 door and knock, if any man will open the 
 door I will come into him and sup with him, 
 and he with me." 
 
 At this point we could not quote a more ap- 
 propriate text than I Cor. x:i6, where the 
 Apostle Paul is setting forth by the type used 
 at the Passover, the Spiritual communion, 
 and asks in the declarative sense: " The cup 
 of blessing which we bless, is it not (or it is) 
 the communion of the blood of Christ. The 
 bread that we break is it not (or it is) the com- 
 munion of the body of Christ." 
 
 The bread referred to cannot be interpreted 
 as literal bread, for the apostle goes on and 
 
WAat is the Lord's Supper 103 
 
 explains his meaning as spiritual. For, says 
 he, we being many are one bread and one 
 body, for we are all partakers of that one 
 bread, of which Jesus said, " I am the true 
 bread from Heaven." 
 
 So the baptism that we believe in, is the 
 baptism with the Holy Spirit. And the com- 
 munion, that which feeds upon the living bread. 
 And as to all ritualistic ordinances, types and 
 shadows: we believe they all belong to the old 
 dispensation; that each pointed to Christ and 
 were all fulfilled in him. That this is a 
 spiritual dispensation — a dispensation of re- 
 alities; the day of the promised seed; a dis- 
 pensation of life and light and power that 
 was not hitherto known; the day that Abra- 
 ham desired to see, and he saw it afar off, 
 and was glad; the time of spiritual wor- 
 ship; the dispensation of a living commun- 
 ion. For the " promise " of the Father now 
 rests upon us, even the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost, since the glorification of His Son, Jesus 
 Christ, by whom we have access into the Holy 
 of Holies, and are made kings and priests unto 
 God. 
 
Seven Terse Reasons for Not Practising 
 "What Are Claimed to Be Christian 
 Ordinances. 
 
 First reason: Because of failing to find 
 any Scriptural command given by Christ or 
 His apostles making these ordinances obliga- 
 tory. 
 
 Second reason: Because, to institute an 
 ordinance, it necessitates a plain statement of 
 action — what is to be done, how it is to be 
 done; naming the element to be used, and by 
 whom to be administered, and at what inter- 
 vals, which is notably the case in the insti- 
 tution of ordinances by Moses, in the dispensa- 
 tion of ordinances. Such specifications are 
 not to be found in the Scriptures instituting 
 the so-called Christian ordinances. Hence 
 they can only be substantiated by tradition. 
 
 Third reason: Because Paul declares in 
 Col. ii:i4 that the handwriting of ordinances 
 have been blotted out, the typical or symbolic 
 dispensation ended, the spiritual dispensation 
 having come, the reality, the embodiment of 
 all that had been typified by ordinances. 
 
Seven Terse Reasons 105 
 
 Fourth reason: Because in Col. ii:20, 21, 
 22 the observance of ordinances is prohib- 
 ited. For the apostle says, " Touch not, taste 
 not, handle not, which all are to perish with 
 the using," or should perish, having served 
 their time, being shadows, " for the body " or 
 substance " is of Christ" that hath come. 
 
 Fifth reason: Because the general use of 
 the so-called Christian ordinances in the 
 church, has not profited those that have been 
 exercised thereby, not tending to unity and 
 Christian fellowship, but rather to disunity, 
 discord, and dissension, which the history of 
 the church lamentably shows. 
 
 Sixth reason: Because, if ritualistic ordi- 
 nances were compatible with the ceremonial, 
 ordinistic, typical dispensation it would nec- 
 essarily make them incompatible with the 
 spiritual dispensation that is to supplant it. 
 
 Seventh and last reason: Inasmuch as the 
 true elements of union and fellowship are 
 alone to be found in the one spiritual baptism 
 referred to in Eph. iv:5, the same baptism as 
 set forth in Cor. i, Cor. xii:i3, " for by one 
 spirit are we all baptized into one body." And 
 also in the one communion, the partaking of 
 
lo6 The Riven Veil 
 
 the true bread from heaven, even the com- 
 munion of the body of Christ, as given in Cor. 
 ix:i6, 17, whereby all that partake of it, 
 though they be many, become one bread and 
 one body, all being partakers of that one 
 bread, even Christ. Therefore we hold that 
 the spiritual baptism and the spiritual com- 
 munion is the fulfillment of the outward, and 
 all that this dispensation teaches or requires. 
 
TRADITION SO OFTEN THE INTER- 
 PRETER OF THE SCRIPTURE. 
 
 The Doctrine of the Leading of the Holy 
 Spirit and of War Briefly Touched 
 Upon. 
 
 The first point we wish to consider in con- 
 nection with the interpretation of Scripture is, 
 how easy it is to read the Scriptures as tradi- 
 tion has taught us, or as interpreted by those 
 we love and honor, or as the church of our 
 fathers have believed. So that if a text has 
 been held as having a literal meaning, we come 
 up with that thought until involuntarily it has 
 become a fixed principle with us, and we say it 
 must be so, and all other Scripture must read 
 to it. Or if the text has been given a 
 figurative interpretation the same is true. 
 
 For an example to illustrate these statej 
 ments we will take Christ's commission to the 
 disciples. Matt, xxviiing: " Go ye therefore 
 and teach all nations, baptizing them into the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 
io8 The Riven Veil 
 
 Holy Ghost." This text has generally been 
 given a literal interpretation because of ageneral 
 tendency to literalize nearly all the texts that 
 refer to baptism. So from force of education 
 and tradition it has been easy to dispose of the 
 text in that way, and say it must be in- 
 terpreted literally. 
 
