Question of the Day

[Richard Myers]

As we near the close of this Earth's history, does it impact salvation for individuals in any way? If so, how?

[colporteur]

Degree of intensity ?

[Richard Myers]

Intensity of what? And why?

[Richard Myers]

When a Christian is born of the Spirit, does that mean there is a "radical" transformation of nature? If so, where would we find this in Scripture?

[Ed Sutton]

(Q.) 

  When a Christian is born of the Spirit, does that mean there is a "radical" transformation of nature? If so, where would we find this in Scripture?   

(A.)All humans possess two natures - one of which rules them. A physical nature ( body ) that is closely tied to their mind (the second nature ) their mind and loyalties .

Genesis 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Pre fall Adam & Eve retained God’s image within themselves, once they sinned they took Satan’s image ( nature & character ) within themselves.   

Jeremiah 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood , and there is no breath in them.

Ezekiel 8:3  And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy .


Romans 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son , that he might be the firstborn among many brethren .

1 Corinthians 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy , we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
2 Corinthians 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This change from satanic to godly is called conversion or the new birth .

Acts 15:3  And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles : and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

Acts 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light , and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Colossians 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness , and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

This thing called being “born again” is an absolute requirement among those things required for entrance into Heaven, due to “born again” is actually Heaven becoming and being within the person - the change that happens, beyond mere orthodoxy of rules alone .

John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again , he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

1 Peter 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Being born again implants God’s image or in other words the mind of Christ into the person, removing the defiled mind, and today’s victory over the defiled memories, sanctification is a lifetime of daily conversion or daily born again’s till there is no more staying in this world, no defiled mind passes the judgment nor enters Heaven.

Philippians 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:


1 Peter 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Psalms 37:31  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Ezekiel 33:
12  Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14  Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15  If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16  None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.


Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

I hope this post is an adequate - beginning of how Scripture treats - a large subject.

It is best to compare it with the unpacked lessons of the Sanctuary - for as this video shows - SDA's are the only Church using the lessons of the courtyard + the holy place + the most holy place .  Where as other Churches only use 1 or 2 parts, SDA's are called to use all 3 parts in their message.

   http://youtu.be/JzjFVnb_Qbs    message starts about min 49 .

[Ed Sutton]

Looking in Scripture viewing what is said and described of people whom Satan controlled through the various ways he controls people, a multi faceted picture is given of Satan's nature implanted into humanity, with glimpses what it is like with out God working in the person or persons, striving against the willingness to be in union with Satan, willingness to sin, and being at enmity against God.

Compiling such - and compiling a contrast using people who responded to God and sought Him, and overcame Satan's mastery of them, and the means by which and by whom that occurred - will take time.   

[colporteur]

Intensity of what? And why?

I don't have the quotes at my finger tips but we are told that Satan increases his efforts as he knows that his time is short. Intensity of deception in order to deceive if that were possible, the very elect !

[Richard Myers]

Amen, cp.  We live in the anti-typical Day of Atonement. It began in 1844 when Jesus went into the Most Holy Place and began the work of the investigative judgment. "The books were opened" and all who have professed to serve God will be seen to have accepted Christ into their hearts or rejected His love and salvation. As Ed has been pointing out from the Bible, there is a radical transformation of nature at conversion and that transformation has to be renewed daily. The character of Christ is not only imputed, but imparted to repentant man. The fruits of the Spirit are seen in the life of those who are born of the Spirit, not one is missing.  There is indeed an increase in intensity in the work of both God and Satan. God wants to put an end to sin and sinners, but will not until all who can be saved are saved. Satan on the other hand still fights the battle to deface the image of God in man and to hurt Jesus as much as he can by hurting those whom Jesus loves. "Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Revelation 12:12.

Evil is increasing in the world and God is breathing out His Spirit on His people. There are two classes of people, the converted and the unconverted, and the contrast at the end of time becomes more visible because at the end they will both be fully developed. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Revelation 22:11. There will be no change in character after this day. The holy will remain holy and the wicked will remain wicked. This situation has been developing over a period of time. That time is that in which we live. Jesus is preparing a people to stand without a Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. Today, mercy is still available, soon there will be no more mercy for the sinner. Some do not think we live in a solemn time, but as we look around we see that many are not repenting of their sins. They do not know that mercy will soon take her flight and come no more.

