the bible standard august 1907

7/31/2019 The Bible Standard August 1907

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VOL. 28. No. S. TWOPENCE.UCKLAND, N.Z., AUGUST, 1907.

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\; the course of th is month there is to1)(' Iwlclin Ualllilrirlge (l'Kllrecl" sounds well, hilt that the chanzoof "I''' into "m" in that word mnkos ,I wonderful /l iTer-once to its meaning.

Ube 1J .le,,,


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. ----uf scho la rs co n firm s it. Tu which statement. had UI] ()been in a con ten ti ou s mood , it w ou ld h e su ffi c ien t to sa l'th a t w h il st in the main th ese m odern scho la rs agree th ;tthe re w ore these d iff e ren t o ri gina l documents, vet in thep ro('c " " o f s ifting- them out th e re is pl ontv o f (li r('l '" ,it ywhir-l: g-o rs to show th :1 t (h e thoorv is valu eles s.

The speaker wished to ex plain how the assumed editord id his work , and h rlc l1 1 J l a cop r o f 'I 'a tia ns D iat cs sa ro n(a n oarlv hnrm onv o f the Four Gospe ls) . Rho lring (ha t'I ';d i.m harl m ndc 11J 1a co m pos it e na rrat ive fl' < lIll lhc Four

(im 'p (:I" , and it II" :IS so s lI ('(, (,, ,, ,flllth at it th reat ened a t 0l1< ' tim e f od isp la ce the sepa ra te (io " lw l" , 'I'hoqu es tione r rem arked thn (' 'I'n h al l's

Hu rm onv luul so cO llljlld l'l." d i" apP( ':ln 'd l ha t , a lt ho ll ghi( " ex is tence w as ce rt ified to hy ch u rch h is l o rin ns, ve l. J IOcopies o f it WC l'C known i ill rece n tly , wh i ls], th e C :o sl)( 'lss ti ll co n ti n ued ns sep arat e m anuscri p ts, aR ih ev \\'( '1 '('o rig -ina llY , W hereas , ill tho ca so of UH ' Old 'I 'e st. u non t.il l( ' speaker w ou ld hav e us assum e 1 '11 :11Ih l' l l a rm o n vllad su rv ived , and tho s('paratc ' i10C 'lI II1C ll t:< a ll l'o lll J .J (,(p l\ 'd isap pea rr-d ! No ('('p i\, 10 l h is w aR g' il 'r ll . Rar( ' Illa i,,(, ll o la l' '' w e 1 '1 : ah lc to d i" " e r-i 'I'atinn 's Tl annon ; :mll:l" " ,ign the d iffo ron t " en tl 'IK e" lo \l a lt h l'lr ,\l n rk . Luke.and J ohn , rcs pecfivo lv . "Yes, " " n id 1 '11< ' lll ';;t ionor. " IJ Ilttlu -v ar e a ide to (10 this. not because o r their " 1 )('I'in lnhi lit v to de l,e ('t those Rrl'P I'1 I1 au thors. 11 Iil h l'O IIl,, ('t IiP I'Ii :m ' the Irolll' (l o~P(: J " I, ) gllide thorn." '1 '0 l h is 1111 '1 '1 '\I 'a s no answ er.

~l jf llu lt}?:t IIustra non .

Hut the m ention of th is H arm onv of 'I 'nt i.m reminds11 '; o f ano the r li tt le m a tt e r. Jt use d to he ass e rted th a tth Gospc ls coulrl no t bo traced fur the r ba rk than them id d le of the socond cen tu ry , w h ich w ou ld leave a gap

of nea rl v tw o g-cnrra tionR befo rereach in g l he Apostolic ora . ln an"A polog\ '" whir- l: .Iustin Xla rty radd ressed to the 'J .~ l l1prl'o r Anto-

ninus (x.. 150) he ([1 I0t'CRfrom th e "Memoirs of theApostles." H is quo ta tio n s, w here thov co rresp onded topa!'s ngr " in ,\fa rk , Matthew. and 'L lI 1 \l" wore RO corr ec tthnt th e existence of th eso (iosp e l;; ll 'ilS ])1 '01 '0 .11 :hu t it\I 'as contended th a t the Gospe l o f .Iolm either was 1101 'in be ing th en , o r th a t its fo rm w as di ffc rcn t. 'I 'a tian .an Assvrian, was a pupil o f Jn st in , and it was knownth at he had p repa red a w ork ca ll ed the "Diatessaron,"m ean in g "The H ook of th e Four." It was known , to o ,th at th is book had been widelv circulated during tw o01 ' th ree cen tu rie s, and tha t Ephraem Svrus had w ritten:1 comm cnta rv u pon it . Bu t a ll co p ies o f th e hook , ando f i he comm cnta rv , had d isappea red , and s ome "schol-a rl v " critics ventured to ass e rt tha t if eve r these w erefound it would be shown th at it represented, no t thecombina t ion of th e Four Gosp els, bu t the or ig in a l so u rcefrom wh ich the Four Gospe ls w ere d er iv ed . In th e v eal'lR76 there w as d isc overed in the A rm enian m onast e rvof \~C 'n i('(' a C 'opY of th e C 'omm enta rv , am l it hega n wi th

Ue9t ingcrtttctem .

AUGUST, }907,

l he p ass age , "Jn th e b eg inn in g w as the \\'0, 'r-tha t is ,iL began w it h a c it a ti on from John 's Gospe l. C lo se ex-am inat ion show ed th a t the Harm ony nr ust have been acompilation from the Fou r Gospe ls. .Th ree or Iouryears later tw o A rab ic trans la tions or the "Diatcssa ron"w ere found, ono in th e Vatican Lih ra rv a t HOlI ll '. a ll d til l 'o th e r in the monas tervvw hcrc the conuncuuuy li n il beenfound . 'I 'h esc d isc overie s cs tahl ish hov ond doub t th attile com pil e r had th e C losp l'!.' b e fo re h im . J~uL i r liehad them in th e m idd le o r th e seco nd r- eu l u rv , then l hev1I! lIst hav e boeu ge l1 cn111 ,I ' ] 'l '(' p i vo r] and ci rru la t (' .! I II:lI \Y\'1' .)1 ''; b e fo re that da te, Th l'1 'C ' rou lr] 110 IO llg!'1 ' 1 )( ' : IIIYdoubt that the li'O IlT


