REFERRING to the announcement that appears regularly on the second page of the "Herald," regarding Associated Bible Students Classes addressed by Pilgrim brethren, some have recently inquired if all the Classes using that designation Associated Bible Students are to be considered as belonging to the Institute. Our reply to the query is that it is not a question of a Class belonging to the Institute, and that at there are no Classes controlled by the Institute in any sense. It is well to keep in mind the general facts: Soon after the general crisis was reached amongst Bible Students, about twelve years ago. the friends in various parts formed new Classes, and the question arose as to what general name would be used to distinguish them from their former association. After due consideration, the friends in general decided to take the name Associated Bible Students as this was one that Brother Russell had recommended and that seemed in every way appropriate. Then, as this arrangement known as the Pastoral Bible Institute, was composed of brethren who were members of the different Classes of Associated Bible Students in nearly all parts of the country, it was the most logical proceeding, therefore, that in referring to the Classes in the "Herald," they should be called Associated Bible Students, inasmuch as nearly all the Classes with whom we are in communication and who desired the ministry of the Institute, go by that name.

But that does not mean that all Associated Bible Students belong to the Pastoral Bible Institute for as a matter of fact, it is not as Classes that any belong to the Institute, It is altogether an individual matter of becoming identified with this association. The Institute proper is made up of brethren in various parts who desire to be associated together in this way for mutual comfort and upbuilding in holy things. The Institute has never urged its ministry upon any, nor are any of the brethren who travel as Pilgrims directed to any Class that has not requested their services. Nor does the fact that a certain city is included in the Pilgrim Brother's itinerary always mean that he is to serve the Class of Associated Bible Students of that city. It does signify, however, that there are "Herald" subscribers in that city who have indicated their desire for the services of our traveling brethren. The Institute stands ready to render any kind of service it can in the way of assisting and encouraging the brethren in the Christian life and ministry. But it has nothing to do with the affairs or the management o any of the Classes of Associated Bible Students So then, let it be understood that because a Class may accept the ministry of one of the Pilgrim brethren does not by any means obligate that Class to consider not as belonging to the Institute; for as has been explained, it is purely an individual matter of becoming identified with this association.

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PROPER SEARCHING OF THE SCRIPTURES

A reader of this journal calls our attention to a statement in the December 15th, 1928 issue, page 383: "We may not with becoming grace attempt to pry into secrets that have not been revealed," etc., and asks if this is in harmony with the fact that holy ones of old were commended for inquiring after future events that had not been revealed, and with the fact that others were urged to search the Scriptures, and with the further fact that the Apostle says, the Spirit of God searcheth all things and reveals to us the deep things of God, etc.. In reply to the foregoing, it is necessary to make a distinction between an earnest and reverent study of the Word of God with the abject in view of knowing still more fully of His will, and that morbid curiosity and determination to uncover secrets that the Lord has not revealed, and that were not intended to be known by His people at the present time. In connection with the remark quoted from the "Herald," we stated there that it is eminently proper for the Lord's people to 'be deeply and earnestly concerned with regard to the time of the deliverance and exaltation of the Church; but that as far various details regarding the exact day or year, etc., such have not been revealed. The thought is that while the Lord's Word abounds with encouragement and admonitions to search the Scriptures, to seek for the truth as men search for hidden treasure such as gold and silver, yet there are certain points of information relative to various developments and features that the Lord has not made known, and it is such as these we had in mind in saying that we should not be prying into secrets which had not been revealed. Daniel indeed was commended for his zeal on behalf of his people, and for his devotion to the Lord, prompting him to inquire if the Lord had a special message bearing upon the deliverance of his people. And while the Lord communicated a number of items of information bearing upon the subject, He also assured him that there were some features that were not intended for him, and that consequently he should consider the matter "sealed up" until the due time. We do not read of Daniel attempting to go beyond the Lord's will in this matter, nor is there anything in the record telling of how he still endeavored to uncover those matters that the Lord had indicated to be closed up.

When the Apostle declares that the Spirit searcheth the deep things of God, he is evidently referring to those deep, profound truths that have to do with the development of the spiritual life, those features of the truth relating to the Divine will and program that are necessary for the Church to understand in order to accomplish her progress and development in Christ-likeness and her final preparation for the great change.

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PRESERVING THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT

Matthew 18:15-17 records the instruction Jesus gave for adjusting inharmones and preserving order and concord amongst His followers, and it is asked by some who have been looking into this portion of the Master's instructions, if His advice here was not intended to apply merely to His disciples as Jews under the Law and not to the Gospel Church in general. There is this to be said in reply: The Savior just prior to concluding His earthly career promised His disciples that after the anointing of the Spirit they would better understand many of the things that He had spoken unto them. Quite manifestly His counsel as recorded in Matthew 18:15-17, was amongst those sayings that were intended for the instruction and guidance of the Gospel Church. The Master was then introducing the new dispensation and, evidently speaking from the standpoint of the new order and relationship of His disciples to one another, laying clown certain foundation principles of action that were really embodied in the law of love itself, and intended, to govern in a general way in the affairs of His people. It is true that the disciples were still under the Law in one sense, for Christ had not yet died and set aside the Law Covenant. But while that was true, the Lord was commencing the work of the new Age and the Evangelist referred to it by saying that to those who received Him gave He power to become the sons of God. While they were not then sons in the full sense, yet the Master was in a large measure treating them as having that relationship, for He taught them to pray, saying, "Our Father which art in heaven," etc. They were at least tentatively sons of God, merely waiting for the outpouring of the Spirit of adoption.

Referring now to the Master's instruction, what could be more logical or in keeping with the spirit of a sound mind than that one who believed that some kind of wrong or evil was being practiced by another should go to him and tell him of his offense? Further, what could be more reasonable and in keeping with the law of love than that he should take one or two others with him to a brother who had refused to dear a personal appeal concerning the matter? Surely the Master was here giving some valuable counsel that was intended for the benefit and edification of His Church. Evidently it is the neglect of the Master's advice here that is the cause of so many continued inharmonies and disorders amongst His professed followers.

On the other hand, we would not understand that the Master is here encouraging any to be unkindly critical of others, to make over and take exception to various items and weaknesses of the conduct of others. The law of love was to be the general rule, and the Apostle had caught the effect of this when he addressed the Church, saying that charity or love covereth a multitude of sins, weaknesses, infirmities. All need to use freely this mantle of love .in thinking of and dealing with one another. It was then those real evils or wrongs that were being practiced and that gave real offense that should have the application of this counsel as recorded in Matthew 18:15-17.

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BEGOTTEN FROM ABOVE

The Question of just what is the heritage of the Lord's people at the present time, is one that lies near to the hearts of all the faithful and it is one that is deserving of their daily careful consideration. Some of the brethren in studying this subject as indicated in 2 Pet. 1:4, have raised the inquiry as to whether or not the attainment of the Divine nature is a present or future experience. In reaching a conclusion with regard to this point it seems that much would depend on just the standpoint from which one is considering the subject. It is recognized that the Scriptures clearly teach that during this Age all the Lord's people are called in "one hope" of their calling; there is one Narrow Way and one High Calling and. the promise is the Divine nature to those who are faithful unto death. The thought would then seem to be borne out that such as are invited to be joint-heirs with Christ and partakers of immortality are at the present time begotten to the Divine nature in the sense that there is the beginning of this new life or existence now, and the invitation, hopes, and promises given to us look iii that direction and are to the end that we might be born of that nature in the First Resurrection. Having these promises signifies that daily our aspirations and ambitions should rise to and lay hold of the great hope set before us.

It is important to keep before the mind the figure definitely used in the Bible to illustrate the present condition and experience of the children of God, that of the begotten state. An analogy is drawn between the spiritual begetting and birth and the human begetting and birth. We need not, however, understand the spiritual begetting and birth to be like the natural in every particular; it is merely an illustrative figure to give us a lesson. The thought is that we are begotten of the Holy Spirit of God with a view to our becoming partakers of the Divine nature in the full and final sense of being ultimately born of that nature, and all who are Spirit-begotten in the present time are begotten with that hope, with that object and end in view, even as the Apostle Peter says, God has given us exceeding great and precious promises that by these we might become partakers of the Divine nature.