 We will now take another text that has 
 generally been given a figurative interpreta- 
 tion. We refer to the circumstance of Jesus 
 washing the disciples' feet, John xiii:4: " And 
 supper being ended he riseth and layeth aside 
 his garments and taketh a towel and girdeth 
 himself; after that he poureth water into a basin ; 
 and after he had washed the disciples' feet said : 
 if I then, your Lord and Master, have washed 
 your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's 
 feet, for I have given an example that ye should 
 do as I have done to you. " It is not that we 
 would take issue with the figurative interpreta- 
 tion of these texts last referred to, but what is 
 especially remarkable is how those that can only 
 see a literal interpretation to the words of our 
 Lord in Matt. xxviii:i9 can see a figurative 
 one in the narative just quoted. For here the 
 element is named and the exact transaction 
 
Tradition the Interpreter 109 
 
 specifically given; and then the words " for I 
 have given you an example that ye should do 
 lis I have done to you;" and beyond contro- 
 versy, laying aside all bias and traditional in- 
 fluences, there is more ground for the estab- 
 lishment of a ritualistic ordinance here than in 
 any other connection of words or sentences in 
 the New Testament. 
 
 It is the nearest by far the order of specifi- 
 cations as given in the establishment of 
 ordinances under the Mosaic dispensation, and 
 yet those that seem to see so plainly 
 water baptism established without a single 
 allusion to water by the Master, and without 
 any example as to mode whatever, do not see 
 in this where water is mentioned, and the 
 mode or example given, followed by the direct 
 injunction from the Master, " Ye should do as 
 I have done to you, " and are ready to aver that 
 no ordinance is taught herein, but that Jesus 
 is teaching figuratively humility. That if he, 
 their Lord and Master, would humble himself 
 and take the place of a servant, they also 
 should serve one another, to which we can 
 subscribe. But do not the examples re- 
 ferred to show how strongly we are held by 
 
I lO The Riven Veil 
 
 educatiott and tradition, which has retarded 
 iHvestigation and has kept golden truth hid 
 away, covered up under the debris of tradition 
 coming down from age to age. 
 
 And thus noted men, learned, scholarly and 
 pious, have come and gone; they read, they 
 taught, they left commentaries after them, but 
 the veil remained untaken away, for their propo- 
 sitions were founded upon the propositions of 
 their fathers, and the light remained obscure. 
 And while this may be eminently true in regard 
 to ritualistic ordinances, it is also true relating 
 to some of the greatest doctrines of the Bible. 
 For instance, the doctrine of the personal 
 guidance of the Holy Spirit, which was ignored 
 after the apostacy of the church, even down to 
 the middle of the sixteenth century, and has 
 only been generally accepted by the churches 
 in the last fifty years. 
 
 The doctrine of peace, that all war, either 
 aggressive or defensive, is contrary to the 
 Gospel and is forbidden by Christ; which doc- 
 trine was fully accepted in the Apostolic 
 Church. But in her degeneracy she became 
 even aggressive in warfare, and rank in perse- 
 cution, and now in the nineteenth century of 
 
Tradition the Interpreter 1 1 1 
 
 Gospel light and reformation, can it be possi- 
 ble ? Yes, it is true, that the veil, the mist and 
 darkness that came upon this doctrine because 
 of degeneracy, still largely remains untaken 
 away, inasmuch as nearly all denominations 
 reject the doctrine of peace as an avowed doc- 
 trine of their church. 
 
 George Fox in the sixteenth century re- 
 ceived light as to the teaching of the Scriptures 
 on this doctrine as well as on several others, 
 much as Luther did on the doctrine of justi- 
 fication by faith, and declared that all war was 
 wrong, and Friends have for more than two 
 hundred and fifty years preached, and 
 written, and taught, and suffered for con- 
 science sake, determined to follow and obey 
 their master, who said to Peter, " Put up 
 thy sword into its sheath, for they that take 
 the sword shall perish by the sword." Mat. 
 xxvi:52. They have endeavored to dissem- 
 inate this light among their brethren of other 
 churches. And it would seem that the work had 
 progressed slowly, as only two or three other de- 
 nominations now subscribe to the doctrine of 
 peace. But more has been accomplished than 
 this would indicate. Peace lecturers have gone 
 
1 1 2 The Riven Veil 
 
 abroad, peace societies have been formed, in- 
 ternational congresses on arbitration have been 
 brought forth. 
 
 The unwise policy of war from a financial 
 standpoint is being considered. All this has 
 come directly or indirectly because the stand- 
 ard has been raised. But when we consider 
 that a very large proportion of the Christian 
 church still disregard the Saviour's teaching on 
 this subject, while it looks as though peace 
 principles would all but be forced upon the 
 world outside of the legitimate pales of the 
 church universal, must not our Lord say as 
 formerly, " O, slow of heart to believe the 
 word that I said unto you." " Ye have heard 
 that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor, but hate thine enemy. But I say 
 unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that 
 curse you and do good to them that hate you, 
 and pray for them that despitefully use you 
 and persecute you." 
 
 Is not this the very spirit of the Gospel "i 
 and was not the Gospel day heralded by the 
 angels saying, " Glory to God in the highest, 
 peace on earth, good will to men." Now, if 
 the millenium ever comes (and it will), will it 
 
Tradition the Interpreter 113 
 
 not come by the gospel of peace ? And if so, 
 when we even depart from the spirit of the 
 Gospel and engage in, or tolerate carnal war- 
 fare, do we not hinder the coming of the King- 
 dom of Him that is to rule in righteousness, 
 the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the 
 Prince of Peace? We would therefore that all 
 Christians might hastily come to see that in 
 this particular, as to the doctrine of peace, 
 we should not only pray, but act, " Thy King- 
 dom come." 
 
