We will begin with that passage that we had last night in Volume IV. It is on page 443 of the canvassing edition of Great Controversy:
"To learn what the image is like and how it is to be formed, we must study the characteristics of the beast itself--the papacy."
And we need to study this now, just as much as we ever have needed to study it, because not all the features of the image of the beast have as yet been developed. The image has not yet appeared before the world in all its features and in all its developments. Each step that is to be taken and all that is to be done from this time forward will be the appearance of successive features of the image, creating more and more the full likeness, the perfect likeness, in all its parts, of the original. Only the start has been taken now, but as we have found in our lessons here, the start which has been taken is such that no power on earth or anywhere else can stop it. It will go on and develop all that is in it, in spite of all that can be done to prevent it. It will go on, even against the wishes and many times contrary to the intentions of those who have started it.
Now just see how this thing has grown with us, how it has grown right before our eyes. Several years ago, when we first began real, direct, active work upon this particular phase, we established the American Sentinel. That is eight years ago now, I think. There was then only one organization in the country that was set to obtain this thing. In a little while that organization gathered to itself others and within a year or two it gathered four or five. Then the movement got beyond the management and really beyond the power of the original organization. Then the original organization itself dropped out of our minds entirely and this new mold was put upon it, this increased power that was given to it carried it beyond the original organization by those that were added to it. That was what our opposition was against then. It was this new form that we had to deal with.
Now the increased power that has been brought to it by these additional organizations, has carried itself and the whole movement to the place where the original organization intended it to go, so that now we have no more to deal with these organizations. We have nothing to do with them, particularly any more. Our contention is not against them or their work. We have now to deal with the government of the United States, and these things are, I was going to say, merely incidents, but they are less than that, because the government will take steps and will be forced to take steps that will be directly against the intentions and many times against the power of those who have done what has been done. And whereas our first work was against that first organization and as our second work was against the increased organization and the work that it was doing, now all those organizations are out of the way and we have now to deal with that which has been done by them.
That is our position now. That is where we stand, and whether the American Sabbath Union does this, that or the other, it is nothing to us now, because steps will be taken and things will be done that the American Sabbath Union never did intelligently or conscientiously intend. Things will be done against the wishes and beyond the intent, the conscious intent, of the whole combination. Because they, even in their most radical intent, never intended anything but that they themselves should manage the government when they got it: but, behold, the Catholics will manage the government after these have got it. And that is where they will find themselves left in the fog. That is where they will find themselves at a disadvantage. And things will be done in spite of them that they never thought of when they were blinded by their own zeal to get power that did not belong to them, but they have nobody to blame but themselves.
Now Congress has adjourned, and the action which that Congress took is fastened upon the government without any remedy. Not only that, but an additional step was taken in that line in the very last days of the session. I have not found the full particulars of the outcome yet, but I know the facts and they are these: It was found that the inaugural ball that was to be held celebrating Cleveland's inauguration had to be held Saturday night. It was expected, of course, that they would dance over beyond twelve o'clock in the night. The Marine Band--the National Band of the United States--was employed. They were to furnish the music for the ball and were also to give concerts on Sunday following. The ministers of Washington city sent up a petition to Congress, and Senator Quay, of course, presented it. And here are the particulars that are reported on that:
Feb. 28, 1893. Mr. Quay presented in the Senate today a petition signed by the pastors of many of the Washington churches and others, on the subject of the proposed concert by the Marine Band in the Pension Office building next Sunday as a part of the inaugural ceremonies.
I don't know how that was. This is the petition: Sunday Concerts in Pension Office Building
Mr. Quay: I present a petition of sixty clergymen of the city of Washington, which I ask to have read.
The Vice-president: The petition will be read if there is no objection.
The Chief Clerk: The petition is as follows:--
To the President of the United States, The Secretary of the Interior, and the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled: A Petition.