We will gain much by observing the great Pattern, our Lord Jesus, in whom was illustrated all these various features that are applicable to us. It is asked, To what was Jesus begotten? And the answer undoubtedly is that He was begotten to the Divine nature; that He could not have reached perfection on any lower spirit plane; that if He had not come off "conqueror" in the fullest sense of the word, He would have had nothing; and only those who attain His character-likeness and are overcomer-conquerors in the highest sense of the word -- will be with Him to share His glory and partake of His Divine nature. Indeed, it is recognized too that as disciples of Christ are faithful in setting their affections heavenward and lifting their hearts in contemplation of the heavenly inheritance, there is realized that progress and development in those qualities of love, joy, peace, humility, patience, and brotherly love which go to make up the Christian character or likeness of Christ.

Those who will finally come off as members of a second grade or larger company are such as fail to come off "more than conquerors"; they are those who would have failed altogether of achieving anything were it not for the Divine provision which is outlined in God's Word, to the effect that under God's ,providence these are permitted to pass through very severe and sore tribulations. Having failed to go on obediently in the most approved manner courageously in the footsteps of Jesus, and lacking in 'the element of whole-hearted zeal and devotion, they are through special corrections and reproofs assisted in learning the lesson of complete submission and obedience, and are referred to as those who are "saved so as by fire."

COMING GREAT EVENTS

This article represents the contents of a small leaflet that has recently come to our attention. While the author, whose name is not given, appears to take the position that the coming of the Lord is still future, yet the important facts and considerations relating to the present time and the end of the Age are so well summed up and set forth that it is deemed profitable for publication here. As for the question of the Lord's presence, we hold, in line with a considerable number of Bible students, that the various proofs set forth in this article in support of the belief that the Kingdom of God draweth nigh, are amongst those general evidences or signs, not that Christ will come soon, but that His presence is already an accomplished fact; and that the changes and developments going on in the world today are manifestations of that fact; in other words, "signs of the Son of Man in Heaven," -- of His Presence. -- EDITORIAL COMMITTEE.

THE MOST momentous event in the history of this world is the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ to this earth a second time, vested in power and great glory. Of this the sacred Scripture abounds with emphatic ;testimony, not only of His personal coming, but its manner, and its object. (John 14:3; Matt. 24:38, 39; Acts 3:20, 21.) Of old, holy men of God wrote as they were, moved by the Holy Spirit, God speaking to Israel through them. (Heb. 1.) How they unitedly foretold the sufferings of Christ (First Advent) and the glory that should follow. (Second Advent)! The diligence and devotion of these holy ministers to their prophetic office can be judged by their persistency through suffering shame and death. (Acts 7:52; Heb. 11:37.) But why did they endure such untold agonies? The eleventh of Hebrews will supply the answer. They looked for a city (government) whose foundations were laid firmly in righteousness; whose builder and maker was the Mighty God, and though they all died in faith, not having tasted the hallowed blessedness of this holy city, but in anticipation endured faithfully to the end, they obtained a good report, and will yet be rewarded; for when the King of glory comes, rewards come with Him. -- Rev. 11 :17, 18.

"If by looking through the vista of ages for the fulfillment of their grand prophetic reward produced such renowned faithfulness to Him who called them, what should the testimony of God's people be today, living almost on the threshold of the fulfillment of their' prophetic dreams?

"Though ministers of the most High Gad, it is evident they did not fully understand the testimony they 'bare. Not even angels were permitted to understand. -- 1 Pet. 1:10-12.

"But how wonderful, how different today. 'Seek and ye shall find.' 'Knock and it shall 'be opened unto you.' 'To him that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith.'

"But alas, how few comparatively have an ear to hear (desire). This age of speed and pleasure, pomp and pride can find no spare moments for eternal things, treasures indeed that will bring peace, happiness, and satisfaction. This world has never been a friend of grace to help, God's people nearer to Himself. The world by its own wisdom has never known God, and never in its history has it appeared wiser in its own eyes than now:

"'The people of God are being so overcome by the thrills of a giddy age that the hallowed things (the only source of true happiness embracing our eternal destiny), are being laid aside and almost forgotten. Modernists, worldly wisdom in its many cunning forms has got such a hold of the professing church today that inspiration in the sacred Scripture is being dangerously undermined. Where shall we look today for the defenders of the faith once delivered to the saints?

"The outlook from our churches is most pitiable, from those who sit in high places down to the less responsible. The time is quickly coming when that solemn question will be answered in the negative: 'When the Son of Man comes will He find the faith?' (Luke 18:8.) 'Watch! What I say unto one, I say unto all.' Mark 13:36, 37 should be the foremost duty of every child of God, should they desire to 'be ready; for to be ready is a necessity. -- Matt. 24:44.

"Astounding indeed are the evidences of the imminent return of this same Jesus. (Acts 1:11.) But not as He was, in meek and lowly guise, but girded in the power of an endless life -- 'King of kings -- Lord of lords.' To whom every knee must bow and every tongue must confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11.) Consider the Apostolic prediction of the 'last days' -- 2 Pet. 3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5, and you will be impressed; also Luke 21:1-28. 'When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then know the Kingdom is nigh.' 'Men's hearts are indeed failing them for fear of those things coming on the earth.'

"To those who accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God, we offer four proofs that the inauguration of the Kingdom of God, or as it is frequently called, 'The Millennium,' is soon to have its beginning.

"The whole history of Israel, already covering a period of nearly four thousand years, was all written in advance. You will find it in the 4th chapter of Deuteronomy from verse 25 to verse 31. Every item in that prophecy has had its fulfillment except one, and that one is now in process of completion.

Proof One

"Proof one then is the restoration of Israel to the land of Palestine, their ancient home from which they have been scattered for over eighteen hundred years. -- Neh. 1:8; Amos 9:9.

"Today the Jews are returning to their inheritance, Jerusalem is being built afresh; new streets of good houses, a large library and university upon the Mount of Olives; electricity, and a modern water scheme has been installed --a rapidly developing Palestine with all the conveniences of modern civilization. After a period of eighteen hundred years, Palestine once again mints its own coin; and Hebrew is fast becoming the national language.

"But let us not forget that Satan is aware of all this, and is preparing a counterfeit for the things which God is preparing for the near future.

Proof Two

"The second proof is the revival of the Roman Empire. Rome has been Satan's seat for centuries. The Caesars were men who took upon themselves Divine titles. Nowhere in the annals of history can we find a parallel in the persecution of Christians such as took place under Nero, and extending from Nero to Diocletian A. D. 64 to A. D. 285. For 220 years, Rome held this Satanic record. Today while God is permitting the revival of Palestine, Satan is endeavoring to revive the old Roman Empire and the City, for the Bible indicates that in Rome will he make his semi-final stand against God and His people. (Rev. 13.) According to reports from the Geneva Conference, Mussolini is the most powerful and also the most dangerous man in Europe. This man has made no secret of his ambition to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory. (Dan. 2:40-43.) It has been suggested that this will be brought about by political Rome exploiting Papal Rome to secure the consolidation of the Roman Catholic nations of central Europe.

"All over the world, multitudes are desiring a kingdom of liberty (we would rather call it 'license') -- a kingdom without God, without faith, a kingdom where sacred institutions have, no existence. The time seems ripe for this event, so emphatically taught in the Scriptures.

Proof Three

"The third proof is 'The condition of the professing Church.' Here we find things just as the Scriptures predict. Infidelity in the pulpit, denial of the virgin birth; denial of the inspiration of the Scriptures as the Word of the Living God; denial of the atonement sacrifice of Christ upon the cross of Calvary. -- See 2 Tim. 4:3, 4; Rev. 13:14-18; 2 Pet. 2:1, 2 ; Phil. 3:19.

Proof Four

"Proof four is the 'Condition of the world today.' Where is the land today in which we do not to some extent see vice and corruption enthroned in high places? A corrupt government. 'Sin is a reproach to any people,, but righteousness exalteth a nation.' -- Prov. 14:34.

"The greatest and best of earth's leaders and statesmen today are powerless to stop the inrush of iniquity. Perplexed and anxious, impotency follows their best efforts. Craft, arrogance, and ignorance, parade our Council Halls. Law and order are daily defied. Anarchy looms out ahead. Conferences, Leagues, Pacts, and Protocols are useless to restore peace.

"Why so? because the Prince of Peace is still away. He alone can give to this sorrowful, suffering world, the peace and the happiness it seeks for, and this is the object and purpose of our Lord's return to earth. -- See Acts 3:19-21; 1 Cor. 15:24-28.