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AUGUST, 1907. THE BIBLE STANDARD. 115rror bnlght in the name of truth? Children are beinzled from the veritics of the faith into strong delusion-a-ro he l icvc n lie.'11:is sni(] hy those "advanced" I:rarhers that, nlthonsrh

111l'~IMi('~ ill th e Bib le fire not tru e , they serve to iI117::;-t mlo moral and religious truths, nnd so' are still usefulto lho Sunrlav 8ehool teacher ant] the preacher. Jndood.one S11Chhas remarked that th e

IT11ths bught hv thos unhistoricalstories ha ye hcc n "veri fl ed a 1,11011-sand lillle,; ill hisl orv." On wlurh

anoth er nsks : ";';i11(-r fn('1 i" hd.trl' tha n fic'jion whv notsuhsl.il u to som o of t hcs o verifk-al io ns in histol~Y fo'l'thcfic,tit ious stories of Alualiam, .1oscpl: , and the r~st? Whvhold on to the exploded Bible stories ~ Scientific mensock for farts, and then seek to Tcnrn the lessons thosefads tear-h . What has taken p lace, mav, in like condi-tions. take plate llgain: while what has sim p lv been im-ilgincd mav never ta ke plac e. True stories cel'tainly havea grt';liel' leaching va luo than fieti tions stories. ,Vhfltpossih! :I(]nlJllnge can there he in using exploded stories10 1(,:ll'h mornl truths, when there are plenty of true~1()l'ie,;lh;1I teach the .same truths, and that have theil1(',;1111:1lo ad va ntnge of being rea 1 f 'acts ? Bv all meanslet ;111xplodod stories he set asid e, am] only 'trlle storiesh(' 1:llIght 10 the voung." To this communication therewas no answer, and the edi tor 01' the Biblo Student asks:"I;.; it not il decisive proof of the inspiration of Genesisthat oven those who deny the truth of the narratives vetC :111 find no substitute fo~ them? 'False' sto~iesbetter suited to teach truth than any true stories that0111hc f'ound ? Wonderf' u l !' 'T 'h o man that can believethat, a11(] cannot believe that the great fish swallowed, 1 011ah. ha" a curiouslv-constructed mind."

Waltle of1J3ible Stories.

In 0111'carlv preaching clays infide li tv was blatant, andproudly li Itcd itself against the Bible and Bible truths.'l'ItOS(' days arc gone by. Bradlaugh, Ingersoll andothers have pass ed away, and th ci r followers are f 'cw

and unobtrusi ve, The ramp of the:tnftbeht}] 1Reco( l '" Philistines is deserted. But infi-I1Isin(l its G'WIl. dclitv is still here, and it has taken

its place in the pulpits and theprofessoria 1 oha irs. Prom our churches its teachings goforth, and those who proclaim them are supported hvC lu -i s tian men ant i women. Robort Blatchf'ord js openand avowed in his opposition to Bible doctrines, and inthe pages of the Clarion he bids the New Theology wel-come, Reviewing 1fT. Campbcll's new book, he says:"The '~e\\' Theologv' is 'God and 111."Neighbour' withthe soft pedal on. Tt is Thomas Paine in a white tic.Tt is the Ingersoll n , t muffled in a boxing-glow. It isthe Clarion. rue worn with a difference. Mr.Carnpbcll is a Christian minister, and I am an infideleditor; and the difference between his religion ancl mineis too small to argue about, But I sail under the Joll.'

Roger. Mr. Campbell believes-s-I think-inthe immortality of the soul. I express no opinion onthat subject, as 1 have no data, Mr. Campbell callsNature God. Icall Nature Nature. He thinks weought to have some form of supernatural religion, ant]that we ought to associate it with Christ, I prefer areligion of humanitv without idolatry. Mr. Oampbellthinks J'esns the most perfect man that ever lived. Ithink there have been many men as good. and some bet-ter. But, beyond these differences, Ithink J may Yen-turo to say that there is nothing Mr. Campbell beli evesthat J dcnv. and nothing I believe that he denies. Bc-vonrl these cliffC'I'('nce,,!, am as much a Christian asithe Rev. R. J. Campbell, am] the Rev. R. J. Campbell isas much an infide l as the Editor of the Glarion:There is really much less distance between men like Mr.C'a.upb ell and 1\11'.lnlOnc]tia \\'i1liHII1::;and nrvsclf thanthoro is between such Christians and Gener a l Booth." Tsnot this a staggcl'ing thing" 'l'hat in our pulpits aretllt' lI1C'nwhom the avowed in fidel can take by OlC han dand d('t lnre that on matters of he li cf there is no diff'er-('IlCC.

Prof. Gol d w in Smith ass orts th n] belief in immor-tal itv is (lying out, and declares thnt the old argunlent"advanced hy ph ilosop hv have been s\\'rpt a wav by phvsi-oloav. No one knows that tliereis a "soul." Morlom

physiology does not speak of"';0111." hut eousciousncss, whir-l:they treat as n function of organ-ism. ] t is true that philosophic

arguments survive, but thev are found usually in thepages of theological works. where the facts 0 f phvsi-ology are not a ll ow ed a place. What the physiologistknows is that he finds consciousness always associatedwith organism, and he can find no traces ()fit a pari'from organism. '1'11t is science. If there is evidenceoutside this, it has a right to he heard. but certainlvthe old philosophic utterances no longer have a place,because they were advanced in entire ignorance of thefact;; which the physiologist has discovered. Tt isclaimed. 01 course, that the physiologist has evidenceto produce in favour 01 the doctrine of soul-i rmnortalitv,hut we must confess that if wc gil'C' to it evervthing itcan claim, it goes no further than establishing thatthere are beings who can cornm unicate with men; butthereis not a shred of testimony which will warrant thebelief that these arc souls of men, or that they are mem-hors of the human race at all. So w come hack to theold position and declare that there is no testirnoru whichcan be produced in favour of a belief which has domin-atod philosophic and theological thought for centuries.Freed from its throttling grip, both philosophy and the-ology may hope to present truth in helpful and sensiblefashion, clearing the character of God, and removingharriers from the pathway of: man, by the recognitionof man's present mortal state, and that his hope of af'nl urt: I1II1:'trest in a POWN externa 1 to himself.