Whereas, It having been announced by the inaugural committee through the daily papers that, as a part of the program for the inaugural ceremonies, three concerts by the Marine Band are to be held in the Pension Office building on Sunday, March 5, proximo; and
Whereas, The Congress of the United States in deference to the Christian sentiment of the nation clearly and unmistakably expressed by the religious press, the pulpit, and by petition, has by legal enactment closed the doors of the Columbian Exposition on Sunday:
Therefore, believing to permit the holding of such concerts on Sunday by a band of musicians connected with one of the great departments of the government, in a government building which is occupied by another great department, and as a part of the ceremonies connected with the inauguration of the President of this great Christian nation, by and with the sanction of her chosen rulers, would be a national sin; believing also that such desecration as proposed is unprecedented, would result in incalculable harm and would be used as an authority and example for the complete secularization of Sunday:
We earnestly petition that orders be issued forbidding the use of any government building for such purpose on that day.
Signed by W. R. Graham, pastor of Congress Street Methodist Protestant Church; W. Sherman Phillips, pastor Mt. Tabor Methodist Protestant Church, and many others.
So you see, the Senate passed a resolution in answer to that petition, complying with its request so far as to ask the Secretary of the Interior for information. I have seen by a later paper, in giving the report of the outcome, the statement that the Secretary of the Interior had ordered that the Marine Band should not play on Sunday and that President Cleveland had signified his wish to the same effect. Therefore, when twelve o'clock struck, Saturday night, the band just stopped short, the great, brilliant electric lights were turned off, and everybody on the floor stopped dancing.
What I call attention to that for, is for you to see that the government, the United States Senate, at least, has taken an additional step in support of Sunday by passing that resolution, and there it stands.
Now another thought: That case that was in Judge Tuley's court in Chicago in which the Steamboat Companies thought to enjoin the World's Fair Commissioners from shutting Jackson Park to steamboat excursionists on Sunday--that failed, and Judge Tuley decided that the United States government had sole authority in the park for exposition purposes and it had stated that Sunday should be observed there that shut out the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago from any word in the matter.
So then, you see, everything that touches this question, everything that comes up, all is turned to the support of what has been done. Now, if no extra session of Congress is called--and none has been yet, and doubtless will not be now, as the President has not signified his intention to do it--then that legislation goes on without any question or interference until the Wold's Fair is ended and the thing for which the act was passed has been accomplished. Then we shall have the United States government committed to and having lived through more than a year's history under the present statutory Sunday law. And thus the precedent will have been established which will be a part of the experience of the government, a part of its history, and as men who are not statesmen--and very few are nowadays, especially in Congress--are governed more by what has been done than by what ought to be done, that will be the strongest argument and the great bulwark forever after, in favor of Sunday as the sacred day of the government of the United States.
But as we have said formerly, if an extra session should be called and another Congress repeal that Sunday law, that would not affect the principle involved in the Sunday legislation in the least, because any succeeding legislation can repeal any law passed by any previous legislature and such action does not call in question the right of the previous legislature to enact that which has been repealed. When a legislature repeals an act of a previous legislature, it does not call in question the right of the previous legislature to enact it but simply the policy of it. The right to do the thing is just the same as though it were not repealed. Consequently, if an extra session should be called and should repeal that Sunday-closing act, the government would be just as clearly committed and pledged to the principle that Sunday legislation is right on the government, as it is now.
[Voice: "Suppose they repeal it on constitutional grounds."]
Elder Jones: If Congress should repeal it expressly upon the statement and for the reason that it was unconstitutional entirely, that would effect it but a very little more, because it would be simply the opinion of one Congress against the opinion of another, as is often done between the great parties. Even now this is precisely the position of the two great parties on the tariff question. The Democratic party insists that the Republican tariff bill is unconstitutional. Therefore if this Sunday legislation should not be repealed bodily because it is unconstitutional, any succeeding Congress could take it up again because Congress did that once before, so it would throw the thing into an even-going controversy, and that is all there would be to it.
