| Summary: | Gospel Trumpet 1881-June 3, 1962, Vital Christianity June 10, 1962-Sept. 1996, One Voice June/July 2004-Apr/May 2007 P I And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a Trumpet and they shall gather to-gether his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matt. 24: 31. 0t4ENESS 1N Airxtintay4.1. So will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them oat of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. Ezelc. 34: 12. Jet. 32: 39, VOLUME XXII. MOUNDSVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA, U. S. A., THURSDAY, JULY 31, ' 1902. NUMBER 31 T HERE are two Greek words in the New Testament translated immor-tality: the first is lithoutotsia — death-lessnEss; the other is i tplith., rtwi, t-- in-corruptible, a3 defined in Young's con-cordance. Some are stumbling over healing and the resurrection being in the atonement, because they can not find an immortal Adam before the tall. The body of Adam was not immortal in itself'. That immortality of the body in the resurrection comes _ through Jesus Christ is the doctrine of the Bible. Je- 5tH says, " I am the resurrection and the life," " In Christ shall all be made alive." " Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him." Rom. 0: 9.• " Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light." 1 Thu. i;: 1 " And as concern-ing that he raised him up trom the dead, now no more to return to corruption." Acts 13: 34. Christ promised his dis-ciples that he would raise them up at the last day. See Jno. 6; 39, 40, 44, 54. " Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." 1 Cor. 15: 23. " It [ our body] is raised in in-' eorruption"— aphtharsia, immortal. 1 Cor. 15: 42. This is called " tiao redemp-tion of our body" in Rom. S: 23. The resurrection ot our bodies at the last day when the Lord . comes is spoken of by the Lord Jesus as " your redemption." See Luke 21: 27, 2S. " Grieve not the holy Spirit ot God, whereby ye are seal-ed unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4: 30- This can refer to none other than the coming of the Lord, the time when the dead are raiser incorruptible, im-mortal. That Jesus Christ and immortality to gospel is explicitly 1: 10, Jesus Christ, privilege and eaten of - the tree of life. " And the Lord said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the gar-den of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man," and placed there " a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Now to deny that this came upon the human family in consequence of Adam's sin is to flatly deny the clear teachings of the word of God. Thus we see that the privilege which God gave Adam of entering into the deathless state through eating of the tree of life was taken from him because of his transgression. Now the forgive-ness of sins and the privilege of becoming immortal comes to us through Christ. " BY MAN CAME DEATH." Not that Adam was immortal and that sin made him mortal, nor can we say that because Adam was mortal he would have died anyway, since he had the privilege to eat of the tree of life and live forever. Nor is man exempt from all the responsi-bility because God said, " Tinto dust shalt thou return;" also," It is appointed unto man once to die;" and again, " The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope." God had provided something better than death for the human family; it was his original intention " that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God;" but sin disqualified him for this, so God withdrew those privi-leges, which he would not have with-drawn if man had not sinned; hence " by man came death." This is not to be un-derstood in a spiritual sense, as the con-text shows " since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." 1 Cor. 15: 31. Paul says con-cerning the death and resurrection of the body, " It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory." 1 Cor. 15: 43. If man had been created on the plane of the lower animals with no privilege of living forever, it could not have been said of the death of the body that it is sown in " dishonor;" but man having sinned and consequently his privileges taken away, it is but a sensible conclusion that " it is sown in dishonor." Again, death is called an enemy— " For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Cor. 15: 25, 26. When Christ brings immor-tality in the resurrection he abolishes death, destroys it. The fear of death and the sting of death are removed by salvation; but death, which is an ene-my, ia not destroyed until immortality, the final redemption blessing, is realized. That the resurrection is a redemption blessing is objected to on the ground that sinners are also resurrected. This is a very poor objection indeed. One is called " the resurrection of life," and the other, " the resurrection of damna-tion," " shame and everlasting con-tempt." The resurrection of the vvicked is never set forth as a blessing; but the righteous are raised in glory, honor, power, incorruptible, fashioned like unto his glorious body. What a blessing! Such is declared to be " the redemption of the body." Amen. G. L. C. SAINTS. CIIRIST. OUR SUFFICIENCY. 2 Cor. 7: 9, 10. BY ABBIE LEE MEYERS SHALLERS. " My grace is sufficient for thee," The words of our Savior to Paul; lie gives them to you and to me, When tempted by Satan, to fall. If we on this promise rely, Then all will be well with the soul; No matter if trials toss high, And troublesome waves madly roll. 1 time we o'emotne through the word Of the wonderful Counsellor and Guide; Then from him great strength is transferred, " Made perfeet in weakness," when tried. If seek we the power of Clod, Infirmities then we should bear; And gladly, with glory, e'er laud Ilia name, and his power declare. Take pleasure in all that he wills— Reproaches, necessities, t, i; ( His promise, he always fulfils} Perseentions, distrust's, no few. Temptations and trials, we find As thorns in the path of the just: With victory thro' NM) they' re comhined, Dispelling all doubts and mistrust. Then, Christian, when dark seems thy way, And faith spreads her wings to take Hight; Remember that Christ is thy stay, And trust in his valor and might: • For, when I am weak, am I strong"— Thus ends Paul's s,. lii 0, 111y true. Oh! shout it in scrnnin and song, tiod's rower will carry us through. Immortality For the Body. our vile body, that it may be hioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Phil. 3: 21. This is " the redemption of the purchased possession" mentioned in Eph. 1: 14. " Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and your spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. 