Before the end comes, we shall see these things as Jesus warned in the Book of Matthew:

24:21   For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 
 24:22   And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 

24:24   For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 
 24:25   Behold, I have told you before. 
 24:26   Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not. 

 24:37   But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
 24:38   For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 
 24:39   And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
 
 24:50   The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of, 
 24:51   And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
 
The line between truth and error becomes very fine and if possible even the very elect shall be deceived, but they will not because they are looking unto Jesus.

[Richard Myers]

Thank you, Ed for presenting so much Scripture that reveals the work of Christ in the repentant sinner. There are indeed two natures in man. At birth we come into this world at enmity with God by nature. That means that the flesh and the spirit are enemies of God. We must be born again as Jesus said to Nicodemus. We must born again of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit, we must be born again. Some come into the world filled with the Spirit, if their parents are believers. But, the flesh of all humans is fallen and will remain fallen until the holy ones are glorified at the second coming of Jesus. Jesus had two natures. He came in the "likeness of sinful flesh", but was sinless. Jesus is the only sinless One. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. But, that does not mean that we cannot share in the divine nature of God. While we will retain our fallen nature in the flesh, we may as Ed has shown from the Bible possess the mind of Christ. This happens at conversion. We become "partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4.

At conversion, the mind and heart are cleansed. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18. At conversion, we are not only forgiven our sins, but are cleansed from them. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.

Thus, when we are baptized, it is symbolic of this radical change that has taken place. Abiding in Christ, He abides in us through the Holy Spirit. "And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Romans 8:10-14.

Now we understand why it is that we are told "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace. Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Romans 8:1-9.

Ed and cp are reading their Bibles, but sadly many are not. They depend upon what others have said rather than going directly to Scripture and Jesus. There are many more verses that support what Ed has begun. It would be good if others added to this study so that there would be an example of the truth that has been entrusted to the church. Not all are sleeping in Laodicea. There are others who have responded to the drawing of Jesus and His love.

[Richard Myers]

Question for today:

Is the "new birth", conversion, a permanent condition or can it be lost? If so, what will terminate the new birth experience?

[Ed Sutton]

  Question for today:

Is the "new birth", conversion, a permanent condition or can it be lost? If so, what will terminate the new birth experience? 

James 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

James 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

A brother in the faith can not err from the truth unless he was once in the truth, willingly dwelling in the truth, abiding in Christ - The Way - The Truth - The Way, then choosing to be a sinner, now needing re-conversion once again, having fallen from abiding in Christ, by choosing to sin .   

1 Peter 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

1st John 3:
1 ¶  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
4 ¶  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5  And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6  Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
7  Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9  Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
11 ¶  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

[Richard Myers]

Thank you, Ed for the Scripture that reveals clearly the converted Christian experience. We can see that when one sins, he is not in a converted state. But, in regards to how it is that one becomes "unconverted" and in need of a new conversion, I am not sure that one must "choose" to sin.  I do not want to get real technical on what this means, but I think we need to expand the thought so we make no opening for some to think because they did not choose to sin, their sin does not exclude them from heaven.

Let me ask this so we can clarify your statement, Ed. Can I sin a sin that does not reveal a separation from Christ? In other words, can I make any excuse for any sin?

[Ed Sutton]

A sin of ignorance is not on the part of the ignorant > willful transgression, they did not know better, and God reads their motives.   Once understanding comes then the will decides to intelligently obey or disobey. 

Romans 5:13  (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Psalms 32:2  Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Reconversion is the return of the will to surrender authority and loyalty to God .

