Class P)X UN fi.) 7. They creed-bind the Bible. — 'The word of God is walled in with these books and pamphlets." (Volume V., page 666.) 8. They creed-bind the believer. — "The Lord has walled you about with light, but you have not appreciated the light; you have trampled upon it." (Volume V., page 666.) 9. They are silly. — "If you lose confidence in the testimonies, you will drift away from Bible truth." (Volume V., page 98.) 10. They are a nuisance. — "They think the tes- timony of the Spirit of God is reproof uncalled for, or that it does not mean them." (Volume V. f page 67 J>.) 11. They contradict the Bible. — "In ancient times God spoke to men by the mouth of prophets r.nd apostles. In these days he speaks to them by the testimonies of the Spirit." (Volume IV., rage 11*8.) Adventism and the Bible. 49 The Spirit of the Testimonies. 1. They chill their readers. — "Many of our peo- ple are lukewarm. They occupy the position of Meroz — neither for nor against, neither cold nor hot." {Volume V., page 76.) 2. They are sarcastic and bitter. — "Some of the brethren have taken the responsibility of criticizing my work and proposing easier ways to correct wrongs. To these persons I would say : I take God's way, not yours. I repeat, I do not accept your efforts.'' {Volume V., page 677.) 3. They are an incubator of the critical atti- tude. — "It has been urged that my manner of giving reproof in public has led others to be sharp and critical and severe. If so, they must settle that matter with the Lord." {Volume V., page 677.) 4. They neutralize Bible light. — "I have been shown that unbelief in the testimonies of warn- ing, encouragement, and reproof is shutting away the light from God's people." {Volume III., page 255.) 5. They create war among members. — "The searching testimony of the Spirit of God will sep- arate those from Israel who have ever been at war with the means that God has ordained to keep corruption out of the church." {Volume III., page 323.) 6. They make one individual a judge over all others. — "If I have erred anywhere, it is in re- buking sin more firmly." {Volume V ., page 677.) 4 50 Adventism and the Bible. The Fruits of the Testimonies. 1. Hatred. — "Many have despised the faithful reproof given of God in testimony. I have been shown that some in these days have even gone so far as to burn the written words of rebuke and warning." {Volume V., page 678.) 2. Apostasy.— "Unless you make a thorough change, you will, not far hence, become weary of reproof, as did the children of Israel; and, like them, you will apostatize from God/' {Volume IV., page 332.) 3. Division. — "Differences of opinion are con- stantly arising, and apostasies are constantly af- flicting the church." {Volume V., page 668.) 4. Doubt and infidelity. — "If these persons do not humble their hearts before God, if they har- bor the suggestion of Satan, doubt and infidelity will take possession of the soul, and they will see everything in a false light." {Volume V., page 690.) 5. Spiritual blindness. — "They will come to mistrust and disbelieve truths which are plain and full of beauty to others who have not edu- cated themselves in unbelief." {Volume V ., page 590.) 6. Stubbornness. — "These self-confident ones, determined to have their own way and to advo- cate their own ideas, will go on from bad to worse, until they will pursue any course rather than to surrender their own will." {Volume V., page 671.) 7. Hypocrisy. — "Some preachers are far be- Adventism and the Bible. 51 hind. They have had repeated testimonies which they have utterly disregarded." (Volume V '., page 669.) 8. Combativeness. — "They talked flippantly of the testimonies, and passed judgment upon them, giving their opinion, and criticizing this and that." (Volume IV., page UUS.) 9. Unbelief. — "Some express their views that the writings of Sister White cannot be reliable." (Volume V., page 673.) I have arranged this list of quotations with the hope that the list would speak for itself. Evi- dently here is food for thought. The spirit of Adventism is easily read in these quotations. The dominance of Mrs. White stands out prom- inently. The extreme prominence of the testimo- nies themselves is revealed. The testimonies are a supplement to the Bible; they creed-bind the believer, and they insist that Adventists must lose their own individualities in Mrs. White. W. C. White, one of her sons, in an address at the General Conference, held in Washington, D. C, 1913, made the following statement, with which we close this chapter : "I have known of messages of warning being sent to these men [officials in the Adventist ranks]. I have seen them read reproofs to themselves regarding the popular and accepted policies for the conduct of the work, and I have known the struggle it cost them to act upon the counsel given. I have knelt with them in prayer, and have heard their humble pleadings for grace to give up their WILL and way and for strength and wisdom to fol- low the course marked out for them." {General Confer- ence Bulletin, June 2, 1913.) CHAPTER VIII. Why "Great Controversy" Was Revised. During a question-and-answer meeting at Keene, Texas, 1910, which was being conducted by A. G. Daniels, president of the General Con- ference of Seventh-Day Adventists, some one asked why "The Great Controversy" had been re- vised. Daniels stated that Mrs. White, in the old edition, made a number of statements which his- torians have been unable to verify, with only their human records; and, therefore, to keep down questions, she and her publishers thought best that those statements be removed from the book. I was at school in the college at Keene at that time, and was in the audience and heard this statement. Naturally, I was curious to know in what particulars Mrs. White had (to use a com- mon expression) "put one over" on the histo- rians ; and at. my leisure following the conference I made a number of comparisons of the text of the new edition with that of the old, and I record a few of my findings as follows : I. "After the Romans had surrounded the city, they un- expectedly withdrew their forces, at a time when every- thing seemed favorable for an immediate attack." (Old Edition, page 32.) Adventism and the Bible. 53 "After the Romans under Cestius had surrounded the city, they unexpectedly abandoned the siege, when every- thing seemed favorable for an immediate attack." (Re- vised, page 30.) Note the effect of the addition of "under Ces- tius." Note the difference between "withdrew'' and "abandoned." "Cestius," the Roman general, is not to be found in the old edition. Compare the following quotations with the ones just given: II. "Terrible were the calamities which fell upon Jerusa- lem in the siege of the city by Titus." (Old Edition, page 32.) "Terrible were the calamities that fell upon Jerusalem when, the siege was resumed by Titus." (Revised, page 31.) In the revised edition it is clear that Cestius opened the attack on Jerusalem and then aban- doned the siege. This makes it possible for an- other general (Titus) to open another siege, which is entirely different from the one under- taken by Cestius. In the old edition Titus con- ducted all the sieges, did all the withdrawing, abandoning, and all the re-sieging of the city. After the- old edition was published, it is clear that Mrs. White read some other author on the fall of Jerusalem besides Josephus, and that that other author told her about Cestius and his work. This was news, and she put Cestius into the sieg- ing also. 54 Adventism and the Bible. III. "A few years after the issue of Constantine's decree, the bishop of Rome conferred on Sunday the title of Lord's day." (Old Edition, page 55.) Omitted in the revised edition. This is an ideal piece of forgery. Mrs. White was misled, however, by J. N. Andrews, the Sab- bath historian, in making this statement. IV. "Here the youth received instruction. The Bible was their textbook. They studied and committed to memory the words of Holy Writ." (Old Edition, page 73.) "From their pastors the youth received instruction. While attention was given to branches of general learn- ing, the Bible was made the chief study." (Revised, page 68.) This was written of the Waldenses. When Mrs. White wrote the statement in the old edi- tion, Adventists had no schools; but at the time of the revision of the "Great Controversy," Ad- ventists had begun to formulate something like a literary system, and, consequently, their educa- tors had read something of the Waldenses them- selves. Through some turn or other Mrs. White learned that her former statement about the Bi- ble being their textbook was not at all true. So she graciously made the change. That's all. V. "For three days the butchery went on; more than thirty thousand perished." (Old Edition, page 191.) Adventism and the Bible. 55 "For seven days the massacre was continued in Paris. . . . Seventy thousand of the , very flower of the na- tion perished." {Revised, page 272.) Imagine Daniel revising Dan. 9 : 24 so as to make it read "thirty weeks are determined upon thy people" instead of "seventy weeks," as it now stands ; and imagine John on Patmos revising the thirteenth chapter of the Apocalypse so as to make it read "three heads and ten horns" instead of "seven heads and ten horns," as it now stands. If you can imagine such a thing, then you can un- derstand the foregoing quotations without confu- sion. VI. "When the churches rejected the counsel of God by re- jecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them." {Old Edition, page 232.) "God looks down upon these apostate bodies and de- clares them daughters of a harlot." {Old Edition, page 324.) Both quotations omitted in the revised edition. VII. Chapter X., old edition. A three-page speech by Satan is omitted entirely in the revised edi- tion. VIII. "Though originally a heathen statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of the Chris- tian religion." {Old Edition, page 391.) "Though virtually a heathen statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of Christian- ity." {Revised, page 574.) She here speaks of Constantine's statute, mak- 56 Adventism and the Bible. ing the first day of the week, which was being observed in honor of Christ by his followers, a legal holiday throughout the empire. In the old edition she declared that this statute was "orig- inally" a heathen statute ; in the new it is "virtu- ally" a heathen statute. A wonderful difference ! IX. "In the last conflict the Sabbath will become the spe- cial point of controversy throughout all Christendom." (Old Edition, page -4-4-4.) "The Sabbath has become the special point of contro- versy throughout Christendom." {New Edition, page 615.) She is here speaking of "The Time of Trou- ble," this being the heading of the chapters in the two books, respectively, from which these state- ments are taken. This "time of trouble" begins "when the third angel's message closes." {Old Edition, page US1; Revised, page 613.) For years Mrs. White and her followers had been preaching that in "the last conflict" the Sabbath would become the special point of con- troversy. Such a statement, of course, naturally tended to put the time of trouble off a few years in the future. But by inserting "has become" for "will become" in the quotation just given, this fault is remedied. But this got her into a greater predicament. The "last conflict" is not to open until "the third angel's message closes." This she states herself. But when "the third angel's message closes," then the door of mercy also Adventism and the Bible. 57 closes. Since, therefore, the Sabbath "has be- come" the special point of controversy through- out Christendom, and since it was not to become the special point of controversy until "the time of trouble," and since the "time of trouble" was not to begin until the door of mercy closed, it fol- lows that the door of mercy has closed ! X. "In the lives of all those who reject truth there are mo- ments when conscience awakens, when memory presents the torturing recollection of a life of hypocrisy, and the soul is harassed with vain regrets." (Revised Edition, page 6H.) In the same edition we find the following: "Familiarity with sin will inevitably cause it to appear less repulsive." {Page 509.) Reader, allow yourself to stop and figure out how Mrs. White knew these solemn truths. She claimed to have lived a life free from hypocrisy from her childhood. When did she learn, there- fore, that "familiarity with sin" finally causes it to appear less repulsive? Likewise, when did she learn that there are moments in the lives of all of us "who reject truth" when "conscience awak- ens?" How did she know that "memory pre- sents the torturing recollection of a life of hypoc- risy?" How did she know that at such times "the soul is harassed with vain regrets?" No one can make a statement like either of these unless one of two things is so — (1) he must 58 Adventism and the Bible. either copy it from some one else who learned by experience and told his experience, or (2) he must be speaking out of his own individual expe- rience. There is something in these two quotations that seems awfully human to me. There is not that clanging emptiness in them that is always in evi- dence in the words of those who have not felt what they are trying to say. These are not plat- itudes ; they are heartbeats. CHAPTER IX. The Source of Mrs. White's Inspiration. It is well known that Mrs. White's stock con- tention was that she received her messages straight from the Holy Spirit. In the "Preface" of the Ninth Edition of "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan," published in 1887, are these words from her pub- lishers : "We believe the writer has received the illumination of the Holy Spirit in preparing these pages." "From her childhood she was noted for her reverence and devotion and her love for the word of God." "We believe that no one who knows what it is to hold communion with the Heavenly Father will fail to realize that the writer of these pages has drawn from the heavenly fountain and received help from the sanctuary." In the revised edition of the same book we make the following quotation from her own "Preface:" "Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the scenes of the long conflict between good and evil have been opened to the writer of these pages. From time to time I have been permitted to behold the working, in dif- ferent ages, of the great controversy between Christ, the Prince of Life and Author of Salvation, and Satan, the prince of evil." We give these quotations to show that both she 60 Adventism and the Bible. and the publishers of the book make positive statements to the effect that they believe that what she wrote in the book had been received di- rectly from heaven. Neither the publishers nor Mrs. White, however, ever challenged any one to investigate the wording of the volume with the thought in mind of determining just how much, if any, she had taken from published works of her time that deal with the subjects discussed in her books. It is our purpose in this chapter to show that Mrs. White was a very imposing plagiarist, and, being so, that she received her revelations from the authors whom she paraphrased. The following pages will suggest from what sources Mrs. White obtained the material she worked into the book, "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan." Mrs. White Copies D'Aubigne. D'Aubigne's "History of "The Great Controversy the Reformation," Between Christ and Book IV., Chap- Satan," Revised ter 2. Edition. The church had never Everywhere was such a witnessed such hungering hungering and thirsting and thirsting after right- after righteousness as had eousness since the primi- not been known for ages, tive ages. (Page 133.) The people's attachments The people were daily to the Romish superstitions losing confidence in the su- diminished day by day. perstitions of Romanism. {Page 133.) That great city, drunk That corrupt city, al- with the blood of the saints ready drunk with the blood and the martyrs of Jesus. of the martyrs of Jesus. (Page 133.) Adventism and the Bible. 61 Note how carefully she pares out the word "saints" from D'Aubigne's quotation. Advent- ists do not make use of the word "saints" in this manner. He will not go and con- ceal himself in the obscuri- ty of a convent; . . . he will remain faithful on that stormy scene where the hand of God had placed him. "I am like Jeremiah," said Luther at the time of which we are speaking — "a man of strife and con- tention," etc. Serra Longa had not long quitted the doctor when the safe conduct ar- rived. Luther's friends had obtained it from the imperial councilors. But he would not leave the position where God had placed him. He must con- tinue faithfully to minis- ter the truth, notwith- standing the storms that were beating upon him. {Page 134.) His language was: "I am like Jeremiah — a man of strife and contention," etc. (Page 134.) The reformer had failed to provide himself with a safe conduct. His friends urged him not to appear before the legate without one, and they themselves undertook to procure it from the emperor. {Page 135.) Mrs. White Copies Wylie. Wylie's "History of the Waldenses." The bull invited all Cath- olics to take up the cross against the heretics. (Page 28.) It was an old law among them that all who took or- ders in their church should, before being eligible to a home charge, serve three years in the mission field. (Page 15.) "The Great Contro- versy." The bull invited all Cath- olics to take up the cross against heretics. (Old Edi- tion, page 88; Revised, page 77.) It was a law among them that all who entered the ministry should, after taking charge of a church at home, serve three years in a mission field. (Old, page 76; Revised, page 76.) 62 Adventism and the Bible. They went forth two and two, concealing their real character under the guise of a secular profession — most commonly that of merchants or peddlers. (Page 16.) They took care to carry with them . . . portions of the word of God, . . . and to this they would draw the attention of the inmates. {Page 16.) ". . . going forth two and two, . . . therefore they concealed their real character under the guise of some secular profes- sion — most commonly that of merchants or peddlers. {Old, page 76; Revised, page 76.) They carried about with them portions of the Holy Scriptures; . . . and whenever they could do so with safety, they called at- tention of the inmates . . . to these. (Old, page 76.) Mrs. White Copies Conybeare & Howson. "Life and Epistles of Paul," by Conybeare & Howson. Though moved with grief and indignation when he saw the idolatry all around him, we are taught that the subjects to which our attention is to be turned are connected, not with Juda- ism, but with paganism. (Page 312.) It was a religion which ministered to art and amusement and was en- tirely destitute of moral power. It gave him [the possessor] no victory over himself. A religion which addresses itself only to the taste is as weak as one that appeals only to the intel- lect. And thus all his [the Athenian's] life long, in the midst of everything to gratify his taste and exer- cise his intellect, he re- mained in ignorance of God. (Page 8U.) " Redemption ; or, The Teaching of Paul," by Mrs. White. Grieved and indignant at the idolatry everywhere visible about him, etc., . . . the principal work of Paul in that city was to deal with paganism. (Page 5 If.) The religion of the Athenian, of which they made great boast, was of no value; for it was desti- tute of the knowledge of the true God. It consisted, in part, of art worship. Genuine religion gives men the victory over themselves, but a religion of dry intellect and taste is lacking in the essential qualities to raise the pos- sessor above the evils of his nature. . . . The great Ruler of the universe was un- known to them. (Page 5U>) Adventism and the Bible. 63 The ability which she brings into play in her paraphrasing is evidence that she was an expert at the job; and the fact that she was an expert at the job is evidence that she had long been at it. Note the turn she gives her author's statement that the religion of the Athenian "gave him no victory over himself." This she takes and makes it say: "Genuine religion gives men the victory over themselves." It was a large mercan- tile city, in immediate con- nection with Rome. . . . The gospel, once estab- lished in Corinth, would spread everywhere. Claudius drove the Jews from Rome because they were incessantly raising tu- mults. Among the Jews who had been banished from Rome by Claudius and had settled for a time at Corinth were two na- tives of Pontus, whose names were Aquila and P r i s c i 1 1 a. (Pages 386, 387.) It was a large mercan- tile city, closely connected with Rome. Paul saw that if the gospel could be es- tablished there it would be rapidly communicated to all parts of the world. The Jews who had been recently banished from Rome because of their con- tinual insurrections had taken up their residence at Corinth. Among this class was Aquila and Priscilla. {Page 61.) Mrs. White Copies Josephus. "The Wars of the Jews," by Flavius Josephus. There was a star resem- bling a sword which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year. (Book VI., Chapter V., Paragraph 3.) "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Sa- tan," Old Edition. A comet, resembling a flaming sword, for a year hung over the city. (Page 31.) 64 Adventism and the Bible. A light shone round the altar and the holy house. (lb.) Before sunsetting, char- iots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about in the clouds. (lb.) As the priests were go- ing by night into the inner temple, they heard a sound as of a multitude, saying: "Let us remove hence." (lb.) The eastern gate of the inner court, which was of brass and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. (lb.) There was one Jesus, who, four years before the war began, began on a sudden to cry aloud: "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bride- grooms and the brides, and a voice against the whole people." (lb.) An unnatural light was seen hovering over the temple. (lb.) Upon the clouds were pictured chariots muster- ing for battle. (lb.) Mysterious voices in the temple court uttered the warning words: "Let us depart hence." (lb.) The eastern gate of the inner court, which was of brass and so heavy that it was with difficulty shut by a score of men, and having bolts fastened deep into the firm pavement, was seen at midnight to be opened of its own accord. (lb.) For seven years a man continued to go up and down the streets of Jerusa- lem, declaring the woes that were to come upon the city. By day and by night he chanted the wild dirge: "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice from Jerusalem and the temple, a voice against the bridegroom and the bride, and a voice against all the people." (Page 82.) Adventism and the Bible. 65 This strange being was imprisoned and scourged, but no complaint escaped his lips. {Page 32.) Certain of the most emi- nent among the populace had great indignation at this dire cry of his, and gave him a number of se- vere stripes; yet did he not say anything for himself or anything peculiar to those that chastised him. (lb.) Mrs. White Copies J. N. Andrews. "History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week," by J. N. Andrews. The opening of the sixth century witnessed the de- velopment of the great apostasy to such an extent that the man of sin might be plainly seen sitting in the temple of God. In the early part of this century the bishop of Rome was made head over the entire church. (Page 37.) The dragon gave unto the beast his power and his seat and great authority. From this accession to su- premacy by the Roman pontiff date the "times, times, and the dividing of times," or 1,260 years, of the prophecies of Daniel and John. {Page 371.) The true people of God now retired for safety into places of obscurity and se- clusion, as represented by the prophecy: "The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place pre- pared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days." (Page 371.) "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Sa- tan," Old Edition, by Mrs. E. G. White. In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established, its seat of power was fixed in the im- perial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared to be head over the entire church. (Page 57.) The dragon had given to the beast "his power and his seat and great author- ity;" and now began the 1,260 years of papal op- pression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and John. (Page 57.) For hundreds of years the church of Christ found refuge in seclusion and ob- scurity. Thus says the prophet: "The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three- score days." (Page 58.) 66 Adventism and the Bible. With the accession of the Roman bishop to suprem- acy began the Dark Ages; and as he increased in strength, the gloom of darkness settled with in- creasing intensity upon the world. {Page 400.) The accession of the Ro- man Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the dark- ness deepened. (Page 58.) Mrs. White Copies Silvester Bliss. "Life of William Miller," by Silvester Bliss, Revised by James White. He laid aside all com- mentaries and used the marginal references and his concordance as his only helps. He resolved to lay aside all preconceived opin- ions. (Page 47.) I determined to pursue its study in a regular and methodical manner. I com- menced at Genesis and read verse by verse, pro- ceeding no faster than the meaning of the several pas- sages should be so unfolded as to leave me free from embarrassment. (lb.) Whenever I found any- thing obscure, it was my practice to compare it with all collateral passages; and, by the help of Cru- den, I examined all the texts of scripture in which were found any of the prominent words contained in the obscure portion. (Pages 47-49.) "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Sa- tan," by Mrs. White, Revised Edition. Endeavoring to lay aside all preconceived opinions and dispensing with com- mentaries, he compared scripture with scripture by the aid of the marginal ref- erences and the concord- ance. (Page 820.) He pursued his study in a regular and methodical manner. Beginning with Genesis and reading verse by verse, he proceeded no faster than the meaning of the several passages so un- folded as to leave him free from all embarrassment. (Page 320.) When he found anything obscure, it was his custom to compare it with every other text which seemed to have any reference to the matter under considera- tion. Every word was per- mitted to have its proper bearing upon the subject of the text; and if his view of it harmonized with every collateral passage, it ceased to be a difficulty. (Page 320.) Adventism and the Bible. 67 Repudiated. In the revised "Great Controversy" the pub- lishers have omitted the quotation made from their "Preface" to the old edition, found in the third paragraph of this chapter. Thus they withdrew their indorsement of Mrs. White's claims of having received the material for her books from "the illumination of the Holy Spirit." CHAPTER X. Her Prophecies. The reader may be inclined to ask : "What about Mrs. White's prophecies? Does she make any, and do they come true?" We answer: No. A few of her misstatements of the future are as follows : 1. Time almost finished. — "Some are looking too far off for the coming of the Lord. Time has continued a few years longer than they expected ; therefore they think it may continue a few years more." {"Early Writings," Revised, page 58.) This was published in 1851. She was mistaken regarding the shortness of time in this instance — or, rather, the longness of time. 2. Time almost finished. — "Time can last but a very little longer." {"Early Writings," Revised, page 58.) 3. Time almost finished. — "In a view given June 27, 1850, my accompanying angel said: Time is almost finished/ " {"Early Writings," Revised, page 6U>) Something was wrong with that angel ! 4. Christ soon coming. — "Christ is soon com- ing." {"Early Writings," Revised, page 11.) "His speedy coming." {Page 113.) "The short- ness of time." {Page 120.) "Time is almost Adventism and the Bible. 69 finished." {Page 67.) "A few short months." ("Testimonies," Volume I., page 186.) 5. A conference. — "I was shown the company represented at the conference. Said the angel: 'Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Christ." ("Testimonies," Volume I., page 131.) That was in 1856. The youngest one at that conference who is still living is about eighty years of age. Something must happen right away if this prophecy is to come true. 6. The Civil War. — "Thousands have been in- duced to enlist with the understanding that this was to exterminate slavery; but now that they are fixed, they find that they have been deceived." ("Testimonies," Volume I., page 25U.) But they had not been deceived. Mrs. White was mistaken. This was written during the Civil War. 7. The Civil War. — "If we succeed in quelling this rebellion, what has been gained? They can only answer discouragingly : 'Nothing/ That which caused the rebellion is not removed. The system of slavery which has ruined our nation is left to live and stir up another rebellion." ("Tes- timonies " Volume I., page 255.) Was slavery "removed?" Was slavery "left to live?" Had the soldiers been "deceived?" 8. The Civil War.— "When England does de- clare war, all nations will have an interest of their own to serve, and there will be general war, 70 Adventism and the Bible. general confusion. " ("Testimonies," Volume I., page 259.) England built the "Alabama" for the Confed- eracy. This led many to conclude that England was preparing to take sides with the South. This is what Mrs. White is alluding to. She was of that opinion also. 9. The Civil War. — "Had our nation remained united, it would have had strength; but, divided, it must fall." ("Testimonies," Volume I., page 260.) "Our nation" has evidently fallen uphill! 10. The San Francisco earthquake. — "While in Loma Linda, Cal., April 16, 1906, there passed before me a most wonderful representation. During the vision of the night I stood on an emi- nence, from which I could see houses shaken like a reed in the wind. Buildings, great and small, were falling to the ground. Pleasure resorts, the- aters, hotels, and the homes of the wealthy were shaken and shattered. . . . The following day I pondered the scenes that had passed before me and the instruction that had been given. . . . On April 18, two days after the scene of falling buildings had passed before me, I went to fill an appointment in the Car Street Church, Los Angeles. As we neared the church, we heard the newsboys crying: 'San Francisco destroyed in an earthquake!'" ("Testimonies," Volume IX., pages 92-9 U.) She here claims that she saw all this in a dream during the night of April 16. The next day, in- Adventism and the Bible. 71 stead of telling it, she states positively that she "pondered" it. Then on April 18 she went to Los Angeles, yet up to this time never having spoken a word to a single soul of the "most wonderful representation" which had passed before her two days previously. About the first of June the fore- going quotation was published in the Advent Re- view and Sabbath Herald. Thus six weeks after the event happened she wrote about it. Why did she not write about it six weeks or one week or one day before it happened? 11. Battle Creek burned. — When the Advent headquarters at Battle Creek, a few years ago, burned down, the next day Mrs. White sent a tel- egram to the authorities there, and later pub- lished the same in her "Testimonies," that for months she had seen an angel with a flaming sword standing over Battle Creek, threatening it with destruction by fire. Yet not once during all these weeks did she ever write a line or speak a sentence of this awful omen thus presenting it- self. CHAPTER XL The Law. From the State camp meeting — held at Dallas, Texas, 1911 — I was sent to Gober, Texas, to hold a meeting. Clifford Taylor and his wife were sent along as my assistants — and they were good ones. The meeting lasted for six weeks, and about forty people were leaning toward Advent- ism at its close. The three churches in Gober (Methodist, Bap- tist, and Christian) challenged for a debate. I have never known how to run ; so I accepted. H. L. Pirtle, an experienced debater of the Meth- odist Church, was chosen for the contest, and the three churches backed him. . The debate lasted eight days — September 8-18. At the close of the debate the Christian people were not satisfied, and they challenged for an- other debate. They sent for Joe S. Warlick, champion debater of the Christian faith in Texas, and the Adventists sent for W. A. McCutchen, president of the Texas Conference of Seventh- Day Adventists. This second debate was held in Gober in November. I was teaching school near Santa Anna, Texas, and returned to Gober to witness the debate. McCutchen's throat gave way, and the debate frazzled out at the ends. Adventism in Gober Adventism and the Bible. 