6: 20. The body is in the redemption purchase. It was the precious blood ot Jesus which bought us and we are not our own. And the re-demption of the purchased possession is the redemption of our body in the resur-rection, when it is made immortal. Im-mortality being gained in Christ it must have been lost in Adam, and if lost in Adam he must have had it conditionally. It was his privilege to partake of that which would bring him into a state of death] essness— athanasia, immortal. THE PROCUR/ NG CAUSE WAS THE TREE OF LIFE. There is never an effect without a cause; let us appeal to the word of God. " And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of lite, and eat, and live forever." Gen. 3: 22. " Live forever"— what is this but athanctsba, immortality? There is no speculation about this;- the effect of eating of the tree of life is clearly stated— LIVE FOR-EVER. It is not necessary at this point to conjecture as to whether Adam would have remained here in this world or been taken to heaven, had he partaken ot this tree of life and entered the deathless state. The tact is before us: it was his privilege to eat of the tree of life and live forever, thereby becoming immor-tal; the same thing which is now promis-ed in Christ, and which we have condi-tionally, as it is brought to light through the gospel, and we will experience the same in the resurrection of the body. While Adam had a mortal body, he had access to or the privilege of becom-ing immortal without dying and having to be resurrected; and to take this priv-ilege from him was to pass the death sentence, " Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." " It is appointed unto man once to die." It would have been unreasonable for God to have ut-tered these words and at the same time extended to Adam the privilege to eat of the tree of life and live forever. Those who have seen no immortality for Adam before the fall, have failed to comprehend the effect that would have been produced by eating of the tree of lite, also the privilege that man had to eat thereof. Such a doctrine would pluck out the tree of lite from the gard-en of Eden, and leave the mortal Adam on the mere plane of the lower animals, and deny that death was in consequence of the sin of Adam. No wonder that such a doctrine would attack the atone-ment of Jesus Christ, and deny both healing and the resurrection as redemp-tion blessings. Even atter Adam had sinned, it God had not interposed—" Drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cheru. bims, and a flam-n ing sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life"-- Adapt would doubtless have used his former hath brought life light through the declared in 2 Tim. " who shall change BY ORA HOWARD TEASLEY. T HE word mint means a holy person. Some people think there are no saints on earth; but by reading the Bible we find there are only two classes: saints and sinners. All that are saved and living free from sin are saints; and all that commit sin are sinners. Not all who profess to be saints are saints in reality; but only those who obey the Bible. The word " saint" some people very much despise, and declare they will never be a saint. But this is an individual name which God has given to his people; while as a body they are called the church of God. How ignorant some people are of the word of God: while they so despise the saints and hate them with such cruel hatred, they are not aware that their own dear little children are saints. Of course children who have become ac-countable for sin, and continue on in their naughtiness and sins, are no longer saints, but sinners; and unless they give their hearts to God and repent of their sins they will be lost, just like any other sinner. How sad this would be, to be lost, since Jesus has died for us that we might be saved! But some people would rather be lost than to be called a saint. Shame on all such! It Jesus is not ashamed to call as saints, we ought not to be ashamed to bear the name. We will now notice in the Bible that there are saints on earth. Rom. 1: 6,7 reads as follows: " A-mong whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: to all that be in Rome, be-loved of God, called to be saints." The city of Rome was not located in heaven, where some people imagine all the saints are; but it was located in Italy. So Paul was writing to saints on earth; and not in heaven. You will notice Paul says to the Roman brethren, that they were called to be saints. Where were they called from? Peter says: " But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priest-hood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should s pew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of dark-ness into his ' marvelous light." 1 Pete 2: 9. So they were called out of dark-ness. How were they called? Paul says: " Whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 2: 14. So they were called by the gospel out of darkness, to be saints. And the very same gospel that called them out of darkness to be saints is calling to- day, and it we obey it, it will make us saints, the same as it did those who were in Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, etc. All of God's children are saints, and you will find them spiritually located in Christ Jesus. Phil. 1: 1.- This is surely a very good place to be. The apostle Paul was not ashamed to 2540 2 THE GOSPEL TRUMPET. July 31, 1902. help, yea, an all sufficient Savior. Can I is that NVO Who labor to comfort and to be tried ones? It would almost lend inspi- Fir st of the. ration to their faith. On the other hand, 1 if you could not testify to what God had been to you, how could you encourage them? About all you could do would be to tell them • some other person's experi-ence but you could not say that you had let God prove himself true in your case, and second- hand encouragement does not always meet. the demand, and does not satisfy poor souls. if you can tell a vie-torious experience of your own, God's Spirit will carry it home to their hearts and make it like a healing medicine or ogooodd news from a far country. Oh, how it cheers the drooping heart to hear some one say they have passed through the same trial,' and the Lord was a suffi-ciency! It strikes fire to the depressed ones, and new courage springs up in their sad hearts. God sets the bounds of our usefulness just in proportion as we trust in and lean upon him for help; and in the same pro-portion we can be a help to others. We can only prophesy according to the proportion of faith. In I Pet. 4: 11, we are commanded: " lf any man minister, let him do it as of the alelity that God giveth." - Why has God commanded it thus? The latter portion of the sane verse explains it, " that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ."' We only- can encourage otLers as we let God encourage us. God gives us nee privilege to comfort others beyond what we let him comfort us. I am glad it is just this way, and that God will not let us palm off counterfeit on dear souls, and make as though we had an experience beyond what we have. It we would make out to people that God hail helped us out of difficulties that we had not al-lowed him to; that he had comforted us in some wonderful way when we had net given him a chance, we would be acting out a lie and puffing ourselves up in the eyes of the people. Salvation makes real, and keeps us from assuming to be what we are not. Praise the Lord! If we doubt and distrust God, and go through our trials bruised and mangled, how can we testify to God's mighty de- f livering and sustaining power. To try to comfort others when you have not been true yourself, in. like trials, ■ vould be much like the man that ran before ho was sent, who, when he was asked it he had tidings, could only say that he hail seen a great tumult. When we can come to the tried ones with " we k no w, " how it cheers them up and strengthens their faith. God uses our experi-ence ae stepping- stones for them, and in this way we are made helpers or each other's joy. if you are called to the bedside ot'a sick person, how much help can you be, if you have been sick your-self, and in the test doubted God and re-sorted to earthly remedies? If you have not had a successful experience in the trials and battles of life, what encourage-inent can you be to others? It is the same way with salvation. if you live an up- and- down backslidden most of the time, how much confidence will this inspire in the hearts of those seeking an experience? If you doubt the second work of grace and the power of God to cleanse oat the old nature, how much help can you be to those seeking to be wholly sanctified? You can readily see why God has planned that the husbandman must first o e partaker of the fruits. When people start out to preach or teach part of God's word which they have not expert enced or received the knowledge of by the Spirit of God, one