The Doctrine of the Equality of the 
 Sexes. 
 
 Another important doctrine that has been 
 veiled by tradition and kept back by force of 
 education is the doctrine of the equality of the 
 sexes, not admitting that woman may hold 
 places of distinction and honor in the church 
 equal to her brethren; that she may be and is 
 called to the ministry, and being ordained of 
 God, hence may officiate in all that office as 
 her gift may qualify her. 
 
 There has been but one church or organiza- 
 tion which has taken the affirmative of the posi- 
 tion just referred to with reference to the equal- 
 ity of the sexes, that we are aware of, namely, 
 the Friends. Until within the last century, and 
 until taken by them, the position was almost 
 if not universally accepted that her work and 
 activity in the church should be restricted; 
 that the Scriptures forbade her even to speak 
 in the church. How then should she preach ? 
 This position has been held in the church for 
 
Equality of the Sexes 1 1 5 
 
 centuries, on the strength of, perhaps, two 
 expressions given by St. Paul, the first occur- 
 ring in 1 Cor. xiv: 34, where he says: " Let 
 your women keep silence in the churches, for 
 it is not permitted for them to speak, but they 
 are commanded to be in obedience, as also 
 saith the Law; and if they will learn anything 
 let them ask their husbands at home, for it is 
 a shame for a woman to speak in the church." 
 And in I Tim. ii: 12: " But I suffer not a 
 woman to teach or usurp authority over the 
 man, but to be in silence." These texts, mis- 
 understood in part and that part overesti- 
 mated, have laid the foundation for a wrong 
 teaching, which has hedged woman in and 
 kept her from the proper use of her God- 
 given powers in the church, for its enlarge- 
 ment, and for the salvation of souls. First we 
 shall show that the apostle has no allusion to 
 prophesying, or preaching or giving testimony, 
 but to a matter of questions. When one 
 was expounding, we learn the custom was, 
 that if any one did not understand the teacher 
 or minister, they might be stopped and asked 
 to give an explanation. This the apostle seem.s 
 to prescribe, allowing only men to ask the ques- 
 
1 16 The Riven Veil 
 
 tions. It has been observed that in the apostle's 
 time, in certain places there were women that 
 made disturbance, and not only asked many 
 questions, but seemed to be contentious, which 
 would naturally bring out an expression like 
 the last — " But I suffer not a woman to teach 
 or usurp authority over the man, but to be in 
 silence." 
 
 At this point we would call attention to the 
 principle that we laid down as a foundation 
 principle, essential to the right understanding 
 of the Scriptures, namely, that all Scripture 
 must harmonize. And we shall proceed to 
 show if Paul meant here to teach that woman 
 has no right to prophesy, or preach, or testify 
 in the church, or even take an equal place 
 among her brethren, that he is not only out of 
 harmony with other Scripture, but out of 
 harmony with himself. 
 
 For we read in Joel ii: 28: " And it shall 
 came to pass that I will pour out of my Spirit 
 upon all flesh, and your sons and your 
 daughters shall prophesy; and also upon the 
 servants and upon the handmaids in those 
 days will I pour out of my Spirit. " 
 
 Can any one here detect a distinction as to 
 
Equality of the Sexes 1 1 7 
 
 sex ? Are not both referred to alike, and does 
 it not say that both shall prophesy ? — which 
 expression signifies in our day preaching. It 
 is to be admitted that in the old dispensation 
 under the law there was a marked distinction, 
 and yet we read of Miriam, Deborah, Hulda 
 and Anna, on whom was bestowed the gift of 
 prophecy. 
 
 And it is a matter certainly worthy of note, 
 setting forth the wisdom of God, that in 
 choosing Moses as leader and law-giver of the 
 dispensation of type and ceremony, he 
 gave him also a higher position, in making him 
 a prophet. And in this higher bestowment, 
 even the gift of prophecy, he was pleased 
 to bestow the same honor upon Miriam, Moses' 
 sister, which indicates much as to its relation 
 to the subject we are considering, namely, 
 the equality of the sexes, as to exist in the 
 spiritual dispensation. And coming into the 
 new or spiritual dispensation we read, Acts 
 xxi:29, that Philip, the Evangelist, had four 
 daughters that did prophesy. And in Rom. 
 xvi:i-4, Paul says, I commend unto you 
 Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the 
 church which is at Cenchrea, that ye receive 
 
il8 The Riven Veil 
 
 her in the Lord as becometh saints, and assist 
 her in whatsoever business she hath need of 
 you, for she hath been a succour of many and 
 of myself also." 
 
 " Greet Priscilla and Acquilla, my helpers in 
 Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid dov/n 
 their own necks, unto whom not only I give 
 thanks but also all the churches of the 
 Gentiles." 
 
 Now Priscilla and Acquilla were both min- 
 isters, and we note that Paul in referring to 
 them speaks of Priscilla first, which indicates 
 that she was the most prominent or eminent of 
 the two (which is not an unknown condition in 
 this our day for the wife to be more gifted 
 than her husband). It was this Priscilla and 
 Acquilla that took the Evangelist, Apollos, 
 who was already mighty in the Scriptures, but 
 had only heard of the baptism of John, 
 and expounded unto him the way of the 
 Lord more perfectly. And again in Phil. iv:3, 
 Paul says, " I beseech thee also true yoke fel- 
 low, help those women which laboured with me 
 in the gospel." Does not all this show beyond a 
 question that Paul, in i Cor. and in ist Tim., 
 had no allusion to the v/ork of the ministry, or 
 to that of public testimony .' 
 
