TE:E

Issued monthly by "The Bible Standard Publication Society," 24, Mint Lane, Lincoln.
EDITED BY
Geo. A. BROWN, Pastor of Mint Lane Baptist Church, Lincoln.

THE BIBLE STANDARD

is devoted to the exposition of Biblical Truth, especially the doctrine of Conditional Immortality, the Iiteral Resurrection of
the 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 of Sin is Death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life throuqh. Jesus Christ our Lord."

No. 1. OCTOBER, 1877. Price Id.

INTRODUCTORY.
--0--
To OUR READERS.
It is a custom when any new enterprise is started to
make some few remarks with reference to it. We aclmow-
ledge the propriety of this usage, and shall therefore say a
few words of comment on the" Bible Standardt" No one
acquainted with the existing aspects of the world, can have
any doubt, that we have fallen upon very startling and
critical times. All society, everywhere, with its politics, its
philosophy, and its religion, is in a perturbed condition, indi-
cating revolutions and occurrences which no mere human
foresight can at all comprehend. The stream of earthly
things is overflowing its old banks, and spreading out in
every direction, in wild, disordered, ungovernable, and over-
whelming volumne. Old systems and modes of thought and
belief, which have stood for ages, are everywhere tottering
upon their thrones, and many of them reeling as for their
final fall. Symptoms of a mysterious metamorphose meet
us on every hand, causing some of earth's most far-sighted
men, in church and state to tremble with amazement and
doubt. What these approaching changes are to be is differ-
ently given, according to the different points of observation
which men occupy. But that changes are certainly coming,
all admit. We purpose through the" Bible Standard" to
open the book of .God, and go with you to its unerring and
inspiriting pages, to ascertain what the Lord hath made
known concerning many of the perplexing questions of
the day. In the first place the" Bible Standard" will be
devoted to the exposition of the great prophetic truths which
point to the glorious advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, we shall also endeavour to point the Child of God to
the "signs of the times" which indicate the nearness of
that event, and also warn the sinner to flee to Him who
alone can shelter him from the impending judgments that
are coming upon the earth.
Further, it is but stating a well-known fact to say, that
there is much trouble felt amongst all thoughtful men about
the prospects of our race, as to their future and eternal
condition. It will also be admitted that any publication,
founded' on the Bible, giving real relief from this general
trouble, even if it did not fully remove it, would be doing
a work of great importance-seen to be so by all sympathetic
minds ; such a work we purpose entering into through the
pages of the" Bible Standard." And we feel that our efforts
will be blessed by"Him who is the Author of all good.
Ages have rolled -away without much being done to
remove the grevious burden, though unceasing efforts have
been made to effect it. Endless suffering for the great
majority of those who have lived, is yet taught by the bulk
of christendom; and gloom and uncertainty have depressed
the heathen.
The most substantial relief we think has arisen from
the doctrine that man by nature is mortal, and that all who
are not converted, or renewed by God's spirit in this life,
will cease to exist at the judgment, and in this way misery
and sin will come to an end. Within thirty years this view
has been embraced by perhaps 100,000 of professing
Christians in the different denominations in England and
America! and some 800 ministers, are proclaiming the
doctrine. To those great relief has come! but they form
only a fraction. in christendom-so small ths] many know
not that they exist. Though few and scattered, and almost
universally persecuted by all religious sects for their belief,
yet they- feel and believe themselves to be the most happy
class of Christians in the Christian world. They feel settled
by a full re-examination of the Scriptures, that endless misery
is not taught there! and so rejoice in the prospect of living
for ever (through faith and obedience in the Lord Jesus
Christ), in a universe where woe and sin will not be known,
after Christ comes to "destroy the last enemy." And
believing also that the second coming of Christ draws near,
adds to the joyful prospect before them.
2 THE BIBLE
We can answer for ourselves, for having believed in and
preached the doctrine of Conditional Immortality, for the
last 10 years our hearts have repeatedly thanked the God of
all Truth for our having escaped the slavery of the dogma
of Eternal Torment.
Our heart's desire is, that we may be used through the
medium of the" Bible Standard" in disseminating Truth,
for truly it ws said by one of old, " who follows truth carries
his star in his brain'," We purpose to keep close" to the
law and the testimony." We will follow no guides but the
inspired writers. . And we ask our readers to test carefully by
the word of God all that we may present to them. The Bible
we regard as the best key to the solution of present difficul-
ties, it is the best bulwark against prevailing errors-" An
inward taste and relish of the things of .God is an excellent
preservative to keep us settled in these most unsettled
times."