thing is certain, they are not sent of God. Such are out of harmony with the Word. It there are in this reform, ministers trying to preach part of God's word which they do not believe themselves, they are surely not sent of God, and his blessings and approval will not rest upon their labors. God's plan, all the way through, be called a saint, for he said ' Jae was " less than the least of all saints." Eph. 3: 8. What a good promise the Lord has given to his saints, that the Holy sot% makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. But when those who are in sin pray to the Lord and they are unwilling to forsake their wicked ways, the Lord will not hear them. Silo. 9: 31. How much better it is to be a saint and live where we can please God and have our pray-ers answered, than it is to live in sin, where God heareth: us not. The Lord says he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Pzek. 33: 11. But speaking of his people he says: " Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Ps. 116: 15. No Time. W I- TEN pressing the claims of Biale study, closet prayer, family pray-ers, and many forms of Christiaa work, we are constantly confronted with the answer, " No time." Oh! what lies are told in this little phrase that so glibly tolls off the tongue! What hardened consciences unconsciously deny their Savior, as certainly as ever did Peter, as this ever- ready excuse slams the door of entrance into larger things into the face of Jesus! Oh, stop! do stop to think what it means. No time for Christ, that had time to - leave the glories of heaven, and time to spend thirty- three years on this sin-cursed earth until the plan of redemption was completed, and had time to bear all our sins and to bear all our iniquities and sicknesses even, had time to agonize and sweat blood in Gethsemane because of our sin and had time to be cruelly mocked and scourged and spat upon and beaten, and had time to be nailed to the cross and to die for our sins, and had time to lie in the grave three days and three nights, and had time to spend forty days in his glorified state that the fact of his resurrection might be given the most in-eontestible proofs, and had time to teach disciples that they might in turn teach others and they teach us, so that the mes-sage has come down to us. All this, and he has time to sit at the right hand of the Father and there to intercede in be-half of us, and he has time to prepare a place in glory for us that where he is there we may be also, and he has time to hear all our complaints and sorrows, and sympa-thize with us in every trial; and he will have time to come for us, that we may share in his glory in the ages to come. No time for Jesus? No time for the word of God? No time for the love messages of the Father who loved us so that he gave his only begotten Son? No time! I ! Time for eating, time for sleeping, time for pleasure, time for our friends, time for the newspaper, time for social amenities, time for study, time for bus-iness, time for rest, time for hooks; yes, plenty of time for all these things— things all right in their place but wrong when they crowd out God and his word and his work. These ought to have some place in our lives, but no one would dare plead them for an excuse to refuse to hear God speak and refuse his claims up-on us did we stop to think what our ex-cuses really mean. Time for gossip, time for dissipating pleasures, time for novels, time for loafing and idling, time for questionable amuse-ments, time for wordly organizations, time for the foul stream of politics; time for nameless things, nameless because of their number, and sometimes nameless because of their character; but no time for Gad! How all this " no time" soanals in the light of eternity! The devil has succeeded wonderfully in magnifying the material and perishing at the expense of the eter-nal and spiritual. This is true of both professor and worldling. No, beloved, it may sound harsh, but it is simply not " COMFORT." BY MARY COLE. THIS world has its share of sorrow, sadness, and misery; and no place to go for help. They want comfort but know nothing of the source of true com-fort. Sometimes they seem to get a temporary relief by pouring oat their hearts to one another; but it is not last-- hag, and, oh! how soon they are burden-ed down again. Truly it is as Jesus said, " In the world ye shall have tribu-lation;" but he also said, " In me ye shall have peace." The dear Lord knew the sad condition of things in this world, so he sent the Comforter. Jesus says: " If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but it 1 depart, I will send him unto you." Oh, what a priceless gift, but none comprehend the benefit or worth of him but those who receive him, and we can only receive him through the worthiness of Jesus. How much greater privileges have God's children than the children of the world. Yes, one of the offices of the Comforter is to comfort, and God's dear. ones have access to a consolation the world knows nothing about; and at the same time, when some of our dear breth-ren or sisters are passing through severe trials and God seems to have veiled his face from them, he gives us the privi-lege, in a sense, of being comforters to them. We are to comfort others with the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. This truly is a great privilege that our kind heavenly Father has given to us, his children. When we see dear souls in trouble and needing help, bow our hearts yearn to minister unto them. But did you ever stop to think that, if you had not proved true in' the trials you have been called to pass through, the dear Lord could not use us to minister to others in like trouble? The husbandman must first be partaker of the fruits. It would be impossible for you to Comfort others it you had not re-ceived comfort from God for yourself. If you had been buffeted, defeated, and cast down in your own trial, you could not tell dear souls how victoriously God had brought you through. But if you had stood true in the test and proven God to be a present help, then you could go to the tried ones in confidence, and with bold-ness tell them ' g hat a present help God had been to you, how he had proven himself a sufficiency to you and how you had come off more than conqueror. You had proven him when you were in the fire, and he had not forsaken you; but was just what you needed, a very present true. Now, be honest. Quit lying to God, to the Holy Spirit, and to yourself, and say plainly: " I do not want to. I have not enough love for the ' God who loved me, or the Holy Spirit who con-victs me of sin and has or is waiting to regenerate and sanctify me, or the Bible that feeds me, to forego any of these things for them." You will not dare say these awful things to God or man so glibly as you slip off the " no time" lie. Again, do you know that the ' no time" lie is robbing you of God's best for you? There is lying on your parlor table, . covered possibly with bric- a- brac, or somewhere in your house, that which is worth more to you than all the gold of the richest El Dorado yet discovered. There are heights of joy and peace and ministry compared with which the things of this world are but as filth and refuse, to be gotten rid of as quickly and inex-pensively as possible. What are things perishable compared with things eternal? What are things terrestrial compared with divine? As a matter of good business, we plead with you, do have time, do find time, do take time to hear the claims of God. As you would think of missing your meals, so little think of going a day without feeding upon the word of God. The rest will follow in order. Word and Work. you imagine how it would cheer up the a blessing to others in any way, must Bet Goti Supports His Preachers. GUI ) has pp osed to support es, at! p u preaelier that sends. 