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Truth is sown for the righteous. Christ came to sow the world with truth, that man might have a knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ His only begotten Son. If men receive the truth in its correct bearings, it will be because they search the Scriptures to understand for themselves what saith the Lord, that they may obey His voice. But in this age of the world the masses of the people have turned away their ears from hearing the Word of the Lord, lest they should be disturbed by His plainly specified requirements. Their condition is described by the prophet Jeremiah: “Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord: Shall they fall, and not arise? Shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I harkened and heard, but they spake not aright; no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turneth to his course, as a horse rusheth into the battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken; lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?” Jeremiah 8:4-9. This description is now being fulfilled to the letter in the religious world. The Lord declares: “Every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.” Verses 10-12. This representation is true of those who claim to be teachers of the people and who are leading them astray. They refuse obedience to the Word of the Lord. Yet they say, “The law of the Lord is with us.” Verse 8. Especially is this fulfilled in their course with regard to the original Sabbath of Jehovah. Instead of observing the memorial Sabbath, the day that God has blessed and sanctified, they honor a spurious sabbath, a heathen, idol sabbath. They exalt it by their man-made theories. And they declare, “The law of the Lord is with us,” and all who violate the Sunday will be dealt with according to our laws. “I will surely consume them, saith the Lord: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. Whey do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there; for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. “For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be calmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” Verses 13-22. The prevalence of sin is alarming; the world is being filled with violence as in the days of Noah. Would the world be in its present condition if those who claim to be the people of God had reverenced and obeyed the law of the Lord? It is the rejection of the truth, man’s dispensing with the commandments of God, that has produced the condition of things which now exists. God’s Word is made of none effect by false shepherds. The decided opposition of the shepherds of the flock to the law of the Lord reveals that they have rejected the Word of the Lord and have put their own words in its place. In their interpretation of the Scriptures they teach for doctrines the commandments of men. In their apostasy from the truth they have encouraged wickedness, saying, “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us.” Verse 8. The words of Christ to the Pharisees are applicable to them. Christ said to these teachers, “Ye are both ignorant of the Scriptures and of the power of God.” Matthew 22:29. The religious teachers by their false interpretation of the Scriptures have changed the law of the Lord, especially the Sabbath commandment. In this they have in a marked manner apostatized from God. They have accepted false theories, teaching and living their falsehoods. It is in vain that these falsehoods are received as truth. Notwithstanding the great zeal manifested in promoting Sunday observance and exalting man-made laws as supreme, the work is transgression, a perversion of truth. All man-made laws to make sacred that which bears no sanctity in the Word of God are in vain. The wise men themselves might well be ashamed of their work, for they cannot find in the Scriptures one word of proof for Sunday observance, and they themselves are ensnared with their own heresies and false interpretations of the Word of the Lord. Whatever excellence may be attributed to Sunday observance, the custom is of human not divine origin. It rests on the authority of the priests and teachers of the people. These men are placing contempt on the law of God, especially upon the fourth commandment. In this they know not what they are doing. The fourth commandment is the golden link of heaven to bind up the first four precepts, which state the duty of man to his God, requiring supreme love and supreme reverence to the living God. God gave the Sabbath as the memorial of His creative work, as a sign that He is the true God, the only One to be honored and obeyed. The first four commandments stand forth in their moral dignity and superiority above all the words of man. If these first four precepts are obeyed, man is then prepared to obey the last six commandments, which are summed up in the precept, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18. Let men change or set aside the first four commandments of the law, and they become the sport of Satan’s temptations. They will not love God supremely or their neighbor as themselves. Their understanding and spiritual conception of doctrine is perverted. They lead man into disobedience and transgression through their perverted explanations of Scripture, explanations which mean rejection of a definite “Thus saith the Lord.” Consequently it is seen by Him who never makes a mistake that there is no wisdom, holiness, or virtue in them. Their rejection of the Word of the Lord and acceptance of fables is a plain witness against them. It shows that they are subject to the cunning vagaries of the great deceiver. The condition of our world today is just as the prophet has represented that it would be near the close of this earth’s history. That which was true of the scribes and teachers and rulers in Christ’s time is no less true of the religious world today. All who follow the practice of the scribes and teachers in the days of Christ will come under the condemnation of the heavenly universe in this our day. Darkness has deepened in the earth. In Christ’s day the Word of God was presented by the greatest Teacher the world ever knew; and the law of the Lord in its true significance, with its divine authority, was ignored, despised, rejected, declared to be no longer binding upon the human family. The same thing is done today. Because of his rebellion against God, Satan was exiled from heaven; but he has continued to carry forward the same work on the earth in exciting rebellion and apostasy. That which he failed to accomplish in heaven he is zealously at work to accomplish on the earth. And he has achieved marked success. The Christian world has accepted his theories. Through his deception of earthly powers, he has gained that which he failed to gain in heaven. The testimony of heaven is that men in this age are manifesting apostasy and departing from the Lord’s precepts even as did ancient Israel. Holiness is wholeness for God. It means perfect obedience to every precept of the law of God. This is the only true moral excellence. A character in harmony with the law of God is the only character which will receive His approval. It shows that man has by faith received Jesus Christ who came to this world to die for the transgressors of God’s law. Christ by His own obedience to the law places man on vantage ground with God, giving him another trial. Thus probation is granted to man, opportunity is given him to show his hatred of sin, the transgression of the law, and to return to his loyalty to God. Is it possible for the law of God to be changed or set aside? Nay, verily; for that law is immutable, eternal. It is forever to hold its claim of obedience upon every soul who has opportunity to gain a knowledge of the will of God. The responsibility of men today is proportionate to the light they receive through the messages of warning God has given. To abrogate the law of God is as impossible as it would be for God to abolish Himself. The law of God’s kingdom is a transcript of His character. Men may talk of Christ. They may claim to be saved by Christ. They may talk of righteousness. But the only true righteousness is entire conformity to the law of Jehovah. Righteousness, goodness, virtue, purity, all mean conformity to the law of God. It is coming now to be seen that the false shepherds have turned men away from the laws of the kingdom of God to exalt their own theories and suppositions. The prevailing impiety in the world, the wickedness which has been growing to such fearful proportions, is the result of their own man-made theories in opposition to God’s law. Their work will soon react upon themselves. Then will be witnessed the scenes described in (Revelation 18), when the judgment of God shall fall upon mystic Babylon. Then will be seen the fulfillment of the Word of the Lord by the prophet Hosea: “There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish … My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject me. Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against thee; therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priests; and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.” Hosea 4:1-3, 6-9. 15LtMs, Ms 60, 1900, par. 1 – 15LtMs, Ms 60, 1900, par. 18
Politics Updated on Jun 2, 2022 8:18 PM EDT — Published on Jun 2, 2022 1:42 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered an impassioned plea to Congress to take action against gun violence in an address to the nation Thursday night, calling on lawmakers to restore a ban on the sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines after a string of mass shootings. If legislators fail to act, he warned, voters should use their “outrage” to turn gun violence into a central issue in November’s midterm elections.
Watch Biden’s remarks in the player above.
Speaking at the White House, Biden acknowledged the stiff political headwinds as he sought to drive up pressure on Congress to pass stricter gun limits after such efforts failed following past attacks. He said if Congress won’t embrace all of his proposals, they must at least find compromise on other measures, like limiting access to firearms to those with mental health issues or raising the age to buy assault-style weapons from 18 to 21.
“How much more carnage are we willing to accept,” Biden said after last week’s shootings by an 18-year-old gunman, who killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and another attack on Wednesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a gunman shot and killed four people and himself at a medical office.
And those came after the May 14 assault in Buffalo, New York, where a white 18-year-old wearing military gear and livestreaming with a helmet camera opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, killing 10 people and wounding three others in what authorities described as “racially motivated violent extremism.”
“This time we have to take the time to do something,” Biden said, calling out the Senate, where 10 Republican votes would be needed to pass legislation.
“I know how hard it is, but I’ll never give up and if Congress fails, I believe this time a majority of the American people won’t give up either,” he added. “I believe the majority of you will act to turn your outrage into making this issue central to your vote.”
All major broadcast networks broke away from regular programing to carry Biden’s remarks at 7:30 p.m. EDT, before the start of primetime shows.
Biden has used national speeches in the past to speak about the coronavirus pandemic and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. But the president has used such addresses sparingly during his nearly 18 months in office, especially during evening hours
Earlier Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the Oklahoma shooting, saying, “All of us hold the people of Tulsa in our hearts, but we also reaffirm our commitment to passing commonsense gun safety laws.”
“No more excuses. Thoughts and prayers are important, but not enough,” Harris said. “We need Congress to act.”
Before marking Memorial Day on Monday, Biden told reporters at the White House that there may be some bipartisan support to tighten restrictions on the kind of high-powered weapons used by the gunman in Uvalde. But he also noted that, while he had taken some steps via executive actions, he didn’t have the power as president to “outlaw a weapon.”
He also said that “things have gotten so bad that everybody’s getting more rational, at least that’s my hope,” adding, “There’s realization on the part of rational Republicans” who realize “we can’t keep repeating ourselves.”
Visiting Uvalde on Sunday, Biden mourned privately for three-plus hours with anguished families. Faced with chants of “do something” as he departed a church service, the president pledged: “We will.”
His Thursday night address coincided with bipartisan talks that are intensifying among a core group of senators discussing modest gun policy changes. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the group is “making rapid progress,” and Biden has spoken to Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, among those leading their party’s efforts on the issue.
Democrats are hoping Biden’s remarks encourage the bipartisan Senate talks and build pressure on the Republicans to strike an agreement. Jean-Pierre said Biden is “encouraged” by congressional negotiations but the president wants to give lawmakers “some space” to keep talking.
The private discussions in the Senate, which is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, are not expected to produce the kinds of sweeping reforms being considered by the Democratic-led House — which has approved expansive background checks legislation and will next turn to an assault weapons ban.
But even a House package debated Thursday that is less sweeping but includes a provision raising the required age for buying semi-automatic firearms to 21, faces slim chances in the Senate.
Instead, the bipartisan senators are likely to come up with a more incremental package that would increase federal funding to support state gun safety efforts — with incentives for bolstering school security and mental health resources. The package may also encourage “red-flag laws” to keep firearms away from those who would do harm.
