CONFEFENCE
OUR TIM
ED IN THIS ISSUE
cituted
A SURE FAITH IN A SURE FUTURE
XPIOSIVE TIMES
AYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES
HOW IS YOUR
' CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE " ?
,•&
7".
DERWENT WATER
Ere they to rest wing flight;
by Stanley Combridge
THE sun's last glint of brilliant gold
Shines forth ere close of day;
All nature seems to lift her voice
In one glad evening lay:
A cooling breeze fresh life inspires
To withered.grass and flower,
And trees rise up as if from prayer
In nature's worship hour.
And one by one appearing stars
Tell of approaching night.
The sun now sinks behind
the hills,
The wind's soft, distant moan,
The rustle of a thousand leaves
Add harmony and tone.
Soon night her mantle softly spreads
O'er nature as she sleeps,
And like a silent sentinel
LAKE 0.
THE BIBLE a nd
This month ...
OUR TIMES
DISCUSSION continues from the
platform, in the Press, and in Parliament on the question of European
Unity. A recent remark by the Prime
Minister raises an important issue
which is dealt with in our editorial,
"Europe and 'Theology.' "—Page 4.
A FAMILY JOURNAL OF CHRISTIAN LIVING DEDICATED TO THE PROCLAMATION
OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL. PRESENTING THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD
AND JESUS CHRIST AS OUR ALL-SUFFICIENT SAVIOUR AND COMING KING
W LESLIE EMMERSON
EDITOR
ASSISTANT EDITOR
ART DIRECTOR . .
RAYMOND D. VINE
. C. M. HUBERT COWEN
W J NEWMAN
CIRCULATION MANAGER
VOLUME 81 • SEPTEMBER, 1965 - PRICE I/PRINTED AND PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE STANBOROUGH PRESS LIMITED
WATFORD ' HERTFORDSHIRE ' ENGLAND
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, including postage 17/6 ' SIX MONTHS 8/9
Many vivid terms have been used
to describe the days in which we are
living. A. S. Maxwell comments on
one of the latest, "These Explosive
Times."—Page 7.
Another of the great sayings of
Jesus is explained by J. A. McMillan
in "Faithful in Little Things."—Page
10.
From the experience of God's
people in past ages, Spencer G. Maxwell assures us that "God Always
Keep His Promises."—Page 13.
In his final article on the history
of Sunday laws in this country, D. S.
Porter brings us down to the recent
Crathorne Report and discusses legislation which may emerge from it.
See "High-Water Mark and Ebb
Tide."—Page 14.
Please notify change of addresi promptly
Is the purpose of the Gospel to
change social conditions, to prepare
men for the future life, or both?
R. T. Bolton seeks to answer this
question in "Christian 'Priorities.'
—Page 16.
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
4
EUROPE AND "THEOLOGY"
GENERAL ARTICLES
7
A. S. Maxwell
THESE EXPLOSIVE TIMES
Ernest Cox 8
HOW IS YOUR "CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE"?
JESUS SAID-9
J. A. McMillan 10
"Faithful in Little Things"
Spencer G. Maxwell 13
GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES . .
WHAT ABOUT OUR SUNDAY LAWS?-4
D. S. Porter, M.A. 14
High-Water Mark and Ebb Tide
R. T. Bolton 16
CHRISTIAN "PRIORITIESLET DANIEL SPEAK!-9
Leslie Shaw 18
Judgment from the Sanctuary
J. R. Lewis 21
SEPTEMBER APPOINTMENT
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE "INCARNATION"? J. C. Mitchell 23
IF CHRIST DOES NOT COME AGAIN! . . . A. B. Cheesbrough 24
Desmond Ford 26
3 SECRETS OF HAPPY LIVING
BIBLE FLORA AND FAUNA—I
Eric Hardy, F.Z.S. 28
Adam's "Apple"
REGULAR FEATURES
29
32
35
YOUR BIBLE QUESTIONS ANSWERED
THE CHILDREN'S PAGES
MIRROR OF OUR TIME
POEM
SUNSET
Stanley Combridge 2
COVER PICTURE: Trafalgar Square, London
In the ninth article of his series
"Let Daniel Speak," Leslie Shaw
unfolds the significance of the culminating service of the sanctuary
year in "Judgment from the Sanctuary." (Page 18.) This theme is
further developed by J. R. Lewis in
"September Appointment."—Page 21.
Many articles have app(ared in
this journal on the surety of the
Second Advent. From yet another
angle A. B. Cheesbrough deals with
this important theme in "If Christ
Does Not Come Again!"—Page 24.
An informative new series on the
plants and animals of the Bible by
Eric Hardy begins in this issue. Appropriately he first talks about
"Adam's 'Apple.' "—Page 28.
As usual your Bible questions are
answered (page 29), there are three
pages for the children (pages 32-34),
and a selection of pithy paragraphs
which mirror our times.—Page 30.
DISCERNING
THE TIMES...
CURRENT EVENTS IN THE LIGHT OF THE BIBLE
BY THE EDITOR
EUROPE and "THEOLOGY"
HEN Mr. Harold Wilson
was debating with Sir Alec
Douglas-Home recently in
the House of Commons on the
desirability or otherwise of Britain
going into Europe, he made a statement the significance of which perhaps even he did not fully appreciate. He said : "This is not an issue
of theology."
In saying this he was not using
"theology" in the strict sense of that
term, but was tilting at Sir Alec's
assertion of his political faith, "I
believe in the Commonwealth; I
believe in a strong Britain, and I
believe in a United Europe. . . .
All are compatible, . . . all are
necessary."
Actually, however, his reference
to "theology" was not at all irrelevant, and we would go even further
than Sir Alec Douglas-Home and
say that the issue of Europe is not
merely an issue of political faith,
but a matter of "theological" faith
as well.
Nearly two and a half millenniums ago, God revealed to
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,
through His prophet Daniel, the
course of history from his day to
the end of time. (Dan. 2:31-35.)
In the form of a great dream
image, the king was shown the pro-
W
4
OPPOSITE PAGE.—Mr. Harold Wilson speaking at the opening of a
NATO Conference in London. ABOVE.—Queen Elizabeth and Prince
Philip with President and Frau Luebke at Schloss Augustusburg Castle
on the Rhine.
cession of world empires from Babylon, represented by its golden head,
through the silver kingdom of
Medo-Persia, the brazen empire of
Greece, and the iron monarchy of
Rome to the nations of medieval
and modern Europe which would
result from its fragmentation.
(Verses 36-42.)
Concerning these last, Daniel
declared in his inspired interpretation, "They shall not cleave one
to another." Verse 43. And though
ruler after ruler of the divided
nations of the West has sought to
re-establish a unitary power in
Europe, every ambition during the
past 1,400 years has been broken
upon these seven prophetic words.
However, supplementing the remarkable image vision of Nebuchadnezzar, John the Revelator, in
the first century of the Christian era,
was shown that while, through the
centuries, the separate nations of
the Roman earth would compete
and conflict, but never unite, in the
very last days—and this would be
one of the notable "signs" of the
climax of world history—they
would come to "one mind" (Rev.
17:13), that is, they would at long
last decide, after ages of strife, that
there was more to be gained by
friendship and co-operation than
by isolation and enmity.
And this is exactly what is taking
place in Europe today.
At the close of World War II,
in face of the threatened Communist advance, the nations of
Western Europe began to draw
together, under the late Sir Winston
Churchill's slogan of "Union
Now," for mutual defence, backed
by the overarching power of the
United States.
From the beginning there was
strong pressure on the part of some
nations like Holland, and Belgium,
Germany and Italy, for a "supranational" Europe, a close - knit
United States of Europe after the
pattern of the United States of
America. But others, like Britain
and France, were opposed to a
"supranational" Europe and looked
rather for a looser confederation of
nations in which each would retain
its full sovereignty, but would act
in concert for their mutual defence
and prosperity.
For some years it looked as if
the federalist pattern of union
would prevail as one after another
"supranational" economic agency
came into being. But as soon as
the ultimate question of political
5
Representatives of the fifteen NATO
countries in session.
union began to be discussed,
General de Gaulle put his foot
down firmly, declaring that he
would never surrender France's
sovereignty to any "supranational
Europe," and urging his own pattern of a Europe des Patries, of
closely associated but independent
nations.
For this he has been, and still
is, severely criticized as an obstructionist, but in a remarkable way he
has been the unwitting instrument
of the fulfilment of the divine
prophecy which excluded the formation of any new unitary Europe,
such as the federalists had in mind,
but foreshadowed the rise of a
"common mind" among the independent nations of Western Europe
for their mutual advantage and
security.
To this idea Queen Elizabeth
paid a notable tribute on her state
visit to Germany when she declared: "In the tensions and uncertainties of the modern world,
the peoples of Europe can no
longer afford the clashes and divisions of earlier ages. If we wish to
preserve the best of our heritage,
we must make common cause. . . .
We are anxious to play our full
part within the European community."
So today we cannot fail to see
crystallizing out of the trends of
political thought in this country
and on the Continent the "common
mind" which was to be one of the
striking "signs" of the closing days
of human history.
But this is not by any means all,
for the prophetic Word foretold
two other developments which
would demarcate the place of
Europe on the stage of history's
final crisis.
In the sixteenth chapter of the
Revelation we are given a picture
of the last-day orientation of the
nations under the symbols of the
"beast" and the "false prophet,"
the "dragon" and the "kings of the
east." Rev. 16:13, 12.
On many occasions in this journal
we have shown that the "beast"
and the "false prophet" of the
"Big Four" of last-day prophecy
represent respectively Western
Europe and America, or the "West"
as they are commonly designated
today, while the "dragon" and the
"kings of the east" comprise what
we know as the "East."
Until recently these rival blocs of
the post-war world have been under
Prime Minister Wilson in audience with
Pope Paul VI at the Vatican. Were
they discussing United Europe?
President de Gaulle speaking at St.
Germain-en-Laye.
the domination of two great powers,
the United States and the Soviet
Union. The revelation given to
John, however, foretold the bisection of each of these two ideological blocs into four concentrations of power.
In exact accord with this predicted political "fission" we have
seen, since the middle fifties of this
century, the progressive development of a rift in the Eastern bloc
which has now resulted in the
coalescence of two independent
groups of nations around Russia
and China. And, during the same
period, we have also seen in the
Western Alliance a movement toward an independent Europe, not
however in opposition like Russia
and China, but in continuing close
collaboration with America through
the Atlantic Community. Indeed,
President de Gaulle's most recent
theme is the replacement of the
"world equilibrium based on Yalta
and its two hegemonies" by a
"new world equilibrium" in which
a strong, united, and independent
Europe, in close association with the
"third world" of the new AfroAsian nations and Latin America,
will play a prominent balancing
part.
Finally, we come to the third
development in relation to Europe
brought to view in John's prophetic
preview. Explaining the remarkable
change of attitude of the nations
of the Roman earth to one another
in the latter days, he declares, by
inspiration, that the "kings" or
powers of Europe would not only
come remarkably to "one mind,"
but that they would mutually agree
to place "their power and strength"
not at the disposal of any supranational political entity, but in the
hands of the supranational spiritual
entity of Rome.
That events are moving rapidly
in this direction, too, is evidenced,
on the one hand, by the fact that
most of the countries of Western
Europe are governed by Catholic
6
Ili
C_1
or pro-Catholic political parties,
and on the other by the benedictions
which successive Popes have pronounced upon the idea of United
Europe.
Only recently Pope Paul VI,
addressing an audience of government officials in Rome said that
"the church cannot remain outside
the immense effort that is being
made jointly by the peoples of this
Europe, which is linked by such
close bonds to the church."
While, he went on, the Holy
See "keeps above discussions of a
political nature, . . . we support
wholeheartedly all those who work
sincerely toward a United Europe."
And in this connection one of
the French President's most "splendidly Gaullish" remarks recently is
perhaps not without significance:
"We European builders of cathedrals, . . . what a cathedral Western
Europe will be."
Far, therefore, from the unity of
Europe not being a "religious issue"
as Mr. Wilson asserted in the
House of Commons, it is one of the
most important "religious issues"
and one of the most remarkable
"signs" of our times.
.
VER the years, in an endeavour to emphasize the solemnity of the present hour,
this journal has spoken of "these momentous times," "tremendous times," and "dramatic
times," but it remained for Earl Warren, Chief
Justice of the United States, to use the most
colourful phrase of all: "These explosive times."
When delivering his opinion on the right of
the State Department to refuse travel permits
to persons desiring to visit Cuba, he said that
such restrictions are warranted in "these turbulent
times when explosion after explosion occurs
in the world."
