bible standard february 1879

8/8/2019 Bible Standard February 1879

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T~Ein t ~ta a rISSUED MONTHLY BY THE

Christian Association for the Dissemination of the Truth of Life and Immortality through Christ alone.EDITED BYGeo. A. BROWN, Pastor of Mint Lane Baptist Church, Lincoln.

THEBIBLESTANDARDs devoted to the exposition of' Biblical Truth, especially the doctrine of Conditional Immortality, the literal Resurrection ofthe Dead. the Final Destruction of the Wicked,the Signs of the Times, the Second Coming of Christ, and His Personal Reign on earth.

" The Wages of Sin is Death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our L01d."

No. 17. FEBRUARY, Price Id.879.THE TWO THRONES.

" To Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in :M y throne,even as Ialso overcame, and am set down with My Father in Histhrone."-Rev. iii. 21.WE wish to notice the position our Lord Jesus Christsustains during this present age. The above text showsthat our Lord and Saviour occupies the throne of HisFather, and that before taking possession of this throne,He overcame, which imports that it was after His sufferingand death that .He was exalted to this heavenly place, atthe right hand of God. For Jesus says after His resur-rection, as He was about to go away into heaven, "Allpower is given unto Me, in heaven and earth," and as theGreat Head of the Church commissioned at that time allHis true ministers, saying, "Go ye, therefore, and teachall nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, andof the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them toobserve all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and10, I am with you always, even to the end of the world."

The present exalted position of our Lord was a matter ofpromise, as we find in Ps. xc. 1. "The Lord said unto myLord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thineenemies Thy footstool." The Apostle Peter took the sameview of the present exalted position of Jesus on the day ofPentecost, when the Holy Spirit had been so copiously shedon the disciples. He adds :-" This Jesus hath God raisedup, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by theright hand of God exalted, and having received of theFather the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath shed forththis, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascendedinto the heavens; but he saith himself, the Lord said untomy Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, until I make Thy foesThy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel knowassuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom yehave crucified, both Lord and Christ."

In this language of Peter, you observe that the Spirit of

God marks plainly the two thrones: "God has made thesame Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."Christ signifies anointed, and refers to His Kingship onDavid's throne; as all the kings of Israel were anointed tothat office. So was David, by Samuel, as Goddirecteel.Christ is now invested with power and authority to makeHis enemies His footstool,-the anointed at the right handof His Father in the heavens. He is mediator between Godand man, and high priest over the house of Goel.

The Apostle Paul, in Hebrews, speaking on this subject,says: "But this 'man (Christ), after He had offered onesacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand ofGod, from henceforth expecting till His enemies be madeHis footstool." Seeing we have such an "high priest overthe house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in fullassurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evilconscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Godhas raised Christ "from the dead, and set Him at His ownright hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality,and power, and might, and dominion, and every name thatis named, not only in this world, but also in that which is tocome; and hath put all things under His feet, and gaveHim to be head over all things to the Church." Ephesiansi. 21, 22.

Thus, from what testimony we have found from theinspired witnesses, we come to the conclusion that the placeand position of our Lord during the present dispensation isat the right hand of God, clothed with all power andauthority both in heaven and earth. All who come to theFather must come in His deal' name: "for there is no namegiven under heaven whereby we can be saved." Christdied. He is risen again. He is now at the right hand ofGod. He will leave His Father's throne to take His own, ofwhich we will noyvspeak.

"Goel shall give unto Him (Christ) the throne of H isfather David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob


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146 THE BIBLE STANDARD.for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." Thatthere is to be such a throne hereafter, occupied by JesusChrist, we shall endeavour to produce divine testimony inproof. Isaiah speaks of a Child being born, that the" government shall be upon His shoulders;" His name shallbe called " Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, theeverlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Of the increaseof His government and peace there shall be no end, uponthe throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order. it,and to establish it with judgment and with justice, fromhenceforth, even for ever. (Lsaiah. ix. 6, 7.) This shows thePrince of Peace is to have the throne of David, and uponhis kingdom to re-establish it, and to support it. Thissettles the point as to what throne is Christ's own. It isthat which David occupied, and which was overturned, asrecorded in Ezekiel, 21st chapter, and which the Lord Godsaid should remain subverted till "He came whose right itis, and I will give it Him."

According, prior to Jesus being born, Gabriel was sent toMary with the following announcement (Luke i. 32) con-cerning Him :-" He shall be great, and shall be called theSon of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Himthe throne of His father David, and He shall reign over thehouse of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall beno end."

Jesus is the rightful heir to David's throne, which is Hisown throne. This throne will be taken when Christ comes,for it is written, "When the Son of Man shall come in theclouds of heaven, with power and with great glory, thenshall He sit upon the throne of His glory. His kingdomwill be under the whole heaven, from the river to the endsof the earth." Remember, dear reader, the promise: "Tohim that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in Mythrone, even as I also overcame, and am set down with MyFather in His throne."

NOTES ON PSALM XCII. 1-4.I. "IT is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and tosing praises unto Thy Name, 0 Most High." Among themany reasons why this is so, we will here mention three.

1. It is good for our health, in that it produces in uscheerfulness, and there is nothing like cheerfulness forkeeping the human system in good working condition, andrestoring it when out of order. Pleasant sensations are thebest of restoratives.

2. It is also good in times of trouble, in that it oftenbrings speedy deliverance from God. It was so-in the caseof Paul and Silas in the Philippian gaol. And it has beenso in the cases of many others, both before and since theirtime. And why? Because it is in accordance with thewill of God, and the path of obedience is ever the path

ty.

3. And then last, but not least, it is good in thathonours God, and His word is: "Them that honour MI will honour."n. "To shew forth Thy lovingkindness in the morningand Thy faithfulness every night." This is God's order fthe giving of thanks and singing praises. He would nhave us relegate their use to Sundays, or the use of onethem-singing-to Sundays; but He would have us daiuse both. And herein we think is shewn the wisdomGod. He kuows that the giving of thanks and singinpraises is to us what oil is to machinery. Neglect tomachinery, when in use, daily, and friction and damagethe result; but oil it regularly every day and it at onworks smoothly and well. So we daily need oiling wiGod's oil-the oil of giving of thanks and singing praises-if we would always keep our affections warm one to anotheand so be pleasant in God's sight.