Any major action is still a long shot. While the Senate approved a modest measure to encourage compliance with background checks after a 2017 church mass shooting in Texas and one in Parkland, Florida, the following year, no major legislation cleared the chamber following the devastating massacre of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. Acts:19:29-30,32 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. Isaiah:22:2-3
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Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called “Christian sabbath,” and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. This claim is especially urged in America, where the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been most widely preached. Here the temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan’s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible; yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God’s law, His servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men. Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience. As spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power. The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin. Intemperance dethrones reason; sensual indulgence, strife, and bloodshed follow. Satan delights in war, for it excites the worst passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to war against one another, for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God. Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would—He will withdraw His blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to do the same. Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them. GC 587.1 – GC 589.2
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz THE MASTER OF HIS EUNUCHS, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the KING’S SEED, and of the princes; Daniel:1:3
And the king appointed them a DAILY provision of the king’s meat, and of the WINE which he DRANK: so NOURISHING them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.Daniel:1:5
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Isaiah:5:11,13
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. John:8:32-33,36-38,43
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Revelation:17:2
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: Acts:9:15
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Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.Isaiah:16:9
Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. Isaiah:18:1,3,5
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Romans:9:19-23
Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would—He will withdraw His blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to do the same. Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them. While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “the haughty people … do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Isaiah 24:4, 5. And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah. The miracle-working power manifested through spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world and second the testimony of religious teachers that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony. Satan’s policy in this final conflict with God’s people is the same that he employed in the opening of the great controversy in heaven. He professed to be seeking to promote the stability of the divine government, while secretly bending every effort to secure its overthrow. And the very work which he was thus endeavoring to accomplish he charged upon the loyal angels. The same policy of deception has marked the history of the Roman Church. It has professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt itself above God and to change His law. Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evildoers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear in the eyes of the people and even to themselves as the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God’s law, he will cause them to be accused as lawbreakers, as men who are dishonoring God and bringing judgments upon the world. God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan’s constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God. Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment keepers will be misrepresented and condemned. A false coloring will be given to their words; the worst construction will be put upon their motives. As the Protestant churches reject the clear, Scriptural arguments in defense of God’s law, they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes to the fact, they are now adopting a course which will lead to the persecution of those who conscientiously refuse to do what the rest of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the claims of the papal sabbath. The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words: “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. GC 589.2 – GC 592.3
Papal Edict? Wild boar wreak havoc in this city as some call for them to be killed
Frustration grows in Rome, Italy, as wild boar wreak havoc in the city. It sparks fears as food production could be affected by boars that may be carrying swine flu. CNN’s Barbie Nadeau reports.
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Pope Leo X prayed “Arise, O Lord, and judge your own cause….Listen to our prayers, for foxes have arisen seeking to destroy the vineyard whose winepress you alone have trod….THE WILD BOAR from the forest seeks to destroy it and every wild beast feeds upon it.”
Martin Luther learned a powerful lesson that, when power-hungry, religious people are threatened, they will even use the Scriptures (in his case the Psalms) to assail and assault you.
This should not be a novel insight since the Devil misquoted Psalm 91 in tempting Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:5-6). It is interesting to note that a verse from the Psalms was used to excommunicate Luther from the Roman Catholic Church – Psalm 80:13. This Psalm refers to God’s people as a vineyard that He planted. It grew and became expansive in the earth. Then, people began to take advantage of and abuse His vineyard. The text says, “The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that moves in the field feed on it.”
Pope Leo X prayed “Arise, O Lord, and judge your own cause….Listen to our prayers, for foxes have arisen seeking to destroy the vineyard whose winepress you alone have trod….THE WILD BOAR from the forest seeks to destroy it and every wild beast feeds upon it.”
It is essential that we acknowledge that even those who care and cultivate the Lord’s vineyard are misunderstood and can be vilified. For those in leadership in Christ’s church, we must recognize that sometimes we may be maligned, slandered, and abused in our efforts to bring reformation and revival to Christ’s church. Luther’s life serves as a clear illustration of this reality. Yet for Luther, the Psalms served as a vital source for perseverance in fulfilling his calling and God-ordained mission in life.
These persecutions, beginning under Nero about the time of the martyrdom of Paul, continued with greater or less fury for centuries. Christians were falsely accused of the most dreadful crimes and declared to be the cause of great calamities—famine, pestilence, and earthquake. As they became the objects of popular hatred and suspicion, informers stood ready, for the sake of gain, to betray the innocent. They were condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes of religion, and pests to society. Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or burned alive in the amphitheaters. Some were crucified; others were covered with the skins of wild animals and thrust into the arena to be torn by dogs. Their punishment was often made the chief entertainment at public fetes. Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight and greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause. GC 40.1
450 Prophets of Mother Jezebel Table Laudato Si Cup Bread Curriculum v The Lord Table, Murmured
Pope Invades & Besieges Sanctuary, Mediates Leprous Miriam, Same Boat Master Ev King Osiemo
China Students of RCC, Organs (Members) Harvesting, Catholic Social Teachings-Common Good Ev King https://youtu.be/kL-31__iTsU
Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would—He will withdraw His blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to do the same. Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them. While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “the haughty people … do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Isaiah 24:4, 5. And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah. The miracle-working power manifested through spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world and second the testimony of religious teachers that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony. Satan’s policy in this final conflict with God’s people is the same that he employed in the opening of the great controversy in heaven. He professed to be seeking to promote the stability of the divine government, while secretly bending every effort to secure its overthrow. And the very work which he was thus endeavoring to accomplish he charged upon the loyal angels. The same policy of deception has marked the history of the Roman Church. It has professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt itself above God and to change His law. Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evildoers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear in the eyes of the people and even to themselves as the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God’s law, he will cause them to be accused as lawbreakers, as men who are dishonoring God and bringing judgments upon the world. God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan’s constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God. Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment keepers will be misrepresented and condemned. A false coloring will be given to their words; the worst construction will be put upon their motives. As the Protestant churches reject the clear, Scriptural arguments in defense of God’s law, they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes to the fact, they are now adopting a course which will lead to the persecution of those who conscientiously refuse to do what the rest of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the claims of the papal sabbath. The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words: “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. GC 589.2 – GC 592.3
Teachers around the country woke up on a school day the morning after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
One sat in her classroom during lunch in tears. Another watched students “like a hawk” every time the door creaked open. And a teacher of 40 years now thinks of his school as a war zone.
Responsible for far more than the education of their students, educators across the country are once again on the front lines of crisis.
From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. He that offends “in one point,” manifests contempt for the whole law; his influence and example are on the side of transgression; he becomes “guilty of all.” James 2:10. In seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes, Satan has perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe the Scriptures. The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering—a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition. The agencies which will unite against truth and righteousness in this contest are now actively at work. God’s holy word, which has been handed down to us at such a cost of suffering and blood, is but little valued. The Bible is within the reach of all, but there are few who really accept it as the guide of life. Infidelity prevails to an alarming extent, not in the world merely, but in the church. Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity of the law of God, are practically rejected, either wholly or in part, by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths. Many ministers are teaching their people, and many professors and teachers are instructing their students, that the law of God has been changed or abrogated; and those who regard its requirements as still valid, to be literally obeyed, are thought to be deserving only of ridicule or contempt. In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God, they deny the authority of the Law-giver. It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. By misrepresenting the attributes of God, Satan leads men to conceive of Him in a false character. With many, a philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; (Exekiel14:3, Mathew 15) while the living God, as He is revealed in His word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The God of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists—the God of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions—is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia. No error accepted by the Christian world strikes more boldly against the authority of Heaven, none is more directly opposed to the dictates of reason, none is more pernicious in its results, than the modern doctrine, so rapidly gaining ground, that God’s law is no longer binding upon men. Every nation has its laws, which command respect and obedience; no government could exist without them; and can it be conceived that the Creator of the heavens and the earth has no law to govern the beings He has made? Suppose that prominent ministers were publicly to teach that the statutes which govern their land and protect the rights of its citizens were not obligatory—that they restricted the liberties of the people, and therefore ought not to be obeyed; how long would such men be tolerated in the pulpit? But is it a graver offense to disregard the laws of states and nations than to trample upon those divine precepts which are the foundation of all government? It would be far more consistent for nations to abolish their statutes, and permit the people to do as they please, than for the Ruler of the universe to annul His law, and leave the world without a standard to condemn the guilty or justify the obedient. Would we know the result of making void the law of God? The experiment has been tried. Terrible were the scenes enacted in France when atheism became the controlling power. It was then demonstrated to the world that to throw off the restraints which God has imposed is to accept the rule of the cruelest of tyrants. When the standard of righteousness is set aside, the way is open for the prince of evil to establish his power in the earth. Wherever the divine precepts are rejected, sin ceases to appear sinful or righteousness desirable. Those who refuse to submit to the government of God are wholly unfitted to govern themselves. Through their pernicious teachings the spirit of insubordination is implanted in the hearts of children and youth, who are naturally impatient of control; and a lawless, licentious state of society results. While scoffing at the credulity of those who obey the requirements of God, the multitudes eagerly accept the delusions of Satan. They give the rein to lust and practice the sins which have called down judgments upon the heathen. Those who teach the people to regard lightly the commandments of God sow disobedience to reap disobedience. Let the restraint imposed by the divine law be wholly cast aside, and human laws would soon be disregarded. Because God forbids dishonest practices, coveting, lying, and defrauding, men are ready to trample upon His statutes as a hindrance to their worldly prosperity; but the results of banishing these precepts would be such as they do not anticipate. If the law were not binding, why should any fear to transgress? Property would no longer be safe. Men would obtain their neighbor’s possessions by violence, and the strongest would become richest. Life itself would not be respected. The marriage vow would no longer stand as a sacred bulwark to protect the family. He who had the power, would, if he desired, take his neighbor’s wife by violence. The fifth commandment would be set aside with the fourth. Children would not shrink from taking the life of their parents if by so doing they could obtain the desire of their corrupt hearts. The civilized world would become a horde of robbers and assassins; and peace, rest, and happiness would be banished from the earth. Already the doctrine that men are released from obedience to God’s requirements has weakened the force of moral obligation and opened the floodgates of iniquity upon the world. Lawlessness, dissipation, and corruption are sweeping in upon us like an overwhelming tide. In the family, Satan is at work. His banner waves, even in professedly Christian households. There is envy, evil surmising, hypocrisy, estrangement, emulation, strife, betrayal of sacred trusts, indulgence of lust. The whole system of religious principles and doctrines, which should form the foundation and framework of social life, seems to be a tottering mass, ready to fall to ruin. The vilest of criminals, when thrown into prison for their offenses, are often made the recipients of gifts and attentions as if they had attained an enviable distinction. Great publicity is given to their character and crimes. The press publishes the revolting details of vice, thus initiating others into the practice of fraud, robbery, and murder; and Satan exults in the success of his hellish schemes. The infatuation of vice, the wanton taking of life, the terrible increase of intemperance and iniquity of every order and degree, should arouse all who fear God, to inquire what can be done to stay the tide of evil. Courts of justice are corrupt. Rulers are actuated by desire for gain and love of sensual pleasure. Intemperance has beclouded the faculties of many so that Satan has almost complete control of them. Jurists are perverted, bribed, deluded. Drunkenness and revelry, passion, envy, dishonesty of every sort, are represented among those who administer the laws. “Justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” Isaiah 59:14.