"Turbulent" and "explosive" are forceful
words. None more so. Coming from the Chief
Justice they suggest that Our Times has not been
wrong in its oft-repeated warning that the
world is fast moving into the "time of trouble"
foretold by the prophet Daniel and into that
hour of "terror" of which Jesus spoke when He
described the events to precede His second
coming.
Wrote Daniel: "At that time shall Michael
stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the
children of thy people: and there shall be a
time of trouble, such as never was since there
was a nation even to that same time." Dan. 12 :1.
Said Jesus, in response to His disciples' question as to what would be the sign of His coming
and the end of the world: "Portents will appear
in sun, moon, and stars. On earth nations will
stand helpless, not knowing which way to turn
from the roar and surge of the sea; men will faint
with terror at the thought of all that is coming
upon the world." Luke 21 :25, 26, N.E.B.
This is where we are now. We have entered
the "turbulent" and "explosive" times which
will cause ever-increasing terror around the
world. We are witnessing the beginning of the
dread events Christ said would herald the
approach of His second advent.
Those who live in such times, said He, "will
see the Son of man coming on a cloud with
great power and glory." Verse 27.
Yet this is a great moment to be alive, the
greatest in all history. Dark though the immediate
future may seem, there is a glorious light beyond,
and there is no need to fear. To all who love God
and seek to do His will, He says, "When all this
begins to happen, stand upright and hold your
heads high, because your liberation is near."
Verse 28.
The last "explosion" will mark the transition
from time to eternity; from "the kingdoms of
this world" to the kingdom of "our Lord, and
of His Christ," and "He shall reign for ever
and ever." Rev. 11:15.
0
These
EXPLOSIVE
TIMES
By A. S. MAXWELL
What, then, is this spiritual condition? How is it
attained and sustained ? And how, and why, is it
so frequently, and apparently with some people, so
easily diminished and almost lost?
Aberrations of spiritual experience
by ERNEST COX
Some Christians claim that the only proof of
acceptance with God is to be found in an ecstatic,
and, at times, almost hysterical, state of mind. This
exalted psychosis occasionally may reveal itself by
means of supernatural utterances called "speaking
with tongues," or by periods of profound physical
prostration. This condition might perhaps be described as the carrying of religious fervour and excitement to excess—to the point of uncontrolled fanaticism such as is often seen in connection with heathen
rites.
Conversely, there are many other Christians who
seriously maintain that feeling has no part whatever
with faith. They prefer reason to emotion, and tend
always to distrust any unusual appeal either to their
affection or their aversion. They appear to be somewhat lacking in capacity either to love God or to "hate
evil." Psa. 97:10.
Somewhere mid-way between these two extreme
attitudes may be found that state of Christlike sensitivity which the Bible extols. It is a mental state which
savours neither of fanticism on the one hand, nor
of stoicism on the other, but which seeks ever to
emulate the sweet reasonableness of the mind of
Christ. (Phil. 2:5.)
True Christian experience
The apostle Paul tells us that certain very admirable
traits of character soon begin to manifest themselves
in the life of him who truly follows his Lord. They
are the products of the Holy Spirit's presence in
his heart. They constitute the solid foundation of a
lasting and effective Christian experience. "The fruit
of the Spirit," Paul asserts, "is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith." Gal. 5 :22.
It has been wisely submitted that the second, and
the succeeding qualities in this famous list are really
the natural and logical extensions of the fipt—that
Christian love comprehends all. This, of course, is
true. A love which is all-embracing in extent—which
is ardent and obedient toward God, as well as considerate and helpful toward men—is the only firm
basis for a truly biblical Christian experience.
Recently, a television interviewer accosted a number
of ordinary people in the street and asked them for
their individual definition of "love." Most of those
approached were immediately reduced to a condition
of inarticulate shyness ! A few managed to intimate
that they thought love to be just physical attraction.
ANY people today have only a very vague
idea of what is really meant by the term
"Christian experience." They hear religious
men and women talk about their "experience," and
often about the rather surprising vacillations of this
"experience."
Sometimes Christians say that they are enjoying
a "good experience," while at other times they may
maintain that certain trials, or certain severe disappointments, have almost robbed them of their
"Christian experience" !
M
8
rapidly diminish, and will be in danger of being lost
altogether.
But none of them seemed to have any idea that love
implies anything more than is involved with courtship and marriage.
But the true Christian knows that love, in its highest and widest significance, is his life. It is the basis of
his relationship to God and his fellowship with man.
Love is at once the foundation and the attestation of
his Christian experience.
To them that obey Him
The question naturally arises, How may the Christian acquire this valued fullness of the Spirit, and
thus be sure of daily enjoying a good experience with
God?
A simple answer to that question is that the Lord
will graciously bestow upon us an abundance of His
Spirit when, in all things, we manifest a believing
willingness to obey Him. For the inspired Peter
declared, "We ought to obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus . . . to be a
Prince and a Saviour. . . . And we are His witnesses
. . . and so also is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath
given to them that obey Him."
As we accept Christ as our Prince and Saviour,
rendering to Him daily our loyal and unstinted obedience, then it is that the Holy Spirit dwells richly
in our hearts by faith. Then it is that our spiritual
well-being is assured, and our experience is satisfactory. For God says: "A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and
I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do
them." Ezek. 36:26, 27.
All too often the Christian is trapped into disobedience, and debilitated in spiritual experience, through
persistence in one special, favourite, and highly
individual sin. It is usually a transgression which
varies in character very considerably from one person
to another. With some it may be a love of power,
with others, a love of praise, with still others, an
undue love of creature comforts or of pleasure. But
any one of these "inordinate affections" (Col. 3:5)
will strongly mitigate against the love of God. They
all have the effect of grossly marring the spirituality
of the Christian concerned, and making impossible the
beneficial relationship of God's Holy Spirit.
If any such be the case with us we need to pray
most earnestly as did David, "Restore unto me the
joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free
Spirit." Psa. 51:12. We need, without delay, to "lay
aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset us." Heb. 12:1.
This forthright forsaking of sin will produce the
ideal Christian experience—an experience which can
survive all the constant changes of this life because
it is simply a firm and loving relationship with Christ.
Peter, one of Christ's closest earthly companions,
well described the faithful Christian's connection
with his Saviour, when he wrote of Him, "Whom
having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye
see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 1 Peter 1 :8.
Supremacy of love
It follows then, that should the Christian's love
prove inadequate in any of its subsidiary manifestations, his "Christian experience" will correspondingly
suffer. For example, a Christian may maintain an
ardent and self-sacrificing attitude toward God, and
yet be remiss in his long-suffering toward man. His
"joy and peace" will diminish if he nurses
to his neighbour.
Indeed, the Bible continually tests the strength
and sincerity of a man's love to his God, by the
degree of love he manifests to his fellow-man. "If
a man says, I love God," says John, "and hateth his
brother, he is a liar : for he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he
hath not seen ? And this commandment have we
from Hiin, That he who loveth God love his brother
also." 1 John 4:20, 21.
Not only does the Holy Spirit within us inspire
a comprehensive Christian love as the firm basis of
our religious experience, but He also, by this same
means, assures our eternal salvation.
Many people are worried by the diversity of
Christian creeds which exist today. There are so many
professed, and very differing "ways to heaven," that
the would-be believer is often very concerned and
perplexed.
Our Saviour, however, has promised that the Spirit
Himself will guide the earnest and unprejudiced
seeker into the right way. "Howbeit when He, the
Spirit of truth, is come," Jesus says, "He will guide
you into all truth." John 16:13. Moreover, the Holy
Spirit, having directed our feet in the way of truth,
by His love-fruitage in our lives, will preserve our
acceptance with God until the day of final triumph.
For, speaking of our blessed Redeemer, Paul declares,
"In whom ye also trusted . . . in whom also, . . . ye
were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." Eph.
1:13.
From these passages it will readily be seen that
the depth and stability of our Christian experience
is in direct proportion to the Holy Spirit's influence
in our lives. We shall enjoy a "good experience"
if, in Paul's words, we are consistently "filled with
the Spirit." Eph. 5:18. But if, on the other hand,
for any reason, we "grieve . . . the Holy Spirit of
God" (Eph. 4:30), our Christian experience will
9
I
Jesus said — 9
J. A. McMillan
recalls the
admonitions
of Jesus
on the
importance
of little things
in the
building of Christian character
WELL recall a hymn we used to sing in church
and Sunday school many years ago:
"Little drops of water, little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean and the golden strand."
The sentiment of this song is a reflection of a
principle enunciated by Jesus some nineteen centuries
ago: "The man who can be trusted in little things can
be trusted also in great ; and the man who is dishonest
in little things is dishonest also in great things."
Luke 16:10, N.E.B.
Rather a shattering thought, isn't it ?
For many years pilfering in little things has been
more or less condoned by public opinion. When a
porter was caught pilfering from a guard's van, and
dismissed, the entire railway force threatened strike
action. When a docker was caught pilfering from a
ship's cargo, the dockers likewise threatened strike
action if the man was not reinstated. In this way,
industrial action, designed to protect men's rights,
was used to undermine private honesty and public
property.
Now crime scorns these petty thefts and grows
more arrogant and greedy with the passing of time.
The tiny seeds of pilfering have grown into a mighty
tree whose roots penetrate into every nook and cranny
of society, and whose branches give shelter to every
species of vulture. "The man who is dishonest in
little things is dishonest also in great things."
It is an inescapable principle of life that living
is made up of apparent trifles. This was well expressed
by Tryone Edwards :
"It is a fixed law of the universe that little things
are but parts of the great. The grass does not spring
up full grown, by eruptions: it rises by an increase
so noiseless and gentle as not to disturb an angel's
ear—perhaps to be invisible to an angel's eye. The
rain does not fall in masses, but in drops, or even in
the breath-like moisture of the fine mist. The planets
do not leap from end to end of their orbits, but inch
by inch, and line by line, it is, that they circle the
heavens. Intellect, feeling, habit, character, all become
what they are through the influence of little things.
And in morals and religion it is by little things—by
little things acting on us, or seemingly little decisions
made by us—that every one of us is growing, not
by leaps, but surely by inches, either to life or death
eternal."—Cited by J. Walter Rich in Is Life Worth
Living? page 21.
sex, size, shape, and potential characteristics. Each
atom is a tiny universe of stupendous energy, with
its neutrons, electrons, and protons.
When Jesus stressed the importance of little things,
He was not anticipating the scientific marvels of the
twentieth century, He was stressing the age-old
importance of little things on the formation of
character.
How often the dreamer fondly imagines the great
and dramatic things he is going to do—in some
future crisis ; while the daily opportunities of doing
little, but worth-while things, are allowed to slip
away, neglected and despised.
"FAITHFUL
The Master of men and things showed an amazing
grasp of the importance of the trivial. Having just
fed over five thousand by a miraculous multiplication
of a boy's picnic lunch, He commanded the disciples :
" 'Collect the pieces left over, so that nothing may be
lost.' This they did, and filled twelve baskets with
the pieces left uneaten of the five barley loaves."
John 6:13, N.E.B.
Here is a delightful blending of prodigal generosity and frugal economy. How few there are who
combine these excellent qualities of heart and mind.
Jesus could accomplish great things, and yet pay
scrupulous attention to small details. Buffon defined
genius as "an infinite capacity for taking pains," and
this is exemplified in the public work of Jesus. He
illustrated, in His healing ministry, the use of little
things to accomplish great ends.
A universe of atoms
The microscope has made our generation keenly
conscious of the might of the little things. Things that
were unknown to our fathers, and are still invisible
to us, are most potent in shaping our personalities and
our destinies. Chromosomes and genes decide our
Daniel Webster stated a great truth in the words:
"He that has a spirit of detail will do better in life
than many who figured beyond him in the university.
Such a one is minute and particular; he adjusts
trifles, and these trifles compose most of the business
and happiness of life. Great events happen seldom
10
Nothing could be more decisive than this picture of
the judgments of the Grand Assize. The great test
of character is not the flaming torch, but the steady
light, not the magnificent and spectacular but the
consistent, fait:iful performance of the humdrum
and humble things of life.
and affect few; trifles happen every moment to everybody; and though one occurrence of them adds little
to the happiness or misery of life, yet the sum total
of their continual repetition is of the highest consequence."
A recognition of the vital part that little things
play on our lives is expressed in the well-known
saying: "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that
gnaw at our vines, when the vines are in bloom."
Cant. 2:15, Moffatt.
Most school-children have recited, at one time or
another, the lines:
"The trivial round, the common task,
Will furnish all we ought to ask;
Room to deny ourselves, a road
To bring us daily nearer God."
The truly/ faithful servant
The world honours the showman, the successful
tycoon, the smooth operator, the public benefactor,
but Jesus, who knows our hearts and reads our
thoughts, weighing our motives in the balances of
the sanctuary, tells us plainly by what standard we
shall be finally honoured. "Well done, thou good and
faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Matt. 25:21.