In the themes which form the subject of this paper the
Divinity of the Bible is taken for granted, and the arguments
which are advanced are founded thereon. To those only
who admit its Divinity, are these arguments primarily
addressed, as they alone may be expected to allow them
their due weight and influence. May the blessing of God
through our Lord Jesus Christ bless both the writers and
readers of the I' Bible Standard."
SIGNS OF THE NEARING ADVENT OF CHRIST.
THE night cometh! Nor does it seem far off. It never
appeared so nigh. The shadows are lengthening out, and
falling with ominous gloom upon the valleys of' earth. The
dimness of twilight is beginning to make itself felt. It
is settling down drearily upon our cities, and on our soli-
tudes; upon the towers of our strength, and the palaces of
our pomp; nor can the noisy rush of eager multitudes
hurrying to and fro for gain or pleasure, wholly stifle the
utterance of fear and awe. Men cannot help foreboding evil,
for who can tell them what may be in the womb of darkness?
The night-birds are already on the wing, flirting around us,
and reminding us of the descending night.
. Yet it is written also, ",The day is at hand!" The night,
though dark will be brief, and will be soon"succeeded by a
glorious day. But still of that day the night will be the
forerunner. And this world's night is surely near.
The signs of Christ's second advent that have been given
us by the Lord and His apostles are both notable and
numerous. And it is very evident that those have been
selected which were the most expressive and least ambiguous.
They are chosen as being the most prominent and explicit
that could be given. It cannot be thought that the least
striking have been announced and the most striking con- .
STANDARD.
cealed. If so, then is it not very remarkable that the mill en-
. niurn of a thousand years (Rev. xx.) is never mentioned as a
sign at all? Had this been to take place before the Second
Advent; how has it never been alluded to as one of the signs?
It would have been by far the most distinct and visible. No
one could overlook or mistake it. Yet nowhere by prophets
or apostles, or by the Lord Himself, is it noted as a sign.
How can this be accounted for, save upon the ground that it
was to take place after, not before, the advent? If this be
admitted, all is plain; if it be denied, then let those who
deny it account for the fact that, among the many signs of
the advent, the millennium is never mentioned as one. How
the most palpable of them all could be omitted seems to me
to require an explanation. On the post-rnillennial system,
the omission seems to me inexplicable. For thus our Lord
would be made to profess to .tell us the signs of His appear-
ing, and yet to conceal the most notable of them all.
'-
But this is not all. The signs which are given are incon-
sistent with the idea of a millennium before the second
advent. Who that reads the Lord's prophecy in Matt. xxiv,
which begins with the destruction of Jerusalem and ends
with His second appearing in the clouds of heaven, does not
feel that the whole drift of it was to show the church that
they were to expect sorrow, not joy, tribulation, not triumph,
up to the time when He should return? These signs were
successive crests of the billows on which she was to be tossed
till He, with His own voice and presence, should rebuke and
calm the ocean. The simple omission then of the millennium
as a sign is a fact on which we ought to lay much stress;
but the omission of it in circumstances which preclude the
possibility of its being a thing reserved or merely unspoken,
furnishes a strong argument in proof of a pre-millennial
advent.
Let me now note some of the signs which, in the present
day, seem most remarkable as forerunners of the Lord's
appearing. And though of some of these it might be said
that they have been found in former days, yet others of
them, as we shall see, are peculiar to our own.
1. Wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes, pestilences,
and famines in divers places (Matt. xxiv. 6. 7). I need not
enter minutely into the proof of the existence of these. The
public journals bear witness to it. For a while, it seemed
almost as if the world were at rest, as if its storms had
spent themselves. But now all seems changed. Every day
brings new indications of disquietude and convulsion. Few
nations seem willing to draw the sword, yet every nation has
her hand upon the hilt; with some it is already gleaming in
the air, and with others it is reddened with blood. Over the
whole earth is heard" the long, low, distant murmur of dread
sound." And is not this the prelude to the last universal
war? (Ezek. xxxviii; Zech. xiv; Dan, i. 40-55, xii. 1; Rev.
 THE BIBLE
xiii. 7, xvi. 12-16, xvii. 8-14, xix, 11-14.) Is it not a sign
of the near approach of Him who, when earth's madness and
ambition are at their height-when the summoned nations
are gathered at Armageddon, girt for battle and slaughter-
himself appears for their discomfiture and ruin? Then, but
not till then, wars shall cease, and the weapons of war
perish. Then the true Solomon shall begin His reign,
hushing the tumults of the nations, and introducing the
long-expected Sabbath of this weary" work-a-day world."