But nothing that can be done can obliterate the legislation entirely in the principle of the thing and the right of the government to carry it forward. The fact is that the government is so thrown into the hands of this hierarchy that it never can be delivered. Controversies will arise and as soon as the Catholics begin to launch ahead a little and show their strength, the professed Protestants will resent it. We may expect that at any time. We may look for it to come from any direction and from almost any source. It will certainly come, and as a matter of fact, it has already started. When the World's Fair buildings were dedicated--the Catholics, Cardinal Gibbons and the representative of the pope, there, received great honors, and because of that, quite a number of professed Protestants, the preachers, got into a great "huff" about it. They said they would not have anything to do with the Fair anymore. They declared, "If the Catholics are to have precedence and they are to receive the honors and all this, why we'll just simply not have anything more to do with the Fair." Well, the Catholics don't care for that. They have got the honor, and they will have the power, and if "Protestants" don't like it, all they need to do is to stay away. And by their staying away, they will give the Catholics that much more to do what they wanted to do in the first place. So the sum of the matter is, that if they stay away, that gives the Catholics that much more power. If they go, it is a recognition of the Catholic supremacy. And thus they are taken captive and all they can do is to be moved about by that power at its will. That's all they can do.
There is just one thing that they can do. They can escape the whole thing and be delivered from it if they will, but the only way they can do it is to accept the third angel's message. There is no other way out. These men, many of them, have been led into this by not seeing what was in it. They have been led into this by the influence of ministers who have a higher standing than they in the denominations round about, never dreaming what was in it. When they see that they are caught in a perfect labyrinth and the further they go in it and whichever way they turn, they get lost; when they see that and how completely they have allowed themselves to be sold, they will deliver themselves by fleeing unto God. And that is why the Lord lifts His people up above the world and causes His church to shine so that we cannot be hid and when they begin to look for deliverance, they will see where deliverance is, because in the third angel's message God has set deliverance before the world, and "a city set upon a hill cannot be hid."
Now, when God lifts us up, sets us up on a high mountain, as it were, and causes His light to radiate in every direction, then people in every direction will see it, and when they find that they are so badly lost where they are, they will be glad to get deliverance from any source. They will be glad to see that it is God that will deliver in this direction, and they would rather have God than the papacy, even if they have to come to the Seventh-day Adventists to find Him. They will do it.
Then another thing: This church Congress, this World's Fair Auxiliary that was dedicated or rather inaugurated at the dedication ceremonies--Archbishop Ireland was the grand magnate and the one orator--and it was opened up with the sanction and blessing and good will of the Catholic church. And in this to begin with, as well as in the ceremonies of the Fair grounds, the Catholics by the prominence that was given them, simply compelled these same Protestant ministers to say, "Well, if the Catholics are going to run the whole thing, we will not be there."
Now, when that World's Congress of Religions comes and all these things are brought out, then we may expect--we do not know how it will come, but we may expect--controversies to arise out of that governmental recognition of religion. And from this day forward, in everything that comes up, we may expect only the further development of the image that is already made. All that we can look for now is just simply that in each step and in everything that is done, other features will be developed which more perfectly fill out the living, standing, full image of the beast.
In all these things it will come, and when the turmoils, the riotings, and all the evils that this thing engenders, begin to be wrought and begin to come upon this nation, there will be an effort made to clear the government from it. There will be an effort made to rescue the government and free it from the evil that is being carried on through it. Persecutions will come. Oppressions will come from this more and more, and there will be a reaction, and if that reaction should lead to a governmental act, that would in its intent swing the government clear back to the original principles of the Declaration and the Constitution, as I stated the other night; when that thing is done, it will be time for everyone to get ready to go at a moment's notice. That will be the time for every one to increase his energies, deepen his consecration, put himself and everything, with all his might and main into the work, because when that reaction itself reacts, and the evil tide sways back again, as it surely will, into the religious persecuting, oppressing way, then it stays there.
In Europe this may be done twice. I will read a passage upon this from matter that never was published. It was given in a vision in 1850 and another in 1852. Brother Cornell had this and allowed us to copy it. He says that Brother O. Hewitt was present when the visions were given and secured these copies. Upon that point, this was said:
"I saw in Europe just as things were moving to accomplish their desires, there would seemingly be slacking up once or twice, thus the hearts of the wicked would be relieved and hardened, but the work would not settle down (only seem to) for the minds of kings and rulers were intent upon overthrowing each other and the minds of the people to get the ascendancy."