73 also frazzled out at the ends. McCutchen was scheduled to meet Warlick at Cash and Angelina, Texas, in two contests in the spring of 1912 ; but he saw at this debate that his throat would not allow him to engage in another such wrangle. So he and Elder Hopkins called me to McCutchen's room during the debate with Warlick, and Mc- Cutchen told me to go back to Santa Anna and to prepare to meet Warlick myself the next spring at these two places. I knew the issue. The contest would center about "the law." "The law," with an Adventist, means the Ten Commandments. But "the law," with Warlick and his people, meant the entire legal system of the Old Testament, commonly ex- pressed in the first five books of Moses — the Pen- tateuch. I took my concordance and tabulated every pas- sage in the Old Testament that in any way refers to "the law." I then read the entire New Testa- ment through and tabulated on the fly leaves of my Bible every passage in the New Testament that refers to "the law." Then I began eliminating and cataloguing. I was hunting for truth — the truth on the question of "the law." But I will confess here and now that one thing trumped me: there was not one text in all the Bible that referred to the Ten Com- mandments as (i the law." I made out a number of catalogues of my findings and sent them to Mc- Cutchen for assistance. The weight of the argu- ment was certainly with Warlick. Mind you, I 74 Adventism and the Bible. was not reading Advent literature ; I was reading the Bible. McCutchen sent my findings to Elder Hopkins, who had moderated for me during the debate with Pirtle. Hopkins is yet one of the leading Advent preachers of Texas. Hopkins sent them to Will- iam Cubley, another Texas minister among them. And they all wrote me letters — McCutchen, Hop- kins, and Cubley — and each warned that I be careful; that I was slipping, etc. Hopkins said a whole lot about "Sister White," and Cubley said I was on the trail that every one had followed who had left "the truth." But that mattered little with me. The study and the correspondence were continued. Mc- Cutchen wrote me that it was impossible for me to meet Warlick with my newly developed views. I was really up in the air. In April, 1912, the Union Conference was held at Keene; and McCutchen asked me to tabulate my difficulties and bring them to the conference. I did — stenciled them on charts measuring twenty-two by twenty-seven inches. There were a half dozen of these charts. During the confer- ence he arranged for a meeting with me. Thir- teen of the Texas ministers and Elders A. G. Dan- iels, president of the General Conference of Sev- enth-Day Adventists, also G. B. Thompson, the submarine chaser of the movement, were with me in a room in the basement of the large church at Keene. Elder McCutchen asked me to outline my difficulties. I hung up my charts and outlined Adventism and the Bible. 75 what I had found. Elder Daniels had been com- missioned to answer me. Daniels, the meanwhile, busied himself by walking up and down the room with his hands under the tail of his Prince Albert coat, and in nicely popping the same at inter- vals. After I finished, Daniels stopped and said: "My dear young brother, have you not learned so little as yet as to know that the expression 'the law,' as it commonly occurs in the Bible, often re- fers to the first five books of the Bible, the law of Moses, commonly known as the Pentateuch ?" I said: "Elder, if you will hold your foot on that proposition for about a minute, we will con- vince every one of these preachers right here and now." McCutchen spoke up and said: "Why, Elder Daniels, that is the very point he has been con- tending for — that 'the law' is a term that includes the entire Pentateuch, and not just the Ten Com- mandments." Daniels turned sharply on his heel and said: "Well, of course, you understand, brethren, when I say the expression 'the law' means the Penta- teuch, you understand I mean in a secondary sense." And there the meeting came to an end. In the remainder of this chapter the reader will find the charts that were presented to those fif- teen brethren on the occasion referred to. To an Adventist "the law" means the Ten Com- mandments, unless the context speaks of ceremo- 76 Adventism and the Bible. nies or as the law having passed away, then it means "the law of Moses." The Two Laws. We read of the "two covenants." (Gal. 4: 24.) We read of the "two witnesses." (Rev. 11: 13.) We read of the "two olive trees." (Zech. 4:3.) We read of the "first Adam" and of the "second Adam;" but nowhere do we read of the two laws! Furthermore. We read nothing of a "temporal law." We read nothing of an "eternal law." We read nothing of a "moral law." We read nothing of a "ceremonial law." Moses spoke only of "the law." The prophets spoke only of "the law." Our Lord spoke only of "the law." Paul wrote only of "the law." "The law" is found fifty-one times in the book of Ro- mans and twenty-nine times in the book of Galatians, but "the laws" not once in all the Bible. Some Law Titles. The law. (John 1: 17.) The law of the Lord. (Luke 2: 24.) The law of God. (Neh. 10: 29.) The law of Moses. (Acts 15: 5.) The law of the God of heaven. (Ez. 7: 6.) The law of thy God. (Ez. 7: 14.) The book of the law. (Neh. 8:3.) The book of Moses. (Neh. 13: 1.) The book of the covenant. (2 Kings 23: 2.) The book of the law of God. (Neh. 8:8.) The book of the law of the Lord. (Neh. 9: 13.) The book of the law of Moses. (Neh. 8:1.) Adventism and the Bible. 77 But these are titles of one and the same docu- ment — namely, "the law." God Gave What God Gave. The book of the law. (Neh. 8:1.) Moses' law. (Ez. 7: 6.) What Moses Gave. The law. (John 1: 17.) E 1 The law of the Lord. (2 Chron. 34: 14.) God's law. (Neh. 10: 29.) This is directly opposed to Adventism, which teaches that Moses gave the former, while God gave the latter. During my student years in the Adventist training school at Keene, Texas, I discovered that something of a fundamental nature was the mat- ter with "the law" question. It was always a "question" with every one. I had no time to make a thorough examination; but in 1910, im- mediately after graduating from the institution, I began to study the question of the law again — this time not as I found it in Advent literature, but as I found it in the Bible. The following is a result of that study : Things "Written in the Law." /firstborn (Ex. 13: 2) v at , , n «k „ dough (Lev. 23: 27) reh. 10: 25-37 { ^ ^ lg; 21 > The Law. wine and oil (Deut. 18: 2) / 78 Adventism and the Bible. Num. 10:34 /wood offering (Lev. 6: 12) Matt. 12: 5 ( priests (Num. 28: 9) 1 Cor. 14: 21 ) tongues (Isa. 28: 11) Num. 10:34 \ altar (Lev. 6: 12) Num. 10: 34 / sons (Lev. 13: 2) Num. 10: 34 \ cattle (Lev. 27: 26) Not one of these things can be found in the Ten Commandments ; yet they can all be found in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. "Written in the Law of the Lord." Pigeons. (Luke 2: 24.) Burnt offerings. (2 Chron. 31: 3.) Acts of Joshua. (2 Chron. 35: 26.) Altar. (1 Chron. 14: 40.) Sacrifices. (Luke 2: 24.) Firstborn. (Luke 2: 23.) Luke 2 : 23 states something of "the firstborn" as having been written "in the law of the Lord." We turn to the Ten Commandments to find what was written, but there is nothing about the first- born. Then we turn to Ex. 24 : 20 ; Lev. 26 : 14 ; Num. 18: 27; Deut. 15: 19, and there we find things written of the firstborn. "Written in the Book of Moses." Josh.8:31 r altar (Ex. 24: 20). Dan. 9: 11 J curse (Lev. 26: 14, 16). 1 Cor. 9:9 [oxen (Deut. 25: 4). These things are not found in the Ten Com- mandments; but they are found in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. Adventism and the Bible. 79 "Written in the Book of the Covenant." / passover (Ex. 12: 11). „ _. \ passover (Lev. 23: 5). 2 Kings 23: 21 / XT n \ & I passover (Num. 9:2). \ passover (Deut. 25: 4). These things, also, were written in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. Hence : "The law" equals the five books of Moses. "The law of the Lord" equals the five books of Moses. "The law of Moses" equals the five books of Moses. "The book of the covenant" equals the five books of Moses. No one disputes this axiom: "Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other." Hence the four titles just given refer to one and the same thing — the legal system of Israel given by God through Moses. Some Things Found in the Law. Women to keep silent. (1 Cor. 14: 34.) Not to covet. (Rom. 7:7.) Man feeding a flock. (1 Cor. 9:9.) High priests. (Heb. 7: 28.) Vineyards. (1 Cor. 9:9.) Respect of persons. (James 2: 9.) Tithe. (Heb. 7: 5.) Gifts. (Heb. 8:4.) Prophecy of Christ. (John 12: 34.) Circumcision. (Gal. 5: 3.) Shadow. (Heb. 10: 1.) Genealogies. (Tit. 3: 9.) Each of these twelve items can be found in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. 80 Adventism and the Bible. There is not a text in the entire Bible that re- fers to the Ten Commandments as u the law." The Legal System. "The law" was nothing more nor less than the legal system of Israel. This system is found in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. The law was a unit; but it had in it moral, civil, ceremonial, and religious statutes — thus: Moral. — "Pertaining to the practice, manners, and conduct of men, as social beings, in relation to each other, and with reference to right and wrong." (Webster.) Disobedience to parents. (Ex. 21: 15.) Negligence. (Ex. 21: 28^30.) Accidental homicide. (Num. 35: 9-28.) Assault. (Lev. 24: 19.) Rape. (Ex. 22: 16.) Unlawful marriage. (Lev. 20.) Perversion of justice. (Ex. 22: 9.) Kidnaping. (Deut. 4: 7.) Confusion. (Lev. 18: 23.) Abomination. (Lev. 18: 22.) Ceremonial. — Burnt offerings. (Lev. 1.) Meat offerings. (Lev. 2.) Peace offerings. (Lev. 3.) Sin offerings. (Lev. 4.) Consecration of priests. (Lev. 8: 9.) Purification of women. (Lev. 12.) Cleansing of lepers. (Lev. 13.) Atonement. (Lev. 16.) Feasts. (Lev. 23.) Civil. — Slaves. (Lev. 25: 47-54.) Lands. (Lev. 25: 27.) Adventism and the Bible. 81 Debts. (Deut. 15: 1-11.) Usury. (Ex. 22: 25-27.) Pledges. (Deut. 24: 6-18.) Religious. — Worship of other gods forbidden. (Ex. 20: 3.) Images forbidden. (Ex. 20: 4.) Molten gods forbidden. (Ex. 34: 17.) Swearing. (Ex. 20: 7.) Pictures forbidden. (Ex. 20: 4; Num. 35: 52.) The Sabbath. (Ex. 20: 11.) This fourfold legal system was "God's law/' (Neh. 10: 29.) This was also "the law." (John 1: 17.) This was "the law of the Lord." (Luke 2: 24.) Joshua "meditated" in this law. (Josh. 1: 7, 8.) So did every righteous man, according to David. (Ps. 1: 1, 2.) This fourfold system was "all the law." (2 Kings 17: 13.) It was "the whole law." (2 Chron. 33: 8.) "The Law and the Prophets." Moses and the prophets are connected in three different expressions in the New Testament. These expressions are : "Moses and the prophets." (Luke 16: 29; Acts 26: 22; Luke 24: 44.) "The lata of Moses and the prophets." (John 1 : 45 ; Acts 28 : 23 ; Luke 24 : 44.) "The laiv and the prophets." (Matt. 11: 13; Matt. 22: 40; Rom. 3: 21; Acts 13: 15; Acts 24: 14; Matt. 5: 17.) This should be sufficient to prove that these three expressions refer to one and the same thing — namely, the writings of Moses and the writings of the prophets. 6 CHAPTER XII. The Covenants and Israel. Jehovah promised the land of Canaan to Abra- ham and his posterity. (Gen. 15: 18; 1 Chron. 16: 18.) When Israel, his children in the flesh, came to receive the land (four hundred years after the promise had been made), God required of them a formal contract. The Contract. The Proposal.— -The proposal took place at Si- nai. The Lord called Moses up into the mount and said unto him : "If ye will obey my voice in- deed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me." (Ex. 19: 5.) Is- rael answered : "We will." (Ex. 19 : 8.) In this proposal Jehovah called attention to his "voice" (the prophets), which they were to obey, and to his "covenant," which they were to sub- scribe to. The covenant was his contract. The Contract. — Read the parable of the house- holder (Matt. 21: 33-44): Householder — Jehovah. Husbandmen — the Jews. Servants — the prophets. Vineyard — Canaan. The contract — Ten Commandments. Adventism and the Bible. 83 Israel agreed to obey the contract. Their agree- ing to obey the contract must of necessity be something different from the contract itself. Note the following: "And he wrote upon the tables the words of the con- tract, the ten commandments." (Ex. 34: 28.) "The tables of the contract which the Lord made with you [the children of Israel]." (Deut. 9:9.) "And in it I have put the ark, wherein is the contract of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel." (2 Chron. 6: 11.) I have supplied "contract" for "covenant" in these quotations, because the two words, as here- in used, are synonymous. Mrs. Ellen G. White, in "Patriarchs and Proph- ets," page 507, states that the Ten Command- ments were the "terms" of the contract between Jehovah and Israel. Jehovah, the landlord, leased (or rented) his "vineyard" (Canaan) to the Jews. Like any other landlord, he entered into a contract with his tenants. His contract was the Ten Commandments. The Covenant Commanded. — Adventists pre- sume to find a "commanded covenant" in Deut. 4: 13. They contend that the transaction at Si- nai was the "made" covenant, and the covenant in Deut. 4: 13 is the "commanded" covenant. But they miss the literal wording of this pas- sage. The passage states that Jehovah "de- clared" the Ten Commandments, while he "com- manded" Israel. Israel was the one commanded, not the Ten Commandments. 84 Adventism and the Bible. The New Covenant. The new dispensation has its covenant also. But the new covenant is entirely different from the old. The old covenant passed away with the old dispensation. "In that he saith, A new cov- enant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to van- ish away." (Heb. 8: 13.) The main points of difference between the two covenants — the old and the new — are the following: Old. — Graven on stone. (Ex. 32: 16.) New. — Engraven on the heart. (2 Chron. 3: 3.) Old.— Given to the Jews only. (Deut. 4: 8, 9; Eph. 2: 12.) New. — Given to all peoples. (Acts 17: 30.) Old.— Was "carnal." (Gal. 4: 24, 29.) New.— Is spiritual. (Gal. 4: 29.) Old.— Type, bud, of the old system. (Heb. 9: 24.) New. — Antitype, blossom, of the old. (Heb. 9: 23.) Old. — Temporary; passed away. (Heb. 8: 13; 9: 9.) New. — Eternal; never to pass away. (Heb. 12: 28; 9: 12.) Old. — Natural; "natural branches." (Rom. 11: 21.) New. — Spiritual; "spiritual household." (1 Pet. 2:5.) Old.— Imperfect. (Heb. 8:7.) New.— Perfect. (1 Cor. 13: 10.) Old. — Given to children in development. (Gal. 3: 21.) New. — Given to mature persons, spiritually. (1 Cor. 13: 11.) Old.— Was taken out of the way. (Heb. 10: 9.) New. — Was established. (Heb. 10: 9.) Old. — Blessings were temporary. (1 Chron. 16: 18; Heb. 11: 39.) New. — Blessings are eternal. (1 Pet. 4: 1.) Adventism and the Bible. 85 Old.— Proclaimed on Mount Sinai. (2 Chron. 6: 11.) New.— Proclaimed on Mount Zion. (Heb. 12: 18-22.) Old. — Shook the earth when proclaimed. (Ex. 20: 18.) New.— Shook also heaven. (Heb. 12: 26.) Old.— Negative; "thou shalt not." (Ex. 20: 1-17.) New. — Positive; "thou shalt." (Matt. 5: 7.) Old.— Dealt with commands. (Ex. 20: 23.) New.— Deals with principles. (Matt. 12: 30; Rom. 12: 9; Gal. 5: 21.) Old. — Was a system of bondage. (Acts 15: 10.) New. — Is a system of liberty. (Gal. 5:2.) Old. — Its land was Canaan, and its people Israel. (Gen. 13: 15; 12: 2.) New. — Its land, the earth redeemed; and its people, "every nation and kindred and tongue and people." (Gen. 12: 3; 18: 18; Rom. 4: 13.)" The legal tie of the old covenant was the law. The moral obligation of the new covenant is the gospel. Paul labored until the very end of his days showing the proper relationship of the law and the gospel. (Read Gal. 3.) Jehovah prom- ised that Abraham should be the father of all na- tions and heir of the world — that is, the new cov- enant was confirmed with Abraham. But the law (Israel) and Canaan were all added, thrown in, "till" the seed (Christ) should come. So, nec- essarily, when the seed came, the supplement, the added part, fell away. Characteristics of the New Covenant. New. — Our Lord was the scribe who brought out of his storehouse things both "new and old." (Matt, 13 : 52.) But he did not sew the old patch 86 Adventism and the Bible. on to the new garment. (Matt. 9: 16.) Some of the new things that he brought out of his storehouse are these : New doctrine. (Mark 1: 27.) New tongues. (Mark 16: 17.) New lump. (1 Cor. 5:7.) New testament. (John 13: 34.) New creatures. (2 Cor. 5: 17.) New man. (Eph. 2: 15.) New way. (Heb. 10: 20.) New babes. (1 Pet. 2:2.) New heaven and new earth. (2 Pet. 3: 13.) New passover. (1 Cor. 5:7.) New sacrifices. (1 Pet. 2:5.) New praise offering. (Heb. 12: 15; Lev. 7: 12.) New day of worship. (Rev. 1: 10; 1 Cor. 16: 1, 2.) New supper. (1 Cor. 11: 24.) Better. — It is not possible to raise a nation of slaves to perfect religious, moral, and civic stand- ards at a single effort. The Lord did the best he could with the conditions in hand. But he had something better for them. These better things came through the gospel. A few of them are the following : Better hope. (Heb. 7: 10.) Better resurrection. (Heb. 11: 35.) Better sacrifices. (Heb. 9: 23.) Better country. (Heb. 11: 16.) Better covenant. (Heb. 8: 6.) Better things. (Heb. 12: 24.) Living. — Another characteristic of the new covenant is that it is a living covenant. All its parts vibrate with life. This was not so of the old dispensation. The sacrifices were all decay- Adventism and the Bible. 87 ing stuff. The priests were constantly dying. Under the new order we have a different nature of things — thus: Living water. (John 10: 4.) Living bread. (John 6: 51.) Living sacrifices. (Rom. 12: 1.) Living way. (Heb. 10: 20.) Living stone. (1 Pet. 2:4.) Living fountain. (Rev. 7: 17.) Living Christ. (Matt. 28: 20.) The Two Houses of Israel. Nothing is more clearly taught in the word of God than that there are two houses of Israel — the one "natural" and the other "spiritual." Paul puts it thus : "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (1 Cor. 15: 44.) The spiritual was not first, "but that which is nat- ural; and afterwards that which is spiritual." (ICor. 15: 46.) Following this line of reasoning, Paul held that the Jews were "the natural branches" (Rom. 11: 21) ; and Peter adds that Christians constitute a "spiritual household" (1 Pet. 2:5). Going on to conclusions from such a premise, Paul observes that the natural man cannot un- derstand spiritual things. Since the Jews were "natural," their laws had to be natural ; and, con- versely, since Christians are a "spiritual house- hold," their laws must of necessity be spiritual also. Hence, when the Jews were cut off, their natural laws were cut off with them; and, just so, when the Christian stock was grafted in, suit- 88 Adventism and the Bible. able spiritual laws were grafted in likewise. The whole scheme may be seen at a glance by means of the following chart : The Two Houses of Israel. Jew. Natural. Christian. Spiritual. "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. That was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterwards that which is spiritual." (1 Cor. 15: 44-46.) Branches. (Rom. 11: 21.) Adam. (1 Cor. 15: 45.) Moses. (Deut. 18: 15.) Kingdom. (Ex. 19: 5-8.) Law. (Matt. 5: 27, 33, 43.) Covenant. (Deut. 5: 2, 3.) Sacrifices. (Heb. 9: 9, 10.) Testament. (2 Cor. 3: 14.) Dispensation. (Matt. 21: 33.) Priesthood. (Heb. 7: 27.) Commandment. (Heb. 7: 16.) Birth. (Job 14: 1.) House. (1 Pet. 2: 5.) Adam. (1 Cor. 15: 45.) Moses. (Acts 3: 22.) Kingdom. (Heb. 12: 8.) Law. (Heb. 12: 18-26.) Covenant. (Heb. 8: 9.) Sacrifices. (1 Pet. 2: 5.) Testament. (2 Cor. 3: 6.) Dispensation. (Eph. 3: 12.) Priesthood. (Heb. 9: 11.) Commandment. (Rom. 7: 12.) Birth. (John 3: 3, 5.) "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.' (1 Cor. 2: 14.) Law. (John 1: 17.) Letter. (2 Cor. 3: 6.) Childhood. (Gal. 3: 24.) Bondage. (Acts 15: 10.) Grace. (Rom. 6: 14.) Spirit. (2 Cor. 3: 6.) Maturity. (Gal. 3: 24.) Liberty. (Gal. 5: 1.) ISHMAEL Gal. 4: 21... ESAU Gen. 25: 23... SINAI Heb. 12: 18-26. .ISAAC JACOB . ..ZION CHAPTER XIII. The Decalogue Not Eternal. Adventists contend that the Ten Command- ments are perfect in character, eternal in dura- tion, universal in application, and unalterable in nature. We shall now make inquiry as to the re- liability of these pretentious claims. Read Ex. 20: 1-17. Perfect in Character. By this statement they mean that the Ten Com- mandments enjoin every good and forbid every evil. A great claim, this. It is literally impossi- ble, per their theory, to commit a sin that is not a direct violation of one of these ten commands. But against this contention we note the follow- ing: Adultery. — The seventh of these Ten Com- mandments says: "Thou shalt not commit adul- tery." Adultery is unlawful intercourse of a mar- ried person with any one else — that is to say, adultery is a species of sexual sins ; that is to say, further, that adultery is not the genus, covering all sexual sins, but one of the many. That there are sexual sins other than adultery is evident when we call attention to the following : 1. Abomination — lying "with mankind as with womankind." (Lev. 18: 22.) 90 Adventism and the Bible. 2. Confusion — lying "with any beast to defile thyself therewith." (Lev. 18 : 23.) 3. Fornication — unlawful intercourse of a sin- gle person with another. (1 Cor. 5:1.) 4. Self-abuse. Lying. — The eighth command forbids bearing false witness "against" thy "neighbor." Bearing false witness for a "neighbor" is not forbidden. Bearing false witness against an alien is not for- bidden. The reader may be inclined to think that this is going to extremes ; but when we point out a few of the differences, as held by the Jews, be- tween one of themselves and an alien, the ex- treme will evidently vanish. That there was a great "middle wall of partition" in this respect is seen by the following facts : 1. Soured meat could be sold to an alien, but not to a Jew. (Deut. 14: 21.) 2. Alien slaves could be held forever, but He- brew slaves had to be released every seven years. (Lev. 25: 45; Deut. 15: 12-18.) 3. Money could be loaned to aliens "upon usury," but not to a Jew. (Deut. 23: 20.) Thus there was a difference between a Jew and one who was not a Jew; and thus false wit- ness was forbidden as regards the Jew. Nothing is said relative to the alien. Images. — In the Old Testament there are three kinds of images — (1) the graven (Ex. 20: 4), (2) the molten (Ex. 34: 17), and (3) pictures (Num. 33: 52). The Ten Commandments forbid only the first Adventism and the Bible. 91 of these — the "graven" — and possibly the third by the use of the word "likeness." Murder. — The sixth command forbids killing. It says nothing about hate, envy, jealousy, anger, or the like. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FORBID OVERT ACTS, BUT ARE SILENT REL- ATIVE TO MOTIVES THAT LEAD TO THE ACTS— EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF COVETING. Adultery, the act, is forbidden; lust, the motive, is not. Killing, the act, is forbidden ; hate, the motive, is not. But stealing, the act, is forbidden; and covet- ing, the motive, also is forbidden. This is the exception. But an Adventist argues like this : "Before one can commit adultery he must lust, and before one can kill he must hate ; hence lust is forbidden in adultery and hate in kill." But over against this contention we point out this fact: "Before one can steal he must first covet; hence, per the foregoing contention, cov- eting, the motive, is forbidden in stealing, the act." But this is precisely what is not so. There are only ten commands in the decalogue, and one of these, the eighth, forbids stealing; while an- other, the tenth, forbids coveting. Had this plan been carried out relative to adultery and killing, there would have been two more commands in the Ten Commandments, one being, "Thou shalt 92 Adventism and the Bible. not hate," and the other, "Thou shalt not lust." But these commands are wanting. The Ten Commandments, therefore, do not for- bid every evil. Eternal in Duration. By eternal in duration Adventists mean that the Ten Commandments always have existed as found in Ex. 20 : 1-17, and that they always will exist as found there. They mean that the Ten Commandments were honored and obeyed eter- nities before the world was created, and that through eternity all the redeemed will be subject to them. Touching on this contention, we point out the following : The name of a thing cannot exist before the thing itself. In Gen. 2 we are told that God cre- ated all things and brought them to Adam for names. To make our point absurdly simple, let us state that up to that time there was no such animal as "cow." But when Adam said, "This one shall henceforth be called 'cow,' " that very moment cows came into being; and at that time the other living creatures received names in like manner. Thus is it obvious that the thing itself may ex- ist eternities without a name, but it is also ob- vious that the name of a thing cannot exist unless the thing itself is in existence. If the reader doubts this, we ask him to name something that he knows does not exist! Assuming, then, that we are all agreed on this point, we note the fol- lowing facts : Adventism and the Bible. 93 1. There was a time when there was only one God (Jehovah). At that time the expression, "other gods," found in the second command, of the Decalogue, could not have had existence. 2. There was a time when there were no im- ages, for there were no other gods. At that time the expression, "graven images," found in the second command of the Decalogue, could not have had existence. 3. There was a time, before the days of Adam and Eve, when there were no fathers and moth- ers. At that time the expressions "father" and "mother" could not have had existence. 4. There was a time, before the days of Cain, when no one had been killed. At that time the word "kill," the name of an action found in the Ten Commandments, could not have had exist- ence. We might go on ad infinitum with this list. Imagine Jehovah, eternities before the world was created, attempting to teach the Ten Com- mandments, as found in Ex. 20: 1-17, to the an- gels about his throne. What questions would they have asked when he came to "other gods," "graven images," "the earth beneath," "fathers," "children," "generation," "hate," "land," "kill," "adultery," "steal," "covet?" This is an amusing question if you will carry it the full length. The Ten Commandments, therefore, are not eternal in duration. 94 Adventism and the Bible. Universal in Application. By universal in application Adventists mean that the Ten Commandments have been intended for, and have actually extended in authority to, every nation on the face of the earth from time eternal. We deny this contention for the follow- ing reasons : 1. Jehovah, on Sinai, spoke ten words — no more, no less. So declares Deut. 10: 4 (margin). Such is the meaning of "decalogue" — deca, "ten ;" and logoi, "words" — "ten words!" 2. These ten words were spoken to Israel. "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt." No other nation has been delivered from Egyptian bondage by Jehovah. 3. The laws of the Jews extended to Gentiles only when Gentiles became proselytes to the Jew- ish religion. (Ex. 12.) There was then "one law" for all. 4. The legal system of the Jews is limited to Is- rael. (Deut. 4: 8.) No other nation had this law. 5. The Sabbath was given for a special pur- pose to the Jews. (Ex. 31: 13.) 6. The Gentiles, until the time of Christ, were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, were strangers to all the privileges of the Jews, had no hope, and were without God. (Eph. 2: 12.) The Ten Commandments, therefore, were not universal in application. Adventism and the Bible. 95 Unalterable in Nature. By unalterable in nature Adventists mean that the Ten Commandments shall stand just as they read in Ex. 20 : 1-17, to every jot and tittle, as long as heaven and earth shall stand. Their first proof of this is an assumption — an assumption that the Ten Commandments are per- fect. But we have already eliminated this as- sumption. We note the following: Oaths. — The third command deals exclusively with the use of God's name in the practice of mak- ing oaths. Israel, as a nation, were commanded to use God's name in making oaths. "Thou shalt swear by my name." (Deut. 6: 13.) But "thou shalt not swear by my name falsely." (Lev. 19 : 12.) Putting these two commands together, we have the third command of the Decalogue: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Consider this on the question of taking oaths: Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. But before the servant left, Abraham said : "I will make thee swear by the Lord." (Gen. 24: 3.) The servant then made his oath, putting his hand on Abraham's thigh (which was the custom then instead of holding his right hand up), there- by taking God's name — calling upon God as his witness. But the servant did not take God's name "in vain," for he performed the oath — did the thing he swore he would do. And note the case of Rahab, the harlot. Joshua sent two spies to Jericho. They lodged 96 Adventism and the Bible. with Rahab, the harlot. When they were ready to leave, she demanded : "Swear unto me by the Lord." (Josh. 2: 12.) And after an interval they took their leave of her, but said: "We will be guiltless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear." In this statement they used the identical expression found in the third command of the Decalogue: "For the Lord will not hold him guiltless," etc. To use God's name, therefore, was to swear by his name; and to use his name in vain was to swear and not perform the oath. Our Lord eliminated the third command of the Decalogue entirely. I refer to his Sermon on the Mount. "I say unto you, Swear not at all." (Matt. 5: 32.) The Ten Commandments per- mitted swearing where the oath was performed. Jesus forbade even that. This applies among Christians. This has nothing to do with taking oaths in court. The "land" of the fifth command was the land of Canaan. This land was promised to Abraham two hundred and fifteen years before the Egyp- tian bondage. (Gen. 13: 14.) Moses stated that Canaan was "the lot" of Israel's "inheritance." (1 Chron. 16: 18.) Christians have no promise of the land of Canaan. Our land is "the heav- enly country." Take the matter of remembering sins. In the second command Jehovah states that he remem- bered the "sins of the fathers" against the "third and fourth generations." The children of wicked Adventism and the Bible. 97 parents were required to confess the sins of their ancestors to the fourth generation. (Lev. 26 : 40.) But in the New Testament this require- ment is removed. Now he remembers "their sins and their iniquities" to the third and fourth gen- erations "no more." (Heb. 8: 6-13.) Thus each one of us must now give account "of himself unto God." (Rom. 14: 12.) The Ten Commandments, therefore, are not un- alterable in nature. We have found, then, that the Ten Command- ments are neither perfect in character, eternal in duration, universal in application, nor unalter- able in nature. CHAPTER XIV. The Law Abolished. In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ announced certain changes that were to take place in the Mosaic legal system. Six times our Lord called attention to that which "hath been said/' and six times he followed these words with the state- ment, "but I say unto you." The statements are the following: Moses said: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Matt. 5: 27.) But I say: "Thou shalt not lust." (Verse 28.) Moses said: "Thou shalt not kill." (Verse 21.) But I say: "Thou shalt not be angry." (Verse 22.) Moses said: Divorce your wives for any cause. (Verse 31.) But I say: For cause of fornication only. (Verse 31.) Moses said: Swear and pay. (Verse 33.) But I say: Swear not at all. (Verse 34.) Moses said: Retaliate. (Verse 38.) But I say: Retaliate not. (Verse 39.) Moses said: Love neighbor; hate enemy. (Verse 43.) But I say: Love even your enemy. (Verse 44.) The New Law Given. The old law was given from Sinai. That was a natural mount, and that was a natural law, and it was given for a natural people. The new law is given from Mount Zion. This is a spiritual Adventism and the Bible. 