"Though dark clouds may intervene the glory of that blessed day, the dear children of God who draw near to His Holy Word may see above 'the silver lining' the unsearchable riches of Christ, the tender mercies of a most loving Creator, for God hath revealed them to us by His Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:9.) Be wise, therefore, ye His people; trim your prophetic lamp,, for it will shine more and more until the Day dawns and the shadows flee away.

"Precious indeed is the promise to all who love His appearing and Kingdom.- 2 Tim. 4:8.

"Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man will come.

"To him that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith." -- Rev. 2:29.

LOSING THE PRESENT LIFE, FINDING IMMORTALITY

"Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" -- Mark 8:34-37.

THE SAVIOR uttered words of the highest wisdom when He presented the question, What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Although the question and thought here presented are such as all humanity could well consider, the Master was not addressing His remarks broadcast to all men. His words were addressed and specially applicable to His immediate disciples, those followers and cross-bearers whom He otherwise termed the "little flock," to whom it will be the Father's good pleasure to give the Kingdom.

It is well to remember that only one offer of life eternal has yet been issued. This was the offer that Jesus made to His followers, and that has since been given throughout this dispensation of the Spirit, to whoever has ears to hear and a will to walk in the Narrow Way. It is evident that no general offer of everlasting life has yet been made to the world of humanity, although the Scriptures clearly show us that there is to be such an offer of eternal life tinder other conditions when this dark night of weeping has passed and the Millennial morning has been ushered in; but none can either accept or reject those conditions yet, since they have not yet been introduced and established.

Entering the Narrow Way of Self-Surrender

Those now invited to eternal life under its most glorious conditions conceivable of "glory, honor, and immortality," are admonished by the Savior to appreciate most gratefully and highly the value of eternal life; and it is implied that any one who will at all consider the matter will readily acknowledge that to give all that he has of earthly life and its vanity in exchange for life eternal would be to get that great boon at a very small price -- at a great bargain! We observe men who, as death draws near, are willing- to give their all to retain their hold a little longer on the present life, which is so uncertain and unsatisfactory. How much more should we be willing to lay down our lives in voluntary sacrifice, in daily self-denial, in sharing the sufferings of Christ in this present time, that we may thereby obtain according to God's good promise in Christ, the glorious and eternal life designed to the overcomers! !

In presenting the hope of immortality to His disciples, the hope of being made partakers of that glorious, spiritual nature, in which they should be permitted to enter the presence of God and behold His face, He was following out the Divine program as God had committed it to Him for execution. The Divine Scroll had contained that special and extraordinary provision for a new creations creation who should be made partakers of the nature of God; and the provision was that this new creation should be taken from amongst men, and the Savior accordingly plainly stated the terms whereby membership in it could be secured. First of all, these in order to become eligible for the race for immortality must share in the benefits of the Atonement, must be made partakers of the merit of the precious blood of Christ's redeeming sacrifice. Subsequently the message is one of giving over all of that redeemed life to God. And as in Bunyan's dream, "Christian" is pointed to the Wicket-gate leading into the way to the Celestial City, so he who would become a disciple of Christ, hears the Master's call, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate" that opens into the Narrow Way which leadeth unto life. This Wicket-gate, or strait gate, is that of self-surrender, of sanctification or setting apart, and will mean the giving up of the will in the sense of foregoing self-desires, preferences, and ambitions of every kind, and the acceptance of the will, desire, and preference of the Lord in all things. Such a giving over of the will to God signifies the yielding up of all.

Saving and Losing Life

This surrender or consecration to God, the exchanging of the natural, earthly life for the heavenly hope, "heavenly calling," spiritual prosperity, and prospective joint-heirship with Christ, will imply that such will have no longer any earthly rights or hopes, hence such must either gain the spiritual life they have started out for, or lose all existence. Therefore as stated by Jesus in respect to this class who undertake such a responsibility, who ever of them saves his earthly life, refusing to go on into the life of self-denial and self-sacrifice after having made the consecration, loses it entirely -- loses all hope of a future life. On the other hand, those of this class who are now faithful in laying down the present life for the Lord's sake, shall find life eternal, shall find immortality under the glorious conditions of the Kingdom: "If we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him."

Here then, are the conditions of discipleship and of obtaining the prize of immortality. But it is asked, just what do the conditions signify as they apply to us individually, and as they are to be worked out in our daily lives? What is it for us to deny ourselves? It signifies that having given over all to the Lord by way of consecrating and dedicating ourselves to Him, the natural or self-life should be ignored, just as the Apostle Paul expresses it, "Ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God." "Reckon ye yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God." Denying one's self in connection with bearing the cross then signifies to ignore self-will, to deny self-indulgence, self- gratification: and this includes all the earthly ambitions and desires, the sinful and no less those that are laudable and proper: The Christian pledges himself at the very beginning that he will not follow his own inclinations and his own will, but that he will be wholly subject to the will of His Head, the Lord Jesus, if he may in turn be counted as a member in particular of Christ's Body, the elect Church.

God Reveals the Way Step by Step

The Lord evidently does not reveal to us in the beginning of our Christian experience, all of the trials of the flesh and conflicts between the mind of the flesh and the mind of the Spirit, which this full surrender must involve if we press along the line toward the mark which He has set for us as the standard of character. Very graciously the Lord hides from us some of the experiences in the way, and the poet caught the inspiration of this thought when he wrote that

"God kindly veils our eyes
And o'er each step of our onward way
He makes new scenes to rise."

The wisdom born of experience makes manifest that if the Lord should reveal to us in the beginning all the details of the sorrows and, sufferings of the Narrow Way, we would become disheartened at the start, not possessing the degree of faith in the beginning necessary to undertake so great a responsibility. But as the true disciple of Christ through the Spirit realizes the eyes of his understanding opening wider and wider, and as he thus grows in grace and becomes stronger in the Lord and in the power of His might, he grows also in that intimate knowledge and acquaintance with the Lord and in love toward Him and toward all who are in fellowship with Him, and it consequently becomes daily easier for him, as he learns to sing that

"Day by day the pathway smooths,
Since first I learned to love it."

By and by as a result of the Lord's patient dealing and leading, the trials which came at first appear much lighter and as nothing, but other tests and fiery trials come instead, which are still more searching, and we discern more distinctly, more clearly, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. In this way, our trial state progresses, and what is required of us is that step by step we shall be faithful to what we see to be the Lord's will and shall endeavor to the best of our ability to yield ourselves thereto. Surely this is self-denial -- forsaking all to be Jesus' disciples.

"Deny Thyself, Take up thy Cross"

There is, of course, a close relationship 'between the life of self-denial and that of bearing the cross. Self-denial signifies the refusal of self-indulgence; the practice of putting away and keeping down those desires and longings and affections that are earthward and that have to do with the self-life. Faithfulness in persevering in such a life will require strong faith and courage, and this is evidently why the Apostle said, This is the victory that overcometh, that conquers self and the world, even your faith. Similarly, cross-bearing, while not exactly the same, means a life of self-repression, a practice of such conduct and course in life as will mean death to the humanity; in other words, it is the carrying out of the vow of consecration to be dead to self and alive toward God. The cross being the emblem of death or of putting to death, the bearing of the cross must relate to those processes working out the death of the human, in order to give place to the new spiritual existence and relationship to God. The denial of one's self may represent victory gained in his own heart of which others may not have knowledge from anything they can see; in fact, if we desire to have the fullness of God's blessing, we should make sure that we do not practice denying of self to be observed by others, but rather, that we may secure the Lord's approval alone: The bearing of the cross, however, may be observed to some extent by those with whom we maybe closely associated and particularly by those who are walking in the same Narrow Way.