(Rev. xix. 20.)
2. The restlessness of the world. This sign is in part
connected with the preceding, yet may be. viewed separately.
The state of the world is at present very ominous. Distress
of nations with perplexity-men's hearts failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things that are coming on
the earth, "and then shall they see the Son of man coming
in a cloud" (Lulce xxi. 27,) is God's picture of the state of
man as the final crisis draws on. This seems our attitude
at this moment. The earth, and the things that are coming
on it, attract the attention of all serious thinkers. There is
something in the state of the world so unsettled, so pregnant
with uncertain evil, that every eye is moving to and fro in
expectation of strange issues, as if to catch the first sign
of their approach. The form and color of the clouds forbode
speedy change, and threaten tempest to the nations. The
time for listlessness and apathy is gone. Some thirty years
ago, when the skies were bright, and men could promise
themselves days of sunshine, it was safe enough to fold the
hands and take our ease. But all is over. No doubt, after
the excitement of recent wars and revolutions, men would
prefer repose. But the onward swell of the waters stays
not for an hour. There is among the nations a spirit of
restlessness, anarchy, and insubordination, a passionate love
of change, a headlong rush to overturn every established
system, too furious and united to be ultimately withstood.
Many call it but a passing tumult, the frenzy of an hour;
but they who understand it know how deep is the spring
out of which it flows. The storm, long gathering, but
resisted by the barriers which ancient wisdom had erected
for the stability of kingdoms, is concentrating and condensing
its strength in these venerable recesses, which n~ay for a
while refuse to yield to the explosive force, but which, over-
strained at length, give Wf1yto the accumulated pressure;
then will the kingdoms of the earth be shivered; throne and
temple overturned; wall and fortress laid inruins. Such is
the night which is to precede the long-looked-for day when
not only Israel but the whole earth shall arise and put on
the garments of beauty, fit and meet for the personal pre-
sence of their glorious King.-Rev. Dr. Horatius Bonar,
THEdoctrine of the immortality of the soul, and the name,
are alike unknown to the entire Bible.-Dr. Olshausen.
STANDARD. 3
ON THE INTERMEDIATE STATE OF THE DEAD.
Job xiv. 10, 14, pubs this question" Man giveth up the Ghost
and where is he"? But who shall answer Job's question?
The Bible must answer it; from no other source eau we
derive certain information on this subject. It cannot surely
be said, the Bible is silent on the state of Man after death,
for most Christians speak of this with great confidence, and
appeal to it in proof of their opinions. We shall examine-
What saith the Scriptures on this question; guarding on the
one hand, against being wise above what is written; and on
the other, overlooking things revealed which belong to us
and to our children.
It is universally allowe cl, that the whole of man ie
expressed in Scripture by the terms body, soul, and spirit.
That man's body, after death, returns to dust, and is in-
sensible to either pain or pleasure-visible positive facts
demonstrate. The only question which remains for our in-
vestigation, then, is-has man an immortal soul, or spirit
which survives death, and does it enjoy happiness or suffer
misery in la disembodied state between death and the resur-
rection? That it does is very generally believed by~hristians
of all sects, and 'whether this is a Soriptural doctrine 01' not
we wish to ascertain.
How, then, does the Bible answer Job's question, "Man
giveth up the Ghost and where is he?" When Abraham
gave up the Ghost where was he? It is answered Gen. ~V.
15, "thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, thou shalt be
buried in a good old age." Again when Moses gave up the
Ghost, i.e., or spirit, where was he ? It is answered, Deut,
xxxi. 16, "behold thou shalt sleep with thy fathers". The
reader, by consulting the following texts, will see the same
thing said of David, 1 Kings i. 21, and ii. 10, compare Acts
ix. 36. Of Solomon 1 Kings xi. 43 2; Chron, ix. 31. Of Asa
1 Kings xv. 24; 2 Chron, xvi. 13. Of J ehosaphat 1 Kings xxii.
50; 2 OMan. xxi. 1. or Azariah 2 Kings xv. 7. Of Jotham
2 Kings xv. 38; 2 Chron, xxvii. 9. Of Abijah 2 Chron, xiv, 1.
Of Uzziah 2 Chron, xxvi. 23. Of Hezekiah 2 Chron. xxxii. 33.