And here we would urge our fathers and mothers in Chrito introduce into their homes this Divine order for singin-we have already introduced it as regards the givingthanks,-and those of us who are not mothers and fatherand who are so situate that they cannot daily praise Gwith the voice of song, let them make "melody in thehearts to the Lord." And let us all remember, "Whosoffereth praise glorifieth Me: and to him that disposeth hway aright will I shew the salvation of God."

Ill. "Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon tpsaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound." Yes; awhenever possible, let our voices be accompanied winstrumental music, so that the praise of God may bedelight and" glorious;" but, at the same time, let us sthat it is in the "beauty of holiness," for it is only wsuch praise God is pleased. Sincerity here, as elsewhere,with God, everything. Hark, then, to the Divine calls fsuch praise! In Psalm xxxiii. 1-3:-"Rejoice in the Lord, 0 ye righteous:For praise is comely for the upright.Praise the Lord with harp:Sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.Sing unto Him a new song;Play skilfully with a loud noise."

And in Psalm cl. 3-6 :-"Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet:Praise Him with the psaltery and harp.Praise Him with the timbrel and dance:Praise Him with stringed instruments and organs.Praise Him upon the loud cymbals:Praise Him upon the high-sounding cymbals.Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.Praise ye the Lord."It is a beautiful thought, amid the general neglect

praise God, that this last call for universal praise WIlloday be fully responded to by all creation. The apostle Johin vision, was permitted to see that time, and this is whe says: "And every creature which is in heaven, and


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 147

the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea,and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and,honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth uponthe throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."Rev. v. 13. 0 day of everlasting joy and song, hastethy coming!

IV. "For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thyword." What a reason for the daily giving of thanks andsinging praises I Where could we find a stronger one?Echo may well answer, here, Where? Was it not Godwho originated the plan of salvation, and afterwards put itinto effect? And at what cost? Even at the cost of givingup His only-begotten Son, the Son of His love, to die thatmost ignominious and cruel death-the death on the cross!Marvellous exhibition of love! Can we then refrain fromsaying with the apostle, " We love Him because He firstloved us ? " Then, if we love Him, we will ever seek toplease Him in daily offering Him thanksgiving and praise.And at the same time, we will not forget His command," That all should honour the Son, even as they honour theFather;" "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all inthe Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks [and singingpraises] to God and the Father by Him."

Thank God, we-those of us who have believed andobeyed the Gospel of His dear Son-can each say, "I willtriumph in the works of Thy hands."-C. Fooks,

THIEF ON THE CROSS.By GEO. THoMsoN,D.S.

And he saidunto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou eomest intoThy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee To day,shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke xxiii. 42-48.As this passage is generally understood, it is supposed toteach that our Saviour and the dying thief went to Heaven,or Paradise, when they died; thus, of course, a precedentteaching that all who die forgiven immediately enter intoglory. Now it is stoutly maintained by many that theinvariable teachings of the Scriptures are to the effect thatthe righteous shall be recompensed at the resurrection; thatevery man shall be rewarded when Christ comes again; thatthe final judgment is a pre-requisite to an introduction intothe kingdom of God.

Both these positions cannot be correct, from the fact thatthey positively clash. One must yield. Which? All willanswer-The one that is incorrect. How shall it be deter-mined which is correct? By the consistency of all parts,and the general harmony of the Scriptures related to thatpoint. It may be asked, then, if we admit in any degree acontradiction in the Word of God? We answer emphatically,No. It is only apparent, and a proper investigation andinterpretation will bring all into perfect harmony.

As the above text is a stumbling-block in the way of many

who are seeking the truth, we propose, by the divine aid, toanalyse the subject, and present it in its true features.

There is a natural division of the subject.1. The prayer of the thief.2. The reply of the Lord.What was the prayer of the thief? "Lord, remember me

when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." When did he askto be remembered? "When Thou eomest into Thy kingdom."Did the thief pray understandingly? We think he did.Then he believed that Christ was destined to be a King, andpossess a Kingdom; otherwise, there was no consistency orpropriety in his petition. Then follows the legitimate andimportant question: When and where did the thief learnanything concerning Christ as the destined King of a comingKingdom. As he was a convicted criminal, he either learnedit before or after his apprehension. (For the apostle says," faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."We think it highly improbable that he heard Christ preachprior to his apprehension, from the fact that he was not ledsooner to repentance and reformation, as he gave evidenceof being honest when convinced.

But even supposing that he sat under the teaching ofJesus during His ministry, did he ever hear any sente~cefall from the lips of the Saviour, indicating that His King-dom was to be enjoyed at death? Certainly not. He mighthave heard Him say-" When the Son of man shall come illHis glory, and all the holy angels with, Him, then shall Hesit upon the th1'one of His gtO l'Y ." Matt. xxv. 31. Re mighthave heard Him, in the same discourse and connection,declare (verse 34)-" Then shall the King say to them onHis right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit thekingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."If he ever heard any conflicting declaration from the lips ofthe Master, it has certainly never been placed upon thesacred record. By far the most probable theory is, that allthe thief learned concerning our Lord, he learned at His (theLord's) examination before the chief priest and Pilate, andat the Cross. And when we compare what transpired therewith the thief's petition, we discover a wonderful harmon,)," And the whole multitude of them arose, and led Him untoPilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We foundthis fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to givetribute to Oeesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.And Pilate asked him, saying, Art Thou the King of theJews? And He answered him and said, Thou sayest it."Luke xxiii. 1-3. See also Matt. xxvii. 11.

A spectator of the above scene would have learned there-from two things. First, that Christ was accused by hisenemies of calling Himself a King. Second, that he deniedit not when questioned directly on that point. " Then Pilateentered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, andsaid unto him, Art 'I'hou the King of the Jews? , .. Jesus


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148 THE BIBLE STANDARD.

answered, My Kingdom is not of this world [or age]; if MyKingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight,that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is MyKingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto Him,Art Thou a King then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest thatI am a King. To this end was I born ; and for this causecame I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the[this] truth. " John xviii. 33, 36, 37.