3S it ID };in gG'u t?


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II6 THE BIBLE STANDARD. AUGUST, 1907.

1882 to 1907.'r'IW Anniversary of the Thames Church, just cele-hrated, when Bro, Geo. Aldridgo conducted the services,loses et period o-F~5 years in connection with our workill this town, and a bare outline of that time is not outo r place. The New ~ealall(l Evangelistic Associationsent Bro. K H. 'I'aylor down there at the end of June,1882, and the first Sunday in .T1 1 1 y he commenced ser-v ice s in the Oddfell ow s' Hall, Richmond Street, the~lIhjed, of discourse being, "Is Man Naturally Irnmor-Lal;" 'J 'IH lt and subsequent addresses created a groatileal of controvcrsv, and for a while nnvthing but aC'ln-istinn spirit wnamanifcstctl hv manY,in and out ofthe rccoguiscrl r-hu rr -hoa . A fe w gathered to the stand-ard, and soon the "Breaking of Bread' and Fellowship

life. At one time it seems as though the place wouldbe depopulated; at other times as though it were goingto be a large city. Those who look forward to thegl'O\yth of New Zealand see the Thames as a flomishingseaport, a manufacturing town, and also a great gol.l-field. lts surroundings and natural position warrantthis belief. I lonce, to have < 1 . Church building in theIliain street leads one to th ink that future evangelists,iL the Lord tar ry, wi 11 have fine scope, where they willhe ahle to proclaim the "Coming Kingdom of our Lord"to 'rilling ears and obedient hearts, who will believe, asthe present Church gatll0l'ing does, that the timcJ,.;ni'el,\'COlllillg when "evil will be extinct." Dllring the'{;j rears Bm. K H. 'I'aylor has given [i'WO odd addresseson Bible themes, many being from the prophetic Scrip-tures. 1n the week-night Bible Class, among other

POLLEN STREET LECTURE HALL.

was established, with freedom to speak on the "Natureof Man" and "The Lord's Coming" as basic doctrinesof Scripture. At the end of two years it was found thatthe Odc1fellows' Hall was too small to hold the people.An opportunity OCCUlTcr1 which enabled the brethren toacquire the 16-roomed hotel known as "The Munster.''This was razed to the ground, and the material, beingnil first-class, was used in erecting the building shown inour picture. Most of the work was done bv voluntarvlabour, and this building is now the property and homeof the Church. And for 25 years a band of "God'schildren" has held forth the Word and pointed men andwomen to the One Hope of Eternal Life - Jesus theChrist, the Son of the Living God. It has been no light(hit) to hold on amid the nps and downs of goldfield

studies, wc have taken word by word, and verse by verse,almost the entire New T'estament, the Book of J oh, andva ri ou S oth Cl' portions. IVe bel ieve we ought to re j o icethat a Bible Class has thus been made use of for so manyvears, Resides the Thames proper, addresses, based on"Chri t our Life,"ha\,e been given in the following places-('oro111 and cl, Kuaotunu, Mercury Bay, 'I'apu, Kopu,'I'urua, Matatokc, Pnriri, Omahu, Hikutaia, Paeroa,Iraihi, Karangahake, 'I'c Aroha, Waiorongornai, Quartz>villc, Hamilton, 'I'uakau, 'Pn kekohe, Drury, and Papa-kura ; so that some attempt has been made to get to theregions bovond. CmmHI visits and lectures have alsobeen given in Svdnov, ::\lelboll1'nc, Christchurch, Dun-erlin, and 'I'imaru. Again and again, when Bro. Taylorhas 'been away, the Association has found speakers for


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AUGUST, 1907. THE BIBLE STANDARD.the Thames; and who shall say what the ultimate resultswill he? Of those who have stood loyally to the ThamesChu rcli, many are sleeping in Jesus, others have beenscattered the world oyer, while not a few arc srowincb 0gn',r in the work. Of officers past and present (1ldcl'sand Deacon), the (Ihurch rejoices in their fervour,ability, and steadfastness. IVe COli Id scarcely speak ofindi vi d ual , but as brethren they have faced every d i (fi -culty manfully, and relied on the power of God to sus-ta in and provide for OUI' needs. OU)' Church building isord inarily seated for 320, but ,rill accommodate - J O ocomfortably, and it has the honour, we believe, of beingthe first building erected and devoted to the proclama-tion of "Life and Advent '1'J'1Iths" ill the AustralasianColonies. Ono other building was erected, but did notcontinue to beused for the ori gin a l purpose. The worknow carried OH at Thames mav be summarised as fol-lows :-8unday, 11, Fellowship ; Sunday School, 2.;{O;Gospel Proclamation, 6.30; Young People's Band, 'I'ucs-davs (when in session); Wednesday, Bible Class ; Thurs-dav, Bible Class at ilJatatoke; and :for some years BibleReading, Fridays, at Parawai Public School' (this nowin abeyance, pending ilfinisterial changes). Wc are sat-isficd that this work has required a great deal of sclf-sacrifice from those who ha ve cnrricd , and 1'1'a::;Lmi anus or ~il-

ver: tile explanat ion o l th('~(' is gi\'cu ill n:r::il' ;j!). 'I 'h isk ingdolll was to succeed ,\ I obuchnd nczzur. and iL wusal so lo be "inferior." "'\That was Lili:-;kingdolll -: 'I 'hS(;ripturcl-; reply that the Babyloniau rlo iu iniou wastaken by the :J[edes and Persians (2 Chron . xxxvi. 'W;Dan. \'.28,30-31). Observe how appropriate the im ageto show this kingdom. Here were tw o nations jo i ncd illone empire, and so the image :;hO\\'8 it in the breastand arms of silver. But, says the explanation. "it sha llh e inferior to thee.' How -: . L think that i,; c l e a r illthe storv as it progresses. ~ obuchudnczzar \\'H;; lhcautocrat. J-Jow often occurs tile word "COIIIIIlHlHI!'d"illthe portion devoted to his rule ~ Even the wi- : men,the lirst in the realm, arc sentenced to death, and havno PO\\'Cl'to resist the carrving out of the decree. Butthe king" of Media and Persia arc bound by their 011'11decrees, Others have anthority ill the realm, when ap-pointed to office. The "presidents" and others consul t,and the king is then approached to gi ve effect to thewishes or his servants, and once tile conseut is giv(;u