Equality of the Sexes 119 
 
 Again Paul could not have referred to public 
 preaching or witnessing, which would con- 
 trovert the demonstration made on the day of 
 Pentecost, for the Scriptures declare that 
 they were all filled (that is the 120) with the 
 Holy Ghost and began to speak with tongues 
 as the Spirit gave them utterance. Would 
 any claim, at this point, that only men were 
 assembled, or that the word all (admitting that 
 both men and women were assembled) refers 
 to the filling of the Spirit, and not also to 
 prophesying or witnessing? To which we 
 would answer: How then could Peter declare 
 to those that wondered on that occasion at the 
 demonstration of the Spirit, " This is that 
 which was spoken by the Prophet Joel, and it 
 shall come to pass in the last days saith God, 
 I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh and 
 your sons and your daughters shall prophesy," 
 unless they did prophesy ? 
 
 And again, Jesus said to His disciples, " Ye 
 shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost 
 is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses 
 unto me in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in 
 Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the 
 earth," and inasmuch as the Spirit was to be 
 
1 20 The Riven Veil 
 
 given without distinction as to sex, therefore 
 the duty of witnessing falls upon both sons and 
 daughters alike. It may be admitted that 
 Paul was somewhat biased by tradition in his 
 rulings as to woman not having the same priv- 
 ilege judiciously to ask questions and give her 
 opinions in the church, for he includes in 
 the first text referred to, " for thus sayeth 
 also the law." But when writing to the 
 Galatian church he gets beyond all bias and 
 tradition when he says, " For as many of you 
 as have been baptized into Christ have put on 
 Christ, there is neither bond nor free, there is 
 neither male nor female, for ye are all one in 
 Christ Jesus." One in interest, one in estima- 
 tion, one in work. 
 
 Not that in this equalization of the sexes 
 woman is to fill man's place, for she can- 
 not, but that she may fill her own, from which 
 she has been deprived; that both occupying 
 the places for which they are quaHfied, the 
 work may move on in the beauty of harmony 
 without distinction, or superiority one over the 
 other. 
 
 But one may ask, " Is there not to be a 
 head, and is not man the head of the woman ? " 
 
Equality of the Sexes 1 2 1 
 
 In a general sense it must be admitted that 
 man is to be first, and was first in the creation, 
 and as Paul argues in I Cor. xi:8: " For the 
 man is not of the woman, but the woman of 
 the man; neither was the man created for the 
 woman, but the woman for the man. Never- 
 theless, neither is the man without the woman, 
 neither the woman without the man in the 
 Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even 
 so is the man also by the woman." 
 
 Wherein is set forth the order of their crea- 
 tion, and the relation they bear one to the 
 other. Not that man should claim superiority 
 because of being first in the creation, which is 
 brought out by Paul's expression, " Neverthe- 
 less, neither is the man without the woman 
 (or independent of the woman)." Herein is a 
 beautiful blending of the sexes, and still a main- 
 taining of the proper order as to their creation. 
 And true manhood will not make a display of 
 authority over the woman, although he be the 
 "stronger vessel." But holding her in the 
 highest esteem, will demonstrate indeed that 
 " the woman is the glory of the man." 
 
 Neither will true womanhood endeavor to 
 usurp authority over the man, but according 
 
122 The Riven Veil 
 
 to her very nature, unless it has been distorted 
 by improper influences, will delight to confide 
 in him whom God hath placed in the order of 
 His creation as head of the woman. These 
 remarks, however, have more especial refer- 
 ence to domestic, or home life, rather than 
 matters concerning the church. Still there is 
 a propriety and an order that should be main- 
 tained, even in the church. 
 
 Not, however, as we have shown, in the 
 sense of authority or superiority, but simply 
 maintaining the position of the sexes as God 
 hath been pleased to place them. If we should 
 be asked as to leadership, which should lead, 
 we would answer both, each according to cir- 
 cumstances. Generally, however, all things 
 being equal, it would be proper for man to 
 preside. For Adam was first created, and 
 then Eve. But in many instances where both 
 sexes are represented, the proper and best 
 qualified person to lead is a woman. If any 
 one should object to our position that woman 
 has an equal right with man in the church, 
 and that she should not be recognized equally 
 and as fully in the office of the ministry, 
 presenting to confirm their positions the 
 fact that Jesus in choosing His disciples made 
 
Equality of the Sexes 123 
 
 choice only of men, we reply, this was of 
 necessity, first, inasmuch as the twelve 
 Disciples or Apostles represent the heads of 
 the twelve tribes of Israel, and secondly, while 
 Jesus was arranging for the new dispensation, 
 still He was acting under the old. But inas- 
 much as after His resurrection He was pleased 
 first to appear to a woman, placing the honor 
 upon her of being the first to bear the Gospel 
 message of a risen Saviour, it seems to us to 
 most wonderfully equalize this question, as 
 to the call to the ministry. 
 
 For while woman was not the first called to 
 discipleship, she was the first called to declare 
 the most impor^tant message that was ever 
 heralded to the world. We find then that the 
 harmony of the Scriptures declare, Paul's 
 statements being among the strongest, that 
 the gifts of the spirit, including the gift of 
 prophecy (or preaching), are bestowed indis- 
 criminately as to the sexes. 
 