From the above, the spectator would learn two importantfacts. First, that Christ was born to be a King; second,that His Kingdom was not yet inaugurated. "My Kingdomis not from hence,"-does not begin at this point,-" is notof this world;" is neither contemporaneous with, norpartaker of the character of this world's kingdoms; else Hewould have maintained His right by force of arms.

But again, in Matt. xxvi. 63-64, we find the same truthabundantly corroborated: "And the high priest answeredand said unto Him [Jesus], I adjure Thee by the living God,that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son ofGod. Jesus saith unto Him, Thou hast said: neverthelessI say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sittingon the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds ofheaven." Let us now recapitulate what the Saviouraffirmed, concerning His kingdom, during His examinationbefore Pilate and the high priest.

1. I was born to be a King.2. My Kingdom is not of this world (or age,-is not

contemporary with earthly kingdoms), "is not from hence,"that is, not yet commenced.

3. My kingdom is to come hereafter, when I appear in theclouds of heaven.

Nor is there an intimation during the whole examination,of going into the kingdom at death. Hence, supposing thethief to be present, he could never have conceived such anidea. Taking -these facts in connection with the inscriptionon the cross of J esus,-" Jesus of Nazareth, King of theJews,"-we can very readily conclude that the thief prayedunderstandingly when he said, "Lord, remember me whenThou COMESTNTOTHYKINGDOM."

We shall now examine the Saviour's reply to this petition;and just here let me enquire, would it be unreasonable toexpect a correspondence or harmony existing between thepetition and the reply? "If his son ask bread, will he givehim a stone?" Matt. vii. 9. I am aware that it is assertedby some that the thief requested one thing, and that theSaviour granted another. But this is mere assumption, asour exposition will show. The first word our Saviour uttersin reply to the thief's petition is "Amen," rendered "verily"in the common translation. In about seventy-five places inthe New Testament it is thus translated, while in about fiftyplaces it is merely transferred, as for instance, (Rev. xxii. 20.)"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come

quickly. [John responds] Amen. Even so come, LorJesus." Also (1 C 0 1 . xiv. 16.), " Else when thou shalt bleswith the Spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of thunlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing hunderstandeth not what thou sayest ?" The obvious anadmitted meaning of the word is, "So let it be;" there itherefore, a harmony between the lletition and the-answer" Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom," ." Amen, [or, so be it,] I say to thee to-day, thoushalt be with Me in paradise." But it is objected that whave no right to change the punctuation mark, the changingof which, it is admitted, alters the sense of the passagunder consideration. To which we reply that those' pointwere no part of inspiration, not having been introduceduntil several hundred years after the New Testament wawritten and compiled, and that there are other instances iour common version of the Scriptures, when the changingof the comma, in different editions, entirely alters the sensof the passage j the following are samples :-Heb. x, 12.pointed as follows in some editions, "13ut this man, after Hhad offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on thright hand of God." Now this conveys the idea that Chrissat down on the right hand of God to remain there for evewhen it is known that this idea positively clashes with thwhole tenor of Scripture teaching on this point: that thheavens are to retain Him only "until the restitution of athings." Now place the comma after the word" ever," ait is in most editions, and all is harmonious. Anotheinstance (Matt. xix. 28.), "And Jesus said unto them [thtwelve apostles] , Verily, I say unto you, that ye which havfollowed Me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shasit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelvthrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." It will bobserved in the above that the comma is placed after thword" regeneration," as it is thus found in some editions othe common version; now, this pointing confines the worof "regeneration" (whatever it may be) exclusively to thdays of our Saviour's ministry. None would be willing ttake this position. Let the comma be placed after the wor"me," and all is plain and consistent. The" regeneration"is to take place when He sits upon His throne. To generateis to create; to regenerate is to re-create. When thSaviour comes, He will regenerate the race, by makingnew: "Behold I make all things new." Rev. xxi. 5. And BOwhen we change the punctuation mark in the passage undeconsideration, it makes all the relative parts harmonize, anexonerates the word of God from the charge of beincontradictory in its teachings.

But it is objected again, that the form of expression, "Isay unto thee to-day," is both unusual and improper. Thait is neither, we are prepared to show by Scriptural another examples: In Deut, viii. 19, we read, "And it shall b


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 149if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk afterother gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testifyagainst you this day that ye shall surely perish." Again,(Deut. xxx. 18.) "I denounce unto you this day, that ye shallsurely perish." Again, (Prov. xxii. 19) "I have made knownunto thi day." The great statesman, Webster, in one of hisorations, says, "I speak to- day for the preservation ofthe Union."

In all the instances cited above, the adverb-to-day, orthis -day,-qualifies the time of uttering the sentences.And in the case of the dying thief, there was a po werfulsignificance in the use of the word" to-day" by the Saviour.He had publicly avowed Himself as King of the Jews; haddiscoursed.at large concerning His Kingdom; but now Hewas placed in the position of a common malefactor; all Hisformer claims were regarded now as mere pretensions. Thiswas the day of His humiliation. Even His own discipleshad forsaken Him; yea, more, even His Father had forsakenHim ;-all alone, and" numbered with the transgressors."Yet He could assure the penitent thief that his petitionshould be granted. I say unto thee to-day,-notwithstandingit is a day of darkness, discouragement, and gloom; not-withstanding I am apparently subdued and powerless,-yet"I say unto thee to-day, thou shalt bewith Me in paradise."

In the further investigation of this subject, the questionnaturally arises,-Where is paradise? By the great majorityof professing Christians, it is located in heaven above, theabode of the Father. If this is correct, Christ did not go toparadise the day He died; for, three days subsequently,when Mary was about to embrace her resurrected Lord, Hesaid, "Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to My Father."