. and the royal seal affixed, the king is tied hand androot b,\' th es e 1


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118 '1'1-11 BIBLE STANDARD.=========--==--==="----=~ ---lnllllplL'~ down the two-horned ram, is that it representsthe kingdom of Greece, and its horn is the first king.'J'fms Ire may fix upon Alexander the Great as this "firstking;' and his kingdom that which is here called thekingdom of brass.(d) 'I'his is to be Iollowcd by another; the "fourth

kingdom shaU be strong as j ron, breaking in pieces andcrushing." More is said of this kingdom in detail thanof anv of the others. What is this kingdom? The com-mon answer to that question is, Rome. Commentators1I1CIlIO,.:tarnest, however widely they have differed fromeach other OHother matters, especially Oll the actions oflh is power, and the historical applications, have agreedas upon a matter that cannot Le disputed that the fourthkingdom shown in the imago is Home. If it seems likepresumption to question this generally-received opinion,1 eau onlv sav that the conviction that the Wordaffords !l0 warrant 101' this popular belief leads me toput aside the view, 1 have already laid down the prin-ciple that the Scripture must be our guide on thesematters. and certain 1 aru that if that rule be adheredlo it will be readily seen that Rome is not the fourthkingdom represented in the image. Most of those whowrite in support of the Roman view draw their testimonyIrom the pages of Gibbon, 01' other historical writers,and offer in proof certain matters which have to be"applied" to enable the testimony to have any value.Oil what Bible grounds has it been supposed to be Rome?Luke i i. 1 tells that at the tilllc of the birth of our Lord,.\llgU~tU:; sent out a decree "That all the world shouldbe: cnrollcd." Here it is said is the requisite Bible evi-dence. HOllle then possessed the universal sway, "all theworld." and it succeeded the kingdom of Greece byi ts conq nest of the severa 1 parts of the Grecian Empire..vnd, further, as the kingdom was to be divided, and their011 ami clay were to be mingled, wc have the facts ofhistorv, which show that the Empire of Rome wasdivided into Eastern and ,Ycstern, and the rule once.jlo,.:scs,.:edbv its heads is now becorn ing mixed with thegrolring" ]lol\"l'r of democracy. To a11which we answer:In the tim or our Lord the world-supremacy (the thinghcf'orcus m tho imago-vision] was il other hands thanthose or 1101l1C. Sabm cla irued lo hare "it" in pos-session. and "aid, f'urtlu-r, "it has been delivered untome," and the Lord virtual lv conceded the claim. for lIegare it no denial, and later named the grcat enemy "ThePrince of' this World." T'hatis C l i"ad that should give11.:;pause. But let IIll' here 1I0te a few items usuallyoverlooked.

(1) There i,; a J>rO("l'~'; l architecture in the image.The silver is addl'd to the gold, th brass to the silver,und till' iron lo the IJnls~.\\'hHt an' the historical [actswliic]: 111


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AUGOST, 1907. ' rBE BIBLE S1'ANDARD.~==~c========================================~======~~-==of prophecy as to be possessed by the fore-pictured Anti-Christ.Lf it be objected, but this is to make a b reak in th e

continuous line 0 f : power presented in the image, 1 . an-swer, even modern views must make a brca k , for thereis certainly no power in existence which carries forwardtile supremacy handed oyer to N ebuchadnezzar. Topoint us to the claims and pretensions of the RomisliChurch in this connection is to evince a failure to notethe exact significance of the image is its commence-ment, course, and overthrow. It deals with rule, im-perial supremacy, and no j ugglery with terms is likelyto persuade us that that can be translated into ecclesi-astical jurisdiction, however widely extended. Besides,th:is is not a time precliction; continuity JlJay he assumed,but it is not necE'ssary to the interpretation of the vision.The facts before 11S show that no empire ever occupiedthe territory and absorbed the power of Alexander'sempire, but that from his day to the present the ruleof men, u y men, has been by di Il'erent governments, and[1'0111 different centrcs'' J am prepared to grallt thatliomc was a great empire, bu t I am not prepared togrant that Rome took the power that dropped from thedrunken hands of Alexander. 'I'he rise of the importantParthian dominion is convincing testimony to that. Yetthe existence of th is great PO\ITl" is passed over as if ithad never been, and had never exercised swav over alarge part of the territorv held by Alexander. ThatpOll' er continued until 226 A.D., when it was overturnedhv the Persians, who Jounded the dvnastv of the Sus-san id ae , which occupied the place of the old PersianBlIlpire, of which it professed to be a revival. At thepresent stage, therefore, let us sa v that the evidenc-eto hand cloes not a ll ow us to accept th e v iew that Rom ei>i the lourth k ingdolll ind icated ill this iuiagc-visiou.:\ow note the last iteiu of: information supplied, for

lllis is the stay and support 01" those who ask, How shalltlie,;e things end -: J)an'iel R;lI'S that the vision reachesto UH ' latter dar,;, mill. as ill later visions, the chicfinterests lies i.1I the crisis presented. "'hat shall wcu n.k-rstmul by the Stone, which, cut out 1'1'0111he iuou n-ta in, destroys the illlDge by its rail, and, by a pro(;ess ofg-rol"th, herollles a great mountain and fills the wholeearth?

It ha,; been su irl that the stone is Christ, and thatthe act 0 f llestroving the image, and filling the wholeearth, is < 1 1 1 apt symhol of the .ivcrthrow of idolatry andsu pcrstitiou, and the spread of" the Gospel throughoutthe whole world. To this it is sufficient to rcplv thatwhat i>i represented here is an act o l judg-Illent. Thatthe sto uc i~ Christ need. not he que,;tioned,i I' associatedwith Hilll is tile idea or: the rule and authority He POCl-scsscs. 'I'herc 11I1I~t be no conception of His pen.;on asfilling this prediction, without the kingly uuthority andpower which destroys evil human rule, and replaces itby the di vine. The first act of judgment associatedwith His personal advent is the taking of Lhis power, byLIte overthrow of tile opposing Anti-Oh rist ami his hosts.