 Therefore woman has an equal right to of- 
 ficiate and occupy those God-given powers as 
 freely as her brethren, and Paul in I 
 Cor. and in I Tim. is not to be understood 
 as referring to her religious duties, in connec- 
 tion with the gifts and callings of God. 
 
Denominationalism— Is IT Compatible With 
 Our Lord's Prayer For the One- 
 ness OF Believers ? 
 
 ' ' Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also 
 that shall believe on me through their word; that they 
 all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in 
 thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world 
 may believe that Thou hast sent me." Jno. xvii:2o, 21: 
 
 This subject will naturally bring up the 
 question, Denominationalism — is it conducive 
 to the best interests of the Redeemer's King- 
 dom ? In the early part of this work we made 
 allusion to the direful effect of denominational 
 ambition, a demonstration of selfishness, and 
 in connection with this statement we remark 
 that when we come to a oneness of understand- 
 ing (of course we mean in the main) as to 
 what the Scriptures really teach, we shall not 
 only be one in love but essentially one in 
 action. Here we would state before going 
 farther, lest we be misunderstood, that we 
 have no fellowship with what is generally 
 known as " Comeoutism," crying out against 
 organization and church discipline. 
 
' Denominationalisin 125 
 
 For the first is essential and the second 
 helpful, if held secondary to the Scriptures, as 
 a declaration of faith as to what we believe the 
 Scriptures teach. 
 
 But we will return to the question. Is denom- 
 inationalism conducive to the best interests 
 of the Redeemer's Kingdom ? To which we 
 answer: We fail to see that Christ in His 
 teaching gives any warrant to it whatever, but 
 on the other hand, in His last prayer He 
 prays for oneness, He prays for union, which 
 necessitates the elimination of every and all 
 influences that would divide and make distrac- 
 tion in the church. 
 
 It will be proper here to give the definition 
 of denominationalism. The term denotes 
 different sects, or organizations distinct from 
 each other, in the sense of certain doctrines 
 held, and practices observed which are not 
 held and observed by another, or in the same 
 order. Some are claimed to be essential unto 
 salvation and others not essential but com- 
 manded in the Scriptures. And it is upon 
 these differences that the denominational 
 structure rests or is builded,and is perpetuated 
 by each sect, being devoted to those doctrines 
 
1 26 The Riven Veil 
 
 peculiar to themselves. All from the same 
 Scriptures, and mostly on the same subjects. 
 
 Now if this can be called conducive to unity 
 and fellowship and concert of action, which is 
 essential to the spread of the Redeemer's King- 
 dom, we will frankly confess we do not under- 
 stand the harmony of influences. The reader 
 may already be anxious to know if we would 
 dispose at once of denominationalism, and if 
 so, how. Which we will answer later on. 
 
 First, we wish to consider some of the 
 arguments in favor of its existence or perpet- 
 uity. It is urged that by one denomination hav- 
 ing a clearer revelation of one truth than an- 
 other, that thus one side of truth is reared and 
 the second denomination is favored with an- 
 other special portion of truth, and so on, until 
 all sides are thus brought out and disseminated 
 with greater energy, because of each denom- 
 ination's specialty, which truly sounds well 
 and seems at first to be good logic, and in part 
 it is true. But when we come to consider it 
 as a whole the proposition is untenable. First, 
 if each respective denomination only advo- 
 cated truth and only endeavored to build 
 one side we would have perhaps more ground 
 
Denominationalism 127 
 
 for accepting the proposition, but we find that 
 each denomination is endeavoring to build the 
 entire structure ; hence they all endeavor to 
 build on the same side, and owing to a differ- 
 ent understanding there comes a confusion of 
 tongues. 
 
 Again, it is untenable from this standpoint: 
 if one denomination has but one side of truth, 
 th'.n it is necessarily one sided, which is not 
 the will of God, but that each person and 
 each church should possess the truth as it is 
 in Jesus. Then again, denominationalism is 
 advocated from the standpoint that one de- 
 nomination stimulates another; in other words 
 there is (as the world calls it) competition. 
 But we object to such competition. We are 
 aware that Paul said, " Covet earnestly the 
 best gifts." And we believe that every mem- 
 ber of the church should have a deep love for 
 the advancement of the Master's Kingdom, and 
 a real passion for souls, and work and pray, 
 helping to save as many as possible, but not 
 in the spirit of rivalry, which is below our high 
 calling in Christ Jesus. We object again to 
 such competition, for it fosters sectarianism, 
 which is a subtle foe to the spiritual life of 
 
128 The Riven Veil 
 
 the church, for while it may produce a quick- 
 ened energy, and a continued effort for a time, 
 yet having that virus of sefishness and pride 
 of ambition coursing through its movement, 
 sooner or later it will supplant that humble, 
 earnest, spiritual life, and while members may 
 be added to the church, and her borders be 
 much enlarged, and she may come to rejoice 
 in the works of her own hands and her de- 
 nominational prestige, exclaiming as the La- 
 odiceans did (Rev. iii:i7): " I am rich, I am in- 
 creased with goods and have need of noth- 
 ing." " I can go alone, I do not especially 
 solicit the co-operation of other denomina- 
 tions." But all such .vill certainly hearths 
 voice of the Master saying: " Thou sayest I 
 am rich, and knowest not that thou art 
 wretched and miserable, and poor and blind 
 and naked. " " I counsel thee to buy of me gold 
 tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, 
 and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, 
 and that the shame of thy nakedness do not 
 appear." 
 
