MIRACLES. PROPHECY. EXPERIENCE. PRODUCTS. CIVILIZER. 

THE FIRST of the internalo-external evidences that the Bible is a Divine Revelation is miracles. They undoubtedly belong to such internal proofs, because (1) they are a part of the Bible's contents, and (2) they are all types (signs), and thus are a part of the Divine Revelation. Yet from another standpoint they are an external proof, not of the Bible as such, but of certain revelations which they accompanied as attestations of their Divine origin; for we are not to forget that in many cases Divine revelations were made before they were written out as parts of the Bible, the full Revelation, e.g., all the events of the Gospels and Acts and all of the symbols of Revelation were enacted and all their teachings were set forth orally as revelations before they were written out, as all the teachings of the Epistles were revealed to the Apostles before they reduced these to written form. These same facts are true of a very large part of the Old Testament, e.g., all its historical parts, all the ordinances of its Law Covenant and much of its prophetic parts, though some of the contents of the Prophets were revealed at the time they were written out. It is these sets of facts that make us classify miracles not merely as external evidences of the Bible, as is usually done, nor merely as its internal evidences, but as a combination of both—internalo-external evidences. These same conditions cause us to classify prophecies as internalo-external evidences, and not merely as external evidences, as is usually done by writers on this subject. 

First of all we submit our understanding of what a miracle is. A miracle is an act of a superhuman agent operating within the realm of nature through or apart 

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from natural forces and through or apart from natural means and causing wonder in the beholder through its being beyond human ability to perform and usually beyond human ability to understand. Some explanation of and on this definition will prove helpful. Its efficient agent must always be superhuman, i.e., God or an angel, either good or evil. In no real miracle is a human being finally the causing agent. This fact excludes from the domain of the miraculous as its final cause all fakers, all mesmerists, all sleight-of-handists, despite some of them being able to do wonderful things beyond the ability of others to do or understand. Hence the miraculous originates in the realm of the spiritual, the superhuman, the supernatural. Again, a Biblical miracle always occurs within the realm of the natural. By this we are not to be understood to mean that there cannot be, nor that there are no, miracles in the world of spirit beings; for God wrought miracles in the creation of the Logos and of all other spirit-beings, and doubtless continues to work miracles amongst the spirit beings; but these are not miracles of the kind under discussion here, where we treat of them as the accompaniments and credentials of the Divine Revelation. The latter kind has always occurred in the realm of nature, as nature is known by man. Hence in a miracle there is always a reaching down from the supernatural or superhuman sphere by a superhuman being to the sphere of nature as man knows nature. This is manifest in every miracle recorded in the Bible, e.g., the material creation (Gen. 1), the flood (Gen. 7:8), confusion of tongues (Gen. 11:1-9), conception of Isaac (Gen. 17:17; 18:12; 21:2; Rom. 4:17-22; Heb. 11:11, 12), destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19), flaming bush (Ex. 3:2), transformation of Moses' rod into a serpent and vice versa (Ex. 4:3, 4), Moses' leprosy (Ex. 4:6, 7, 30), ten plagues in Egypt (Ex. 7-12), destruction of the bulk of Sennacherib's army (2 Kings 19:35; Is. 37:36), etc., etc., etc. These and all other Biblically 

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recorded miracles occurred within the sphere of nature as man knows it by the operations of his senses. 