So you can see, though it slacks up once or twice, it does not really. It only seems to. And it says that thus the hearts of the wicked will be relieved. Relieved of what? What had affected the hearts of the wicked? Why, the message telling them what these distresses mean, as the Lord has said, "Distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." They will be convinced by the Spirit of God that that thing is so, and they will be afraid that it is--not glad that it is so, but afraid it is. Then, when it slacks up, that will relieve them, you see. Then they will say, "We thought that was all a false alarm." And then when it swings back and the message goes on saying, "That is what we told you and now be sure to get ready," then they will say, "That's what you said before, and it has slackened up and swung back." That is where the hardness of heart comes in, just as Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and consequently the hearts of the wicked will be relieved and hardened, and when it does swing back, the end comes and they are caught.
Now about our own country: In 1888, when I went to the Senate, I had the hearing before the Senate Committee. When I came back, Sister White asked me what the situation was there and what was the prospect. I told her what the Senators told me, that that being a short session, Congress would expire on the 4th of March, that the session was so far gone that they could not possibly get the legislation through, even if it were introduced. From the calendar they had, they saw no possibility of its getting into the Senate even, and if it did, still there was no possibility that it could be passed and go through both houses, as it would have to. I told her the situation as it was. The answer she made was: "Then it is nearer than we expect." The natural thought would be, if it should not pass then, these things that we are looking for--troubles, persecutions, and so on--would be farther off, but if it should go through, then these things would be nearer. Well, as that would be the natural way to look at it, of course God's way being the right way and ours the wrong way, His is bound to be the opposite of ours, and what we would naturally think the sign that it was farther off would indeed be the sign that it is nearer.
Well then, she went on to say that when this passed, when they did get the government into their hands and begin their oppression and carry out the spirit that is in them, the oppressions and persecutions that will be set up will cause a reaction by men of fair minds, who abhor persecutions and there will be a lull and a little time of relief and apparent peace. And then when the tide should swing back after the reaction, all things would wind up shortly. So you can see the situation here is similar to what she saw it would be in Europe, as expressed in this testimony of 1852.
So that is why I said the other night that none of us want to get caught or deceived by anything that will be done hereafter, professing or expecting to undo what has been done. Whatever comes, bear in mind, when it does come, it is only a little relief that God gives us in which to do more work than we ever did before in the world. And that it only opens up the way for us to do in an easier way what we have to do. And so, every one that will take that view of it and who acts upon it--then when the work of God is finished, he simply goes onto the triumphant assembly on Mount Zion.
But every one that is saying, "O, no. You were going too fast. You were making too much of this," as a good many will say, we want to be warned against these things also. Here is the record of what some will say (Testimony 33, page 243):
"When the watchman, seeing the sword coming, gives the trumpet a certain sound, the people along the line will echo the warning and all will have opportunity to make ready for the conflict. But too often the leader has stood hesitating, seeming to say, 'Let us not make too great haste. There may be a mistake. We must be careful not to raise a false alarm.' The very hesitancy and uncertainty on his part is crying, 'Peace and safety.'"
Then don't you see in this that anyone who hesitates, anyone who wavers, his very conduct says, "Peace and safety"? He may not say it out loud, but he says it. That is why in the other place we read, in previous lessons, "Calebs are wanted who will say 'Now is the time for action.'"
I read on:-
"The very hesitancy and uncertainty on his part is crying, 'Peace and safety. Do not get excited. Be not alarmed. There is a great deal more made of this Religious Amendment question than is demanded. This agitation will all die down.'"
See? That shows that some will say that. Well then, don't you see, those who say that and take that hesitating, lingering, questioning, wondering position when they see something that appears like the undoing of all that has been done, they will say, "Yes, that's what we told you. We told you that long ago. But you have gone ahead and got the people all stirred up and alarmed and now it is all undone and what's your work worth? It is a false alarm that you have sent. You have deluded the people.
It is no such thing! Because when that lull comes, that is the very thing that those who stand in the fear of God and in the council of God will see is their very grandest opportunity. [Voice: "Isn't it in answer to our prayers to hold the winds in check?"] Yes, sir. And when that lull comes instead of saying, "peace and safety," everyone who stands in the council of God, will exclaim, Now get ready, quick. Get ready, for soon the tide will swing back, and then, everyone that is caught is caught forever. That is the danger, you see.