11 bile he uses the people and r e alls, tluzditit chietly the saved ones in supplying their needs, he is not. pleased to have them tie_ Lend 111 ■ 011 the people. Saints are geed folks. the' tes west eeyaersthoi n them preacher and that the church owes them a support Geld wants his work to move on the plane of bounty, zind not on that of ne. cessity. God eet the example; as a glise, he gave us his only begotten Son. Jens offered all his service willingly, e. tree. will offering, and before pouring out his li fe's blood he said: " Not my will, but All the gilts and graves, ith the Spir-thine, he dime.– it which imparts them, are o crud without money old ithout price. hen send-ing ■ nie his first chosen preachers he said. " Freely ye have received. freely give." Ile has never changed or deviated from this principle, Mel places the principle of liberality in every new- born soul, but he Nvanti them to cultivate the same, " Given to hospitality:" " Distri, Inning to the necessity ot saints:" – Give and it shall be given unto sou'' Agein we ars, taught how to give: ' Ter it' I: lore he tirst mind, it is ac-cepted according to that a man ! lath, and not acetirding tit that, he bath Every men it• eel- dine as he purposeth his heart, so lit him give; not grudging-ly, der of necessity: fur ( 1011 luveth a chheeeerrff uul believe them) are texts el ' t ripture given for the edifying of the church and not tor the gratifying or the ministry. Iflien ( 11) d wants tto enforce, ) vt., anei t iristtan liherality and servcie upen the church, tied forbid that his preachers should use the saute as a clunk - of ceveteusness. NN hen Paul used them stirring scriptures to awaken the church to activity, he plainly tolls theta: . Neither have I written these tiring that it should he so done unto Ina." I ( Air. " Ertl so bath the Lord or-dained that they ‘ ehich preach the: 4% mM should. live. of the gospel. – I Cur. 0: 14. Tie Church at Cerinth theught because Paul and Parnabas supported themselves by manual labor, that it, was through necessity, teat they did nut have power with God to cleitu a support otherwise, to Wh3ch Paul replies: " Or I only and Barnabas, have we nut power to forbear working? V; ho goeth a, warfare any time at his own charges:. who planteth a vineyard and eateth not of the fruit • thereof? or who feedet h a flock and eateth not of OH milk of the flock?" 1 Cot•. ten, T. " If we have sown unto you spiritual . things, ie it a greet thing if we shall reap your carnal things? It others be partakers of this power over von, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; I make the gospel of Christ without charge that I abuse not my power in the gospel." 1 Con 9: 11,12. This is a very important lesson, and one among the first to be learned by every God - sent preacher— that jointly with gifts for service and authority to minister the word of life, there is also given power to claim a full temporal support while rendering obedient service.' Power with God, and in favor with the people, gives an inward confidence that huereed- htyos tuie; s commissioned us will es-l ife while wholly r: f. weinthgatgbeLeiniencebsissarIiie, os Hear the commission that was given 10 the firrsstt y preachers whom Jesus sent' e have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your j ourney, neither two coats, neither shoes nor yet staves: for the workman is wee thy of his meat." Mat. 10: 8- 10. IV hen they returned Jesus asked them, ME GOSPEL TRITMIPET. king Saul. Twice at least during this time, God, to test David, placed Saul wholly in his power, but he would not put forth his hand to avenge himself, knowing that in his own time God would justify him before all men and, if not, he was still willing to leave the matter in God's bands. David was a most lovable and lovely cheracter, well worthy of imitation in many respects; but some one will say, " David sinned as well as Saul." Oh, true; but notice, will you, the difference in the two men? I have called attention to how Saul did on a certain occasion; now turn to David and see how he behav-ed when. convicted of sin. How he hum-bled himself; he thought not of what others might think of him, he only thought of what God thought of him and acted accordingly. He acknowledged his sin; made what reparation he could., and God forgave him and honored him by promising that his seed should reign over God's people forever, which is fulfilled to- day in Jesus, " the Christ." And herein we find fulfilled the Word where it says; He that honoreth me will I honor, but he that regardeth me not shall be lightly esteemed. So God's word is ful-filled in both. We find that the disobedience of Saul was also far- reaching in its effects, for in the time of Esther, over five hundred years after, we find a descendant of this' same Agag plotting the destruction of the Sews in all the East country. So we can see that while obedience has its compensations and is far- reaching, at the same time we can never know where our disobe di pace will find its culmination. So let us all get closer to Jesus and let him teach and help us to be obedie t in all things. The lives of Saul and David running side by side as they do, give us the most complete example of the effects of obe-dience and disobedience, both in the in-dividual and in its far- reaching character. Oh, that all would take the lesson to heart and study to live humbly before God in all things and at all times. God, send this as encouragement to some heart that has almost fainted by the way, and may it be a warning to others, that the effects of disobedience do not end with themselves, Amen. I HAVE felt impressed for sometime to pen a few lines on the subject of liber-ality. A subject which I believe to be of vital importance to every child of God. First I would say that 1 do not write this article from any selfish motive, nor have I any complaint to offer whatever; " for 1 have learned, in whatsoever state I am; therewith to be content." And in stir-ring up the pure minds of those who are negligent on the line of giving to God's cause, I do not wish to depreciate the liberality of some others who are doing all they can. God's people are the most liberal, free-hearted, and self- sacrificing people on earth; but there are some professing to know God who do not only neglect to put forth an effort on this line, but go to the extreme of stinginess. I have seen in the same congregation those who would do all they could to help the ministers of God, and those who would even charge a minister for doing some small piece of work which should have been done as un-to the Lord. My brethern, these things should not be so! While God does not want his ministers to preach for salary, he does say, " They that preach the gospel shall live of the gospel." The more we move : out by faith the more the Lord will bless us, and he does not only require the minis-ters to move out on his promises, but he requires the church universal : to " have faith in God," for healing, for keeping July 31, 1902. " Lacked ye anything? and they said. ■ Cothin es" Luke 22: 35. Tuis was a good test and effectual in teeching them the simp licity of depending on God to supply their every need, And they lacked nothing. I have gone into commuRities where there were a goodly number ef saints, Tell supplied with this world's goods, and I expected a goodly exhibit of liter-ality. I was looking to the saints in-stead ot looking to God and 1 was let down every time. I have gone into poor districts where there were scarcely any saints and they very poor, and I would fix my eyes directly on God and refuse to look at my surroundings, take God's word and believe it, and how wonderfully he would open up his – good treasure