99 mount, the law is a spiritual law, and it is given for the "spiritual household" of new Israel. With characteristic rhetorical skill, the apostle Paul, in the twelfth chapter of the Hebrew letter, pictures the transfer of authority from Moses to Christ in the following manner : Israel at Sinai. 1. Sinai, the mount that might be touched. (Heb. 12: 18.) Christians at Zion. 1. "Ye are come unto Mount Zion." (Heb. 12: 22.) 2. Israel came to the 2. Christians come to the "voice of words" — the ten voice of words spoken from words — deca, "ten;" logoi, heaven. (Heb. 12: 25.) "words." 3. The words spoken from heaven shake also heaven. (Heb. 12: 26.) 4. The words from Zion are eternal. 5. The words from Zion remain. (Heb. 12: 27.) 3. The words spoken on Sinai shook the earth. (Heb. 12: 26.) 4. The words from Sinai were temporal. 5. The words from Sinai have been removed. (Heb. 12: 27.) 6. The words from Sinai could be shaken. (Heb. 12: 27.) Those things spoken from Sinai were cold com- mands. The things spoken from Zion are ani- mated ideals. Ideals are as much higher than commands as heaven is higher than earth. The Ten Commandments, the words spoken on Sinai, were limited to a single nation, to a given locality. That is why they shook the earth only. They could not extend elsewhere. But the ideals spoken from Zion shake not only the earth, but 6. The words from Zion cannot be shaken. (Heb. 12: 28.) 100 Adventism and the Bible. heaven also — which is to say, their jurisdiction is unlimited. Hence the ideals from Zion are given, not to a single nation nor for a given locality, but to and for ' 'every nation and kindred and tongue and people." Matt. 5 : 17, 18. Contrary to the conclusion drawn from the fore- going material — that the legal system of the old order was limited and passed away — Adventists find a "balm in Gilead" in Matt. 5 : 17, 18. This passage is the strongest support in the entire Bi- ble for the theory of the perpetuity of the law. This is the first passage on the law question the prospective convert to Adventism learns. If, therefore, after we have considered it, the strength therein contained should prove to be wanting, the strongest prop for the Advent con- ception of the law is gone. I readily admit that the passage can be easily misunderstood in the light of Adventism. The passage reads : "Think not that I am come to de- stroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be ful- filled." This passage, to an Adventist, teaches that so long as heaven and earth shall stand, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law. Such a reading is deceptive. The passage does not assert that the law would not pass away. What it does say is that every jot and every tittle Adventism and the Bible. 101 of the law would hold good "till" all the law had been fulfilled. And this certainly leaves the inference that, after the law had been fulfilled, every jot and tit- tle of the law would pass away. We shall con- sider what immediately follows with this thought in mind : Our Lord walked to Emmaus with two men — after his resurrection. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24: 27.) In the preceding chapter we learned that "Moses and the prophets," "the law of Moses and the prophets," and "the law and the prophets," all meant one and the same thing — the writings of Moses and the writings of the proph- ets. Speaking to these same two men, our Lord continued: "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." (Verse 44.) In this statement he referred straight as a bee line back to Matt. 5 : 17, 18, where he had made such an announcement. The identical words are used. Matt. 5 : 17, 18 : "The law, ... the proph- ets, . . . all . . . fulfilled." Luke 24: 44: "All things . . . fulfilled, . . . the law, . . . the prophets." Some important words of explanation are added in the interview found in Luke 24: 44 — "concerning me," "law of Moses." Thus Luke 102 Adventism and the Bible. 24 : 44 is seen to be supplemental to Matt. 5 : 17, 18. Matt. 5: 17, 18, therefore, in the light of Luke 24: 44, would read as follows: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law of Moses or the prophets or the psalms: I am not come to destroy the law of Moses or the prophets or the psalms, but to fulfill the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law of Moses or the prophets or the psalms till all things written of me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms shall be fulfilled." Thus was the law to stand, as surely as heaven and earth stood, until all the things that had been written in them concerning Christ should be fulfilled; and since he fulfilled all the things that had been written in these documents con- cerning himself, as surely as heaven and earth are standing, the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms passed away. Paul's Testimony. — In later years, Paul, writ- ing to the Ephesians, testified to this very fact: "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordi- nances." (Eph. 2: 15.) While the law was standing, it was easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one jot or one tittle of it to fail (Luke 16 : 16) ; but since the law was fulfilled, it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one jot or one tittle of the law to become authoritative again. Adventism and the Bible. 103 Adventists rise up and say: "Then if there is no law, we may kill, steal, commit adultery, etc." In this they miss the point. "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." (Heb. 8: 13.) It is another case of the old "Articles of Confederation" of the orig- inal thirteen States being superseded by the Con- stitution of the United States ; it is a case of Zion formulating ideals rather than Sinai issuing cold precepts ; it is a case of the "law of Christ" tak- ing the place of the "law of Moses." "Fulfill." Commentary on Matt. 5: 17. — The thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles is a commen- tary on the word "fulfill" as used in Matt. 5 : 17 : Verse 15 : "The law and the prophets." Verse 20 : "Until Samuel the prophet." Verse 25 : "John fulfilled his course." Verse 33 : The promise had been "fulfilled." Verse 39 : "The law of Moses." Fulfill. — To "fulfill" means to reach the end of the prediction. The following passages show clearly how the word is used in the Scriptures : "Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21: 24.) "And as John fulfilled his course." (Acts 13 : 25.) "What shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" (Mark 13 : 4.) "The voices of the prophets, . . . they have fulfilled." (Acts 13: 27.) 104 Adventism and the Bible. "And when they had fulfilled all that was writ- ten of him." (Acts 13: 29.) "The promise which was made unto the fa- thers, God hath fulfilled/' (Acts 13 : 32, 33.) After this manner, then, Jesus came to "ful- fill" all that had been written concerning himself. "All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." (Luke 24: 44.) And he fulfilled them. He did not come as a destroyer; he came as a fulfiller. He was not a revolutionist; he was a reformer. Thus the law stood, as surely as heaven and earth stands, until the things predicted of him in it were accom- plished. After that, just so surely the law and the prophets and the psalms passed out of use — gave way to a greater law, the law of Christ. CHAPTER XV. The Nature of the Sabbath Day. It is hardly necessary to state that the Sabbath is the backbone of Adventism. "Separate the Sabbath from this message, and it loses its pow- er." ("Testimonies for the Church," Volume I., page 337.) Sabbath Not Part of the "Moral" Law. Morals and religion are not the same. Morals relate to man in his relation to his fellow man, while religion has to do with one's duties and re- lation to God. In the nature of things, all moral rules are perceptible by the ordinary exercise of the faculties of reason. The same is true regard- ing many religious duties. For instance, man, by reason, has concluded that there is a God ; and while man understands that this God is to be wor- shiped, man cannot, for the life of him, discover, by reason alone, which one of the seven days of the week this God would elect to be his own. In this a revelation certainly is necessary. "God created the heavens and the earth — but there was no Sabbath; God rested the seventh day — but yet there was no institution of the Sabbath; God blessed and sanc- tified (set apart to a sacred use) the rest day — and then Sabbath obligation existed." (J. H. Waggoner, in Wag- goner --Vo gel Debate, page 48.) 106 Adventism and the Bible. According to this foremost Advent preacher, the Sabbath is a positive, rather than a moral, insti- tution. So, then, by nature, Adam could know nothing of the nature of the Sabbath until he had been informed of it by Jehovah. Sir William Blackstone reasons thus : "For as God, when he created matter, endued it with a principle of mobility, so, when he created man, he laid down certain immutable laws of human nature and gave him also the faculty of reason to discover the purport of those laws." ("Introduction Commentaries," Section II.) Hence the law of nature, according to this learned judge, is charged, so to speak, with those principles of justice which, previous to any pre- cept, were in themselves right — such, as he quotes from Justinian, that men should live honestly, that they should hurt nobody, and that they should render to every man his just dues. "These are the eternal, immutable laws of good and evil." These principles, he argues, can be discovered, ac- cording to divine arrangement, by the exercise of ordinary reason, with which God has endowed every creature. Blackstone, speaking further, says : "This law of nature, being coevil with mankind and dictated by God himself, is, of course, superior in obliga- tion to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of valid- ity if contrary to this, and such of them as are valid de- rive their force and all their authority, mediately or im- mediately, from this original." This "law of nature," then, being coevil with man, must of necessity antedate the Sabbath in- Adventism and the Bible. 107 stitution, which came into being, as Waggoner says, after man. Since the "law of nature," therefore, antedates the Sabbath institution, it is "superior" to the Sabbath. Being thus superior to the Sabbath, it follows that it is not one with the Sabbath ; hence the Sabbath is not one of the law of nature. Thus the Sabbath is not moral, the point we are contending for. The Law of Revelation. Touching the law of revelation, Blackstone says, further, that God — "In compassion to the frailty, the imperfection, and the blindness of human reason, has been pleased, at sundry times and in divers manners, to discover and enforce his laws by an immediate and direct revelation. The doc- trines thus derived we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be found only in the Holy Scriptures. But we are not from thence to conclude that the knowledge of these truths was obtainable by reason, since we find that, until they were revealed, they were hid from the wisdom of the ages. Upon these two foundations, the law of na- ture and the law of revelation, depend all human laws." If the sacredness attached by Moses to the Sab- bath day had been a part of the law of nature, all men everywhere, though they had never heard of the seventh day, would have known that the sev- enth day was the Sabbath of the Lord. But this was not so, and neither is it so to this day. This holds good of all revealed institutions. Consider the passover, also circumcision, as parallel exam- ples. It necessarily follows from this that if the Sab- bath day was not by the law of nature engraven 108 Adventism and the Bible. upon the consciences of mankind in primeval times, the sacredness thereof, as recorded in the Scriptures, was not a part of the day until such sacredness was formally attached to it. Hence we are led again to affirm our proposition — that the Sabbath was no part of the moral law, but, as is now clearly seen, was positive and revealed. CHAPTER XVI. The Sabbath from Eden to the Exodus. Adventists assume much that should be proved. For instance, they assume that the word "sanc- tify," in Ex. 20: 11, means the announcement of the seventh day as the Sabbath for men, and of its being enjoined upon the human family in Eden. God might have sanctified the seventh day at the end of the first week, and in Eden ; but did he announce the day as the Sabbath ? There is no evidence that a sacred day was given to Adam. Sanctified, But Not Announced. Christ planned to become the ransom for lost ^fX\ ft man "before the world began." (1 Tim. 1:9.) X But this plan was kept "hid in God" until he came and made himself an offering for all. (Eph. 3: 6, 9, 11.) Thus, though he was sanctified, set apart, even before the world began, the announce- ment was not made. From this it is evident that the announcement is not necessarily a part of the sanctification of a thing or object. A holy object can be set apart in the purpose of God as well as by announcement. Some things are self-evident — viz., the seventh day was not set apart before Jehovah rested on 110 Adventism and the Bible. it; and neither did his resting on it set it apart. The seventh day was blessed and set apart "be- cause that in it" God "had rested." Thus the blessing and the sanctifying came after the rest- ing on it. FOR AUGHT WE KNOW AND FOR AUGHT THE PASSAGE SAYS, THE BLESSING AND THE SANCTIFYING MIGHT HAVE TAKEN PLACE A THOU- SAND YEARS AFTER THE RESTING ^ TOOK PLACE. SYNCHRONISM. It is not uncommon for writers to connect two widely separated events and to speak of them in such a way as to lead the hasty reader to sup- pose they happened together. We call attention to the following: 1. After telling the story of the tower of Babel, Moses adds, "Therefore is the name of it called Babel" (Gen. 11: 9)— 2218 B.C. connected with 1492 B.C. » 2. Similarly, in developing the family history of Noah, he has this: "And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided." (Gen. 10: 4, 5.) Yet there were no "Gentiles" in the days of Noah. Thus he connects 2218 B.C. with 1492 B.C. 3. Likewise, after relating the story of Eve's creation, Moses goes on to say: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife." (Gen. 2: 24.) Thus he Adventism and the Bible. Ill connects the marriage custom of his day with Eve's creation, or 4004 B.C. with 1492 B.C. 4. Moses states that Adam called his wife "Eve" because she "is" the mother of all living. But Eve was not even a mother when Adam named her. (Gen. 3: 20.) Thus he connects 4004 with the twentieth century. 5. In John 11: 1, 2 the writer introduces for the first time Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. And John hastens to explain : "It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment." This would certainly lead one to suppose that something had already been said concerning the anointing with ointment, but the anointing had not at this time taken place in the record of events. (See John 12 : 3.) But he made use of the anointing to best advantage by introducing it when he mentioned the one who did it. 6. Moses introduces the creation of the seventh day, and, along with its creation, he mentions its sa'nctification. Just how far apart these events are remains to be seen. The day was sanctified and blessed because God had rested from his work of creation on that day. Thus the Sabbath was created to commemorate God's resting from creation on that day. In the Days of the Patriarchs. The word "Sabbath" does not exist in the book of Genesis, nor a word that can properly be translated "Sabbath." In all this book we find neither a command authorizing any one to keep the seventh day holy nor an example of any one 112 Adventism and the Bible. having done so. But, in answering this conten- tion, it has been urged that the book of Genesis is a brief record of primitive events and not a book of laws. We gladly admit the contention; yet we find laws or customs for the following comprehensive services in the book : 1. Feast days. (Gen. 28: 27.) 2. Marriage. (Gen. 34: 9.) 3. Circumcision. (Gen. 17: 10.) 4. Sacrifices. (Gen. 8: 20.) 5. Oaths. (Gen. 24: 3.) 6. Tithe. (Gen. 14: 20.) 7. Altars. (Gen. 12: 7.) 8. Priests. (Gen. 14: 18.) 9. Sabbath? The End of Days. I am not contending that the absence of a state- ment of the observance of a Sabbath is proof that none was kept ; but had God desired to show that there was no Sabbath during all this time, with- out saying there was none, he would have gone about it in just that way. For instance, we know that Adam did not go to church in an automobile, because no mention is made of an automobile ! But the following passages, which speak of certain things as having been done at the end of days, the same being found in the book of Gen- esis, have been seized upon as proof of the exist- ence of a Sabbath during the days of the patri- archs : 1. Gen. 4 : 3. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground as his sacrifice to the altar of the Lord Adventism and the Bible. 113 "in process of time." The margin reads, "at the end of days." This is assumed to mean at the end of the week ; hence, on the Sabbath. But it is safe to add that he who grabs at a passage of this kind is sorely in need of assistance. In 1 Kings 17: 7 we read (margin) that "at the end of days" a certain pool dried up. This must have been on the Sabbath, therefore! And in Neh. 13 : 6 (margin) we learn that "at the end of days" Nehemiah obtained a certain request of the king. This does not mean on the Sabbath. 2. Gen. 8 : 10. Noah sent the dove, at intervals of seven days, out of the ark. This is assumed to be proof that Noah kept the Sabbath. If such were all that it could possibly mean, then we should have to agree; but, at best, to use the words of D. R. Dungan, we must say that such a position is "the product of too fruitful an imag- ination." The ancients did, however, measure time by the moon, the quarters of which then, as now, occurred, practically speaking, every seven days. 3. Gen. 26 : 5. Abraham obeyed the voice of God, kept his "charge," his "statutes," and his "laws." The Sabbath law is, of course, one of God's laws. Therefore, Abraham kept the Sab- bath ! Try this out on the Lord's Supper ; try this out on the passover. 4. Gen. 29: 26-28. Jacob was to fulfill "her week," also to serve with his father-in-law "other seven years." "Week" here is assumed to be proof of the existence of the Sabbath. But did 114 ADVENTISM AND THE BlBLE. they also keep the seventh year? What about the seven years he was to serve and did serve? 5. Ex. 5 : 8, 17. Moses made the people "idle" when he went down to Egypt as recruiting offi- cer for the Lord. To some it is thus plain that he caused them to keep the Sabbath ! Was caus- ing them to keep the Sabbath the only way he could make them "idle?" If so, then they kept the Sabbath. But revolutionary agitators gener- ally make the people idle by having them attend meetings, work on committees, and the like. The above are all inferences, therefore, for which there can be offered other inferences just as Str ° ng - PENALTIES. There was a command not to partake of the forbidden fruit. For its violation there was a penalty. (Gen. 3:3.) For the violation of the law of circumcision there was a penalty. (Gen. 17: 11.) In the days of Moses and in the wilderness a man was found violating the Sabbath law that had been recently given. The people took the matter to Moses. Moses knew not what to do, for "it was not declared what should be done to him." (Num. 15: 34.) Moses took the matter to the Lord, and then, for the first time, a penalty for Sabbath violation was fixed. Why not before? In the Wilderness. We have found no traces of the Sabbath from Adam to Moses. We halt in the wilderness. Here, for the first time, we find the word "Sab- Adventism and the Bible. 115 bath." Here we see no longer through a glass darkly, but face to face. Peter Vogel, in his written debate with J. H. Waggoner, laid down this proposition: When a rite is mentioned for the first time, it is never introduced with the definite article "the," but with the indefinite "a" or "an." We indorse this proposition and offer the following in substan- tiation of it : 1. The day of atonement. (Lev. 23: 27.) "A day of atonement." 2. The passover. (Lev. 12: 30.) "A memo- rial." Afterwards, "the Lord's passover." 3. Pentecost. (Lev. 23: 21.) "An holy con- vocation." Afterwards, "the day of Pentecost." (Acts 2: 1.) 4. Unleavened bread. (Ex. 12: 40.) "A feast." Afterwards, "the feast." (Lev. 23: 6.) 5. Ingathering. (Lev. 23: 39.) "A feast." Afterwards, "the feast." (Heb. 8: 18.) 6. Sabbath. (Lev. 16: 23.) "A solemn rest, a holy Sabbath unto Jehovah." Afterwards, "the Sabbath day." (Ex. 20: 11— Revised Version.) r "TO-MORROW IS A SOLEMN REST."1 J (Ex. 16: 22.) WHY MAKE THIS AN-)* [NOUNCEMENT TO ISRAEL? J The Sabbath Introduced. 1. Moses explained to the rulers that the next day would be the Sabbath. "To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." (Ex. 16: 23.) This he would not have done, would 116 Adventism and the Bible. have had no occasion for doing, had they known at that time that the next day was to be a Sab- bath. 2. Moses explained to the people that "to-day is a Sabbath." "And Moses said, Eat that to- day; for to-day is a Sabbath unto the Lord." (Ex. 16: 25.) Verse 23. Moses meets with the rulers. "To- morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath." Verse 25. Moses meets with the people. "To- day is a Sabbath unto the Lord." 3. Moses explained about the coming of the Sabbath in the same way that he explained about the coming of the manna. Read his explanation in Ex. 15: 5-10. Adventists feel free to admit that the coming of the manna was a surprise. The coming of the Sabbath was explained in the same. 4. Moses stated which of the seven days was to be the Sabbath. "On the seventh day, which is the Sabbath." (Ex. 16: 26.) Certain it is they did not know the seventh day was to be the Sabbath ; else why this minute explanation ? 5. Moses explained who had given them the Sabbath. "See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath." (Ex. 16: 29.) This surely was information to them. 6. Moses explains to his readers that the peo- ple accepted the Sabbath. "So the people rested on the seventh day." (Ex. 16 : 30.) Yet Adventists would have one believe that the people had been keeping the Sabbath from ere- Adventism and the Bible. 117 ation. Moses puts them right in this particular by testifying to the contrary. He tells his read- ers that he took pains to explain to the rulers that the next day would be the Sabbath. He tells his readers how he explained to the people that the next day was the Sabbath. He tells his readers how he gave instruction regarding the absence of the manna on the Sabbath; yet some went out to gather — thus demonstrating their nonacquaintance with the institution. And, lest the reader should fear that he made a failure to teach the Sabbath to the people, Moses states that the people "rested on the seventh day." ' ON THESE FACTS WE BASE OUR"! CONTENTION THAT THE SABBATH WAS GIVEN IN THE WILDERNESS BY MOSES. The Stopping Places of the Exodus. 1. From the Red Sea a three-days' journey into the wilderness of Shur. (Ex. 15 : 22.) 2. From Shur to Elim. (Ex. 15: 27.) 3. From Elim to the wilderness of Sin. (Ex. 16: 1.) 4. From the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim. (Ex. 17: 1.) 5. From Rephidim to the "desert of Sinai." (Ex. 20: 1.) Events of the Exodus. 1. Shur. "Bitter waters." Here the Lord gave them an ordinance. (Ex. 15: 25.) 118 Adventism and the Bible. 2. Elim. "Twelve wells of water" and seventy palm trees. (Ex. 15: 27.) 3. Wilderness of Sin. The manna, quails, and the Sabbath. (Ex. 16.) 4. Rephidim. No water to drink. Water brought from rock. 5. Wilderness of Sinai. The law given. Nehemiah's Testimony. (Neh. 9: 13-15.) Nehemiah's order of the foregoing events is as follows : 1. Giving of the "judgments." 2. Giving of the Sabbath. 3. Giving of the rest of the law. 4. Giving of the manna. 5. Bringing water from the rock. But Nehemiah did not attempt the order of events after the manner of their happening. This is self-evident. Nehemiah states that Jehovah, at this time, made known unto Israel the Sabbath. His state- ment is in keeping with what we have developed in the foregoing — namely, that the Sabbath was given for the first time in the wilderness. But we are told that "made known" is used here in a special sense. We are pointed to Ezek. 39 : 7, where the Lord said he would make his name known in the midst of Israel. It is possi- ble, therefore, so we are told, to make a thing known that is already known. But in Ezek. 39 the prophet is speaking of Gog, leader of two Scythian tribes, Meshech and Adventism and the Bible. 119 Tubal. It was to Gog that God was to make his name known, not to Israel. So, then, when Nehe- miah states that Jehovah came down in Sinai and made known his Sabbath unto the Jews, we must understand that Jehovah came down on Sinai and made known his Sabbath unto the Jews — 'nothing more or less. Horeb or Sinai? Adventists call attention to the fact that the Sabbath was already known to the Jews when they came to Sinai. This is cheerfully granted. They, therefore, contend that since Nehemiah states that God came down on Sinai and "made known" the Sabbath unto Israel, he must mean that he revealed it more fully to them. We grant that the argument seems plausible. But we take issue with the statement. Bear this in mind: Horeb is the name of a range of mountains; Sinai is the name of a single peak in this range. Horeb and Sinai are often used inter- changeably. Nehemiah says God came down on Sinai and gave them water to drink; but the water was given at Rephidim, long before they came to Si- nai. Nehemiah says God came down on Sinai and gave them manna; but the manna was given in the wilderness of Sin, even before they reached the Horeb range proper. Malachi says the law was given on Horeb (Mai. 4:4), which is true; but the law was given on Sinai, one of the Horeb peaks. 120 Adventism and the Bible. When the Israelites came to break camp at Si- nai, the Lord spake unto Moses "in Horeb" and told him that they had better journey northward. (Deut. 1: 6.) It is thus made clear that when Nehemiah says God came down on Sinai and gave the Sabbath, the manna, and the water, he means somewhere in the Horeb range, which is historically true. We are left with the conclusion, therefore, that the Sabbath was first made known to Israel, given to them, in the wilderness of Sin, in Horeb, at Si- nai. The Sabbath Given to the Jews. Having established when and where the Sab- bath was given, the next step of greatest impor- tance is to determine the scope of its authority. To whom was it given? In consideration of this question the following facts are offered : I. The Sabbath was delivered unto the Jews. 1. Neh. 9: 13-15. Sabbath made known unto Israel. 2. Ezek. 20: 12. God "chose Israel" from among all the nations, "gave them his statutes," and "showed them" his judgments; and he said unto them: "I am the Lord your God." He had absolutely nothing to say to "the heathen, among whom they were." 3. Ex. 31: 12-17. Jehovah addressed himself unto "the children of Israel," never to any other nation or people; and he repeated often to Israel that the Sabbath was "a sign" between himself, Adventism and the Bible. 121 on the one hand, and themselves, on the other, and that it was to remain a sign throughout their generations. In this he had nothing to say about the heathen nations. 4. Ezek. 36: 21-27. Here Jehovah distin- guishes between the "heathen" and "the house of Israel." 5. Deut. 5: 15. The Sabbath was given as a commemoration of the deliverance of the Hebrew nation from Egypt. II. The heathen are particularly excluded from God's benefits. 1. Ezek. 20: 9. The prophet speaks lightly of the heathen. 2. Rom. 2 : 14. The Gentiles had not the law. 3. Eph. 3: 11-19. The Gentiles were aliens, strangers, without hope and without God. Surely, then, the Sabbath was not given to this unfortunate people. No; it was the sole posses- sion of Israel. The Foundation of the Sabbath. 1. First stone — Creation. 2. Second stone — Exodus. Creation is the reason why the seventh day should be chosen — because the work of creation was completed on that day. The exodus is the sole and only reason why this day should be given to Israel. Had there been no creation, there would have been no seventh day; or had there been no exodus, this day would not have been 122 Adventism and the Bible. given to Israel. Creation gave the seventh day, and the exodus gave the Hebrew nation. The two events, taken together, constitute the foun- dation of the Sabbath institution. Ex. 20: 8-11 — Creation stone. Deut. 5 : 15 — Exodus stone. The Sabbath a "Sign" to Israel. Ex. 31: 13-17: "Speak thou also unto the chil- dren of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. . . . Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for- ever." Thus it is so stated. The Sabbath was (and still is) a sign between God and the Jews ; and if language has any meaning, it is a sign between God and no other nation or people. Any chosen thing, in order that it may be a sign, must ob- viously be the exclusive property of the one to whom it is a sign. The following are a few of the many signs one finds in scanning through the Bible : 1. The harlot, Rahab, hung out a red string, a sign of her crib. (Josh. 2.) 2. The man carrying the pitcher of water, a Adventism and the Bible. 123 sign of the place where the room for the last sup- per was to be selected. (Luke 22 : 101) 3. An ass and the foal. (Matt. 21: 2.) 4. Judas kissing the Lord. (Matt. 26: 47, 48.) 5. Circumcision, sign of the covenant. (Rom. 4: 11.) CHAPTER XVII. Christ's Attitude Toward the Sabbath. No one denies that our Lord kept the Sabbath. He kept the passover and every other service of the law. Regarding his attitude toward the Sab- bath, consider the following : 1. It was his custom to teach in the synagogue at Nazareth on the Sabbath. (Luke 4:,, 16.) 2. At Capernaum "he taught in the synagogue" on the Sabbath days. (Luke 4: 30.) 3. He healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. (Matt. 12: 9-14.) 4. On the Sabbath he cured the impotent man. (John 5: 1-18.) 5. At another time he taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath. (Mark 6 : 1-6.) 6. On the Sabbath day the blind man received his sight. (John 9: 1-16.) 7. The woman with a spirit of infirmity was made whole on the Sabbath. (Luke 13: 10-17.) 8. The leprous man was cured on the Sabbath. (Luke 14: 1-6.) 9. Jesus and his apostles went through the cornfields on the Sabbath day. (Matt. 12: 1-8.) 10. Christ stated that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2: 27.) 11. He instructed his disciples to pray that Adventism and the Bible. 125 their flight from Jerusalem might not be on the Sabbath nor in the winter, when the city should be besieged by the Romans. (Matt. 24: 15-21.) 12. He taught regarding mercy versus circum- cision on the Sabbath. (John 7: 21.) The Winter Made Sacred. "But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." (Matt. 24: 21.) Jesus is here foretelling the certain destruc- tion of Jerusalem. This happened A.D. 70. He knew the gates would be closed on the Sabbath. He knew it would be impossible to get out of the city on the Sabbath day, should the Romans choose the Sabbath day as the day when they were to lay siege to the holy place. It would mean certain death to be penned in on the Sab- bath. They were to pray, therefore, that the siege might come on one of the other days. He knew the winter would be severe. It would mean death by exposure should they be compelled to make their flight from the stricken city in the winter. Their prayers were that they might es- cape these two dilemmas. The Advent position relative to this passage is absurd. They contend that Jesus seeks to regard the sacredness of the Sabbath as far down as A.D. 70. His disciples were to pray that they would not be compelled to desecrate the Sabbath by fleeing for their lives on that day ! f WHAT ABOUT THE WINTER? WAS 1 1 THE WINTER SACRED ALSO? J 126 Adventism and the Bible. Christ Lord of the Sabbath. "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." (Mark 2: 28.) In this he declares himself to be greater than the Sabbath. "The Sabbath was made for man." From this we must understand that the Sabbath is inferier to man. The Sabbath is a tool in the hands of man — for his service. Man, therefore, is not the slave of the Sabbath. But Adventists are slaves to the Sabbath. Christ Greater Than the Sabbath. "But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." .