Observe the gradual depreciation of the inetalsiu theimage, accompanied by a decrease in their specificgravity towards the feet, so that when smitten it is ea ilyoverturned. 1 ts weight and quality arc both indicationsof its growing worthlessness.

God's Kingdom shall COllie, by the advent u1 Llis ~OH>who has proved His worthiness to be entrusted with till:rule, ami as shown in the vision it "ball outspread, notonly to the confines of the territory held by these gl'eatkingdoms of the past, but shall fill the whole earth. Andit has one other feature which gladdens our heart tocontemplate. "It shall not be left to another people."It shall be held hy its Hu ler and His chosen people,never to be lost, or be taken by others, for "it "hall standfor ever." Its King is immortal, and tile eo-rulersshare that quality with Him. Theworld longs for goodgOIcrnlllent. Each political party is Iu l lv convincedthat is views. if mad" effective, would secure better-iucnt, but somehow the poor old w orltl still groans underbad gOI'ernlllent, and cannot produce the kingdom lha]shall ab ide. 'I'herc is lacking ill nil reforru effort:.; Lhcessentiul quality of heart-righteousness, without which110 hope of permanent good can COllie. Christ is theHighteou::i One. He therefore is worthy to be entrustedwith the rule of the ages. Given a perfectly righteousRuler, with power to carry' out His decrees, and thesecret of good gOl'el"l1lllent is solved. But ere i.t va u iJeintroduced, that po,,'er must be brought to bear to des-tro v all that would hinder the beneficial operations orrighteous authority.

1 such it good time is coming, 1 earnestly desire tl)have a share in it. Is it possible? 'I'he best of humanHc-heIlH.'s fOT betterment can offer only a present chanceof \\'orkillg for the attainment, but the end itself iuaynot he reached for centuries yet; ami if it co u ld bereached, unthwarted hy those it sought to benefit, itsposse,",,,ioll wOIIIII sea rcclv be vulucd hv those Iortunateenough to elljoy it. 'I'hcn, what of those who laboured[or it, and died without a ,;ight of the goal ~ Theywould be but as rungs 0I' tho ladder b . r wh ich humanityclimbed to the oxa lted plane, trodden underfoot and 1'01'-gotteu. Blessed be God, not so His plan. He calls LISnow to be eo-worker- with Himself. He shows us whatthe end shall be; therefore we (10 not work in ignorance,or hopelessness, J1m cherish false hopes of man's powerto redeem hi msclf. Wc may fall on sleep long ere thegoal of the Divine purpose is at tained, but that will notgil'e us present trouble, for we know that Ire shall beremembered II'hCII the hour of victory comes, and all thefaithful workers with God shall share in the felieit'yor that completed purposl', having the promise ol 1'0:3-~e""illg- a glorio11s inuuorta litv, and co-heirship with till:l Icir of" all thillg~. I:.; tltis hope worth having? It Illaybe }Out's j r yu u wi 1 I. God offers it to )'0 u.

"Have a method III life and then put life into the

method."


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120 TclE BIBLE STANDARD. AUGUST, 1907.TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAG~TlIJ:iC:;nother

pain,"


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AUGUST, 1907. THE BIBLE STANDARD. 121~be (JJ)o sa ic R ecoun t o f tbe creanon .'1'11E Iirst chapter of Genesis is a revelation or a fable.11it be true, tile contents arc of such a nature as Lomakeit impossihlc that it could come from any other sourcelhan the Creator Himself, for it narrates events thathappened before Adam-e-the father of our race-haddrawn his first breath, and therefore it lies altogetherbeyond the sphere of human experience or observation.And the manner, as well as the matter, 0 [ this chapteris urn que. In the Bible itself there is nothing uioromajestic and sublime. There is nothing childish ormythical about it. H ll~Oye::;n an air 01 reality.'1'0 whom the in formation contained in this chapter

was first imparted lye have no means 01' knowing. Hmight ha ye come to Moses as a tradition, handed downIroin the days of Adam, about which there is no diffi-culty, for the life or man being then so much Jongerthan ours, tradition in those times would be yel} dif-Ierent from what tradition is to us. Lauiech, the fatherof Xoah, was [or (iO years a contemporary of ~\daltl, andShem, the 80n of .:\oah, lived 2-1 years a contemporaryof ~\lmlha Ill. ~\bra ham Jived 7,) years after th e birth01' J suac, 80 that J aco b might well have heard the had i-tion from Abrahanr's lips, who would hand it OH to hisso n , J o se ph , who li vcd to se e his son Ephraim's chi ldreu01 tile third generation (Gen. L 23). Joseph died only1 .:) 0 year::; before X l oses was horn. Hut we need notLty too much stress upon tile oral-tradition theory. '1'11('art of wri tiug II'a,-; k 110wn and widely practised in anearl v age o l the 1I'01'Id, In the British Muscu.u arcwritings ou brick and "tOJ1efrom Buhylon and ~illel'ell.whi ch reach back to times before Abrahaui. l ndecd,tile Chaldean writing contain a corrupt ,LC;C01LUtf tlu:Creation, evidently coming Jroni the samo source H::; did.that 01' Moses, J t is possible that Sheni might halewri tten the account as received through his grandfather.Lamcch, from Adam. Or, God may have giYen therovclation direct to :\Io"e:; dming his forty days' sojournon the mount. EI'Cll if M ose s was led of God to makeuse 0 1 ' earlier doc um ent s [or the writing of the Hook ofUene,;i,,-clwl'tel' 011C includcd-c-this in no way impairsits in 'piration. Luke, in the introduction to his gospel,open 1\' states that he based his narrative of the liJe orour I.ord "bv tracing the course of all things accuratelyIrom tile first," which means he studied written docu-IIIcuts, a" well a" listened to lip testi mony.'I'his first chapter of Genesis is a revelation of facts.