 Again, while denominational ambition, or 
 competition, may have been conducive in 
 many instances, in an indirect way, to the 
 
Denominationalisfft 129 
 
 salvation of souls, yet in the main we are 
 forced to the conclusion, by the history of the 
 church that denominationalism has been the 
 great barrier to the advancement of the Re- 
 deemer's Kingdom. And who could reject the 
 statement as being overput, that had the 
 church continued of one heart and of one soul, 
 steering clear of strife and division, hence 
 heresy and worldly ambition, the dark 
 ages would have been averted, and the light of 
 the glorious Gospel would have been carried 
 and maintained to the ends of the earth, and 
 that ere this, the knowledge of the glory of God 
 would have covered the earth as the waters 
 do the sea. 
 
 Should it be stated here that denomina- 
 tional ambition springs from carnality, would 
 any one be shocked .' We so understand 
 Paul's teaching in I Cor., where he says, 
 " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you 
 as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal." For, 
 whereas, there is among you strife and divi- 
 sions (or factions) are ye not carnal .' For 
 while one saith I am of Paul and another I am 
 of ApoUos, are ye not carnal .' As an example of 
 denominational ambition or competition, as we 
 
1 30 The Riven Veil 
 
 are teaching it, take for instance a town of four 
 thousand inhabitants and some five denomina- 
 tions. One of those denominations wishing to 
 hold special meetings for the salvation of souls, 
 fully informs the other churches that they pur- 
 pose holding such services and announce to 
 that effect. But no sooner are they com- 
 menced than the word comes that the denom- 
 ination nearest them has opened special meet- 
 ings lest under the influence of the first special 
 meeting, should their membership attend and 
 assist, and should many be converted, the har- 
 vest of souls might be lodged in another gar- 
 ner than their own. And hence they must 
 look after their denominational interest, even 
 though the interest of the first work be much 
 hindered and not nearly so many be con- 
 verted. 
 
 And then, again, in another place as a de- 
 monstration of self-interest, and a disregard for 
 the cause of Christ, unless being executed by 
 a certain denomination, when one of the 
 churches are in revival services, all the rest, re- 
 gardless of the special work, hold all their 
 regular meetings with additional socials, and all 
 that may be filled in, as though they cared not 
 
Denominationalism 131 
 
 whether people were saved, unless through the 
 instrumentality of their denomination. 
 
 Which examples are not overput but have 
 occurred, and that by multiplied hundreds. 
 
 Now, if this be denominational ambition or 
 competition, and we know not what else to 
 call it, we would say the Lord deliver the 
 church from it, for it is carnal, while one saith 
 I am for one denomination, and another, I am 
 for another. 
 
 We would here refer to certain denomina- 
 tional phrases to which we object. For in- 
 stance, " I thank God I was born and raised in 
 the Quaker church " or the Methodist church or 
 the Baptist church, as the case may be. And 
 again," I am all Methodist," " lam all Quaker," 
 and so on. Now, while such expressions may 
 sound quite well, to the denomination of which 
 the person making them is a member, they can 
 not be appreciated by a person of another 
 church that may be present. But the first 
 thought that will come to one's mind will be: 
 he thinks his church better than mine, that he 
 is right and that his church is right, and my 
 church wrong, which is not conducive to 
 union and brotherly fellowship; 
 
132 The Riven Veil 
 
 We think if one should simply thank God 
 for having been raised under Christian influ- 
 ences, among those that loved and served God, 
 it would be much better than making a dis- 
 tinction as to denomination. 
 
 And then the expression Quakerism, Method- 
 ism, Presbyterianism, and so on, or, that is 
 Methodist doctrine or Quaker doctrine, as 
 though they were the founders of the doc- 
 trine referred to. If such should be the case, 
 of course it would be proper. But if it be a 
 doctrine of the Bible, it should be stated the 
 doctrine or doctrines held by Friends or any 
 other denomination, as they believe the Script- 
 ures to teach. 
 
 We will give at this point an extreme 
 instance that will show the inconsistency of 
 attaching gospel doctrine to a denomination. 
 A minister standing in a fine edifice which was 
 filled to its uttermost, referred often to 
 his particular church or denomination, (which 
 it would not be proper here to name ; we will 
 therefor insert the word denominational where 
 the name of his church was used, which will 
 serve as well.) As he became enthused 
 in eulogy, with regard to his particular denom- 
 
Denoniinationalism 133 
 
 ination, what it had accomplished, he ex- 
 clamed, " The beautiful denominational Gos- 
 pel," which expression, as we have recently ob- 
 served, may have been pleasing to the mem- 
 bership of the denomination referred to, but 
 the thought came to us as we heard it, " Are 
 we not all one bread," partakers of and advo- 
 cates of one Gospel ? 
 
 Has any denomination secured a patent on 
 truths ? Ought not the Gospel to be main- 
 tained as the Gospel of Christ, and not the 
 Gospel of any denomination ? 
 