Goodness and faithfulness are qualities of enduring
wo-th. These are prized by Heaven above the price
(Continued on page 17.)
"For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For the want of a horse, the rider was lost.
For the want of a rider, the battle was lost.
All was lost for the want of a nail."
A cup of cold water
Jesus wishes us to translate our grandiose dreams
into reality by elevating the little things into great
things by developing the spirit of faithfulness. "Old
faithful" is a delightful and utterly dependable
character. This is forcefully presented to us in the
promise that "if anyone gives so much as a cup of
cold water to one of these little ones, because he is
in little things
a disciple of Mine, I tell you this: that man will
assuredly not go unrewarded." Matt. 10:42, N.E.B.
It is evident that the motive is the really "big
thing" here. The cup of cold water may be refreshing
—even life preserving—but that is only part of the
picture. The desire to give, to help "for Jesus' sake"
is the purest of all motivation, it reveals the fact that
the supreme sacrifice of Christ has struck a responsive
chord in our hearts. "We love Him, because He first
loved us."
When Jesus describes the fateful decisions of the
judgment day, He tells us that the final separation of
"sheep and goats" is determined, not, as we might
think, by some momentous deeds on our part, but by
the faithful performance of little things: " 'You gave
Me food ; . . you gave Me drink ; . . . You took Me
into your home; . . . When naked you clothed Me,
when I was ill you came to My help, when in prison
you visited Me.' Then the righteous will reply, 'Lord,
when . . . ?' and the King will answer, 'I tell you
this: anything you did for one of My brothers here,
however humble, you did for Me.' " Matt. 25 :31-40,
N.E.B.
11
ff
Jesus multiplies a little boy's lunch to feed the "five
thousand."
Amen, unto the glory of God by us." 2 Cor. 1 :20.
For how long then can we count on the Lord's
promises ? Deuteronomy 7:9 has the answer : "The
faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with
them that love Him and keep His commandments
to a thousand generations." Here we nave it—a
thousand generations. David endorsed this when he
said, "He hath remembered His covenant for ever,
the word which He commanded to a thousand
generations." Psa. 105 :8.
How long is a generation? It has varied in the
course of human history. The early generations were
much longer than those of today, but let us take the
figure of twenty-five years as an average. On this basis
a thousand generations would be 25,000 years. Quite
a length of time! Surely this will take us far into the
years of eternity!
In our hurry and impatience we often feel that God
does not implement His promises to us as quickly as
He should do. We often forget that there are conditions to be met before His promises can become
operative in our lives. God is not in a hurry, even if
we are. The apostle Peter reminds- us, in spite of the
fact that "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day," yet, "The Lord is
not slack concerning His promise, as some men
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish." 2 Peter 3:8, 9.
H
AVE you ever made a promise and then wished
you had not done so? Probably many times.
You wanted to go out to enjoy yourself, but
you had promised to look after your friend's children
for the afternoon. You promised to cut the grass of
your neighbour's lawn while he was away, but how
inconvenient it turned out to be. Oh, how many
times we repent of our promises. And worse still,
we deliberately forget them or break them.
The world today presents a sorry spectacle of
broken promises, from broken marriage vows to the
catch-vote promises of the political parties at elections.
We might count the "scraps of paper" which are all
that remain of solemn treaties among the nations of
the world which were signed, witnessed, and sealed
by their leading plenipotentiaries, and then broken
when it appeared advantageous to do so. Such is the
moral condition of the world today that verbal
promises count for nothing, and even from those
which are signed on the dotted line and sealed, a way
can usually be found to escape the obligation.
How refreshing it is to turn to the Word of God
and consider the surety of the "exceeding great and
precious promises" of God. (2 Peter 1 :4.)
God's promises are very different from most of
ours. Salter has remarked concerning these promises ;
"Every divine promise is built upon four pillars;
God's justice or holiness, which will not suffer Him
to deceive; His grace or goodness, which will not
suffer Him to forget; His truth, which will not suffer
Him to change; and His power, which makes Him
able to accomplish."
On the "selfsame day"
This is illustrated in God's promise to Abraham
concerning his posterity. In Genesis 15:13-16 he was
told, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be in a
strange land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ;
and they shall afflict them four hundred years. . .
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither
again ; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
full." Here the promise was dependent on three
nations: Israel, Egypt, and the Amorites. Israel cried
for deliverance before the promise was due for
fulfilment. They were tempted to question His
existence because they were not delivered at the time
they expected. But God was keeping His eye on
Heaven's chronometer. He did not forget His promise
to Abraham. And so we read in Exodus 12:40, 41,
"Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who
dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred
and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to
pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the
land of Egypt." God watched the time. The Amorites
would take four hundred years to fill up the cup of
their iniquity. Israel would need that time in Egypt
to help them appreciate their deliverance.
God promised His people a land flowing with milk
and honey. But apparently He was in no hurry to give
it to them. They could have travelled from Egypt to
Thirty thousand promises!
God's promises are found on every page of His
Holy Book. One who counted them says that there are
thirty thousand! If this figure is accepted then we
could take for consideration one new promise each
day for over eighty years. What a treasure house of
promises we have in the Bible! They must surely
cover all phases of this life.
And not this life only. Many apply to the life to
come. The saints of bygone days, we are told, "died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having
seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them,
and embraced them, and confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Heb. 11:13.
They had no Bible as we have. But every promise
of God to them was tested and tried in personal
experience. Abraham, with nature apparently against
him, became a mighty nation. Moses, with the sceptre
of Egypt within his grasp, forsook the highest civilization of his time, because he "had respect unto
the recompense of the reward."
Though conditions have altered, the promises of
God have never failed. Paul reminds us that "all
the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him
12
Canaan in the matter of a few months. But it took
forty years for the promise to be fulfilled. God was
more interested with the development of character
than the passing of time. But when His faithful
servant, Joshua, made his farewell speech to the
people after their settlement in the land, he was able
to say: "Not one thing hath failed of all the good
things which the Lord your God spake concerning
you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing
hath failed thereof." Joshua 23 :14.
"So it came to pass"
During the days of the monarchy Jehu was made
God's instrument in the fulfilment of judgment on
the wicked house of Ahab. Jehu apparently did his
work well and as a reward, "the Lord said unto
Jehu, because thou hast done well in executing that
which is right in Mine eyes,.and hast done unto the
house of Ahab according to all that was in Mine
heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit
on the throne of Israel." 2 Kings 10:30.
Here again was a definite promise given by God.
Jehu did not bring Israel back to God. He turned out
to be a wicked king. But this did not alter God's
promise to him. It is easy to find the first three
generations by reference to 2 Kings 10 :35 ; 13:9, and
14:16—Jehu, his son Jehoahaz, his grandson Joash
(Jehoash), and his great grandson Jeroboam II. But
then something happened which seemingly placed the
fulfilment of the prophecy in jeopardy. In 2 Kings
14:23 we are told when the third generation commenced, Jeroboam became king of Israel, reigned
forty-one years, and he died in the fourteenth year
of Amaziah, king of Judah. But when did his son,
Zachariah, the fourth generation, begin to reign?
The next chapter, verse eight tells us that it was in the
by SPENCER G. MAXWELL
13
thirty-eighth year of Amaziah. From the fourteenth
year to the thirty-eighth year means there was no
king in Israel for twenty-four years. There was an
interregnum and it might have seemed that God had
forgotten His promise. But at the end He brought
the fourth generation to the throne. The young man
was not worthy to be a king. He reigned only half
a year. But because of the promise to Jehu, God would
not go back on His word. And the writer of the
book of Kings realized this amazing fulfilment when
he recorded the speedy passing of the last generation.
"This was the word of the Lord which He spake unto
Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of
Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to
pass." 2 Kings 15 :12.
Jeremiah's good news
Sometimes promises are on record but not understood or appreciated. This was so when the Jews went
into captivity in Babylon. Well over sixty years had
dragged by and for all they knew it could have been
many times that number before any release came.
Even the prophet Daniel was perplexed. God had
revealed the future to him in some wonderful prophecies. But nothing was said concerning their particular
captivity.
(Continued on page 30.)
THE FINAL ARTICLE
IN THE SERIES
-14
-.0.0111111wBY D. S. PORTER, M.A.
ER MARK
ANnil IMF
HE high-water mark. of
Sunday legislation was
reached in the second
quarter of the nineteenth century.
A parliamentary Select Committee, under the chairmanship of
Sir Andrew Agnew, recommended in 1832 that there
should be a complete prohibition
of Sunday trading, including
that by bakers; that the penalties for violation of the
old Sunday laws should be increased; that the opening
hours of public houses on Sundays should be curtailed
and drinking on the premises on Sundays forbidden;
and that no wages should be paid after 6 p.m. on
Saturday. This last suggestion was aimed at enabling
workers to spend their pay before the shops closed on
Saturday and thereby lessening the temptation to take
advantage of any which opened on Sunday.
The following year Agnew introduced a Bill on
these lines in the House of Commons. All Sunday
work and trading, except work by "menial servants,"
was to be forbidden. Late payment of wages on
Saturday was to be prohibited and licensed premises
were to be kept closed all day. Fines for attending
Sunday amusements and for drunkenness were to be
increased. Travelling on Sunday, except for the purpose of attending church or visiting the sick, was
to be an offence punishable by fine. No ships might
be unloaded on Sunday and sailings were to be
severely curtailed. Markets normally held on Monday
were to be transferred to Tuesday in order to cut out
Sunday travel.
Despite its extremism the Bill came very near to
passing, being defeated by a majority of only six
votes. In 1834 four more bills, including another
sponsored by Agnew, failed by steadily increasing
majorities, as did further single attempts in 1835 and
1836, the second of which was also fathered by
Agnew. Parallel efforts in these two years to prevent
the newly developing railways running services on
Sundays also came to naught. In 1837 the indefatigable Agnew returned to the attack and almost succeeded. His Bill passed its second reading in the
Commons by 110 votes to 66, but then King William
IV died and under the law as it then stood parliament
T
4
was dissolved. At the ensuing general election Agnew
lost his seat and no other member came forward to
take his place as the parliamentary champion of
Sunday legislation.
Sunday law tide begins to ebb
With Sir Andrew Agnew's departure from the
House of Commons, the tide of Sunday laws ebbed
rapidly, and the only major pieces of legislation
which have found their way onto the statute book
have tended to weaken rather than strengthen the
older laws.
With their backs more and more to the wall,
opponents of Sunday laxity could only watch for violations of the existing acts and initiate prosecutions as
often as they could. A spate of prosecutions under the
1781 Sunday Observance Act in the early 1930s led
to the passage through parliament of the Sunday
Entertainments Act of 1932. This allows musical
entertainments (but not dancing) licensed by a local
authority, museums (including waxwork exhibitions),
picture galleries, zoological and botanical gardens,
aquaria, lectures and debates to function on Sundays,
even though an admission fee is charged. The major
part of the Act, however, is devoted to the opening
of cinemas on the basis (1) that no employee is
to work on Sunday if he has worked for the preceeding six days; (2) that a proportion of the profits
from Sunday opening must be given to charity.
Just as Sunday entertainment today is governed
very largely by the Sunday Entertainments Act of
1932, Sunday trading is regulated by the Shops Act
of 1950. This states baldly that "every shop shall
be closed for the serving of customers on a Sunday,"
but then proceeds to give a long list of exceptions to
the rule including the sale of intoxicating liquors,
14
Police remove the
Rev. Angus Smith,
leader of Skye's
sit-down demonstration
against the running
of the Skye ferry
service on Sunday.
meals and refreshments, of newspapers and magazines, chocolate and confectionery, ice cream, tobacco,
flowers, fruit and vegetables, milk and cream, medicines, motorists' requirements, and other lesser things.
Registered Jewish traders and Christian Sabbathkeepers may keep their shops open until two in the
afternoon for the sale of all goods provided that they
are closed from sunset on Friday and all day on
Saturday.
Court decisions have further widened the already
very broad Act of 1950, and as a consequence successful prosecutions for illegal Sunday trading are
now very few indeed.
Today the residual enforcement of the antiquated
Sunday Observance laws is almost wholly due to the
zeal of individuals and bodies, such as the Lord's
Day Observance Society, who, in recent years, have
time and again brought the question of Sunday
legislation to the fore. The cancellation, in 1958,
of the festival of music and ballet in the ruins of the
old cathedral at Coventry planned for a Sunday,
because of a threat to invoke the law by the Lord's
Day Observance Society, was one of the most noted
of such instances.