Pretended revelations arc not so. They giYe notions,idca,;, speculations of the JII[11(l,visions 0 1 ' the imagina-ti ou , bu t thev cannot produce [acts, 1'01'they hav e Hone.That Il'ellla.I' rclv upon the accuracy o:f:the book, it isIll'ed rul to cite but one authoritv, Our Lord said, "Had\'t' believed 'Jlq:;eii. ye 1r01t1dhave be lieved Me. But ifIT beli ev e not hi s writings, how shall ye believe :M :"'1\'()j"(I,;~"(John If. -t,b-l7). Here our Lord puts thehit:ile,;t honour conceivable upon the productions O[ the:

pen of Moses. If our Lord's sanction suffices not, 11'0have no stronger warrant to produce.

"in the beginning God created the heaven and ilieearth." In this one short sentence of ten words is giventhe only true account of the Creation. In Hebrew sixwords only are needed to express this subl ime revela-tion: "Breshith (in beginning), bara (created), 1~lolJilU(Uod ), e th h ashshamay iru (the heaven), vcth (and)haarotz (the earth)." Ami this is absolutely all weknow concerning the Creation. When wade, or howmade (otherwise than by the power of God ), or w hyIllade,lrc are not told. It is .interesting, however, toknow that the angels of Go d were in existence before thercation of OUl' earth, for the inspired Book of Job in-"arms us that when Godlaid the foundation of the earth"the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job xxxviii. 7, comp.i. 6).In this opening sentence (~od reveals Himself, "In

the beginning God " None by searching canfind ont (joll. Apart fro 11 His making Himself known,11'0arc Calliplctelv in the dark as regarlls Him. God islx-Iorc Creation. He is "from cvcrlasting'


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122 THE: iBIBLE STANDARD.n;lllaining portion of the chapter deals with a furtherdisplay o l Goel's marvellous power, which was exercisedabout G O O O years ago, when God repaired and re-fitted aruined earth, making it a suitable abode for the presentI t unian race.The former history of the earth, the creation of which

is thus revealed, is a hiclclen niystery. ,V 1 1 O were itsinhabitants? How long dill they continue? What wastheir relation to God? W hat brought rupon them thewrath of God, so that their Creator became their Des-troyer,' inasmuch as He overwhelmed the earth He hadmade with a flood of waters ~ 'I'he angels of God wereawed witnesses of it all, and know full well the inter-esting and tragic story; but it has not been revealed tous. The second verse of the 'Mosaic record simply an-nounces the awful fact that "the earth was devastated(Hebrew, tohu) and desolale (Hebrew, bohu}, and dark-ncss was upon. the face a t ll. e deep (the confused massof waters)." The solid earth is lost to sight, no lightpenetrates through the abyss of waters, and cloucls andmists surround the scene, There are some who thinkthat this scene describes the condition of "primeval mat-ter" before God's work of Creation. Nothing is furtherfrom the truth. In the beginning God "created" -thatis, made to appeal' what previously d id not exist. Othersthink this mixture of em:th and water was the first stage,of the Creation. 'I'his is still far from the truth. Goddid not create a chaos and then reduce it to order, AllHis works are made complete, and not in a state "with-out form and void" (tohu and bohu ): The meaning ofthe Hebrew words iolvu and boliu are readily understoodby referring to Isaiah xxxiv. 11, where we read concern-ing the land of Idumea, "He shall stretch out upon itthe line of confusion (tohu) and the plummet of empti-ness (bohu):" In other words, The land shall be laidwaste with as much care and exactness as we usuallyapplY in building (sec J. Kiugs xxi. 13). See alsoJer.i.v. 23-37, where the prophet looks forward to theutter desolation in jlldgment (tohu and bohu) of theland of Canaan.TIle prophet Isaiah (xlv. 18) tells us, "God created

tile earth not a waste (not tohu), He formed it to beinhabited." This settles .the point. In the beginningGod created the heaven-the space in which the heavenlybodies roll; and the earth-the globe on which we live;but neither were made "without form (shapeless) andvoid (tohu and holm)," or they could not have been con-sidered as created, formed, made; nor would they havebeen call eel hv the organiserl names of "the heaven andthe earth."When created, God did not create the earth"a waste;" when it became such, it was a subsequentstate. "Ill the hq~inLJillg" ['OI'JlIShe couunenceruent ofour Universe, but admits of eras of indefinite extent, andthis before the confusion described in this second verse;still more, of course, before the "six days' work," whosecourse begins in verse three.. The common idea of put-ting the Creation of the world some 6000 years ago is amere bl11J1(1er,or which Moses is not responsible. Where

AUGUE;T,I907.

does the Scripture fix this period of time ( It is man,not Goel, who dates Creation from 4004 B.O.We are not told the reason why God dissolved the

fabric of the earth He had created, and brought it intothe chaotic condition so strikingly set forth. Our curi-osity is not indulged by the Bible. Speoulations con-cerning other races of men, and whether or no sin en-tered among them and caused their destruction and thedoom of their dwelling-place, arc in vain. One thing,however, is clear, i.e., that God created the earth andafterwards blasted the work of His hands. But note-no word is said as to disorder in the heavens; thecatastrophe is confined to the earth. Scientific men saythat some nine and twenty times tJJC crust of this earthwas broken up before men of the Adani race dwelt uponit. Between the first and second verses of: this firstchapter of Genesis is an interval of such uncertain dura-tion that they m.ay have thirty-nine or forty-nine up-hcavals and depressions of theearth's surface, and all ofthem successive acts of God's power for purposes whichwe cannot pretend to discover. The vast beds of : [ 0 1 '1 -silized objects which geology has brought to light revealscrash after crash as these violent disruptions successivelytook place. But all this was no part of the originalCreation. God created a perfect heaven and earth. Thedisruption that followed was the destroying of the fail'handiwork of the Great Creator, presumably in Hiswrath against some act of' rebellion on the part of' thecreatures He hac1 made and placed upon that earth.The next thing recorded by ]\![oses-may be long ages

after the awful catastrophe that had overwhelmed theearth-is, "And th e Spirit of God 'm ove d '[[p an the lacea/' the waters." The Spirit of God hovered over thewatery waste to produce and hatch 011t li Iring creatures,even as the hen doth her chickens. So, by a like opera-tion, the same Holy Spirit formed the child Jeeusmthe Virgin's womb in that wonderful "overshadowing'([;llke i. '{5). The Chalclee hatilit, "Tile Spirit.breathed," and David sa.ith the same (Ps. eiv. ;10),"Tholl scndcst forth Thy Spirit and they arc created."He became. to the bohu-tohu condition, a quickcni ng,life-giving Spirit. Or, again, as when 11}t:ekidin visionsaw the valley Iul] of dead bones, and the Spiritof life from God came into the III, and they lived, am '!stood upon their feet (xxxvii. 10). GO(l's creative work,it is declared, was by His Spirit (Job xxvi. U). Itwas by His Spirit that God caused to emerge out ofconfusion, emptiness and darkness the 01'(1er, Iulness,and light which has blessed so mn nv generations or man-kind, and which we enjoy this (lay. Tt was He alonewho could enlighten the darkness, cause life to springlip, substitute order JOT c11