And how appropriate it is that all who are bearing ,the cross should recognize each other and be able to sympathize with one another and give an encouraging word, a sympathizing look, or a helping. hand as opportunity may offer. As for others, we can not expect sympathy from them, for from their standpoint we are counted fools (Acts 26:24; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2:14; 3:18), unwise, following an unwise course, bringing our difficulties upon ourselves because we insist on following an ideal pattern of our dear Redeemer instead of following the pattern of the worldly-minded, and worldly-wise Christian. Such as have the mind of the world and its spirit, of course, have only sneers and reproaches for the faithful, and often no doubt think of them as they speak of them, as being hypocrites. This truly is a part of the cross-bearing, and especially when those who deride and criticize are those whom we love and whose esteem we would enjoy if we could have it in conjunction with the Master's "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Consider Him Who Endured

Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, says St. Paul, evidently wishing to impress on us the great lesson of His faithfulness. As we observe our Lord Jesus and the cross which He bore, it is recognized that it was not the literal cross of wood that He carried to Calvary amid shame and jeers; rather it was the unseen or mystical cross, represented in His great engagement with Jehovah to do His will, even to the extent of giving up His life; it was the carrying out of this immense contract continually through the three and a half years of His ministry, from the time of His consecration at Jordan; this was the cross He bore to Calvary. We observe, too, how faithfulness to the truth in testifying respecting His mission, the Kingdom that He was to establish and the terms and arrangements of membership in it ,being misunderstood by the chief rulers, scribes, and Pharisees, led to opposition continually, so that they not only maligned His name, but in their hatred sought His life and finally obtained it. These were not the unbelieving, non-professing sinners, they were not the worldly, as that word is generally understood, but prominent religious leaders of that day, and the so-called holiness people, were His most bitter assailants. True indeed, the Master could have compromised the matter in a measure. He could have fallen into line to some extent with those prominent leaders and have been considered "respectable"; and by so doing He could have had a large following. But strict loyalty and fidelity to the truth and to God would not permit Him to do this. It compelled Him to take a stand-independent of all human approbation and opinion, and thus brought against Him the disesteem, the wrath of all of them. This was His continual and daily cross-bearing that had to be endured if He would "overcome" and be granted the high station of association with the Father in His Kingdom. And may not all true and faithful followers of the Lamb expect similar experiences under similar conditions, even at the present time? They may well be prepared for the same consequences.

As He Was in the World so are We

The Apostle makes mention of some of these experiences of the cross and declares that the endurance of them was a mark of his faithfulness as a servant of the Lord: "In much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all things." -- 2 Cor. 6:4-10.

How much our dear Master knew of being counted a deceiver, while He was the true one; of being called Beelzebub, while really the Prince of Light! What a cross it must have been to endure such slanderous misrepresentations and contradiction of sinners against Himself; and how faithfully He bore the cross. And shall not all His followers expect to similarly bear His cross with Him and be misunderstood, misrepresented, misjudged by those who are more or less blinded by the Adversary! Such dishonor, such evil reports are amongst the things which our Lord specifically declared would be a part of our cross-bearing when He said, Blessed are ye when men shall revile and persecute you, etc., rejoice and be exceeding glad in all such cross-bearing, for great is your reward in heaven.

Let us all be admonished,, beloved in Christ, to catch not merely the outward form of self-denial practiced by some who profess the faith in Christ, though lacking in its spirit, but to give heed that whatever of outward self-denial we practice, we may learn the full meaning of self-consecration and immolation which our Lord's words signify: that we be not content with the wearing of the gold pin bearing the emblem of the cross as an ornament, but grasp fully and clearly the purport of the Master's words respecting the true bearing of the cross, that in due time we may also attain the crown-bearing promised as a reward to the faithful. Let us ever remember that our Lord calls upon His disciples to follow Him in direct opposition to the world-current, and declares that the disciple must not expect to be above his Lord in being spared such experiences; but He promises great reward at the end of the journey -- life eternal with exceeding glory, honor, and immortality. Let us lay aside every weight and every besetting sin, and run with patience the race that is set before us in the Gospel, looking unto Jesus, in whose footsteps we seek to tread.

ENDURING AS SEEING HIM WHO IS INVISIBLE

"Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God
commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing,
as unto a faithful Creator." -- 1 Pet. 4:19.

BELIEVING and trusting without seeing with the physical senses, and walking with God in the dark, are terms that well ex press the life of faith on the part of the children of God. Nor is it merely a matter of mental assent to certain claims and propositions that the Lord requires of those who would be His disciples indeed in this present evil world. It must be rather, as the Apostle declares, "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness," that is, the belief must be of a kind that produces obedience; it must be a heart acknowledgment of the Lord, resulting indefinite resolves and purposes to obey the voice and will of God. The lesson coming down to us from all the great characters of the Bible is that the only real faith, the only faith that is at all acceptable to God, is that which prompts to submission and obedience to God's will no matter how dark the way nor how much the cost.

Behold the Cloud of Witnesses

It is for this reason that the Apostle appeals to Christians to consider the cloud of witnesses that surround them, witnesses that bear important testimony as to the value and necessity of an implicit faith in God. This cloud of witnesses He has already named to some extent as those holy ones of ancient time who responded to the voice of God and went obediently in the direction and way indicated by that voice, as a result of which they were called upon to suffer every kind of misfortune, distress, disappointment, and even death. The Apostle declares that these experiences were good and profitable for them, that out of their affliction, out of their trial and weakness, they "were made strong." It cannot be less profitable for those who are called to God's fellowship and favor in this dispensation to suffer and endure as seeing Him who is invisible. To the contrary, the Apostle again says, "If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." And this same Apostle offers us sweet consolation, saying, "Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping óf their souls to Him," etc. Truly this will require constant trust and great faith for one to continually commit the keeping of his life to God in the midst of various trying scenes and sufferings of the Narrow Way.

God's Will and God's Way

All of the Lord's faithful servants need to remember that when sometimes matters turn out very differently with themselves from what they had expected, when they receive injuries, reproaches, and oppressions as the rewards of faithfulness to duty and to truth, it does not mean that God has forgotten them or that they were misled in their previous service to the Lord; nor does it signify that the Lord has changed His plan, nor that He is careless or indifferent respecting their condition. True, their first thought should be whether or not present unfavorable conditions are in the nature of chastisements, or the result of any misdoing on their part or failure to serve the Lord in His own way, but if upon careful scrutiny they find their course to be harmonious with the Divine will and Word, they at once rest their faith upon the Lord, and conclude that God knows better than they how to manage His own work and purpose. Then while thankful to be used in that work for a time, they should, nevertheless be pleased if it were the Lord's will to be set aside for a time -- perhaps for the good of others, or perhaps for their own training in the school of experience and in the learning of lessons of patience and of faith.

The Lesson from John the Baptist

One very fine example of such confidence, trust in and waiting upon the Lord is to. be noted in the example of John the Baptist. While Jesus was performing many miracles, making numerous disciples and meeting with comparatively little opposition, things were going very differently with John. Yet this was only in accordance with what the Baptist himself had, prophesied, saying. "He must increase, but I must decrease." John was in prison about 120 miles from where Jesus was laboring so successfully. To be shut up in a dark dungeon of the kind usual at that time, and to have our Lord proceeding with His work and raising no voice of protest on His behalf -- exercising none of His mighty power for his deliverance, probably seemed very strange to John -- especially in view of his expectations respecting the work of the Messiah that He would be a great earthly general and king in harmony with the general Jewish expectation.

How readily John might have permitted doubts and fears to enter his mind and overwhelm him. He might have been tempted to conclude that the whole matter was a fraud and that Jesus and he had been deceiving themselves. He might have lost all faith in God's providential leadings in the past, and all heart and hope for the present and for the future; but notwithstanding the great disappointment he felt, his faith continued its firm hold on the Lord. This is indicated in his sending his disciples to Jesus to make inquiry and also in the character of the inquiry; his question was a sound one and expresses the. conviction that thus far the Lord had been leading and that the only doubt in the Prophet's mind was whether or not, as he was the forerunner of Jesus, Jesus in turn, greater than he, might be the forerunner of some one else still greater and, yet to come.

The Proper Course for All God's Servants

While John's messengers were with Jesus, a number of miracles were performed in their sight and Jesus sent them back to John with instruction that they bear witness to him of the work of the Lord progressing in His hand, and to say to John that while the opportunities to stumble at Jesus, His work, and His words, were many, and while many would stumble at these as the Prophet had declared (Isa. 8:14), yet, a special blessing would rest upon all who would not stumble, but whose faith in the Lord would continue, despite various disappointments of expectation respecting His works and their fulfillment through misapprehension of the length and breadth and height and depth of the Divine Plan, which as the heavens are higher than the earth is higher than human conception could have foreseen. There is nothing in the record to indicate that John made any reply, nor that there was any further question or disturbance of his faith after receiving this assuring message from Jesus. Evidently his faith was such as to enable him to commit the keeping of his life and all in the hands of God, and to await the divinely appointed season for his deliverance and vindication.

But such a resting in the Lord, such a centering of life in Him, can be enjoyed only by those who have made considerable progress, who have run a considerable distance in the way of the Lord and who have already been exercised under the Lord's providences, and have learned many lessons in His school. This however is a condition which all the Lord's true followers are to strive to attain unto as the only one thoroughly pleasing to the Lord. The proper course of all God's servants when perplexed is the one followed by John, namely to go to the Lord with the perplexity, not doubting but inquiringly -- and be set at rest by His words. We may not be able to hear the Lord's words with our own ears, but we can receive them second-hand as did John-through the testimonies of the Apostles and Prophets, by whose writings God has provided in advance replies to all proper queries.