Let us read a little further from Great Controversy, p. 443:
"When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God, and in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of the secular power."
That was the papacy, bear in mind.
"The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the state and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of 'heresy.' In order for the United States to form 1893 GC Bulletin – A.T Jones Sermons on the Third Angels Message an image of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the State will also be employed by the church to accomplish her own ends."
Has anybody here seen anything of that kind done in the United States? [Congregation: "Yes."] Now, honestly, do you believe there is a person in this house besides yourself that has seen such a thing as that in the United States? [Congregation: "Yes."] Is there anyone that has not? [Congregation: "No."] No difference what he says about it; no difference what he thinks about it or how he views it himself, is there anyone in this house or in the United States that has not seen that thing? The question is not what he believes about it. That is not the question at all, but is there anyone that has not seen just that thing done? [Congregation: "No."] There is not one that has not seen that thing done: they know it is done, whether they allow it is the image of the beast or not. That is not the question, but it is done. They have seen it done. If anybody should say it is not the image of the beat, we can answer that it is something just like it anyhow. We could go that far together perhaps.
Then another thing that comes in right here. Some have wished that they might have a statement by the Supreme Court of the United States as to what the Court meant in that decision or as to what the Court intended by it. But, brethren, that would not do a bit of good. If the Supreme Court of the United States should write out an express statement that the Court did not mean at all to make this a Christian nation, that it did not intend at all to establish a national religion here, it would not affect the thing the snap of your finger.
The question is not what the Court intended; it is what the Court has done. It is that that counts. And what the Court has done will be seen and the fruits of it will be reaped and the effects of this will be carried on in spite of anything that the Court even may have intended. That has nothing to do with it. I do not suppose that anyone in the Court intended what is in what the Court said, because the Court does not know what is in what it has said, and therefore it could not have intended what is in it. The Court does not know what is in it. They do not dream what is in it.
Did Congress know what was in the Sunday act, closing the World's Fair on Sunday? Did they know what was in that? [Congregation: "No."] Suppose Congress should rise up and pass a resolution for the nation, the American people, saying, "we did not intend at all by this act to put the government of the United States and the power of the government into the hands of the churches." And they could say so honestly, don't you suppose they could?
Question: Did the bishops of Constantine's time know what was in it back there?
Answer: No, they did not see what was in it. They did not know what was in it; that is the point.
So now if Congress should plainly say that we did not intend to give the government into the hands of the churches and therefore the government is not in the hands of the churches, does the conclusion follow? No. It is there, whatever they intend.
The point is, they do not know what is in it, and they themselves now know that there is in it what then they did not know was in it. A senator from the State of Washington told Brother Decker that if he had known before what he knew afterward, he would not have voted as he did. Exactly. And members of the house have said the same thing. But there is the mischief of it. Satan does not care and the papacy does not care whether they know what is in it or not or whether they intended it or not. It is done, and the fruits of it will appear and the wrong that is in it will come, in spite of what the court intended, in spite of what Congress intended, in spite of what the court knew and in spite of what Congress knew.
That is not where we are to look anyhow for interpretations of these things that have been done. In the word of God is where we are to look for the interpretation of these things that have been done. In the history of the papacy is where we are to look for the interpretation of these things that are done. And only those who do look there will be able to see what there is in these things which have been done. He who is not acquainted with the history of the papacy; he who has not studied that and seen the origin of these things and the encroachments and the building up and the logic of each step as it 1893 GC Bulletin – A.T Jones Sermons on the Third Angels Message went on in its way until the final outcome--he who has not followed this, will not be prepared to see what is in these things and what is to come out of them.
And therefore the Lord has pointed us to that thing as the source of our knowledge. Let me read that again. "to learn what the image is like and how it is to be formed." Just as I stated last night, God has given us things by which to know long beforehand what is going to be, in order that when it appears, we shall be able to recognize on the instant that that means the papacy.