[Richard Myers]

Amen!  When we truly repent of sin, we will not be satisfied to acknowledge simply that we are sinful, and let the matter rest there. Do you intend to remain sinful while life shall last? Do you mean to violate your conscience? Do you mean to do evil always? What does the Lord say to those who have had light, and yet have failed to live in accordance with it? "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." There is a repentance of sin that needeth not to be repented of. "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
 
Does this text mean that the human agent can remove one stain of sin from his soul? No. Then what does it mean to purify himself? It means to look upon the Lord's great moral standard of righteousness, the holy law of God, and see that he is a sinner in the light of that law. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sin; and in him is no sin." It is through faith in Jesus Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart and the human agent is purified and cleansed. Jesus was "wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Is it possible to be healed, while knowingly committing sin?--No; it is genuine faith that says, I know that I have committed sin, but that Jesus has pardoned my sin; and hereafter I will resist temptation in and through his might. "Every man that hath this hope in him [abiding in him] purifieth himself, even as he is pure." He has an abiding principle in the soul, that enables him to overcome temptation. "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not." God has power to keep the soul who is in Christ, when that soul is under temptation.

I am glad you added this after bringing up "willful sin":  "A sin of ignorance is not on the part of the ignorant > willful transgression, they did not know better, and God reads their motives." Some  will excuse sin that is not "willful" even though it is understood to be sin. Your explanation is not that, but that it is not imputed when it is unknown sin.

[Richard Myers]

When we sin a known sin, where is Jesus? Is He in our hearts? If not, where is He?

[Linda K]

Outside, knocking at the door of our hearts.

[Richard Myers]

Amen!!  That seems like a very basic truth, Linda, but sadly there are many who either do not understand or just plain teach otherwise.  Having just spent some time with an influential teacher in the church, I discovered he teaches we may be converted, have the Spirit in our hearts, but still serve the  carnal mind, the flesh. In other words, we may be converted, have the Spirit of Christ indwelling us, and still be devoid of the fruits of His Spirit manifesting the works of the flesh.

It will come as no surprise to those who understand what is being said here, the teacher teaches Romans seven is the Christian  experience. How very sad that so many have bought into this lie and have no peace or assurance of salvation since they have excused their sins as the normal experience of the Christian. The law brings condemnation, not peace. Even  when taught the breaking of the law does not condemn, the Spirit  is attempting to tell the blind Laodicean he is under condemnation. Therefore, there is no real peace until a full surrender is made and Christ forgives and cleanses the heart of sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1  John 1:9.

Thanks for sharing, Linda. Jesus does not forsake us when we sin, but instead is pleading for us to come back to Him. He wants the  heart, the whole heart. He does not want us to die in our sins. He has proved that so very well. Let us behold  Him daily that we might be transformed into His image from glory into glory by His Spirit.

[Richard Myers]

Closely associated with the error of having both the Spirit and the devil in our heart is that error of teaching that the heart can remain filthy when converted.  Christ purifies man from the inside out. That is to say, when we make a full surrender, Jesus cleanses the heart and takes possession of it. We remain in sinful flesh, but the heart has been renewed in the likeness of Christ. "The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian's life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit." DA 172.

[Richard Myers]

Is Islam mentioned in Scripture?

[Ed Sutton]

U Smith seemed to think so - Rev 9: 7  And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8  And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9  And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11  And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.     

( "shapes of the locusts  " = 14  hits ) words of the pioneers.

From words of the pioneers- from ATJ

   September 4, 1900

"The Third Angel's Message. Its Basis in the Seven Trumpets" Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 77, 36 , p. 568.

THE first four of the Seven Trumpets, as we have seen, mark the ruin of the Western Empire of Rome, and the planting, in its place, of the peoples that formed the nations of Western Europe to-day. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.1}

The fifth and sixth trumpets, likewise, mark the ruin of the Eastern Empire of Rome, and introduce the peoples by whom that ruin was accomplished, who are the modern nations of Eastern Europe and of Asia. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.2}

"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon ["that is to say, a destroyer," margin]." Rev. 9:1-11. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.3}

This trumpet covers a period of eight hundred and seventeen years,—A.D. 632-1449,—and shows the rise and work of the Mohammedans in the destruction of Eastern Rome—first the Arabian Mohammedans and later the Turkish Mohammedans. Of this Albert Barnes remarks that, "with surprising unanimity, commentators have agreed in regarding this as referring to the empire of the Saracens, or to the rise and progress of the religion and the empire set up by Mohammed." We can not see how any one who will ready the prophecy, and Gibbon's history of Mohammed and his successors in the light of it, can disagree with the application of the prophecy to the Mohammedans. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.4}