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---------THE BIBLE STANDARD.UGLJST, 1.907,

Lion of the Universe without the smalle t note of days.The only notation of time given is "in the beginning,"which reaches back to the farthest point when Godcaused (not crude matter, nor chaos, but) the heavenand the earth to be. This is the first fact.

(Countless ages may have elapsed between the crea-Lion and what follows in the next verse.)The opening sentence of the second verse describes a

state of chaos, or destruction, but not universal, for theearth only, not the heaven, was the scene of the utterconfusion. The earth is in a state of disruption andruin. Desolation and disorder succeed to a former stateof life and harmony. 'I'his is fad number two.

(How long the chaos lastcd-e-who can say?)The closing sentence 0 f the second verse gives a gleam

of hope as to what is ab 01It to follow . The Spirit 0 r U odis beginning to work, 'I'he J ewish Bible reads, "'j'he""pirit of God was ,nl\ing over the face of the waters."Dead matter will be [or ever dead i the Life - girillg:-lpirit does not operate 11pOUit. In the movement 0 1 :the Spirit we have nil assurance that the confusion.emptiness and darkness is to be ended, and order, fulnc-sand 1igh t restored to the sore-stricken earth. He who isth e fountain of Ii f 'c ami spring of motion shall not workin vain. From the ruin of tbe old earth shall springforth a "new earth," wherein light and life shall abound.This is the third fact.The Creation, The Ruin, the renewed working of the

Spirit-tllcse are the sublime topics treated of in thetiro opening verses of Genesis.Hotorua, C. CRISP BROWN.

('1'0 be Cantinued.) :fJ3isbop 1R)]le on rbe Eltl\1ent.

I BI:UE'j,;wo have fallen into an error parallel withthat 01 .Olll" .Jewish brethren-an error less fatal in itsonseq uvnccs than thci rs, 1)11an error Iar more inexcus-a i J Ie , IJCWlle we ha vc h ad more light. If the Jewthought too exclusi velv of Christ reigning, has not the(I cu til c thought too exclusively of Christ suffering? Iflhc ,Jell" could sec llOthillg in Old Testament prophecy! J u L Christ's exaltation and final power, has not the Gen-L i 1(' often seen nothing but Christ's humiliation and thepreaching of the Gospe l ~ If the Jew dwelt too muchon Christ's second advent, has not the Gentile dwelt toocxclusi velv on the first? ]f the Jew ignored the Cross,has not the Gentile ignored the crown? I believe therecan he but one answer to these questions. I believe that".C'Gentiles till latelv hare been very guilty concerninga large portion of God's truth. I believe that we havelllcriRlied an arhi trarv, reckless habit 0 E interpreting firstnt!I"l'llt texts litcrallv, and sccOlltl advent texts spiritu-u llv, I believe wc have not righth understood "allth at the prophets have spoken" ab ou t the second per-sona l advent of Christ, any more than the Jews didabout the firRt.-J. (", RyZe, vn. "He's Coming 1'0-

"lW/TOW.

jLife's !pauses.JOllX HU.;KlX, speaking of forced interruptions lLl t'er-rice, said: 'There is no music in a rest, but there is themaking of music ill it." J n our whole Iife-melodv, themusic is broken oll here and there by "rests." and wefoolishly think we have come to the end of the tUIlC.God sends a tim of Iorccd leisure, sickness, d isa p-pointed plans, frustrated cflcrts, and makes a suddenpause in the choral hymn 0 1 " our J ives , and we 1


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124 THE BIBLE STANDARD.b t '

Cb~ f i o m ~ Circ1~.r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r

4 .-

Ta lks on E tern a l L ife.No, VII.

I. suppo-: Lha.t now v i 1 nlay be [airly~'I id tnut the ground is covered wi th re-ganl to the question of cterua l life, andthu t '"1,1' lu rther conversa t.ions on thistopic 1I1\1~t he' gil'en to closer ex.uu ina-t.ion of the points already presentcd ?

\\'ell. it i certaiu that we ougllt to go0\'01' th e::;e JllH tters Hgn i 1I etIH1 aga.i n j f\1'1' wou ld thorough ly a pp rccia te Lhem.u nd it is a.lso certa iu that \l'C ,;1,0111([bewcl l repaid, No li tt h- u tteut.ion is paidto them uy Bibl student Lha t Llu- i~nor-anee iua nifestcd l : - - i appalling.

I muxl, ('onfcss Lllill lhe thonghis prc,~l'lIlL',l hal'e lx-cn 1'('1'.)' he-lpful to rue, andJ :;1111.11uvo to con them "gain and againill o rrler to mu ke thou. a part of llIy1I\('nl"I po" ,ti,-;ion~, .uul, J III'L.)' add,spi ri tua t help:;,