Of Rehoboam 1 Kings xiv. 31; 2 Chron, xii. 16. And of Josiah
2 Kings xxii. 20. If it is objected-all these were good. men,
let the reader then consult the following texts, where the same
thing is said of the very worst characters. Thus it is said of
Jeroboam, "that he slept with his fathers," 1Kings xiv. 20;
2 Kings xiv. 29. Of Abijarn, 1 Kings xv. 8. Of Baasha, 1
Kings xvi. 6. Of Omri, 1 Kings xvi, 28. Of Ahab, :l Kiugs
xxii. 40. Of Joram, 2 Kings viii. 24. Of Jehu, 2 Kings x. _35.
Of Jehoahaz, 2 Kings xiii. 9. Of Joash, 2 Kings xiii. 13.
Of Manasseh, 2 Kings xxi, 18; 2 OMan. xxxiii. 20. It is very
obvious from all these texts, that persons, whether pious or
profane, are said" to sleep with their fathers." In the margin
of some of them, it is "to lie down with their fathers." J acob,
Gen. xlvii. 30, desired to lie with his fathers. In chap. xliz.
 4 THE BIBLE
29, 33, his death is called being" gathered unto his people."
And, speaking of the wicked, (Ps. xlix. 19.) it is said, "he
shall go to the generation of his fathers." When persons
are said to go to their fathers (Gen. xv. 15,) and to go down
to their children who were dead, (Gen. xxxvii. 35,) nothing
more seems to be meant than that they had gone to Sheol or
Hades, where all the dead are represented as in one vast
congregation. This is said of whole generations, as well as of
individuals, Judges ii. 10, which confirms the views advanced,
that dying in Scripture is called falling asleep, and being
dead. Asleep is beyond all controversy. See Ps. lxxvi. 13 ;
Job iii. 13, and vii. 21 ; Ps. xiii. B; Mau, xxvii. 52; John ii.
11, 13; Acts vii. 6, and xiii. 36; 1 Cor. xv. 6, 18, 20, 51; 1
Thess. iv. 13, 15, and v. 10; 2 Peter iii. 4; Jel'. li. 39; 1 COl'.
xi. 30.) This sleep is said to be e , in the dust" (Job. viii. 21,
Dan. xii. 2.) It is represented as a place of quietness and
rest to all, poor or rich, the oppressor and the oppressed.
See (Job iii. 13, 20, and xvii. 16; Isai Ivii, 2; Rev. xiv. 13.)
Job calls this resting-place in the dust "the land of darkness
and the shadow of death; a land of darkness as darkness it-
- self," .... ('Chap. x. 20 22, Job xvii. 13; 1 Sam, ii. 9; Ps. cvii.
10, 14.) where similiar statements are made.
It is the same to all, whatever character they sustained
while in this world. It is also represented as a place of
silence (Ps. iii. 17, xciv. 17 and cxv. 17.) It is called" the
land of forqetfulness," ( Ps. lxxxviii. 12,) where the persons
are in a state of forgetfulness, as well as forgotten by the
living, (Ps. xxxi, 12.) Moreover it is often described as a
state of corruption and destruction see, Job. xxvi. 6, xxviii.
2t Ps. vxxxviii. 11, xvi. 10, Job. iv. 18, 20, Ps. xlix. 9.
2\ Acts xiii. 36.)
It cannot be doubted that Job's question-" Man giveth
up the Ghost and where is he," is spoken of all men without
exception, and in our day is answered thus-" All m,en when
they give up the Ghost, go immediately to heaven or hell, to
be happy or miserable forever." The Catholics have purga-
tory as a third place, to which they send some at death.
But do the Scriptures speak of three places, or even of two,
to which men go at death? Solomon says, (Eccl. xii. 5,)
" Man goeth to his long home." and Job calls it "the house ap-
pointedfor all the living" ( Chap. xxx. 23.) Solomon expressly
declares (Eccl. iii. 20,)-" All go unto olle place; all are of the
dust, and all return to dust again." We are aware that it may
be objected-these texts only describe the state of men's
bodies after death, but have no relation to their '<immortal
souls." Be it so; I have then a right to demand. that texts
be produced, showing that men have immortal souls, and
that at death they go to heaven or hell. All know how con-
fidently our orthodox brethren speak of " poor immortal souls;
of precious immortal souls; and of people's never-dying souls,
being every moment exposed to endless misery;" and how
anxious they are to save them from such a punishment. If
STANDARD.
but one half of what they say about this be true, we may ex-
pect the Bible to be full and explicit on this subject. At any
rate the objection has no force until it is proved, that men
have immortal souls exposed to such misery. But, it may
be noticed, that if the above texts only describe the state of
men's bodies after death, the sacred writers were at great
pains to inform us about that, which was obvious from every
day's observation. Is it rational to think that they would
have used such language, yet believed men had immortal
Souls in a state of happiness or misery in a disembodied
state? What orthodox man speaks so in the present day?
