The Bible Standard July 1879

8/8/2019 The Bible Standard July 1879

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iltlt T-::HE~/tau tlard .ISSUED MONTHLY BY THEB ib le S ta nd a r d P u blica tion S ociety, St . Paul's B u ild in gs, 28, P ater noster R ow , L on d on .

EDITED' BYGeo. A. BROWN, Pastor of Mint Lane Baptist Church, Lincoln.

THEBIBLESTANDARDs devoted to the exposition of Biblical Truth, especially the doctrine of Conditional Immortality, the l iteral Resurrection ofthe Dead, the Final Destruction of the Wicked, the Signs of the Times, the Second Coming of Christ, and His Personal Reign on earth.

" The Wages o f Sin is Death; but the gift of God is Eternal Vife through Jesus Christ our Lord."

No. 22. Price Id.ULY, _1879.THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH.

" But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning themwhich are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have nohope."-1 These, iv, 19.THE early Christians, those who had not been fully in-structed in the gospel, were as these Thessalonians, some-what perplexed concerning the condition of their friends indeath. They knew but little of the doctrine of the re-surrection, from the fact that they had through a misunder-standing of the apostle's letters come to believe that theyshould" not see death," but live to see the Saviour's return.They were brought into this position under the apostle'spreaching, which was a saving and happy one, though theymistook him as to the point of time. The apostle, however,put them right in his second epistle. Observing theirbrethren falling in death, they were sorrow-stricken andmourned bitterly. They wept, as it was customary for theheathen to lament over their dead.The apostle, learning that many of the believers in

Thessalonica were mourning bitterly over their. beloved deadafter the manner of the heathen, hastens at once to writethem and offer them a sovereign balm for all their fears.He would not have them to dry up their tears entirely, norto be indifferent over the couch of their suffering and dyingones, and over the bier of their dead, as tears are sacred,and the rainbow of hope may be often seen' through theeyes diffused with tears, and sorrow is sanctifying if it be ofa godly sort, and better prepares the heart for the receptionof God's Holy Comforter. John xiv. 16. Jesus was" aman of sorrows and acquainted with grief." He was a manof tears also. At the grave of Lazarus it is said, " Jesuswept," hence He is ever present by His blessed Spirit tosweetly sympathize with His Church who are brought there.No, the apostle would not reprove the bereaved ones ofTbessalonica for sorrowing over their beloved dead, but hewould gently admonish them not to Borrow as those poor

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benighted heathen who had no hope of a future for theirdead. He would say, Let your sorrow be softened andmingled with a joy that hope bringeth in the gospel, that"the dead in Christ" shall live again. He would pointthem to a glorious resurrection, when all that are in Christ,both the living and the dead, shall be made immortal.In this brief and model funeral discourse, which is the

only one perhaps the apostle ever delivered, and which wasdesigned for the instruction and comfort of bereaved Christianmourners for all time, he embraces some of the mostsublime and important doctrines which the gospel contains,and which modern theologians ignore, namely, the sleep ofthe dead, the resurrection, and the literal coming of Christin His kingdom.- Let us look for a moment at the subsequent portion ofhis discourse of which our text is but a mere introduction."For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even sothem also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him."The apostle here predicates the hope of rising again on thedeath and resurrection of Jesus; and this agrees with his.discourse on the resurrection in 1 C01'. 15. This is similar-to the one before us in point of doctrine, but mo!e argumen-tative, showing conclusively that all future hope for theChurch was based alone upon the resurrection of Christ jand could it be proved that He did not rise, that He wassecretly stolen from the tomb of Joseph as there was anattempt made by His enemies (Matt. xxviii. 13), then thosewho had died in Him had perished. But the great- apostlefully demonstrates by facts and figures, so to speak, that" He was delivered for our offences, and raised again for ourjustification" unto life. "For this we say unto you by theword of the Lord." It would seem to be an express revela,tion here that he is about to present as one immediatelyindited by the Spirit for the occasion, and applicable to allthe Churches in Christ. No reasoning of men could possiblyhave discovered the things he here unfolds. We cannot