THE BELIEVER' S
PERPETUAL SABBATH

"We which have believed do enter into rest." -- Heb. 4:3

CHRISTIAN believers, followers of Jesus, since He made an end of the Law Covenant, nailing it to the cross, are not under the Law Covenant for, as the Apostle declares, "We are not under the Law but under grace." Our relationship to God is of the same character as that which prevailed before Sinai's Law Covenant was effected at the hands of Moses over Israel -- after the same order as that enjoyed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- grace under the terms of the Abrahamic Covenant: we are the real seed of promise. (Gal. 3:29.) Did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prosper without a law? Yes! Much more can spiritual Israel prosper under the same conditions, because we now have much advantage every way through our special relationship by faith to the great Redeemer, and to the exceeding great and precious promises which center in Him, and which apply to all those adopted by Him as members of His Body -- members of His Bride class.

"Whom the Son Makes Free"

Some are inclined to feel alarmed at the very thought of being free from a law covenant based upon obedience to a law. Such should be comforted with the thought that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were approved of the Lord without the Law Covenant that was given to Israel later. Their faith in God constituted an obligation to do the Divine will to the extent of their knowledge and ability and the same is true of us, for the Scriptures assure us that, as children of God. and adopted into His family, made partakers of His Spirit, our rule of action must henceforth be love, and that to us, love is the fulfilling of the law. That is to say, if we receive the Spirit of adoption into God's family, it implies that we possess the spirit of love, because God is love; and this love for God as it develops signifies love for all that are in accord with Him, and a love like His in respect to all of His creation -- a sympathetic love. Such a love permits us to be and to do in harmony with the Divine will to the extent of our ability; and the Lord, who is dealing with us according to our intentions and endeavors; and who is covering our unwilling weaknesses and imperfections, counts this service of the heart and intention as a perfect keeping of the Divine law. Thus the Apostle says: "The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Rom. 8:4.) However short we may come of the full spirit of the Divine law, we are counted as fulfillers of it so long as our daily walk is in that direction to the extent of our ability.

From this standpoint we see that God is no longer dealing with Israel, nor has He adopted the other nations as His. Rather He is forming a new nation, gathering its citizens out of every nation, kindred, people, and tongue. This new nation is the Church, of whom the Apostle says, "Ye are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people." Presently this nation will be completed, and be ushered into glory, honor, and immortality, to rule and bless and uplift all the families of the earth. God's dealings, instructions, tests, etc., are upon this new nation -- yea, as we have seen, He has placed no Jaw upon us except the law of love for God and for our neighbor. Before our adoption into this holy nation, we accepted its law of love, and recognized selfishness as part of the works of darkness; and in the school of Christ we have been learning more and more the full meaning of the word love in its application to God and to our fellowmen. These lessons still continue, but must reach a certain completion or fruition 'before we can be accounted worthy of transference to the heavenly and eternal state as members of this Kingdom.

Our New Relationship through the Blood

Have we then no relationship to the Law given to natural Israel, as expressed in the Ten Commandments, etc.? No, we are free from the Law -- thank God! Nevertheless, we may derive a great blessing through an examination of that Law from which we are free, because we recognize that it was just and holy and good that it was not set aside because the Law was imperfect, but because man was imperfect and unable to keep that Law and to gain life thereunder. Looking, then, at that perfect Law, we should seek to get, not merely its outward form and letter, but especially its inner meaning, its spirit, to determine just what it did signify. Then, having ascertained its significance, we as New Creatures -- while not depending upon it for our life, but recognizing that the precious blood of the Lamb of God has compensated for all of our unwilling weaknesses and deficiencies and imperfections -- we should strive, nevertheless, to conform our lives to all the blessed thoughts we can gather respecting the spirit of the Law.

We should do this, not thereby to merit salvation, but that having obtained the salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and having gone further and been begotten of the Holy Spirit to a new life, a new nature, we no longer seek to justify ourselves by the Law, because justified by the blood of Christ. We now seek as New Creatures to please our Heavenly Father, and rejoice to find anything in the Law given to natural Israel that would furnish us clearer conceptions of the Divine will, that for love to God we might do with our might everything in our power.

Accordingly, as we look at the Decalogue, wet say, "Yes, those laws are perfect," and the more closely we examine them the more do we grasp the depth of their signification. As for instance, in the first and second of these commandments we see prohibited not merely the making of images and worshiping of the same, but equally prohibited the having of any object of worship aside from God -- wife or children or mammon or self, etc. Applying this to the fourth commandment respecting the Sabbath, spiritual Israelites will realize that they are not under bondage to a day, but will nevertheless desire to know what was the spirit or intent or object of this command, and to be in harmony, in accord, with all its spirit. The Israelites, as our Lord shows (Matt. 12:1-14), got merely the outward form of these three commandments, but wholly missed its real purport; and similarly, many Christians today merely take the Jewish view of the command and entirely overlook its real import.

Resting in His Finished Work

The Apostle refers to the real meaning of this Sabbath rest of faith into which we spiritual Israelites enter so soon as we accept the Lord Jesus as our Redeemer, the Expiator of our guilt -- our Life-giver. As soon as we begin to believe, we begin to enter into this rest, and thenceforth, if we are faithful to the Lord and abide in His love, our Sabbath never ends -- "We which 'believe do enter into rest."

Our lesson of faith should continue throughout all the days of the week, and thus spiritual Israel keeps Sabbath every day-resting in finished work of Christ, resting from our own works, from all endeavor to justify ourselves through the Law. Was not our Lord's ministry a perpetual Sabbath? and may not all of the Lord's people today so rest in the Lord by faith, and so continually seek to work the works of Him that hath sent us as His ambassadors to the world, that every day with us should be a Sabbath day? Thus all the labor of life is sanctified to us. Whether we eat or drink, scrub or dig, write or talk, sleep or wake, we are to do all to the glory of God -- to do all as unto Him, and in all of our doings to maintain the sabbath rest in our hearts -- rest in Divine love and care, which applies to us through our relationship to Christ Jesus our Lord.

Propriety of Sunday Observance

The question comes, then, Should the Lord's people who see the true rest and who are enjoying it-should they observe the Sabbaths or Sundays appointed by the civil laws of Christendom? We answer, Yes! for three reasons:

First, it is the Divine command that we should obey all the ordinances of human law that do not conflict with our conscience as Christians; and clearly nothing in the human law on this subject could violate our conscience.

Second, surely if others can afford to rest from their labor one day in seven, the Lord's people can afford to do so as well, and indeed to better advantage than the world, because through our better knowledge of God and His Word we can make wiser and better use of the time thus taken from worldly affairs.

Third, spiritual Israelites are greatly advantaged by the fact that the world, nominal Christendom, has made a mistake in the matter, and is under the impression that the Jewish Law obligates the keeping of one day in seven as a religious rest day. Thus all things work together for good to them that love God-even the world's mistakes and ignorance.

Not only should spiritual Israelites rejoice to have the privilege of one day in seven for a special rest from physical labor and for special engagement in spiritual works, pleasures and refreshments, but additionally they should realize that the world is watching them, and that their influence for good would be greatly interfered with by their violation of this civil law, which the world supposes to be backed by Divine command. Our advice, therefore, to all true spiritual Israelites is that they be as strict or .more strict in their observance of Sunday as a Sabbath of rest than are their neighbors -- that all works except those of necessity or mercy be avoided, that this precious day be considered a boon from the Lord, a great privilege and opportunity for growth in grace and knowledge and love. Let our homes be the most quiet of all in civilized lands on the appointed day of rest; let no sounds of labor or of worldly pleasure be heard in our habitations, but let our joys of hope and love and faith abound, and let our happy hearts manifest themselves in cheerful words and tones and looks, that thus our moderation as well as our joy in the Lord may be manifest to all with whom we have to do, that they may take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him. (Acts 4:13.) To those of our neighbors and friends with whom we are very intimate we might explain that from our standpoint every day is a Sabbath day of rest in faith -- that though upon some days it is necessary we should labor also for the meat that perisheth, our hearts are resting still in the great Lord of the Sabbath and His finished work.