and give it graciously. I learn-ed my ! won, rich and poor are alike to me now. God is the one to depend on, not man, nor do I wish to feel that my ser-vices had placed any one under obligation to give to me. It the one served feels the obligation, that is enough. W e should ever feel that it is a matter of bounty both on God's part and on the part of the church as well. ( sod does not want us as preachers to feel that, God or man is in debt to us because we are preachers, or have been used of God; but feel unworthy of the smallest favor, and kind remembrances shown to us. God pity the preachers w ho have not learned their power in the gospel, and have to quit their ministerial service and work with their hands, thus entangling themselves with the affairs of this life. There may he instances Ivhere God is pleased to have man preach and work at manual labor at the same time, when the latter does not detract trout the former. Paid and others have done so with good results. But leaving the word of God to serve tables, is not pleasing to God. Preachers totting into debt while Ilreach-ing the gospel, then having. to quit and work for awhile with their hankie to get out of debt, then preach themselves into debt again, and so on, is no improve-ment over the hireling system of Bab-ylon. Surely such are livithr beneath their privileges in faith and trust; of course it is but natural to 0. XMISt3 one's self when in such a condition. But with all, the facts remain the same, mountains of unbelief and distrust are piled up be-tween the preacher and his God. We are willing to make a degree of allowance to such as might have been mistaken in their calliw r. It is not rike-ly that God will vest those with power to claim a support whom he has not call-ed or who have missed their calling. Be-cause God has given a desire to he of ser-vice in winning souls to Christ, is not al-ways an evidence that God wants them to run as evangelists. It men try to fill some place that God has never assigned them, he will not be responsible for their support until they find the place where God wants them. The g ifts and call-ings of God need to be set forth more explicitly, sou edi t and exercised more definitely, so men may not labor under mistakes of calling, etc. But those who know their place and unJerstaad their calling, but fail to trust God and are hampered perpetually because of financial drawbacks, need a general waking up on this line. Jesus has promised an ' hundredfold in this world to those who have forsaken all to follow him. Now if his prom-ise has failed or were onl y for those of apostolic da ys, and cannot be relied Upon now, we should all understand it that way. God is just as able to su P-port his preachers now as he was in the Past; nor s he partial, lavishing much upon some and leaving others in a pov-erty- stricken condition. Since there is a greater blessing promised to the giver than to the one receiving, I do not think that God wants to put his preachers down on beggars' rations; never having any thing to give, etc. God will never hinder a preacher from giving if he wants to and purposes in- his heart so to do. He gives me ' as much privilege to give now as when I worked on the farm, and the same kind of bless-ings go along with it. Jesus was not speaking from proverbs when he said: " It is more blessed to give than to re-ceive," he was doubtless speaking from experience, as he was ever giving to the poor, etc. See Acts 20: 35. J. no. 13: 29. The preachers are ensamples to the flock and are to be given to hospitality. See 1 Tim. 3: 2. Tit. 1: 8. A preacher that never gives and never - has anything to give, is a poor example of trust,. faith, liberality, hospitality, etc. The preach-ers are moving out now more than any time in the past, and we would not dis-courage them in the least regarding this matter; be encouraged, brother, if you can trust God easier to- day than at - any time in the past, thank God and be cheer-ful. Look up! there is land ahead, your best days are at hand if you will only launch out and let God give you his best things, which will delight him, as it is his nature to give. " He will withhold no good thing from those that walk upright-ly." " Give, and it shall be given unto y ou; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6: 3S. Amen, G. L. C. and for the spread of the gospel at home and abroad. God is richly blessing this present truth and we most certainly know that this work is the work of God; but God wants our hearty co- operations in spreading this blessed light. In the last few years God has led thousands into the pure light of the gospel, especially in America; but, dear brethren, I be-lieve the time is near at hand, yea, is upon us when God will require a more earnest effort on our part, not only to spread the gospel in America, but also to send it to foreign lands. It should not be considered out of God's order, but our duty and God's will to have a fund and to contribute liberally to the same, to send men to foreign _ fields_ to plant this blessed truth. Paul made it a rule that when a con-gregation was raised up and increased in taith, they- should enlarge him to preach the gospel in the regions beyond them ( 2 Cor. 10: 15,16), not only by living a g od-ly life, tut doubtless with their finance. This is a most excellent rule, and it every church would take the responsibility up-on itself of opening up the work in some new field, how quickly the light would spread. I have in mind a dear trother who recently took the turden upon him - salt to help send the truth to a new place. After consulting a minister s-tout the place he was turdened for, prayer was offered and God led definite-ly to go, and to- day the work is tieing opened up rapidly in that place and souls are teing saved. In this ease the man who helps to tear the financial harden is just as traly saving souls as: the man who is doing the preaching. 1 have noted that those who first get a good experi-ence themselves and then become inter-ested in sending the truth to others, nearly always prosper spiritually. Every child of God is filled more or less with a missionary spirit, and any who are void ot a turning desire to see others saved and to see this reformation spread to all the world, had Letter heed the admonition of Paul—" Examine yourselves, whether ye to in the faith." 2 Cor. 13: 5. God has a complete and effectual financial system; tut Le the system ever so complete, if it is not car: rigid out in every detail it is most likely to fail to accomplish the eood- that it would otherwise do. The Jewish system was to give a tenth, and the gospel sys-tem is a much - Letter one; however, I often wonder it we always give as much even as the Jewish system required. I most sincerely believe that if any man a-mOng us were to give even one tenth to the cause and put it to actual work for God in sending out pure literature and supporting Holy Ghost ministers, more would be accomplished within the next year than we can conceive of, and yet God requires more than this. God's system of giving is to lay by in store— not for self but for God— on the first day of the week as he has prospered us. Sep 1 Cor. 16: 1,2. Brethern, this is not merely suggestive, but God expects us to live to this part of the Bible as well and as strictly as any other part. Every church and every individual that does not lay in store as God prospers does not only miss the blessing mentioned in Mal. 3: 10, but declines to do what God has commanded and must consequently suffer spiritual dearth. Should any Israelite earn ten dollars in a week, at the end of the week one dollar would belong to God; should he succeed in earning one hundred dollars, ten would be God's part. Dear reader, have you earned ten dol-lars in the past