 But to return to the arguments used in 
 favor of denomination alism. It is argued that 
 if it were not for the separate organizations or 
 denominations the church would become un- 
 wieldy and lose its efficiency. To which we 
 answer by asking: Is not the Lord omnipo- 
 tent ? and as Christ is looked to as the living 
 head of the church, is he not able to general 
 his forces ? And again we would ask, is not a 
 united force much easier to general than a dis- 
 united one ? In the great rebellion it was the 
 Union soldiers that won the day, and in the 
 mighty conflict against the enemy, when hun- 
 dreds of thousands were added to the army, were 
 
1 34 ^■^^ Riven Veil 
 
 they not as completely organized as when one- 
 half the number were called out ? They cer- 
 tainly were, and while there were companies and 
 regiments and brigades, a proclamation from 
 the president or secretary of war meant the 
 same to all of them. Their interest was one, 
 their purpose one, and that was to conquer 
 their common enemy. It was the North 
 against the South. And thus there should be 
 a concert of action against evil, the church 
 against sin, free from denominational ambi- 
 tion, denominational rivalry, and that killing, 
 dividing influence, carnality, now called secta- 
 rianism. 
 
 We are now ready to answer the questions 
 whether denominationalism should be disposed 
 of, and if so, how .' To the first question we 
 answer: If denominationalism be wrong and not 
 ordained of God, but has come in along the 
 lines of weakness and blindness and carnality, 
 which we think may be proven, then certainly 
 it should be disowned, and the church should 
 be purified from it. But before answering the 
 last question, which indeed is no small prob- 
 lem, we would state as it was in the days of 
 Paul so it has ever been since. Carnality has 
 
Denomin.^.tionalism 135 
 
 been the direct or indirect cause of divisions 
 known as factions or sects, and so following 
 the apostolic age came in teachers, not spiritual 
 but carnal, of whom Paul forewarns the 
 church and says: " For I know this, that after 
 my departure shall grievous wolves enter in 
 among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your 
 own selves shall men arise speaking perverse 
 things to draw away disciples after them, and 
 thus it was divisions and heresies, and formal- 
 ism and ritualism followed, and darkness again 
 covered the earth, and gross darkness the peo- 
 ple, a direct result of carnahty. And now as 
 to the indirect cause of denominationalism: 
 As the day of reformation dawned, here 
 and there light and truth sprang up, the 
 church not being spiritual, but carnal, and held 
 by tradition. Not embracing the revelation, 
 , and rejecting those to whom light had come 
 naturally caused a sect or denomination, as 
 such persons received a following. And thus 
 indirectly, carnality is the producing cause 
 of denominationalism. 
 
 But one might ask : If truth was not received 
 by the church then existing, necessitating an- 
 other organization or denomination, does it 
 
1 36 The Riven Veil 
 
 not establish denominationalism as right, over- 
 turning all previous arguments. To which we 
 reply: It may seem so, casually looking at it, 
 But by applying the rule that a thing may be 
 primarily wrong, and yet relatively right, we 
 shall come to the proper adjustment of this 
 subject. 
 
 Therefore we claim that primarily denomi- 
 nationalism is wrong, being the product of a 
 wrong spirit and wrong teaching. But second- 
 arily, as indirectly caused by carnality in the 
 church, relatively right as a necessity until the 
 conditions necessitating separate denomina- 
 tions may be rectified. 
 
 It is to be noted here that no true reformer 
 ever came up with an ambition to form a new 
 sect or denomination, but wished that the or- 
 ganization then existing, might come to see the 
 light and embrace it. Martin Luther would 
 never have organized, or had a denomination 
 identified or called by his name, had the Cath- 
 olic church embraced the God-given light he 
 received. George Fox coming up in the six- 
 teenth century as a reformer (and we shall not 
 do him justice unless v/e say, having the clear- 
 est and broadest conception of primitive chris- 
 
Denominationalisnt 137 
 
 tianity and apostolic doctrine of any up to his 
 day since the dark ages), did not think of start- 
 ing an organization, but his only thought was 
 to declare to the professing church and the 
 world such gospel truth as his mind had been 
 opened to see as taught in the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 But being rejected by his church, and he 
 and his followers persecuted by all, they 
 were thereby driven together and v/ere called 
 in derision by their enemies, Quakers. And 
 when organized they simply adopted the name 
 "Friends' Society," lest they should assume 
 too much, recognizing that the church had 
 already been established. But they are now 
 adopting the name of church on the ground 
 that Christ did indeed establish the church 
 upon earth, founding it upon himself, the eternal 
 truth, as declared in the Holy Scriptures, and 
 that now any band of believers taking Jesus 
 Christ and him crucified as the foundation of 
 their hope, and organized for the promotion 
 of the gospel, is properly a church and all such 
 now organized are the church, the body of 
 Christ. 
 
 And John Wesley, who followed one hun- 
 dred years later, a special servant of God, 
 
1 3 8 The Riven Veil 
 
 by whom the lethargy of a nominal church was 
 again stirred to its very foundation, ad- 
 vocated as to the new birth and holiness of 
 heart and life the same doctrines that Fox de- 
 livered, but saw the importance of more 
 method, and placed the gospel ministry as to 
 its support, upon a more Scriptural basis. And 
 while he felt he had a special message to 
 declare, namely, that to become a Christian 
 one must experience a " mighty inward 
 change," he had no ambition or thought of 
 being the founder of a new sect or denomina- 
 tion, but as we have stated, certain conditions 
 which were wrong in themselves, made it 
 necessary. 
 
 We have not mentioned these three de- 
 nominations, omitting others, out of any dis- 
 respect. Other organizations have had many 
 mighty men of God as their leaders, and 
 through them Christ hath shined. But what 
 we have endeavored to show by these exam- 
 ples is, that it was not God's intent, and he 
 did not impress his servants, that each 
 ray of light or development of truth that had 
 been hid away and veiled by tradition, as it 
 became revealed, should have separate de- 
 
Denominationalism 1 39 
 
 nominations to disseminate it to the world, but 
 should enlighten those already existing. 
 