The iniquity and spiritual darkness that prevailed under the supremacy of Rome were the inevitable result of her suppression of the Scriptures; but where is to be found the cause of the widespread infidelity, the rejection of the law of God, and the consequent corruption, under the full blaze of gospel light in an age of religious freedom? Now that Satan can no longer keep the world under his control by withholding the Scriptures, he resorts to other means to accomplish the same object. To destroy faith in the Bible serves his purpose as well as to destroy the Bible itself. By introducing the belief that God’s law is not binding, he as effectually leads men to transgress as if they were wholly ignorant of its precepts. And now, as in former ages, he has worked through the church to further his designs. The religious organizations of the day have refused to listen to unpopular truths plainly brought to view in the Scriptures, and in combating them they have adopted interpretations and taken positions which have sown broadcast the seeds of skepticism. Clinging to the papal error of natural immortality and man’s consciousness in death, they have rejected the only defense against the delusions of spiritualism. The doctrine of eternal torment has led many to disbelieve the Bible. And as the claims of the fourth commandment are urged upon the people, it is found that the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is enjoined; and as the only way to free themselves from a duty which they are unwilling to perform, many popular teachers declare that the law of God is no longer binding. Thus they cast away the law and the Sabbath together. As the work of Sabbath reform extends, this rejection of the divine law to avoid the claims of the fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal. The teachings of religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to spiritualism, and to contempt for God’s holy law; and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists in the Christian world. Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast-spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called “Christian sabbath,” and that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. This claim is especially urged in America, where the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been most widely preached. Here the temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan’s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible; yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God’s law, His servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men. Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience. As spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power. The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin. Intemperance dethrones reason; sensual indulgence, strife, and bloodshed follow. Satan delights in war, for it excites the worst passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to war against one another, for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God. Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would—He will withdraw His blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to do the same. Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them. While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “the haughty people … do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Isaiah 24:4, 5. And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah. The miracle-working power manifested through spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world and second the testimony of religious teachers that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony. Satan’s policy in this final conflict with God’s people is the same that he employed in the opening of the great controversy in heaven. He professed to be seeking to promote the stability of the divine government, while secretly bending every effort to secure its overthrow. And the very work which he was thus endeavoring to accomplish he charged upon the loyal angels. The same policy of deception has marked the history of the Roman Church. It has professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt itself above God and to change His law. Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evildoers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear in the eyes of the people and even to themselves as the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God’s law, he will cause them to be accused as lawbreakers, as men who are dishonoring God and bringing judgments upon the world. God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan’s constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God. Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment keepers will be misrepresented and condemned. A false coloring will be given to their words; the worst construction will be put upon their motives.
As the Protestant churches reject the clear, Scriptural arguments in defense of God’s law, they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes to the fact, they are now adopting a course which will lead to the persecution of those who conscientiously refuse to do what the rest of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the claims of the papal sabbath. The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words: “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. GC 582.1 – GC 592.3
Mock-up vials labeled “Monkeypox vaccine” and medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken, May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
May 27 (Reuters) – Around 20 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease, with more than 200 confirmed or suspected infections mostly in Europe.
The outbreaks are raising alarm because monkeypox, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in west and central Africa, and only very occasionally spreads elsewhere. read more
Below is a list of countries that have so far reported suspected or confirmed cases, in alphabetical order:
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ASIA-PACIFIC
* AUSTRALIA on May 20 reported its first case in a traveller who recently returned from Britain. Another suspected case was also identified. read more
EUROPE
* AUSTRIA confirmed its first case on May 22. read more
* CZECH REPUBLIC detected its first case on May 24. read more
* DENMARK confirmed a second case on May 24, a day after the first. read more
* FINLAND confirmed its first case on May 27. read more
* FRANCE’s number of confirmed cases rose to five on May 25. read more
* GERMANY has confirmed three cases, with the first registered on May 20. read more
* ITALY has confirmed nine cases by May 26. It detected its first case on May 19. read more
* The NETHERLANDS reported its first case on May 20. It has since confirmed “several” more patients, without stating the exact number. read more
* PORTUGAL confirmed 16 new cases on May 27, bringing the total to 74.
* SLOVENIA confirmed its first case on May 24. read more
* SPAIN confirmed 25 new cases on May 26, bringing the total to 84. read more
* SWEDEN confirmed its first case on May 19.
* SWITZERLAND reported its first confirmed case on May 21. read more
* The UNITED KINGDOM detected 14 new cases in England on May 24, taking the total of identified cases to 70. read more
MIDDLE EAST
* ISRAEL confirmed its first case on May 21. read more
* The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES detected its first case on May 24, state news agency WAM reported. read more
AMERICAS
* ARGENTINA reported its first suspected case on May 23. read more
* CANADA reported 10 new infections on May 27, bringing its total to 25. read more
* The UNITED STATES confirmed nine additional cases in seven states on May 26. The total number of infections is up at 11 since the first infection was discovered on May 18. read more
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Compiled by Andrey Sychev and Louise Rasmussen in Gdansk Editing by Milla Nissi and Mark Potter
The history of the early church testified to the fulfillment of the Saviour’s words. The powers of earth and hell arrayed themselves against Christ in the person of His followers. Paganism foresaw that should the gospel triumph, her temples and altars would be swept away; therefore she summoned her forces to destroy Christianity. The fires of persecution were kindled. Christians were stripped of their possessions and driven from their homes. They “endured a great fight of afflictions.” Hebrews 10:32. They “had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment.” Hebrews 11:36. Great numbers sealed their testimony with their blood. Noble and slave, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, were alike slain without mercy. These persecutions, beginning under Nero about the time of the martyrdom of Paul, continued with greater or less fury for centuries. Christians were falsely accused of the most dreadful crimes and declared to be the cause of great calamities—famine, pestilence, and earthquake. As they became the objects of popular hatred and suspicion, informers stood ready, for the sake of gain, to betray the innocent. They were condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes of religion, and pests to society. Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or burned alive in the amphitheaters. Some were crucified; others were covered with the skins of wild animals and thrust into the arena to be torn by dogs. Their punishment was often made the chief entertainment at public fetes. Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight and greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause. Wherever they sought refuge, the followers of Christ were hunted like beasts of prey. They were forced to seek concealment in desolate and solitary places. “Destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Verses 37, 38. The catacombs afforded shelter for thousands. Beneath the hills outside the city of Rome, long galleries had been tunneled through earth and rock; the dark and intricate network of passages extended for miles beyond the city walls. In these underground retreats the followers of Christ buried their dead; and here also, when suspected and proscribed, they found a home. When the Life-giver shall awaken those who have fought the good fight, many a martyr for Christ’s sake will come forth from those gloomy caverns. GC 39.2 – GC 40.2
While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “the haughty people … do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Isaiah 24:4, 5. And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah. The miracle-working power manifested through spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world and second the testimony of religious teachers that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony. Satan’s policy in this final conflict with God’s people is the same that he employed in the opening of the great controversy in heaven. He professed to be seeking to promote the stability of the divine government, while secretly bending every effort to secure its overthrow. And the very work which he was thus endeavoring to accomplish he charged upon the loyal angels. The same policy of deception has marked the history of the Roman Church. It has professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt itself above God and to change His law. Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evildoers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear in the eyes of the people and even to themselves as the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God’s law, he will cause them to be accused as lawbreakers, as men who are dishonoring God and bringing judgments upon the world. God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan’s constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God. Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment keepers will be misrepresented and condemned. A false coloring will be given to their words; the worst construction will be put upon their motives. As the Protestant churches reject the clear, Scriptural arguments in defense of God’s law, they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by the Bible. Though they blind their own eyes to the fact, they are now adopting a course which will lead to the persecution of those who conscientiously refuse to do what the rest of the Christian world are doing, and acknowledge the claims of the papal sabbath. The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words: “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. GC 589.3 – GC 592.3
Much is being said at the present time on the subject of “manifest destiny.” Reflective minds, however, are apt to consider that but a very small portion of those using the term have the faintest conception of its real meaning. It is generally referred to in connection with exploitations concerning a “divine mission,” a “providential call,” a “summons to duty,” and “responsibility thrust upon us.” In the majority of cases, moreover, when “manifest destiny” is talked about, it is embedded in an atmosphere of mystery; it is talked about as being something wise, wonderful, and divine, altogether too deep for the common people to understand. PRUS 109.1
It is also glaringly obvious that the lion’s share of what is detailed in the report will fall to the U.S. military to deal with. And the more a negligent civilian leadership — both at the national and local levels — delays serious action to adapt to and ameliorate climate change, the more this reality will be exacerbated.
Whether it’s sea level rise, unprecedented drought, extreme weather events, devastating and wide-ranging fires, dwindling fresh water supplies, food scarcity, multiple pandemics, or massive human migrations (particularly from the Global South), or any number of these occurring simultaneously or synergistically, the hand-writing is on the wall.
Other countries’ militaries are for the most part either too small or too ill-equipped and ill-trained to deal with such challenges. The U.S. military is not only resourced and trained; it is the only military with unparalleled global reach. The ships, the planes, wheeled vehicles, water distribution systems, satellite communication networks, and, most of all, the ability to deploy far from its shores, all reside chiefly in America’s military forces.
All Americans should be grateful that the leaders of their military services, unlike many of their civilian leaders, are not burying their heads in the sand and looking the other way. All of the services have climate change strategies. But none of these strategies — yet — contemplates the devastation and work that confronts the military, and sooner rather than later. The new IPCC report is loaded with examples.
Simply looking at water and food — “the staples of life” — demonstrates how daunting the challenges are. Look at Syria today for an early example.
From 2007 to 2010, Syria experienced the worst multi-year drought in its history. This was on top of two previous multi-year droughts that themselves were devastating, particularly to Syrian agriculture. Before the droughts, Syria was a net exporter of wheat; after the third drought, Syria had to purchase wheat on the world market — and usually at very high prices. We all know what followed — a bitter 11-year civil war from which the country has yet to emerge.
Meanwhile, the water and food situation grows increasingly desperate, as it does all across the Levant where aridity is the worst it’s been in a thousand years.
The recent much-praised agreement between Israel and Jordan to trade solar-generated energy for water is an example of the sort of state-to-state cooperation the region will require to reduce some of the risk, but it still falls far short of what is needed. All across northern Africa and much of the way south, east, and west from there is similarly hurting as ground water is depleted, crops and livestock are starved for water and food, and conditions worsen every day. The ongoing Ukraine crisis has highlighted some of the challenge.
Because of the ongoing war, Ukraine, a key food exporter, especially to the Levant and North Africa — has had to curb some exports. Lebanon was receiving more than 50 percent of its wheat from Ukraine. No longer. On top of such dramatic changes, food prices are at a 10-year high and will likely rise further. Worse perhaps, fertilizer prices have skyrocketed as high as 205 percent above pre-war levels. Both Russia and China have begun to limit exports of fertilizer, fearing each might not have sufficient amounts for their own agricultural sectors.
And U.S. sanctions on Belarus have increased the global price of potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer. These price increases are wreaking havoc on the food security of critical regions in the Global South that are already increasingly challenged by climate change’s impact on their food and water supplies that, in turn, is promoting transnational migration.
The Ukraine crisis also provoked some remarkably courageous comments from the IPCC heads of delegation from both Ukraine and Russia under the circumstances. Oleg Anisimov, the Russian representative, said: “Let me present an apology on behalf of all Russians not able to prevent this conflict….[I] fail to find any justification for the attack on Ukraine.” And Svitlana Krakovska, his Ukrainian counterpart, said: “Human-induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots — fossil fuels and our dependence on them.”
As climate change begins seriously to threaten American — indeed global — security, the only large and capable military forces readily available will be those of the United States. Within less than a generation, emergency delivery of food and water, as in Somalia in 1993, will be essential to stop massive starvation and total state collapse.