week? 11 so how much have you given to God? Have you earned only ten cents? According as God has prospered you, you are indebted to him; not a tenth, but as Gad has pros-per6d. God in this dispensation does not bind us to give a stipulated sum, but he wants us to have ' that burning love for Christ and souls that will make us self-sacrificing, open hearted, and liberal. " God loveth a cheerful giver." LIBERALITY. BY D. 0. TEASLEY. OBEDIENCE. BY F. J. 1tEIFER. THE wonderful results of obedience to God's law were never made so plain to me as they were lately while reading the history of the first two kings of Israel. Saul, when first called to the position he so little honored, was very small in his own sight, and tried to ' hide away from God and the people when they came to honor him. For a short time, in some small things he carried out , the instructions given him, but a testing time was coining that would show whether he was worthy of the great trust reposed in him. God saw that the time had come to destroy that wicked nation that had withstood him and his people in the wilderness, and sent Saul to do it, to exterminate them root and branch; he was not even to take any spoil of them; but to destroy it all, that their remem-brance might he blotted out from under heaven. But see what he did and how he prevaricated when Samuel came to him on his return from the war. When the prophet showed him the sin he had committed, he tried to place the blame on those under him, saying the people did it. But the prophet proved that he alone whs responsible, that he was in command . and that disobedience was as the sin of witchcraft. Saul re-plied: " I have sinned," • yet _ go down with me that I may sacrifice to the Lord your God. But Samuel turned away from him, when Saul, as it were, tried to compel him to go with him and honor him before the people; he caught hold of him and in so doing tore his mantle. Samuel then told him that God had rent the kingdom from him and had given it to his neighbor, who was better than he. W hen it was evident that Saul thought more of the honor which cometh from man, than he did of that which cometh from God'only, Samuel returned with him to do sacrifice. From this time Saul begins to decline, and soon another character appears upon the scene in the form of, a humble shepherd lad, whom at first Saul highly honored; but afterward in many ways and many plac-es tried to kill, knowing that God had given him the kingdom which he had torfeited by his disobedience. But David increased in honor both with God and man, though for years he had to live the life of an outcast, and outlaw, being driv-en hither and thither by the armies of 2541_ 3 2542 July 31,', ti to devour her child as soon as it was band— Christ— he gave unto her, and THE fiOSPEL TRUMPET. Moundsville, W. Va., July 31, 1902. A WEEKLY HOLINESS JOURNAL. Entered et the Post- office at Moundsville, W. Va., as Second- class Metter. E. E. BYRUM Editor. A. L. BreRs Office Editor. Contributing Editors: H. M. RIGGLE, CHAS. E. ORR, J. C. BLANEY, J. W. BYERS, GEO. L. COLE. Published by GOSPEL TRUMPET PUB. CO, DEFINITE, RADICAL, and ANTI- SECTARIAN, sent forth in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the publication of full Salvation, Divine Healing of the body, and the Unity of all true Christians in " the faith once delivered to the saints." Subscription price, postage paid, United States, Canada, and Mexico, - - WO. England, - 6s. 2d. Germany, 6 marks 18 pt. igjr- All Subscriptions must be paid in Advance. In about two weeks after your subscription is re-ceived, receipt and credit of same will be shown by the address label attached to your paper or wrapper, pro-vided the subscription is for more than three months. Business Communications, moneys, etc., must be addressed to GOSPEL TRUMPET PUB. CO., MoorlDsviuh, W. VA. to insure credit: otherwise we will not be responsible. Love makes the burden light. Purity is the gateway to peace and paradise. True righteousness is not an act; but a principle from right acts pro-ceed. There is a righteousness that is of no greater value than " filthy rags." It brings but little compensation in time and none in eternity; it is self-righteousness. Beyond the dark river of death, we are told, are gates of gold that open to the fields of heaven. This is a fab-ulous story. There are no gates of en-trance into heaven over on eternity's shore. It is here in this time- world that the doors to the kingdom of God are open, and if you fail to enter here you will be closed out forever. It is every day demonstrated that man desires to live long and be hap-py. The following prescription if • carefully followed will insure both these: " He that will love life and see good days, let • him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile; let him eschew evil and do good; let him seek peace and ensue it." 1 Pet. 3: 10, 11. C. E. 0. TUE STATE HENRY CASE. Sometime ago a statement was pub-lished that State Henry would be ex-ecuted Aug. 1st, - unless in some way overruled by Providence. New evi-dence concerning his innocency is com-ing to light, and the Governor has granted him, a respite of six weeks, thus extending the time of execution until about Sept. 12. So far as law is concerned, his only hope is- now through the Governor alone. RAILROAD PERMITS. For instructions regarding railroad per-mits see Gospel Trumpet of July 3, 1902. A. B. Palmer. Revelation 12: 1- 6. 44AND there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great read dragon, hav-ing seven heads and ten horns, and ' Sev-en crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the wo-man which was ready to be delivered, born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness. where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three-score days." It may be a question in the minds of some, why these wonders appeared in heaven. This is made plain by refer-ence to the fourth chapter. John look-ed arid saw a door open in heaven, and a voice said, " Come up hither, and 1 will shew thee things which must be hereafter." John_ testifies : " Immedi-ately I was in the Spirit : and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne," etc. Thus John while in the Spirit saw, in vision, a panora-ma of symbols of things which were in reality to take place upon earth pass before him. The great wonders that appeared before him, were to reach a fulfilment in reality upon earth, yet John saw them in symbols. The woman here brought to view sig-nifies the New Testament church. The church of God in. Scripture is seen as a bride, " the lamb's wife." " He that hath the bride is the bride-groom : but the friend of the bride-groom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy there-fore is fulfilled." John 3: 29. " For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones'. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Eph. 5: 30- 32. " For I am jealous over you with Godly jealously: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Cor. 11: 2. These with many other scriptures set forth the fact that the church is compared to a woman— a bride— the wife of Christ. In the foregoing she represents the church- of God in its primitive glory, purity, and unity. She was clothed with the sun— a strik-ing emblem of Jesus Christ, the sun of righteousness, the light and glory of the church. The church was clothed with his righteousness, which is repre-sented in the same apocalypse by " fine linen, clean and white." See Rev. 19: S. She was clothed with his holiness, with the beautiful garments of salva-tion. The result was that she was a pure church. She was clothed with his power; for to her he said, " Behold I give unto you power to tread on ser-pents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy." Thus she was equipped to battle the hosts of hell; and this power was manifest in the sal-vation of sinners, the sanctification of believers, and the healing of the sick of all manner of diseases. She was clothed with his authority and judg-ments. The result was that " with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." " And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things." " And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them." Upon her head a crown— ah, she sat a queen! Her husband— the glor-ious Lord— is the King of heaven- " King of kings, and Lord of lords." He ascended into heaven " crowned with glory and honor," and now reigns over all heaven and earth. But his wife — the church— shares his royal honor. She reigns a " kingdom of priests.'' The same glory which crowns her hus-thus she was crowned. " And the glory which thou gayest me I have given them"— a kingdom of peace. A crown upon her head signifies that the church reignswith Christ upon his throne of love and holiness. She reigns over sin, Satan, and the world. The twelve stars in her crown signify the twelve apostles of the Lamb. They adorned the fair brow of the early church. Her travail in birth and pain to be deliver-ed was fulfilled in the earnest labor and sriffering of the pristine church, for the salvation of men. As a true wife she joined heart and soul with Christ in the great cause which drew him to earth. The earnest travail of the early church is well expressed by one of her chief apostles in the follow-ing words: " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.' ' Rom. 9: 1- 3. " Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved." Rom. 10 : 1. Such earnest labor and desire brought forth fruit unto God. Sons and daughters were born into the fam-ily. " And she brought forth a man child." After admitting that this wo-man represents the church of God, Advent fiction teaches that this man child is Christ. Such is inconsistent. The church is not Christ's mother. He is its founder and builder. She is his wife; hence, Christ is the father of this child. The child must represent that which the church brought forth as a result of her earnest travail and labor. This would certainly be that great host of children brought forth in the gospel morning. Inspiration tells us plainly what the man child stands for. " Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing'? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a na-tion be born at once? for as soon as Zion travaileth, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her : rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her : that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolation; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees." Isa. 66 : 7- 12. The prophets saw Zion delivered of a man child. In wonderment, he cried out, " Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such a thing?" In the next breath he explains the mystery " Shall the earth be made to b brine' forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once'?" Yes; " as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her chil-dren." This makes the matter clear. The man child represents a nation of children born at once, in one day. In admiration we see the fulfilment on the day of Pentecost, one hundred twenty of the early bride prevai lTiinngg with God, and in one day a nation of three thousand children were brought forth. A few days later the number increased to not less than ten thousand. thous soon multiplied into the hundred ands. At Antioch alone there were about one hundred thousand. What a mighty nation of children th' ailed them " a holy nation." church brought forth. Lisp c for a time like they would fin tie, In Paul's letter to the Ephesi states that the great host of J Gentiles born into the church made one in his blood, reconcile God in one body constitute " eime new man." Eph. 2 : 15. This is them child, just as the great host of apostatet who set themselves up during the Christian era are called " the mail of sin." 2 Tiles. 2: 3. But it may be objected that this mail child was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. True, and sstoodneidofthiltsti They were the very which became a great mountain tad filled the earth, and smashed the heath: en kingdoms to pieces. Such was true of early Christianity. It was propli6.- sled of this host by Daniel—" Bat tliff saints of the most high shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for-ever, even forever and ever." Dan. 7: 18. In Rev. 2: 26, 27 we read: " He that overeometh, and keepeth my words un-to the end, to him will I give power over the nations : and he sh all rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shiv-ers : even as I received of my Father." — For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." This represents the glorious tri-umphs of the early church. The break-ing of the nations into shivers, and rul-ing them with an iron rod is identical with the stone of Dan. 2— breaking in pieces and consuming the brass, iron, silver, and gold until no place was found for them. Those heathen na-tions were consumed before the onward march of Christianity. The iron rod of the gospel broke them to pieces. But it is said that John saw another wouder--- . a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." This drag-on represents Rome under the Pagan religion. She was truly a dragon power. its color— red— denotes ill bloodthirstiness. Its seven heads denote the seven supreme forms of govern-ment which in succession ruled the em-pire. They were as follows: The regal power, the dictatorship, the decemvir-ate, the consulor, the triumvirate, the imperial, and the patriciate. The crowns on its heads denote that these forms of government were the ruling powers of the empire. The ten horns of the dragon represent the ten king-doms which grew out of the Roman empire. They were the Huns, the Os-trogoths, the Visigoths, the Franks, the Vandals, the Suive, the Burgundians, the Herule, the Anglo Saxons, and the Lombards. The tail. of the dragon sig-nifies the latter end of his reign. The casting down of the stars doubtless re-fers to the thousands of bright lumi-naries who were martyred during the reign of heathen Rome; for it is said that the dragon stood before the woman to devour her child as soon as it was born. How awfully true! Just as fast as men accepted the Christian faith the Pagans were ready to devour them. Such were the bloody days of the church under Pagan Rome. However, Christianity spread so rapidly and the gospel had such a crushing effect that Rome finally tottered and fell. — the great host of saints, who were marching But what became of that holy Bali" on from the earth. The child was caught onwardd victoriousover every thweayr suddenly disappeared up to God, and to his throne. They ascended to paradise, iniquity while flooded darkness superstitiont he, earth. The brilliant light of Christi-ana- 3r was eclipsed by t] anrkness Of July .31, 1902. THE k T. ,2543 the apostasy. " The woman fled into the wilderness." This wilderness signi-fies the great apostasy into which the church went. It is a fact that the apos-tasy rapidly developed at the end of the pagan persecutions. The 1260 days signifies so many years. Num. 14: 34; Ezek. 4: 6. They extend from the third century to the sixteenth, when the reformation brought out the church into clearer light. Amen. H. M. R. God at this moment for the truth of the gospel of our Lord and SaviorJes-us Christ. May God bless these few lines to encourage dear souls to be true to him and his cause. „ Amen Questions Answered. Ques. Please explain Mat. 5: 32. M. M. Ans. The text reads : " But I say un-to you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of