Since skepticism is rife, the very foundation of true religion, and the foundation of truth, is questioned often, even by the sincere. We have endeavored to uncover enough of the foundation
upon which all faith should be built—the Word of God—to give confidence
and assurance in its testimony, even to the unbeliever. And we have
endeavored to do this in a manner that will appeal to and can be
accepted by reason as a foundation. Then we have endeavored to build
upon that foundation the teachings
of Scripture, in such a manner that, so far as possible, purely human
judgment may try its squares and angles by the most exacting rules of
justice which it can command.
As inquirers, we have two methods open to us. One is to seek among all the views suggested by the various sects of the church, and to take from each that element which we might consider
truth—an endless task. A difficulty which we should meet by this method
would be, that if our judgment were warped and twisted, or our
prejudices bent in any direction —and whose are not?—these difficulties
would prevent our correct selection, and we might choose the error and
reject the truth. Again, if we should adopt this as our method we should
lose much, because the truth is progressive, shining more and more unto
the perfect day, to those who search for it and walk in the light of
it, while the various creeds of the various sects are fixed and
stationary, and were made so centuries ago. And each of them must
contain a large proportion of error, since each in some important
respects contradicts the others. This method would :
lead into a labyrinth of bewilderment and confusion. The other method
is to divest our minds of all prejudice, and to remember that none can
know more about the plans of God than he has revealed in his Word, and
that it was given to the meek and lowly of heart; and, as such,
earnestly and sincerely seeking its guidance and instruction only, we
shall by its great Author be guided to an understanding of it, as it
becomes due to be understood, by making use of the various helps
divinely provided. See Eph. 4:11-16.
To the interested student we would suggest that it will be useless for him merely to skim over this work, and hope to obtain the force and harmony of the plan suggested, and the Scripture
evidences herein presented. We have endeavored throughout to present :
the various fragments of truth, not only in such language, but also in
such order, as would best enable all classes of readers to grasp the
subject and general plan clearly. While thorough and orderly study is
necessary to the appreciation of any of the sciences, it is specially so
in the science of Divine revelation. And in this work it is doubly
necessary, from the fact that in addition to its being a treatise on
divinely revealed truths, it is an examination of the subject from, so
far as we know, an altogether different standpoint from that of any
other work. We have no apology to offer for treating many subjects
usually neglected by Christians—among others, the coming of our Lord,
and the prophecies and symbolism of the Old and New Testaments. No
system of theology should be presented, or accepted, which overlooks or
omits the most prominent features of Scripture teaching. We trust,
however, that a wide distinction will be recognized between the earnest,
sober and reverent study of prophecy and other scriptures, in the light
of accomplished historic facts, to obtain conclusions which sanctified
common sense can approve, and a too common practice of general
speculation, which, when applied to divine prophecy, is too apt to give
loose rein to wild theory and vague fancy. Those who fall into this
dangerous habit generally develop into prophets (?) instead of prophetic
students.
No work is more noble and ennobling than the reverent study of the revealed purposes of God—“which things the angels desire to look into.” (1 Pet. 1:12) The fact that God’s wisdom provided
prophecies of the future, as well as statements regarding the present
and the past, is of itself a reproof by Jehovah of the foolishness of
some of his children, who have excused their ignorance and neglect of
the study of His Word by saying: “There is enough in the fifth chapter
of Matthew to save any man.” Nor should we suppose that prophecy was
given merely to satisfy curiosity concerning the future. Its object
evidently is :
to make the consecrated child of God acquainted with his Father’s
plans, thus to enlist his interest and sympathy in the same plans, and
to enable him to regard both the present and the future from God’s
standpoint. When thus interested in the Lord’s work, he may serve with
the spirit and with the understanding also; not as a servant merely, but
as a child and heir. Revealing to such what shall be, counteracts the
influence of what now is. The effect of careful study cannot be
otherwise than strengthening to faith and stimulating to holiness.
The Watchman—the “Y.M.C.A.” journal of Chicago-published this same diagram, and...
Heathen, |
Moham- medans, |
Jews, |
Roman Catholics, |
Greek Catholics, |
Protest- ants, |
856 millions |
170 millions |
8 millions |
190 millions |
84 millions |
116 millions |
To show that we have not misstated “Orthodoxy” on the subject of th... :
Foreign Missions”—in which the diagram was published. Its concluding
sentence is: “Evangelize the mighty generations abroad-the one thousand
million souls who are dying in Christless despair at the rate of 100,000
a day.”