Medical care will be needed as well. But soon, such early and interim steps will give way to extremely serious decision-making in Washington. For example, as its own Americas portion of the Global South suffers ever more seriously the effects of the climate crisis, millions will try to relocate. The border challenges of today, as overwhelming as they may see, may only be a harbinger of much worse to come. Every southern U.S. state, even the states with only water borders, will likely have to deploy its National Guard. Active military forces will follow.
America must get moving now, not dither and doubt. The U.S. military’s risk factor equation is around 60-65 percent. That is, if the chance of disaster is that high, you buy insurance, the best policy you can afford. The risk with the climate crisis is human existence and the risk factor is at least 70-plus percent. Ask yourself what you would do.
These recommendations in no way constitute an advocacy for more overseas bases for the U.S. military, a supplemental to its already-over-the-top budget, or an increase in its overall numbers. In fact, these recommendations absolutely eschew even more stupid, endless wars that detract from attention to genuine national security challenges such as that presented by the changing climate.
The military knows it’s coming, just as many in 1938 and 1939 knew a massive war in Europe was coming and that it would eventually envelop America. We did something — almost too late, but not quite. This time the risk is far, far greater. We owe it to our military to get moving. Indeed, we owe it to the human race.
What is manifest destiny?—God’s dealings with the nations—The case of Nebuchadnezzar—The Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men—Story of the Philippine revolt against Spain—Cruelties of the Spaniards—Aguinaldo and the Americans—The great seal of the United States—Opinions of George Francis Adams—Principles born at Lexington and buried at Manila—Admiral Dewey’s estimate of the Filipinos—Can the Filipinos be made good American citizens?—Is it a Christian duty for the United States to forcibly annex the Philippines?—Christ and civil government—”The Bible in one hand and the shotgun in the other” doctrine—Is the United States a Christian nation?—Militarism and democracy—God uses nations as instruments—The case of Assyria—”My Country, 1899″—The Recessional Ode—The task of the forefathers and the task of the sons—Is it Live through all time, or Die by suicide?—Which way shall the tide of destiny set? Much is being said at the present time on the subject of “manifest destiny.” Reflective minds, however, are apt to consider that but a very small portion of those using the term have the faintest conception of its real meaning. It is generally referred to in connection with exploitations concerning a “divine mission,” a “providential call,” a “summons to duty,” and “responsibility thrust upon us.” In the majority of cases, moreover, when “manifest destiny” is talked about, it is embedded in an atmosphere of mystery; it is talked about as being something wise, wonderful, and divine, altogether too deep for the common people to understand. It is commonly argued that the present position of the United States, in and in regard to, the Philippines has been “thrust upon us,” that it is a part of our “responsibility as a world-power,” which our own greatness forces us to accept; that we are now “performing a duty” toward an “inferior race,” and that this duty is imposed upon us by Providence and our own position, prior to any request from us, and without awaiting our consent. Now nothing can be more true than that Providence controls in the affairs of nations as well as in the affairs of men. Nations are composed of men, and it is insupposable that God could control in the affairs of every unit composing a whole, and yet not control in the affairs of that whole. Thus David said: “Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.” 1 During the years of which the Bible records form a contemporaneous history, we read of God’s giving kings their kingdoms, and nations their place in the earth. The case of Nebuchadnezzar will illustrate the point. Concerning him and his kingdom it is written:— “In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; and command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not putt their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.” 2 Now what was true of Nebuchadnezzar in his sphere, is equally true of every nation in its sphere. Nevertheless, because God gave Nebuchadnezzar his kingdom, and Babylon a great place as a “world-power,” it did not keep either from going astray, and doing things which were neither lawful nor right. This Nebuchadnezzar became proud because the glory of his kingdom grew and increased. Then, heathen though he was, a dream was given him by the Almighty, and this dream he told the prophet Daniel, who interpreted it for him. In the dream and the interpretation there is a truth stated several times which is vital in the consideration of “manifest destiny.” Here is the dream:— “I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me…. Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; he cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches; shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man’s and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men . This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation thereof trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My Lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation there of to thine enemies. The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reaches unto the heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; this is the interpretation, O King, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king: that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will . And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule . Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.” 3 Three times in the dream and the interpretation is the truth emphasized that “the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” And this was told by a dream, interpreted by a prophet to the king of the greatest “world-power” of that time. All the things spoken of in the dream came true. Nebuchadnezzar was driven from his throne, and dwelt with the beasts of the field for seven years. At the end of that time, he says himself:— “I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase .” 4 Nebuchadnezzar learned the lesson which the King of kings knew that it was necessary for him to learn. But when in later days his grandson Belshazzar came to the throne, he refused to learn this important lesson, and to him it was that the handwriting appeared upon the wall, and he it was whose kingdom was taken away, and given to the Medes and Persians. He was reminded of what had happened to his grandfather, in these words: “And he Nebuchadnezzar was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will . And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this.” 5 Thus four times directly, and once indirectly, is it taught in these two chapters of this one book that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Is there another truth in all the Bible that is emphasized so strongly? And this is just as true to-day as it was then, for it was written “to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” It is for us, the living, that all this was written; and it was written for us because it applies in our time. “He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty…. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.” 6 This is the basis of the Bible doctrine concerning God’s part in the affairs of nations. As far as Providence is concerned, this is “manifest destiny.” But the destiny of a nation, the same as the destiny of an individual, is a matter of choice , and not a matter of chance . It is in the power of the United States to choose the path in which it will hereafter walk. When once that path is chosen and entered upon, it may not be so easy, yea, it may not be possible, to turn back, and take another course. This is just as true of men as of nations. The voluntary choice of the government of the United States has put the nation in the Philippines. She has chosen to enter these islands, not as a republican, but as a monarchical form of government. A war is now being waged to compel the Filipinos to accept this government without their consent. Thus she has chosen to abandon the tracks of the forefathers, and to return, like the prodigal son, to the doctrines of Rome and of Europe. All this has been done during the hour of victory and of power, and at a time when the nation was completely master of the situation, and entirely free to do just as she pleased. Having done all this, there is now a “manifest destiny” before the United States. It is so manifest that all can see it. When the United States went to war with Spain, the Philippine Islands were in revolt against that government. Concerning this the United States consul at Manila wrote:— “There is no peace, and has been none for about two years. Conditions here and in Cuba are practically alike. War exists, battles are of almost daily occurrence, ambulances bring in many wounded, and hospitals are full…. The crown forces have not been able to dislodge a rebel army within ten miles of Manila, and last Saturday a battle was there fought, and five left dead on the field. “The governor-general, who is amiable and popular, having resigned, wishes credit for pacification, and certain rebel leaders were given a cash bribe of $1,650,000 to consent to public deportation to China. This bribe and deportation only multiplied claimants, and fanned the fires of discontent. “Insurgents demand fewer exactions from church and state, a half of public offices, and fewer church holidays, which seriously retard business. “A republic is organized here as in Cuba. Insurgents are being armed and drilled, are rapidly increasing in numbers and efficiency, and all agree that a general uprising will come as soon as the governor-general embarks for Spain…. All authorities now agree that unless the crown largely re-enforces its army here, it will lose possession.” 7 Soon after this Mr. Williams wrote again:— “Insurrection is rampant; many killed, wounded, and made prisoners on both sides. A battle-ship, the ‘Don Juan de Austria,’ sent this week to the northern part of Luzon to co-operate with a land force of two thousand despatched to succor local forces, overwhelmed by the rebels. Last night special squads of mounted police were scattered at danger points to save Manila.” 8 Thus it appears that two years ago the Filipinos were fighting for their freedom against the government and the tyranny of Spain. This was the condition of things when the United States government declared war against the throne of Madrid. With them-the Filipinos-the struggle was not a fitful insurrection, but a determined rebellion in behalf of government by the consent of the governed. On the reverse side of the great seal of the United States is the inscription in Latin, Novus ordo seculorum , which translated means, “A new order of things.” On the same side of the seal are also the words, “God hath favored the undertaking.” But now the nation is abandoning the new order of things, and deciding that after all Great Britain was right. On this point a noted historian and citizen of Boston, Mass., has well said:— “We now abandon the traditional and distinctively American grounds, and accept those of Europe, and especially of Great Britain, which heretofore we have made it the basis of our faith to deny and repudiate. “With this startling proposition in mind, consider again the several propositions advanced; the first, as regards the so-called inferior races. Our policy toward them, instinctive and formulated, has been either to exclude or destroy, or to leave them in the fulness of time to work out their own destiny undisturbed by us; fully believing that, in this way, we in the long run best subserved the interests of mankind. Europe, and Great Britain especially, adopted the opposite policy. They held that it was incumbent on the superior to go forth and establish dominion over the inferior race, and to hold and develop vast imperial possessions, and colonial dependencies. They saw their interest and duty in developing systems of docile tutelage; we sought our inspirations in the rough school of self-government. Under this head the result, then, is distinct, clean-cut, indisputable. To this conclusion have we come at last. The Old World-Europe and Great Britain-were after all, right, and we of the New World have been wrong. From every point of view,-religious, ethnic, commercial, political,-we can not, it is now claimed, too soon abandon our traditional position and assume theirs. Again, Europe and Great Britain have never admitted that men were created equal, or that the consent of the governed was a condition of government. They have, on the contrary, emphatically denied both propositions. We now concede that, after all, there was great basis for their denial; that certainly, it must be admitted, our forefathers were hasty, at least, in reaching their conclusions; they generalized too broadly. We do not frankly avow error, and we still think the assent of the governed to a government a thing desirable to be secured, under suitable circumstances, and with proper limitations; but, if it can not conveniently be secured, we are advised on New England senatorial authority that ‘the consent of some of the governed’ will be sufficient, we ourselves selecting those proper to be consulted. Thus in such cases as certain islands of the Antilles, Hawaii, and the communities of Asia, we admit that, so far as the principles at the basis of the Declaration are concerned, Great Britain was right, and our ancestors were, not perhaps wrong, but too general, and of the eighteenth century in their statements. To that extent we have outgrown the Declaration of 1776, and have become as wise now as Great Britain was then. At any rate, we are not above learning. ‘Only dead men and idiots never change;’ and the people of the United States are nothing unless open-minded. “So, also, as respects the famous Boston ‘tea-party,’ and taxation without representation. Great Britain then affirmed this right in the case of colonies and dependencies. Taught by the lesson of our war of Independence, she has since abandoned it. We now take it up, and are to-day, as one of the new obligations toward the heathen imposed upon us by Providence, formulating systems of inposts and tariffs for our new dependencies, wholly distinct from our own, and directly inhibited by our Constitution, in regard to which systems those dependencies have no representative voice. They are not to be consulted as to the kind of door, ‘open’ or ‘closed,’ behind which they are to exist In taking this position it is difficult to see why we must not also incidentally admit that, in the great contention preceding our war of independence, the first armed clash of which resounded here in Lexington, Great Britain was more nearly right than the exponents of the principles for which those ’embattled farmers’ contended.” 