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205 THE BIBLE STANDARD.find any portion of the apostle's writing where he speaksmore assuredly of his being divinely inspired than whenpresenting these great truths. He not only speaks of theabsolute importance of these doctrines, but that we mayattach the utmost confidence to them as being truly authentic,coming directly from God. The language is equivalent inits bearing and force to that of our Lord when He wouldpreface His statements with a solemn assertion-" Verily,verily, Isay unto you," "that we which are alive, andremain unto the coming of the Lord, will not prevent [gobefore, or stand in the way of] them which are asleep. Forthe Lord Himself," not a myth, spirit, or substitute in anyway, but the very same Jesus-" this same Jesus," as theangels declare, which is taken up from you into heaven,shall so come in like manner." Acts i. 10, 11; Rev. i. 7 ;Matt. xxiv. 30. Then it is " the Lord Himself" that" shalldescend from heaven with a shout [the word of command inthe order] ,with the voice of the archangel, and with thetrump of God."This trio of voices united will be like the mighty thundersof heaven's artillery spoken of in the Apocalypse. Thesethree things combined in their action will prove moststartling and wonderful in their effects, and would seem,from what we know of the nature of sound, to be well cal-culated to awaken the dead from their deepest sleep."And the dead in Christ shall rise first." 1 Cor. xv.7, 51, 55. "Then we which are alive and remainshall be caught up [or caught away, as the prepositionwarrants] with them in the clouds [not unlikely clouds ofangels, which may prove something like a highway for theascent and rapture of the saints] ,to meet the Lord in theair; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Not that thesaints will remain ever with the Lord suspended in the air,but the ever with Him will be in His kingdom, which willnot be aerial or celestial in its form, but terrestrial, and yetcelestial in character and principle, under the whole heaven,not above,"Wherefore comfort one another with these words;"

these words which state definitely the condition of thesainted dead-that "they rest from their labours." Rev.xiv. 13. They Test with the apostle who delivered this dis-course, as he would console the same Church in anotherepistle. "You that are troubled rest with us." You willrest with us when, or until the Lord Jesus shall be revealedfrom heaven. 2 Thess, i. 7. They sleep on in hope" untilthe heavens be no more." Job xiv. 12. Then Jesus comes toawake them, as He declared to His disciples relative to thedead Lazarus, "I go that I may awake him out of. sleep."John xi. 11. Observe," the dead shall hear the voice of theSon of God, and they that hear shall live." John v. 25.He cometh to the grave of His saints, as to the cave of

Lazarus, he being a type of Christ's sleeping ones, andbidding His angels as they come with Him to take away the

stone, He cries with a loud voice, " Lazarus, come forth."And here, as then, only on a larger and grander scale, wesee the glory of God displayed, His power exhibited; for bythe magic inspiration of that sovereign word they" comeforth" and leap from their dusty beds, and, exchangingtheir mortal shrouds for the garments of immortality, theyunite in the resurrection song, "0 death, where is thysting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?" And giving thanksto God who giveth them the victory through our Lord JesusChrist, they roam out sweetly into the glorious liberty of thechildren of God. These words of mighty import, that con-tain the sovereign balm so full of consolation, so replete withall that is calculated to soothe the bleeding hearts of thebereaved mourners,-words that tell us of the speedy ap-proach of Him who is the resurrection and the life; of Hisglorious appearing in the clouds of heaven with all the holyangels with Him,-words that tell us that at that comingthe trump of God shall sound as with the noise of tenthousand thunders, piercing the very depths of hell (hades ),at which sound old hoary-headed death himself will trembleand shake with fear, and quickly loosen his hold of the deadin Christ,-words that tell us they come out of their graves,that tell us of their victory over death, hell and the grave,and a glorious triumph over the enemies of Christ and HisChurch, when their tears shall be dried, their sorrows for-ever terminate, and the days of Zion's mourning shall beended. "Wherefore comfort one another with thesewords." - T V I 7 l . Shepherd.SIN,-ITS ENTRY, PURPOSE, AND ABOLITION.

I. MANY volumes have been written of an erudite nature; muchvaluable knowledge and research displayed; much logical,theological, and psychological learning called into exercise,wisely, judiciously, and faithfully, in order to prove thatthere is no such Divine sentence as a sinner's eternalexistence in torment.To the writer's mind, after some publication of his own,

and considerable research into the writings of others, itseems as if the question of the eternal destiny of the un-saved might be summed up, not in expatiating on theevidence against everlasting suffering, but in pointing to therevealed fact of the future abolition of sin and death. Ifsin ceases to have existence, no sinner, as such, can live!this is perfectly plain.Without, therefore, the slightest disparagement to the

above, I will endeavour to bring this widespread subjectwithin the limits just mentioned, and see if it cannot besummarily disposed of by a few indisputable references tothe volume of Divine Jurisprudence.n. "By one man sin came into the world, and death bysin." Roni. v. 12. But we also read that Christ" how oncein the end of the ages" (aionon, probationary and legal,previous to the first Advent) "'hath appeared to PUT AWAY"