“Life! great mystery! Who shall say
What need hath God of this poor clay?
Formed by his hand with potent skill—
Mind, matter, soul and stubborn will;
Born but to die: sure destiny—death.
Then where, oh! where this fleeting breath?
Not one of all the countless throng,
Who lived and died and suffered long,
Returns to tell the great design—
That future, which is yours and mine.
We plead, O God! for some new ray
Of light for guidance on our way;
Based not on faith, but clearer sight,
Dispelling these dark clouds of night;
This doubt, this dread, this trembling fear;
This thought that mars our blessings here.
This restless mind, with bolder sway,
Rejects the dogmas of the day
Taught by jarring sects and schools,
To fetter reason with their rules.
We seek to know Thee as thou art—
Our place with Thee—and then the part
We play in this stupendous plan,
Creator Infinite, and man.
Lift up this veil obscuring sight;
Command again: ‘Let there be light!’
Reveal this secret of Thy throne;
We search in darkness the unknown.”
Life’s unsealed mystery soon shall say
What joy hath God in this poor clay,
Formed by his hand with potent skill,
Stamped with his image—mind and will;
Born not to die—no, a second birth
Succeeds the sentence—“earth to earth.”
For One of all the mighty host,
Who lived and died and suffered most,
Arose, and proved God’s great design—
That future, therefore, yours and mine.
His Word discloses this new ray
Of light, for guidance on our way;
Based now on faith, but sure as sight,
Dispelling these dark clouds of night:
The doubt, the dread, the trembling fear,
The thoughts that marred our blessings here.
Now, Lord, these minds, whose bolder sway
Rejects the dogmas of today,
:
Taught by jarring sects and schools,
Fettering reason with their rules,
May seek, and know Thee as Thou art,
Our place with Thee, and then the part
We play in this stupendous plan,
Creator Infinite, and man.
Uplifts the veil, revealing quite
To those who walk in heaven’s light
The glorious mystery of His throne
Hidden from ages, now made known.
Those who will turn away from the mere speculations of men, and devote time to searching the Scriptures, not excluding reason, which God invites us to use (Isa. 1:18), will find
that a blessed bow of promise spans the heavens. It is a mistake to
suppose that those without faith, and consequent justification, should
be able to apprehend clearly the truth: it is not for such. The Psalmist
says, “Light [truth] is sown for the righteous.” (Psa. 97:11) For the
child of God a lamp is provided whose light dispels from his pathway
much of the darkness. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path.” (Psa. 119:105) But it is only “the path of the just” that “is
as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
(Prov. 4:18) Actually, there is none just, “none righteous, no, not
one” (Rom. 3:10); the class referred to is “justified by faith.” It is
the privilege only of this class to walk in the pathway that shines more
and more—to see not only the present unfoldings of God’s plan, but also
things to come. While it is true that the path of each individual
believer is a shining one, yet the special application of
this statement is to the just (justified) as a class. Patriarchs,
prophets, apostles and saints of the past and present have walked in its
increasing light; and the light will continue to increase beyond the
present—“unto the perfect day.” It is one continuous path, and the one
continuous and increasing light is the Divine Record, illuminating as it
becomes due.
Looking into the past we find that then the light shone but feebly. Dim and obscure were the promises of past ages. The promises made to Abraham and others, and typically represented in
the law and ceremonies of fleshly Israel, were only shadows and gave but
a vague idea of God’s wonderful and gracious designs. As we reach the
days of Jesus the light increases. The height of expectancy, until then,
had been :
that God would bring a deliverer to save Israel from their enemies, and
to exalt them as the chief nation of the earth, in which position of
power and influence God would use them as his agency for blessing all
the families of the earth. The offer given them of heirship in the
kingdom of God was so different, in the conditions demanded, from what
they had expected, and the prospects of the class being selected ever
attaining the greatness promised were, outwardly and humanly considered,
so improbable, that all but the few were thereby blinded to the
message. And their blindness and hostility to it were naturally
increased when, in the process of God’s plan, the due time came for
extending the message, and making the invitation to share in the
promised Kingdom applicable to every creature under heaven who should by
the exercise of faith be reckoned a child of faithful Abraham and an
heir of the promise made to him.