But there is another theory concerning paradise, namely,that it is located in Hades, according to (not the Bible)Grecian mythology and Josephus,-is located somewhere inthe bowels of the earth; that it is divided into two compart-ments, one for the departed spirrts of the good, the other forthe wicked. It is contended that Christ and the thief wentto this place when they died; but the Bible Hades (whichword is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Sheol) is said tobe a place where "there is no work, nor device, nor know-ledge, nor wisdom" (Eccl. ix. 10.); consequently, if there isno knowledge there, it is a place of unconsciousness.Furthermore, the invariable testimony of the inspiredwriters is to the effect that Christ arose three days after(not from paradise, but) from the dead. Then we must seekfurther for the location of the Bible paradise. The word" paradise" is said to be of Persian origin, and signifies agarden. The Septuagint renders Gen. ii. 8. as follows, " Godplanted a paradise in Eden." The word only occurs intwo other places in the Scriptures. An examination willdoubtless aid us in discovering the true location. In 2Cor. xii. 1-4, Paul is speaking about visions and revel a-

tions, which he had fourteen years previously, and statesthat he was "caught up to the third heaven," and'" caught up into paradise." Of course, the inference isclearly deducible here, that paradise is located in the" thirdheaven," but this passage needs analysing, in order .to getthe truth, The words here rendered "caught up," in otherpassages are rendered" caught away," as follows, (Matt.xiii. 19.)-" Where anyone heareth the word of the King-dom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked oneand catcheth away that which was sown in his heart." AlsoActs viii. 39,-when Philip baptised the Eunuch-" Andwhen they were come up out of the water, the spirit of theLord caught away Philip."

Thus we see that Paul was not necessarily caught up, butwas caught away in vision. But what about the "thirdheaven"? It seems very clear that paradise is locatedthere. Let us continue our investigation. We can find butone other place in the Scriptures where any reference ismade to a third heaven, either directly 01' indirectly; andthat is 2 Peter iii. 57, 13. Befering to _the antediluvianworld, Peter says: "The heavens were of old, and the earth,standing out of the water and in the water beingoverfiowed with water, perished." Here we find heavennumber one. "But the heavens and the earth which arenow, reserved unto fire against the day of judg-ment and perdition of ungodly men." Here is heavennumber two. Neverthelesss we, according to His promise,look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwellethrighteousness." Here is heaven number three; of whichyou will find a description in Rev. xxi. Now we can see howPaul was caught away in vision to the new earth state, as Johnwas subsequently on .the Isle of Patmos.T~e other-passage where the word occurs, is in Rev. ii. 7-"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree oflife, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." If we donot learn from the above passage the location of paradise, wedo learn one of its features, namely, "the tree of life" isthere. Now if we can find the" tree of life" we shall beable to locate paradise. The first place we find it is in thegarden of Eden, at the beginning, Gen. ii. 9., iii. 22-24.When Adam sinned, God expelled him from the garden, andplaced a cherubim with flaming sword to guard the way tothe tree of life, lest Adam should take the fruit, and eat, andlive forever. Again we find it beyond the Besurection andthe judgment, in the new earth state, as recorded in Rev.xxii. 2-14. As we have found the" tree of life" located inthe new earth, and as the "tree of life" is to be "in themidst of the paradise of God," therefore, paradise is to belocated in the new earth. "Thou shalt be with Me in

I paradise.

I It must be borne in mind that the Saviour promised the.thief that he should be with Him in paradise. "Father, I


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will that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Meuiliere I am." John xvii. 24. But a little while previous Hehad comforted His disciples with the following cheeringpromise (John xiv. 1-3): "Let not your heart be troubled ..I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare aplace for you,I will come again, and receive you unto Myself,that where I am there ye may be also."From the above we learn three things:

1. The Saviour prayed that His disciples might be withHim.

2. The manner in which this association is formed-" Iwill receive you."

3. The time when this association is formed-when Hecomes again.

The question now arises, Would the Saviour make anexception in favour of this thief, to the exclusion of His ownimmediate disciples? We think He had no such design.Then the thief must await the appointed time; and whenthe King Himself comes into His Kingdom, then will thepenitent thief be. remembered. But has not Christ comeinto His Kingd~m yet? Let the inspired Word answer.Subsequent to the resurrection and ascension of our Saviour,He speaks as follows: "To him that overcometh will I grantto sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and am setdown with My Father in His throne." Rev. iii. 21. "Whenthe Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holyangels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of Hisglory." Matt. xxv. 31. "I saw in the night visions, and,behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds ofheaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they broughtHim near before Him, and there was given Him dominion,and glory, and a kingdom." Dan. vii. 13-14. "And theseventh angel sounded [the judgment trump]; and therewere great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of thisworld are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of HisChrist; and He shall reign for ever and ever! " Rev. xi. 15.

From these quotations, which might be multiplied, it isabundantly evident that the Kingdom of Christ is stillfuture; that it is due at Second Advent, when He shall situpon the throne of His glory, regenerate the earth, restorethe long-lost paradise, inaugurate His unending kingdom,raise to life the sleeping saints; at which time He will notforqot the penitent thief, but will fulfil his promise, in strictharmony with the dying thief's request-" Lord, RElIIElIIBERME WHENTHOUCOlllESTNTOTHY KINGDOM."

Dear reader, may you and I, by a life of obedience andfaith in the Son of God, secure a home in that blessed King-dom. The signs of the times indicate that the saints ofGod will soon have fulfilled to them their oft-repeatedpetition, "Thy Kingdom come!" Repent ye, believe thegospel, and with the saints of all ages, the penitent thief in-cluded, you shall have a home in the Paradise of God. Amen.

THE FIRST RESURRECTION AT HAND." Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection."

Rev. xx, 6. "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection othe dead." Phil. iii. 11.THE Apostle Paul did not doubt that he should share in theresurrection of the dead. He could never have entertainedan idea of the possibility of his being left behind in thedarkness of the tomb, when all the nations that are in theirgraves "shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shalcome forth." He looked onward to the resurrection of thedead as to a future, but divinely predicted, and, therefore,certain event. He anticipated that glorious morning, when" this corruption shall put on incorruption, and this mortalshall put on immortality," and "when death shall bswallowed up in victory." He saw, with faith's clear sightthat, when his earthly tabernacle should be dissolved, therewas prepared for him" a building of God, an house not madewith hands, eternal in the heavens." And, in the hallowedrapture of that hope, he could say: "Now is Christ risenfrom the dead, and become the first-fruits of them thatslept. 0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thyvictory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of siis the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us thvictory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 COT. xv., 20, 4251-58. 2 Cor. v. 1.