If he even quotes such texts, he generally does it with some
explanation, guarding us against supposing that they refer
to the whole man. A distinction is made in Scripture be-
tween soul and body, but it is never intimated tha;t the
former must go to heaven or hell after death. Admit it true,
and how could Job say, that had he died at his birth, he
would have been as an untimely birth? (Chap. iii. 16)
And" should have been as though he had not been " (Chap. x.
19.) Would he. not have been, if he had an immortal soul?
Indeed how could he cease to be if this was true? But at
death persons are to be no more, ( Gen. xlii. 36; Ps. xxxix. 13;
Matt. ii. 18.) And of man it is said-" shall he deliver his
soul from the hand of the grave?" (Ps. lxxxix. 48.)
But if any part of man existed in a state of happiness or
misery after death, how could the sacred writers speak as
in the following passages? In Ps. cxv. 17, it is said, " The
dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down unto
silence." Again" for in death there is no remembrance of
thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" (Ps. vi. 5.)
And it is asked (Ps. xxx. 9,) "shall the dust praise thee?
Shall it declare thy truth? and (Ps. lxxxviii. 10-11,) "Wilt
thou show wonders to the dead? "Shall the dead rise and
praise thee"? Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the
grave? Or thy faithfulness in destruction?" compare (Ps.
Ixxxviii.12, and Ps. cxviii. 17, and Isa. xxxviii. 18-19,)
where similar things are stated. But again it is said Ps.
cxlvi. 3-4,) "put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of
man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he
returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish."
And in Ecol, ix. 5-6, it is expressly declared, "the dead know
not anything" and that their" love and their hatred-and their
envy is now perished." At verse 10, it is added, " there is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave
whither thou goest." How these statements could be made ~_
by persons who believed that they had immortal souls,
which at death went to heaven or hell, I must leave for others
to explain.
But Job answers his own question, after saying chap. xiv.
10, "man giveth up the ghost and where is he ?" he adds
verses 11-12, "as the waters fail fr~ the sea, and the flood
decayeth _and dryeth up: so man lieth down, and riseth not;
 THE BIBLE
till the heavens be no more, they shall not wake nor be
raised out of their sleep." Here, he intimates his hope of a
resurrection from the dead; but that he had no knowledge
of the soul's existence in a disembodied state, is apparent
from verse 13, "0 that thou wouldst hide me in the grave,
that thou wouldst keep me secret, until thy wrath be past,
that thou wouldst appoint me a set time and remember me,"
see also verses 14-15, Job's answer is in unison with all the
above texts, nor is any thing said in any other part of the
book, which would lead us to believe that he had an
immortal soul which would exist in a disembodied state. In
the book of Job a future life is entirely predicated on the
resurrection from the dead. On the whole of the above
texts, I shall now submit the following questions and
remarks, for candid consideration. Is it any honour to the
sacred writers, to make them gravely and repeatedly tell us,
that a dead carcase does not praise God; that it does not
give thanks to God? ann if at death man's soul goes to
heaven or hell, how could they in truth say that" the dead
know not anything!" And that at death" the thoughts of men
perish?" Are souls in heaven and hell destitute of all know-
ledge and thought? If so, how can they be either happy or
miserable? Supposing a man in the present expressed him-
self as Job, Hezekiah, and others did in view of their death,
would he not be counted a denier of the faith, and worse than
an infidel? Such would do well to consider, how those good
men spoke as they did, yet died in peace. Dic1they not fall
asleep with a hope and peace of minc1 as much superior to
some death-bed scenes praisec1 among us, as the composure
of a rational man is to the ravings of a maniac? But I ask
again, supposing the sacred writers had intended to teach us
that the whole, man ceases to exist at death, what better
language could they hqve used? The texts are many, plain,
and uttered without a single word of qualification, as if men
had immortal souls which survive death. Does not their lan-
guage justify the views I have advanced? And if I have mis-
taken their meaning, how are we to reconcile them with the
doctrine of the immortality of the soul? But if my views be
correct, it is certain Job's question is fully and repeatedly
answered in the above passages. "IN e frankly admit, that if
it can be proved that man has an immortal soul which goes
to heaven or hell at death, they ought to be understood as
merely referring to his body, but if this can not be done,
prejudice herself will allow, the doctrine of disembodied
spirits is without foundation in the Bible.