(Matt. 12: 6.) The most sacred thing in the Jewish economy was the temple. They made their oaths by the temple. The temple was greater than the Sab- bath, just as the whole of anything is as great as all its parts and greater than either one of its parts. The Sabbath was a part of the temple service. But here our Lord asserts that he is greater than the temple; hence, greater than ei- ther one or any combination of its parts. That Christ kept the Sabbath is to be expected. Why should he not keep it? He likewise kept the passover; he observed circumcision; he kept all the feasts and all the services of the old order. He lived in perfect obedience to a system which he came to abolish. If his example in keeping the Sabbath should require us to keep it, what about the passover, circumcision, and all the feasts? CHAPTER XVIII. The Sabbath in the Days of the Apostles. The Levitical dispensation was, in many ways, directly typical of the Christian dispensation. The theme of the letter to the Hebrews amply confirms this statement. Israel's history dates from the night of the ex- odus; but the law was not given until fifty days afterwards. Legally and essentially speaking, therefore, the Levitical dispensation dates no fur- ther back than the giving of the law. The parallel between the two dispensations is this: The Christian dispensation may have be- gun with the cross ; but the Christian law was not given until Pentecost, fifty days after the cross. Legally and essentially speaking, therefore, the Christian dispensation dates no further back than Pentecost. Ceremonies and rites in effect before Pentecost are not necessarily binding now; but laws given and examples offered this side of Pentecost should arouse our inquiry and interest and enlist our support. Adventists, while admitting that we find no law in the new covenant enjoining the observance of the Sabbath, contend that we do find numerous examples of its having been kept by Christians; and they insist, on perfectly good grounds, that we should seek to follow inspired examples. 128 Adventism and the Bible. But, before going further, let us understand a very essential point : THERE IS AN ESSENTIAL DIFFER- ENCE BETWEEN AN ACT OF AN APOS- TLE WHICH IS INTENDED TO BE AN INSPIRED EXAMPLE AND AN ACT OF AN APOSTLE WHICH IS INTENDED TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN AN ACT OF EX- PEDIENCY. We should seek, therefore, not to confuse the two. Thus when Paul remains at Troas to take the communion with "disciples" and when he circumcises Timothy so as not to arouse the prejudice of the Jews in having Timothy accom- pany him — these acts, all doubtless agree, should be viewed from different angles. Acts of Concession. Paul was a man of tact. He did many things at certain times and under particular circum- stances which he himself preached against. Evi- dently every Bible reader knows he often kept the feasts when with Jews; yet he preached to these very Jews that the feasts had lost their meaning. The following are among his conces- sions in this respect : 1. Shaved his head. (Acts 18: 18.) 2. Circumcised Timothy. (Acts 16: 3.) 3. Observed purification. (Acts 21: 23.) 4. To the Jew he was a Jew. (1 Cor. 9: 9.) Here, then, are unmistakable acts of an in- spired apostle. Shall we conclude, therefore, Adventism and the Bible. 129 that they are examples to Christians? Evidently not. Paul had no faith in vows, purification, shaving of heads, and all that kind of stuff. When with Jews, he was a Jew. But it cannot be said of him that when he was with Gentiles he was a Gentile. The Gentiles were heathen, and he gave order to the Corinthi- ans not to partake with the heathen of their feasts. (1 Cor. 8.) This, of course, he himself would not do. The difference lies in the simple fact that all the observances of the Jews — all the law : the civil, religious, and ceremonial — were in themselves moral, while the heathen feasts were held in honor of one or more of their gods. We should see in this that Paul was particular to distinguish between mere matters of expe- diency and courtesy and the weightier matters of principle. While Paul often compromised, he never surrendered. We are told by Adventists that Paul often ob- served the Sabbath and taught his converts to do so. There are five instances in the New Tes- tament where Paul and the Sabbath come to- gether, and it is but fair that we should give careful attention to these instances. They are as follows : 1. At Antioch, in Pisidia. (Acts 13: 14.) 2. At Antioch, in Pisidia. (Acts 13: 42-44.) 3. At Philippi, in Macedonia. (Acts 16: 12- 14.) 4. At Thessalonica, in Greece. (Acts 17: 1-4.) 5. At Corinth, in Greece. (Acts 18: 3, 4.) 9 130 Adventism and the Bible. This is the list complete. Not so many, to be sure; but if we shall find that Paul observed the Sabbath at either one of these places, the con- tention of the Adventists will prove to be true. Let us consider them separately : 1. At Antioch, in Pisidia. — Paul and Barnabas, on their first missionary tour, "passing through from Perga," went to Antioch, in Pisidia. "And they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day." After the regular Sabbath service which the Jews were holding when the two strange gen- tlemen arrived, Paul and Barnabas were met by the Jewish leaders and asked if they had any- thing they wished to say to the congregation. They had, of course. Paul preached — to these Jews whom he found congregated for worship in their synagogue when he and Barnabas arrived. The Jews seemed pleased, and asked that he would preach for them again the next Sabbath. He agreed to do so, and the following Sabbath the Gentiles were invited to attend the services also. Thus it is clear that the Gentiles of An- tioch, in Pisidia, came to a Jewish synagogue to hear a strange missionary preach a gospel ser- mon. WHEN PAUL BEGAN PREACHING TO THIS AUDIENCE OF JEWS AND GEN- TILES ON THIS SECOND SABBATH, HE AND BARNABAS WERE THE ONLY CHRISTIANS, NOT ONLY IN THE SYN- AGOGUE, BUT ALSO IN ANTIOCH; AND THEY WERE THE FIRST CHRISTIANS THAT HAD EVER BEEN IN ANTIOCH. Adventism and the Bible. 131 Now for a few questions. Why did Paul and Barnabas go to this synagogue — a Jewish place of worship ? The answer is : Because they knew they would find a sympathetic audience there. They were both Jews. Why did they go on the Sabbath? Because they knew they would find the Jews at worship. An Adventist will foolishly ask: "But why did not these missionaries go to the synagogue on Sunday if they kept Sunday?" I answer : Why did not these missionaries set the Lord's table and invite their Jewish brethren to partake with them? They did not offer the com- munion. We must be sensible in matters of this kind. 2. At Antioch, in Pisidia. — The second meet- ing, the next Sabbath, was held in the same "syn- agogue"— the same Jewish place of worship. There was not a Christian present until a Jew or a Gentile was converted by Paul's preaching — not one present except Paul and Barnabas. Yet 0. A. Johnson, author of "The Bible Textbook" and some other textbooks on Bible subjects, af- firms that Paul preached here in Antioch, of Pisidia, in a "Christian church!" (We will con- sider Johnson's contentions at the close of this chapter.) 3. At Philippi, in Macedonia. — Paul, with a company of missionaries, crossed over into Mace- donia from Asia Minor. On the Sabbath he and his company went out to the river's edge where there was a prayer meeting, attended, for the most part, it seems, by women. That these were 132 Adventism and the Bible. Jewish women admits of no questions. Philippi was not a Jewish city, but Roman. But there were a few Jews living in this Roman city, and these few were strict observers of the ceremonies of the Levitical order. There had been no Chris- tians in Philippi, so far as we know, up to this time. Lydia, in all probability, was the leader of this little band of Jews. Paul, as at Antioch, in Pisidia, preached the gospel to these lonely Jew- ish women who were far away from the land of their nativity. Lydia was converted and became a Christian. 4. At Thessalonica, in Greece. — Here, again, "was a synagogue of the Jews." There was no Christian church in Thessalonica, nor a Christian when Paul and his company arrived. The pas- sage states that Paul, "as his custom was/' went into this synagogue and taught the people — taught the Jews who worshiped there — just as he had done at Antioch, in Pisidia. 5. At Corinth, in Greece. — Paul came to Cor- inth from Thessalonica alone. Here he found a "certain Jew named Aquila with his wife Pris- cilla." Paul lodged with Aquila and Priscilla, and he went with them to their services held in their synagogue on the Sabbath. Furthermore, "he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath." Both "Jews and Greeks" attended these services in the synagogues, for many Greeks had become proselytes of the Jewish faith. On Forty-Third and Michigan Boulevard, Chicago, is a big Jew- ish temple which holds regular Sunday services, Adventism and the Bible. 133 and the sermon is delivered in English ! This is so of all large cities in this country. • Jews swept into the very vortex of the Christian faith by the force of surrounding conditions ! But this is a wheel within a wheel; for many Gentiles, living in the radius of the influence of this Jewish tem- ple in Chicago, or such temples everywhere, are regular attendants at these Sunday services of the Jews. After this fashion, therefore, Gen- tiles who lived in the neighborhood of this Jew- ish synagogue in Corinth attended the services on the Sabbath, whether they were proselytes of the Jewish religion or not. Paul regularly "rea- soned in the synagogue every Sabbath,'' persuad- ing these Jews and Greeks. Among the Gentiles who attended this synagogue was a man by the name of "Titus Justus," who was not a Greek, but a Roman. Titus Justus believed — the first convert, beyond doubt, to the Christian faith in Corinth. Then opposition to Paul arose. Luke does not tell us that Aquila and Priscilla did not become converts at this time, but he does tell us that Paul left them and went to live with Titus Justus. The conversion of Titus Justus marks Paul's break with the synagogue worship in Corinth. From this time on he preached no more in the synagogue, though he remained in Corinth "a year and six months." It is, doubtless, to be un- derstood that he did his preaching in the house of Titus Justus. 134 Adventism and the Bible. Observations. Such, then, is the array of passages in the New Testament that connects Paul and the Sabbath. Nowhere do we find a passage that even intimates that Paul kept the Sabbath ; nowhere do we find a passage that states that he preached to Chris- tians on the Sabbath. r I CHALLENGE ANY ONE TO FIND-| J THE PASSAGE THAT STATES THAT I I PAUL KEPT THE SABBATH OR TAUGHT f i any one else to do so. j Advent Contentions. Seventh-Day Adventists teach and preach ev- erywhere that Paul found Christians keeping the Sabbath wherever he went, and that he kept the Sabbath with them. They teach that he preached to Christians in Christian churches on the Sab- bath. They base such contention wholly on the five passages we have just considered. I quote the following from Prof. 0. A. John- son's textbook, "Bible Doctrines/' referred to in the foregoing. This is from the revised edition, published August 9, 1911. I quote Lesson XLIL, page 68: "3. The church in Antioch, in Pisidia, which was raised up by Paul and was composed largely of Gentiles, kept the Sabbath. (Acts 13: 43, 44.) "4. Paul advised these Christians to continue in grace; hence these Gentile Sabbath keepers were under grace. (Acts 13: 43, 44.) "5. At the council of the apostles and elders at Jeru- salem, A.D. 51, we learn that the converted Gentiles held Adventism and the Bible. 135 their regular meetings on the Sabbath. (Acts 15: 19, 21.) ... "8. The church raised up at Thessalonica held their meetings on the Sabbath. (Acts 17: 1, 2.) "9. The church at Corinth, Greece, kept the Sabbath. (Acts 18: 1-4, 11.) . . . "11. Since the early Christian churches after Christ's ascension kept the Sabbath, it follows that they regarded it binding upon them; and hence it is equally binding now upon Christians." Professor Johnson contends that the "con- verted Gentiles held their regular meetings on the Sabbath." He states that we learn this from the fifteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Let us look into this. Acts 15: 21: "For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, be- ing read in the synagogues every Sabbath." This passage, says Johnson, is evidence that "converted Gentiles held their regular meetings on the Sabbath." To speak foolishly, in all prob- ability these "converted Gentiles," per the word- ing of the passage, had been holding their meet- ings on the Sabbath "from generations of old." This is what the passage says. This was A.D. 51, so Johnson confesses — just eighteen years after the Lord had ascended. Yet "from generations of old" these Gentile converts of the Lord had been holding their meetings on the Sabbaths ! There is generally sufficient evidence in every pas- sage to overthrow any false theory that might be built up regarding it, but this passage seems to have a double supply. 136 Adventism and the Bible. Notice No. "3." Johnson says "the church" at Antioch ; the text says "the synagogue." Who is right? Johnson says Paul went into "a church" at Antioch "which was raised up by Paul." This was Paul's first visit to Antioch. Yet, contends Johnson, and Adventism through him, when Paul arrived in Antioch he found "a church" there which he himself had raised up ! Some quick missionary work ! Notice No. "8." Another "church" which, doubtless, had been raised up by Paul before he visited Thessalonica ; and they also "held their meetings on the Sabbath." But the text declares in plain English that this supposed church was "a synagogue of the Jews." (Acts 17: 1, 2.) In every passage we find "synagogue of the Jews," and every time Adventists read "Christian church." Why will they do this ? Notice No. "9." Here, again, according to Mr. Johnson, it is "a church" that Paul found at Cor- inth. But the record says plainly "a synagogue." These are the passages on which Adventists base their claims that the Sabbath was kept by apostolic Christians. CHAPTER XIX. The Sabbath Abolished. Adventists make a prolonged effort to show a real distinction between the weekly Sabbath and what they term the "annual Sabbaths." It is their contention that the weekly Sabbath was of more importance in the Mosaic law than the an- nual Sabbaths. This becomes necessary because of the very simple fact, as they will readily admit, the New Testament offers no apology in stating clearly that there were some Sabbaths that were done away. Adventists would tell us that there were seven annual Sabbaths in the old order ; and J. N. An- drews, in his "History of the Sabbath," names them as follows : 1. First day of unleavened bread. (Lev. 23 : 5-7.) "Holy convocation." 2. Seventh day of unleavened bread. (Ex. 16: 15, 16.) "Holy convocation." 3. Pentecost. (Lev. 23: 21.) "Holy convoca- tion." 4. First day of the seventh month. (Lev. 23 : 24, 35.) "A Sabbath." 5. The day of atonement. (Lev. 23: 27, 32.) "A Sabbath of rest." 6. The fifteenth day of the seventh month. (Lev. 23: 39.) "A Sabbath." 138 Adventism and the Bible. 7. The twenty-first day of the seventh month. (Lev. 23: 39.) "A Sabbath." We ask the reader to count the "Sabbaths" in this list. Four ! Three of the supposed Sabbaths are nothing more nor less than "convocations." These are the words that are used in the English versions. Consider the following terms : 1. "Holy convocation." Greek: hagia, "holy;" klaataa, "convocation." 2. "Rest;" "cessation." Greek: anapausis. 3. "Sabbath." Greek: Sabbata. Turning to the Septuagint, from which our English versions are translated, we find the words that are used in this list of supposed seven Sabbaths to be the following : 1. Klaataa hagia: "holy convocation." 3. Klaataa hagia: "holy convocation." 3. Klaataa hagia: "holy convocation." 4. Anapausis: "rest, refreshment." 5. Sabbata: "Sabbath," a holy day. 6. Anapausis: "rest, refreshment." 7. Anapausis: "rest, refreshment." Thus three of the supposed annual Sabbaths turn out to be anapausis — "rest, refreshment." There is nothing holy about an anapausis. An anapausis was a national holiday, corresponding to George 'Washington's birthday or to our Thanksgiving. Any kind of cessation from la- bor, with the Jew, was an anapausis. Three of the remaining four are seen to be klaataa hagia— "holy convocations." A "holy convocation" was Adventism and the Bible. 139 merely a coming together for some kind of reli- gious service. The service was ho-ly, but not the day on which the convocation took place. Thus the feast of ingathering, held in the fall of the year, was a holy convocation, but the day on which it was held was not a Sabbath. Fortunately for the Adventists, one of the seven was actually a Sabbath day — the day of atonement. f INSTEAD OF THERE BEING SEVEN] -{ ANNUAL SABBATHS, THERE WAS BUT [ LONE— THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. J FEASTS AND SABBATHS DISTINGUISHED. There were, indeed, seven annual feasts. Three of the seven were holy convocations, three were anapausis, and one was a Sabbath. The follow- ing diagram may serve to aid the understanding : THE SEVEN ANNUAL FEASTS. (Lev. 23.) Convocations Cessations Sabbaths First Day of Unleavened Bread Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread Pentecost First Day of the Seventh Month Fifteenth Day of the Seventh Month Twenty-First Day of the Seventh Month THE DAY OF ATONEMENT 140 Adventism and the Bible. Thus all seven are seen to have been feasts; all seven were convocations ; only three reach the "cessation" or rest column; and only one was a "Sabbath !" Lev. 23 : 4 reads : "These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations." They were all feasts and all convocations ; but they were not all Sabbaths. Only one was a Sabbath. Adventists make their mistake in assuming that all these feasts were Sabbaths merely because they were declared to be rest days. Such a position is far from the mark. A Set Order of Service. In Num. 28 : 1-31 we find a set order of service to be followed during the year. There was a daily service (verse 3), a weekly service (verse 9), a monthly service (verse 11), and an annual service (verses 16, 26). We find this set order of service referred to in the Old Testament a number of times and in the New Testament at least once — thus: 1. 1 Chron. 23: 30, 31. Morning and evening, Sabbaths, new moons, and set feasts. 2. 2 Chron. 2 : 4. Morning and evening, Sab- baths, new moons, and set feasts. 3. 2 Chron. 8: 13. Every day, Sabbaths, new moons, and set feasts. 4. 2 Chron. 31 : 3. Morning and evening, Sab- baths, new moons, and set feasts. 5. Neh. 10: 33. Continual, Sabbaths, new moons, and set feasts. Adventism and the Bible. 141 6. Isa. 1 : 13. New moon, Sabbath, appointed feasts. 7. Ezek. 45 : 7. Feasts, new moons, Sabbaths, appointed feasts. 8. Hos. 2: 11. Feasts, new moons, Sabbaths. (Here the order is reversed.) 9. Col. 2: 14-16. Feast day, new moon, Sab- baths. (Here also, as in Hos. 2: 11, the order is reversed.) That Paul, in Col. 2: 14-16, refers to this set order of service, cannot be disputed, once his ref- erence is seen in connection with this catalogue of passages that undisputedly refer to the same thing; and Paul here affirms that the Sabbaths, all the Sabbaths, passed away. The King James Version has "Sabbath days" and the Revised Ver- sion has "a Sabbath" in Col. 2: 14-16. Adventists make an effort — a very prolonged effort, I might say — to avoid Paul's clear-cut statement here. Reasoning from their point of view, their explanation of the passage is satisfac- tory — at least to themselves. But, after all they are able to do with Col. 2 : 14-16, this passage re- mains their greatest obstacle on the question of the passing away of the Sabbath, from the New Testament view of the Sabbath question. They risk all on the plurality of Sabbaths, Sabbath "days," as given in the King James Version. They contend that the weekly Sabbath is nowhere in all the Bible spoken of in the plural. They point to "Sabbath days" of this passage as proof that Paul was speaking of the annual Sabbaths. We 142 Adventism and the Bible. grant them a semblance of show in their premise, and shall proceed to consider their logic. The First Count. — Contrary to their premise that the weekly Sabbath is not spoken of in the plural in the Bible, we find that it is in the fol- lowing passages : 1. Ex. 31: 13. "My Sabbaths." 2. Lev. 19 : 3. "My Sabbaths." 3. Lev. 23 : 38. "The Sabbaths of Jehovah." 4. Isa. 56 : 2, 4. "My Sabbaths." 5. Ex. 20: 12. "My Sabbaths." Here, then, are five passages that declare, in un- mistakable terms, that the Sabbath — the weekly Sabbath — is commonly referred to in the Bible in the plural— "Sabbaths." The Second Count. — According to their prem- ise, the "days" of Col. 2: 14-16 proves beyond a doubt that Paul was speaking of the annual Sab- baths, not the weekly Sabbath; for, per the con- tention, the weekly Sabbath is nowhere in all the Bible referred to after this fashion. We shall, therefore, make an honest effort to investigate the truth of this contention. Accordingly, we find that the expression "Sabbath days" is used in the following passages with reference to the weekly Sabbath: 1. Matt. 12: 5. "The Sabbath d-a-y-s." 2. Matt. 12 : 10. "The Sabbath d-a-y-s." 3. Luke 4: 31. "The Sabbath d-a-y-s." 4. Acts 17 : 2. "The Sabbath d-a-y-s." 5. Col. 2: 14-16. "The Sabbath D-A-Y-S." Adventism and the Bible. 143 ADVENTISTS CHEERFULLY ADMIT 1 THAT SABBATH "DAYS" IN THE FIRST FOUR OF THE ABOVE PASSAGES RE- FERS TO THE WEEKLY SABBATH. WHY, THEREFORE, WE ASK, DOES NOT THE SAME EXPRESSION IN THE FIFTH PASSAGE HAVE REFERENCE TO THE SAME THING? The Third Count. — Per the premise, the fact that Paul here speaks of the "Sabbath days" in connection with certain admitted feasts, annual feasts, it is contended that he must have refer- ence to the annual Sabbaths, which, the Advent- ists admit, passed away. We shall consider this contention. Consider the passage : "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days." (Col. 2: 16.) Paul here, all admit, speaks of (1) meat offer- ings, (2) drink offerings, (3) feast days, (4) new moons — the first day of each month, which was a holiday — and (5) Sabbaths of some kind. Adventists contend that the "Sabbaths" of this passage are the seven ( ? ) annual Sabbaths listed at the beginning of this chapter. We ob- ject to this view, for this very obvious reason: All other possible Sabbaths than the weekly Sab- baths are provided for in the expression, "an holy day," which is No. 3 listed herewith. In the Greek New Testament the expression, "an holy day," is heortaa, and is the regular word for all kinds of feasts. Adventists readily admit that their so-called "annual Sabbaths" were all feasts. 144 Adventism and the Bible. For this reason the proverbial "blind man" could see that Paul spoke of the annual Sabbaths when he used the term heortaa — "an holy day." Since, therefore, aside from the annual Sabbaths, there were no other Sabbaths except the weekly Sab- bath, it is conclusive that Paul referred to no other than the weekly Sabbath. The Fourth Count. — The word "Sabbath," as it is used in the Septuagint, also as it is used in the Greek New Testament, has a regular form. For instance, the genitive (possessive) plural of "Sabbath," in the Greek, is sabbatoon, or, to get the pronunciation more correctly, sabba-tone, the accent on the final syllable. The word "Sab- bath," nominative singular, in the Greek, is sab- bata. It would seem that this would be the form used in commonly speaking of the Sabbath. But not so. The genitive plural, sabbatoon, is inva- riably used. Literally translated, of course, the possessive plural of "Sabbath" is "of the Sab- baths." In John 20: 1, where we read that the women came unto the sepulcher in the end of the Sabbath, the New Testament Greek has it in the end of the sabbatoon — "of the Sabbaths." But the meaning is in the end of the Sabbath — singu- lar. Likewise in Ex. 20: 8 (in the Decalogue) the expression is sabbatoon — "of the Sabbaths." But it is the equivalent of "Sabbath day." Thus we see that sabbatoon is invariably used for "Sabbath." It is this expression which Paul uses in Col. 2: 14-16: "Let no man therefore judge you with respect to the sabbatoon." The follow- Adventism and the Bible. 145 ing list may serve to show how the word is used in familiar passages in the Old Testament: Ex. 20: 8: "Remember the day of the sabba- toon." Lev. 23: 38: "Beside the sabbatoon of the Lord." Lev. 24: 8: "Every sabbatoon he shall eat it." Num. 15 : 32 : "Gather sticks on the day of the sabbatoon." Num. 28: 9: "And on the day of the sabba- toon." Isa. 58 : 13 : "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbatoon." Matt. 28 : 1 : "In the end of the sabbatoon" Luke 4 : 16 : "He went into the synagogue on the sabbatoon." Acts 13: 14: "Went into the synagogue on the sabbatoon." Col. 2 : 16 : "Let no man therefore judge you in respect of . . . the sabbatoon." There is but one word in all the Bible, in the Greek, which, when translated, means "holy Sab- bath of rest," and that word is sabbata; and the genitive (nominative) plural of that word is sab- batoon." In every passage in the Bible where the nominative (genitive) plural of the weekly Sabbath is spoken of the word that is used is sabbatoon. In Col. 2 : 16 Paul uses the word sabbatoon. Nowhere in all the Bible is a feast day referred to by the word sabbatoon. Hence, in the fourth count, Col. 2: 14-16 means the weekly Sabbath. 10 146 Adventism and the Bible. The Fifth Count. — We offer the following dia- gram of "the set order" referred to in the first part of this chapter. We can see no just reason 02 s En < w < H Q < £ - A o * B * w Eh < n n Ed ^ o rt B Q P5 O Eh m B a> cc to oS CD B CD 02 a CD B g CB O m cc cc ccj b 02 cc m B 02 cc o3 CD B CD 02 CD B CD c o ft cc a CD B CO OS CD B C s _CD O 02 >> s3 P CO ct CD B C O O CD c o o CD C O O CD I? C O O CD cc C O O > CD c c c CD 5? aa C c o CD CO s O O CD C o o CD CO m 03 CO 02 CO c6 02 CC 02 cc A d 02 CC A 02 A 02 5 02 be C '3 o CD > B bu e '3 o CD B >> Q CD B on c '3 CD B 1 fajo o b c o O cc bD fl CD o C P ] CD o CO CO C O O o a o to C o A O CO C O u o A CD CO ei CO CD 1 o O O why this diagram should not be conclusive proof that Paul, in Col. 2: 14-16, was speaking of the weekly Sabbath, and of the weekly Sabbath only. Adventism and the Bible. 147 Thus it is that Paul teaches the abolition of the Sabbath, just as he teaches the abolition of all feasts. There were weekly Sabbaths, one an- nual Sabbath, a seven-year Sabbath, and a fif- tieth-year Sabbath, the jubilee. "Sabbaths," in the foregoing diagram, includes all possible Sab- baths — weekly, annual, seven-year, and fiftieth- year. Therefore, according to Paul, every known Sabbath passed away. CHAPTER XX. "On the Morrow After the Sabbath." In the scheme of redemption, which was planned in Christ "before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:8; John 17 : 5) , there was set apart for a holy use the day on which Christ should come forth from the dead. This, among other things, "in other generations" was "hid in God," but "hath now been revealed" by both prophets and apostles. (Eph. 3: 5, 9.) The Harvest of First Fruits. Nearly fifteen hundred years before the birth of Christ, God gave to Moses definite instructions concerning the "first fruits" which was to be offered unto the Lord after Israel should come into the land of promise. A "sheaf" of the first fruits of their harvest, annually, was to be brought unto the priest, and the priest was to wave the sheaf to be accepted for them "on the morrow after the Sabbath" of the passover week. (Lev. 23: 9, 11.) Regarding the different kinds of first fruits that were to be offered, we note the following : Num. 18 : 12. The first of the grain. Ex. 22 : 29. The first of the wine. Adventism and the Bible. 149 Num. 18 : 12. The first of the oil. Num. 28 : 26. The first of the meal. The formal dedication of these offerings is found in Deut. 26: 1-11. Time When Offered. — The first fruits was of- fered on the fiftieth day after the passover, also on the morrow after the passover Sabbath. The fiftieth day after the passover Sabbath was "Pentecost," the feast of Pentecost — pentekosta, "fiftieth." The passover was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month, which was Nisan, begin- ning at eventide and continuing until sundown the next day. (Ex. 12 : 2-6, 18.) The time when the passover was celebrated did not vary, any more than the time when Christmas is celebrated varies. But the Sabbath of the passover week varied just as the day on which Christmas hap- pens to come varies. Thus fifty days from "the morrow after the Sabbath" of the passover week brings us just one day past seven complete weeks. And this is the instruction found in Lev. 23 : 15, 16 ; Ex. 34 : 22 ; Deut. 16 : 9-12. "Seven Sabbaths shall be complete: even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days." The first fruits was offered twice — namely, (1) on the morrow after the Sabbath of the passover week (Lev. 23: 11), and (2) on the fiftieth day after the Sabbath of the passover week — Pente- cost (Lev. 23: 15, 16). The Day of Pentecost. — I shall show that the 150 Adventism and the Bible. fiftieth day after the Sabbath of the passover week invariably was the first day of the week. LEV. 23: 11: "ON THE MORROW AFTER THE SABBATH." THIS, EVI- DENTLY, ALWAYS FELL ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK; FOR THE MOR- ROW AFTER THE SABBATH IS THE ^ FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. Now, beginning with this "morrow after the Sabbath," we are to number "seven Sabbaths complete" (Lev. 23: 15, 16) — that is, seven weeks, plus one day, the next day after the sev- enth complete week. Every week, of course, ends with the Sabbath, the seventh day; and the next day after this last day of the week is the first day of the next week, and that is the first day of the week ! This is obvious enough. Pentecost, there- fore, invariably fell on the first day of the week. Perhaps the following diagram may aid the un- derstanding : LEV. 23: 15, 16. Passover First Day Sabbath Sunday 7th— 1234567-1234657-123456-7-1234567-1234567-1234567-1234567— 1st Count the Sabbaths: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7— "seven Sabbaths complete." Count the days: 7-14-21- 28-35-42-49 — fifty — seven weeks complete, plus one day. Thus Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week. Meaning of the First Fruits. — The first fruits was a type of the resurrected Christ. (1 Cor. 15: 20.) "But now hath Christ been raised for us, the first fruits of them that are asleep." For Adventism and the Bible. 151 fifteen hundred years the first fruits was an an- nual representation of our Lord resurrected. This offering, as we have seen, always was waved before the Lord on the next day after the Sab- bath. This is the day on which he came forth from the dead. IF THE FIRST FRUITS WAS A TYPE 1 OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, OF WHAT WAS THE "MORROW AFTER THE SABBATH," THE DAY ON WHICH IT ALWAYS FELL, A TYPE? "On the First Day of the Week." Why did our Lord come forth from the dead on the first day of the week? Adventists do not take time to answer this question. Indeed, it it is a question whether or not they ever catch the real meaning of it. The Sabbath, with them, is everything. But certain it is, there was a rea- son for our Lord's coming from the dead on the first day of the week. We are told that it was a mere "happen so;" that he had to come forth from the dead on one of the days, and that the first would serve the purpose as well as either of the others. But, seriously, shall we dispose of so important a matter in such a trivial manner? That is the question. Does God perform his deeds after a hit-or-miss fashion, or does he do them according to design? The careful reader will be able, if he is in tune with the narrative, to catch a wonderfully live strain that runs through the Gospels in his peru- 152 Adventism and the Bible. sal of the incidents surrounding the resurrection. You can preach the Sabbath into an audience until you literally kill all the interest the audience ever had in the Sabbath, but you cannot do this with the resurrection. The longer you study it and preach it, the more you have to study and the more you have on your hands to preach. Questions will pile up on you on every hand when you undertake to exhaust the theme of the resurrection. The resurrection is a live subject. The more you handle it, the more it grows. The Sabbath is a dead issue. The more you handle it, the more it crumbles away in your hands. In 1911 Elder Carey, of the Advent faith, and myself were conducting a tent meeting on Fif- teenth and Clay Streets, in Waco, Texas. The cold, spiritless stuff we were preaching to our audience each night began to hang heavy on my hands. I confessed this one night to Elder Carey. We decided to put a little more "scream" into our method of delivery. Elder Carey's first effort was a decided improvement, and so was mine ; but the "scream" reminded me of sticking green leaves on to dead limbs. I abandoned my extra "scream" immediately, and so did Carey. Then one night it was my turn to preach. I was at a loss to know what to preach or how to preach it. I was sitting out in the yard, on the shady side of the house, late in the afternoon, turning through my Bible. My eyes fell on Mark 16 : 4 : "The stone was rolled away." I sat contemplat- ing this passage. The rolling stone! I ate sup- Adventism and the Bible. 