But, then, what is the Apostle's meaning, when he alssays, "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrectionof the dead." Phil. iii. 11.

An explanation is furnished by referring to the originaGreek for the word resurrection in this passage. The woris exanastisis, which denotes theresurrection out from amongthe dead, that is, the resurrection of the righteous, exclusively, out from among the whole of the dead, bothrighteous and wicked. It is in short the elect resurrectionor First Resurrection of the Saints, which is to take placat the second advent of Christ, at the commencement of th1,000 years of the millennium. Rev. xx. 5.

1. This first resurrection is the special resurrection owhich our Lord speaks, when He says: "They who shall baccounted worthy to attain that world and the resurrectionfrom the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage,neither can they die any more, for they are equal to thangels and are the children of God, being the children of thresurrection." And this He elsewhere calls the resurrectionof the just, viz.: "Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." This, therefore, must be styled thresurrection of the just, as distinguished from the resurrection of the unjust. And to attain it, is to receivepeculiar privilege, and to be awarded a special honour.For our Lord speaks of those who shall be accounted worthyto attain it, as the children of God being the children othe resurrection. Luke xx, 35, 36; xiv. 14.


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 1 5 1

St. 'Paul also announces that "the dead in Christ shallrise first." As our Lord was the first-fruits of this eclecticresurrection, so the just seem to be a kind of first-fruits ofthe general resurrection of the dead, as it is written," Christ, the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ's atHis coming."

It was with this resurrection in view that the martyredsaints suffered and endured, counting it all joy, "that theymight obtain a better resurrection." And it is on those whoattain to the same reward of grace that St. John pronouncesthe solemn and emphatic word of blessing: "Blessed andholy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." This,then, is the elect resurrection to which, above all things,St. Paul desired to attain. It is a prior resurrection. Thosewho participate in it will live and reign with Christ ourKing during the thousand years of millennial glory. Hencearises the importance of preparation. Hence the beingcounted worthy to obtain it is, indeed, a peculiar privilege-1 Thess. iv. 16; 1 Corinth. xv. 23; Heb. xi. 25.

It will be the commencement of inconceivable happinessand glory to such as shall then rise, to be with their Lordwhere He is. They will "behold his glory," and see Him"face to face." They will be "like Him." As they beholdHim they will reflect the beauty of His perfections. Love,joy, and peace will form their moral character, and beautifytheir glorified bodies. As was the Saviour on the mountainof transfiguration, so shall they be. They shall be clothedin raiment" white as the light, exceeding white as snow, soas no fuller on earth can white them." They shall "eatof the tree of life," and "of the hidden manna." Theyshall be "crowned with the crown of life." They shallpossess" the white stone with the new name written in it."They shall have" power over the nations." They shall be"made pillars in the temple of God, and go no more out."'I'hey shall "walk in white in the streets of the newJerusalem," Never shall their names be blotted out of thebook of life. And to them it shall be granted" to sit withthe Saviour on His throne." Such are the rewards onchildren of the first resurrection. 1 John iii. 2; Rev. ii. 7,17;iii. 5, 12, 21; Ma1'k ix. 3.

2. The wise virgins, or sealed Christians, who arewaiting for and desiring the personal advent of Christ, willescape beforehand from the great tribulation which willusher in the dawn of the millennial day.

The millennial thousand years are to be preceded by anight of troubles. And thatnight will come suddenly uponthe earth. Brief, indeed, will be the premonitory twilight-For, when the world is saying "peace and safety, thensudden destruction cometh; the day of the Lord will over-take them as a thief in the night." No more warning willbe given than the thief gives: of his approach. "As a snarewill it come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the

whole earth." Then will be the overwhelming flood. "Theoverflowing scourge shall pass through." For" this will beGod's controversy with the nations." It will be "theshaking in all nations," it will be "the gathering of thekings of the earth, and of the whole world, to the battle ofthe great day of God Almighty."

Then will " the earth reel to and fro. The earth shall beutterly broken down. Fear and the pit, and the snare, willbe upon its inhabitants." The breath of the Lord, when Hecometh in His anger, shall be as an overflowing stream.Then "the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and thehaughtiness of men shall be made low, and the Lord aloneshall be exalted in that day-then shall men enter into therock, and hide them in the dust, for fear of the Lord, andfor the glory of His Majesty, when He ariseth to shaketerribly the earth." Isa. xxiv.

But deliverance out of these troubles is secured to thesealed people of God. As, in Ezekiel's vision in chapter ix.,the man clothed with linen, with the writer's ink-horn, wascommanded by the Lord" to go through the midst of the city,and to set a mark on the foreheads of the men that did sighand cry for all the abominations done in it," nor could thedestruction come upon the doomed city until these had beensealed; even so God's servants must be sealed now" untothe day of redemption" by the Divine Spirit, that they maybe delivered from the destruction which impends upon theapostate nations of Christendom.-Si1' W. Wilson Mm'sh.

THE TIMES OF THE RESTITUTION OF ALLTHINGS SPOKEN OF BY THE PROPHETS.

(Continued from page 137.)IN a former article we showed that one of "the thingsspoken of by the prophets," to be restored, was the restora-tion of the people of Israel to their own land for ever. Wenow proceed to show that :-n. Not only do the prophets speak of a real and per-manent restoration of the Israelitish people to the land oftheir fathers, but also of a restoration of their national polityas the kingdom of God.

This proposition will doubtless appear startling to not afew, and many will strongly demur to it. To such we wouldcourteously recommend the example of those men of Berea,who, when the Apostle brought strange things to their ears,searched the Scriptures daily to see whether they reallywere taught there. These Scriptures are the only test ofthe truth of what is here affirmed, and to them we make ourappeal.