Therefore what the Court intended in this has nothing at all to do with the question. And if a document could be secured from the Supreme Court of the United States signed by every Judge on the bench, saying that they did not intend anything of that kind, I would simply say, That has not anything to do with the question. There is just what they said. They said, "This is a Christian nation," and "proved" it. And all this will come out of it in spite of anything they ever intended or ever knew about it. That has nothing to do with it.
And there are those testimonies we read here. All have them in the little Special Testimonies. There it is said that we are not to get our information from those without; we are not to take counsel with the world. Our orders are to come from above; our counsel is to be received from there. In the Review and Herald of February 21, first page, is a statement to the effect that those who stand in the counsel of God will have wisdom to detect Satan's movements and avoid them. Brethren, the Lord has left us armed at every point against everything that Satan may do. Why, three distinct sources you see He has opened for our absolute knowledge of this thing--the Bible, the Testimonies, and the history of the papacy. There are three sources of knowledge upon this: there is the history, there is the Scripture, and there is the Spirit of Prophecy to explain both. Has not He left us fully armed, then?
Well, then let us make use of the documents and means that He has given us by which to be fully armed against these deceptions. That is what is wanted. It will require study, but what in the world is a preacher for if he is not to study? That is what I want to know. He has nothing else to do than to study, and nothing else to do than to work. Study and work, work and study all the time. Of course it will be harder work than a good many have done, to study up all these things and put your mind to it with all your might. But you need not be afraid of getting the brain fever; do not be afraid of that. I just wish--I would not confine it to ministers, because all must be ministers one time or another- -but I wish that every Seventh-day Adventist would get down to it and study until his brain fiber snaps. It would do him good. Study until his brain fairly cracks because of the exertion. What does the Lord say? "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul," and how much of your mind? [Congregation: "All of it."] Then go at it. Come along. Let us get at it. "All of your mind" is what He wants. All of your mind. All of it. Let Him have it.
I will read that statement a little further concerning those who say it will all die down: Testimony, No. 33, pages 243, 244:
"Too often the leader has stood hesitating, seeming to say, 'Let us not be in too great haste. There may be a mistake. We must be careful not to raise a false alarm.' The very hesitancy and uncertainty on his part is crying, 'Peace and safety. Do not get excited. Be not alarmed. There is a great deal more made of this Religious Amendment question than is demanded. This agitation will die down.' Thus he virtually denies the message sent from God, and the warning which was designed to stir the churches, fails to do its work. The trumpet of the watchman gives no certain sound, and the people do not prepare for the battle. Let the watchman beware lest through his hesitancy and delay souls shall be left to perish, and their blood shall be required at his hand."
Then another thing. Some of the ministering brethren and a good many of the people have said, "I do not think this religious liberty work, this church and State work is quite the thing. It is too much 1893 GC Bulletin – A.T Jones Sermons on the Third Angels Message like politics. I do not think it is exactly the thing to work in the church and on the Sabbath and so on." Well, that depends altogether on what the condition of your heart is. It depends altogether on what it is to you. If it is simply a political thing to you, then all it is to you is politics. If it is religious liberty work indeed with you and in you, then it is the gospel. If it is with you only a theory, only an outward formalism, then all it is with you is politics. Policy is all you know. But if it is with you and in you the real soul liberty, the real liberty that Christ gives the converted soul, then it is religious liberty indeed, the gospel of Christ, and no politics about it. That is the difference between politics and the gospel of Christ.
I would like to know who is the greatest, the sharpest, and the most tricky politician on the earth. [Congregation: "The pope of Rome."] Of course, the pope. He always has been the greatest politician. Every one of them has been a politician, you know. But he professes the gospel. Where is there a broader professor of religion than the pope? But the principles of the papacy and the gospel as professed by the papacy are all on the outside. It never can be anything but politics. But let the principles of the gospel that these men put on the outside only and which they simply hold as a theory, as a creed, let those principles of the gospel reach the heart and bring Jesus Christ into the heart, and then you have got religious liberty indeed. But there would then be no popes.