153 per and took a walk. That night I used Mark 16 : 4 for a text and preached on the subject, "The Rolling Stone." I began with the "stone" that was cut out of the mountain without hands. (Dan. 2.) I told my audience that this stone was the kingdom of Christ in the world, Christ himself being the chief corner stone and each of us being "lively stones" built upon him. (1 Pet. 2:4.) I re- minded them that this stone is a "living" stone; that life adheres in it; and I told them that this stone began to roll away on the first day of the week. Sitting out in the yard that afternoon, I had wondered why the stone began to roll away on the first day of the week ; and that night I at- tempted to tell the audience why. The reason, as I told them, is because, in this dispensation, Christ is head of the church, because he is the first born from among those who slept, because he has preeminence over all ; and that, therefore, his coming forth from the dead on the first day of the week was merely an arrangement in keep- ing with his position as head and first of every- thing in this dispensation. I had spoken more than was expedient; and Elder Carey, the senior member of the team, was not slow in calling me into council after the ser- mon. At the State camp meeting, held at Dallas, Texas, two weeks later, Elder McCutchen, the State president, reprimanded me severely for preaching such doctrine. They both told me that I had ventured out on dangerous ground. 154 Adventism and the Bible. Why Our Lord Came Forth from the Dead on the First Day of the Week. 1. To show that he is first. Col. 1 : 14, 15 : "The first born of every crea- ture." 2. To show that he is the beginning. Col. 1 : 18 : "Who is the beginning." Rev. 1 : 8 : "I am . . . the beginning." Rev. 3: 14: "The beginning of the creation of God." 3. To show that he is the head. Eph. 1 : 22 : "He is the head of the body." 4. To show that he is preeminent in this dispensa- tion. Eph. 1: 18: "That in all things he might have the preeminence." Matt. 28 : 18 : "All authority hath been given unto me." Rev. 12: 7: "And there was war in heaven. . . . And the great dragon was cast down." Rev. 19: 16: "King of kings, and Lord of lords." The stone that is eventually to destroy the kingdoms of men and bring in the eternal reign of Christ on earth began to be rolled away on the morning of the resurrection. The first Pentecost after that event gave this stone a tremendous send off. Since then it has been found that our Lord is first in point of prominence in the affairs of this world; that he is the beginning of all things that result in good; and that he is the Adventism and the Bible. 155 head of his body, the church. In coming forth from the dead, therefore, on the first day of the week, which is the head, the beginning of the week, he thereby showed forth his position among men — the head, the beginning, and the first of all interests. "When the Day of Pentecost Was Fully Come." Adventists make a strenuous effort to show that the day of Pentecost fell, not on Sunday, but on the Sabbath. They admit, however, that the count of fifty days should begin on "the morrow after the Sabbath." But they take it that the passover day, always the fifteenth day of the first month (beginning at sundown on the fourteenth day and ending at sundown on the fifteenth day), was regarded by the Jews as a "Sabbath," and that this is the supposed "Sabbath" spoken of in Lev. 23: 11. r JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED ON THE -| J PASSOVER DAY— THE FIFTEENTH DAY I \ OF THE FIRST MONTH, FRIDAY. J The "morrow after the Sabbath," therefore, considering the passover day as the "Sabbath" spoken of, was the next day (Saturday), the day our Lord lay in the tomb. The waving of the sheaf offering, then, the first fruits, typified his death rather than his resurrection ! This is grossly inconsistent on the face of it. In the summer of 1911 I stenciled the follow- 156 Adventism and the Bible. ing chart for T. W. Field, then president of the West Texas Conference of Seventh-Day Advent- ists, and was present when he made his argu- ments from the chart in debate with a Christian minister : PENTECOST. Friday Saturday 6th— 7123456-7123456-7123456-7123456-7123456-7123456-7123456— 7th 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-8 ( LEV. 23: 15: "SEVEN SABBATHS) j SHALL THERE BE COMPLETE." j Count the Sabbaths in Field's chart: 1-2-3-4-5- 6-7-8 ! j LEV. 23: 16: "EVEN UNTO THE MOR- ) j ROW AFTER THE SEVENTH SABBATH." \ Put your pencil on the day after the seventh Sabbath in the chart — the "1." Now count the days up to this day, 7-14-21-28-35-42, and the "7" makes 43, and the next day makes 44 days! Thus Elder Field's chart is too short on days and too long on weeks — also too long on weaks! Now turn back to my chart in this chapter. Compare it with Field's chart, and it will be seen clearly that Pentecost could fall on no other day than the first day of the week. Events Divinely Arranged Which Took Place on the First Day of the Week. I. The new law was given on this day. "Significance has been found in the fact that the law was given from Sinai on the fiftieth day after the deliv- erance from Egypt." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, Teach- ers' Edition, Article "Pentecost.") Adventism and the Bible. 157 Isa. 2: 2-4 states that "in the last days" "the word of the Lord" would go forth from Jerusa- lem, and that the people, "all nations," would volunteer to "walk in his law." Joel 2: 28 adds that at that time, in "the last days," the Spirit of the Lord would be poured out on his servants, causing many to prophesy. The Spirit was poured out on the first Pente- cost after the resurrection of Christ, which Peter declared was a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Acts 2: 17) ; and as the law was to be given when the Spirit was poured out, it follows that the new law went into effect on the first Pente- cost after Christ's resurrection. The Father acknowledged Christ to be his only begotten Son after he came forth from the dead — "this day have I begotten thee." (Ps. 2: 7; Acts 13: 33.) At this time Christ took his seat upon the "holy hill of Zion." (Ps. 2 : 6.) Then it was that the new law was given. (Heb. 12 : 18-29.) On this great day of Pentecost many cried out, "What shall we do?" and Peter gave the new law of pardon for this dispensation : "Repent ye, and be baptized." (Acts 2: 38.) Christ on this day was crowned King. (Ps. 2 : 6.) Ever since he has reigned as King. (1 Cor. 15: 24, 25.) II. The Comforter was given on this day. The Comforter promised. (John 14: 26.) 158 Adventism and the Bible. The Comforter given. (Acts 2: 1-17.) III. The church was born on this day. "Just as the appearance of God on Sinai was the birth- day of the Jewish nation, so was the Pentecost the birth- day of the Christian church. (Smith's Bible Dictionary, Article "Pentecost.") During his personal ministry Christ had said: "I will build my church." (Matt. 16: 16-18.) John the Baptist prepared the way for this church; Christ built the edifice; and the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, formally opened the door into the church. This door has remained open ever since. (Rev. 3: 7.) Hence: 1. Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week. 2. Pentecost was always on the first day of the week. 3. The new law went forth on the first day of the week. 4. The Holy Spirit descended on the first day of the week. 5. Christ was crowned King on the first day of the week. 6. Our Lord was recognized as, and confessed to be, the only begotten from the dead on the first day of the week. 7. The church of Christ was born on the first day of the week. CHAPTER XXI. The Lord's Day in Gospel History. We have seen that the resurrection day was foretold fifteen centuries before the great event happened. Our Lord came forth from the dead on the first day of the week ; the Spirit was given on the first day of the week ; the church was born on the first day of the week; our Lord was crowned King at that time, and the new law went into effect. If we were told by inspiration that these great happenings were divinely ap- pointed to take place on this day, and that by so taking place they hallowed the day, there would never have been the slightest quibbling over the matter. All, then, could have seen the consist- ency underlying the events. If they could see the consistency then, why not now ? Hence the tran- spiration of the events we have enumerated must be taken to be sufficient to mark the resurrec- tion day as a sacred day — sacred in every sense in which it is held by Christians. In this chapter we shall consider Acts 20: 7; 1 Cor. 16: 1,2; Rev. 1: 10. Acts 20 : 7. "And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days ; where we tarried seven days. 160 Adventism and the Bible. And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight." (Acts 20: 6, 7.) In this passage the following facts are clearly stated : 1. Paul and his company left Philippi "after the days of unleavened bread." 2. The trip across to Troas required "five days." 3. There they tarried "seven days." 4. "And upon the first day of the week," when the disciples "were gathered together to break bread," Paul preached to them. j WHY DID THEY TARRY SEVEN DAYS 1 } IN TROAS? \ The tarrying ended with the "first day of the week." Thus they were in Troas Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday 12 3 4 5 6 7 Paul remained there so as to meet the brethren and to preach to them. This statement will not be disputed. Why wait, then, until Sunday to meet with them? He arrived Monday. Why not call them together that very evening, discourse unto them, and set sail the next morning? In answering this question, it must be granted that some of the brethren lived in the country. These were away from the city during the week. This is so of churches to-day where the membership Adventism and the Bible. 161 is composed partly of country people. Now it is quite easy, in most cases, to call up the country members by telephone and have them out to church any evening. This was not so then. We are not told why Paul waited until Sunday, but we are told that he waited. It is not overstepping the bounds of reason or the logical trend of the matter to assume that he waited until Sunday because he knew the rural membership would come in to break bread on that day. When the first day of the week arrived, the passage states that the disciples "came together." Only a lim- ited number knew Paul was present. This will not be disputed. The others, therefore, came to- gether — why? "To break bread." This, mind you, was a Christian church — "dis- ciples" — and not a "synagogue of the Jews." And this Christian church, Luke writes, came to- gether on the first day of the week "to break bread." Breaking Bread. — Adventists teach that break- ing bread in this passage means eating a common meal. We deny this. Paul writes : "What, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? ... If any man is hungry, let him eat at home." (1 Cor. 11: 22, 34.) Eating the ordinary meal, therefore, was done "at home." The church did not "come together" for the purpose of eating a common meal. BREAKING BREAD AND EATING] "MEAT" ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. I (READ ACTS 2: 42, 46.) J 11 162 Adventism and the Bible. Luke does not say the disciples came together to eat their "meat," but to "break bread" — that is, they came together for the purpose of partak- ing of the communion. A Night Meeting. — Adventists contend that it is not likely that the disciples took the commun- ion at night. But we remind them of the fact that the communion was instituted at night. The Christian church at Winslow, Ariz., during 1918, while I was pastor, took the communion many times at night. A number of the members were railroad men and could be present only at night. While I was a student at Keene, Texas, the Ad- ventist Church celebrated the ordinances in the afternoon. There is no set time when the com- munion is to be taken. This meeting was held Sunday evening. John, in his biography of Christ, in speaking of the first day of the week, the resurrection day, says : "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week." (John 20 : 19.) In this state- ment John simply confesses that the evening fol- lowing the day is a part of the day. Sunday evening is the evening following Sunday. When, therefore, we read that the disciples came to- gether on the first day of the week for an evening meeting, we know it is Sunday night that is spoken about. 1 Cor. 16: 1, 2. "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. Upon the first day of the week let each Adventism and the Bible. 163 one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." (1 Cor. 16: 1, 2.) In approaching a great passage of the word of God, we should endeavor to feel our way into it, carefully opening its secret doors, viewing its hidden treasures, and systematically tabulating its sacred contents. Just as he who hurries with pomp and bombast into the presence of the moun- tains fails to see the mountains or to catch their wonderful lesson, so he who hurriedly undertakes to cut and carve, slash and slay the word of God finds in the end that the treasure he was seeking has eluded him. Looking carefully, then, into this important passage, we find the following: 1. Paul was speaking to the brethren "concern- ing the collection for the saints." 2. He had already given "order" to the churches of the region of Galatia to make a sim- ilar offering. 3. This collection was to be taken "on the first day of the week." 4. "Each" one was to make an offering as God had prospered him. Paul states that he had already given this same order unto the churches of the region of Galatia. The churches of Macedonia had already made their offering. (See 2 Cor. 8:9.) Here, then, are three regions which had received this same order. The Corinthian church was told to take the offering on "the first day of the week." It is not stepping too far, therefore, to conclude that 164 Adventism and the Bible. Galatia and Macedonia looked after their offer- ings on the first day of the week also. But why the first day of the week? These simple statements, found in the New Testament, should arouse in our minds serious inquiry; for if the churches in these three localities made their contributions on the first day of the week, it is necessary that we conclude that other churches, located in Paul's field of activity and under his supervision, took up their offerings on the same day. There were the "seven churches" in Asia Minor, to whom the book of Revelation was ad- dressed, and we know they were under his super- vision. It must be something of more than pass- ing interest that caused such a concerted recog- nition of a day. But Adventists have a way of explaining this passage. Here is their way: "Mr. J. W. Morton, late Presbyterian missionary to Hayti, bears the following testimony: " 'The whole question turns upon the meaning of the expression, "by himself;" and I marvel greatly how you can imagine that it means "in the collection box of the congregation." Greenfield, in his lexicon, translates the Greek term, "with one's self" — i. e., at home. Two Latin versions — the Vulgate and that of Castellio — render it "apud se," with one's self; at home. Three French trans- lations — those of Martin, Osterwald, and De Sacy — "chex soi," at his own house; at home. The German of Luther, "bei sich selbst," by himself; at home. The Dutch, "by themselves," same as the German. The Italian of Felippe Scio, "en su casa," in his own house. The Portuguese of Ferreira, "para isso," with himself. The Swedish, "naer sig self," near himself.' " (J. N. Andrews' "History of the Sabbath," pages 176, 177.) Adventism and the BlBjLE. 165 Why give all these worthless translations of the original Greek? Why not give the Greek it- self? What could eight hundred translations of the meaning of the Greek add to the Greek? Four times in the above list Mr. Morton, who, by the way, was a convert to Adventism, and not a "Presbyterian," as Andrews states, adds gratis, "at home." He states that Greenfield, the Greek lexicographer, gives "at home" as part of the translation of the Greek phrase. NOT SO ! The words "at home" in Greenfield is his comment, not the translation of tlje phrase. "At home" is separated from the translation by a semicolon. This Morton should have been familiar with grammar enough to notice. The original Greek is par heh-auto. Greenfield, whom Morton misquotes, says this means "by one's self;" at home. "By one's self" is his translation; "at home," his comment. It was Greenfield's opinion that "at home" is the mean- ing of "by himself." But "at home" is not in the phrase. Here is the Greek: Par — by. Heh-auto — one's self. The meaning is that each member was to con- sider it his duty, a personal matter with himself, to contribute as he had been prospered. The ex- pression is equivalent to "of his own accord." Rev. 1: 10. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." (Rev. 1: 10.) 166 Adventism and the Bible. J. N. Andrews, Sabbath historian, will present the Advent view of this passage : "That the first day of the week has no claim to the title of 'Lord's day' the following facts will show: (1) As this text does not define the term 'Lord's day,' we must look elsewhere in the Bible for the evidence that shows the first day to be entitled to such a designation; (2) Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul — the other sacred writers who men- tion the day — use no other definition for it than 'first day of the week.'" {"History of the Sabbath," page 189.) First Reason Considered. — "This text does not define the term 'Lord's day.' " For this reason he insists that we must "look elsewhere in the Bible" for a definition of the expression "Lord's day." Why necessarily "in the Bible?" Why not in the writings of men who lived contempora- neously with John? That is the exact point An- drews, in his history, is already beginning to op- pose. He does not wish to go to contemporaneous history. He knows what he will find there. His Second Reason Considered. — The Gospel writers and Paul all mention the first day of the week, yet did not call it "Lord's day !" He would dictate just the terms inspired writers should use! But it was the Holy Spirit, not Elder An- drews, who was to "guide" them into all truth. WE FIND "LORD'S SUPPER" IN 1 COR. J l 11: 20 ONLY; YET ALL THE OTHER GOS- L PEL WRITERS KNEW OF IT. Consider the following : 1. John uses the term "Lord's day." It could not refer to the first day of the week, for no other Gospel writer makes such use of the term. Adventism and the Bible. 167 2. Paul uses the term "Lord's Supper." It could not refer to the communion of the Lord's blood and body, for no other Gospel writer makes such use of the term. Andrews concludes: "That the Lord's day is the Bible Sabbath admits of clear and certain proof." ("History of the Sabbath," page 191.) The reader presumes, on reading this passage at the top of page 191 of Andrews' "History," that several pages of the "clear and certain proof" would be appended ; but — lo ! — on the next page the chapter ends ! He quotes the following passages without comment : Gen. 2:3; Ex. 16 : 23; Isa. 58: 13, 14; Mark 2: 28. He argues for "God's holy day;" but God's holy day is not un- der discussion, any more than God's holy house is under discussion, or God's holy people, or God's holy sacrifices, or God's holy passover, or any of God's holy things. But we are discussing the "Lord's day." The Meaning of "Lord." To whom does "Lord" in Rev. 1: 10 refer? In the Greek the words translated "Lord's day" are keeriakaa hameera. Keeriakaa is an adjec- tive, meaning lordic, lordly, lordean — pertaining to a lord. Hameera is the regular word for "day." We offer the following statements from author- ities : "Keeriakaa, of or pertaining to the Lord — i. e., the Mes- siah, the Lord's. (1 Cor. 11: 20; Rev. 1: 10.)" (Green- field.) 168 Adventism and the Bible. "Keeriakos, pertaining to the Lord, to the Lord Jesus Christ — e. g., keeriakon diepnon, the Lord's Supper. (1 Cor. 11: 20) ; keeriakaa hameera, the Lord's day." (Rob- inson.) "Keeriakos, of, belonging to, concerning a lord or mas- ter; esp., belonging to the Lord (Christ) ; hence, haa keeriakaa, sub. hameera, the Lord's day; . . . to keeriakon, the Lord's house; . . . whence our kyrke, church." (Liddell and Scott.) Some Things the Lord's. 1. "The Lord's body." (1 Cor. 11: 29.) 2. "The Lord's death." (1 Cor. 11: 26.) 3. "The Lord's table." (1 Cor. 10: 21.) 4. "The Lord's Supper." (1 Cor. 11: 20.) 5. "The Lord's day." (Rev. 1: 10.) 6. "The disciples of the Lord." (Acts 9:1.) 7. "The blood of the Lord." (1 Cor. 11 : 27.) 8. "The house of the Lord." (1 Tim. 3: 15.) In each of these passages "Lord" is translated from keeriakos, and is the word used everywhere for our Lord Christ. Some New Terms. "Christians," "elders," "deacons," "bishop," "church," "baptism," "Lord's Supper," "evangel- ists," "gospel," "apostles," "Lord's day," "Lord's body" — all these terms, as used in the New Tes- tament, were newly coined. New movements al- ways produce new terms. Since the war we have become acquainted with "camouflage," "raid," "over the top," "Sammy," etc. The foregoing terms are products of the gospel of the first cen- tury. The gospel gave to the word the term Adventism and the Bible. 169 "Lord's day." It is a day pertaining to our Lord. There is but one day that can be meant — the day of his resurrection, the day of his victory over death and the grave. Contemporaneous church history, as we shall see later, leaves no doubt in our minds on this point. The "Lord's Supper" does not refer to the pass- over supper, although the passover was the Lord's Supper, but to the communion of the body and blood of Christ. The "Lord's body" does not re- fer to the house of Israel, although Israel was the Lord's body, but to the church of Christ. The "Lord's table" does not refer to the passover, although the passover was the Lord's table, but to the supper our Lord instituted. The "house of the Lord" does not refer to the chosen people of the old dispensation, although they were the house of the Lord, but to Christians. The "house of the Lord" is not a synagogue, but a church. We fail to see the consistency, therefore, or the logic in applying the term the "Lord's day" to the Sabbath. It can have but one meaning, and that meaning is the day of our Lord's resurrection. CHAPTER XXII. The Lard's Day in the Second Century. There is a veritable "petrified forest" of Chris- tian writers who lived in the second and third centuries of the Christian era. These men com- municated with those who had lived with the in- spired writers. Pliny, 104 A.D. Pliny was a Roman governor of the province of Bythinia. Christianity flourished in his prov- ince while he was governor. Out of patriotism for the best interest of the empire, Pliny inter- viewed these Christians and reported as follows to the Emperor Trajan: ". . . They assured me that they were wont, on a stated day, to meet together before it was light, and to sing a hymn to Christ, as to a god, alternately, . . . after which it was their custom to depart and to meet again at a common, but innocent, meal." (Pliny's Let- ters, b. 10, epis. 97.) The controversy hinges around this "stated day." J. N. Andrews, Sabbath historian of the Adventists, confesses that "This testimony from Pliny . . . does not desig- nate what day of the week was thus observed." ("His- tory of the Sabbath," Revised Edition, page 268.) Regarding the day on which Christians assem- bled for worship, Mosheim speaks as follows : Adventism and the Bible. 171 "Their meetings were on the first day of the week; and, in some places, they assembled also on the seventh, which was celebrated by the Jews." (Mosheim's "Church His- tory," Cent. 2, Part 2, Chapter IV., Paragraph 8.) Christians who were of Jewish extraction con- tinued to worship on the Sabbath also along with their celebration of the first day of the week. They also continued to observe practically all their forms and ceremonies. This is to be ex- pected, and we gladly concede this historical fact. Barnabas, 120 A.D. ". . . We observed the eighth day with gladness, in which Jesus rose from the dead." {Barnabas 18: 9, 10.) Andrews quotes eleven authorities, covering three whole pages of his large book, and all for no other purpose than to prove that this "Barna- bas'' was not Paul's companion. Now, who cares whether Barnabas was Paul's companion or not? That has nothing to do with the value of this tes- timony. All agree that the writer of the epistle of Barnabas was a Christian Jew who lived in the early part of the second century. Andrews says : "The so-called 'epistle of Barnabas' " was "put out by some anonymous Gnostic writer sometime in the second century " {"History of the Sabbath," Re- vised, page 26 U.) In the old edition of his "His- tory of the Sabbath" the same author makes this remark: "This epistle is the only writing pur- porting to come from the first century, except the New Testament, in which the first day is referred to." (Page 237.) The burden of the epistle is summed up in the following statement : 172 Adventism and the Bible. "Therefore he hath shown these things to all of us, that we should not run as proselytes to the Jewish law." (Chapter 2: 20.) Regardless, therefore, of whomsoever wrote the epistle, the content is sufficient to prove that Christians of the second century believed and taught that the Jewish law was abrogated, with its forms, its ceremonies, and its Sabbaths. Justin Martyr, 140 A.D. According to J. N. Andrews, Justin Martyr stands out as the "earliest testimony in behalf of first-day observance that has any claim to be re- garded as genuine." {''History of the Sabbath," Old Edition, page 268.) The works that have given this writer his place among the second-century authors are his First and Second "Apologies" in behalf of Christians and the Christian faith. The "First Defense" was composed at Rome during the reign of An- tonius Pius. These were the years of persecu- tion. Of this writer Andrews allows himself to confess that "he taught the abrogation of the sabbatic institution." ("History of the Sab- bath," Old Edition, page 269.) And L. R. Con- radi, the author of the Revised Edition of the "History of the Sabbath," makes this confession: "In his mind, there was no Sabbath observance before Moses; consequently there is none since Christ." (Page 327.) A portion of the "First Apology" reads as follows: "And upon the day called 'Sunday/ all that live either in city or country meet together at the same place, where Adventism and the Bible. 173 the writings of the apostles are read as much as time will give leave; . . . and, prayers being over, as I now said, there is bread and wine and water offered, and the bishop, as before, sends up prayers and thanksgiving. . . . Then the consecrated elements are distributed to, and par- taken of by, all that are present, and sent to the absent by the hands of the deacons. . . . Upon Sunday we all assemble, that being the first day in which God set himself to work upon the dark void in order to make the world, and in which Jesus our Savior rose again from the dead." {"First Apology" Translated by William Reeves, page 127, Sections 87-89.) From what we know of Justin Martyr, there- fore, we are prepared to affirm, with Andrews, that ' 'Justin was a decided opponent of the an- cient Sabbath." Clement, 194 A.D. Andrews has this on Clement and Clement's testimony : ". . . It is not until we come to the close of the second century that we find the first instance in which it [Sunday] is called 'Lord's day.' Clement of Alexandria uses this title with reference to the 'eighth day.' If he speaks of a natural day, he, no doubt, means Sunday." {"History of the Sabbath," Old Edition, page 222.) Clement was one of the most distinguished church writers of this time. He flourished about 194 A.D. His writings have been preserved in his "Miscellanies." From Book 7, Chapter XII. , of this work we make the following quotation : "He, in fulfillment of the precept, according to the gospel, keeps the Lord's day, when he abandons an evil disposition and assumes that of the Gnostic, glorifying the Lord's resurrection in himself." 174 Adventism and the Bible. Thus Clement connects the Lord's day and the Lord's resurrection. This, according to An- drews, is "the first instance* in which it is called 'Lord's day.' " Tertullian, 200 A.D. Tertullian was a lawyer. No writer wielded a more influential pen in the latter days of the sec- ond century than did he. He was opposed to all the arts that tend to improve and embellish hu- man life. Because Christians attended worship on the first day of the week, many "ignorant" persons had charged that they were sun worship- ers. Tertullian, addressing himself to the rulers and magistrates of the Roman empire, defends himself and others against such charges as fol- lows: "Others, again, certainly with more information and greater verisimilitude, believe that the sun is our god. . . . The idea, no doubt, has originated from our being known to turn to the east in prayer. But you, many of you, also under pretense sometimes of worshiping the heavenly bodies, move your lips in the direction of the sunrise. In the same way, if we devote Sunday to rejoic- ing, from a far different reason than sun worship, we ♦Andrews is particularly fond of pointing out all the "first in- stances" of the occurrence of anything that has to do with the Lord's day. That, of course, is his privilege. In the epistle of Barnabas we find the "first instance" in any writing purporting to come from the first century in which the first day is referred to. In the writings of Justin Martyr we find the "first instance" of the observance of the first day that is genuine; and in the writings of Clement we find the "first instance" in which Sunday was called "Lord's day." A single -example will offset all he intends to gain by these "instances" — namely, in the days of Moses we find the "first instance" of Sabbath observance. To this Andrews would answer: "The Sabbatth was observed, but the fact was not re- corded." Very well, then, let this rule apply to first-day observ- ance in the first and second centuries! Adventism and the Bible. 175 have resemblance to those of you who devote the day of Saturn to ease and luxury, though they, too, go far from Jewish ways, of which they are indeed ignorant." ("Apology," Chapter XVI.) Addressing his own Christian brethren and seeking to administer quite a sharp rebuke for their custom of mingling with the heathen in their festivities, which mingling was not recipro- cated by the heathen, Tertullian has this : "Not the Lord's day, nor Pentecost, even if they had known them, would they have shared with us; for they would fear lest they should seem to be Christians. We are not apprehensive lest we should seem to be heathen! . . . To the heathen each festival day occurs but once annually; you have a festival day every eighth day." ("History of the Sabbath/' Old Edition, pages 223, 22 1>.) Here he states positively that the heathen knew nothing of the "Lord's day." This is quite con- trary to the teaching of Adventism, which teach- ing goes its length in affirming that the observ- ance of the first day as a weekly institution came directly from the heathen ! Here also is a rebuke to Adventism, which dishonestly affirms that the early practice of keeping Sunday was nothing more nor less than sun worship. "We devote Sunday to rejoicing," says Tertullian, "from a far different reason than sun worship." There the matter should stand. Tertullian further states that "to the heathen each festival day oc- curs but once annually." And this was written seventeen hundred years ago — at the very time when Adventists declare the heathen worshiped the sun every week. CHAPTER XXIII. The Nature of First-Day Observance. One reason why it is so hard for an Adventist to understand the nature of the Lord's day is be- cause he approaches the subject with a mind filled with preconceived notions, all of which are the outgrowth of his intensive study of the old sab- batic demands. For instance : 1. He assumes that it must be a sin for any one to perform any kind of labor on Sunday, sim- ply because it was a sin to labor on the Sabbath. 