forni-cation, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." This text simply sets forth the fact in the law of Christ that to put away, a com-panion for any other cause than forni-cation is wicked and forbidden. The only cause for which a man may put away his wife is the one above stated. In the New Testament fornication and adultery are usually synonymous. To marry a divorced person or one put a-way is to commit adultery. I presume the point desired to be explained ful-ly, is the clause where it states that if a man put away a wife for any other cause, he " causeth her to commit adul-tery.' It does not seem proper to say that a man, by putting his wife corn— away, necessarily causeth her to nit lewdness. The following trans-lations seem to render this more cor-rectly. " Maketh her an adulteress." New Version. " Causeth her to be made an adulteress." Rotherham. This makes it clear that he makes her such in the eyes of the people. Since the New Testament makes that sin, the only just cause of separation, by a man putting away his wife, even though she were innocent, he exposes her to the public name of an adulteress. Hence, the enormous sin in the sight of God, of thus treating an innocent WOMan. Ans. A careful reading of this scripture in connection with the pre-vious verse seems to indicate that when the earth did quake, and the rooks rent, at the instant of Christ's death, the graves were opened. And three days later at the time or after Christ's res-urrection some bodies of saints arose out of their graves and entered Jeru-salem, and were seen of many. Some have inferred from this that this is the first resurrection, and that all the saints arose at that time with glorified bod-ies. Such is erroneous. During Christ's earthly ministry, and later, the dead. were raised by the power of God. But not with immortal bodies. They all died again. So with those who arose at the resurrection of Christ ' This is proved by the fact that Christ " only hath immortality." That is, Christ is the first " born from the dead." The " first fruits." He alone has arisen with an immortal body. Death hath no more dominion over him. Ques. Please explain Luke 21: 32. What is meant by " this generation"? Does it mean those who lived just prior to Christ's second coming? H. J. M. ADS. Generation has different mean-ings; among others, genealogy; a se-ries of children or descendants from the same stock; a race.— Webster. In this chapter the Lord foretells the awful calamity which befell the Jew-ish people. The utter destruction of their city and polity, and almost an-nihilation of them as a race of people, This all came to pass in A. D. 70. But as Matthew records it, Jesus shortens the days of that tribulation for " the elect's sake." He desired to preserve a remnant, a seed of the Jewish people, until the end. Hence, he assures us that this generation— race of people would not pass away until the end. The ews were not to cease being a distinct people, till all the councils of God rel-ative to them and the Gentiles be ful-filled. Though scattered among all na-tions they are yet a distinct people, a preserved generation, and will con-tinue so to the end. This is what Jesus meant. However it was literally true with respect to the awful destruction of Jerusalem. That generation lived to see " all things which are written," fulfilled in the great tribulation which came upon the Jews. Ques. Please explain Mat. 24: 40, 41. When will that division take place? J. J. P. Ans. We will quote in full with the context : " But of that day and hour knoweth no ism; no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father Gaily. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marry-ing and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the com-ing of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." The time here referred to is the " coming of the Son of man." At the instant of his coming all the righteous will be " caught up to meet the Lord in the air." See 1 Thes. 4: 13- 17. Those left will be all the wicked, who immediately after the judgment will depart into an everlast-ing hell, while the earth and the works in it will be burned up. This all takes place in the last day ( John 6: 11, 54; 2 Tim. 4: 1; John 12 : 48.) — the day of the Lord. 2 Pet. 3: 10. E. K. Ans. This text is wrested in defense of the heresy of the annihilation of the wicked. Adventists consider it their strong hold. However it teaches no such a thing. The day that was to burn as an oven, was to be ushered in by the coming of Elias. Verses 5 and 6. This was fulfilled in John the Baptist. Mat. 11 : 13, 14. His ministry was the be-ginning of the gospel. Mark 1: 1- 4. So the gospel day is referred to as the day of salvation. Ala through the Prophets this dispensation was fore-told as a day of fire. • Isa. 9: 5- 7. Let us tarn to the New Testament and see its fulfillment. " And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees : there-fore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than 1. whose shoes I am not worthy to bear : he shall ' baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire : whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and. gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. 3: 10- 12. " I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kind-led." Luke 12 : 49. This is the day that burns as an oven. The Holy Spirit fire is a consuming fire. The Word or gospel of the kingdom is a fire. The following scriptures explain the man-ner in which the proud and wicked are burned up : " The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites . Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burning?" Isa. 33: 14. " Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye seek this word, be-hold, I will make my) words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them." Jer. 5: 14. The very language of Mal. 4, proves that the whole is metaphorical. " The wick-ed shall be stubble." Surely this is not literal. Will the wicked be turned into literal stubble ? never. That very day was to be ushered in by the Sun of righteousness arising with healing in his wings. Verse 2. This has clear ref-erence to Christ's first advent. Ques. Would it be wrong for saints to hire sectarian women to sew for them, knowing that they give their means to their preacher? E. T. Ans. No. To lay down such a rule would be extremely fanatical. You would not dare to hire a man to labor for you because he gave some of his means to a sectarian preacher. You are not accountable for how he spends his or her money. Some folks get a notion that to be a separate people we must not associate with any but Chris-tians. The separation the Bible de-mands is in spiritual matters. " Have no fellowship." " Come out from a-mong them." " From such turn away." These texts apply to our spiritual re-lations, not our temporal. God wants you to act friendly and neighborly to those around you, regardless of their belief. Be kind, courteous, firm, true, neighborly. Do them a good turn when you can. Visit them when they are sick. Act like a saint should. Use wisdom when you talk with them. Do not be harsh and drive at them all the time. Live the life before them. Make them know you are a true saint and a good neighbor. Don't compromise the truth. Tell it in all love, yet be radical. If you do this you will wield an influ-ence for good in your neighborhood. You will have the confidence and re-spect of the people. They may perse-cute you, but you can command their confidence. When they get into trou-ble, you will probably be the first one sent for to help them gut. The reason so many people have no neighbors is because they do not act. the part of a neighbor or Christian. Ques. . I have read Bro.
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