The other side of the coin has been the continued
attempts during the past ten years or so to get the
law relating to Sunday altered in the direction of
liberalization. In 1953, Mr. John Parker, M.P.,
brought in a private member's bill to repeal the
Sunday Observance Acts of 1625 to 1781 inclusive,
to make it legal to play on Sundays all games the
playing of which is legal on other days, and to
extend the 1932 Act to cover theatres on the same
basis as cinemas. The Lord's Day Observance Society
was instrumental in gathering 512,735 signatures
on a petition against the Bill, and it was defeated
on the second reading by 281 votes to 57.
Reproof for modern Puritans
In consequence of the continuing controversy
which has brought upon the churches much criticism,
the British Council of Churches set up its own
committee to investigate the matter. Its report, which
was published in 1955 under the title "Sunday
Observance and Legislation," contains inter alia
opinions of the governing bodies of various churches
on Sunday laws. A statement by the Church of
Scotland may perhaps be taken as typical of much of
modern religious sentiment on the question: "The
church has not infrequently exposed itself to the
charge of seeking to obtain by legal prohibition—
sometimes by appeal to laws which have fallen into
desuetude—what it has failed to secure by persuasion."
In summing up the situation, the report concluded
that there was "need for some re-examination of the
law in regard to Sunday. It is a clear Christian judgment that the churches should not desire even useful
provisions to rest upon laws that are archaic and in
bad repair."
How matters now stand
A parliamentary attempt to take action on the
question of Sunday laws was made in 1958, when
Mr. Denis Howell, M.P., moved "that a Select Committee be appointed to consider the Sunday Observance legislation and to make recommendations as to
any alterations that are necessary in present-day
conditions." This motion was carried by fifty-four
votes to thirty-one, but, as, under the rules of the
House, at least one hundred members in favour of
such a motion is a necessity for passage, it was lost
on a technicality.
(Continued on page 30.)
15
CHRI IAN
RI I
99
6TRI
T
O regard this life as a preparation for a life
to come is almost a lost teaching of the
Christian faith. In the eyes of many, indeed,
it is a thoroughly subversive doctrine and a brake
upon human progress. To believe in a future world of
bliss, we are told, hinders social progress. It makes all
efforts to increase wages and improve conditions,
to relieve suffering and fight oppression, of secondary
importance. It suggests that present conditions must
be tolerated, suffering and injustice endured, because
the Christian is a stranger and pilgrim in this world
who is looking for a new earth where there will be no
more pain, sorrow, and suffering and where injustice
and every evil will be unknown.
One can understand such an indictment from the
lips of those who have no faith in God and whose
hopes are entirely centred on this world. For them
Utopia must be realized here; this world is the land
of their dreams and sweat and blood and toil and tears
are worth while to bring them to fruition. The only
heaven is here on earth and if men want it to be a
perfect world they must, by their own efforts, seek
to make it so.
But what is most disturbing is the fact that
by R. T. BOLTON
there are today but few Christians who believe that
life in this present world is a preparation for a life
to come as real and tangible as this present one—
virtually an Eden restored. Too many, if they think
at all about a future life, cherish vague ideas about
a spirit existence which is so attenuated as to be
unreal and has little in it which can be described as
a "blessed hope."
God's promises not ambiguous
Is it really true that there is a concrete world to
come where we may build houses and inhabit them
and plant orchards and eat the fruit of them and
dwell for ever in a land more beautiful and peaceful
than we can imagine? God's words are certainly not
ambiguous. "Behold I create new heavens and a
new earth." These words were not spoken to the
Jews alone to comfort and encourage them in their
captivity. The apostle Peter tells of the destruction
of this world and then quotes the above promise,
16
land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."
Deut. 30:19, 20.
showing that it had a wider meaning and was applicable to Christians as well.
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all
these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming
of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His
promise, look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:10-13.
This promise of a new heaven and a new earth is
embodied in the Gospel, for Christ said, "I give unto
them eternal life." Not only did the Gospel which was
to be preached to all nations declare that there was
remission of sins to every one who believes, but that
there was to be a restoration in the resurrection of the
life that had been forfeited by sin. And since this
is so, then that life is to be lived somewhere and
Peter tells us of the new earth where that life is to
be lived.
But this is not all. The prophet John tells us that
he saw this new earth in which all things were new
and where there was no pain, sorrow, tears, or death,
for the former things were passed away. (Rev. 21:1.5.) Why are there so few who believe in this real
future world? We are told that Christ will restore
all things: "And He shall send Jesus Christ, which
before was preached unto you: whom the heaven
must receive until the times of restitution of all things,
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His
holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3:20, 21.
What was lost in Eden, when the first Adam sinned,
is to be restored in the second Adam, Christ. It does
not need a diploma in theology to understand this.
It is logical common sense and the final outworking
of the infinite love of God in Christ. What we
need is faith to believe that what God has promised
will surely come to pass.
Would any normal man choose death instead of
life? Is it not the height of stupidity to so concentrate
every energy on getting the most out of our threescore years and ten, when eternity is offered to us?
Is it not foolishness to exercise every ingenuity
exclusively to improving this world when it is to be
destroyed and we are to enjoy a new one which will
need no improving? It is pure imagination to suppose
that those who have this blessed hope will drag their
feet in matters of social reform. If they are Christians
indeed, they cannot help but make this doomed
world better than they found it. They are the light
of the world, the salt of the earth, and as long as they
hold their faith that light is never dimmed and the
salt does not lose its savour. The only way you
can make a better world is by making the men and
women in it better, and this is done by preaching
the Gospel, that is, by establishing the kingdom
or rule of God in men's hearts. Thus the lives of men
and women are ennobled, and love and joy and
peace and honesty cleanse every activity, and at the
same time preparation is made for the world to come
where every human faculty will have unfettered
development through unending ages in a land where
God and love and good and peace reign supreme.
*********************
"FAITHFUL
IN LITTLE THINGS"
(Continued from page 11.)
of rubies. The cynic may sing that "diamonds are a
girl's best friend," but the Word of God places
divine approbation on the sterling attributes of
goodness and faithfulness. If we cultivate these
graces of the Spirit of God, we are assured of enduring riches that will continue to shine when the stars
have exhausted their light. "The pious loyalist shall
shine bright as the sky above, and those who have
led many to the true religion shall shine like the
stars for evermore." Dan. 12:3, Moffat.
Getting our priorities right
What then are we to answer the modern opponents
of these promises of God's kingdom? Are they against
the best interests of mankind today? They cannot be.
They simply put the priorities right. There are two
choices put before us—life and death. "I call heaven
and earth to record this day against you, that I have
set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:
therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed
may live: that thou mayest love the Lord thy God,
and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou
mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the
length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the
"Jesus bids us shine,
With a pure, clear light,
Like a little candle,
Burning in the night:
In the world is darkness,
So we must shine—
You in your small corner,
And I in mine."
17
Let
Daniel
speak!
HE words, "Unto
two thousand and
three hundred days;
then shall the sanctuary
be cleansed" in the eighth
chapter of Daniel's prophecy (verse 14) on first
reading seem rather perplexing. Was not the tabernacle that original tent in
which the priests conducted their mediatorial
ministry in the midst of
Israel ? and was not this
structure the sanctuary of
Old Testament times?
The answer is decidedly,
yes; for referring to the
building of that structure,
God said to Moses, "Let them make Me a sanctuary;
that I may dwell among them." Exod. 25:8. And
then He gave to Moses explicit instructions as to
just how the work was to be done, and what materials
were to be used to complete the structure.
Later on, in the history of the Israelites as a nation,
a temple was built by Solomon, to replace the original
tabernacle. Solomon's temple was destroyed by the
Babylonians, and rebuilt by the Jews under Zerubbabel upon their return from the captivity. This rebuilt temple was later enlarged and aggrandized by
Herod the Great. So after the original tabernacle,
these temples in turn became God's sanctuary in
Israel until the final destruction of the third temple
by the Romans in A.D. 70 as a punishment upon
Israel for their rejection of Christ and His salvation.
But as we have seen in another study, the period
of the 2,300 day-years, the longest time-prophecy in
the Bible, brings us right on to the year 1844 of
the Christian era. Where, then, is the sanctuary that
at that date needed "cleansing" ? Is there a sanctuary
of the New Covenant just as there was a sanctuary of
the Old Covenant, and if so, where is it ? These are
important questions, and they need an answer.
It is in the epistle to the Hebrews that we find the
answers to our questionings on this subject. There we
read: "Then verily the first [old) covenant had also
ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary."
Heb. 9 :1. The use of the word "also" clearly suggests
that the New Covenant has its "ordinances of divine
service" and a "sanctuary" too.
But where is the sanctuary of the New Covenant?
Is it on earth? No, it is in heaven. The Scripture says:
NINTH ARTICLE
IN THE SERIES
by LESLIE SHAW
T
"Now in the things which we are saying, the chief
point is this, We have such an High Priest, who sat
down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the
true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man."
Heb. 8:1, 2, R.V.
The heavenly sanctuary where Christ
ministers
Here is conclusive evidence that in heaven there
is a heavenly sanctuary which the Lord Himself
pitched or built, and of which the ascended Jesus,
is "High Priest" or "Minister." As its Minister, He
also has to present "offerings." "For every high priest
is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it
is of necessity that this Man have somewhat also to
offer." Heb. 8:3. What does He have to offer?
The earthly priests offered the blood of bulls,
sheep, and goats. But the gifts which they presented
could not "make the corners thereunto perfect" as
pertaining to the conscience, for it was not "possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats should take
away sins." Heb. 10:1, 4. A better sacrifice was
needed to satisfy the demands of the broken law, and
to release the penitents from the penalty of their sin.
A better priest was also needed. And these Jesus Himself provided when He became our great High Priest,
and offered His own blood. "But Christ being come
an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,
that is to say not of this building, neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood
18
than these, for Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us." Heb. 9:22-24.
So it would seem that as the earthly tabernacle
has long since ceased to function as God's sanctuary,
and as its place during the Christian dispensation has
been taken by the heavenly sanctuary of which Christ
is the minister, the prophecy of Daniel referring to
the "cleansing of the sanctuary" at the close of the
two thousand three hundred prophetic days (or 2,300
years) could not possibly refer to the cleansing of
the earthly sanctuary, but can only refer to the commencement of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary
at the date, 1844, indicated in the prophecy.
A sanctuary
model illustrating
the daily round of
services which
culminated in the
cleansing of the
sanctuary on the
solemn Day of
Atonement.
Significance of sanctuary services
Now what was the real significance of all these
sanctuary services as conducted in Israel ? It can briefly
be said that they epitomized the Gospel, and that in
and through them, Israel were constantly reminded
of the vicarious atonement of the "Lamb of God."
JUDGMENT FROM THE SANCTUARY
He entered in once [for all, Greek], into the holy
place [places, Greek], having obtained eternal redemption for us." Heb. 9:11, 12.
So Jesus, as High Priest offers His own blood in
the heavenly sanctuary. His offering is a "once for
all" offering, whose merits He constantly pleads as
"He ever liveth to make intercession for us." Heb.
7:25.
"Unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto
them." Heb. 4:2.
Without going into every detail of every service
which was conducted in the Old Testament sanctuary, we can recognize the main purpose and direction of it all by examining the work performed for
the sinner, and the part to be played by the sinner,
as it is brought to view in the fourth chapter of
Leviticus.
In Leviticus 4:27-35 we have the directions given
that are to be followed by any man of the "common
people" who had committed an unintentional sin.
He was told that when the sin came to his knowledge,
then he was to take his offering, a female kid of the
goats, without blemish, to the tabernacle and to the
priest. There he was to lay his hand upon the head of
the offering, confess his sin, and then slay the animal.
The priest next took the blood, put some upon the
horns of the altar, and poured out the rest at the
foot of the altar. The offerer separated the various
parts ; some were burnt, some the priest ate, and thus
the priest made an "atonement for the man" and his
sin that he had committed, and it was "forgiven him...
(See also Leviticus 6:26; 10:16, 17; 16:21.)
The basic principles in the whole operation were
the admission and confession of sin, which was
pointed out to be something done "against the commandments of the Lord" which were kept inside
the ark of the covenant in the most holy place of the
Does the heavenly sanctuary need
cleansing?
Having come thus far, we can see that there is a
"sanctuary" in heaven, and that Jesus is its High
Priest, and that He officiates there by means of the
merits of His own blood. But we may say that, as
there is no sin in heaven, there is surely no need for
the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary as its counterpart on earth needed cleansing. To human reasoning
it may appear thus, but when God tells us in His
inspired Word that the heavenly sanctuary must necessarily be cleansed, we accept what He has said,
knowing that it is truth. And the Scriptures do so
inform us. "And almost all things are by the law
purged with blood ; and without shedding of blood
is no remission [of sin]. It was therefore necessary
that the patterns of things in the heavens should
be purified with these [the blood of bulls and goats] ;
but [it was necessary]" that "the heavenly things
themselves [should be purified] with better sacrifices
19
"cleansing of the sanctuary" in Israel once a year. And
it is the counterpart of that service which is taught and
specified in Hebrews 9:23, when it says: "It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of the things in
the heavens should be purified with these; but the
heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these." And it is this same event that is the
subject of Daniel's prophecy when he declares:
"Unto two thousand and three hundred days ; then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Dan. 8:14.