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. ,207(athetesin, abolish, make an end of) "SIN by the sacrificeof Himself." Heb. ix. 26. Here are the Divine antagonisms,or respective effects of the appearances of "the first man,"and" the Second Man;" "the first Adam " and" the lastAdam," representative heads of the old and new creations;the last Adam having been fore-ordained previous to thefirst creation, to supersede by redemption and the callinginto existence of a new creation, the fall and ruin of the oldthrough sin. We may, therefore, say, that, as "by oneman sin entered into the aion," or first age, so by OneMan shall sin be abolished from the future ages.Ill. Two evils are above recorded, sin and death,or cause

and effect. If we can show that the cause will be absolutelyextirpated, the effect must for ever cease.Scripture nowhere affirms that God either repairs or im-

proves aught that has been tainted by sin." ,But the con-trary. "THE ENDOF ALLFLESH" is said to have comebefore the Divine mind when the flood was ordained tosweep away the entire race of men, save eight souls; andthis act was but an exemplification of what shall yet cometo pass. The Adam nature is not bettered in the believer,it is put to death. "The old man is crucified with Christ,"and buried with Him, in the purposes of God. Rom, vi.What then of this irreclaimable flesh in the unbeliever?The earth and its atmosphere shall pass away because

tainted with sin. When death and the grave-witnesses tosin-have delivered up their tenants to appear for finalsentence before the Great White Throne, they are then castinto the lake of fire,-they surely not to be tormented,-andthen the present earth on which the fiery lake will be, andits firmament, will flee away (ephugm, be eternally banished)from the presence of Him who sits on the throne. SeeRev. xx. 11 to the end; also 2 Peter iii. 10-12; Heb, i.10-12. This leaves no possibility for the existence of thelake of fire which will be a component part of the earth thatis to " pass away."]It is further said, that on the new earth that shall be,

"No more death, no more sorrow, no more pain." Whythis complete abolition of human woes? There can be butone answer. "The last enemy" appertaining to the oldeconomy" that shall be destroyed is death!" Death beingabolished, there must be no more sin! See 1 Cor. xv. 26 ;2 Tim, i. 10. Sin having fulfilled the Divine purpose forwhich it was permitted to come into the world, viz., themanifestation of Gud in love by the work and character ofthe Second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ (John iii. 16 ; Hom,v. 8; 1 John iv. 9), shall it be permitted to exist a malevolent

Leviticus, chap. xiii., and xiv., 33 to end, afford elaborate and un-questionable evidence of this truth, leprosy being the acknowledged typeof sin.t See my Work on "The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ,"p p . 319, 320, 323--329.

excrescence without object, on a new earth where" righteous-ness " only is said to " dwell? " God forbid I" Former things will have passed away!" and with joy

unspeakable we listen to the Divine assurance, " BEHOLD!I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW!" Rev. xxi, 4, 5.IV. But, further, we can take yet a step of regression, and

shew that the source and originator 'of sin will have noexistence when the ages of eternity and the new earth dawnon the new creation. In Heb, xi. 4 , and 1 John iii. 8, weread that the mighty effects of the death of the IncarnateSon of God, will be the destruction (katal'geo, to make,to cease, to destroy) of the devil and all his works, i.e., sinin all its forms. Again, in Re , xx. 10, we are informedthat at the close of the Millennial reign, before the appear-ance of the Great White Throne of final award, the devilwill be cast into the lake of fire, and tormented, not foreternity, but eis tous aionas ton aionon, until ~ the agesof ages, [?] i,e. until their commencement. It must beso, in order to harmonize with the Scriptures just quoted,which" can not be broken." It must be so, because, asbefore said, when the last act of judgment closes, the presentearth on which the lake will be, is said to be reduced to itsoriginal nothingness. He who called everything into ex-istence out of nothing, can as easily uncreate by the Wordof Hili mouth.V. Herein, let me observe, is displayed the wonderfully

practical righteousness of God, i.e., in the manner of thedestruction of Satan. He is not arbitrarily dealt with, as aflagrantly malignant adversary, but judicially condemnedas a legal culprit convicted of the murder of the Son of God!tHeb. ii. 14), as the following will prove:" In Rom, viii, 3, the Sacred Record proclaims that Godis the Abolisher of sin, having visited it on the Person ofHis own Son on the Cross for its abolition. Sin was therejudged; or rather, in the light of Heb, ii. 14, Satan WILSjudged. See also John xvi. 11. Thus arraigned, and thuscondemned, shall God be mocked, and the priceless blood ofHis Son be despised by any reversion of the sentence. ofutter extermination? God forbid.-H. Goodwyn, Olevedon,April 23. "The primary and proper meaning of eis is "to," or" until," when

used of time: its secondary meaning, i.e., " for," when used to express" for the purpose of," and the like (Parlchw'st iv), See 2 Peter ii. 4,iii. 7; GaZ . iii. 23. Our translators were not free from the Platonic idea.of an immortality of woe!