Before doing so, however, we call attention to the hopesand expectations of the Apostles of our Lord, as these were


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expressed, just immediately before His ascension, thus:" Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom toIsrael? "-Acts i. 6. Did you ever observe how the Lordanswered that question? His reply was: "It is not for youto know the times or the seasons which the Father hathput in His own power." That reply clearly showed thatthey were wrong in enquiring about the time of the restora-tion of the kingdom, but it also, by implication, shows thatthey were right as to the fact that the kingdom was to berestored to Israel. Had their expectations been false andincorrect, could you imagine that the Lord would not havetold them so? He had corrected their mistakes onother matters, and surely, he would have done sohere too: but, instead of telling them that their ideasabout the kingdom were carnal or false, He confirmsthese ideas, by answering the question as if it were sound insubstance, by confining his answer to the matter of time.

Along with this consideration place this other, that afterHis resurrection, the Lord had, during forty days, been" speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdomof God;" so that there is the strongest probability thattheir question was the result of His teaching-that He hadspoken to them of the kingdom of God and of its restorationto Israel.

This reasoning assumes that the kingdom of God hadbeen with Israel before. The truth of this we now proceedto show, and that its restoration is one of the things ofwhich the prophets have spoken.

Turning to Exodus xix. 5, 6, we find that Jehovah pro-mised to the children of Israel, when they had come intothe wilderness of Sinai, on the third month after cominz outoof Egypt, "Now, therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed,and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasureunto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine. Andye shall be unto Me, a kingdom of priests, and an holynation."

Here we see that the constitution of Israel, to be God'skingdom, was a prominent part of the Divine purpose.The next allusion we have to that truth is in 1 Samuel viii.1-9. Samuel had become old, and his sons, whom he hadappointed to act in his stead, were unfaithful, " turned asideafter lucre, took bribes, and perverted judgment." Fromthis state of misrule the people, necessarily, suffered, and asa remedy, "the elders of Israel" cried to Samuel to makethem a king to judge them like the rest of. the nations.The request displeased Samuel exceedingly, and he laid thematter before J ehovah.

"And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto thevoice of the people in all that they say unto thee, for theyhave not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that Ishould not reign over them."

These last quoted words distinctly inform us that the

Lord God of Israel had been sustaining the relation ofKing to that people-reigning over them-that He hadindeed made them His kingdom; and other Scriptures showus that while He consented to give them a visible king, " tojudge them, and go out before them, and fight their battles,that King was only His vicegerent-that Jehovah stillclaimed the kingdom of Israel as His own.

Saul ana David were chosen and appointed, not by thepeople, but by Jehovah, independently 'Of their election;hence, these men were called "The Lord's Anointed," and" the throne" is still spoken of as the throne of the Lord.And so we find it recorded in 1Chron, xxix. 23, " Then KingSolomon sat on the throne of the Lord, as king, instead ofDavid his father.

This kingdom was broken up by (1 ) the captivity of therevolted ten tribes, by the King of Assyria (2 Kings xviii);and (2) by the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity ofthe other two tribes by the-King of Babylon (2 Kings xxv.),as a punishment from God for the persistent wickedness andidolatry of the people, and of their priests and rulers.And so we find recorded in the book of the prophetEzekiel :-" Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Becauseye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that yourtransgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings yoursins do appeal'; because, I say, that ye are come to remem-brance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, profanewicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquityshall have an end. Thus saith the Lord God: Remove thediadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same :exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I willoverturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more,until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him."Ezek. xxi. 25-28.

Since the dethronement of Zedekiah, that "profane andwicked prince of Israel," no King has reigned in Israel; itsdiadem is still in the dust, its throne overturned, and itspeople, long scattered, an alien people among all nations ofthe earth. Yet it has not for ever passed away. Of itsrestoration God's holy prophets have spoken in clear,glowing, and decisive terms. In the prophecy just quoted,which pronounces its doom and overthrow, indicates itsrestoration. "It shall be no more, UNTIL He come whoseright it is, and I will give it Him."

As surely as that kingdom and throne were overturned, socertain is their restoration, if the word of Jehovah is to beverified. Only till He comes Whose right it is, shall it lieoverturned, then it shall be given to Him. -Most positivelyhas this restoration been predicted by the prophets,-hear these :-" In that day, saith the Lord, will I assembleher that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out,and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her thathalted a remnant, and her that was cast far off ~ strong


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 153

nation; and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zionfrom henceforth, even for ever. And thou, 0 tower of theflock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto theeshall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom. shallcome to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah iv. 6-8.Listen to Amos :-" In that day will I raise up the tabernacleof David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof;and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in thedays of old." Amos ix. 6. This re-erection of the throneand kingdom of David, is also predicted by the prophetIsaiah, in language familiar to our ears as household words:-" For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: andthe government shall be upon His shoulder: and His nameshall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, Theeverlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increaseof His government and peace there shall be no end, upon thethrone of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and toestablish it with judgment and with justice from hencefortheven for ever. The zeal of the Lord. of hosts will performthis."

These, and other like predictions, were the source of thosehopes and expectations which filled the minds of all trueIsraelites, when Jesus appeared among them preaching thegospel of the Kingdom; and all who "received Him"believed that He was the promised Messiah, the King ofIsrael. These hopes and expectations, drawn from the sameDivine source, were being fondly cherished by the motherof our Lord-blessed among women! when the angel ofJehovah saluted her and said, "Thou shalt bring forth a Son,and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, andshall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord Godshall give unto Him the throne of His father David : AndHe shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of Hiskingdom there shall be no end," (Luke i. 31-33) as ismanifest from the words of her song, in which her soulmagnified the Lord, and rejoiced in God her Saviour (Lsikei. 46-55). And these were the hopes and expectations ofthe Eleven when they enquired "Lord, wilt Thou at this timerestore the kingdom to Israel?"

Surely the citations of Scripture, and the considerationswe have advanced are sufficient to show that the restorationof the national polity of the kingdom of Israel as the King-dom of God has been spoken of by God's holy prophets.