We have mentioned that the Jews understood
"Yom Kippur," their Day of Atonement, to be the
Judgment Day. Likewise it should be noted that in the
previous vision of Daniel chapter seven, the Judgment Day is a central feature of the whole scene. The
dastardly evil work of the fourth beast, and then
of the "little horn" demanded that God intervene
and adjust matters, and give rewards and recompenses
as due. So Daniel says : "I was looking for that time
[the Judgment Day], because of the magniloquent
words that the horn spake." Dan. 7:11, Ferrar Fenton's translation. Later on, the angel said to Daniel ;
"The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away
his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the
end." Dan. 7:26.
sanctuary; the transfer of the sin to the innocent
animal substitute, and then, by means of the animal's
death, and the intercessory ministry of the priest, an
atonement was made which satisfied the demands of
the broken law so that the man could be forgiven.
Nothing could possibly point out more plainly, in
type, exactly how sin was to be forgiven and atoned
for by Christ "the Lamb of God" (John 1:29),
"who verily was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifest in these last times
for you." 1 Peter 1:20.
The day of atonement a day of
judgment
But the "daily" ministration for the sinner was
not all that concerned him. The tenth day of the
seventh month was appointed a final day of atonement: "It shall be an holy convocation unto you; and
ye shall afflict your souls, . . for whatsover soul
it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he
shall be cut off from among his people." Lev. 23:2729. In Leviticus, chapter sixteen, we have the details
of the Day of Atonement service.
What took place on that Day of Atonement each
year affected every soul alive in Israel, whether they
had offered sacrifices during the year for their sins
or not, for "on that day shall the priest make an
atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be
clean from all your sins before the Lord." Lev. 16:30.
It bears reflecting upon, that not until the services
of that Day of Atonement were complete, despite
the daily offerings offered, and the sins confessed,
were Israel finally "clean before the Lord." And
furthermore, whether they had visited the sanctuary
during the year or not with their offerings as prescribed in Leviticus, if any soul was not "afflicted"
on that day, he was "cut off from among his people."
Lev. 23 :27-29.
So, no Israelite was taught "once in grace, always
in grace." He knew that he had to be of the same
repentant mind when the Day of Atonement came,
as he was earlier when he acknowledged his sin and
took his substitutionary sacrifice to the tabernacle;
he knew that he must confirm his previous repentance
on the Day of Atonement, for then every case was
finally decided.
If the daily ministration typified the immediate
forgiveness of sins through the blood of the substitutionary sacrifice, what did this Day of Atonement
typify? While it still emphasized the only means
of cleansing through the "blood" it also emphasized
the final disposition of sin, and along with this,
the final verdict for life or death. In other words,
it was a Day of Judgment, bringing a decision in
every man's case. And so Israel understood it.
This is the way that the Scriptures set forth the
Dominion of Antichrist to be taken
away
And so in Daniel 8:11-14 also, just as in Daniel
7, when the vision has been presented of the sinister
power of Antichrist doing its evil work on the earth,
"taking away" the "daily sacrifice," casting down
Christ's "sanctuary" (that is, destroying the effectiveness of His true heavenly mediatorial ministry),
magnifying himself even to the Prince of the host,
Christ Himself, as man's great high priest, arrogating
to himself the office of "key-keeper" and "doorkeeper," assuming the title of Pontifex Maximus, that
is "high priest," it is natural that the question should
be asked: "How long, 0 Lord, how long?" "How
long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice,
and the transgression of desolation, to give both
the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot ?"
And the answer is given, "Unto two thousand and
three hundred days," or years, "then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," meaning that then the judgment
will sit to "take away his dominion to consume and
to destroy it even unto the end."
Let us thank God for the "sure Word of prophecy"
which reveals that in spite of the oppression of
God's people and the destroyers of God's truth,
there is coming a day when "judgment shall be given
to the saints of the most High," and that eventually
they, and not the mighty ones of our present world,
"shall possess the kingdom" and "inherit the earth."
Pray God that day may be soon!
20
September 1965
Tues Wed
Sun Ilion
SEPIEMBER
"
25 APPOINIMENI
by J. R. LEWIS
us. The frontispiece is on the back page; the final
prayer is on the page which we would normally read
first; one page is written in English, and the other
in Yiddish characters; here are prayers and scriptures,
some of which have been rehearsed and repeated
since the days when Moses himself uttered them.
Why do the Jews hold so tenaciously and passionately to this observance? The answer is an important
one, and it has a bearing upon the life of all the
ordinary people around us, the young housewife at
the sink, and the lad driving round in a coal lorry.
N Thursday, September 16th, Britain's 450,000
Jews will observe their New Year's Day,
year 5,725, and with it a ritual of the Judgment Day.
In eighty synagogues, from Dollis Hill to Watford,
Ruislip to Putney, as well as at Cheetham Hill,
Manchester, and Leeds, the modern children of
Abram, now in the guise of financiers, merchants,
machinists, and warehousemen, will assemble for
worship at one or more of the five services conducted
by the rabbis during that day.
It is said that the French built canals, and that
the British built an empire; but the Jews—they have
created a day. And the observance of this "day"
binds together the world's twelve million Jews in one
common act of religious worship. Wherever they
live, they bring to this day (at once a day of joy and
of repentance), the almost fanatical love of a tradition
which they have steadfastly and stubbornly held
through the passing of nearly three thousand and
five hundred years.
They have passed through the fires; for they have
survived the persecutions of Rome, the pogroms of
the Nazis, the tortures in Spain, and the oppression
of Islam; and they have become the stronger. They
can well be allowed on this day to recall their
national sufferings, their national triumphs, and their
aspirations.
O
Appointed by God
First, the Jews are firmly convinced that the observance of the day was ordained and commanded by
the Creator Himself. No human mind conceived the
idea of the celebration. No national committee, no
government department inaugurated it. On the contrary, God Himself revealed to Moses the need for,
and the plan for, the day's observance. The record
runs: "And the Lord spake unto Moses" and: "This
shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an
atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins
once a year. . . . The Lord commanded Moses." Lev.
16:1, 34.
And for nearly 3,500 years, the Jews all over the
world have demonstrated their faith in the divine
origin of the observance, and have refused to give up
their heaven-given act of worship.
Observance of the great day
The last judgment
The day is observed from sunset to sunset. ("From
even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath." Lev.
23:32.) As daylight fades, the whole family will
gather to light the traditional candles, and offer
prayers.
The very devout will fast for the twenty-four hours
as he turns his mind away from thoughts associated
with the end of the year, to thoughts associated with
the last great judgment at the end of time.
Their 400-page Prayer Book would seem strange to
Secondly, the Jewish rabbis taught that the ritual
of the Day of Atonement had a lesson to impart about
the Last Judgment; that in fact, the day was intended
to be a type of the "Great Assize," the day when postmen, mechanics, debutantes, and hairstylists would
all have to face their Creator and give an account
of themselves, and face the issue of eternal life, or
destruction.
The holding of these two concepts, the divine
21
Shadows and figures
order for the day, and its resemblance to the Judgment, led, in the passing of time, to an annual ceremony of great impressiveness. This description is
taken from that of a Roman pro-consul. There was a
procession with this order of march :
"First, those who trace ancestry to the kings of
Israel.
Those who were in the priesthood.
Those of the kingly house of David.
Then 36,000 Levites in blue silk.
Then 24,000 priests in white silk.
Then musicians, and temple servants, and one
hundred priests with silver staves.
"When the procession reached the mount of the
temple, they halted and prayed, and the Amen
exclamation, because of the great crowd, was so loud
that the birds overhead fell to the ground. After that
the high priest bowed before the entire people very
respectfully, and, weeping, separated himself from
them all. When he returned to them from the temple,
the whole population of Jerusalem marched before
him, most of them with burning candles. Windows
were draped with varied coloured kerchiefs, and were
lighted."—Rodkinson's Babylonian Talmud, Vol. 6,
Appendix, page 143.
Of this special day, The Jewish Encyclopedia says:
"New years and Atonement Days are days of serious
meditation. The former is the annual day of judgment
when all creatures pass in review before the searching
eye of Omnipotence. . . . God seated on His throne
to judge the world . . openeth the book of Records;
it is read, every man's signature being found therein.
The great trumpet is sounded ; a still, small voice is
heard; the angels shudder, saying, This is the day
of judgment. . . . The decree is written . . . who shall
live and who shall die."—Article, "Atonement, Day
of."
"There are priests . . who serve unto the example
and shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 8:4, 5.
"The first tabernacle . . . was a figure for the time
then present." Heb. 9:8, 9.
"The law . . . a shadow of good things to come."
Heb. 10:1.
Thus it was that the death of the sacrificial lamb
foreshadowed the redeeming blood of our Saviour.
Further, the early feasts of the Jewish year (the
Passover, the Wave Offering, Pentecost), represented
the early events of the Christian era, Good Friday,
Easter Sunday, and Whit Sunday.
Likewise, the latter feasts of the Jewish year (the
Feast of Trumpets, the Atonement, the feast of
Tabernacles), represented the closing events of the
Christian era, the great Advent awakening, the Judgment in heaven, and the reception of the redeemed
in the glory of the kingdom.
A lost conviction
There has been a tendency in recent years to disregard the concept of a judgment of all human
beings, before the throne of the Living God. While
the ideal motive for wholesome conduct is that of love
for God and for our fellows, it is also true that when
a man has the conviction that he has to give an
account of himself to his Creator one day, he will
strive to overcome those fleshly lusts which war
against the soul. A man who knows he is to be
judged one day, will resist the temptation to steal,
to commit adultery, and to break the Sabbath.
Far too many of us today have lost this conviction,
and have lost a means of restraint. No wonder the
daily papers have so many crimes to report. However,
the belief in the last judgment is a tenet of the Bible.
It is part of God's plan for separating the bad from
the good, so that one day there may be an existence
without the curse of pain, violence, and death.
The Jewish September holiday is a good reminder
to the Christian, and to everyone, that God has done
a good thing in "appointing a day in which He will
judge the world." The Judgment will mean the end
of wickedness, and that is a good thing. It is our
responsibility to so relate ourselves to Christ, that He
may pronounce sentence thus upon us: "Well done,
thou good and faithful servant : . . . enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord."
Special significance
That a whole race, for so long a time, should so
believe that God has revealed His will to them,
surely calls for the attention of any man or woman
who seeks to know the will of God.
Now there is a considerable body of Christian
people who hold the view that the Jewish Day of
Atonement has special significance for the generation
of people living in the world today. They believe
that the ritual of the past meets fulfilment in a real
judgment in heaven, a judgment that will be climaxed
by the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, to give
"every man according as his works shall be."
This view, that of a real judgment in heaven, is
based on the teachings of the apostle Paul. He wrote,
in the book of Hebrews, to the Jews in particular,
and to all others who would read, informing them
that their feasts and rituals were of a symbolical
nature. They were not an end in themselves, they
had lessons to illustrate, and truths to teach.
READERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
more about the great truths of the Bible, are
earnestly invited to avail themselves of the
special, free, HOME BIBLE STUDY GUIDES
advertised on the back cover.
22
Editor
WHAT DO WE
MEAN BY THE
"INCARNATION"?
by J. C. MITCHELL
HE word "incarnate" comes
from two Latin words; the
prefix in and the noun cano,
which means flesh. So we have the
meaning "within flesh."
"Incarnate" stands for the revelation, the witness, the coming of
God in and through the Man, Christ
Jesus. There are many passages of
Scripture in which the idea is expressed: "The Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us" (John
1:14) ; "Who, being in the form of
God, . . . found in fashion as a
man." Phil. 2:6-8. God incarnate,
manifested, revealed in Christ Jesus
—this is the doctrine of the Incarnation.
T
God comes near
Jesus was God coming so graciously near to us
that He might speak to us, and convince us of His
concern for our highest good, our redemption, the
restoration of our oneness with Him. "He was not a
God standing afar off waiting for us to draw nigh,"
writes A. E. Whitham, "but a God who sought us
out, striving ever to enter, trying the doors, strategically planning, making Himself small as a child and
lying down on the doorstep of the world, until the
world, moved by the cry of a child, stealthily opened
a door that had remained barred against the thundering tempest and avenging words, took a child in,
and unwittingly let God through. . . . A God with
more discernments than judgments, more sorrows
than angers, a God who loves and heals, who hallows
life and work."