NEXT ANNUAL CONFERENCE.By the desire of the Londoa brethren-and the Christiancourtesy of the Lincoln brethren-the next Conference will(God willing) be held in Maberley Chapel (Dr. Wm. Leask's),Ball's-pond Road, Dalston, London, N., on Tuesday,Wednesday, and Thursday, September 2nd, Brd, and 4th.Full particulars will be given in the August number ofBible Standard. Brethren, pray on behalf thereof.-CyrusE. Brooks.


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 20Who can tell how many have listened, and been lost, whowould have repented under the preaching of the truth?' Wehave the right to press home this question, as truly asorthodoxy the opposite. If now and then a hearer hascomforted himself in his sins with the thought that hispunishment was to be less than he had before conceived,who can tell what millions have revolted with a more wilfulwickedness under the impression that God was a Creator whosepenalties for insubordination and sin were an accumulation ofhorrors endless and ever increasing, which no mensuration offigures could ever express!Change the question, and ask if the darkening and

defacing of truth on this subject has not done infinitemischief; if it has not driven millions into a deeper un -belief; if it has not filled their minds with utterly wrongideas of the character of God; if it has not wroughtconfusion, infidelity, and ruin; if it has not made the gospel,in a large degree, impotent or inefficient, when it otherwisewould have powerfully prevailed? We submit, this is aquestion fully as pertinent as the other, and far more so,because error can produce only evil, unless it is speciallyoverruled.Why are so many professed Christians hesitating, worldly,

and apparently.not more than half converted? Who knows howmuch of their lethargy is due to this leaven of false doctrine,which was dealt out to them in the critical time of their firstawakening? Who, indeed, shall set bounds to the desolatingeffect of one falsehood lying enclosed in a bundle of truth?How difficult is it to use a vessel for holding some deliciousbeverage, which has one leak! Who knows how many aChristian life has been halting, and miserably developed, forthe very reason that this terrible mystery of eternal sufferinghas lain like a worm at the heart, or has hung like a mistbefore the eye, perverting or distorting all right ideas of thetrue character of the Divine Being? Do not deny such apossibility in a vast number of instances, even though youhave not suffered in this way. Your mind has not been sotroubled, perhaps, but many others have, and if they shouldspeak honestly, would frankly acknowledge it. And ifChristian growth has been retarded and embarrassed by suchan incubus of wrong teaching, God only knows how manyhave failed of everlasting life through the same means.For illustration, suppose that instead of capital punish-

ment, or in other words, the loss of life, for a heinous crime,it were decreed by legislative enactment that the criminalshould be placed on his back, and slowly tortured by lightedcandles burning at his feet, and continually kept feeding andflaming in the extremities for days and weeks, if life shouldnot fail, and with an express provision that every possiblemeans should be used to prolong life. Would any religioussentiment tolerate such a statute, or its enforcement? If itwere possible, surely it must be a case of crime surpassing

in enormity anything known or conceivable. Death, nottorment, is the inexorable demand of the law. How truly itis the penalty in the government of God, we have not toguess, or merely to assume. It is written in ink; it isdeclared in the language of, inspiration; it is asserted andreiterated in the book of heavenly and Divine truth. Ifdeath, as a penalty of sin, will not alarm and deter thesinner, are you sure that a fear of protracted torment willserve a better purpose? In fact, while the one seems justand credible, is not the other secretly thought unjust andincredible? Is it not believed to be untrue? Orif themotion toward repentance and eternal life is made, alas; howgreat reason have we to fear lest the error put into thegospel, and not inherent in it, works mischief in impairing,enfeebling, and even corrupting, those internal motionswherein consist the true beginning of a new Christicu life,and the mental elements of the reconstruction.Or take another illustration, and I think of none, on the