Very likely some readers may be ready to object that theKingdom of which the Christ is the King, is far superior tothe kingdom of God in Israel at any period of its history.Most assuredly so; but that truth in no way invalidates theaccuracy of what has here been argued for. Because, while" Restoration" implies the returning of something whichformerly existed, the latter state of the thing restored maybe immensely superior to the former. A man may have hishealth restored, and yet have better health than ever he had

before. The remark holds true in regard to office, andto nationality. Just so shall it be with the restoration ofGod's Kingdom over Israel, as the following Scriptures willshow. Thus, speaking to Israel, Isaiah says: "I will restorethy judges, as at the first, and thy counsellors as at thebeginning; afterward thou shalt be called the city of right-eousness, the faithful city." Yet from our Lord's ownpromise that" in the regeneration" the judges of the twelvetribes of Israel shall be the Apostles. See Matt. xix. 28,Luke xxii. 28.

Again, when Israel is restored to their land and national-ity, they shall not be the wicked idolatrous people they werebefore; but this shall be their character :-" Behold, thedays come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenantwith the house of Israel, and with the house of J udah :Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathersin the day that I took them by the hand to bring them outof the land of Egypt: which My covenant they brake,although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:But this shall be the covenant that I will make with thehouse of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will putMy law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;and will be their God, and they shall beMypeople. And theyshall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every manhis brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all knowMe, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saiththe Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remem-ber their sin no more." Jer. xxxi. 31-34.

Once more :-In its former state the kingdom and nationof Israel was comparatively small in relation to others; butwhen restored, it shall be the chief nation upon earth, andreceive the homage of all others: its capital city-Jerusalem-shall be the metropolis of the whole world. See Isaialiii. 1-4, lx. 10-14, li. 4-6. And thus shall the Kingdomof God be "like a grain of mustard seed, which a man tookand sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of allseeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs,and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come andlodge in the branches thereof." Matt: xiii. 31-32.

But the greatest excellence of the restored Kingdom ofGod, compared with its former state will be the character ofits King, the righteous Lord who loveth righteousness. Allnations shall be blest in Him, and call Him blessed.

Our limits forbid further extension of this article. Whathas been advanced will, we trust, give some readers a clearerand more definite understanding than before of the ApostlePeter's words, when he spoke of "the times of the restitu-tion of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth ofall His holy prophets since the world began."

In conclusion, let the reader observe how the times ofthis restitution is connected with the Christian's hope. Tillthe times of this restoration of all things spoken of by God's


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holy prophets, "the heavens tain" the Lord Jesus Christ.Till He returns, the dead in Christ lie buried, and those inHim who are alive, "do groan, being burdened." waitingfor their house which is from heaven! Till He comes,iniquity shall triumph, and wicked men wax worse andworse; the millions of earth's inhabitants shall suffer, asthey are doing, from oppression, misrule, and sin in all itsforms. Well, then, may we earnestly pray, Thy Kingdomcome, and the times of refreshing from Thy presence, 0God: Come, Lord Jesus, 0 come quickly. Amen.- W. Laing.

ASSOCIATION NOTES.SUGGESTIONs.-An esteemed Christian brother in Kent,

sends the following suggestions which we gladly and cordiallyendorse :-

1. That each reader of the paper take in as many extracopies as such can afford.

2. That these extra copies be sent, first, to friends andrelations; second, to the reliqious public in the neigh.bourhood ; and third, to church. goers and othersgenerally.

3. That then, copies be sent to those in the surroundingtowns and districts.

4. That copies be also laid on the tables of public reading-rooms and other places, when permission can beobtained.

5. That, in order for the proper carrying out of these hintswithout waste, those who hold the truth as advocatedin the Bible Standard, if there is more than one in aplace, meet together to decide upon the names, &c.,to whom the papers shall be sent.

The carrying out of these suggestions need not interferewith the establishment of the fund for free circulation fromthe book-room at Lincoln; but rather help it by supplyingchannels through which that fund can circulate the BibleStandard. Our correspondent adds a too-painfully sugges-tive fact :-In either case, let us look after the people first;the ministers will then look after themselves.

The selfishness of the pulpit is a too common feature ofour day, and men whose chief motive is" a morsel of bread"-well buttered-will never lead the way but will followwhere their flocks lead. May we therefore urge the abovesuggestions upon the members and friends of the Association,and of the truths it is formed to advocate. The time foraction has come; we must, at 'any cost, enlighten the mindsof our brethren, who are yet in darkness as to the truenature of man, and the true glory of Christ; the one needing,the other bestowing Immortality.

BREYITYOF TITLE.-A London correspondent, anxious forthe standing of the Association in the public eye, urges the

adoption of a shorter title. We grant the force of hisremarks, and invite from him or others a substitute for thepresent complete, but certainly cumbrous title of the Associ-ation. We remind such, however, that no action thereoncan be taken except at the next session of the Executive, orof the Annual Conference.

COMEOVERANDHELP us.-Hear ye not the cry of thedark yet, the ,enquiring among the dark, Christians of ourland! True; there are many who are too deeply prejudicedto enquire; they have either exhausted, in their narrowestimation, all that the Holy Spirit- by His Word has toteach them; or they are too ignorant and indolent to enquirefurther. The faith of their fathers and grandfathers is goodenough for them-why not be consistent, and follow in thewake of their predecessors, in other matters also? Forinstance, rise at 5 and retire to rest at 8. Take a mug ostrong ale for breakfast instead of coffee or tea. Ride in theslow stage-coach or slower carrier's-waggon instead of theswift train. Discard the daily press, and be content with anoocasionallook at a dull weekly of a past age. Dress in thefashions of an antique generation. Forfeit their civil andreligious liberty, and bring in again the good old days when'twas treason to think or speak other than the king or thepriest might bid. The reason why such prefer the modernto the ancient in these things is, because, they love thesuperior advantages they bring; and so, methinks, a reasonmay be found therein why they prefer the "traditions omen," and give heed to seducing" doctrines of demons,"because the tide of popular belief is easy to follow, andbrings peace and plenty to the present life; therefore" aplagueupon" the truculent fellows who would force them to examineafresh the foundations of their belief, and sail against bothwind and tide. We freely grant, that many who will notlisten to us, are swayed by purer motives than these; butherein lies the strength of popular teaching, and our impo-tence to move such minds to thought and action.