If the Scripture writers do not inform us that men have
immo?·tal souls, and where they, go at death, it is fair to con-
clude that they had no such lmowledge to communicate.-B.
( To be continued.)
CHRISTIANITY treats man not as immortal, but as a candi-
date for immortality.-Rev. Dr. Parker,
STANDARD. 5
EARLY BAPTISTS AND THE KINGDOM
OF GOD.
IN the seventeenth century, the Baptist Churches of England
were nearly, if not all, believers in the Gospel of God. In
1660 they found it necessary to present to Charles n. their
confession of Faith, which was signed by forty persons and
approved by twenty thousand more. The following is their
22nd article, extracted from Crosby's History of the Baptists,
vol. 2. p. 85:-
"We, believe that the same Lord Jesus, who showed
Himself alive after His passion by, many infallible proofs
(Acts, i. 3), and was taken up into heaven (Luke, xxiv. 51),
shall so come in like manner as He was seen to go into
heaven (Acts, i. 9-11);
'" And when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we also
shall appeal' with Him in glory.' (Col. iii. 4.) 'For the
kingdom is His, and He is the governor among the nations'
(Ps. xxii, 28.), 'and king over all the earth.' (Zech. xiv. 9.)
'and we shall reign with Him on the earth,' (Rev. v. 10.)
'The kingdom of this world ( which men so mightily strive
after her~ to enjoy) shall become the kingdoms of our Lord
and His Christ.' (Rev. xi. 15.) 'For all is yours' (ye that
overcome this world), 'for ye are Christ's, and Christ is
Goel's (1 COl'. iii. 22, 23.) 'For unto the saints shall be given
the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the
whole heaven,' (Van. vii. 27.) Though, alas! now many
men be scarce content that the saints should have so "much
as a being among them; but when Christ shall appeal', then
shall be their day-then shall be given unto them power
over the nations, to rule them with a rod of iron. (Rev. ii.
26,27.) Then shall they receive a crown of life, which no
man shall take from them, nor they by any means turned 01'
overturned from; for the oppressor shall be broken in pieces
'( Ps. lxxii. 4.), and their vain rejoicings be turned into
mourning and lamentations, as it is written (Job, xx. 5-7.)
" We believe that there will be an order in the resurrection;
Christ is the first-fruits, and then next, or an er, they that
are Christ's at His coming; then, or afterward, cometh the
end. Concerning the kingdom and reign of our Lord Jesus
Christ; as we do believe that He is now in heaven at His
Father's right hand, so we do believe that at the time
appointed of the Father, He shall come again in power and
great glory: and that at, or after His coming- the second
time. He will not only raise the dead, anc1 judge and
restore the world, but will also take to himself His Kingdom,
and will, according to the Scriptures, reign on the throne-of
his father David, on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, for ever.
" "IN e believe that the kingdom of our Lord will be a
universal kingdom, and that in this kingdom the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself will be alone, visible, supreme Lord and King
of the whole earth. /
'~ We believe that as this kingdom will be universal, so it
 6 THE BIBLE
will be also an everlasting kingdom that shall have no end,
nor can be shaken; in which kingdom the saints and
faithful in Christ Jesus sh:111receive the end of their faith,
even the salvation of their souls; where the Lord is they
shall be also."
" We believe that the New Jerusalem that shall come
down from God out of heaven, when the tabernacle of God
shall be with men, and He will dwell among them, will be
the metropolitan city of this kingdom, and will be the
glorious place of residence of both Christ and His saints for
ever, and will be on Mount Zion the holy hill of David,
where His throne was." 'Ihey also expressed their deter-
mination to abide by these doctrines in such language as
this: " We are not only resolved to suff~r persecution to the
loss of our goods, but also life itself, rather than decline from
the same."
We commend this to the attention of our Baptist friends
of the present day, who have left the good old paths in which
their fathers' walked. Wisdom bids them return,
NO REWARD HEREAFTER, IF THERE BE
NO RESURRECTION.