whole, more apt and impressive that I could select. Supposethe penalty of some heinous offence, instead of being pro-tracted torture, were this :-The culprit shall be put bound,sitting in a boat, in the middle "o f Niagara river, at themouth of Lake Erie, and his punishment shall be to floatwith the current for twenty miles, without the hope orpossibility of relief or rescue, and to plunge through therapids, over the precipice, into the gulf! Let any man oncethoroughly realize the horror unspeakable of such a fate,and ask himself if it would not be an adequate punishmentfor the most flagrant transgression of civil law .. Conceivethe agony of the voyage. Compass, whoever can, in hismind, the harrowing experience of that one comparativelyshort ride, ended in being borne headlong down into the"hell of waters" below, never more to rise, never to live orbreathe, or think a thought on earth again! Now must wehave superadded to this, the mad invention of an "etermi.lburning," or rather,-to keep to the illustration,-of aneternal drowning, an eternal pitching over precipices intochasms, endless rides over endless rapids, and endlessplunges over interminable steeps? Must God punish withall His might, or punish with endless drownings, or un-quenchable burnings, to satisfy justice ?-punish with aretribution never finished, and with a justice never satisfied,because the retribution is not finished and can not be finishedon account of the vital and inextinguishable element ofimmortality in the sinner ?-punish in such a way as topreserve the sinner, keeping him alive in his sins and in hiswoe? punish so that the sin and pain shall for ever beincreasing ?-punish so that in the lapse of ages one. singlemoment of suffering will be greater in intensity than hasbeen endured by all the fallen race of man together, since.the world was made? Such is the inevitable eventuality,according to the alleged law of eternal increase. And even


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210 THE BIBLE STANDARD.then, the real bulk of woe to be endured has not beenreaehed, but the most withering and crushing agonies of anypresent, in all eternity, are only the faint shadow of whatis to come,To such inconceivableness do we advance, from a . wrong

beginning; and such are the distractions of false doctrine.No wonder the daughter of Rufus Choate was said, someyears since, to have become deranged, after listening to adiscourse on "Hell." If such an awful punishment as thehopeless voyage down Niagara, with its denouement of deathin the tremendous plunge,-if this would not deter acriminal, I apprehend nothing would.The punishment of sin is fearful enough indeed, but let

us not exaggerate it above the truth. We have no right toadd to God's words. It is no man's prerogative to guess apenalty, or invent one. If it is done, in spite of the solemnadmonition of inspiration itself, then we must safely fearthat it is but an added proof of that depravity of the humanheart, which, like the restless sea, throws up mire and dirt.Let us remember and avoid the justification of 1 1 .1 1 applica-

tion of a proverb to every invention of lies, to every acerbityof untruth, even though, with a supposed religious feeling," an ungodly man diggeth up evil." Let us live the truth,and gain it, and try the errors and detect them, and try thespirits and expose them. If we are under bondage totradition, the sooner we break the fetters the better; if wehave believed a wrong or a false teaching, because we havebeen wrongly taught, let us not be slow to search andforsake it.

ATTEMPTS TO JUSTIFY THE DOCTRINE OFETERNAL MISERY.

EVERT one who has read with attention the report of theproceedings of the U. P .. Synod in the .Macra case musthave been struck with the indignant denial the" reverendfathers and brethren" gave to Mr. Macrae's charge againstthe Westminster Confession, in regard to its utterances onthe doom of lost sinners. The language of that Confession,they say, is not to be taken literally. It speaks of thewicked being tormented iu fire and brimstone, body and soul,to all eternity, but literal fire is not meant; and, thoughthe word tormented is used-separation from the presence ofGod-isolation of the sinner with his sin, is what is meant.Being immortal, the sinner lives on for ever, and the factthat he is a sinner, and unforgiven, keeps him miserable forever. The representations of the Confession doctrine givenby Mr. Macrae, Dr. Andrew 'I'hompson declared to be littlebetter than a course caricature, although these represent-ations were quotations of the words of the Confession, andof some of the men who compiled it.These recent attempts to justify the doctrine of never-

ending misery as the doom of the unsaved, recalled to my

memory a defence, or excuse for it, which Iread, for thfirst time, thirty years ago. It occurred in" A GospeCatechism for Children," by the Rev. James Morison," Thquestion is asked :-" Why is it that the unholy must abidin the devil's hell forever and ever?" The answer givenis :-" The unholy must abide in the devil's hell forever andever, and never be released, because without shedding oblood there is no remission of sins; and for the sins whichthey commit after they leave the earth, Christ never did andnever will die."By " the devil's hell" the author means" the everlasting

fire" to which the finally impenitent, along with the deviand his angels, are to be consigned after judgment.. Hassumes that the ungodly shall exist for ever in thesequenchless flames; that, instead of being consumed by thefiery element, they shall, while eternity continues, bpreserved alive amid the most fearful horrors and intensepain, for ever tossing on the angry waves of "shorelesswoe."When one reflects that the lapse of ten thousand centuries