All the wonder of God's love for us was revealed
through the life of a normal human being. Some
people are confused by the misconception that Jesus
was Someone different from an ordinary human being.
This is due to the fact that they are not familiar with
the New Testament portrait of Jesus. Those who will
take the trouble to read the gospels cannot fail to
see that Jesus passed through all the experiences of
a normal human being. The gospels give us a picture
(Continued on page 31.)
23
IF CHRIST
DOES NOT
COME
AGAIN
by A. B. CHEESBROUGH
E said He would, you know! You cannot be
a Christian without believing that He came
the first time. So how can you be a Christian
without believing that He will come the second time?
Nothing is plainer and more scriptural than the
promise He made. Here it is, as recorded in John
14:2 and 3: "I go to prepare a place for you, and if
I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto Myself ; that where I am, there
ye may be also."
"Christ," the writer of Hebrews tells us by inspir-
H
ation, "was offered once to bear the burden of men's
sins, and will appear the second time, sin done away,
to bring salvation to those who are watching for
Him." Heb. 9:28, N.E.B. Salvation is ours by faith
in His sacrifice, right now, but we conclude from this
text that it is not actually complete until Jesus returns
to receive us to Himself.
At the time of His ascension, and as a cloud received Him out of their sight, two angels appeared
to the disciples and confirmed the promise He had
made. They announced: "This same Jesus which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts
1:11.
If therefore Jesus does not come again there will
be no salvation for any of us. This is the logic of
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, that well-known chapter
which it is customary to read at funeral services.
The apostle's argument is this: If Christ did not rise
from the dead, there is no resurrection of the dead.
Consequently He can't come again. "If Christ be not
risen" then he says,
Your faith vs vain
"and we become false witnesses." Furthermore, "ye
are yet in your sins." Forgiveness is a myth. Your
relations and friends who are fallen asleep are
perished. If in this life only we have
hope, we are of all men most miserable. All who have fallen asleep
are "utterly lost." 1 Cor. 15:19,
N.E.B. Death is no friend of mankind. It brings sorrow. It takes
away those who are dear to us.
Death is our enemy, the last enemy,
and God has ordained that it
shall be destroyed. The second
coming of Jesus will do this for us.
The sting of death is sin. Christ
was crucified, rose again, and ascended into heaven to take away
the sting and give us immortality,
eternal life. When Jesus returns,
sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Read it in Revelation 21:4, 3:
"And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes ; and there
shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain." "And
God Himself shall be with them,
and be their God."
"This same Jesus," declared the angels,
"shall so come . . . as ye have seen
Him go."
24
did what Lord Soper had failed to do. I don't know
who wrote it, but God bless him.
Are you looking for the return of Jesus, or are you
luke-warm and indifferent to His warning that when
we see the signs He foretold He is at the door?
The climax
As we scan the political horizon and listen to reports of the latest inventions for the destruction of
our world, as we read of the sound of battle first in
one country, then in another, we marvel at the folly of
man and the blindness of the Christian church.
Signs—political, physical, and religious—are multiplying so fast that we cannot do otherwise than see
that "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." I am
well aware that some years ago Barter of the Christian
Herald caused a sensation by prophesying that Jesus
would come on a certain date. The Bible makes it
perfectly plain that no man knows the day or hour
when Jesus will return. Jesus warned that false Christs
and false prophets would arise and deceive many.
But He also declared that in His appointed time He
would come—and He will!
When I had written the foregoing I had to lay my
pen aside, and just before I took it up again I switched
on my radio to "Any Questions ?" An interesting
question came before the team. It was: "Does the
team think that if Christ were to return to the earth
today, would He be rejected and crucified as before?"
Lord Soper was asked to reply to this one and he did
so in the serious way it required; I thought, however,
that he missed a great opportunity of pointing out
that Christ is coming again and that it is almost
2,000 years since He made the promise to do so.
But truth will out. So when "Any Answers" followed on the following Thursday, the first letter
When that day comes
Has He not said, "Not every one who calls Me
'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only those who do the will of My heavenly Father.
When that day comes many will say to Me, 'Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, cast out
devils in Your name, and in Your name perform
many miracles?' Then I will tell them to their face,
'I never knew you: out of My sight, you and your
wicked ways!' " Matt. 7:21-23, N.E.B.
The coming of Jesus will herald the judgment
day. That is the day that will test every man's work.
That is the day when we shall see Him face to face.
That is the day which will reveal whether our home
is built upon the rock or upon the sand. Mere lip
service is not enough. We must learn what the will
of God is and do it. We must get ready to meet Him
—now.
COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cover Picture, Barnabys; page 2, Barnabys; pages 4, 5, 6,
Keystone; page 7, R. & H.; page 8, Studio Lisa; page 10, R. & H.;
page 11, Autotype; page 13, S.P. Ltd.; page 14, Fox Photos;
page 15, Keystone; page 16, Barnabys; pages 18, 19, R. & H.;
page 23, Three Lions, Camera Clix; page 24, Camera Clix; page
26, Studio Lisa; page 28, Eric Hardy; page 32, Braun Clement.
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25
of
3SECRETS
HAPPY LIVING
by DESMOND FORD
UPPOSE someone were to broadcast that tonight
at eight o'clock God Himself would appear over
your city to give a two-minute message. What
word would you hope He might give? How to cure
cancer? How to prevent World War III? Or . . . But,
do you remember, there was a time when God did
come down to earth and give a two-minute message.
There was a time when He came down in the midst
of the assembled multitudes and spoke audibly to
mankind. Upon what subject did He choose to
speak? As our Maker He would surely know the
best news to convey, the information that you and I
need most.
Listen! He speaks, saying, "I am the Lord thy
God."
"Oh, yes," you say, "the old Ten Commandments."
No, God did not just give ten commands. When
God came down before the multitude, He gave to
sinful man some of the most important truths he
could ever comprehend. He revealed some of the
basic secrets of the universe. When God came down,
He gave to mankind a blue-print for living, which, if
you and I had understood earlier, would have saved
us most of our mistakes and sorrows. It would not
have been necessary for us to blunder as we have
through life, because on that occasion God came to
tell us how to live. Let us notice a few of the secrets
that God unveiled when He spoke at Sinai.
S
The law of life
First of all, He revealed the greatest secret of the
universe. It may seem commonplace, yet it is possibly
the most fundamental fact of all and the most vital
truth for human beings to understand. What is it?
That this universe, this whole universe, is run by law,
not luck, and that the person who obeys these laws
will endure for as long as the universe endures. This
is lesson number one, secret number one, that God
gave when He came down on Mount Sinai—that the
whole universe is run by law, not chance. There is
no chance. Life is not casual. Life is causal. Our
condition today and tomorrow is inevitably tied
up with our obedience or disobedience to natural law.
All life has a cause-and-effect relationship, a sowing and a reaping sequence, and happiness depends on
obedience to law. Sorrow comes through transgressing
that law, whether we know the law or not. It is like
travelling through a new city, or perhaps a new country, and breaking a traffic regulation without knowing
it. As a stranger there, I appear before the court and
say, "Well, I didn't know anything about the law. I
am a stranger." Does the judge say, "You're pardoned" ? No. He says, "Ignorance of the law is no
excuse." Because you and I have been ignorant of so
many laws of the universe, we have made many
blunders, and we are still paying the fines.
When the apostle Paul says, "Whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap," he means that life
is run by law. Pharaoh caused the boys among the
Israelites to be drowned, and he was drowned himself
when the Red Sea rolled back on those chariots pursuing the Israelites. Jacob deceived his father about
his father's favourite son. The years rolled by, and
instead of hours and days, can we expect that He will
give us back eternity? If we give Him leftover pence
and shillings, can we expect that He will give us the
true riches? If His main business is saving sinners,
and we are not active in His business, would we be
comfortable with Him in eternity?
Jacob was deceived about his favourite son by his
boys. Jacob showed a crafty spirit when he conspired
to get the birthright, but in time crafty old Laban
put it all over him. Jacob deceived by putting upon
himself the skins of a goat to deceive his father;
he, in turn, was deceived by his boys, who took the
coat of his son and dipped it in the blood of a goat.
Haman prepared a gallows for Mordecai, but he
swung from it himself. King Asa put a prophet in the
stocks, but Asa died of a disease in the feet. Sowing
and reaping, cause and effect—the breaking of a law
brings an immediate reaction. This is the teaching of
Scripture and of life. This is the first thing God told
the world at Sinai—that the universe is run by law.
What does it mean? It means that all men ought to
be concerned about two things: (1) to find out the
laws of God, and (2) to obey them.
People before things
Then the third great secret that God gave at
Sinai was that people are more important than things.
This is a hard truth to learn. It is very hard for a
housewife to learn this, even more difficult perhaps
than for the husband of the home, because the housewife has to deal with so many things. The house
must be right. "Yes, So-and-so is ill and should be
visited, but I couldn't leave my house like this!" It is
hard to put people ahead of things. Yet God did.
Notice where things are mentioned in the Ten
Commandments—last. "Thou shalt not covet . . . any
thing that is thy neighbour's." This is the last commandment. This is where things come in—last. The
law begins with God, then it moves on to our relationship with our fellow beings, and at the end it puts
things. Do you know why the rich fool was a fool?
Because he was engrossed in things. Now, it must be
admitted that things are a lot easier to handle than
people. It is far easier to handle wood, or stone, or
soil, than to deal with a cantankerous human being.
But the easiest course is often the wrong one, and it
is so in this instance.
Then let us underline the third truth that God
desires to tell us: that people are more important than
things, more important than houses and money, more
important than cars, more important than possessions.
We will be like the rich fool if we put things ahead
of people. Would it not be a good idea for us to do
some stocktaking? Where, for example does my time
go? How much to things? How much to people?
How much to God? Where does my energy go? So
much to things, so much to people. The outcome
might be a revelation. Perhaps it would save our souls
at last if we were to do some stocktaking such as this.
Let no-one ever convince you that God gave only
commandments on Sinai, or that His revelation there
was intended merely for the Jews till the cross. No!
In love to us, God unveiled the fundamental secrets
of the universe—He gave instruction for all men for
all time regarding how to live so as to secure the
greatest unalloyed happiness.
In the message from Sinai, God has taught us (1)
that our happiness depends upon obedience to law,
(2) that such obedience necessitates a hierarchy of
values, the placing of God before all else, and (3)
that we must place people before things. No wonder
the Psalmist exclaimed, "Oh, how love I Thy law! it
is my meditation all the day." "The law of Thy
mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and
silver." Psalm 119:97, 72.
First things first
The second secret God revealed was that to be
happy for time and eternity, we must put first things
first. How did God tell us that? What did He say
first at Sinai? "I am the Lord thy God." What commandments did He give first ? The ones that pertain
to Him. "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image."
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God
in vain." "Remember the Sabbath . . . of the Lord
thy God."
What did God put first? Worship—relationship
to Him. The Bible begins with God: "In the beginning God." The Lord's Prayer begins this way: "Our
Father." The Ten Commandments begin this way.
God is trying to teach us to put God first. Most people
put things first, and then if there is a little time left
over, that is for God.
The greatest fact of our life is God. The real environment we live in is the unseen environment. The
greater part of the universe is unseen. The Bible says
that what we see when we look up in the heavens and
sight Orion and all the other great constellations are
but the outskirts of His ways. (Job 26:14.) The
real universe is unseen. It consists of millions upon
millions of angelic hosts, of myriads upon myriads
upon myriads of sinless beings, and most of all—of
God. And so the next secret to be learned after the
discovery that the universe is run by law is that the
unseen is first—the unseen God.
God is our real environment. He must come first.
Worship is primary in life. It should be primary in
every Christian's day. There is no such thing as a
Christian family that neglects family worship, that
neglects the turning of the heart to God first thing in
the day, and the directing of the children's minds to
God first thing in the day.
God is to be first—first with our time, first with'
our energy, first with our talents. If we give Him the
chips instead of the firewood, if we give Him seconds
27
Tappuah, now known as Taffuh, in the Hebron area,
the city mentioned in the book of Joshua, was named
after the apple. (Joshua 12:17.) Obviously it was a
much commoner fruit in old Palestine agriculture,
for another old city was named after it, Ain-Tapouah,
now Yasuf, near Nablus. It even became an old
Hebrew name, and over thirty years ago an old Jewish
family was found in Rome claiming direct descent
from King David, who had changed their Hebrew
name to De Pomis. Hebron, once a great applegrowing centre, has for nearly a century taken little
part in its cultivation.