"WHAT advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat
and drink, for to morrow we die."-l Cor. xv. 32. What
\. advantageth it me? What benefit shall I have? Why should
I risk my life in this manner?
Let us eat and drink. These words are taken from
Isa. xxii. 13. In their original application they refer to
the Jews when besieged by Sennacherib and the army of the
Assyrians. The prophet says, that instead of weeping and
fasting, and humiliation, as became them in such circum-
stances, they had given themselves up to feasting and revelry,
and that their language was, "Let us eat and drink, for to
morrow we shall die;" that is,there is no use in offering
resistance or in calling upon God. VVe must die, and _we
may as well enjoy life as long as it lasts, and give ourselves
up to unrestrained indulgences. Paul does not quote these
words as having any original reference to the subject of the
reshrection, but as language appropriately expressing the
idea, that if there is no future state; if no resurrection of
the dead; if no happy result of toils and sufferings in the
future world, it is vain and foolish to subject ourselves to
trials and privations here. We should rather make the most
of this life-enjoy all the comfort we can, and make pleasure
our chief good, rather than look for happiness in a future
state. This seems to be the language of the great mass of
the world,etc.
To-morrow. Very soon. We have no security of life.
and death is so near that it may be said we must die to-
morrow. We die. We must die. The idea here is "We
must die, without the prospect of living again, unless the
doctrine of the resurrection be true.-Albert Barnes.
STANDARD.
Andrew Carmichael has well said:
.
IMMORTALITY.
"It cannot be too often repeated: if there be an immortal
soul, there is no resurrection; and if there be any resurrec-
tion, there is no immortal soul."
Dr. Muller Rays:
"The Christian faith 111 immortality is indissolubly
connected with the promise of a future resurrection of the
dead."
Adam Clarke says:
"The doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been
thought of much more consequence among the primitive
Christians than it is now. There is not a doctrine in the
Gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not a
doctrine in the present system of preaching which is tre ated
with more neglect."
These words are eminently true; and it is proper for us to
inquire into the cause of this marked change. We have seen
that Christ, and the apostles make the resurrection the most
prominent doctrine of the New Testament. One eminent
author declares, that not less than one verse in every thirty
in the New Testament has reference to this doctrine. Why
then is it treated with such neglect in the popular pulpits of
the present day? Is it because modern preachers are wiser
than Paul and Peter and John, or is it because they neglect
to preach the Gospel, "teaching for doctrines the command-
ments of men ?"
The New Testament teaches that man is mortal, and that
eternal life is a "gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Modern theology teaches that man is immortal, and that as
a consequence he has eternal life in himself: The New
Testament does n~t teach the immortality of. the soul; but
modern theology cleclares that" the immortality of the soul
is a fundamental doctrine of revealed religion."
The New Testament teaches the resurrection of dead men.
modern theology; of dead bodies. Th-ese marked contrasts
exhibit the reason why the doctrine of the resurrection is
treated with such neglect in the present system of preaching
Of the primitive faithful, it is written-" These all, having
obtained a good report through faith, received not the
promise; God having provided some better thing for us,
that they without us should not be made perfect" (Heb. xi.
39, 40). The time is fast approaching when this promise
shall be fulfilled. Then shaH the patriarchs honour ---------
their
Redeemer; then shall Job, with all the pure in heart, see
God; then shall David awake and be satisfied; then shall
Isaiah give the shout of victory over death and hades; then
shall Daniel awake to everlasting life; then shall Paul, with
all those who love the appearing of Christ, receive the gift of
eternal life. This is the doctrine of the Bible-The Doctrine
of Immortality.-J. H. Whitmore.
 THE BIBLE
SCIENCE AND FAITH.