does not mitigate or shorten these sufferings, he is apt tcompare their' endless character with the comparativelyshort duration of the rebellion of which they are therecompense, and to wonder at the apparent injustice, odeclare it to be utterly at variance with the just andmerciful character of the God and Father of our LordJesus Christ.To meet such an objection the language just quoted ha

been framed. It is substantially this: The lost are not tsuffer for ever in the future life for the sins they commit ithe present life, but because that, while undergoing thepunishment due to sin here, the ungodly continue in sin therewhere there is no forgiveness and every sin requiring to bpunished, the condemned go on sinning and sufferingfor ever and evermore! The everlasting punishment of thecondemned is not for sins committed on earth, but for sindone in hell !Where in all the world did the reverend gentleman ge

this information? We know not where to find it in theBible, 'and that is the only source of information availableto men, learned or unlearned. With all our esteem for thslearning and worthily-earned honours of Dr. Morisonnothing less than the affirmation of Scripture can gain ou.credence to such a statement.But not only do the Scriptures fail to support the deliver-ance, they plainly contradict it. For (1) the only punishmentthreatened, in the Bible, to the ungodly, in the future life ifor" the deeds done in the body;" because of their conducin this life they are to be punished with "everlastingdestruction" after judgment. (2) The Bible represents


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212 THE BIBLE STANDARD.THREE GRAND EXPECTANTS. NOTES FOR THE PUBLIC.

THEREare more expeetants of the second coming than mostimagine. The expectants are also more in number, and ofmore importance, authority and - significance than oureducated men seem ever to have dreamed. Please observe.These expectants comprehend" the whole creation," the

heirs of the new creation, and" the Lord of all" Himself !This may surprise those who have never directed theirattention to this point of truth; and those who have seen it,in a general way, may be profited by having it repeated in Itconnected statement.1. "The whole creation groaneth "-" the earnest ex-

psctation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of thesons of God." It is now subject to vanity, though in hope;because the creature itself shall be delivered. Rom, viii.Hl-22. Here we have the individual creature, and thesum of all creature-hood, "travailing together" in hope ofthe world-wide deliverance which the gospel of God discloses.2. Israel and the Christian church-God's chosen people

of both dispensations-are expecting (waiting for) what wasassured to them in the covenant and oath of God toAbraham. Luke i. 69-73. Nay, more; they are in" earnestexpectation" of all that the" exceeding great and preciouspromises" have confirmed a thousand times by prophets,apostles, and the great Teacher, the Messiah I "Theburden of the Word of the Lord" is the " rest that remainetlito the people of God,"-relief from the curse, in the greatSabbath of creation, under the presence and aboundingblessing of the Lord. -~. The third expectant is JeSU8. ThE:)wonder and crown

of all expectation centres in the ascended Saviour. " AfterHe had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down onthe right hand of God; from henceforth [from that timeon] expecting till His enemies be made His footstool." Inthis crowning wonder of all expectation, all language, allthought reaches its utmost height. Nothing remains to giveemphasis and superlative importance to our attitude of ex-pectation of the coming crisis and the better day. For theLord Christ Himself is the ultimate expectant. Hence thecreature's expectation is elevated by that of the wholeChristian church-those truly called to be the body ofChrist! Nay, more; the blessed hope of the called, and thechosen, and the faithful, is but the counterpart and cor-relative of that which is revealed from within the veil.Jesus, from His ascension, has been" expecting till His foesare made His footstool" at His coming and kingdom.What honour, what safety, or moral exaltation of position

can transcend ours in such lofty association with "thewhole creation" and that of creation's Lord !-J.B. Cook.

THE LATEIT HERETIC." THISI confess, that 1I>fterhe way which they call heresyso worship I the God of my fathers." Thus spoke Sauthe Apostolic Heretic; and thus might speak Mr. Macraof Gourock, the latest martyr to the bigotry of sectarianismThe committee appointed to sit on Mr. Macrae's ease, havdetermined to recommend his suspension as a ministerthe Presbyterian Church.Our space permits only a few brief extracts, 1 1 > 8 we dea

fully with its previous features in our last number.QUESTION 1.-Do the unsaved Ixi,t for Iver in the futur