Some people believe that the apple formerly grew
wild when the Holy Land was much more afforested
before Turkish occupation.
Talmudic writings praise the fruit by comparison
with the knobs on the lamps in the Temple. It was
used medicinally for the sick, for its aroma (which
is better than the poor taste of Palestine apples),
and its juice. It was often mentioned in the sayings
of the ancient Israelites, e.g., "An apple does not
fall far from its tree," and "The apple is nice, but
its heart is wormy." In contrast Arabic lore denegrades it, telling that: "When Azriel wanted to tempt
Moses to die, he could not do it until he made him
smell the aroma of the apple, and then Moses died,"
and other derogatory remarks. Insect pests were the
main reason for the great decline in its cultivation.
Proverbs, chapter seven uses the simile "as the
apple of thine eye" (verse 2), and in chapter twentyfive another simile, "like apples of gold in pictures
of silver" (verse 11) probably refers to imitation
golden apples in a filigree of silver much used in
Levantine jewellery. Suggestions that it refers to
citrons in their silvery foliage, or apricots (a frequently-quoted guess) still lack proof. The modern
Hebrew tappuach zahav ("apple of gold") is an
orange. Jews traditionally identify the citron with the
fruit of the "goodly tree" mentioned in Leviticus
23:40 (translated as boughs in the Authorized
Version of our Bible), but it isn't supported by
historical facts. Canon Tristram, a Victorian naturalist
in Palestine, suggested that the apple listed among
the fruit trees of Joel 1:12 was really the apricot;
yet I see no reason why. Dr. Post, author of the
modern Flora of Syria (which included Palestine
until General Allenby's liberation) suggests a quince
with no more justification, though it is a goldencoloured fruit, and Eastern people relish its taste more
than we do. A dead and derelict tree-stump preserved
at .a claimed site of the garden of Eden at Kurnah,
where the Euphrates and Tigris join, is not an apple
tree. So we must avoid guessing a specific identification where only a generalized term is used.
Incidentally, the Sodom Apple is not an apple,
but the inflated, worthless fruit of a Dead Sea
Solanum bush still growing there and so named
because, like the men of Sodom, it was worthless.
The first of an interesting new series
by ERIC HARDY, F.Z.S.
ADAM'S "APPLE"
T
HE apple is one of the oldest fruit trees in
existence and the first to be mentioned in the
historical writings of mankind. Mentioned
ten times in the Bible, it is most often thought of
as a fruit of temptation in Eden. But the third chapter
of Genesis does not actually mention specifically
what was the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good
and evil. We know that apples grew in Solomon's
garden from the second chapter of his Song and
again in the eighth chapter, verse 5, but this is not
sufficient to assume that apples were referred to in
the Garden of Eden.
The Hebrew word is tappuach (Arabic, taffah or
tiffah) and the tree is the same Malus communis
that we grow in Britain. It was not originally native
to the Holy Land, but was introduced to Egypt from
Trebizond, its home on the Black Sea, and planted in
the gardens of Rameses the Great in the Nile Delta.
The Israelites escaping from bondage, or later, introduced the tree into Palestine in the mountains of
Judea and Hebron. When I lived in Palestine, however, it was not nearly so common in the orchards
as for instance the apricot, the almond, the olive,
and the citrus fruits. Indeed, most of the apples we
bought came from Syria, a great fruit-growing
country.
Only the border of its native area in the South
Caucasus touches the Levant. Nevertheless, Beit
28
WHAT'S THE GOOD OF PRAYING? I
DON'T THINK ANYBODY CALLED GOD
REALLY LISTENS AT THE OTHER END.
-L.S.H.
David believed his prayers were heard by God.
He says: "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and
cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of His
temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His
ears." Psa. 18:6.
He continued: "I sought the Lord, and He heard
me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Psa. 34:4),
and again; "The eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. . . .
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles." Psa. 34:15, 17.
God heard the prayers of Moses (Exod. 15:24,
25), Gideon (Judges 6:39) and Samuel. God answered the prayers of Hannah for a son, Elijah for
fire, and Hezekiah for healing. (1 Sam. 1:27; 1 Kings
18:37; 2 Kings 19:19.)
The early church prayed for the power of the Holy
Spirit and received it. Through their petitions Peter
was delivered miraculously from prison. Thousands
of Christians today believe in prayer. It is a great
and marvellous miracle at which I never cease to
wonder. The Scriptures tell us that God knows each
of us by name—even the number of hairs on our
heads is known to Him. He takes a personal interest
in each one of His children. I cannot understand
how this is possible. However, Jesus urged us to
pray, saying: "In very truth I tell you, if you ask
the Father for anything in My name, He will give
it you. So far you have asked nothing in My name.
Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be
complete." John 16:23, 24, N.E.B.
Father's. The works He performed were His Father's.
But while, in every detail of His life, He submitted
to His Father, this does not detract from the fact
that Jesus is expressly called God. (John 1:1.)
Thomas addressed the Saviour as "my Lord and
my God" and since it was unrebuked by Christ, this
is equivalent to an assertion on His own part of His
claim to Deity.
When John says, "In the beginning was the
Word," he designates the point in time, back of which
it is impossible to go—that is, He is eternal. He is
"before all things" (Col. 1:17), "the Alpha and the
Omega, the beginning and the end" (Rev. 21:6),
the Creator of all things (Col. 1:16), the Upholder
of all things. (Col. 1:17.) .And yet while being on
equality with God (Phil. 2:6), He voluntarily became
a suffering Servant to make possible our salvation.
WILL ALL BABIES GO TO HEAVEN?
-J.F.W.
There is no text in the Bible which clearly indicates
that all babes who die before they reach the age of
discernment will go to heaven. Indeed, the Bible
teaches that nobody goes to heaven at death, but
all wait until the resurrection day. I know that God
loves children. Jesus said: "Let the little ones come
to Me, do not try to stop them; for the kingdom
of God belongs to such as these." Luke 18:16, N.E.B.
In adults justification is connected with repentance
and faith. In infants we do not know how, but the
faith of the parents doubtless plays a part. The
Lord said to His church: "I will contend with him
that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy
children." Isa. 49:25.
Perhaps there is also comfort for Christian parents
in the text, Jeremiah 31:15-17: "A voice was heard
in Ramah ; . . . Rachel weeping for her children
refused to be comforted for her children, because they
were not. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice
from weeping and thine eyes from tears: for thy
work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord. . . . And
there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that they
children shall come again to their own border."
Of one thing we may be sure, when God makes up
His elect "shall not the Judge of all the earth do
right ?" Gen. 18:25. We can count on God's love
and justice in this matter.
HOW IS IT THAT WHATEVER I TRY
TO DO SEEMS TO END IN FAILURE
WHEN I TRY SO HARD AND PRAY AND
HAVE FAITH IN GOD? I KNOW GOD
CHASTENS THOSE HE LOVES BUT
THERE IS A LIMIT TO WHAT A HUMAN
BEING CAN TAKE. I FEEL I CANNOT
BEAR ANY MORE.-T.S.F.
HOW CAN GOD, THE SON, BE COETERNAL WITH HIS FATHER? JESUS
SAID HIS FATHER WAS GREATER
THAN HIMSELF.-G.F.B.
If we base our beliefs on one part of Scripture
we can easily make a mistake, and eventually come to
accept error as truth.
In coming to earth, Jesus carried out the will of
His Father. The words He spoke, He said, were His
Many earnest, sincere, devoted Christians have
felt the way you do. Doubts or trials are sent by
Satan and permitted by God. Sometimes we do not
29
and the proof." And so it turned out, for at the time
appointed, the Persian king issued an edict permitting
the Jews to go back to their own land and rebuild
their temple. And remarkably enough the proof that
he did so is on an inscribed clay cylinder in the
British Museum!
If God can fulfil His promises to kings and nations
He can do the same for individuals. And there are
enough promises to meet our every condition and
need.
see any rhyme or reason for them. Job, a righteous
man, could not answer the "why" of human suffering.
But his faith remained strong: "Though He slay me
yet will I trust Him." Job 13:15.
Believe our Lord's promise that He will be with
you even to the end. The salvation promised to us "is
cause for great joy, even though now you smart for
a little while, . . . under trials of many kinds." 1
Peter 1:6, N.E.B. "The fiery ordeal that is upon
you . . . gives you a share in Christ's sufferings, and
that is cause for joy; and when His glory is revealed,
your joy will be triumphant." 1 Peter 4:12, 13, N.E.B.
Keep your ideals always in mind; don't give them
up. Don't give up God's ideals for you. There is a
limit but keep faith with God, for "God keeps faith,
and He will not allow you to be tested above your
powers, but when the test comes He will at the same
time provide a way out, by enabling you to sustain
it." 1 Cor. 10:13, N.E.B.
The most wonderful promise
*********************
And, of course, we must not forget His most
wonderful promise: "I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto Myself ; that where I am,
there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3.
Why not study the promises of God more diligently? Make a list of them as you read through His
Word. Indicate which of them have been fulfilled in
your life. Remember all are "exceeding great and
precious." They will help you to "become partakers
of the divine nature."
GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES
*********************
(Continued from page 13.)
Then one day a weary, travel-stained man made his
way to Daniel's fine house. After greeting him,
Daniel inquired from whence he had come. "I am
from the land of Judah," replied the stranger. Danielsaw he was carrying a scroll and so asked what it
contained. "This is a scroll wriii-en by the prophet
Jeremiah." Immediately Daniel to k it and began
eagerly to read the contents. He was just over halfway through when he was startled to find the promise,
"For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be
accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform
My good word toward you, in causing you to return
to this place." Jer. 29:10.
What wonderful news for Daniel! He records the
event in the ninth chapter of his prophecy, verses one
and two. We can picture the old prophet taking a
clay tablet and doing some rapid calculations. When
did we go into captivity? The year 3152 (our 606
B.c.) was written down. How long are we to be here?
Seventy years is put underneath. The subtraction gave
3222 (our 536 B.c.). So that is the year our captivity
comes to an end. But what is the present year? It is
the first year of Darius, or 3220 (our 538 B.c.).
Quickly Daniel saw that there were only two years
left to their captivity. We can picture his joy as
he gathered up his robe and, old though he was,
ran down the road to call his friends together to
share the good news. "I've got it," he cried. "What
have you got ?" they asked. "Why, I know when
we are going home!" "When ?" "Just two years."
"How do you know ?" "Look—here is the promise
HIGH-WATER MARK AND EBB TIDE
(Continued from page 15.)
Finally, however, in 1961, Mr. R. A. Butler, then
Home Secretary, announced the setting up of a
departmental committee of the Home Office, under
the chairmanship of Lord Crathorne, "to review the
law (other than the Licensing Acts) relating to
Sunday entertainments, sports, pastimes and trading
in England and Wales and to make recommendations." This committee held its first meeting in
August, 1961, and its report was finally published in
December, 1964.
The committee's main recommendations are that
cinemas should be allowed to open anywhere on
Sunday without payment of a proportion of their
profits to charity; that other forms of public entertainment, including theatre performances and dancing,
should be allowed on the same basis as cinemas; that
Sunday amateur and charity sports meetings, except
those attracting mass attendances, should be permitted; that the sale on Sunday of any article by a
shop registered as a business wholly or mainly for the
sale of food and drink should be allowed; and that
the hours of Sunday trading should not be subject
to any special restrictions as against those of other
days.
The report has been discussed extensively in the
press by all interested parties. Most Christian opinion
is that religious observances should not be the subject
of secular legislation, but the still Puritan Lord's
30
Day Observance Society has declared its intention
of opposing the committee's recommendations "very
fiercely indeed."
When the Crathorne Report finally comes before
parliament for action the decision will have to be
made between the opinion expressed by a recent
writer that "successful enforcement [of Sunday laws]
is a necessary corollary of the proper functioning of
the church," and that of the noted nineteenth century
thinker, John Stuart Mill, who declared that "all
legislation in respect to Sunday is an illegitimate
interference with the rightful liberty of the individual."
For this journal, and we believe a great many of
our readers, the issue is clear. The work of the Gospel
is to "persuade" men and women to faith and to
right courses of action, not to compel them. Religious
legislation is, therefore, contrary to Bible principles,
and should be repealed.
But there is a further point. The Bible day of
rest is Sabbath and not Sunday. And so our "persuasion" should be toward the observance not of
Sunday, the first day of the week, but of the seventh
day of the week which is God's,true Sabbath.
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect." Matt. 5:48.
In His coming to this world the purpose of Jesus
was to do something for mankind which could not be
done by anyone else. "God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto Himself." The object of the Incarnation was the redemption of the world. Reconciliation, at-one-ment, begins with the Incarnation.