7 Sad though it be to pen it, it is even true that the great principles which were born at Lexington and Concord were buried at Manila, and the wheels of time turned back, and the old order of things substituted for the new. This is American imperialism. This is national apostasy; and since the course upon which the nation has entered is so manifest, the destiny to which she is doomed is equally manifest,-the condition of the military nations of the Old World, upon whom she has for so long looked down with pitying glances. Nations may be defeated by the acts of others, but they can be degraded only by their own. She has not been defeated by the deeds of others, but she has been degraded, and is even now being dragged into the mire, by her own. Her character as a nation, first formulated in the war of the Revolution, regenerated and reconsecrated in the war of the Rebellion, has been ruthlessly sacrificed to colonial greed and rapacious lust. Awake! O Fathers of the Republic, ere it is too late, and call back your posterity ere they stray into paths from which there is no returning! But it is argued that these people are not capable of self-government. On this point one who ought to know,-Admiral Dewey himself,-whose voice is worthy of respect, has said:— “In a telegram sent to the department on June 23, I expressed the opinion that ‘these people (the Filipinos) are far superior in their intelligence, and more capable of self-government than the natives of Cuba, and I am familiar with both races.’ Further intercourse with them has confirmed me in this opinion.” 8 And again, Consul Wildman, of Hongkong, says:— “I have lived among the Malays of the Straits Settlements, and have been an honored guest of the different sultanates. I have watched their system of government, and have admired their intelligence, and I rank them high among the semicivilized nations of the earth. The natives of the Philippine Islands belong to the Malay race, and while there are very few pure Malays among their leaders, I think the r stock has rather been improved than debased by admixture. I consider that the forty or fifty Philippine leaders, with whose fortunes I have been very closely connected, are the superiors of both the Malays and the Cubans. Aguinaldo, Agoncilla, and Sandico are all men who would be leaders in their separate departments in any country; while among the wealthy Manila men who live in Hongkong, and who are spending their money liberally for the overthrow of the Spaniards and for annexation to the United States,-men like the Cortes family and the Basa family,-would hold their own among bankers and lawyers anywhere.” 9 The kind of men who form the Filipino congress has been described by Mr. Roberson, who himself visited the congress while it was in session. He gives a very favorable account of the character and ability of the members. Of the eighty-three members sitting, seventeen were graduates of European universities, and the president, Pedro Paterno, took his degree as D. D. in the University of Madrid, and afterward received his degree of LL. D. from the University of Salamanca. His books are of such reputation that they have been translated into German. It is said that we can Americanize these people. We can not, we dare not, do it. To educate them would be to make rebels of them. Could we teach them the history of our glorious past? Could we tell them of the deeds of the Fathers in behalf of freedom and independence? Just as surely as we did, the spark of liberty and independence would be kindled in their breasts, and they would demand of us by what right we were their masters. Our only hope would be to keep them in superstition and ignorance. It is far easier for Great Britain to rule colonies and to better their condition than it is for us. She has no past like ours. She never had a war of independence, nor did she ever take her stand upon the principle that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, or that all men are created equal. While upon our own platform of eternal truth, we stood upon a plane immeasurably superior to any which it was possible for her to occupy. Now that we have fallen from our first estate, and lost our Edenic purity, we are weaker and more impotent than it is possible for her to be. This is manifest destiny as far as the governing of the Filipinos is concerned. It has been urged by many that there is a duty incumbent upon the United States to take the Philippines for the purpose of Christianizing the natives, even although such occupation be against the wishes of the inhabitants, and contrary to the principle of government by consent. It is argued that the opportunity to purchase the islands constituted a “divine call” to this “Benjamin of nations” to enter that neglected part of the Master’s vineyard. Zealous advocates, in earnest tones, tell of the blessings which will accrue to these benighted souls when an army of missionaries, filled with an undying love for those who know Him not, can, without fear of molestation, proclaim, beneath the protecting ægis of the stars and stripes, the sufferings of the Saviour and the joys of the better world. Vividly they portray how much more rapidly the gospel can be carried to those who know it not, when the islands are controlled by the government of the United States, than it could possibly be if these isles which wait for His law were ruled by the heathen. These are for the most part a devoted and consecrated class of people, who are thoroughly conscientious in the views they express. In these days of toil and bustle, when more is compressed into a decade than was formerly the portion of man’s allotted span, many of us Christians are like Martha of Bethany, who was “cumbered about much serving,” and “careful and troubled about many things,” and in our anxiety to work for the Lord we neglect to choose the “good part,” “the one thing needful,” which her sister Mary took, and which shall not be taken away. We fail to take the necessary time to sit “at Jesus’ feet, and hear his word.” The weapons of carnal warfare vary and change with the onward march of scientific discovery. But the holy arms of the Christian remain ever the same. Like the Father of Lights, who changeth not, in them “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The same arms which apostles, prophets, and our own dear Saviour used are the only true weapons for the Christian to-day. Beautifully has it been said of the Reformers and the Reformation: “The Reformation was accomplished in the name of a spiritual principle. It had proclaimed for its teacher, the word of God; for salvation, faith; for king, Jesus Christ; for arms, the Holy Ghost; and had by these very means rejected all worldly elements. Rome had been established by ‘the law of a carnal commandment;’ the Reformation, by ‘the power of an endless life.'” Whatever is accomplished in the line of Christian reformation in this day and age of the world, will be accomplished in the name of this same spiritual principle. Jesus never sought the civil power as an aid wherewith to accomplish his mission, and on one occasion, at least, he distinctly refused it. When the Redeemer was alone in the wilderness, fasting in behalf of fallen man, it is written: “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” 10 Here was an opportunity. The gospel was to be preached. The world, and all the governments of the world, stood arrayed in open hostility against it. But here were the kingdoms of the world, and the glory-the power-of them, freely offered. Could not the gospel be carried to better advantage if Christ controlled the reins of the civil power? He did not so believe. Was not this whispering a “providential call, a new mission, a distinct call to duty,-manifest destiny?” It was a whispering, not from the Almighty, but from Satan, and was repulsed with the words, “Get thee hence, Satan.” In the garden of Gethsemane, Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant with his sword. “But Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. Jesus therefore said unto Peter, Put up again thy sword into the sheath: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” And to these words he added, “Or thinkest thou that I can not beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?” Again, when the Master was in the judgment hall, Pilate “called Jesus and said unto him, art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.” 11 The triumphs of the gospel in those early days were won without the aid of the civil power. The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. Never did the Christian church make greater progress than when she stood alone, unaided by any civil power. Yea, more than this, the times of her greatest purity and progress have been the times when every earthly power has been arrayed against her. Then it was that her members sought their Lord and Master most earnestly, and reflected his blest image most brightly. One United States senator, in the course of his speech on the Philippine question, declared that “the Anglo-Saxon advances into the new regions with the Bible in one hand and a shotgun in the other. The inhabitants of those regions which he can not convert with the Bible and bring into his markets, he gets rid of with the shotgun” This is not altogether irony. Ministers of the Christian church are everywhere praising the war in these islands, and preaching that it has come about in the providence of God in order that the gospel may go more rapidly. Just as far as this idea gets hold of the Christian sects, just that far they assent to the doctrine of a union of church and state; just that far they are extolling that system of things which we hoped we had forever discarded in “the new order of things.” Will the people whose fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons have been shot down in this ruthless war, be more ready to accept the gospel at the hands of the murderers of their relatives? Will it cause them to be kindly inclined toward the teachings of the Saviour? Will they not look upon our religion as being similar to that of the Mohammedans, who think it virtuous to propagate their faith by means of fire and sword?—Nay, verily, it will steel their souls against the gospel, and fill them with prejudice and suspicion. Better, ten thousand times better, for a few missionaries to lose their lives at the hands of heathen savages than for heathen savages to lose their lives at the hands of those calling themselves Christians. The missionaries are certain of eternal life, but not so the poor heathen. Then again, if this doctrine of the Bible in one hand and the shotgun in the other is a good one for the Philippine Islands, how long will it be ere it is considered a good one for every State in the Union? Should one religious sect get control of the governmental affairs, why may it not use force to compel all others to come into line, and think and pray as it thinks and prays? This idea may be received by some with ridicule, but the beginnings of the loss of liberty, both civil and religious, are always insidious, and very small precedents have oftentimes started tremendous changes in things. There has been persecution in the past, there is persecution for religious views even at the present, and there will be persecution for conscience’ sake in the time to come. Allow a new doctrine to pass unchallenged to-day, it quickly gains strength and standing, and by to-morrow it is heterodoxy to question its application. There have been some fearful crimes committed in the name of justice in this gospel-enlightened land. Many a soul has suffered death in one horrible form or another, without having been duly convicted in the courts of law. Possibly it may be said with truth that there is no country on earth claiming to be Christian and civilized where there have been more deaths by mob violence, than in the United States. In times of excitement over vital questions our people have many times proved the truthfulness of the statement of Alexander Hamilton, that a man was a reasoning rather than a reasonable being. In the fierce struggles between capital and labor, in times of a strike, a boycott, or a lockout, terrible deeds of violence and bloodshed have stained the nation’s robe. Innocent lives have been placed in the most dire peril and jeopardy. It is not necessary here to give illustrations or enter into details. This class of crime is so common and so patent that the mere mention of it will suffice. Such deeds go to show that Christianity has still a great work before her in the homeland. Civilization has indeed veneered our natures, but it has not changed and renovated them. Our passions are easily excited, and break loose with but small provocation. There is still a field for missionary effort in this part of the vineyard of the Man of Galilee. Even in the most recent years, yea, within the past few months, crimes too horrible to spread upon the pages of a decent book, have been committed without any chance for the law to take its course. These things fill the heart of the Christian with sadness, and they stand as a fact to be by all true followers of the Master deeply lamented and deplored. For nigh two thousand years the religion of Jesus Christ has been striving with all the power of the Holy Ghost to do its beneficent work upon the hearts of the human family. In view, however, of the awful crimes still filling the earth, it seems hard to believe that much has been accomplished. This is no reflection on the gospel, but on those who reject the gospel. But brutality is not confined to this class of cases. A young man, everywhere reported to be “pious,” attends a prayer-meeting; after which he waylays his rival in a love affair, beats out his brains, and throws his body into a creek. A man conceals a knife, with a rapier-like point in a bundle which he carries under his arm, and starts out walking in a crowded thoroughfare, nudging people with the bundle purposely, and seriously wounding them as he goes along. In a State Refuge Home for Women horrible cruelties are practised. “Lashing to the floor, however, is not the worst cruelty resorted to, according to the evidence taken. It is said by eye-witnesses and participants that girls confined in houses of refuge are stripped of their clothing, and sometimes held by some of the employees, and at other times chained to the floor, and whipped with a heavy leather strap several feet long.” Recently a young mother with a babe only five months old was treated in this manner. A man with plenty of money divests his aged wife of her clothing, fastens her under the bed, and leaves her to starve. Yet to all others he is perfectly sane. The reports from the largest city in the country are as follows: “In several quarters of the city life is no longer safe. The night streets of the district lying between Union Square and Long Acre and Seventh and Third avenues are in the possession of the disorderly elements. The police force is already demoralized, and the demoralization is progressing rapidly toward chaos…. What shall be done? What can be done to avert chaos, and restore order and security? Is it impossible for a community as intelligent as this to find some mean between the exasperating crushing of personal liberty and the terrifying domination of criminals and semi-criminals?” 