slate . ?ANSWER.-" (1 ) The Standards declare explicitly that t

unsaved in a future state do exist, and exist un saved fever. (2) The Bible nowhere declares this. It speakseverlasting life for the saved; nowhere of everlastinexistence for the unsaved. It says :-" He that believeton the Son hath life; he that believeth not shall not slife.' See also John vi., 49-51. (3) Though multitudeof people, and even many ministers, in referring to tunsaved, speak of their "immortal" and "never-dying"souls, such language is nowhere found in Scripture. It iscase of traditional views, taking the place of, and being mitaken for, the Divine Word. The words translated " souland" spirit" occur nearly 500 times in the New Testamenand more than 1,000 times in the Old Testament; but nevonce, as far as I know, is any adjective connected with twords to express inherent immortality. Never once, as fas I know, in all these 1,1100 Scripture texts, is man's soor spirit described as "immortal," " deathless," or " nevedying." The word "immortal" is only used in the Bibonce, and is then applied to God-" Now to the Kiimmortal." The word" immortality" occurs four or fitimes, but is applied exclusively to God and to those wshare in the divine nature. The same teaching runs froend to end of Scripture. "The wages of sin is death, bthe gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ oLord." The contrary doctrine was first taught by t, devil, who, when God said of the sinner, " Thou shalt diesaid" Thou shalt not." I said before, and I say again, thit is conceivable, without shocking one's views of God, thHe might keep lost souls in existence in some state for evI said that a living body, killed and cremated, might be sain a sense still to exist, and if souls are capable of a simildestruction without annihilation, it would not shock onconceptions of the divine character that they shouldcontinue to exist. But I said, and say again, that I considit more reconcilable with the revealed character and purpoof God that they should not so exist, while I repeat agathat the idea of their existing everlastingly, not in th


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214 THE BIBLE STANDARD.NOTES FOR THE CHURCHES.

LONDON,HOLBORN.-Owing to the loss of their place ofmeeting-which was required for other purposes- themeeting here has been broken up. Every effort was madeby the brethren to secure another place, but in vain. Ourloving God will, however, bring good out of this seemingevil.CHELTENHAM.-Bro. Henry B. Murray, of London, has

commenced his active duties here as eo-pastor with Cyrus E.Brooks. On June 8th and 9th most encouraging servicesand meetings were held. On the latter day about 50 gatheredto tea, a number much increased at the after meeting.Addresses were given by Bros. C. E. Brooks and G. Mackay(the latter of Manchester), and a lecture by Bro, H. B.Murray, on" The Coming King; His kingdom and subjects."It was a most happy and helpful meeting. Our youngbrother received and made a good impression, and givespromise of much usefulness.STRATFORD,ONDON,E.-After a fortnight's addresses on

" The Life and the Hope," by Bros. W. Kellaway and H. B.Murray, the anniversary was held on June 4th, Bros. R. J.Hammond (Chairman), W. Kellaway (Pastor), Lieut.-Col.Armstrong, Wardlaw Scott, C. E. Brooks, and H. B. Murrayassisted thereat. A most successful evening was spent,which must have greatly cheered and strengthened ourBro. Kellaway and his little flock. In the report, the oft-repeated kindness of Sister Mrs. BIyth, met its deservedcommendation.BRADFORD.-The evening service has been changed into a

Gospel service, with great blessing resulting. The meetingfor believers is now held in the morning.-Secretary.

DEATH OF MR. GIDEON R. LEDERER.MR. LEDEREUwas a Hebrew, born in Pesth, Hungary, in1804. His father was a Rabbi, and educated his son for thesame position. After some experience as a Rabbi, the sonbecame disgusted with the Mishna and the Talmud, heresigned his position and engaged in business. At lengthhe was led to accept the crucified Jesus as Israel's gloriousKing, and confessed Him publicly as his personal Saviour.A Scotch missionary society employed the young Hebrew asa missionary to the Jews in Hungary, and he travelled thecountry as a lay preacher and distributor of Bibles untilabout 1853, when the influence of the Jesuits arrested hiswork, and he removed with his family to London, and soonafterwards to the United States of America.In the employ of' the New York City Mission, his work

wall chiefly among his own people. His hearty sympathywith them and devotion to their welfare won their respectand confidence, and they opened to him their houses, andin many cases their hearts, as he taught them out of Mosesand the prophets; showing them that Christ must needs

have Buffered all these things, and entered into His glorand that this Jesus, whom he preached unto them, is ChrisHis magazine, Nathaniel, read by many a Jew and Gentileexalted Jesus of Nazareth as the world's Redeemer, whileexplained many Hebrew customs and obscure texts of Scripture. His associate missionaries can testify to his Christiazeal, faith, and patience under all the assaults of opponentsfalse friends, and the infirmities of age.Among his spiritual children are several Hebrew preacher

of 'fhe Gospel. One of these is Bishop Thereskensky,the American Protestant Episcopal Mission in China, antranslator of the Bible.Mr. Lederer believed the end of the dispensation to

nigh at hand.[The above is from the Prophetic Neus ; we could not fo

bear inserting it in the Standard, for we wished to add a fewords to the testimony relative to our dear brother who nosleeps in Jesus. He fell asleep in New York City oFeb. 25th, 1879. He was a firm believer in ConditionaImmortality, and for many years he loved to converse upothis theme in connection with the glorious appearing of thSon of God to raise the dead who sleep in Him to a resurection of immortality ana eternal glory. We well remember the last interview we had with the dear old saint.-Ed.]