The Latin soientia, or science, from scio, "to know,"
denotes the study and knowledge of all facts and truths
knowable, whether gathered by the senses from the realms
of Nature, or whether existing in the spheres of heavenly
things where man's sight is set aside and only faith finds
footing. Hence there is such a thing as the science of faith,
for to believe in divine things is to " know" on the)nclisput-
able word of another or his seconcl, and whatever is known,
is demonstrable, is scientific. Were mankind never to
know anything save what we can see or experience, how
limited would be our knowledge. For our knowledge of
geography, geology, history, and all human sciences is in
few instances primarily obtained, but is mainly derived
from others, who themselves, receive statements' at second
and third hand. If we should disregard all second hand
evidence, the existence of a Caesar or a Buonaparte, or a
Washington would be a mattel: of dispute. Historic doubts
relative to thousands of accepted statements were then justi-
fiable. All science, even its first principles as well as its
facts, rests upon faith; faith in philosophers, in travellers, in
observers, in experimentalists. Science itself is but a child
of yesterday ; and geology, one of the youngest, yet the
noisiest of the sciences, is now scarcely two hundred years
old; while faith is as old as Adam, Abel, and Noah. The
common sense of mankind declares that as regards a million
of things the race lives, not by science, but by faith; not
by what each one for himself can demonstrate, but by what
he believes has been demonstrated to or by others. Many
a professional chemist could not analyze one tenth of the
nine hundred and forty-two substances treated in Turn~r's
Chemistry; many a man pretending to be a geologist never
examined one millionth part of the crust of the earth,-Sir
David Brewster affirms that "not one fiftieth part of the
whole" dry land is yet geologically explored, while the
geology of the vast ocean bed is almost totally unknown.
So with other sciences.
But limited as is his knowledge, the sceptical geologist is
ready to fling Moses to the winds for the sake of his pet,
crude theories. Others give us most of the facts we know,
-we. build on them. Others calculate, experiment and
prove-we believe them. We are compelled to. It is in a
thousand cases the only knowledge we possess. And yet
infidels tell us that "modern man demands substantial
proofs for all kinds of knowledge, and rejects that which is
merely a matter of Faith." Merely! As if to receive
HumboIt's statement of a fact were wisdom, but ~to
receive with equal assurance Paul's statement of a fact is
only nonsense. Alas, this science "falsely so called"
though senseless in its" oppositions" to God's truth, has
come to be very fashionable.
Positive of what others teach concerning the deep places
STANDARD. 7
of the earth,-the distance and nature of the stars, the
remote past ages, and the essential essence of things, men
who get their evidence just in the same way as Christians get
theirs, viz., on the testimony of others, will senselessly
rej ect evidence pertaining to matters of revelation and
religion; while at the same moment they assert the truth
of a million of other things theoretical and less thoroughly
accredited. These men, while denying the miracles of Scrip-
ture, as did Paine and Parker, cannot fathom the accepted
mysteries that are piled thick all about their feet; though
they never think of disputing them. They will cavil at the
mysteries that underlie the whole system of the atonement
by Jesus the Saviour, but cannot with all their wisdom tell
how the blood circulates, how the grass grows, how the
wind blows, how atoms came, what.is the last division of an
atom, how pain exists, how thought is evolved; and these
foolish wise men evermore stammer and hesitate when
questioned concerning the secrets of their existence. Ask
such a man if he believes in unseen winds and pains, and
he will tell you "Yes." Ask him if he believes in the
unseen -Christ, and the reply is "No." How pitiful is
scepticism, which only believes in all unbelief, and believing
not the truth is" condemned." How grand is faith,--that
with Job and Saul enables its possessor to say of etern al
realities, " I know." Give me this faith.-D. T. Taflor,
•
THE GROWTH OF A BESETTING SIN.
Its growth is not always the same. Sometimes the de-
Yeloprnent is gradual and insensible, as avarice, for instance.
A young man's character is fair; only those who know him
best discern a germ of selfishness. He prospers in life and
riches increase. 'I'he germ vegetates and grows until we
see its consumation in the hard face, the cold eye, the rigid
clutch of fingers that can never grasp enough. The growth
is sometimes rapid, impetuous, gaining in a few days a fear-
ful maturity, just as the seed, dormant for ages in the
cerecloths of a mummy, bursts into life when air and
moisture are supplied. Young men, country-bred, have told
me how they went to a city to enter a counting-house or
attend lectures. A single step over a wicked threshold was
as a spark upon tinder, and in the conflagration that.
followed all self-control was consumed. What, my reader,
has been the growth of your besetting sin? Can you trace
its progress from a seemingly harmless serpent, with which
you trifled, to a dragon that suffocates you in its folds?
Can you remember how you nursed and fondled it, and with
your own hand nourished it into greatness? How does the
inveteracy of habit intensify y-iur calamity! Or can YOu
remember how once it was pent up and restrained until,
like the fisherman in the Arabian fable, in a thoughtless
moment you violated some seal graven with a sacred name,
and in a moment this" Genii" of the besetting sin issued
forth in a form and substance and grasped you with super-
human violence? Alas! you must fight it out now; there
.is no spell that can restore it back to its prison.-Bishop
Leay.
 8 THE BIBLE STANDARD.

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