The term "bottomless pit," which denotes the place of their rise, is from the Greek word abussos, and signifies a waste, desolate region. And to any one who will read Gibbon's chapter L, paragraphs 2-5, the significance and aptness of the term as applied to Arabia will readily be discerned. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.5}

The vast hordes of the Mohammedans are shown under the symbol of a cloud of locusts; and in verses 7-9 the meaning of the symbol is made plain by the words, "The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; . . . and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle." {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.6}

As to that which was "commanded them," the history witnesses thus: "Remember that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid injustice and oppression, consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battle of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women and children. Destroy no palm trees nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way; let them alone, and neither kill them nor burn their monasteries. And you will find another sort of people, that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mohammedan or pay tribute."—"Decline and Fall," LI, par. 10. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.7}

And, says the Scripture, "Their power was to hurt man five months." Five months are one hundred and fifty days; this, being prophetic time,—a day for a year,—equals one hundred and fifty years, during which they were to hurt men. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.8}

This one hundred and fifty years is to be counted from the time that they had a king over them, as says verses 11: "They had a king over them. . . . whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon ["a destroyer," margin]." For more than six hundred years the Mohammedans had no regularly organized government, and recognized no such dignitary as that which answers to the title of king. Each tribe, under its own chief, was independent of all the others, and came and went as it pleased. While this was the case, it is evident, and it is the fact too, that their character as "a destroyer," was not, and could not be, such as it was after they were solidly united in one government, under the sway of a ruler recognized by all. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.9}

This is made more apparent when it is seen what was to be destroyed by this "destroyer." The first four trumpets show the ruin of the Western Empire of Rome; and the fifth relates to the destruction of the Eastern Empire. And it is in the character of the destroyer of the last remains of the Roman Empire that this power acts. It was not as a destroyer of men as such, for of them it is said "that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months," "and their power was to hurt men five months." It is evident, then, that this character and work as "a destroyer," relates to the final destruction of the Roman Empire, which was then represented in the Eastern Empire, with the capital at New Rome—Constantinople. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.10}

Othman was the caliph who established the organized government of the Mohammedans, and from him descended the name and title of the Ottoman Empire. It was under the organized power of Othman that the work of the destroyer began. In closing his account of the devastating rage of the Moguls and Tartars under Zingis Khan and his generals, Gibbon says:— {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.11}

In this shipwreck of nations [A.D. 1240-1304], some surprise may be excited by the escape of the Roman Empire, whose relics, at the time of the Mogul invasion, were dismembered by the Greeks and Latins.—Id., chap. 64, par. 13. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.12}

But the decline of the Moguls gave free scope to the rise of the Moslems, under Othman. Of this the historian says:— {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.13}

He was situate on the verge of the Greek Empire; the Koran sanctified his gazi, or holy war, against the infidels; and their political errors unlocked the passes of Mount Olympus, and invited him to descend into the plains of Bithynia. . . . It was on July 27, A.D. 1299, that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster.—Id., par. 14. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.14}

Several points in this quotation must be noticed:— {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.15}

1. Othman was the man who succeeded in bringing the disjointed elements of the Mohammedan power into a compact and distinctly organized governmental shape. From him, consequently, comes the term that still attaches to the government of the Turks, namely, the Ottoman Empire. From him dates the time when, as never before, "they had a king over them." {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.16}

2. Note the expression of the historian—"the destructive growth of this monster." Thus he distinguishes the very characteristic of "destroyer," which is predicted of it in the Scriptures. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.17}

3. The historian emphasizes "the singular accuracy of the date." In the original documents from which he drew his material, he found this date made so specific that he himself is forced to remark its "singular accuracy." Yet, to those who recognize God's dealings with the nations and kingdoms, and who consider that from the time when these had a king over them, a period of a hundred and fifty years is given in which to do a certain work, it is not surprising that the date should be indicated with such singular accuracy. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.18}

The work of destruction, then, which was to subvert the last remains of the Roman Empire, began July 27, 1299, and never ceased till the imperial power passed into the hands of Amurath, July 27, 1449. {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.19}

And "one woe is passed; and, behold there come two woes more hereafter." {September 4, 1900 ATJ, ARSH 568.20}