CORRESPONDENTS.THE TRANSFIGURATION.To the Editor of The Bible Standard.

SIR, I shall be obliged if you will kindly insert, in your next issuthe Iollowing few remarks on the paper on the above subject, whiappeared in your April number. The word horama does not necessarmean a vision in the sense of an unreal light, but its strict primasignification ili a sight," that which is seen." It is employed in Livii, 31: "When Moses saw it, he wondered at the light,"-referringthe flame in the burning bush. In Luke xxiv. 23, a kindred woptasion. is used to express what is translated as the vision" of angwhich the women saw after Christ's resurrection, where clearly a resight is referred to.A careful perusal of the accounts in the three gospels of the tranfiguration, leaves the clear impression on my mind that the whole of ttransactions recorded there was real. Christ was metamorphosed (Greek) in presence of the three disciples. In Luke ix, 30, we re" Behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and EliaWho appeared in glory, &c." Peter's own reference to this event,2 Peter i. 16-18, is as of a real transaction; the glory and the voice aspoken of ail real, and the fact of his own and his fellow-disciples havibeen eye-witnesses of Christ's majesty," is cited as a convincing prthat they had" not followed cunningly. devised fables."Elias, we know, was translated without dying. And I would submthat there seems to me, from Jude ix, when coupled with the mysteriorecord in Deut, xxxiv, 6, t hat God buried Moses, considerable groundssupposing that he, so like to Elias in his career, was granted the privilof a resuscitated and glorious existence, after submitting to the humiliatiof death. The appearance of these holy men on the mount migtherefore, well be real.Commeuding these thoughts to the candid consideration of yreaders, I am, yours faithfully,

ANDRE IV CROSBIE.Birmingham, 4th May, 1879.


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THE BIBLE.A.nnuley Gl'ove, Nottingham,

June 2nd, 1879.To the Editor of The Bible Standard.DEAR SIR,

In this month's Standard some of your readers mey be misledby statements on page 198. It is there said: "the end here spoken of(Matt. xxiv, 14.) is the end of the world,"-it should be, "end of theage." Same page, Rev. xvi. 5-7. should be xiv. 6-7, in reference towhich the writer says, the fiying of thi ~ angel preacher marks therapidity with which the gospel is to be spread, and identifies it beyonddispute with our own day." Now here is evidently a mistake; doubtlessthat period will be during the interval betweeu the translation of theChurch and our Lord taking to Himself His great power and reign. Theplace it occupies in the Book as wellas the announcement, show it to beone of the" things which must be hereafter" (Rev. i. 9.). and that it willbe during the manifestation of Antichrist; it connects the thought withRev. x, 6, "there shall be time no longer," correct reading is, "delay(as to the judgment) shall be no longer."The gospel of God's grace being still refused, and Antichrist

worshipped, judgment is announced and speedily executed. On theother hand, in these days, God is exercising forbearance and long-suffering (2 Peter ii i. 9). A parallel instance is given in 1 Peter iii. 20.

Yours respectfully,GEO. W. BARBER.

VISITORS' GUIDE.[HITHERTO, it has been common for those holding" Conditional Immor-tality," to bave to hear and support a ministry of which tbey eould notapprove, and the teachings of which were utterly repngnant to them;or, to come ont and bear tbe cross of isolation. Yea, in some cases,even when there has been in the Mme neighbourhood others, holding thetruth; or, banded together to declare it. We wish to prevent this infuture, and have therefore designed this Guide. By its help, brethrencan see at a glance where to find suitable fellowship, and enjoy a suitableministry. Seeing tbat our aim is to make tbe circulation of theStandard (as our Association organ), co-extensive with those holding ourcommon faith, to enable us to direct such to suitable fellowship, weneed tbe co-operation of our fellow-believers, and particulars of everyplace in the United Kingdom where such fellowship and teaching maybe obtained. See foot-note.JBIRl\IlNGR.

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The Bible Standard July 1879