This truth is expressed in one of Wesley's hymns:
The eternal God from heaven came down;
The King of Glory dropped His crown,
And veil'd His majesty:
Emptied of all but love He came.
Jesus, I call Thee by the name
Thy pity bore for me.
The love which came down at Bethlehem, the love
which no-one realized more than Charles Wesley,
was reconciling love.
The Ancient of Days,
To redeem a lost race,
From His glory came,
Self humbled to carry us up to a crown.
*********************
The final amazing truth of the Incarnation is that
God became man that man might become godlike!
Yes, this is gloriously possible when a man says with
all his heart, mind and soul, "Oh, come to my heart,
Lord Jesus."
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE
" INCARNATION " ?
(Continued from page 23.)
of One who was truly human. Jesus walked by faith
and not by sight. He relied utterly on God in prayer.
He knew the meaning of work, hunger, thirst, temptation, suffering, and death. "He was in all points
tempted like as we are." Heb. 4:15. He was limited
just as you and I are limited by our common humanity.
In this He was one with us. He knew life as we know
it.
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When I look out on the vast universe with all its
fascinating wonder, its mystery, its unimaginable
greatness, I see the wonder of God's creative power.
When I consider the beauty of the world, I see the
artistic side of God's nature; when I enter the stable
at Bethlehem and look into those dancing baby eyes,
I see the greatness of God's loving heart. "God so
loved . . . that He gave" Himself through His only
begotten Son. Here the deepest truth about God is
revealed; in the love and mercy and forgiveness and
will of Jesus are embodied the love and mercy and
forgiveness and the will of God. God comes to earth
through Jesus and looks into our eyes, saying, "Be
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31
WRITTEN
IN A
CARRIER'S
CART
OTORS and buses are gradually taking the place of
the carrier's cart which
used to jog along from village to
village, collecting country folk on
their way to market and later returning them to their homes.
Women laden with packages,
children sucking sweets, men smoking foul pipes, all filled the cart
on its return journey.
The hubbub and noise of conversation mixed with the rattling
of the wheels and the steady trot
of the horse's feet. Visits to the
doctor's were discussed in detail ;
gossip from every village, and the
latest news was all freely exchanged.
It was among such a chattering
that one of our best known hymns
was written. A little over a hundred
years ago a certain Miss Thompson
of. Pitminster near Taunton had
been visiting a school-teacher friend
in London.
One afternoon she visited the
school where this friend taught.
At the end of the afternoon, the
children were dismissed, and filed
out to the music of a tune played on
the piano.
Miss Thompson liked the tune
so much she asked for a copy of it,
and discovered it was an old Greek
M
32
by EDYTH HARPER
air. She took it home, intending
to write words that could be sung
to the tune in her father's Sunday
school, where he was superintendent.
Yet somehow she could not find
the right words, although she tried
day after day. Then one afternoon,
as she was making her way in the
carrier's cart to Wellington to attend
a missionary meeting, the words
for the first verse came to her.
Afraid she should forget them,
she searched her bag for a piece
of paper and a pencil. She could
only find an old envelope, but she
made do with that and, using a
short stub of pencil she hastily
scribbled :
"I think when I read that sweet
story of old
When Jesus was here among men
How He called little children
as lambs to the fold
I should like to have been with
them then."
That hymn has been translated
into many languages, and has been
sung all over the world. Yet it came
into being among the noise of a
carrier's cart.
The other verses are:
"I wish that His hands had been
placed on my head,
That His arms had been thrown
around me;
And that I might have seen His
kind look when He said:
`Let the little ones come unto Me.'
"Yet still to His footstool in
prayer I may go,
And ask for a share in His love;
And if I now earnestly seek Him
below,
I shall see Him and hear Him
above,
"In that beautiful place He has
gone to prepare,
For all who are washed and
forgiven;
And many dear children will
flock to Him there,
`For of such is the kingdom of
Heaven.' "
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
CHERRY TREE FARM
by RONALD JAMES
RGH !" came a horrified
shriek from Kay.
"What's the matter ?" called her brother Tim, hastening
to the spot.
"A beastly cockroach! I nearly
touched it," Kay wailed.
"Where is it ?" Tim demanded.
"It was near those flower pots,"
answered Kay with a shudder.
Tim began to carefully move
the pots.
"There it is," cried Kay, suddenly.
"That's not a cockroach," said
Tim scornfully.
It was a long, narrow beetle, and
at present it remained rigidly
motionless, its tail erect.
"Well, what is it ?" asked his
sister sulkily.
"It's a devil's coach-horse," Tim
replied.
"Well, I thought it was a cock-
U
roach; it's horrible at any rate,"
sniffed Kay.
"That it's not," Tim retorted.
"Devil's coach-horses are jolly useful in the garden. They eat all sorts
of pests. They are brave, too; don't
run away but stand and fight."
"Well, you can have my share
of them," grumbled Kay.
"Fancy not knowing it was a
devil's coach-horse!" jeered Tim.
"You don't know everything
about beetles," answered Kay with
spirit. "You probably only know
what you've just told me, because
you've got to write an essay on
beetles for your holiday task."
"I knew about devil's coachhorses before, and I know a lot
about other beetles too, now," Tim
boasted. "There's sexton beetles and
dor beetles and musk beetles and
stag beetles and—"
"Oh, dry up!" said Kay, rudely.
33
"I don't want a lecture on such a
horrible topic."
She stopped suddenly.
At her teet, close to the greenhouse, was a large brown beetle ; it
was quite dead.
"Here you are, Mr. Know-all,
what kind of beetle is this?" she
asked.
Tim picked it up and gazed at it
curiously.
"It's a dead beetle," he replied
seriously.
"Clever Dick! I don't believe
you know what it is and I do."
"Oh, do you, well what is it ?"
Tim inquired.
"A water-beetle," said Kay,
promptly.
"Ho ho! just listen to the child,"
Tim scoffed. "And how, pray, do
you imagine a water-beetle got here?
The nearest pond is about a quarter
of a mile away."
"Well, I don't know ; perhaps
someone dropped it," suggested
his sister.
"Who on earth would carry
water-beetles about and drop them?
Talk sense!" Tim jeered.
"Well, if it's not a water-beetle
what is it ?" Kay queried.
Tim looked thoughtful. In fact
it did look very much like the big
water beetles one often saw in the
Long-pond, but he could scarcely
say so now.
"You don't know," cried Kay,
triumphantly.
"Don't know what ?" asked
Farmer Jones joining the children.
"We've just found this big brown
beetle. I think it's a water-beetle,
but Tim says no," Kay explained.
"Of course it's a water-beetle,"
replied the farmer. "It's Dytiscus,
the terror of the pond. Surely you
knew that, Tim!"
"But how could it get here?"
the glass would probably look very
much like water
"Poor old beetle," said soft
hearted Kay.
"Oh, well, I expect the small
creatures in the pond are pleased,"
protested the discomfited Tim.
"Flew undoubtedly," F ar me r
Jones replied. "It probably fancied
a change, and had the misfortune
to mistake the glasshouse for a
pond. In the moonlight from above,
My dear Sunbeams,
"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness !"
Have you learned this beautiful
poem by John Keats, as I did when
I was at school? If so, you will agree
that it so well describes September,
one of our most lovely months.
At no time of the year is there
more colour in the countryside than
in September and October, when the
leaves turn from gold to red, then
to russet brown; and the pink
•
'.'.*.'.' ............ . ..........
cheeked apples, and purple plums,
hang heavily from orchard boughs.
Everywhere we look, fruits and
berries are taking the place of flowers,
much to the delight of boys and girls
and the alert-eyed birds and furry
creatures!
It can be great fun collecting horse
chestnuts, and the edible nuts such
as sweet chestnuts, beech, and hazel.
However, we are not the only ones
who are fond of nuts, so we must
spare a thought for the woodland
folk, who need
these fruits of the
:LO:
tree in order to
,urvive.
Such animals are
the hedgehog, dormouse, and squirrel. In fact, many
of these small
creatures are now
eating their fill, and
fattening up for a
lean winter ! What
they don't manage
to eat of , their
findings, they con-
laughed Tim.
"That's a true word, as Lijah
would say," agreed the farmer.
"Few small pond dwellers are safe
from the hungry jaws of Dytiscus,
the giant water-beetle."
trive to store away for the bleak
days to follow.
Keep an eye open for autumn
flowers, such as the ox-eye daisies,
and yellow toad flax; and one of the
most sure signs of autumn, the
crop of strikingly pretty toadstools
to be found in the woods.
And by the way, you are smart
enough to avoid eating brightly
coloured berries and toadstools, aren't
you? Even handling these may be
dangerous, if you put your unwashed
fingers into your mouth. It is a sad
fact that every year many children
become very ill through eating unknown berries and toadstools.
During this month the great migration of the birds takes place. The
swifts go early, and on many rooftops and telegraph wires, flocks of
swallows may be seen as they chat
together as if making plans for their
long journey across many miles of
land and water, to the great continent of Africa, where they will spend
the winter.
Even if you live in the town, there
is much to be seen in September.
Local parks have tree-lined avenues
where scampering squirrels can sometimes be seen among other fascinating
things; and the only time I ever
saw a fox was very near the houses
on the outskirts of a town !
Good-bye for now, Sunbeams,
Yours affectionately,
4
1.4.,14.
1 f
A PRAYER
/MS,'
by Ellen V. High
/'R fl,
pl~ \tW01.
n
Sufficient for the day,
Dear Lord, is all I pray—
Not wealth or poverty—
Sufficient for the day.
Vii, i
1.4.%v000
E LORD
'WE 11=R. PROVO DE
CrEtt 22.11
See how nicely you
can colour this
picture and send it
with your name, age,
and address to
Auntie Pam, The
Stanborough Press
Ltd., Watford, Herts.,
not later than
October 5th.
34
My needs Thou wilt supply,
And hear me when I cry;
I put my trust in Thee,
Thou carest, Lord, for me.
Help me to work and pray;
Prepare fo• that great day
When Jesus comes again
As Lord and King to reign.
Where danger lies
Roman law
"THE danger of war," said Patrick Gordon Walker
in a recent speech, has "moved away from the areas
where the supernuclear powers directly confront one
another . . to the periphery. The chief danger lies
in the area in and around the Indian Ocean and in
South-east Asia."
AN Italian court has upheld a law which makes it
punishable publicly to insult the Roman Catholic
faith. Penalties range up to one year's imprisonment.
Dr. Robinson's aim
COMMENTING on Bishop Robinson's latest book,
Professor E. L. Mascall says: "One might be pardoned
for supposing that Robinson had despaired of trying
to convert the world to Christianity and had decided
to convert Christianity to the world."
Anglicans and baptism
AT a joint meeting of -the Convocations of Canterbury and York, Dr. J. L. Wilson, Bishop of Birmingham, said: "I find myself moving more and more
toward the Baptist position of believer's baptism,"
and while he declared that "as a Bishop of the Church
of England I must for the present accept the discipline
of the church," he added, "we have to carry on,
working for the time when believer's baptism will
become the normal."
Turbulent continent
Apostolic commission needed
WRITING of Africa in the New York Herald
Tribune, Roscoe Drummond says: "Here is a turbulent continent spanning one-fourth of the surface of
the earth, on which 200 million Africans in thirtyseven newly created states—one-third of the entire
U.N.—have won control of their destinies in ten
nerve-racking years."
ADDRESSING Anglicans in Zambia who are entering
into talks with the United Church in Zambia, the
Rev. Colin Morris, president of the latter, urged:
"Do not first give us your views on the Apostolic
Succession, but explore how we can regain the
Apostolic Commission."
Not so liberal
China's nuclear power
COMMENTING on giving in the Church of Scotland,
a report to the General Assembly stated that in
individual terms donations to the church amounted
to only ls. 9d. per week, or less than the cost of the
daily newspaper.
ACCORDING to Alfredo G. Eugenio of the Philippine National Security Council, Red China will have
a number of nuclear bombs in stockpile by 1967,
capable of delivery by plane. "By 1970 it will have
many more, possibly including intermediate range
missiles to deliver them, and by 1975 it will be
able to launch nuclear warheads against the United
States."
Arab world split
'THERE are problems between Syria and Iraq,"
," President Nasser at a conference in Cairo,
between Sy;la znri Cue
Arab Republic, and
between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Lebanon even
not permit any Arab fcrces on its territory. The Arab
i.es are even warring against each other, as in
the Yemen. Every time the Arab League meets,
everyone attacks everyone else, blaming each other."
Protestant Pope John
"THE acceleration of the Ecumenical Movement,"
asserted Amt.—
.::::hodist Bishop Cnrcrm ;n the
Methodist Rerorder, "awaits the erne-i,lyn:e
Protestant leader with the qualities of Pope John
XXIII."
******************************
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of the
family
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