This would not signify that we of today should attempt an observance of the outward forms of the Jewish Law, according to all that is proper and required of the Jew. For instance, no doubt it would be a violation of the fourth commandment to operate a street-car line; and if the Jewish Law were in force upon us, it would be absolutely wrong and sinful for any of us to ride in a street-car, much less to operate the same. But since we are not under the Law but under grace, and since Sunday riding is not prohibited by the civil law, nor regarded as evil by our fellows, there is no reason why in this and in similar matters we may not enjoy reasonably and with profit the conveniences of transportation on the Sabbath.

The Pharisaical Sabbath

When our Lord was here, the Jewish Law was still in force, and we observe that even then the right, the true, the proper interpretation of the fourth commandment was much more in accord with our observation of it than with the extreme observances accorded today by the Jewish teachers. The difference between then and now would be that the Jews under the Law were forbidden to do work of an earthly kind on the Sabbath, while we are not forbidden, except as earthly laws may limit without a commandment, and that we may delight to abstain from temporal labors that we may the more fully enjoy our spiritual privileges.

We call to mind the incident of Jesus and His disciples in a public pathway across a wheat-field (in old English called a corn-field). The wheat was ripe or nearly so, and the disciples, feeling hungry, had plucked a few of the heads and rubbed them in their hands to remove the chaff for the eating of the wheat. The Pharisees, appreciating the shell rather than the meat of the Divine Law, were very particular for outward observances of it, while entirely overlooking and neglecting its real sentiment or spirit. Here they thought they saw an opportunity for showing off their religious devotion by calling attention to the disciples of Jesus as being law-breakers, and to Jesus Himself as being little better, in that He as their teacher had not reproved them.

Our Lord did not accept the reproof, but on the contrary, pointed out that His disciples not only had His approval in their course but that they were fully justified by the course of others whom the Pharisees recognized. Our Lord's illustration of what constituted necessity and mercy was drawn from the Bible narrative of David's eating the shew-bread, lawful only for the priests to eat, because of the necessities of his position, his hunger; also the labor performed every Sabbath in the Jewish temple, in connection with the worship there, by the priests and Levites. Our Lord held logically that these approved matters showed the proper principle governing the Sabbath. He did not claim that reaping, threshing, and winnowing on the Sabbath day would be justifiable; His argument was that no such interpretation should be put upon the Law as would make, the satisfying of hunger, as the Apostles did, a crime, a violation of the Sabbath commandment.

"Lord also of the Sabbath"

But after convincing them from the Scriptures that their position was untenable, our Lord asserted to them His authority as an interpreter of the Law, saying, "I say unto you, One greater than the temple is here." If it was right for the Levites to perform the temple services on the Sabbath, Jesus was greater than the temple in that He was the Son of God, the mouthpiece of God, and His disciples might therefore rest secure in anything done in His service and with His approval. What a personality our Lord must have possessed that He could make such a statement before His enemies without its being challenged! We are convinced that He not only spake as never man spake, but that His appearance must have been superior to that of members of the fallen race.

Mark His statement "The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." (Matt. 12:8.) As the Lord of the Sabbath, as the great Teacher, He had not indeed the right to abolish this feature of the Law except by fulfilling it, "nailing it to the cross"; but as the Lord of the Sabbath, He was the proper Teacher to set forth its real significance to the Jew. Our Lord called the attention of His critics to the testimony of God through the Prophet, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice." (Hosea 6:6.) He declares that if they had given heed to this direction their thoughts would have been more merciful, more in line with the Divine sentiment, and this would have hindered them from condemning the disciples, who the Lord declared were entirely guiltless of any violation of the Sabbath day commandment.

Similarly we may say today that the great lack of many critics and fault-finders is their lack of mercy, lack of love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law, and whoever has most of it will come nearest to the standard. The possession of love is always indicated by mercy-toward our friends, toward our brethren, toward the world, toward our enemies.

CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE

"1 counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be rich." -- Rev. 3:18.

THE Apostle Peter reminds us that the trial of our faith is much more precious than that of gold that perisheth, and that the end sought through such trial is that we may be "found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. 1:7.) Not until we lay hold by faith upon the exceeding great and precious promises -- of joint-heirship with Christ in His coming Kingdom and glory -- which promises lead us to fulfil their conditions of consecration and self-sacrifice even unto death, is there any of the "gold" of the "Divine nature" in us.

But we have this treasure in the earthen vessels, and there is consequently much of alloy mixed with it. Hence the necessity that the gold be cast into the crucible for refining. And if we would purchase the "gold tried in the fire," it must be at the cost of faithful and constant submission to the discipline of the Lord in the fiery trials which are necessary to consume our dross and refine our gold. Wherefore, St. Peter says: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." (1 Pet. 4:12.) And St. Paul reminds us of the counsel of wisdom (Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5-8), "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him, for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth."

"He Is Like a Refiner's Fire"

It would be idle for any of the Lord's consecrated people to hope to be made meet for the glorious inheritance of the saints without the refining processes of fiery trial; for St. Paul tells us that "the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." "If ye receive not chastisement [discipline, fiery trial], whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." (1 Cor. 3:13; Heb. 12:6-8.) And through the Prophet Isaiah the Lord tells His spiritual Israel, as well as His typical fleshly Israel, "I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross and take away all thy tin." (Isa. 1 :25.) The Prophet Malachi, making special reference to the last days of this Age, the days of the Lord's presence, and the great refining work to be accomplished then, says: "Who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver." -- Mal. 3:2, 3.

Fiery trials are therefore to be expected by all of the Lord's people, especially in this day of the Lord. As surely as we are sons of God we shall have them ;and when they come we should promptly recognize their mission to us and see that we are exercised by them unto godliness, sobriety, and deep and fervent piety. "Now no chastening [discipline] for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." -- Heb. 12:11.

It is in the school of experience that we learn our most valuable lessons; and the ripest saints, in whom we find the deepest sympathy, the most patient forbearance, and the most tender helpfulness and consideration, are those who have been through the fire of affliction, and who have been rightly exercised thereby.

On the subject of Christian experience another has given some suggestions which are worthy of consideration:

"'What is your experience, brother? Tell us what the Lord has done for you. These are expressions with which the majority of professing Christians are familiar; and the responses to such a call from the leader of a meeting are generally a narration of the feelings or sensations experienced; some very thrilling, and others exceedingly common place: in short -- Christian experience from a prayer-meeting standpoint has become largely a matter of sensation. A man or woman may have known the Holy Scriptures from a child and taken them as a guide, may have followed the Savior and lived soberly, righteously and godly in this world, and yet, if he or she cannot relate an 'experience' after the approved order, they are almost unchristianized by some.

"Do not misunderstand me. I would not belittle anything by which a believer has been brought into communion with his God, or any sensation that may be the legitimate outgrowth of such communion.

"I do believe, however, that this religion of sensation has been fostered and encouraged until it has reached an abnormal growth. Turning to the Word for light, we find that the term, in the sense in which it is now used, is unknown. The method in conversion as well as in practice has been completely revolutionized since the days of the Apostles.

Christian Experience Eminently Practical

"What is experience? According to Webster it is 'wisdom gained from practice'; and, this definition is very appropriate for Christian as well as worldly experience. In Romans 5:3, 4, we read, 'We glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.' Christian experience is not merely sitting down quietly and letting the Spirit of God work in our hearts -- it is eminently practical, and it is impossible to divorce experimental from practical Christianity. He who would relate an experience of what the Lord has done for him must at the same time narrate what he has done for the Lord. It may do while we are nestlings to open our mouths with the incessant cry, Give! Give! But a time comes when we must put away childish things, and meet the stern realities of the new life. It is not sufficient to pray,, 'Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?' unless, when the service is shown us we immediately perform the duty, thus becoming doers of the Word.

"Christian experience is not the exaltation of feeling, or ecstacy. that finds expression only when inspired by the ardent songs, prayers, and exhortations of Christian fellowship; and he who is dependent upon such 'means of grace' for his vitality is but an infant in experience.

"Christian experience is 'putting off the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.'

"Christian experience is growth -- 'To grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'; to be rooted and grounded in love, and grow up in all things like unto Him who is our Head.

"Christian experience is to build up a character, 'adding to faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.'

"Christian experience is to be laborers in the Lords vineyard, workers together with God; and it is to be soldiers of the Cross armed cap-a-pie with the whole armor of God, following the Captain of our salvation.

"Christian experience is visiting the widow and fatherless in their affliction, and keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. As an example of true Christian experience tile reader is referred to the experience of the Apostle Paul as recorded in 2 Cor. 11 and 12.