2. He assumes that Sunday must be regarded as part of the old legal system of the Jews. 3. He assumes that Sunday must be spoken of, both in the Scriptures and in church history, not as the "Lord's day," but as the "Sabbath." 4. He assumes that new methods of observing the first day of the week are indications of apos- tasy. 5. He assumes that there must be a clear-cut command in the New Testament setting apart the first day of the week, just as there was a clear- cut command in the Old Testament setting apart the seventh day. Now, as a matter of common fact, in all these assumptions he makes a serious mistake. Let me illustrate: Suppose, for the time being, that we are ignorant of how to observe the Lord's Sup- Adventism and the Bible. 177 per. How, then, shall we go about observing it? We put our heads together, and we "assume," of course, that it must be observed after this fash- ion: (1) It must be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month; (2) it must be observed annually; (3) it must be observed at evening; (4) not more than twenty people can be permit- ted to partake at any one table; (5) the elements must be bitter herbs, roast lamb, and wine. We are misled — heartlessly misled. Yet we were following the methods of observing a per- fectly divine institution (and the "Lord's Sup- per," too) under the Levitical order. Not one of the five things enumerated is a part of the Lord's Supper. Adventists find no difficulty in determining the nature of the Lord's Supper. They do not con- tend that the rules of the passover shall guide in its celebration. They observe the Lord's Supper quarterly, and in the afternoon, for which they have neither text nor example of inspired men. The Spirit to Guide Into All Truth. Our Lord, just before he went away, said unto his disciples : "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth ; . . . and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come." (John 16: 12, 13.) The gospel was given on the installment plan. 12 178 Adventism and the Bible. During his personal ministry Christ gave his dis- ciples such preparatory instruction and informa- tion as they were able to comprehend without pulling away from him. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit announced other things ; and dur- ing the personal ministry of the apostles, and up until 96 A.D., the complete gospel — the "perfect law of liberty" — was revealed, "here a little, there a little ; line upon line, line upon line." It is not difficult to see the wisdom in all this. Suppose, for instance, that Christ, before his cru- cifixion, should have told his disciples in plain and open speech that after his death the following changes would take place: (1) The temple serv- ice would be no more; (2) sacrifices would lose their meaning; (3) the priesthood would be out of date and useless; (4) circumcision would have no meaning; (5) the passover would be discon- tinued; (6) the moons, Sabbaths, and feast days would be at an end; and (7) the law of Moses would be superseded by a newer and a better law. No Adventist will deny that all these changes took place. Still, it is plain that the Lord could not have outlined such a program to his disciples. They were not ready to receive it. But he made provision that after he had gone away the Holy Spirit should slowly, but surely, guide them into all truth. Recall how Paul (1) circumcised Timothy (Acts 16: 3) ; (2) kept vows (Acts 18: 18) ; (3) observed purification (Acts 21: 17-26); (4) al- lowed Jewish Christians to continue the observ- Adventism and the Bible. 179 ance of the rites and ceremonies of the law (Acts 21: 20-24) ; (5) observed the feast of Pentecost (Acts 20: 16). Yet at the very same time the Spirit was at work guiding them into all truth. Consider the following: (1) Paul refused to circumcise Titus, thus denying the validity of circumcision (Gal. 2: 3; 1 Cor. 7: 19) ; (2) Paul boldly declared that the "feast days" had passed away (Col. 2: 14- 16) ; (3) Paul declared that the "Sabbath days" were also abolished (Col. 2: 14-16) ; (4) Paul de- clared that the antiquated old legal system was no more (Eph. 2: 14, 15) ; (5) Paul declared that the priesthood had been "changed" (Heb. 7: 12) ; (6) Paul declared a new law had been given from Mount Zion which takes precedence over the old law given from Mount Sinai (Heb. 12: 18-30). Apostolic Example. We, as Christians, are admonished to follow what we have "both learned, and received, and heard, and seen" in the example of inspired men. (Phil. 4: 9; 2 Tim. 2:3; Phil. 3: 17.) Under the new covenant, therefore, apostolic "example" is a sufficient basis for an action of faith. In the matter of observing the first day of the week we not only have an "order" from the apos- tle Paul himself, which was given alike unto all the churches in the extensive field of his labor — Galatia, Macedonia, Greece — but we have undis- puted apostolic "example" also. (1 Cor. 16: 1, 2; Acts 20: 7; 2 Cor. 8: 9.) 180 Adventism and the Bible. Luke, in Acts 20 : 7, certainly states that the "disciples" came together "on the first day of the week" for the purpose of partaking of the com- munion ; and 1 Cor. 16 : 1, 2 teaches also that each one, of his own accord (par auto), was to make an appropriation for the Lord's work "on the first day of the week." The Testimony of Church History. We merely wish to call attention to the follow- ing facts : I. The Lord's day came to he known as the "eighth day." A.D. 115. Ignatius: "The eighth day, on which our life sprang up again and the victory over death was ob- tained in Christ." ("Epistle to the Magnesians," Chap- ter IX.) A.D. 120. Barnabas: "We keep the eighth day, . . . on which Jesus rose from the dead." ("Epistle of Bar- nabas, Chapter XV.) A.D. 248. Cyprian: "The eighth day — that is, the first day after the Sabbath." (Cyprian's "Epistle," No. 58, Section .4.) II. Both Sabbath and Lord's day were kept as follows: 1. The Sabbath as a fast day. William James: "The Western church began to fast on Saturday at the beginning of the third century." ("Ser- mons on the Sacraments and Sabbath.") 2. The Lord's day as a day of rejoicing. A.D. 250. "He will be guilty of sin who fasts on the Lord's day, being the day of the resurrection." ("Apos- tolic Constitutions," Book 5, Section 3, Paragraph 20.) Adventism and the Bible. 181 III. Sabbath observance was continued only by Jewish converts. Neander: "The custom, derived from the Jews, of pay- ing a certain respect to the Sabbath, still continued to be handed down in the Oriental communities. In several of the Eastern churches the Sabbath was celebrated nearly- after the same manner as Sunday." ("History of the Church," Volume II., page 297; Eighth American Edition, Croker & Brewster, Publishers.) The privilege of continuing the observance of the old rites and ceremonies was given the Jew- ish converts by Paul. (See Acts 21: 20-26.) But while the Jewish converts retained a certain respect for the Sabbath, they likewise ' 'admitted with the rest the festival of Sunday." {Nean- der, Volume I., page 296.) IV. The Lord's day and the Sabbath were never confounded. Coleman: "During the early ages of the church it was never entitled 'the Sabbath,' this word being confined to the seventh day of the week, the Jewish Sabbath." {"An- cient Christianity Examined," Chapter VI., Section 2.) Bishop Taylor: "The Lord's day did not succeed in the place of the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was wholly abro- gated." ("Ductor Dubitantium," Part I., Book 2, Chap- ter II., Rule 6, Section 51.) Dr. Francis White: "When the ancient fathers distin- guished and gave proper names to the particular days of the week, they always style the Saturday, Sabbatum; and the Sunday, or first day of the week, Dominicum, the Lord's day." {"Treatise on the Sabbath Day," page 202.) Let it be firmly borne in mind, therefore, that "Sabbath" always has referred to Saturday, does now, and always will. "Lord's day," on the other 182 Adventism and the Bible. hand, has never meant anything other than the resurrection day. V. When the Lord's day was first called "Sab- bath." Sir William Domville: "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before the Sunday was observed by Chris- tians as a Sabbath. History does not furnish us a single proof or indication that it was at any time so observed previous to the sabbatic edict of Constantine, A.D. 321." ("Examination of the Six Texts," page 291.) Let us not misunderstand this passage. Dom- ville states that Sunday was not observed "as a Sabbath" until after the edict of Constantine. Up to that time, as we have seen in the many quo- tations that have been given, the first day of the week had been observed as the "Lord's day;" but, as we have seen elsewhere, Eusebius (A.D. 321) "confounded" the two days and taught the erro- neous doctrine that the first day of the week had taken the place of the Sabbath, hence is the Sab- bath. From the time of Eusebius, therefore (and this is from the time of Constantine's edict), Christians have more or less been confused as to the real nature of the first day — whether the day is the Sabbath or not. This confounding of the Jewish and the Christian terms began, Neander tells us, in the days of Tertullian, A.D. 200. Adventists, contrary to every principle of fair- ness, would have their readers believe that Dom- ville teaches that centuries of the Christian era passed away before Christians began to observe the first day of the week. Such an idea Domville did not have in mind. Adventism and the Bible. 183 VI. When the Lord's day ivas first called "Christian Sabbath." Peter Heylyn: "The first who ever used it ["Christian Sabbath"] to denote the Lord's day (the first that I have met with in all this search) is one Peterus Alfonsus (he lived about the time Rupertus did), who calls the Lord's day by the name of 'Christian Sabbath.' " ("History of the Sabbath," Part II., Chapter V., Section 13.) Rupertus lived about A.D. 1200. The first day of the week, therefore, as we have now seen, has been known by several different titles — to wit: 1. A.D. 60, "the first day of the week." 2. A.D. 96, "the Lord's day." 3. A.D. 140, "the eighth day." 4. A.D. 321, "the Sabbath" ( ? ) . 5. A.D. 1200, "Christian Sabbath" (? ). But the title given the day by John, the beloved, in that book which closes the Divine Volume, to which we are not to add and from which we are not to take away — that title is the best of all ti- tles— "THE LORD'S DAY." CHAPTER XXIV. Advent Sophistry. Sophistry is fallacious reasoning, with a con- scious intent to mislead. Sophistry, in literature, is drawing a blind over the reader's eyes while he is hurried by an object that it is desired he shall not see. Sophistry is an intent on the part of the writer not to play the game fairly and squarely. It may mean the overemphasis of mi- nor facts or the suppression or elimination of ma- jor portions of information. I desire to call the reader's attention to the following efforts at fal- lacious reasoning: 1. "Early Apostasy in the Church." This is the title of Chapter XII. in Andrew's' "History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week." Now, no one denies that there was apos- tasy in the early church. Paul foretold the com- ing of "wolves" (Acts 20: 29, 30), the rise of the "man of sin" (2 Thess. 2: 3, 4, 7, 8), and of men who would not "endure sound doctrine" (2 Tim. 4: 2-4). But Andrews makes a big "to do" over this. He devotes this entire introductory chapter, twelve pages, to proving it. He quotes a score of authorities and pictures the situation as some- thing awful! Then, at the end of the chapter, when the reader is supposed to be worked up to Adventism and the Bible. 185 his highest, Andrews springs the fact that the Catholic Church was instrumental in establish- ing the first day of the week as the rest day of Christians. There is but one conclusion to be drawn: Sunday is a child of the apostasy. See how easy it is? 2. The church fathers. "Those who govern their lives by the volume of inspi- ration do not recognize any authority in these fathers to change any precept of that book nor to add any new pre- cept to it." ("History of the Sabbath," page 205, Old Edition.) Certainly not! But suppose the "fathers" merely tell of changes that had already taken place? Shall we reject their testimonies? That is the point exactly. 3. Methods of observing the Lord's day. "What if there be no mention of the change of the Sabbath in the New Testament? And what if there be no commandment for resting from labor on the first day of the week, or what if there be no method revealed in the Bible by which the first day of the iveek can be enforced by the fourth commandment?" ("History of the Sab- bath," page 206.) In this Andrews has merely set up a straw man in order to knock him over. The assumption that the first day of the week is a "Sabbath" is itself a fallacy. The first day of the week is the Lord's day. This is the truth taught in the Bible, also in the "fathers." Saturday is the Sabbath, al- ways was, is, and always will be. Andrews for- mulates a fallacy, affirms a position that is not 186 Adventism and the Bible. true, and then proceeds to dismiss that which is scriptural merely because he is unable to find his fallacy mentioned in the Bible. Andrews wishes to find in these ''fathers" a "method" by which "the first day of the week can be enforced by the fourth commandment." He is a bit early in his investigations. What he needs to do is to dig into the "blue laws" of Vir- ginia at the close of the eighteenth century. There he will find his foolishness. He insists that the old rules, regulations, penalties, and so on, of the Sabbath are to be tacked on to the Lord's day. If he finds that these old weights are not attached to the Lord's day, then he proposes to dismiss the Lord's day as being unscriptural. The utter foolishness of his contention can be seen when we ask this question: Is there a "method" in the New Testament by which the Lord's Supper can be enforced according to the rules of the passover? The new covenant, ac- cording to Heb. 13 : 8, is "not according to" the old covenant. Hence the rules of the old covenant may properly be found wanting in the New Testa- ment. Speaking of the "fathers," on page 207 of his "History," Andrews observes that they never "represented the observance of Sunday as an act of obedience to the fourth commandment." We agree most heartily. Why should they? The ob- servance of Sunday is not based on the Deca- logue. How long is it going to take to get this truth into the minds of men ? Is the Lord's Sup- Adventism and the Bible. 187 per based on the laws of the passover? This is a parallel case. 4. Forgeries. Take the case of "Barnabas." Andrews uses up three pages of his book proving that the name "Barnabas" is a "forgery." Notice that he is not attacking the contents of the epistle — only the purported author. He uses the same tactics re- garding Ignatius, Iranaeus, Dionysius, Theophi- lus, Justin Martyr, and Pliny. Take the Shake- speare-Bacon controversy as a parallel example. In so far as the contents of the plays are con- cerned, what matters it whether Shakespeare or Bacon wrote the plays bearing Shakespeare's name? If it could be found that Bacon, not Shakespeare, wrote "Macbeth," for instance, would that mean that "Lady Macbeth" never lived ? The contention is absurd. 5. Tertullian and his rules. Tertullian, 200 A.D., speaks of Christians as observing the following practices: Offerings for the dead, neither fasting nor kneeling on the Lord's day, the sign of the cross, etc. And then he adds : "If for these and other such rules you insist upon hav- ing positive scripture injunction, you will find none. Tra- dition will be held forth to you as the originator of them." ("History of the Sabbath," pages 22 % 225, Old Edition.) Andrews forces Tertullian to say that observ- ing the Lord's day was a mere custom based on tradition. Certain it is, Andrews knew Tertul- lian made no such contention. 6. Neander. 188 Adventism and the Bible. ". . . It was far from the intention of the apostles . . . to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday." ("History of the Sabbath," page 231, Old Edition.) In this Neander simply announces himself as being against the effort to regulate the practice of keeping Sunday by the laws of Moses. "The laws of the Sabbath" remain with the Sabbath. Sunday has its own laws, which are in keeping with other gospel ordinances. For instance, Sun- day is not a "feast day." The Sabbath is a feast day. There was a penalty for working on the Sabbath. There is no such penalty connected with Sunday. These are the truths affirmed by Neander, whose words are inhumanly handled by such men as Andrews. The following quotation, taken directly from Neander's "Church History," will give his posi- tion fully: "But as we have already observed in Tertullian a con- founding of the Jewish with the Christian view of feasts, so we find also in him indications of the transfer of the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday; for by him attending to any business on Sunday seems to have been regarded as sinful." {Volume I., page 295.) Andrews omits this passage from his "History of the Sabbath." It justifies Neander entirely. The short-sightedness of man tells him that if one is left to his own judgment as to whether he will observe the Lord's day or not, he will not ob- serve it. But is it so? Take those States where there are no "Sunday laws." Is Sunday violated there any more than it is in those that have the most rigid laws against Sunday violation? We Adventism and the Bible. 189 answer: Not by those who profess to observe the day. Gospel duties, let us remember, are all moral obligations. Compulsion is a foreign ele- ment in the gospel. It was in evidence in every- thing under the old order. President Wilson preached a mighty strong gospel principle when, in his debate with the Foreign Relations Commit- tee in the White House on the League of Nations Covenant, he declared that one's "moral duty" is far superior to any "legal requirement." This is the principle underlying Sunday observance. 7. Those most ancient Germans. "The most ancient Germans being pagans and having appropriated their first day of the week to the peculiar adoration of the sun, whereof that day doth yet in our English tongue retain the name 'Sunday.' " ("Antiqui- ties" page 10; London, 1628.) This is a famous Advent quotation. Those "most ancient Germans" are great "bugaboos," indeed ! But here is a very interesting fact : Those "most ancient Germans" knew nothing of the week until long after Constantine had adopted the Lord's day as the legal holiday of the Roman empire. Furthermore, Christians knew nothing of those "most ancient Germans" till long after the same historic act on the part of the Roman emperor. Yet Adventists would have us believe that Sunday came from these poor, ignorant, "most ancient Germans!" 8. Dr. Peter Heylyn. Continually throughout Andrews' "History of the Sabbath" Heylyn is held out as a great anti- 190 Adventism and the Bible. Sabbath historian. Yet, for some reason which seems strange to the reader, his statements al- ways read very much like those of an Adventist. Yet he was not an Adventist. The facts in the case are as follows: In 1618 James I. was king of England. Puritanism had bound every act of religion down under the most exacting restric- tions. Sunday was a day of soberness and gloom. The king was somewhat of a sportsman, and he did not like the restrictions that had been placed on Sunday. The king, together with the arch- bishop of Canterbury, published the "Book of Sports for Sunday." This book led to much con- troversy as to the nature of the Lord's day. Vol- ume after volume was written. The most noted of the controversialists involved in the discussion was this man "Dr. Peter Heylyn." Andrews takes the greatest pleasure in flaunting him be- fore his readers on every possible occasion. Hey- lyn was a clergyman of the Church of England. He took exactly the same position with regard to the sacredness of Sunday that Adventists take. He held, seemingly for the purpose of complying as much as possible with the wishes of the king, that there is no divine sanction for the day. Let us hope that he was sincere in so contending. Domville is another just such writer as Hey- lyn. Andrews praises these men as great clergy- men of the Church of England, and several times points them out as "able anti-Sabbatarian" writ- ers. But he might as well quote from the writ- ings of Uriah Smith, who was for forty years Adventism and the Bible. 191 editor of the Advent Review and Sabbath Her- ald. Andrews quotes from Jeremiah Taylor, Morer, White, Domville, Cox, and Heylyn; yet not once does he tell his readers that, in reality, these men were all anti-Sunday writers. They were, essen- tially speaking, therefore, Sabbatarians. This, in Andrews, is a species of trickery that might well be avoided by those who wish to play a fair and winning game. This chapter is but an introduction to the so- phistic methods pursued by all Seventh-Day Ad- ventist writers. CHAPTER XXV. Advent Admissions. For ten years J. N. Andrews gathered notes on the question of the change of the Sabbath. His "History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week" was the result of that labor. The book was published in 1873. Andrews learned a number of things in the course of his investigation of the subject, and he was compelled to make certain statements, ad- missions, which we desire to consider. Victorius, 300 AD. "Victorius is the latest of the fathers before Constan- tine who offers reasons against the observance of the Sab- bath. His first reason is that Christ said by Isaiah that his soul hated the Sabbath." (Old Edition, page 289.) This was twenty-one years before Constantine proclaimed that the first day of the week should be observed as a holiday by all his subjects. Ad- ventists have long taught that Sunday keeping was brought into the Christian church by Con- stantine in the year 321 A.D.; but here is an ex- ample cited by Andrews himself, twenty-one years before Constantine's decree, in which "reasons" are formulated "against the observance of the Sabbath." We shall note more of these. Adventism and the Bible. 193 "Apostolic Constitutions," A.D. 250. "Next in order we quote the so-called 'apostolic consti- tutions.' These command Christians to assemble for wor- ship every day, 'but principally on the Sabbath day, and on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which is the Lord's day, meet more diligently, singing praise to God.' " ("History of the Sabbath" pages 289, 290.) This was seventy-one years before Constantine issued his decree making the first day of the week a legal holiday throughout his empire. Here it is stated that Christians were meeting for worship on the Sabbath days, but "more diligently" "on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which is the Lord's day." Cyprian, A.D. 248. "Cyprian is the next Father who gives an argument for the Sunday festival. . . . Thus he says: 'The eighth day — that is, the first day after the Sabbath — was to be that on which the Lord was to rise again.' " (Id., page 293.) This was seventy-three years before Constan- tine issued his decree which made the first day of the week a legal holiday throughout the em- pire, and which commanded pagans to unite with Christians in observing the day ; and here we find a church "father" making "an argument for the Sunday festival." This Andrews admits. Origen, A.D. 225. "Following Tertullian, who gives scripture evidence in support of the Sunday festival," etc. (Id., page 293.) This was ninety-one years before Constantine issued his decree making the first day of the week 13 194 Adventism and the Bible. a legal holiday throughout the empire; and here, according to the admission of Andrews, we find a church "father" "giving scripture evidence in support of the Sunday festival." Tertullian, A.D. 200. "Tertullian describes Sunday observance as follows: 'We devote Sunday to rejoicing.' " (Id., page 287.) This was one hundred and twenty-one years before Constantine issued his famous Sunday edict. Hence, four generations before Constan- tine's time, we find a church "father" writing that it was customary for him and his brethren to "devote Sunday to rejoicing." Clement, A.D. 194. "Clement, of Alexandria, appears to treat solely of a mystical eighth day, or Lord's day. It is perhaps possi- ble that he has reference to Sunday." (Id., page 292.) This is one hundred and twenty-seven years before the time of Constantine; yet here we find a church "father" writing of Sunday as "the Lord's day." This Andrews admits. Syrian Documents, A.D. 180. "The writer of the Syrian documents concerning Edessa . . . defines the services of Sunday as fol- lows: 'On the first (day) of the week let there be service, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the oblation." (Id., page 291.) This was one hundred and forty-one years be- fore the time of Constantine's decree making Sunday a holiday throughout the Roman empire. This decree compelled pagans to refrain from Adventism and the Bible. 195 labor on the first day of the week. At this dis- tant date we find Christians admonished to meet "on the first day of the week" for the "reading of the Holy Scriptures and the oblation." And this was in Syria, not Rome! This is admitted by Andrews. Bardesanes, A.D. 180. "Bardesanes represented the Christians as everywhere meeting for worship on that day." ("History of the Sab- bath," page 286.) This was one hundred and forty-one years be- fore the time of Constantine and his decree. Christians "everywhere" were meeting for wor- ship on the first day of the week. Irenwus, A.D. 167. "Irenasus taught that to commemorate the resurrection, the knee must not be bent on that day." (Id., page 286.) This was one hundred and fifty-four years be- fore Constantine issued his decree setting Sun- day apart as a holiday throughout his empire; and at this distant date Christians everywhere were coming together regularly for the purpose of commemorating the resurrection on the first day of the week. Justin Martyr, A.D. 140. Justin Martyr describes the kind of meeting which they held at Rome and in the vicinity on that day." (Id., page 286.) This was one hundred and eighty-one years be- fore Constantine issued his decree making Sun- day a legal holiday throughout the Roman em- 196 Adventism and the Bible. pire. Andrews says Justin "describes the kind of meetings which they held at Rome and in that vicinity on that day." But he does something more than that. Turning back to page 269 of his "History of the Sabbath," we find Justin's words. These are from his "Apology," which was ad- dressed to the rulers of the empire. Speaking of Christian practices, he said : "And upon the day called 'Sunday' all that live in city or country meet together at the same place, where the writings of the apostles and prophets are read as much as time will give leave. . . . The bishop makes a ser- mon. ... At the conclusion we all rise up and pray. There is bread and wine and water offered; . . . prayers and thanksgiving. . . . Then the consecrated elements are distributed ... by the hands of the deacons. . . . The wealthy and willing contribute as they think fitting, . . . Sunday, ... in which Christ, our Savior, rose again from the dead." ("His- tory of the Sabbath," page 269.) This was not an effort on the part of Justin to tell how the day was observed "at Rome," as An- drews avers, but how it was observed by Chris- tians. Justin lived at Rome, it is true; but he traveled extensively, hence spoke as he should have in such a work as his "Apology" of the practice of all Christians. And this was one hun- dred and eighty-one years before Constantine is- sued his decree making Sunday a legal holiday throughout the Roman empire. Barnabas, A.D. 120. "The epistle falsely ascribed to Barnabas simply says: 'We keep the eighth day with joyfulness.' " {Id., page 286.) Adventism and the Bible. 197 This was two hundred and one years before Constantine issued his decree making Sunday a legal holiday throughout the Roman empire. On page 301 of Andrews' "History of the Sab- bath" he makes the statement that "the writer called 'Barnabas' did not keep the seventh day." Indeed ! For Barnabas states plainly that he kept "the eighth day with joyfulness." Pliny, A.D. 104. "They met on a certain stated day, before it was light, and addressed themselves in a form of prayer to Christ, as to some god, . . . and then reassembled to eat in common a harmless meal." (Id., page 237.) Andrews denies that this was on the Lord's day; but he admits that Christians, in the days of Justin Martyr, met for this same kind of serv- ice on the first day of the week — only thirty-six years later than Pliny's time. Compare the two accounts : PLINY. JUSTIN MARTYR. 1. "Meet together. 1. "Meet together." 2. "Sing a hymn to Christ." 2. ^his is understood.) 3. (Understood.) 3. 'Writings of apostles are read." 4. (Understood.) 4. "And prayers." 5. "Common, but innocent, 5. "The consecrated elements." meal." 6. (Understood.) 6. "Contribute." 7. "A stated day." 7. "Upon Sunday we all assem- ble." John, the Beloved, A.D. 96. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." (Rev. 1: 10.) No- Adventist speaks of the Sabbath as the "Lord's day." No church historian has ever spoken of the Sabbath as the "Lord's day." But 198 Adventism and the Bible. the first day of the week, the resurrection day, down through the ages, has uniformly been spoken of by this title. This Andrews himself admits. Thus : "It is not till A.D. 194 . . . that we meet the first instance in which Sunday is called the 'Lord's day.' " ("History of the Sabbath," page 219.) "Tertullian is the next writer who uses the term 'Lord's day.' He defines his meaning and fixes the name upon the day of Christ's resurrection." {Id., page 223.) Andrews is very bold in stating that in the year 194 A.D. "Sunday is called the 'Lord's day/" This he admits is genuine. And, six years later, Tertullian "fixes the name upon the day of Christ's resurrection." j THE "LORD'S DAY," THEREFORE, IS ) { THE DAY OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. \ First-Day Observance. Elder Andrews, after he gets started, usually makes good headway admitting truths. After admitting all any one ever claimed for the Lord's day, he gratuitously throws in a statement bear- ing heavily on the antiquity of the observance of the first day of the week by Christians. It is this : "First-day observance can be traced no nearer to apos- tolic times than A.D. 140." ("History of the Sabbath," page 285.) No one cares to trace the observance of the first day of the week by Christians any nearer to apostolic times than A.D. 140. Adventists long have contended that the Sabbath was observed Adventism and the Bible. 199 down to A.D. 321, when Constantine put an end to Sabbath observance and instituted the observ- ance of the first day of the week instead. From this it seems that Adventists have been missing the truth concerning this matter all these years by the space of one hundred and eighty-one years ! Elder Andrews, in this statement, cer- tainly confesses that "the first-day observance can be traced . . . to . . . A.D. 140." Fifty-four years later, as he freely confesses, the day thus observed was commonly termed the "Lord's day." Hence the Lord's day can be un- questionably traced to the year A.D. 140, and it is always connected with the observance of the first day of the week. And thus it is that the first day of the week and the "Lord's day" go hand in hand — and become one. Justin Martyr, in A.D. 140, used the expres- sion "Lord's day" without stating what day he was speaking of. Tertullian, A.D. 194, explains that the Lord's day was the first day. This An- drews admits. Just so: Luke, in Acts 20: 7, uses the expression, "the first day of the week," without giving the day any name; and in A.D. 96 John names a day of worship "the Lord's day," without stating which one of the days he had reference to. From our viewpoint it seems that these two cases are par- allel, and the one makes clear the other. 