And so those brethren that have supposed that the religious liberty work was too much like politics for them, what they need is to find out what religious liberty is and to get religious liberty for themselves and in their hearts and then they will know it is not politics. They will know that it is religion. Those folks have not found out what real religion is. No, sir. The man who finds the religious liberty that there is in Jesus Christ and which the gospel brings to him and which separates every religious thing from the State, separates Church and State--the man who does that, he knows that it is not politics, because he knows the straight way, and he will take the straight way and he will go that way in the face of every consideration that the earth can furnish or mention, and there is no politics in that. That is principle.
Well then this is where we stand. These are some of the things we are to consider. And the secret of all, the beginning and the ending of all, the all in all of it, is simply Jesus Christ in a man, the hope of glory. That explains everything. That gives understanding of everything. It supplies everything. Christ, Christ and Him crucified. That is all that any man wants. That is all that any man needs. It is all we can have, for "In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and ye are complete in him."
Then as we separate, going forth to carry the message which God has given us, in the power which he has given with it, to carry the everlasting gospel to every nation and kindred and tongue and people and--do not forget--saying with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come, and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters," with the other angel following saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication." Has she? All nations now? [Congregation: "Yes."] Then let the still louder voice go, "If any man worship the beast and his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. . . . Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus . . . Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth."
Well, then when one of your friends dies why do you mourn? God has promised a blessing upon him. Do not rob yourself of a blessing too by unbelief. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth." And then it is confirmed: "Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. And I looked, and behold a white cloud and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped."
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name stand on the sea of glass having the harps of God." That is where we are going. It is a straight journey right through. That is where it is.
Well, then don't you see that everything we do, every subject we take, every word we utter, is in view of the coming of the Lord. He is coming. He is coming. Are you not glad of it? Yes, the Lord is coming, Himself. And we shall see Him as He is. Not as He was, but as He is. His face shining as the sun, His raiment white as the light, His voice like the voice of a multitude, speaking peace and everlasting joy to those who wait for Him. Yes, brethren, He is coming, all over glorious. He is coming. We shall see Him. We shall see Him. Yes, like that blessed hymn, which says:-
He comes, not an infant in Bethlehem born,Exactly. Wrapped in a blaze of boundless glory it is. How many of the holy angels with Him? [Congregation: "All of them."] All of them? [Congregation: "Every one."] But shall we know Him then amongst such a company of them, each one shining above the brightness of the sun? Ah, brethren, He who has gone with us all the way, He who has been with us in suffering, He who has been with us in sorrow, He who has delivered us from trouble, He who has walked with us all the way, He who has walked with us all the way, He who has saved us from our sins, He who has made us acquainted with Him--can anything obscure Him in that day and hide Him from us? [Congregation: "No."] No. That blessed presence that has bound us to Him when He was so far away, can anything keep us from Him when He comes so near? No, and the ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels are not there to keep us from Him. They are not there to surround Him like a bodyguard of soldiers to keep people away. Oh, no. They come to take us to Him. [Congregation: "Amen."] That is the only thing they are there for, to bring us to Him. And He will take us to Himself, for He says so. He says so. And we shall see Him for ourselves and our eyes shall behold Him and not a stranger. No, not a stranger. The last words of Paul were: "O Lord, when shall I embrace thee? when shall I behold thee for myself without a dimming veil between?" Sketches from the Life of Paul, 331. Can't we all say it too? [Congregation: "Amen."]
He comes, not to lie in a manger;
He comes, not again to be treated with scorn;
He comes, not a shelterless stranger.
He comes, not to Gethsemane,
To weep, and sweat blood in the garden;
He comes, not to die on the tree,
To purchase for rebels a pardon;
Oh no; glory, bright glory environs him now.
"In the resurrection morning we shall see the Saviour coming,
And the sons of God a-shouting, in the kingdom of the Lord.
Chorus:
"We shall rise; we shall rise,
When the mighty trumpet rends the azure skies;
Yes, the dead in Christ shall rise, all the dead in Christ shall rise,
In the resurrection morning we shall rise.
"We feel the advent glory; while the vision seems to tarry
We will comfort one another with the words of Holy Writ.
"By faith we can discover that our warfare'll soon be over,
And we'll shortly hail each other, on fair Canaan's happy shore.
"We will tell the pleasing story, when we meet our friends in glory,
And we'll keep ourselves all ready for to hail the heavenly King."