12 Even “natural affection” seems to have deserted the mother’s breast. A little child, five years old, and very puny, is kept day after day in a foul air-shaft, with nothing but an old ragged quilt to lie upon, and a little shirt to cover his nakedness. The floor was uneven, and always wet, yet day after day the little life was left, for no reason at all except cruelty, to pine away in this awful place. Crime appears to be discovering all kinds of ingenious methods. Poisoned candy or cake is sent through the mails to persons whom it is desired to destroy. The victims of this class of wickedness are becoming more and more frequent. Moreover, crime is getting to be as common in high life as it is among the middle and lower classes, to say nothing of the criminal classes. An eastern millionaire secures a divorce from his wife, and four and a half hours afterward she is wedded to another millionaire. So blunted have morals in general become that the affair excites but little disgust anywhere. Two wealthy men have differences of opinion over business matters. One invites the other to a friendly conference. They meet, and the one who has been invited is shot without warning. The murderer gives himself up with the utmost complacency to the authorities, and hands them two sets of typewritten statements, setting forth in legal form his reason for the deed. One of these statements is four thousand five hundred words in length, and the other ten thousand. In these he had previous to the commission of the crime set forth in the coolest manner possible his object in killing his fellow millionaire. These are only a few specific instances of crime, representing a few of the different classes. After all, with how thin a veneer has that which we call civilization covered the natural brute ferocity of our natures. True, we have steam engines, elegant railroad cars, and fast service; we have high buildings equipped with all the latest modern improvements; we have telephones, and the telegraph; but, after all, how much more civilized and Christianized are our natures above those of the poor ignorants of other climes! This is a question worth considering. The theory of our government is perfect; but how well do we live up to it? Fraud and deceit in high places of public trust are frequent; election scandals fill the very atmosphere whenever the franchise is exercised. Aldermen accept boodle; and the lowest dens of vice are allowed to run “wide-open” under the eye of the authorities. Our lives are spent in all kinds of pleasure, with but little thought or care for the sorrows and trials of the poor. All these things lead one seriously to ask, In what position are we as a nation to bring benefit to those in benighted lands? In April of this year, 1899, it was authoritatively reported that since the arrival of the Americans in Manila there had been over three hundred saloons opened in that city. Again, a statement is issued from the office of the surgeon-general in Washington that twenty-one per cent of the soldiers of the American army in the islands are afflicted with loathsome diseases. That the poor souls in the Philippine Islands are in need of the gospel of Jesus Christ no one will deny; but that gospel must be carried to them by men endued with the power of the Holy Ghost, and armed with the weapons of faith and prayer, and not by any such means as are now being used. I will not dwell upon this phase of the question longer, however, for it is only one of many. Suffice it to say that in view of the condition of our own spiritual experience and morals, one is hardly warranted in believing that the opportunity to become the owners of the heathen Filipinos by purchase from Spain, and the liberal use of American muskets and machine guns, constitutes a “divine call” in order that we may impart to these poor souls virtues so faintly visible in ourselves. The next problem which demands solution is that of the large army and navy which will be continually required for the retention of the group. Militarism and democracy are incompatible. A large standing armed force is the natural adjunct of a monarchy. “The monarch represents an authority springing not from the periodically expressed consent of the people, and relying for the maintenance of that authority, if occasion requires, upon the employment of force, even against the popular will. An army is an organization of men subject to the command of a superior will, the origin or the purpose of which it is assumed to have no right to question. The standing army is in this sense, therefore, according to its nature and spirit, an essentially monarchical institution.” 13 It is clear from this that in a republic there is no rightful place for a large standing force. Such a thing is contrary to the very basic principles upon which republics are founded, besides being a constant menace to the free expression of the popular will and thought, and a dangerous source of arbitrary power in the hands of the men who for the time being form the government. Military virtues are in many instances the opposite of civic virtues; and in more cases than one the attributes and qualities necessary to constitute a good military man are the very ones which constitute a bad civilian. Military modes of thinking and methods of action unfit men for the duties incumbent upon the citizens of a free republic. The rise of a large, permanent armed force in a republic always portends the downfall and ruin of free government. In Europe the armies of the great powers are a necessity, or at least they are a necessity under the present conditions. Europe is simply a conglomeration of armed camps, in which the hostile nations sit watching each other, and preparing for the conflict which their mutually rival interests are bound sooner or later to bring. But with us an army for defense is wholly unnecessary. Locked in the embraces of two broad oceans we have naught to fear from a foreign invader. Lincoln once said that “all the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasures of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years.” These words are undoubtedly true. It therefore follows that with us a large standing army can only be of use for preying upon helpless peoples near us; that is, for the purpose of buccaneering. It is now being seriously urged that the standing army of the United States be increased to 100,000 fighting men; that is, about four times its size at the beginning of 1898. To train and keep standing such a force is simply to train men to become good subjects of a monarchy, and inefficient citizens of the republic. The two things can not possibly survive together. It is now for this nation to choose whether it will stick to the old paths, and discard large standing armies in times of peace, or whether it will unnecessarily adopt what the Old World monarchies would fain throw off, but which they find to be an evil necessary to their very existence. Should she choose in this matter as in others to return, like the prodigal son, to the ways of the Old World, her manifest destiny will be fixed. She will degenerate into a monarchy herself in truth, if not in name. And it may yet be with her as it was with Rome of old, concerning which Gibbon said: “The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence: the Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government.” And these emperors were backed by enormous military establishments. It is urged that war makes men brave and patriotic. On this point I must again quote words of wisdom from an author already cited:— “Let me now pass to the institutional aspect of the case as far as it concerns this republic in particular. I am far from predicting that the organization and maintenance and use of large armaments will speedily bring forth in this country the same consequences which they did produce in England in Cromwell’s time, and in France at the periods of the first and second French republics. With us the ‘man on horseback’ is not in sight. There is no danger of monarchical usurpation by a victorious general, although it is well worthy of remembrance that even here in the United States of America, at the close of the Revolutionary war, at the very threshold of our history as a republic, a large part of the Revolutionary army, ‘turned by six years of war from militia into seasoned veterans,’ and full of that overbearing esprit de corps characteristic of standing armies, urged George Washington to make himself a dictator, a monarch; that, as one of his biographers expresses it, ‘it was as easy for Washington to have grasped supreme power then, as it would have been for Cæsar to have taken the crown from Anthony upon the Lupercal;’ and that it was only George Washington’s patriotic loyalty and magnificent manhood that stamped out the plot. However, usurpation of so gross a character would now be rendered infinitely more difficult, not only by the republican spirit and habits of the people, but also by our federative organization, dividing so large an expanse of country into a multitude of self-governing States. “But even in such a country and among such a people it is possible to demoralize the constitutional system, and to infuse a dangerous element of arbitrary power into the government without making it a monarchy in form and name. One of the most necessary conservative agencies in a democratic republic is general respect for constitutional principles, and faithful observance of constitutional forms; and nothing is more apt to undermine that respect and to foster disregard of those forms than warlike excitements, which at the same time give to the armed forces an importance and a prestige which they otherwise would not possess. “No candid observer of current events will deny that even to-day the spirit of the new policy awakened by the victories and conquests achieved in the Spanish war, and by the occurrences in the Philippines, has moved even otherwise sober-minded persons to speak of the constitutional limitations of governmental power with a levity which a year ago would have provoked serious alarm and stern rebuke. We are loudly told by the advocates of the new policy that the Constitution no longer fits our present conditions and aspirations as a great and active world-power, and should not be permitted to stand in our way. Those who say so forget that it is still our Constitution; that while it exists, its provisions as interpreted by our highest judicial tribunal are binding upon our actions as well as upon our consciences; that they will be binding, and must be observed until they are changed in the manner prescribed by the Constitution itself for its amendment; and that if any power not granted by the Constitution is exercised by the government or any branch of it, on the ground that the Constitution ought to be changed in order to fit new conditions, or on any other grounds, usurpation in the line of arbitrary government is already an accomplished fact. And if such usurpation be submitted to by the people, that acquiescence will become an incentive to further usurpation which may end in the complete wreck of constitutional government. “Such usurpations are most apt to be acquiesced in when, in time of war, they appeal to popular feeling in the name of military necessity, or of the honor of the flag, or of national glory. In a democracy acting through universal suffrage, and being the government of public opinion informed and inspired by discussion, every influence is unhealthy that prevents men from calm reasoning. And nothing is more calculated to do that than martial excitements which stir the blood. We are told that war will lift up people to a higher and nobler patriotic devotion, inspire them with a spirit of heroic self-sacrifice, and bring their finest impulses and qualities into action, This it will, in a large measure, if the people feel that the war is a necessary or a just one. But even then its effects upon the political as well as the moral sense are confusing. When the fortunes of war are unfavorable, almost everything that can restore them will be called legitimate, whether it be in harmony with sound principles or not. When the fortunes of war are favorable, the glory of victory goes far to justify, or at least to excuse, whatever may have been done to achieve that victory, or whatever may be done to secure or increase its fruits. “History