200 Adventism and the Bible. We have traced the first day, the Lord's day, back to apostolic times, and in the authentic and standard works of Adventists. The Fathers Neglected the Sabbath. "The reason offered by the early fathers for neglecting the observance of the Sabbath shows conclusively that they had no special light on the subject by reason of their living in the first centuries which we in this later age do not possess." ("History of the Sabbath," page 310.) Here Elder Andrews freely admits that the "early fathers" neglected "the observance of the Sabbath," and he tells us that he is speaking of those of the fathers who lived "in the first cen- turies." It is evident, therefore, that the ob- servance of the Sabbath was actually neglected in the very first centuries. Justin Martyr gave a number of "reasons for not observing the Sab- bath." (''History of the Sabbath," page 303.) He gave "reasons for rejecting the ancient Sab- bath." (Id., page 306.) "Justin seems to have heartily despised the sabbatic institution." {Id., page 306.) Justin's ability to defend his practice of not observing the Sabbath is set forth in his master- ful debate with Trypho, the Jew; and that, re- member, was in the early days of 140 A.D. Christians Kept Both Days. "The first Christians assembled ... on the first day of the week; and, in some places, they assembled also on the seventh, which was celebrated by the Jews." (Mosheim's "Church History," Cent. 2, Part 2, Chapter IV., Paragraph 8.) Adventism and the Bible. 201 "In several of the Eastern churches the Sabbath was celebrated nearly after the same manner as Sunday." (Neander's "Church History," Volume II., page 297, Eighth American Edition.) "Those churches, however, which were composed of Jewish Christians admitted, with the rest, the festival of Sunday, yet retained that also of the Sabbath." (Nean- der, Volume I., page 296.) We find that Andrews' witnesses testify to the same effect. Thus: "Apostolic Constitutions :" "Keep the Sabbath and the Lord's-day festival, because the former is the memorial of creation and the latter of the resurrection." ("His- tory of the Sabbath," page 329.) Morer: "The primitive Christians had a great vener- ation for the Sabbath, . . . keeping both that day and the first day of the week." (Id., 334.) Giesler: "The seventh day of the week was also ob- served ... by such churches only as were princi- pally composed of Jewish converts." (Id., page 335.) Coleman states that "the last day of the week," as well as "the first day," was observed for some time after the overthrow of the temple worship. (Id., page 336.) Brerewood testifies that "the an- cient Sabbath," together with the "Lord's day," was observed by churches of "the East" for three hundred years after the Savior's death. {Id., page 3Jf2.) The Encyclopedia Britannica states that Christians observed "the Jewish Sabbath, as well as Sunday — both to justify the law of Moses and to imitate the apostles, who met together on the first day of the week." (Id., page 3^3.) 202 Adventism and the Bible. Saturday a Fast Day. The question arises: In what way was Satur- day observed, and in what respect did its observ- ance differ from that of the observance of the first day of the week? We shall again allow Elder Andrews' witnesses to tell us : William James: "The Western church began to fast on Saturday at the beginning of the third century." ("His- tory of the Sabbath," page 282.) Neander: "In the Western churches, particularly in the Roman, where opposition to Judaism was the prevail- ing tendency, this very opposition produced the custom of celebrating the Saturday in particular as a fast day." (Id., page 283.) Dr. Charles Hase: "The Roman regarded Saturday as a fast day. . . . Sunday remained a joyful festival." (Id., page 283.) This makes it clear in what respect both days were observed. It is not a surprise that the churches of the East — churches that were com- posed principally of Jews — continued the observ- ance of the Sabbath for some time. But these churches even, so the historians tell us, did not fail to observe the Lord's day at the same time. In the West, where Judaism was practically un- known, the Sabbath was not introduced, hence not observed. But the churches of the West, out of a certain respect for their Eastern brethren, set the Sabbath apart as a fast day, this seeming more appropriate to them, since the Lord lay shrouded in darkness on that day. . CHAPTER XXVI. Constantine's Sunday Law and the Mark of the Beast. In the Albuquerque Morning Journal, Albu- querque, N. M., May 27, 1917, appeared this statement : . "For the observance of the first day of the week as a holy day we are indebted to a decree of the Eastern em- peror, Constantine the Great." This is from an editorial. While it is a gross error, it serves to show how Adventism has be- muddled the minds of thinking men on the ques- tion of Constantine's Sunday edict. The following is a copy of Constantine's de- cree that is generally known as his "Sunday law:" "Constantine, Emperor Augustus, to Helpidus: On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits, because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain sowing or for vine planting, lest, by neglecting the proper moment for such operations, the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the seventh day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the sec- 204 Adventism and the Bible. ond time.)" (Schaff's "History of the Christian Church" Volume III.) Dr. Schaff gives the Latin from which this se- lection is an exact translation. The decree may be found also in Jones' "The Two Republics," page 312. For some years after becoming an Adventist I remained of the persuasion that Constantine the Great, in the year 321 A.D., commanded that a festival of paganism be observed by Christians on each first day of the week. Such, as I under- stood it, was the meaning of his "Sunday law." And Adventists believe that very thing to this day. Who has not heard the Advent preacher tell his audience from night to night that it was Constantine who gave Sunday sacredness to the Christian church? And who has not read in their literature that Sunday came from pagan- ism? We call upon the following prominent writers to bear us out in this statement : A. T. Jones. "As we have seen by many proofs, one of the first aims of the apostate church was the exaltation of Sunday as the chief sacred day. . . . Accordingly, March 7, A.D. 321, Constantine issued his famous Sunday edict." {"The Tivo Republics," page 311.) J. N. Andrews. "This extraordinary edict of Constantine's caused Sunday to be observed with greater solemnity than it had formerly been. Yet we have the most indubitable proof that this was a heathen enactment. . . . Paganism Adventism and the Bible. 205 had prepared the institution from ancient days, and had now elevated it to supreme power." ("History of the Sabbath," pages 346, 350.) The careful reader will be able to detect a cer- tain pricking of the conscience of Elder Andrews as he penned these statements. They are wholly artificial. They do not flow spontaneously out of his heart. He readily admits that "Sunday had formerly been observed" even before this "ex- traordinary edict" of Constantine had been is- sued. Note the discrimination between "heathen institution" and "Christian festival." J. H. Waggoner. "It is a fact that the observance of Sunday as a day of rest from secular employment is distinctly and only of pagan origin." ("Wag goner -V o gel Debate.") M. C. Wilcox. "Belief in Sunday sacredness was one of those errors which early crept into the church. It may all be summed up in this, that it was brought in by half-converted heathen philosophers and teachers and half-converted hordes of heathen." ("The Lord's Day the Test of the Ages," page 90.) Well ! Sunday sacredness was brought into the Christian church by "half-converted heathen philosophers," also by "half-converted hordes of heathen." Such a sweeping statement! Con- stantine, then, did not bring it into the church. Error has such a queer way of cornering itself. This is what Mr. Wilcox has done. 206 Adventism and the Bible. Mrs. Ellen G. White. "Constantine, while still a heathen, issued a decree enjoining the general ob- servance of Sunday as a public festival throughout the Roman empire. After his conversion he remained a stanch advocate of Sun- day, and his pagan edict was then enforced by him in the interest of his new faith. ... A few years after the issue of Constan- tine's decree the bishop of Rome conferred on the Sun- day the title of 'Lord's day.' " ("Great Contro- versy," Old Edition, page 55.) "In the early part of the fourth century the emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Ro- man empire. The day of the sun was reverenced by his pagan subjects and hon- ored by Christians. It was the emperor's policy to unite the conflicting inter- ests of heathenism and Christianity. He was urged to do this by the bishops of the church." ("Great Con- troversy," Revised Edition, page 53.) After Mrs. White's blue pencil had done its work, there remained just this much of the fore- going quotation from the old edition of "Contro- versy:" "Constantine . . . issued a decree . . . Sunday as a public festival throughout the Roman empire. . . ," Evidently this is all the truth the old statement contained ! The errors she marked out are these: "While still a heathen, . . . enjoining the general observ- ance of Sunday, . . . after his conversion, etc., ... his pagan edict, etc., . . . the bishop of Rome conferred on the Sunday the title of 'Lord's day.' " And in the revised statement she adds the following instead of the errors which she marked out: Adventism and the Bible. 207 "The day . . . was honored by Christians. . . . He was urged to do this by the bishops of the church." Mrs. White's complete statement of Constan- tine's famous "Sunday law," therefore, is as fol- lows: " 'Const antine was not a heathen when he issued his Sunday edict. The edict did not enjoin the observance of a pagan institution. He was already converted. The bishop of Rome did not confer on the day the title of 'Lord's day.' Sunday was already being observed by Christians when Constantine issued his edict. Christian bishops, not pagan priests, urged him to pass the law." This is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God ! There could not be a more concise statement of the question, and we feel like passing our thanks along to Mrs. White for deciding to make the correction. The Mark of the Beast. Now, strange as it may seem to the reader, Constantine's Sunday edict is the Advent founda- tion for their "scarecrow" generally known as "the mark of the beast." Roman Catholicism, so the Adventists have long contended, laid its hands on Sunday, the first day of the week, a pagan fes- tival, and brought it into the church. In keeping this festival, therefore, one acknowledges the power of Romanism. The Roman Church, so Ad- ventism teaches, made the power to change God's laws its mark. In bringing Sunday into the church from paganism, and at the same time set- ting aside the Sabbath, Rome thereby established her power. Hence keeping Sunday is an evidence 208 Adventism and the Bible. that one is bowing to Rome. Thus it is that Sun- day is the "mark" of Rome; and as Rome is the "beast," Sunday keeping is the "mark of the beast." The fallacy lurking under this pagan-Sunday question is easily discernible. During the first centuries of the Christian church, pagans, more or less (and generally less), held certain feasts ANNUALLY, as Tertullian has repeatedly in- formed us, in honor of the sun. The first day of the week was named by the pagans of ancient Germany for the sun. Christians, on the other hand, held certain services WEEKLY, as Tertul- lian, Justin Martyr, and others clearly point out — not in honor of the sun, but in honor of Christ. The day on which Christians held their services happened to be the day that was named after the sun — the first day of the week. But the serv- ices held by Christians on the first day of the week were held "FROM A FAR DIFFERENT REASON THAN SUN WORSHIP," as Tertul- lian informed the Roman rulers. Christians held their services in honor of their resurrected Lord. The idea of sun worship was no more in their services than the idea of uniting with the Jews in their Sabbath services was in the festivals held by the Romans on the day of Saturn. The Mark op the Beast Has Not Been Received. It may be a revelation to a number of my Ad- vent readers for me to state that there is not a living man or woman who is now wearing the Adventism and the Bible. 209 "mark of the beast." Nor has one ever worn it. I am going to prove this assertion by "Sister White." Thus : "Christians of past generations observed the first day of the week, supposing that they were keeping the Bible Sabbath, and there are in the churches of to-day many who honestly believe that Sunday is the Sabbath of di- vine appointment. Not one of these have received the mark of the beast. . . . The test upon this question does not come until Sunday observance is enforced by law and the world is enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath. Not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, will those who continue in transgression receive the mark of the beast." ("Great Controversy," Old Edition, page 282.) Now, evidently, "the test" of "Sunday observ- ance" has not yet come. Neither has "Sunday observance" been "enforced by law." Neither has "the world" been "enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath." The "issue" has not "thus plainly" been "set before the peo- ple." Neither have they been "brought to choose" between Sunday observances and Satur- day observances. Hence, if these things never come to pass, it is certain that all of us must "continue in transgression," yet without receiv- ing the "mark of the beast." It may be some consolation, however, such as it is, for the reader to know that this selection was censored from the new editions of the "Great Controversy." The revised edition does not contain it. 14 210 Adventism and the Bible. We are now prepared to see on what ground rests the contention that Constantine introduced Sunday worship into the church from paganism.. He did nothing of the kind. The bishops of the church, after his conversion to Christianity, urged him to pass a law requiring his pagan sub- jects to refrain from labor on the first day of the week. This was done in the interests of the faith — so that Christians assembled for worship should not be disturbed by the usual traffic of a working day; so that soldiers, slaves, and others might be released from their duties on this day for the purpose of attending divine service. Con- stantine's Sunday law was the same kind that is in force in many States of our country to-day. It was a civil statute, not religious. It was the pagan who stopped working on the day, not the Christian. Thus was paganism recognizing a Christian custom, not Christianity bowing to a pagan festival. CHAPTER XXVII. The Sure Word of Prophecy. Adventists are opposed to any theory that looks forward to permanent peace among the nations of earth. They are continually looking for the worst to turn up. Instead of reading in the word of Holy Writ that we are sweeping on from "grace to glory," they construe it that we are plunging on from bad to worse. Instead of the plan of the ages revealing a process of slow de- velopment that might be expected, they have it that there is no plan of the ages; that the old world is tumbling with momentum of its own weight fast into the abyss, from which it will be able to rise only after it shall have been purified by the fires of the last day. Whether this view of things is correct or not, it is our aim in the present chapter to make an effort to determine. "Neither Shall They Learn War Any More." "The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house 212 Adventism and the Bible. of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more!' (Isa. 2: 1-4.) This prophecy was written seven hundred years before the time of Christ. It is a prophecy that war, finally, will be driven from the earth. The movement against war, as is foretold in this passage, began with that period called in the pas- sage the "last days." Evidently all will agree to the following arrangement of the facts : 1. Some facts clearly stated. (1) That Jehovah gave this vision to Isaiah. (2) That these things were to come to pass "in the last days." (3) That in the coming to pass of these things the "mountain of the house of the Lord" would play a part. (4) That this mountain of the house of the Lord was to be established in the top of the moun- tains. (5) That it was to be exalted above the hills. (6) That all nations were to flow unto it. (7) That many people were to say certain things. 2. What the people were to say. Adventism and the Bible. 213 (1) "Come ye, and let us go up to the moun- tain of the Lord." (2) "He will teach us of his ways." (3) "Out of Zion shall go forth the law." (4) "We will walk in his paths." (5) "And the word of the Lord [shall go forth] from Jerusalem." 3. What Jehovah, through the prophet, says. (1) "He [Jehovah] shall judge among the na- tions." (2) "And shall rebuke many people." (3) "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares." (4) "And their spears into pruning hooks." (5) "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation." (6) "And neither shall they learn war any more." Where Adventists make their mistake is in having the people say both verse 3 and verse 4. As a matter of fact, the people speak in verse 3 and the prophet speaks in verse 4. Proof posi- tive for this assertion is found in the pronouns of the two verses. "Us," "us," and "we" of verse 3, where the people speak, are seen to contrast with "they," "their," and "they" of verse 4, where the Lord, through the prophet, speaks. Who Speaks? Verse 3 Verse 4 The People The Prophet "us" "they" "us" "their" "we" "they" 214 Adventism and the Bible. "The Last Days." This was to come to pass "in the last days." When are "the last days?" Or when is the pe- riod of time here spoken of as "the last days?" Joel 2: 28 contains a prophecy of an outpouring of the Spirit of God that was to come to pass "afterwards." Peter, speaking in Acts 2: 14, says Joel's prophecy was fulfilled on the first Pen- tecost after the resurrection of Christ. Peter also reads "last days" for "afterwards," as in Joel. Thus it is seen at once that "the last days" and the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ are synonymous terms. The following facts stand out as unmovable in the passage quoted from Isaiah : 1. The church of Christ was established above the possibility of attack. 2. This was done on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ. 3. "Last days" is the prophetic name for "Pen- tecost," the first Pentecost after Christ. 4. All nationalities began on that date to grav- itate toward the church of Christ. 5. A movement began at that time against war. "In the Days of These Kings." About six hundred years before Christ, Neb- uchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ruled the world. One night he had a wonderful dream. This dream is recorded in Dan. 2: 31-35. Daniel, a young Hebrew captive then in the king's courts, interpreted the dream after the wise men of Adventism and the Bible. 215 Babylon failed to do so. The interpretation is found in Dan. 2 : 36-44. The king dreamed that he saw an image with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, sides and belly of brass, and legs of iron and clay. Daniel interpreted these four divisions to repre- sent four kingdoms, with Babylon as the head kingdom. Babylon— the head— 608 to 538 B.C. Medo-Persia— the breast— 538 to 331 B.C. Greece— the belly— 331 to 168 B.C. Rome— the legs— 168 B.C. to 476 A.D. The Stone Kingdom. Daniel saw a stone smite the image on the feet — Rome. The four kingdoms were disintegrated, and the stone became a great kingdom and filled all the earth. (Dan. 2: 44.) Rome was ruling when Christ was born. (Luke 2: 1.) Edward Gibbon points out that "the images of the gold, or silver, or brass'' that might well represent the other nations, "were successively broken by the IRON monarchy of Rome." (''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," Volume II., page 621*.) Simultaneously with the Roman decree that "all the world" should be taxed, John the Baptist sent out his call for "the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 3: 1, 2.) Six months later the Lord him- self began to preach the same message. (Matt. 4: 17.) Some months later the seventy special apostles carried a similar message. (Matt. 10: 5-10.) John made "straight" the way for the Lord. 216 Adventism and the Bible. (John 1 : 24 ; Luke 3 : 1-6.) Jesus came later and built his church. (Matt. 16: 16-18.) The church having been made ready, its door was opened, and the first converts were admitted on that memorable first Pentecost after Christ's resurrec- tion. It was then that the kingdom came — came with ''power" and the Holy Spirit. (Mark 9:1; Acts 1: 8.) Just before Jesus was crucified Joseph was "looking for the kingdom." (Luke 24: 50.) Immediately after his crucifixion the disciples asked if he, at that time, would "restore the king- dom." (Acts 1: 7.) During this period he spent his time "speaking the things concerning the kingdom." (Acts 1: 3.) But after the day of Pentecost we find Christians had been "trans- lated" into the "kingdom of his dear Son." (Col. 1: 13.) Also we find John, on Patmos, "in the kingdom." (Rev. 1: 5.) We are also taught that our Lord, at that time, was reigning as King over the kingdom. (1 Cor. 15: 24, 25.) And he will continue to reign as Priest-King, after the order of Melchizedek, until the end, when he shall surrender the kingdom to the Father. (Matt. 13: 43.) Our Lord himself pointed out that he was the "stone tvhich the builders rejected" (Matt. 21: 42) ; and, in Peter's way of putting it, he is not only the corner stone of the building, the church, but he is a "living stone," and each of us is a "lively" stone (1 Pet. 2: 4, 5). The kingdom of Adventism and the Bible. 217 Christ, therefore, in the earth is a stone kingdom. This is the meaning of the stone which Daniel saw smite the image on its feet. The Seed of the Woman. The first promise to fallen man was that "the seed of the woman" was to bruise the head of the serpent. (Gen. 3: 15.) This promise, repeated to Abraham, included a "land" clause; also that Abraham was to be the father of "a" nation. (Gen. 12: 2.) The new covenant is recognized in the promise to Abraham that he was to be a blessing to "all the nations of the earth." (Gen. 18: 18.) The nations were to gather unto "Shi- loh" when he came. (Gen. 49: 10.) A "star" was to rise out of Jacob. (Num. 24: 17.) Da- vid was promised that his seed should forever occupy the throne. (1 Kings 2:4.) There were seventeen kings that sat on the throne of Israel, the throne of David. The last one was Zedekiah, who was reigning when God gave the Jews to Nebuchadnezzar. He was dethroned, and the king- dom was overturned, overturned, and overturned, and was "no more" until He came whose right the kingdom was, and then it was given to him. (Ezek. 21: 25-27.) The one who had the right to the throne of David was Christ. (Luke 1:31- 33.) The wise men said Christ was "born King." (Matt. 2: 2.) But they were mistaken. "To this end" was he born, as he told Pilate. (John 18: 37.) But, at that time, he confessed that his kingdom is not of this world — that is, the literal 218 Adventism and the Bible. throne of David is no more. Cnrist rules and reigns to-day on the spiritual throne. He was made King after he was "begotten" from the dead. (Acts 13: 33; Ps. 2: 7.) At that time Jehovah called him "MY KING." (Ps. 2: 6.) He was crowned on Zion. Zion is the New Jeru- salem. (Rev. 14: 1; Heb. 12: 18.) At the time he was crowned King the "law" went forth, "the decree" was declared. (Ps. 2: 6.) The new law was, therefore, given from Zion, not Sinai. (Heb. 12: 18.) Four Phases of the Kingdom. The kingdom of God has been in the world ever since the day that sin entered the world. Where sin abounds, the grace of God does much more abound. (Rom. 5: 20.) And grace has a throne. (Heb. 4: 16.) A throne presupposes a kingdom ; hence the kingdom administering grace has been in the world since sin came into the world. And it is not the kingdom "of grace," ei- ther. It is simply "the kingdom" administering grace. The kingdom of heaven on earth is now in its third stage. It adapts itself to the changing con- ditions of the people of God. Back in the days of the patriarchs the kingdom had not revealed it- self in any certain form to man. In the days of Moses it took on concrete form. Now it is a real thing, and finally it is to become an eternal fact. Thus the kingdom, in its evolving nature, is capa- ble of expressing itself in four different forms : Adventism and the Bible. 219 1. As a shadow — from creation to the exodus. 2. As a type — from the exodus to Christ. 3. As a spiritual reality — now. 4. As an eternal fact — finally. This view also clears up some very ugly con- flicts in the kingdom question. John 3: 5 de- clares that when one is born again he automat- ically enters the kingdom; and 2 Pet. 2: 11 de- clares with equal clearness that we will be given an entrance into the kingdom at the end of the world. There are other passages in plenty on each side. The truth of the matter is that the first three phases are all temporal, changing. The only permanent form of the kingdom is the fourth. Those of us who have been tested in the third phase and found worthy will be given an en- trance into the fourth, or final, phase. That is the "eternal" phase of the kingdom. The king- dom here now is the temporal phase of the one kingdom. There can be but one kingdom of God, even as there is but one God. The Last Days. Much confusion has resulted from a clouded understanding of the meaning of these words. We consider them under the following four heads: 1. As used in the Old Testament. Num. 24: 14. "Latter days." Here Balaam spoke of some things that were to happen to the Moabites in the latter time of their existence. 220 Adventism and the Bible. Num. 4: 30. "Latter days." It is here used as the end of Israel's wandering off from God. Deut. 31: 29. "Latter days." Same as Num. 4: 30. Jer. 23 : 20. "Latter days." Same as Deut. 31 : 29. Dan. 2 : 28. "Latter days." It is here used as the end of the Babylonian monarchy. Dan. 10 : 14. "Latter days." This is a vision that was to have its application in the "latter days," doubtless in the end of their captivity in Babylon. From these passages we draw the conclusion, without fear of being mistaken, that the expres- sion, "latter days," as used in the Old Testament, means at the end of whatever time is being spoken of. 2. As used in prophecy. Isa. 2 : 2-4. "Latter days." This is the proph- ecy already considered regarding the mountain of the Lord's house being established in the top of the mountains. We shall not say what it here means until we have considered the following passages : Joel 2 : 28. "Afterwards." It was to come to pass afterwards that the Lord would pour out of his Spirit on all flesh and many should prophesy. Acts 2: 14-17. "Last days." Here Peter in- forms us that Joel's use of "afterwards" is equiv- alent to "last days." Thus he says Joel meant by "afterwards" the first Pentecost after Christ. Hence, in prophecy, Old Testament prophecy, Adventism and the Bible. 221 "last days" means that period of time beginning with the first Pentecost after Christ. This pe- riod, in reality, was the end of the existence of the Israelites as God's people. 3. As used in the New Testament. 2 Pet. 3: 3. "Last days." Peter evidently uses the expression here as referring to the end of the age. 2 Tim. 3 : 1. "Last days." Paul uses it in the same way. Heb. 1 : 2. "These last days." Paul here rec- ognizes the numerical value of the expression. He thus applies it to a period of time. James 5 : 3. "Last days." James uses it in the same way that Peter uses it — as the end of the age. This is sufficient to show that the New Testa- ment writers agree with Isa. 2:2; Joel 2 : 28 ; and Acts 2: 14-17 that the period of time beginning with the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ is known as "the last days." The Eastern Question. "The Eastern question" is the problem of dom- inance over the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles, and who shall be the power behind the throne over Constantinople. Russia for ages has craved an outlet to the sea. Through the Bosphorus has been the most probable route for the ill-fated em- pire. Germany also, of later years, has sought an outlet through the Bosphorus to the markets Of the world. Turkey has almost been driven 222 Adventism and the Bible. from Europe. But the nations of Europe have thought best to leave the control of this impor- tant water passageway in the hands of Turkey. This serves as a balance of power in a practical way. Some have thought Turkey would be driven from Europe eventually. Adventists have ex- pected this. They make Turkey's move a matter of great concern. When Turkey is driven from Europe, so they have it figured out, the end of the world will come. It would be interesting to see just how they would go about patching up their theory should Turkey be forced to leave Constan- tinople. Turkey cannot move to Jerusalem, now that General Allenby has blocked the possibility of such a move. The prophecy is found in Dan. 11 : 44, 45. The chain of prophecy starts with the break- ing up of the Grecian empire of Alexander the Great. Alexander died in 321 B.C. His king- dom was divided between his four leading gen- erals — the west, Macedonia, going to Cassander ; the north, Asia Minor, going to Lysimachus ; the east, Syria, going to Seleucus; and the south, Egypt, going to Ptolemy. As a result of the wars that followed, in time there came to be but two divisions — the "north" and the "south." We read that the "king of the north" was to "plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain," yet was to come to his end with none to help him. (Dan. 11: 45.) This, Adventists contend, is a prophecy of Turkey. Turkey, so they argue, oc- Adventism and the Bible. 223 cupies the territory originally held by the "king of the north;" hence Turkey is the "king of the north" to-day. Turkey also occupies the terri- tories of the original kings of the south and the east. She is, therefore, the king of the south as well as the north. And the prophecy presents a warfare between the king of the north and the king of the south ! A civil war, in all probability ! Volumes have been written on the subject of the Eastern question, but we choose only to point out the leading errors in thus attempting to wrest an important passage out of its setting. The entire passage is Dan. 11 : 40-45. An attempt is made to find a fulfillment of this utterance in Turkey's invasion of Egypt in 1798. Turkey was the king of the north, and Napoleon was king of the south. This leaves the Turks masters of Egypt, with "tidings" from the east and the north, Russia, troubling them. 1. In this encounter the Turk was to "enter also into the glorious land." But the Turk held the "glorious land" in 1798; hence he could not enter that which he had already entered and held. 2. In this encounter "many countries" were to be "overthrown" as a result of the king of the north's entering into the "glorious land." But only Napoleon was whipped and compelled to re- treat in 1798. 3. In this encounter in which the king of the north was to figure, Edom, Moab, and Ammon were to escape out of his hand. But there were no Edom, Moab, and Ammon in 1798. 224 Adventism and the Bible. 4. In this king-of-the-north encounter Egypt also was to be subdued. But in 1798 Egypt only was wrested from Napoleon. The truth of the matter is, the king of the north lived and died in B.C. time. CHAPTER XXVIII. A Glance at the Apocalypse. That the book of Revelation holds a very im- portant place in the scheme of redemption every one should be willing to admit; but that it is a book of mystery, such as many have attempted to make of it, the writer of these lines most firmly denies. "Revelation" does not mean "puzzle." In the book of Revelation the scheme of redemp- tion is made easy. It is not a book of doctrine; it is a book of hope. In the book of Revelation truth triumphant is portrayed. There are a num- ber of symbols that have been made most difficult of understanding during the past hundred years by earnest, but misguided, enthusiasts; and we wish simply to point these out and to make a con- servative effort to find meanings in them that will be in keeping with the simplicity of other por- tions of the Book of God. The Dragon. We find the "dragon" mentioned in connection with events outside of the Revelation. 1. At the Birth of Christ.