 However, God condescends to man's weak- 
 ness and does the best He can for us amid 
 our infirmities, which one will be impressed 
 with when he considers the history of the 
 church, and the development of light or truth 
 through her. For we find that as one denomina- 
 tion (that had become such, because of a cer- 
 tain revelation of truth embraced, that had not 
 been previously taught or believed,) had 
 other truth revealed to some within its 
 own borders, such truth has been rejected, 
 and the result has been another division or de- 
 nomination. And so it has been in the reinstat- 
 ing of truth, until over one hundred and fifty 
 denominations or sects exist; and when shall 
 the end be .' Our last thought may seem to 
 be without hope, but not so, for the prayer of 
 our Saviour shall yet be answered, although 
 He hath already waited long, for the coming 
 together of all his people in all denominations 
 to a oneness and union free from all elements 
 and influences that go to make up denomina- 
 tional distinctions. 
 
 This brings us to our last problem or ques- 
 
I40 The Riven Veil 
 
 tion: If denominationalism is to be removed, 
 by what process ? The question may be asked : 
 Should all denominations select the theology 
 of one and adopt it ? To which we answer, 
 No. Should all denominations at once dis- 
 card doctrines peculiar to themselves ? Again 
 we answer in the negative. Should all organ- 
 izations disband and reorganize in one "i This 
 would be impossible. By what process, then, 
 can it be accomplished 1 Will the reader be 
 surprised if we state that the process is already 
 at work and has accomplished much 1 Should 
 we be asked what are the principal forces or 
 elements that are effective in the elimination 
 of denominationalism, we would answer, that 
 of light and love. But the question might be 
 asked again. Has not light been referred to as 
 one of the moving principles in the establish- 
 ment of different organizations } Indeed ; but 
 it has been referred to as giving an opportun- 
 ity, and carnality embraced it, and thus caused 
 truth to be restrained, or to run in denomina- 
 tional channels, until these denominations 
 would all but impress one that truth had 
 originated with them, while it is as eternal as 
 God. And thus truth has been made use of 
 
Denominationalism 141 
 
 for denominational advantage. Our thought 
 might be illustrated by the irrigating system. 
 As though one should monopolize the entire 
 water supply for their personal benefit! But 
 the flood gates are being lifted, of light and 
 love, and God will send wave after wave over 
 his church universal. 
 
 Therefore we answer: Let the organized sys- 
 tems remain, but let them be purified from all 
 that constitutes denominationalism, by all 
 waiting upon God, and continuing to pray, 
 " Open thou mine eyes that I may see won- 
 drous things out of thy law." "Baptize me 
 with the Holy Spirit, the baptism of love," 
 and as the church (we speak of the Church 
 Universal), thus prays in faith, feeling the 
 need of wisdom, it will be given Her, and 
 the light that is now shining from Christ 
 through the Scriptures upon theology, shall 
 become intensified by prayer and conse- 
 cration penetrating between truth and er- 
 ror, with the element of love that not only 
 makes twain one flesh, but as we receive 
 the fulness thereof in the baptism with the 
 Holy Ghost, makes of one heart, as de- 
 clared of the infant church, after the Holy 
 
142 The Riven Veil 
 
 Ghost was poured out upon them. For it is 
 stated: " And the number of them that be- 
 Heved were of one heart and of one soul." 
 Then shall the church come back to its normal 
 condition of holiness, of union and of fellow- 
 ship. Then shall the problem as to the elim- 
 ination of all denominationalism have been 
 demonstrated, the church recognizing only 
 Jesus Christ and him crucified, but now risen, 
 their glorified head, their prophet, priest and 
 king. One book, one doctrine; all speaking 
 the same thing without divisions, not having 
 dividing theories, but " perfectly joined to- 
 gether in the same mind and in the same judg- 
 ment." 
 
 Of whom the question would be appropri- 
 ate: " Who is she that looketh forth as the 
 morning, clear as the sun, fair as the moon, 
 and terrible as an army with banners?" Even 
 the United Church of Him that holdeth the 
 seven stars in his right hand, and walketh in 
 the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. 
 And one unbroken chorus of voices not of 
 angels but of those that have been redeemed 
 hear we saying: Grace be unto you and peace 
 from Him which is and which was and which 
 
Denominationalistn 143 
 
 is to come, " and from Jesus Christ the faithful 
 witness unto Him that loved us and washed us 
 from our sins in His own blood," by whom we 
 have received the baptism with the spirit that ' 
 hath baptized us all into one body, in which 
 we know no distinction as to denominational - 
 ism, or sex, or nationalities, but are all one in 
 Christ Jesus, blended together in the love of 
 God, of Christ and of the Spirit. Such was 
 the faith once delivered unto the saints; such 
 is the standard delivered by Paul; and such 
 must be the condition when the Master's prayer 
 is answered, where he says, " Neither pray I 
 for these alone, but for them also that shall 
 believe on me through their word, that they 
 all may be one " ; which prayer is being ful- 
 filled, and shall be completed when the sun 
 shall have reached its zenith in the spiritual 
 archway of heaven, shedding forth in the glory 
 of its strength, light and love. Then will the 
 church be adorned as a bride for her husband, 
 and in the fulness of time the Lord shall come 
 and take her unto Himself, and will present 
 her unto the Father a most glorious church, 
 not having spot or wrinkle or any such things 
 Even so come Lord Jesus.