shows that military glory is the most unwholesome food that democracies can feed upon. War withdraws, more than anything else, the popular attention from those problems and interests which are, in the long run, of the greatest consequence. It produces a strange moral and political color-blindness. It creates false ideals of patriotism and civic virtue. “Nobody is inclined to underestimate the value of military valor; but compared with military valor we are apt to underestimate the value of other kinds of valor which are equally great, and no less, sometimes even more, useful to the community. I do not refer only to such heroism as that of the fireman, or the member of the life-saving service on the coast, who rescues human beings from the flames or from the watery grave at the most desperate risk of his own life, and whose deeds are all the more heroic as they are not inspired by the enthusiasm of battle, and pale into insignificance by the side of any act of bravery done in killing enemies in the field; I speak also of that moral courage more important in a democracy, which defies the popular outcry in maintaining what it believes right, and in opposing what it thinks wrong. “Blood spilled for it on the battle-field is often taken to sanctify and to entitle to popular support, however questionable. It is called treason to denounce such a cause, be it ever so bad. It is called patriotism to support it however strongly conscience may revolt against it. Take for instance the man who honestly believes our war against the Filipinos to be unjust. If that man, faithfully obeying the voice of his conscience, frankly denounces that war, and thereby risks the public station he may occupy, or the friendship of his neighbors, and resolutely meets the clamor vilifying him as a craven recreant and an enemy to the republic, he is, morally, surely no less a hero than the soldier who at the word of command and in the excitement of battle rushes against a hostile battery. You can no doubt find in our country an abundance of men who would stand bravely under a hail-storm of bullets. But many of them, if their consciences condemned the Filipino war ever so severely, would be loath to face the charge of want of patriotism assailing everybody who opposes it. This is no new story. War makes military heroes, but it makes also civic cowards. No wonder that war has always proved so dangerous to the vitality of democracies; for a democracy needs to keep alive, above all things, the civic virtues which war so easily demoralizes. “You will have observed that I have treated the matter of militarism in the United States in intimate connection with our warlike enterprises, as if they were substantially the same thing. I have done so purposely. As I endeavored to set forth, the development of militarism in European states can be explained on the theory that each power may think the largest possible armaments necessary for the protection of its safety among its neighbors, and for the preservation of peace. With us such a motive can not exist. Not needing large armaments for our safety,-for this Republic, if it maintained its old traditional policy, would be perfectly safe without them,-we can need them only in the service of warlike adventure undertaken at our own pleasure for whatever purpose. And here I may remark, by the way, that in my opinion, although such a course of warlike adventure may have begun with a desire to liberate and civilize certain foreign populations, it will be likely to develop itself, unless soon checked, into a downright and reckless policy of conquest with all the ‘criminal aggression’ and savagery such a policy implies. At any rate, that policy of warlike adventure and militarism, will, with us, go together as essentially identical. Without the policy of warlike adventure, large standing armaments would, with us, have no excuse, and would not be tolerated. If we continue that policy, militarism with its characteristic evils will be inevitable. If we wish to escape those evils and to protect this democracy against their dangerous effects, the policy of warlike adventure must be given up, for the two things are inseparable.” 14 Thus it is that the matter of American imperialism and expansion is inseparably linked with the question of large standing armies. They are Siamese twins, both alike being pregnant with a “manifest destiny” for this Republic; namely, the ruin of free government. Again, the size of our armies and our navies, if the imperialistic policy is persisted in, can not be regulated by our own wishes. Our program in this respect must be arranged to suit and to fit the programs of the other “world-powers.” This is strikingly illustrated by a speech recently made in the British House of Commons by Mr. Goshen, the first lord of the admiralty, “when he asked the House of Commons to appropriate the enormous sum of $132,770,000 for the British navy, saying that so startling an estimate had not originally been contemplated, but that it had been framed after a careful study of the programs of the other powers; that the United States, Russia, France, Japan, Italy, and Germany had under construction 685,000 tons of warships, and that England was compelled to shape her action accordingly. He prayed that, if the czar’s hope for disarmament were not realized, those who proposed to attack the country’s expenditures would not attempt to dissuade the people from bearing the taxation necessary to carry on the duties of the empire.” 15 Our lot in this respect will now be the same as that of Great Britain, and this again is another link in the cable of manifest destiny. For violating eternal principles of right and justice, Spain was called to a strict account. This nation was the instrument in the hand of God to mete out her punishment. There have been similar instances at other times in the history of the world. Once the Lord called the Assyrians to punish the people of Israel, and concerning them it is said in the Scriptures:— “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mt. Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briars in one day; and shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.” 16 Assyria, in the course of a war to which she was called by the Lord for the purpose of punishing a wicked nation, grew proud, and became filled with ideas of her own greatness; and in the hour of her triumph she laid the foundations for her ruin. Pensive, beautiful, and filled with veriest truth are the stanzas of Owen Wister, in his magnificent poem, “My Country — 1899,” just written. The verses are descriptive of the condition of the country at the present time, and are in the form of a dialogue between Uncle Sam and Columbia. Columbia has been chiding Uncle Sam concerning the corruption of voters and the spoils system, and the forty-second stanza opens with his answer:— “Drowsing!” he answered. “Why, I’ve waked the world!The scornful powers, the sovereign close-throned few,The sceptered circle, whose dull lips once curledBecause they were so old, and I so new,To-day count me, and what I say, and do; I sit among them, chaired in equal state;They have obeyed my knock, and opened me their gate. “Drowsing! ’tis you that walk in blindfold sleep,With sight but imaged in a senseless eye;’T is you that should awake, so you may keepPace with my ocean-spreading destiny.My banners—” “Hold!” she cried. “I know the cry.’War of humanity;’ ‘In Freedom’s name;’A spangled cloak of words to screen their game and shame. “Hark to the babel and cajoling din.Paid orators and bedlam prophets raise,While corporate greed conspires to make you sinAgainst your birthright and your ancient ways.’War of humanity!’ mouth-feeding phrase!’Beneficent assimilation’—howDrivels the jargon that hypocrisy speaks now? ‘These puffed wind-swollen sounds your land have flungTo such commotion, shaken so her poise,That every jackanapes who wags a tongueAnd thumps a fist must lead into the noise,While Folly, rabid to make heard her voice,Mounts the high pulpit and outscreams the mass,Profane ‘mid tinkling cymbals and ‘mid sounding brass. “‘God’s instrument,’ they style you, bid you be,And ‘Carry Christ to heathens.’ Will you dareSearch your own mansion and your hearth, and seeHow much of Christ this day have you to spare?Your fraud-bespattered ballot—reigns He there?Your pension bureau—does that crime revealAcknowledgment of Him who said: ‘Thou shalt not steal’ “What shall you tell the heathen of those thievesThat sway Manhattan, and decree her laws,And spin the meshes that corruption weavesAround each right and honorable cause?And Pennsylvania’s unjailed bird that drawsHis fetid vultures round her heart, that rulesA government of knaves at the expense of fools? “What shall you tell of Carolina’s stain?Of blood-spilt polls, and smoking butchery?Of dastard brag about her victims slain?If they were savages, what thing is she?Georgia’s outlawed tribunals view, and see Men roasted at the stake. Then, if you will,Go teach the heathen how God said: Thou shalt not kill. “Ah, through the shaking tinsel of the dayHow easy for Truth’s golden gaze to shine!Truth’s in your heart; then let her lend a rayTo your bedazzled eyes, ere you resignYour birthright, ere your separate path entwineWith alien tangles. What concern have youTo sit with sceptered powers, the sovereign close-throned few? “O Benjamin of nations! has your coatNot enough colors 17 that ye must in weaveNew skeins of savag’ry, unknown, remote,New wards in motley guardianship receive?Was it for this you bade the Old World leaveYou to yourself, and set the vacant seasBetween your youth and her age-worn iniquities? “O Benjamin of nations, best beloved!Still let your isolated beacon showIts steadfast splendors from their rock unmoved,Mixed with no lanterns that flare, fall, and go.Still may your fortunate twin oceans flowTo island you from neighbors’ broils aloof:Teach liberty to live! be your life still the proof! “So long in heaven I waited for your birth,Such joy filled me when I became your soul,So close I have companioned you on earth,Walked with each step you’ve trodden toward our goal,O stray not now aside and mar the wholeBright path!” She stopped; she laid her hand on him;He, looking up, beheld how her clear eyes were dim. True principles are the strength of nations as well as of men. But almost every principle ever held and prized as sacred in this nation has been prostituted to base perfidy and passion for foreign possession. Those priceless principles, the goodly heritage which the Fathers bequeathed us, have been bartered for a mess of Philippine pottage. Well would it be for every nation if its legislators would constantly keep before them the sentiment in Rudyard Kipling’s great “Recessional Ode,” for it is only by the cherishing of such lofty and noble truths that states can derive a substantial prosperity, and statesmen an immortal renown:— “The tumult and the shouting dies,The captains and the kings depart;Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,An humble and a contrite heart.Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget-lest we forget! “Far-called our navies melt away,On dune and headline sinks the fire-Lo, all our pomp of yesterdayIs one with Nineveh and Tyre!Judge of the nations, spare us yet,Lest we forget-lest we forget! “If, drunk with sight of power, we looseWild tongues that have not thee in awe,Such boasting as the Gentiles useOr lesser breeds without the law-Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget-lest we forget! ‘For heathen heart that puts her trustIn reeking tube and iron shard-All valiant dust that builds on dust,And guarding, calls not thee to guard-For frantic boast and foolish word,Thy mercy on thy people, Lord!Amen.” One by one the silent artillery of time sweeps us from the scenes of life’s strife. Short is the span of vital breath; quick comes the hour when our feeble forms are laid to molder in the dust. Soon we are forgotten. But the deeds which we have done are undying; they live on through all time as monuments of our greatness or our folly. The verdict of history is seldom unjust, and at its bar, as the cycles of the century speed on, we are all arraigned for trial. It was the task of our political forefathers, and nobly they performed it, “to possess themselves, and through themselves us, of this goodly land, and to up-rear upon its hills and its valleys a political ‘edifice of liberty and equal rights;’ ‘t is ours only to transmit these-the former unprofaned by the foot of an invader, the latter undecayed by the lapse of time and untorn by usurpation-to the latest generation that fate shall permit the world to know. This task, gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for our species in general, all imperatively require us faithfully to perform. “How then shall we perform it? At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean, and crush us at a blow?—Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. “At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, If it ever reach us, it must spring up among us; it can not come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time, or die by suicide .” These were the words of the immortal Lincoln. Now the crisis has been reached; the hour of temptation is here. Will it be a stepping-stone, or will it be a stumbling-block? Present proceedings indicate the latter. The burning question blazes up before us now: As a nation of freemen shall we live through all time, or shall we die by suicide? The heavenly seraph holds the scale in which the state is swinging. We are a spectacle not only unto the world, and to angels, and to men, but the ever-watchful eye of the Most High, who ruleth in the kingdom of men, is riveted upon the trembling indicator, nervously made to quiver on its course as events of weal or woe affect it. Which way the tide of our destiny shall set is now for us to decide. Once more let it be said that this is wholly a matter of choice, and not in any way a question of chance. The manifest destiny of the nation waits upon the actions of men, while expectancy sits on the brow of the universe. prus 109.null.null – PRUS 136.3
It looks like the Blob is starting to come around to the idea that maybe the U.S. approach to the Middle East for the last 20 years or so hasn’t been all that great.