"It is in such schools as these that the Christian gains experience; and this is the true experience that worketh hope that maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts."

THE PASSOVER DATE FOR 1929

THE DATE of the Memorial Supper anniver sary this year falls on Tuesday, April 23, after six o'clock, according to the Jewish Calendar and reckoning, which it has been our custom in past years to follow. It is observed that this year the popular Cath olic and Protestant Passover has been calculated one month earlier than the the Jewish; the Catholic Easter falling on March 31, and the so-called "Good Friday," or the Passover, falling on March 29.

The reason for this discrepancy of a month is that Catholics and Protestants in general ignore the Jewish methods of determining the Passover, which are based upon both solar and lunar time. This is one of the years then in which, according to the Jewish usage, it is necessary to intercalate or add an extra month in order to harmonize -- the solar and lunar time The last or twelfth moth ordinarily ecclesiastical year is called Adar, and this thirteenth month is called Second Adar, or Ve-Adar. There was a parallel situation to this in the year 1921, at which time an explanation was made in these columns which it seems well to republish at this time in order that all may have the matter clearly in mind; especially as this is one of the years in which the matter of the proper date of the Passover will very probably be called in question. The explanation published in 1921, follows

"Our explanation for the discrepancy [of one month between the Catholic and Jewish Passover] this year [1921] is, that from the standpoint of the Jewish calculation, which appeals to us as being the more logical and Scriptural, the March date for the Passover and Easter indicated by other Christians is in error. As is well known by all scholars, the Jewish month being governed largely by the moon's lunations -- from new moon to new moon is approximately 291/2 days, making 354 days in an ordinary lunar year. Last year [1920] the Jewish year was reckoned as commencing about March 21st, and of course 12 lunations or 354 days would bring us to about March 9th, 1921, as the beginning of another year; hence the popular Passover and. Easter date this year [1921] in the latter part of March. How ever, the highest Jewish authorities very properly call our attention to the fact that the ancient Hebrew calendar was not permanently fixed. The lunar year falls short of the solar year by near days, and because the Hebrew festivals were regulated not by the moon alone but also by he state of the harvest which depended upon the seasons, that is, upon the influence of the sun, became necessary to reconcile the length of the year when measured by lunations, to its length when measured by the motion of the sun. For this purpose an extra month was intercalated once in about every three years. In this way a lunar year was brought into accord with the solar and the calendar was made to correspond with the seasons.

"There are indications in the Scriptures that this was the case -- that the year was accounted by Moses to be governed by the sun as well as by the moon. Thus at the very beginning, in the account of the creation, we read in Gen. 1:14-16: 'And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years : And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.' Both the greater and the lesser light are included as the sign of the seasons.

"Quoting further from a standard Jewish authority;

"'One thing is clear that the commencements of the Hebrew months were governed by the new moon or rather by the first visibility of the moon -- the phase which she was assumed to present when new. We know also that the year was rendered luni-solar by the intercalation of an extra month as necessity for it arose. In this way the seasons at which time the feasts and festivals were observed would be year by year restored to their proper places.'

"Now it happens according to the foregoing that this year, 1921, is what is called a 'Jewish Leap Year,' that is, an extra month is called for, making 13 months to the present Jewish year instead of 12. As the regular Jewish twelve months end about March 8th, this extra or thirteenth month would there commence. The name of the Jewish twelfth month is Adar, and the name of the extra, or thir teenth month is Ve-Adar, or Second Adar. It is never recognized or called Nisan in any sense and it is wholly contrary to Jewish custom celebrate a rate any of the Jewish festivities in Ve-Adar that are intended for the month Nisan. Consequently the first Jewish month Nisan, this year following the thirteenth month or Second Adar, would commence with the next lunation or new moon after the one of March 9th, which we have already indicated to be on April 8^th -- the first new moon following the spring equinox.

"As confirming the above and as explaining further the necessity for the extra month to precede Nisan about' every third year, we submit the following from a standard Jewish authority

"'One of the Jewish ordinances was that a sheaf of barley should be offered before the Lord as the fiat fruits of the harvest. This was to be done in the Abib or month Nisan, immediately after the Passover on the second day of unleavened bread, which is the sixteenth day of the month. If it were found before this day had arrived that the barely would not be then ripe it was evident that the season according to the reckoning of lunar months had been accounted as arriving too early in the year. It must be made to come earlier. The first day of the Abib [Nisan] is approaching, the first day of the new year; the beginning of months. But by the sun the spring season has not arrived; the barley is not ready for the reapers; the lambs for the Passover are not yet fit to be killed. The first day of the ceremonial year must be postponed till the next lunation commences. The current year. which is corning to a close must be increased in length by 'another month.'

"If we should decide upon the March date this year for the Passover it would be some weeks of at least several days in advance of the time when the first fruits are ripe and ready to be offered, as we are advised by reliable authorities that the barley is not ripe in the warmest parts of Palestine before some time in the first half of April; therefore justifying the Jews in commencing Nisan this year as they have done -- one month later in order to fulfil all the requirements of the festival.

"Because the foregoing appeals to us as being both reasonable and Scriptural, we have this year [1921] decided to accept and to recommend the Jewish calculation as to the beginning of the month Nisan, and therefore recognize April 22nd as Nisan 14, and the evening of April 21st as the appropriate time for keeping the Passover Feast. Additionally we submit a further brief word from Pastor Russell that may prove helpful:

"'The Jewish method of reckoning; based upon the phases of the moon; was necessarily different from ours, and it was therefore very much less easy to determine an exact beginning for their month. Especially was this the case when the spring equinox had a bearing upon the matter, and when, as was the case with the Jews, another type demands that the Passover should come at the time of the harvest. All who have knowledge on the subject will admit that it would be practically impossible to fix dates for the beginning of the Jewish year by lunar time, in harmony with the harvest season, without there being room for dispute and difference of opinion. From our Lord's standpoint, all that was settled for the people by the decision of the Scribes, whose business it was to fix a date as to the beginning of the new year, and the fourteenth day of that year became the established date for the Memorial. In other words, whether the Scribes fixed a date earlier or a date later would not have particularly mattered; the object was to have a uniform date and to recognize the fourteenth day of the first month at even."

It will be no doubt interesting to our readers to recall that the year 1910 also presented a parallel situation to that of 1921 and that of the present year. In 1910, "Good Friday" and Easter Sunday according to the Catholic usage fell on March 23^rd and 25^th respectively. That year was also a Jewish Leap Year, the Jews having intercalated an extra month. Brother Russell, ignoring the popular Passover and Easter determined by Protestants and Catholics, recommended to the brethren throughout the world the acceptance of the Jewish calculation of Nisan 14, and so we celebrated the Memorial that year on the evening of April 22^nd. Note the explanation which Brother Russell gave in the Watch Tower, in the issue of April 1, 1910:

"The Christian Church originally kept the Passover Memorial as we do now, but in order to make the dates more regular, and also in order to drawn the minds of Christians away from the thought of following the Jewish precedents too closely, the method of reckoning the date was slightly altered. Thus the Jewish reckoning let the Passover fall where it might as respects the days of the week. But the change made the anniversary of our Lord's death to come always on a Friday, styled "Good Friday" and his resurrection date, therefore, to fall on the Sunday thereafter, "the third day," styled subsequently Easter Sunday. The Jewish reckoning of time was by the moon as well as by the sun. Thus the majority of years with them had twelve months, but occasionally one would have thirteen months. The Jewish reckoning of the Passover date begins to count with the first new moon after the spring equinox, the Passover date thus coming on the full moon fourteen days thereafter. Subsequently the Christian Church accepted the Friday near the first full moon after the spring equinox, even though the moon was new before the equinox. This explains the difference in dates this year [1910], Good Friday, according to Catholic usage, falling on March 2, while the corresponding date according to Jewish reckoning, will be April 23. We celebrate the Memorial on the evening preceding. Yet it is not the hour or day or our Lord's death, but the fact that is chiefly important. This year a Memorial service will be in order on Friday evening, April 22, after six o'clock (Nisan 14)."

Now then, the year 1929 is also a Jewish Leap Year, and the thirteenth Jewish month, Second Adar, ends on April 9, and the new Ecclesiastical year commences with April 10; this being also near the appearance of the first new moon following the spring equinox, and in accordance also with the Jewish custom of determining the beginning of Nisan 1. Reckoning from April 10, the 14^th of Nisan would fall on April 24, but would begin at sundown the evening before, or after six o'clock on the evening of April 23, which would therefore be the appropriate time for the brethren to observe the Memorial of our Lord's death.