Such say, "We are never troubled by doubts or fears aboutthe truth of our religion. We live in perfect peace of mindand feeling." True, and so do the dogs, cats, and cattle osuch persons, and for the self-same reason-want of thought.In the lower animal such want of thought is seemly, becausenatural; in the upper it is shameful, because unnatural;seeing that the exhortation is "Prove all things; hold fastthat which is good." The commandment runs "He thathath ears to hear, let him hear." The commendation is" These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in thatthey received the word with all readiness of mind, andsearched the Scriptures daily, whether these things wereso."

After making all deductions, however, for such as these,there are many benighted but enquiring minds left in thechurches. Minds pained at the terrible nature of Christian


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THE :BIBLE STANDARD. 155dogmas; and at the dogmatism of mortals asserting onmerely" church council" authority, what seems so flagrantlyinconsistent with Bible teaching. It is to aid such ourAssociation has been formed, our united effort determinedon. Help us to help others. Give us your personal dona-tions or subscriptions.-Your personal influence and labour.Oh! brethren and sisters, while you hesitate, men discardreligion in doubt and fear thereof; hearts bleed under accu-mulated woes born" of modern teaching on the naturalimmortality of the human soul, and its consequent liabilityto eternal sut/ering; gentle spirits are pained by the impos-sibility of reconciling the Divine Character, as taught fromtheir pulpits, with their own inborn convictions of rightand wrong; whilst the many-millioned public pass ourchurches unheeding the voice of praise and prayer, becauseof the heathen jumble called. " sound doctrine" and"Christian belief."

For all these our hearts bleed, our eyes become fountainsof tears; we long for power to aid, but whilst the spirit iswilling the flesh is weak. Union of all holding Life only inChrist, is needed for this work. Come, friends, consecratethe purse, the person, the heart, and mind, and hand, thatthe Lord's message of life, and peace, and joy, may be carriedby the wings of the press; and sent vibrating- by the electricinfluence of the human tongue. Christ at hand; the agetottering on the brink of the grave; 1878 buried; the gospeldispensation on its way to the sepulchre, to give place to tlieMillenial dispensation; judgment on apostate Christendomleaping sword-like from the scabbard; and we, who have the"living water," the undefiled truth, the living bread, contentto eat our morsel, enjoy our flashing gem, and quaff ourliquid drops, alone! Eternal shame will be richly deservedbi us if we rouse not ourselves to action, and fail to girdlethis kingdom with the line of truth.

As our Kentish brother says, we must aim at the pew,leaving the pulpit to follow. There are earnest God-souledmen here and there, who are prepared at the high behest ofconscience to venture all, but they are few; and the manyare well-filled "dumb-dogs" upon the watch-towers ofIsrael. Such will never lead, only follow. Aim, then, at thepeople, awake them from their slumbers; "cry aloud andspare not." Quick, for see, "the Master cometh."

LEcTuREs.-The Liverpool friends have arranged for thedelivery in their town of Two Lectures, on Jan. 22nd &23rd,by the Editor, George A. Brown. We regret to hear ourdear and valued friend feels the effect of over labour, andpray for his speedy recovery. Arrangements are contem-plated by our friends in Skipton and Bradford, for Lecturesin those places shortly. Again our readers are remindedthat by personal co-operation they can secure the freeservice of one or other members of our Honorary Staff ofLecturers,-early applications are invited.

AUXILIARYRANCHEs.-The circulars setting forth the rulesand objects of the Association are now ready. One page ofthe four has been left blank for the insertion of local rules,committees, &c. We shall be happy to send a parcel thereofto any of our members who can use them helpfully; and toour Branch Associations for their local work. We stronglyadvise the latter to print on the fourth page whatever wouldbe of local interest.

VISITORS'GUIDE.-To make this guide really helpful, weneed the insertion therein of all places of Christian Worshipwhere the pulpit teachings are in harmony with the truth of"Life and Immortality" in Christalone, Who hath broughtit to light. The Subscription fee is 5s. per annum for30 words.-Cyrus E. Brooks, Secretanj, 4, Oriel Place,Cheltenham.

VISITORS' GUIDE.

BIlUIINGHAM-19,Hagley Road. Christians meet for Breakingof Bread ana Fellowship on Sunday mornings at 1030 fevening Service, 6-30. Wednesday, 7-30. Visitors canapply to Mr. G. Whitehouse, 2, Yew Tree Road; Mr. A.Crosbie, York Road; or Mr. H. Brittain, 26, All Saints'Road.CHELTENHAM-ChristianAssembly, St. George's Place. CyrusE. Brooks, Minister. On Sundays, Service with Sermonat 11 and 6-30; Bible Class at 3. On Thursdays,Lecture at 7-45.EDINBURGH-98, South Bridge. A Church of baptised be-

lievers, looking for eternal life and the Kingdom of ourLord Jesus Christ at His coming, meets here everySunday at 11 a.m. and 6-30 p.m.HULL-Christians' Meeting Room, Protestant Hall. Room

No. 6, Up-stairs, 1st clay, Sunday, 11 a.m., BreakingBread; 6-30 p.m., Reading or Preaching. 'I'hursdayevening, 7-30, Reacling Meeting, at 79, Hessle Road.LINCOLN---MintLane. Geo. A. Brown, Minister. SUncl[LY

Service at 10-30 and 6. Monday, Prayer Meeting at 7.Wednesday, 7.LONDON-Clapham,Gauden Road Gospel Hall (opposite Clap-ham Road Station). Lord's Day morning at 11 o'clock,for Worship and Breaking of Bread according to theScriptures. All Christians welcome.LONDONNorth West)-St. John's Rooms, Lisson Grove.Sunday, Worship at 11; Preaching at 7. Tuesday,

Bible Reading at 7. All Christians welcome. Addressletters, " R. J. Hammond, 62, Maida Vale, London, VV."Loxnos=-Holborn College, 12, Red Lion Square, W.C.Worship and Breaking of Bread every Sunday eveningat 7. Bible Readings Sunday Afternoon, 3.-15.Wednesday evenings 7-30. All Believers Welcomed.NESTON,Cheshire-Neston Gospel Hall. J. J. Grylls,

Minister. Services-Sunday at 10-30 and 6-30.Wednesday 7 o'clock.


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bible standard february 1879

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