Earnest movements have been made here in the Parliaments to have God acknowledged in the government of this nation. Earnest efforts have been made to prevent this, knowing that it meant nothing less than religious bigotry and oppression. When religion is mixed with civil government, it means much to Seventh-day Adventists. A union of church and state means a recognition of a spurious sabbath, and a failure to respect the conscientious observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. This movement, demanding that all observe as sacred an idol sabbath, resembles the act of Nebuchadnezzar in making a golden image, and setting it up for all to worship. In the interpretation of the king’s dream, Daniel had told him, “Thou art this head of gold.” Daniel 2:38. The dream was given the king to show him that earthly kingdoms were not enduring, but would pass away and be followed by the kingdom of the Prince of heaven, which should fill the whole earth. But Nebuchadnezzar determined to make an image like that which he had seen, only it was to be made all of gold. This idol of gold was to be a most imposing spectacle, and was to take the place of God, and be worshiped as God. The Sunday idol is set up as was this image. Human laws demand that it be worshiped as sacred and holy, thus putting it where God’s holy Sabbath should be. Men speak great swelling words, and exalt their power, placing themselves where God should be. Sitting in the temple of God, they strive to make themselves as God, showing themselves to be God. When Pilate said of Christ, “I find no fault in him,” the priests and elders declared, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die.” John 19:6, 7. As the advisers of Nebuchadnezzar hit upon the scheme of ensnaring the Hebrew captives, and causing them to bow to the idol by leading the king to proclaim that every knee should bow to the image, so men will strive today to turn God’s people from their allegiance. But the men who sought to destroy Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were themselves destroyed. Those who make cruel enactments, seeking to destroy, are destroyed by the recoil of their actions. When the power invested in kings is allied to goodness, it is because the one in responsibility is under the divine dictation. When power is allied with wickedness, it is allied to satanic agencies, and it will work to destroy those who are the Lord’s property. The Protestant world have set up an idol sabbath in the place where God’s Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason, I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country places, where they may cultivate the land, and raise their own produce. Thus they may bring their children up with simple, healthful habits. I see the necessity of making haste to get all things ready for the crisis. Petitions signed by thousands have been sent in, asking that the civil and religious interest be not blended. Those present in some of the large assemblies state that they witnessed the most disgraceful uproar and disorder. Clergymen professing to be in the service of God, uttered blasphemies. They care no more for the Bible and its holy teachings than do infidels. When men will lay aside a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” and accept human enactments, you may be sure that they are revealing the attributes of the great apostate. All false religions run counter to the commandments of God. Those who accept these religions have no inward purity and beauty. They depend on their position of authority to compel those who acknowledge God as their Creator and their Sovereign to bow to human enactments without a question. They depend upon outward display, upon outward beauty, trusting to its subtle influence upon the senses. When a church depends on parade, ceremonies, and display, be sure that inward holiness is wanting. To make up for the absence of the Spirit of God, to conceal spiritual poverty and apostasy, the outside is made attractive. Thus the Protestant churches are following the footsteps of Rome, depending not on Christ, the divine Teacher, but upon their ornaments and shrines. Embroidered altars and magnificent architecture attract and hold the senses. Thus men become entrapped by the enemy. So the great golden image, impressive and attractive, with beautiful music to charm the senses, did honor to the prince of darkness. The great men of Babylon are filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred because the three Hebrew captives had been exalted above the heathen servants of the king. This led them to long for revenge. When these three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to fall down and worship the golden image that had been set up, the report was brought to the king that the Hebrews had affronted him by their disregard for his command. The king sent for them, and with apparent surprise asked them if they had ventured to disregard his command by refusing to worship the image. He seemed to be ignorant of the fact that men could have a conscience stronger even than a king’s command. He did not think that they could refuse to obey when the alternative was so dreadful, and when to obey would bring them honor. But the Hebrew children calmly but decidedly refused to obey, declaring that they could not worship the image. They would not violate their conscience, even to obey the word of a great king. Conscience in regard to the things of God, is a sacred treasure, which no human beings, whatever be their position, have a right to meddle with. Nebuchadnezzar offered the Hebrews another chance, and when they refused it, he was exceedingly angry, and commanded the burning fiery furnace to be heated seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated. He told the captives that he would cast them into this furnace. Full of faith and trust the answer came, Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us; if he does not, well: we commit ourselves to a faithful God. Daniel 3:15-18. At this the king was exceedingly angry, and his actions were violent and furious. He ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be cast bound into the burning fiery furnace. But thank the Lord, He forgets not His own. As the faithful men were cast into the furnace, the Lord revealed Himself in person. Christ stood by their side, and all four walked in the furnace. The flames recognized the presence of Him who is mighty in power and efficiency. The Lord of heat and cold required obedience from nature, and the flames lost their power to consume. In Hebrews we read of those who by their faith quenched the violence of fire. Hebrews 11:34. The fury of the king was changed as he saw that the men who had cast Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace were themselves consumed, while the three Hebrew children were unhurt. The Hebrew youth had faith in God. The memory of the promises given by God through Isaiah about one hundred years before was revived in their minds: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Isaiah 43:2. The nobles saw the king’s countenance grow pale as he looked toward the furnace with an intense gaze. He was astonished, “and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come hither. “Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own.” Daniel 3:24-28. I have been interrupted in my writing. A young half-caste Maori sister, Miss Nicholas, who has embraced the truth, and a young man, the son of a Tahitian prince, who looks just like a Maori, have just come from Auckland on the boat that brought Brother Bond and his family, and Brother and Sister Brandstater, to Sydney. This Sister Nicholas has come to school to learn all she can. She wants to translate Steps to Christ and some of our works. We dare not for one moment turn her aside. They came only yesterday. We think that this son of a prince is thinking of remaining through the school term. He has been travelling all over the world. He has enough money to pay his own way. What will come of this remains to be seen. Sister Nicholas has embraced the truth. What we will do with her, we do not yet know. She dresses somewhat after the Maori fashion. She comes highly recommended by Brother Steed. She has no property, having given it all to her mother before she embraced the truth, and now her mother has disowned her, and will not let her have back a penny of the money she gave her. We must do everything free for her. 12LtMs, Lt 90, 1897, par. 13 – 12LtMs, Lt 90, 1897, par. 27
And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 2 Samuel:6:14-15
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. Matthew:11:16-17
THE DECREE
Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Daniel:3:4-6
Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Psalm:119:54
For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Matthew:14:4,6
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. Isaiah:42:21
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. 1 Kings:18:18
In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God, they deny the authority of the Law-giver. It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. By misrepresenting the attributes of God, Satan leads men to conceive of Him in a false character. With many, a philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the living God, as He is revealed in His word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The God of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists—the God of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions—is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia. No error accepted by the Christian world strikes more boldly against the authority of Heaven, none is more directly opposed to the dictates of reason, none is more pernicious in its results, than the modern doctrine, so rapidly gaining ground, that God’s law is no longer binding upon men. Every nation has its laws, which command respect and obedience; no government could exist without them; and can it be conceived that the Creator of the heavens and the earth has no law to govern the beings He has made? Suppose that prominent ministers were publicly to teach that the statutes which govern their land and protect the rights of its citizens were not obligatory—that they restricted the liberties of the people, and therefore ought not to be obeyed; how long would such men be tolerated in the pulpit? But is it a graver offense to disregard the laws of states and nations than to trample upon those divine precepts which are the foundation of all government? It would be far more consistent for nations to abolish their statutes, and permit the people to do as they please, than for the Ruler of the universe to annul His law, and leave the world without a standard to condemn the guilty or justify the obedient. Would we know the result of making void the law of God? The experiment has been tried. Terrible were the scenes enacted in France when atheism became the controlling power. It was then demonstrated to the world that to throw off the restraints which God has imposed is to accept the rule of the cruelest of tyrants. When the standard of righteousness is set aside, the way is open for the prince of evil to establish his power in the earth. Wherever the divine precepts are rejected, sin ceases to appear sinful or righteousness desirable. Those who refuse to submit to the government of God are wholly unfitted to govern themselves GC 583.1 – GC 584.3
Union of Church and State Produces Spiritual Poverty—Earnest movements have been made here in the Parliaments to have God acknowledged in the government of this nation. AUSTRALIA. Earnest efforts have been made to prevent this, knowing that it meant nothing less than religious bigotry and oppression. When religion is mixed with civil government, it means much to Seventh-day Adventists. A union of church and state means a recognition of a spurious sabbath, and a failure to respect the conscientious observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. This movement, demanding that all observe as sacred an idol sabbath, resembles the act of Nebuchadnezzar in making a golden image, and setting it up for all to worship. In the interpretation of the king’s dream, Daniel had told him, “Thou art this head of gold.” The dream was given the king to show him that earthly kingdoms were not enduring, but would pass away and be followed by the kingdom of the Prince of heaven, which should fill the whole earth. But Nebuchadnezzar determined to make an image like that which he had seen, only it was to be made all of gold. This idol of gold was to be a most imposing spectacle, and was to take the place of God and be worshiped as God. The Sunday idol is set up as was this image. Human laws demand that it be worshiped as sacred and holy, thus putting it where God’s holy Sabbath should be. Men speak great swelling words, and exalt their power, placing themselves where God should be. Sitting in the temple of God, they strive to make themselves as God, showing themselves to be God. When Pilate said of Christ, “I find no fault in Him,” the priests and elders declared, “We have a law, and by our law He ought to die.” As the advisers of Nebuchadnezzar hit upon the scheme of ensnaring the Hebrew captives and causing them to bow to the idol by leading the king to proclaim that every knee should bow to the image, so men will strive today to turn God’s people from their allegiance. But the men who sought to destroy Shadrach, Meshech, and Abed-nego, were themselves destroyed. Those who make cruel enactments, seeking to destroy, are destroyed by the recoil of their actions. When the power invested in kings is allied to goodness, it is because the one in responsibility is under the divine dictation. When power is allied with wickedness, it is allied to satanic agencies, and it will work to destroy those who are the Lord’s property. The Protestant world has set up an idol sabbath in the place where God’s Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason, I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country places where they may cultivate the land and raise their own produce. Thus they may bring their children up with simple, healthful habits. I see the necessity of making haste to get all things ready for the crisis. Petitions signed by thousands have been sent in asking that the civil and religious interests not be blended. Those present in some of the large assemblies state that they witnessed the most disgraceful uproar and disorder. Clergymen professing to be in the service of God utter blasphemies. They care no more for the Bible and its holy teachings than do infidels. When men will lay aside a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” and accept human enactments, you may be sure that they are revealing the attributes of the great apostate. All false religions run counter to the commandments of God. Those who accept these religions have no inward purity and beauty. They depend on their position of authority to compel those who acknowledge God as their Creator and their Sovereign, to bow to human enactments without a question. They depend upon outward display, upon outward beauty, trusting to its subtle influence upon the senses. When a church depends on parade, ceremonies, and display, be sure that inward holiness is wanting. To make up for the absence of the Spirit of God, to conceal spiritual poverty and apostasy, the outside is made attractive. Thus the Protestant churches are following in the footsteps of Rome, depending not on Christ, the divine Teacher, but upon their ornaments and shrines. Embroidered altars and magnificent architecture attract and hold the senses. Thus men become entrapped by the enemy. So the great golden image, impressive and attractive, with beautiful music to charm the senses, did honor to the prince of darkness.—Letter 90, 1897, pp. 5-8. (To Brother and Sister Lindsay, August 18, 1897). Satan’s Sophistry Turns Men Into Hard-spirited Religious Zealots—Every soul that believes is to connect with Christ and angels in saying, Come, whosoever will may partake of the water of life freely. But we look around us, and what do we see? Many churches erected, and worship going on in them formal and insincere. The heart is going after its idols. In the place of heart devotion, the Lord beholds apparent solemnity and formality. The attitudes and signs of devotion are performed. He hears men confessing their sins, but not repenting or forsaking them. He discerns an array of spiritual idols which engage the attention and in which men trust, supplanting God. He sees a system of maxims, customs, and false theories, which they tenaciously cherish, robbing Him of the honor due His name. The idols of the heathen stood between them and their God, obscuring God from their vision. Thus it is today. By the cunning deception of Satan false theories are made a power to rob God. Man’s spiritual understanding is darkened by Satan’s sophistry. Instead of religion’s making men meek and lowly in heart, it works to make them religious zealots, exacting and hard-spirited because their ideas are not met. Their religious ideas do not lead the soul to humble, fervent trust in God. False theories, wholly human, stand between them and their God. Their souls are wrapped up in their own preconceived opinions, separating them from all who differ with them, engrossing the soul in self. Shall not Seventh-day Adventists have a record differing entirely from this? The Lord declares that He will have the whole heart; for God is a Spirit, and all who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth and in the beauty of holiness. My brother, you need so much to have enlarged views. Then your light will shine. You will not try to shine; you cannot help shining.—Letter 29, 1898, pp. 4-5. (To Brother Sisley, January 11, 1898.) White Estate Washington, D. C., January 6, 1983. 12MR 218.2 – 12mr 222.null.null
Adventist Angels Watchman Radio 