DELIVERANCE

"Still o'er Earth's sky the clouds of anger roll,
And God's revenge hangs heavy, on her soul;
Yet shall she rise -- though first by God chastised
In glory and in beauty then baptized.

"Yes, Earth, thou shalt arise; thy Father's aid
Shall heal the wound His chastening hand hath made:
Shall judge the proud oppressor's ruthless sway,
And burst his bonds, and cast his cords away.

"Then on your soil shall deathless verdure spring.
Break forth, ye mountains, and ye valleys sing!
No more your thirsty rocks shall frown forlorn,
The unbeliever's jest, the heathen's scorn.

"The sultry sands shall tenfold harvests yield,
And a new Eden deck the thorny field.
E'en now we see, wide-waving o'er the land,
The mighty angel lifts his golden wand."

VOL. XII. February 15, 1929 No. 4

IMPORTANT SIGNS
AND WORLD EVENTS

"Holy See to Appear as a Sovereign State"

SCARCELY is the new year 1929 begun till there are matters and events developing and taking shape, which, from the standpoint of the faithful watchers, are of signal importance. Amongst such important items and considerations to which the Public Press is giving considerable ,prominence, is the Papal Roman question; that of conceding to the "Holy See" certain property and territorial rights that were taken from the Papacy in 1870. It is said that, "There is no doubt that negotiators who worked with full knowledge of the Holy See and the Italian Government, if without full authority, have reached an agreement on territorial as well as financial conditions. The question is now in the hand of the Pope and Premier to accept these conclusions and decide the time and means of carrying them out. The agreement is based on the cession by Italy to the Holy See of a small extension of territory lying southeast of the Vatican Gardens, including the villas of Bameleck and Coria-Pamphili, with extra territorial rights."

It is pointed out that "the settlement between Italy and the Vatican, if carried out on the lines described in the dispatch from Rome, will mean the restoration of the Pope to the temporal power that was stripped from him half a century ago, it was said last night by a Catholic authority here. The Pope once more will be recognized among the political as well as the spiritual rulers of the world, although his temporal power will not reach the same degree or cover as much territory as that of some of his predecessors.

"It will mean also, it was said on the same authority, that the Pope will feel free to travel, like any other ruler, and will no longer be known as the prisoner of the Vatican He would feel free to visit the United States or any other part of the world, if he chose to do so, it was added.

"For more than fifty years, since the Papacy lost its governmental power and its rich possessions in Rome, it was explained the Pope and his predecessors during that period have been 'voluntary' prisoners in the Vatican as a protest against what they considered the wrong done them in 1870. If this wrong is righted by the restoration of temporal power, even if it is more or less a gesture rather than a reality and the indemnification of the Papacy for the confiscation of its property, it was added, there would be no reason for the Pope and his successors to carry on the protest by self-imprisonment. He would feel that justice had been done, and would act accordingly.

"Pope Could Tax Subjects"

"The same authority interpreted the dispatch from Rome to indicate that the Papacy would revert, on a small scale, to the same status it enjoyed before 1870. The Pope would have the title and privileges of a Prince of a reigning house, and. would be empowered to carry on a complete self-government of his small domain in all branches -- executive, legislative, and judicial.

"He would have the power to tax his subjects and those who lived in his domain would be free from Italian taxation, laws, judicial processes, and other governmental powers. The Papal State would be within Italian soil, but would be independent of Italy. It would be a State within a State, like the little republic of San Marino, which is also situated in Italy.

"The proposed settlement was regarded here as an act of reconciliation extended by Premier Mussolini for the purpose of bringing about a better understanding among the Church and State elements in Italy. It was seen as thoroughly in line with the Fascist attempt to unify all elements an Italian society by gaining the powerful support of the Church in solidifying the Fascist State."

If the negotiations now underway should result in the restoration of the temporal power of the Pope, as seems probable, it will, of course, add considerable to the prestige and power of. the Roman Pontiff, and place him in a position to exercise a wider and greater influence among the powers of the earth. While none can definitely foresee or foretell the outcome and consequences of such developments, yet, these matters being closely connected with and related to symbolic prophecy, may well command the interest and careful observation of those who are watching the signs that mark the great and long predicted change from the old to the new order of things. Those who are possessed of true sobriety and the spirit of a sound mind will not attempt to do any wild speculating or guessing as to what is going to happen, because they recognize that all the interests of the true Church are bound up and are secure in the hands of Him who said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. It is merely as hints or indications, signs of the end of the Age that these items command the interest of the faithful watchers.

__________

THE CRY OF PEACE, PEACE

Another matter of world-wide interest is the recent ratification of what is known as the Kellogg Peace Treaty by the United States Senate and regarded by the workers for peace as marking a most important advance in the establishment of permanent international peace. The substance of the treaty is that the nations agree to "condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies and renounce it as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another; that the settlement or solution of all disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them, shall never be stopped except by pacific means."

It is said that "President Coolidge was represented as very happy that the Senate had acted favorably upon a matter which he regards as the most important act of his administration.

"The President believes that the Treaty will do more than anything else that has been done to stabilize the world, and it will go far toward preventing future wars. The Treaty was originally signed by fifteen major nations, including the United States. Forty-nine other nations have been asked to adhere, and of these, five have deposited pledges with the State Department and forty-one have signified their intent to adhere. Three have not yet been heard from."

Circumstances Leading to the Peace Pact

Mr. P. W. Wilson, writing in "The New York Times," of January 20, has presented an interesting review of the matter from which we are submitting a few extracts:

"The pact of peace, negotiated so modestly and ratified so suddenly, is not to be regarded merely as an isolated circumstance. It is the culmination of a long series of conferences and discussions, some failures and others successful, by which peace, as a constructive policy, was advanced. We need to look on the earlier picture before we examine the later picture, and to see how one of them was developed into the other.

"Of all such conferences, that which met at Paris ten years ago was incomparably the most dramatic. The men and women attending it could be numbered by the thousand. There were scores of envoys plenipotentiary who were the principals in the deliberations. They were surrounded by a miscellaneous multitude of statesmen and diplomatists, permanent officials and experts, historians, professors, secretaries, stenographers and press correspondents. The hotels were also crowded by agents of every kind, representing small nations which were struggling for liberty, difficult causes and special points of view. It was amid a bewildering whirlpool of intrigue, entreaty, propaganda, expostulation and menace that the conference labored over a colossal task.

"If the, conference was unprecedented, so was the war which led up to it. It was one of the many wars that have originated in Europe. But it was the first of European wars in which the fate of the Old World was decided by the intervention of the New World. Even that most remote of English-speaking democracies, New Zealand, sent a large army overseas. So with Australia; so with Canada. Last but not least, the United States recruited 4,000,000 men, of which vast and increasing force half had been sent to France. It was by far the largest host ever shipped across any ocean.

"The losses had been incalculable. Direct expenditure alone amounted to $186,000,000,000, or fully fifty times the sum spent annually by the United States Government The indirect cost of the war will never be known. There were 7,500,000 deaths in battle; and to this figure there must be added an immense mortality at various dates, among civilians as well as soldiers, due to wounds, disease, famine, and, in the case of about a million Armenians, cold-blooded massacre.

"The whole world was deafened by reverberating revolutions. The Military autocracies of Russia, of Germany and of Austria-Hungary, directly affecting 250,000,000 people, fell to the ground with a crash. The Islamic Caliphate, vested in the Sultan of Turkey, governing another 30,000,000 and guiding the spiritual vision of the entire Moslem world, crumbled into nothing.

"The most stable of governments was thus nervous, and everywhere the challenge of Russian communism, crude yet clear, with its attribution of all wars to the wickedness of capitalists, was heard as an ominous refrain."

"When They Shall Say Peace and Safety"

After reviewing the various proceedings and developments involving the creation of the League of Nations and leading up to the recent Anti-war Pact, this writer continues:

"The pact is more than a pledge. Mere paper cannot prevent war. But the pact does mean that the nations approach the whole problem of the future, and especially disarmament, having arrived at a new assumption, namely that war is outside the pale of public policy.

"The pact of peace is essentially a peoples' pact. It is the peoples of the world who are behind it. Like Magna Carta, like the Bill of Rights, like the Declaration of Independence the parchment is powerful because of the public opinion which has endorsed it. Within a few weeks the discussions of disarmament will be r