\'011 wi l l Iind that thev wi ll se rvv forboth purposcs, J .f lye 1~lIt reflect thatwhen cousideri ng' such IlIH ttcrs wo a reth iuk ing the thoughts of God, \1'(' shallprim theu: as of 1I1c highest va lue ill-tol lec tua llv, and 'It the sallle t.inu-cxpericncc L1I(' ]Jowe I' the~' were de-"iglH'd to hal'" upon our du iv life ilndwalk, But s ince I sa \I' you last it ha,occurred to me thu t \I'C nright profitablytake into consi dera t.ion another mutter.If the Bible presentation of the doctrineon elernal life is so clear, and ha' suchf'a r-rcach iug ~igllificance," it would seemto bp certain that all Bible doctr-ineswi ll ha rmon ise with it, No Bible leach-ing of importance can be set forth with-out the real isat.iou that it must be J 11perfect agreeJllent wi t.h all other Bibledoctrines,1 think thu t llla), u,' accepted as agelleral proposition, but whut is yourspeciu I purpose in stating that?\\'PII. bot.h vou aud 1. ma n v vca n- ago.wer" baplizl';1 IIpOIl our p~oi'r,.;,.;ion of

faith in (lh ris t, but I do 1I0t think that1\"(' tI"'11 ,a \I' that the ncL to wh ich we>illbm ittorl had any pa rt.ieulu I' l)('a ri ng"1)()1I t ho XI'\I' Tcstu mcut touch ing of"I


13/16

.AUGUST, 1907. THE BIBLE STANDARD . I25L e t t e r s t o a Y o u n g F r i e n d o nt~e S t u d y o f Prophecy,

IN 'l'flE I'.\P.\CT 'rlll'; .\1'\'i'IC'TlnIS'I'?-:'11\'DI';AH. 'ICBmNo,-

The reign of (;hri ..d, on o.nth wi l]he preceded by the 1'ci~II of .\IlLiehrisL:hl'rore the revela.tion of thr ~1:11I ofRighteousness wo srr I hat or the 1\1':111of Sin; before tile rlnv or Ihr I,ord om-rth t h o n po s ta s v . "ror t hn t d n I' s h u l l1101.come except 1.11('1'(,coiuo t h(' , r:111ng:nwav first, and that )1:111 of Nill ho 1'~'vca led, the SOIl of porrl it.ion."The whole field of propIH't,I' is d.uk-cued. by the shadow of this terrible

power; the fnllest dcscri pti011S of its1'isr, character. historv and ('1](1 h('illo'given bv Danirl under tile svmbol of "tll~little lion.l:" by Pnu! (2 'rhrss, ii,) u n-rlor tl:r t,Ur of "the -:'Iran or Nill :" a ndhv :Toh11: in tho Apocn lvpso 111l,1f'1'till'drSlglla tion of "t hl' hl'ast: , \I'll i If' il,!'8:1111('writr-r sums lip his (hanlt!,rr inhis r,1's~' opist.lo in 1.1,(, most ('X 1)J'('ssiv('wor.] 01 all, "'I'hr An t ichri st ." Daniel1':1111 nnr] .Iohn n like represent thi~110\\,('1: t hl'.l' descrihe as hei11~ a bias.pIH'"lIn~, 1)(,1'8('cniinO' thi11~. exist inojust hrfor!' the retJlr~ of thr 'Lord, an;]:ls drstro\"Nl at His comino. \no? 0 ; ' ,."'h~t is the po'~:;;r thus repre-,rn Icd , Is J t a, per, on or :I, system?.vro its (l?ings al1'rn(l.v wri tt cn upon thpa,!.:r of lll'10ry, or i its tcrrihle shadow\'('1 to fall upon the worlel? Munv1 < 0 :1 rnr-d :I nd veuo ru ted Protest nt in1P;"pr0tl'r~ Inn i nta in th t the predict ionsh:l\'(' been largely rcn lizo.l in the historv"I' thr, Pa pacv. hut "p (,:lllnot accel;t11"'1l' IIltt'rpreta rlOll for lIl'O ]'('11S0nR:fir,IIY, hr('au8r th('~' hal'r lo :ldopt thl'I'('arda,\' th('or~' (thr falliley of whiellill 111,1'1:1,'1 Idb'r I point(~'I' Ollt), alld,,'r('oll


14/16

126 THE BIBLE STANDARD. AUGUST, 1907.Book of Revelnt.ion is ( continuous his-to,'V of \V hat is to take place in theworld and in the Church from the timcthat the book was wri tten. To us whohe l ieve that the book deal" with 11 crisisin the historv of the world and whichcrisis is yet 'to ('ome, tile 1:2tlO day" of"thp time of the end" mean :q years, :111(1HO we have 110 i\i(fi(,lIltr sucl: as tho irs topf'rplpx IlS, '

\,\'t, see, then, that the Papal systemdoes not fill f i I the prorl ictious of eitherl)olngy IIi1d i.s "c-liangillg su.uctlons,"n ur] ]1011' asspri"


15/16

AUGUST, 1907. =~~=-~ ===--0===THE 'RIBLE STANDARD.hand or prosperity had left its markn IIU revi vcd olel fortunes,The ReI'. S. Henderson eulogised the('(l'ort~ of AJr. Taylor during his lengthy

p"storn('. lie stated that he honoured"II,\' n", Il who \\'


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. AUGUST, 1907.Some 1tbings to 1tbtnh :about. ~be :fl3ible Stanbarb.

'rHE old-time religion means old-time power because of0 1 ( 1 - t i m e prayer. (lod i" ju st a s readv a n d "'illing tohle-s us to-day as 1 I e over was. H e wants to nse Hispeop lo to-d a v ju st a:-;much as H e ovor did. 'l'hotrouhlois, 1 1 c ' ea nnot use them because they are no t where norwhat they ought to he. When a man or woman :is will-ing to let God use them, they always find plenty to do.'I'hcrr- is plenty of work-the need is, workers,Some professed Christians are so jealous that thcv

cnnnol rejoice in the success of another. They want tohr 1 " 1 l ( ' w hole thing themselves, and if they cannot headthe procession they w i 1 1 not march. When a "Christian"hrgins to envy the success of a fel low-Christian, he is agood sub joc t for the 1110I11'1101"Sench-he needs C011-vorting. Header, does this strike you? If so, "T'houart the man."You may think you are a good Christian; but what

do es God think? ']'hat is the all-important question.~omr people are greatly concerned over what some manthinks about them. so much so that thev will do their11tJl10Stto learn just what opinion is held. If they werehnl f as anxious to learn what God thought about thcm./hry would soon know the truth, and, perhaps, gotrigilt with God. It must make the devil smile to sec

SOllIC peop le iTy to fool God. Render, arc vou ready to11Ir

the bible standard august 1907

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