There came a time, however, after the apostles fell asleep, when the majority of the Church began to neglect the lamp, and to look to human teachers for leading: and the teachers, puffed up
with pride, assumed : titles and offices, and began to lord it over God’s heritage. Then by
degrees there came into existence a special class called “the clergy,”
who regarded themselves, and were regarded by others, as the proper
guides to faith and practice, aside from the Word of God. Thus in time
the great system of Papacy was developed by an undue respect for the
teachings of fallible men and a neglect of the Word of the infallible
God.
Serious indeed have been the evil results brought about by this neglect of truth. As all know, both the church and the civilized world were almost wholly enslaved by that system, and led
to worship the traditions and creeds of men. From this slavery a bold
and blessed strike for liberty and the Bible was made, in what is known
as The Reformation. God raised up bold champions for his Word, among
whom were Luther, Zwingli, Melanchthon, Wycliffe, Knox and others. These
called attention to the fact that Papacy had laid aside the Bible and
substituted the decrees and dogmas of the church, and pointed out a few
of its erroneous teachings and practices, showing that they were built
upon tradition, contrary to truth, and opposed to God’s Word. These
reformers and their adherents were called Protestants, because they
protested against Papacy, and claimed the Word of God as the only
correct rule of faith and practice. Many faithful souls in the days of
the Reformation walked in the light, so far as it was then shining. But
since their day Protestants have made little progress, because, instead
of walking in the light, they have halted around their favorite leaders,
willing to see as much as they saw but nothing more. They set
boundaries to their progress in the way of truth, hedging in, with the
little truth they had, a great deal of error brought along from the
“mother” church. For the creeds thus formulated many years ago, the
majority of Christians have a superstitious reverence, supposing that no
more can : be known of God’s plans now than was known by the Reformers.
Perfection of knowledge is not a thing of the past, but of the future—the very near future, we trust; and until we recognize this fact we are unprepared to appreciate and expect fresh
unfoldings of our Father’s plan. True, we still go back to the words of
the prophets and apostles for all knowledge of the ::page:
present and the future; not, however, because they always understood
God’s plans and purposes better than we, but because God used them as
his mouthpieces to communicate to us, and to all the Church
throughout the Christian Age, truth relative to his plans, as fast as it
becomes due. This fact is abundantly proven by the apostles. Paul tells
us that God has made known to the Christian Church the mystery (secret)
of his will which he had purposed in himself, and had never before
revealed, though he had it recorded in dark sayings which could not be
understood until due, in order that the eyes of our understanding should
be opened to appreciate the “high calling” designed exclusively
for believers of the Christian Age. (Eph. 1:9,10,17,18; 3:4-6) This
shows us clearly that neither the prophets nor the angels understood the
meaning of the prophecies uttered. Peter says that when they inquired
anxiously to know their meaning, God told them that the truths covered
up in their prophecies were not for themselves, but for us of the
Christian Age. And he exhorts the Church to hope for still further grace
(favor, blessing) in this direction—yet more knowledge of God’s
plans.—1 Pet. 1:10-13
It is evident that though Jesus promised that the Church should be guided into all truth, it was to be a gradual unfolding. While the Church, in the days of the apostles, was free from
many of the errors which sprang up under and in Papacy, yet we cannot
suppose that the early church saw as deeply or as clearly into God’s
plan as it is possible to see today. It is evident, too, that the
different apostles had different degrees of insight into God’s plan,
though all their writings were guided and inspired of God, as
truly as were the words of the prophets. To illustrate differences of
knowledge, we have but to remember the wavering course, for a time, of
Peter and the other apostles, except Paul, when the :
gospel was beginning to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:28; 11:1-3; Gal.
2:11-14) Peter’s uncertainty was in marked contrast with Paul’s
assurance, inspired by the words of the prophets, God’s past dealings,
and the direct revelations made to himself.
During the Christian Age, some of the saints sought to understand t... :even a part of its teachings were blessed as promised. (Rev. 1:3) The
book kept opening up to such, and in the days of the Reformation was an
important aid to Luther in deciding that the Papacy, of which he was a
conscientious minister, was indeed the “Antichrist” mentioned by the
Apostle, the history of which we now see fills so large a part of that
prophecy.
Thus gradually God opens up his truth and reveals the exceed
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