— In the twelfth chapter of Revelation it is stated that, at the time of the birth of Christ, the "dragon" stood before the "woman" who gave birth unto our Lord. But it was Herod, exercising the temporal 15 226 Adventism and the Bible. power of Rome, who stood up to slay the child. Hence, in this instance, Herod is called the "dragon." 2. In Heaven. — In the twelfth chapter of Rev- elation we are told that when Christ ascended to heaven he cast out the old serpent, who is called the "dragon." The serpent, of course, was Sa- tan. This identifies the "dragon" as a personifi- cation of Satan. Herod, therefore, in acting as the "dragon," was nothing more nor less than an agent of the devil. The Beast. In the thirteenth chapter of Revelation we are told that this "dragon" gave his seat and his au- thority to another personality (presumably an- other), called the "beast." The devil is the in- carnation of evil, and his seat, which all will ad- mit, is headquarters of all evil. But we have found that Satan and the dragon are one. What- ever the "beast" was, therefore, or was to become, he was to exercise the same power that was exer- cised by the dragon and Satan. This identifies the "beast" with the dragon and the devil. The "beast," therefore, is the incarnation of all evil in this world. The Image of the Beast. If the reader will note carefully, he will find that the writer of Revelation is developing a tri- une Satanichead — the dragon, the beast, and the image — which corresponds in every sense to the Adventism and the Bible. 227 Godhead — God, Christ, and the Spirit. The Spirit exercises the power of Christ; Christ ex- ercises the power of God ; and the three are one. Just so, this "image" exercises all the power of the beast ; the beast exercises all the power of the dragon ; and the three are one. The Mark of the Beast. The Godhead has a "seal." (See Rev, 6, 7.) This "seal" is the "name" of the Father. (See Rev. 14: 1; 7: 3.) And the Satanichead, as would be expected, has a "mark" which, like the "seal" of the Godhead, is placed on the forehead of every worker of evil. Adventists have a way of proving to themselves that his "seal" is the Sabbath, and that the "mark" is Sunday keeping. They support such a contention as follows: The Sabbath was de- clared to be the "sign" between God and Israel. (Ezek. 20: 12.) Circumcision, in Rom. 4: 11, is said to have been a "sign" between God and Abraham, also a "seal" of his righteousness. Hence, "sign" and "seal," as used in the plan of God, are one. As the Sabbath, therefore, was a "sign" of God, it was God's "seal." But let us not draw conclusions too hastily. We have just seen that circumcision was a "sign." Now, since circumcision is God's "sign," and since "sign" and "seal" are the same, what keeps cir- cumcision from being the "seal" of God spoken of in Revelation? Or, try this : The blood sprinkled on the door- 228 Adventism and the Bible. posts in Egypt was a "sign" of Israel's faithful- ness. Since "sign" and "seal" are the same, what keeps the passover from being the "seal" of God in Revelation? Circumcision was a "sign" or "seal." The passover was a "sign" or "seal." The Sabbath was a "sign" or "seal." In Revelation we find a "seal." What is meant — circumcision, the passover, or the Sabbath? The truth of the matter is, neither is meant. In Rev. 1U: 1 we read that the "seal" of God is the "name" of the Father. This should make the interpretation of the "mark" of the beast an easy matter. The "mark" of the beast is the "name" of the beast. The Name of the Beast. Revelation does not tell the name of the beast. What God does not reveal belongs to himself. (Deut. 29: 29.) Worry not over matters which belong to God only. No Adventist will attempt to name the beast. His name is a secret with God. We might call the beast "nondescript," by which we would mean "without a name." He was part leopard, part lion, part bear, and part dragon. There is no such animal. The beast of Revelation is a composite of the natures of all animals — the animal in all animals. We have proved that the beast is the incarnation of all evil. His name, therefore, speaking in general terms, is "evil" or "devil." Adventism and the Bible. 229 The Number of His Name. The number of his name is the mysterious com- bination of figures, 666. The pope is known to claim that he is 'Vicar of Christ" on earth. The Latin for this title is "Vicarius Filii Dei." Ad- ventists, by taking the numerical values of these letters, find the number 666 as follows : V 5 I 1 C 100 A R I 1 U 5 S F I 1 L 50 I 1 I 1 D 500 E I 1 Total 666 But the foregoing coincidence is no more of a mystery than the following : KAI SER SER VIA KUL TUR TUR KEY JOF FRE FRE NCH 230 Adventism and the Bible. There are six of these individuals and three combinations of the six; hence six three times, or 666. Furthermore, the recent conference between capital and labor was convened on the sixth of the month and there were sixty-six delegates — 6661 The Three Angels' Messages. These messages are found in the fourteenth chapter of the book of Revelation. The mes- sages are as follows : 1. The First Angel— Chapter 14: 6, 7. An- nouncing the "everlasting gospel" and the "judg- ment." Adventists find a fulfillment of this mes- sage in the labors of Miller from 1831 to 1844. (See "Early Writings of Ellen G. White" pages 232, 237, 25U; "Great Controversy," Old Edition, Chapters XIV., XV., XX.; also Andrews' "The Three Angels' Messages") 2. The Second Angel. — Chapter 14: 8. An- nouncing "Babylon is fallen." This message was given, according to Mrs. E. G. White, "in the summer of 1844." ("Great Controversy," page 232, Old Edition.) 3. The Third Angel.— Chapter 14 : 9, 10. War- ring against the "beast" and his "image." This angel's message is fulfilled in the "Sabbath- reform" movement now being carried to all the world by Seventh-Day Adventists. Adventism and the Bible. 231 The Nature of Prophecy. Peter declares that "no prophecy of the scrip- ture is of any private interpretation." (2 Pet. 1 : 20.) If this is so, then prophecy has to do with universal events, such as the kingdoms of Baby- lon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, each of which was, in its turn, a universal kingdom; or such as the coming of the Messiah the first time or the coming of Christ the second time. Any movement, in order that it may become a subject of prophecy, must first become an integral part of "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." But private movements — never. The following are some of the private movements in the world that have claimed for themselves the distinction of being subjects of divine prean- nouncement : Russellism. — Charles T. Russell, founder of "Millennial Dawn," discovered that he himself was the object of a special prophecy in Matt. 24: 46. Koreshanity. — This is the movement of Cyrus W. Teed, Estaro, Lee County, Fla. Teed found that he was spoken of in Revelation as the one who was to "overcome." Teed taught the possi- bility of completely overcoming human passion. He taught that he was the reincarnated Christ. Christian Science. — To Mrs. Eddy her move- ment was the reinstated kingdom of Christ in the world, and she herself was the Christ in per- son. (See "Science and Health," etc., pages 55, SU7.) 232 Adventism and the Bible. Mormonism. — The Book of Mormon, to a fol- lower of Joe Smith, is the "little book" of Rev. 10. Adventism. — Time would fail us to find all there is in the Bible concerning Adventism. But in answer to all these private-movement contentions Peter still declares : "No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." A Probable Meaning of the Three Angels' Messages. ■ _■ I am entirely cured of the foolish notion of at- tempting to find movements among men that will serve as direct fulfillments of any portion of the book of Revelation; but if the reader will have such an application relative to the messages we have just considered, let him consider the follow- ing method of disposing of them : The Reformation the First Angel. — Martin Lu- ther preached that "now, after the gospel had been preached in its purity, the end was to come." ("History of the Church," by George Fisher, page 4-51.) Here is a universal movement announcing the gospel and the judgment, the two themes of the first angel. Denominationalism the Second Angel. — After the Reformation went into all the world, the movement split into a multitude of private or- ganizations, each of which pointed to its fellow communion as "Babylon." For years there was a perfect "Babel" of tongues among the sects. The fall of "Babylon" is the theme of the second angel. Missions the Third Angel. — By this we mean Adventism and the Bible. 233 the gospel in its purity to all the world. This is a message against worshiping the devil and images. And this is the theme of the third angel. Christian Unity. In the eighteenth chapter of Revelation we are told that an angel comes down from heaven and the whole world is lighted with his glory. This angel, coming after the other three, might fit- tingly be termed the "fourth angel." This angel unifies, brings in light, and dispels darkness. This message is due the world at the present time. And, accordingly, we find just such a trend of things in the world at the present day. This movement announces "unity." Beyond doubt, all honest professed Christians can agree to speak where the Bible speaks and to remain silent where it is silent. All can agree to be united in essen- tials, to allow liberty in nonessentials, and to ex- ercise charity in all things. Such a message is due the world ; such a mes- sage is in the world. It is not a message that is being proclaimed by some sect or some private organization. It is a call for unity among the professed children of God. Unity is coming. It is the next step upward. Creeds are doomed. The Bible, and the Bible only, is yet to become the sole guidebook of the weary pilgrim on his jour- ney to that better country. CHAPTER XXIX. Revelation Revealed. • The Book of Revelation is the Divine Drama of the Ages. It is the Master Poem of All Time. In order to understand its Message, read it through at a single sitting, just as you would read an interesting story. Then close the Book and ask yourself the question: "What is the Les- son it teaches?" If your ear has been attuned to the many Voices it utters and the one lesson it conveys, your answer must of necessity be some- thing like this : "THERE IS A DEADLY CON- FLICT GOING ON IN THE WORLD BE- TWEEN EVIL, ON THE ONE HAND, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, ON THE OTHER; AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, SOME DAY, IS GOING TO BE VICTOR." You sit for an hour and view some absorbing play. You then go home and discuss the "moral" in the play. But you never ask: "Why was so and so in the play?" That part of the play is immaterial. Just so in this Poem, this Play, this Drama. The characters are presented as charac- ters, as parts of the whole, each contributing to the one Lesson in the Poem, and not as ends in themselves. You should, therefore, make no ef- fort to interpret the symbols as individuals, sep- arated from the parts they play in the Drama. Adventism and the Bible. 235 You will find "Star" characters in the Drama — the Dragon, the Beast, the Old Scarlet Woman, the Pure Woman clothed with the Sun, the Lamb Slain, Michael, and the "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Note the climatic trend of the Book. Watch closely how Righteousness corners Evil. Note how the Generals of the Devil are captured in the Last Great Drive of the Ages, but how he himself escapes, only to be arrested later by an angel from heaven. Visualize all these characters ap- pearing on the living stage before you. PART I. A Harvest of Tares. prologue. Chapter 1. — Time, A.D. 96. Place, a recess in a cliff on the Isle of Patmos, off the west coast of Asia Minor. John has been banished thither by the Emperor Nero. Immediate time of writing, the Lord's day. John hears a Voice behind him, and looks around, to behold the Son of Man, amidst the Seven Golden Candlesticks, hold- ing seven Stars in his hand. John is bidden to write what he sees in a Book. ACT I. The Bacillus of Error Penetrating the Sacred Leaven of the Gospel. Chapters 2 and 3. — Internal condition of the seven churches then in Asia Minor, showing how the seeds of Error had taken root in these churches. Scene 1. — Ephesus. Perfect at first in toil, works, and patience; but, gradually slackening he?' tension, falls from this happy state. 236 Adventism and the Bible. Scene 2. — Smyrna. Poor in this world's goods, but rich in faith, yet had in her those who pro- fessed outwardly to be true, but inwardly were hypocrites. Scene 3. — Pergamum. A faithful witness for God, though harbored those who taught openly certain known and admitted errors. Scene U. — Thyatira. Commended for her love, works, faith, ministry, patience, yet condemned for allowing Jezebel to lead certain ones to com- mit fornication. Scene 5. — Sardis. Professing to be alive, was dead; but there were a few in her who had not died. Scene 6. — Philadelphia. An open door is set before the church, so that she might escape from her undesirable condition if she cares to do so. Scene 7. — Laodicea. Strong in form, but weak in spirit. She has the letter, but not the life. She is neutral — "neither cold nor hot." She af- firms nothing; she denies nothing — and she is spewed out. ACT II. Deeper Working of the Bacillus of Error. Chapters 4: 1 to 8: 1. — Internal condition of the Gospel during the Ages, showing how the seeds of Error, once allowed to take root, spring up and crowd out the Plant of Life. Scene 1.— The Throne of God. Scene 2. — The Lamb that opened the Book. Scene 3. — A Rider, on a White Horse, going forth to conquer. Scene U. — A Rider, on a Red Horse, taking Adventism and the Bible. 237 Peace from the Earth, and a commandment to slay one another. Scene 5. — A Rider, with a pair of Balances in his hands, sitting on a Black Horse. Scene 6. — Death, sitting on a Pale Horse, fol- lowed by Hades and Famine. Scene 7. — Souls of Martyrs, crying under the Altar. Scene 8. — A great Earthquake, the Sun is dark- ened, the Moon turns to Blood, and Nature is con- vulsed. Scene 9. — An Angel flies through the heavens with the Seal of the Living God, sealing 144,000 Jews, 12,000 out of each tribe. Scene 10. — Panoramic view of the Redeemed — in addition to the 144,000 Jews — redeemed out of "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and peo- ple." Scene 11. — A Period of Silence. ACT III. The Bacillus of Political Strife. Chapters 8: 2 to 10: 1. — Internal Political condition of the nations during the Gospel Age, showing the leading Varieties of Strife that come up in political life. Scene 1. — Seven angels are given each a Trum- pet. Scene 2. — An Angel offers Incense at the Altar. Scene 3. — Hail and Fire, mingled with Blood. Scene U. — A Burning Mountain cast into the sea. Scene 5. — A Star falls from Heaven, burning 238 Adventism and the Bible. as a Torch, and it falls upon the Third Part of the Rivers and Fountains. Scene 6. — A Third Part of the Sun, Moon, and Stars darkened. Scene 7. — A Voice, stating that the other three of the Seven Trumpets will be WOES. Scene 8. — Another Star falls from Heaven, and to him is given the Key of the Bottomless Pit. He opens the Pit, and forms like Locusts come out of it and become very active, tormenting people. Scene 9. — A Voice is heard, commanding the Four Angels that were bound on the River Eu- phrates to be loosened. Great Destruction fol- lows. ACT IV. Bearing Testimony to the Truth. Chapters 10 and 11. — Showing the arrangement for wit- nessing to the Truth during the Gospel Age. Scene 1. — John eats a Little Book. This is sweet. Scene 2. — John is commanded to go tell the contents of the Little Book. This is bitter. Scene 3. — The Temple is measured with a Reed. Scene U. — God's Two Witnesses — evidently the living Word and the living Disciple— are killed with the sword and live again. Scene 5. — The Seventh Trumpet sounds, praises break out in heaven, and THIS BRINGS THE END ! Adventism and the Bible. 239 PART II. Sowing and Reaping. act I. The Eternal Conflict Between Righteousness and Error During the Gospel Age. Chapters 12 to 16 : 18. — Representing the Planting of the Seeds of Truth, the sowing of the Seeds of Error, and the Harvest of Error. Scene 1. — Truth, in the form of a Woman, is seen in Heaven; and she gives birth to a Son, who, in time, is caught up to God, and the Woman takes refuge in the Wilderness. Scene 2. — A Great Red Dragon appears in Heaven, standing ready to devour the Son that is to be born of the Woman. Scene 3. — There is War in Heaven between Michael, Righteousness, and the Dragon, Error; and Error is cast out. Scene 4. — The Dragon, cast down to the Earth, persecutes the Woman. Scene 5. — A Beast comes up out of the Sea, works jointly with the Dragon, and persecutes the Woman, overcoming her Seed, is wounded, taken captive. Scene 6. — Another Beast comes up out of the earth and assists the Beast that works jointly with the Dragon. Scene 7. — The Beast coming up out of the Earth, makes an Image to the Beast that came up out of the Sea, and causes all to worship the Image. 240 Adventism and the Bible. Scene 8. — The 144,000 are seen standing on the Sea of Glass offering Eternal Praise. Scene 9. — An Angel flies through the Heavens with the Everlasting Gospel, preaching the Gos- pel to every Nation, and Kindred, and Tongue, and People. Scene 10. — Another Angel flies through the midst of Heaven and cries, "Babylon is Fallen," thus announcing beforehand the ultimate fall of Evil. Scene 11. — Still another Angel flies through the Heavens, warning against worshiping this trium- virate of Error — the Dragon, the Beast, and the Image. Scene 12. — A Voice pronouncing blessings on them that "die in the Lord." Scene 13. — One comes out of the Temple, har- vesting the Earth, and treads the Winepress alone. ACT II. Harvesting the Seeds of Error. Chapters 15 and 16. — Demonstrating that he who sows to the Flesh shall of the Flesh reap Corruption. Scene 1. — Seven angels, each with a Bowl filled with a plague, present themselves on the Stage. Scene 2. — A Great Chorus, made up of those who had gotten the victory over the Beast, the Image, his Mark, his Name, and the Number of his Name, is heard rendering Praise. Scene 3. — The Seven Angels come out of the Temple, girded with Vengeance, and the Temple is filled with Smoke. Adventism and the Bible. 241 Scene 1*. — Great Voices commissioning the An- gels to pour out their Bowls of Wrath upon Men. Scene 5. — The First Bowl is poured out, and grievous Sores break out on the worshipers of the Beast. Scene 6. — The Second Bowl is poured out, the Sea becomes as the Blood of a Dead Man, and ev- ery Creature in it dies. Scene 7 . — The Third Bowl is poured out, and the Rivers and Fountains of Water become as Blood. Scene 8. — The Angel of the Waters pronounce the work of the Seven Angels Righteous. Scene 9. — The Fourth Bowl is poured out, and men are scorched with fire. Scene 10. — The Fifth Bowl is poured out, and the Kingdom of the Beast is filled with Darkness. The Dragon, the Beast, and the Image, the Tri- umvirate of Evil, all gnaw their Tongues because of their Pains. Scene 11. — The Sixth Bowl is poured out, and the Great River Euphrates is dried up. The Kings of the East prepare for Battle. Scene 12. — Three Unclean Spirits come out of the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet (the Image of the Beast), and these foment strife. Scene 13. — The Seventh Bowl is poured out, and great Voices break out from the Throne, and THIS BRINGS THE END. 16 242 Adventism and the Bible. PART III. The Last Surrender. Chapters 16: 18 to 20: 1. — Representing the Last Great Drive of the Ages, in which the Archenemy of Truth and his Generals are all outgeneraled and made to surrender. Scene 1. — Great Voices, Thunder, Lightning, and an Earthquake appear on the scene. Baby- lonia divided into three parts and is given her Reward. Great Hail falls from Heaven on Men. Scene 2. — The Mother of Harlots of All Ages is revealed, sitting on a Scarlet-Colored Beast, Drunk. Scene 3. — Another Angel comes down from Heaven and lightens the Earth with his glory. He pronounces Doom on Babylon. Scene J>. — A Great Voice calls God's People out of Babylon. Scene 5. — An Angel plunges a Millstone into the Sea, thus indicating the fall of Babylon, never to rise again. Scene 6. — The Great Chorus praising God for his Wisdom and Justice is heard. Scene 7. — Invitations are sent out to those who are to attend the Great Marriage Feast. Scene 8. — The Armies of Heaven march out in Battle Array. Scene 9. — The Fowls of Heaven are called to eat the Carcases of the Dead. Scene 10. — The Beast and the False Prophet are captured and cast into the Lake of Fire. (And later:) Adventism and the Bible. 243 Scene 11. — An Angel comes down from Heaven and lays hold on the Old Dragon, the Serpent, the Devil, Satan, and casts him into the Bottomless Pit for a THOUSAND YEARS. (One thousand years later:) Scene 12. — Satan is loosed out of the Bottom- less Pit. Satan gathers the wicked and marshals them against the Beloved City, and fire comes down from God out of Heaven and devours them. AND THIS BRINGS THE END. PART IV. All Things New. Chapters 21 and 22. — Introducing the Reader to some of the Good Things awaiting the Redeemed. Scene 1. — A New Heaven and a New Earth. Scene 2. — The Holy City descends from Heaven. Scene 3. — A Guide appears, explaining some of the Marvels of the Beloved City. Scene U. — The Architecture of the City is ex- plained and the City is Measured. Scene 5. — A View of the River of Life. Scene 6. — A View of the Tree of Life. Scene 7. — John personally instructed about the Book. Scene 8. — The world-wide Invitation to "COME." Scene 9. — Warning not to ADD to nor to TAKE FROM the Book. 244 Adventism and the Bible. Scene 10.— A Voice anonuncing: "SURELY I COME QUICKLY." Scene 11. — The Benediction of John the Be- loved: "THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH YOU ALL. AMEN I" CHAPTER XXX. The Rebirth of Adventism. From July 1 to July 21, 1919, there was held at Takoma Park, District of Columbia (the Seventh- Day Adventist headquarters), a summer Bible conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. This con- ference was called by the General Conference at its spring sitting. There was in attendance ed- itors, Bible and history teachers, ministers, and members of the General Conference Committee. Elder A. G. Daniels, president of the General Conference, was chairman of the conference, and at the opening session he set forth the object of the meeting as follows : "As already intimated, the one great object of this con- ference is to unite in a definite, practical, spiritual study of the word of God. The committee appointed to suggest topics for study has prepared the following: " 'The Person and Mediatorial Work of Christ.' " 'The Nature and Work of the Holy Spirit.' " 'The Two Covenants.' " 'The Principles of Prophetic Interpretation.' " 'The Eastern Question.' " 'The Beast Power of Revelation.' " 'The 1,260 Days.' " 'The United States in Prophecy.' " 'The Seven Trumpets.' " 'Matthew 24.' "'The Identification of the Ten Kingdoms.'" (The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, August 21, 1919.) 246 Adventism and the Bible. That there is a "sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees" among Seventh-Day Advent- ists is certain from this conference itself. For the last few years first this one and then that one has come to strikingly similar conclusions regard- ing certain accepted doctrines of Adventism. Many have left the faith simply because they were unable to harmonize obvious Bible teachings with Advent doctrines that were formulated back in 1831 to 1844. Others, not feeling themselves strong enough to break away from the movement, have unwillingly compromised by cramping them- selves into doctrinal grooves and crevices that are too little for any well-formed mind to move around in. There are many such Adventists to- day, and they are restlessly unhappy. Slowly, but surely, a multitude of forces have combined to arrest the attention of the leaders in the cause, and at last they have sat up and taken notice that there is a decided "knock" in the machinery some- where. Many of their young professors, follow- ing their natural bent for more and more learn- ing, have supplemented their meager Advent teachings with extensive courses in standard in- stitutions of learning. This number is limited, to be sure ; but it is strong enough in its united call for a thorough restudy of antiquated dogmas to force just such a conference as this one. Elder Daniels, in his opening address, quoted the following statements from the "Testimonies" of Mrs. E. G. White: "Men rest satisfied with the light already received from God's word, and discourage any further investiga- Adventism and the Bible. 247 tion of the Scriptures. They become conservative, and seek to avoid discussion. . . . There is reason to fear that they may not be clearly discriminating- between truth and error I have been shown that many who profess to have a knowledge of present truth know not what they believe. They do not understand the evidences of their faith. They have not just appreciation of the work for the present time. . . . There are men now preaching to others who will find, upon examining the po- sitions they hold, that there are many things for which they can give no satisfactory reason. . . . And there are many in the church who take it for granted that they understand what they believe; but, until controversy arises, they do not know their own weakness. . . . The Lord calls upon all who believe his word to awake out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. . . . Believers are not to rest in suppositions and ill-defined ideas of what constitutes truth. . . . Agitate, agitate, agitate. Whatever may be man's intel- lectual advancement, let him not for a moment think that there is no need for thorough and continuous searching of the Scriptures for greater light. . . . We are to catch the first gleamings of truth. . . . When God's people are at ease and satisfied with their present enlightenment, we may be sure that he will not favor them." {"Testimo- nies for the Church,'" Volume V., pages 706-709.) It is significant that this conference was opened with a quotation from Mrs. White. Anything from Mrs. White is authoritative and conclusive. These are strong passages, indeed; but strong criticism of many accepted positions held to-day by Adventists was in anticipation by Elder Dan- iels, and something strong was needed to fore- stall any break that might result. The foregoing- sub jects were not only to be restudied, but many of them were to be called in question. This Dan- 248 Adventism and the Bible. iels knew. The conference was to mean the be- ginning of a change of views concerning some of the most vital doctrines of Adventism. There were the usual opposing types of ad- vancement present — namely, the conservatives and the radicals. The radicals, for the most part, were made up of a number of young men who have, the past few years, dared to venture out into the great intellectual ocean of the world — a world pitiably unknown to the masses of Ad- ventism, both preachers and laymen. And asso- ciated with these young scholastics were certain Bible teachers of mediocre learning and a sprin- kle of editors and writers of the movement. The conservatives, of course, were second and third- rate teachers, returned missionaries who did not make good in foreign fields, preachers, conference presidents, and such like. This group is always dyed in the wool and cocksure of its faith; and these were unmoved. The Bible College at Takoma Park has four progressive men on its faculty — Christen M. So- renson, Edwin Albersworth, John W. Field, and Professor Lacy. They are all young men, and each has a worthy handle to his name which has been won from universities outside of Adventism. I did not attend the conference, but the spirit of the meetings leaked out. The following are some of the questions that arose during the three- weeks' study: 1. The Eastern Question. — Every one seemed to be in the air on this question — that is, no one Adventism and the Bible. 249 had any new application of the Eastern question that attracted any attention or that was even so much as mentioned. The idea of the application of the eleventh chapter of Daniel to the Turkish empire of to-day is fast losing in popularity with forward-looking Adventists. It seems probable that the old-time positions respecting the East- ern question will be abandoned in toto. 2. The Symbols of Revelation. — The "beast" of Revelation seemed to have received another "deadly wound" at this conference. The radicals are less and less inclined to apply the old dog- matic sureness respecting this mysterious animal. This group is beginning to see that the book of Revelation was written for those who lived in 96 A.D. as well as for those living in 1919 A.D. In other words, they are beginning to see that the book of Revelation is a most wonderful drama of the ages, and that it is folly to try to find his- torical application for disjointed characters in the book that have meanings only as parts of the drama and not at all as separate symbols. The book as a unit is a lesson — the assurance that righteousness will finally triumph over error. 3. The Law of Galatians. — The book of Gala- tians came up for study, and there was almost a unanimous verdict that the "law" of Galatians is the entire legal system of the Pentateuch rather than the Ten Commandments. Old Father Cavi- ness, for years a missionary to Old Mexico, stated that he had so believed for years. Once the ice was broken, it was found that nearly all had long 250 Adventism and the Bible. held the same views. It is time that a change is taking place respecting the "law" of this epistle. More than ten years ago, in Professor Sorenson's Bible Doctrines Class at Keene, Texas, I con- tended for this very position ; but all the consola- tion I received was the warning that McCutchen, then president of the Texas Conference, had been sidetracked on the same error and was almost turned out of the ministry because of it. But Sorenson told me personally after the confer- ence was over that Adventists have doubtless been too narrow on the law of Galatians. It seemed good to hear him make this confession. 4. Matt. 2U. — W. W. Prescott, for years editor of the Review and Herald and one of their fore- most writers, held that this chapter doubtless has a double meaning, the first and foremost applying back in the first century. This is a mere compro- mise, always in evidence before the entire truth is assumed. The next step will be to eliminate the alternate view, of course. 5. Mrs. Ellen G. White. — Professor Lacy is a distant relative of Mrs. White's, and it would seem that he has a right to speak of her pretended revelations if any one has. He assumed the most radical position that has ever been taken against her "visions." Canright, the outstanding oppo- nent of Adventism, has never denied that Mrs. White thought herself to be divinely inspired. But Professor Lacy does not think so, if the fol- lowing has any meaning: He told those at the conference that on one occasion he walked into Adventism and the Bible. 251 her study and found her copying from another author. He would have thought little about it, perhaps, had she not thrown her apron over the volume that was lying in her lap and from which she was copying. And while he remained in the room she sat with her apron over the book. An- other such conference, and Mrs. White will be labeled and set aside, where she should long ago have been placed. This was, indeed, a significant conference. It was a great forward step in the ranks of Advent- ism. But that it may finally lead to a split in the movement is probable. Adventism, like every movement that is finding itself called upon to "loosen up," has much to gain and something to lose when it takes the step for- ward. Some of its good members will fall by the way, unable to see the meaning of it all. A few useless conservatives will attempt to start a counter movement. But, on the other hand, hun- dreds that are at the present time living lives of hypocrisy and are daily preaching that which they no longer believe will welcome with a sigh of relief the loosening process. Hundreds who otherwise would leave the ranks will be saved a few years longer to the cause. Broader-minded men and women will be attracted by the new pleas. A more respectable membership will grace their ranks. But the ultimate end, let me warn this forward-stepping contingent, is far in the future — and fatal.