Again, the originating Cause of miracles may use natural forces or not to accomplish His purposes. The cleaving of the Red Sea occurred by God's causing a mighty wind to blow a large amount of water northwestward, whereby a reef near the head of the Red Sea was exposed, over which the Israelites passed dry shod, with the darkness and the waters on both sides of the reef concealing the reef from the Egyptians and thus acting as a protection, a symbolic wall, to Israel. It is a mistake to understand the wall in this connection to mean that the waters stood upright as a wall, as some have thought. They were a figurative wall, i.e., a protection and a concealment to the Israelites that prevented for a long time the Egyptians in the darkness caused by the cloudy pillar and the nightly darkness from finding the passage over which Israel went (Ex. 14:15-31). Again, the drying up of the Jordan (Josh. 3:14-17) occurred, so late discoveries have revealed, by God's causing a landslide from a mountain at Jordan's edge near the cities of Adam and Zaretan to fill Jordan's bed some miles above the crossing point, which made the water form a heap, a dam, God's timing the holding back of the water from the time the feet of the priests who bore the ark touched the river, until some time after all the people had passed over. This same phenomenon occurred recently in a natural way, thus not miraculously; and this event gave the hint as to how the miracle occurred. Bitumen figured in Sodom's destruction and salt crystals in Lot's wife's turning into a pillar of salt. On the other hand, some Biblical miracles occurred without the use of natural forces by God, e.g., the confusion of tongues, perhaps Moses' and Miriam's leprosy (Ex. 4:6; Num. 12:10-15), the transfiguration of Moses' face (Ex. 34:29-35), perhaps the budding of Aaron's rod (Num. 17:1-9), Samson's strength (Judg. 14:6; 16:3, 29, 30), the fall of Dagon (1 Sam. 5:1-4), perhaps Elijah's 

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increase of the widow's meal and oil (1 Kings 17:9-16). 

In connection with our Lord's miracles of healing and raising the dead, we know from the Bible that He took out of His own body the vitality necessary to replace the depleted vitality of the afflicted, and thus restore them to normalcy, and the vitality necessary to restore life to the dead, and thus recovered them from the death state. This is stated in Matt. 8:16, 17; Mark 5:27-34; Luke 8:43-56; 6:19. Thus Jesus in such miracles used His own life-principle as the means of working the miracle. In the case of the cures and the awakening of the dead wrought by the Apostles, we are not told whether they used their own vitality or life-principle in the air as the means of curing the sick and raising the dead (Acts 3:2-10; 9:33-35, 36-42; 20:9-12). In the cases of the two children resuscitated by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-37), they performed the miracle by communicating their own vitality to them through their lying upon them; but in the case of the resuscitation of the dead Moabite through contact with Elisha's bones (2 Kings 13:20, 21) such a thing was not done; for Elisha had long been dead. In this case God evidently took out of the air the life-principle and put it into the dead man's body as it touched Elisha's bones, and thus reanimated him. In most cases, apparently, means furnished by nature were used as the instruments whereby a superhuman being worked the miracle, yea, perhaps in most cases where we are unable to trace the means used. 

It will be further noted that in our definition it is stated that miracles were performed with or without human instruments. The following are miracles wrought apart from human instrumentality: the creation of the universe; the flood; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; the flaming bush (Ex. 3:2); the pillar of cloud and fire (Ex. 13:21, 22); the thunder, lightning and earthquake at Sinai (Ex. 19:16-20; Heb. 12:26); the death of Nadab and Abihu 

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(Lev. 10:1, 2); the dividing of the Jordan in Joshua's time; the fall of Dagon; the death of Beth-shemeshites (1 Sam. 6:19, 20) and of Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:1-8); the fire on the sacrifice of Aaron (Lev. 9:24), of Gideon (Judg. 6:21), of Manoah (Judg. 13:19, 20), of Solomon (2 Chro. 7:1) and of Elijah (1 Kings 18:38); the destruction of Sennacherib's army; the return of the shadow on the sun's dial (which seems to have occurred by the appearance of a mock sun while the true sun shone in a different part of the heavens (2 Kings 20:9-11); the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (Dan. 3:23-27) and of Daniel (6:22), and the star of Bethlehem (which quite likely was an angel, called a star, because the wise men took it to be such, Matt. 2:13-23). On the other hand, miracles have been wrought through human instrumentalities, as the following cases prove: certain of the ten plagues on Egypt; the sweetening of the waters of Marah (Ex. 15:25); the water from the rock (Ex. 17:5, 7); the fall of Jericho (which occurred through the vibration of the sounds of the rams' horns being the same as that of Jericho's walls, resulting in their fall, Josh. 6:20); such thick hail falling on the hosts of the confederated kings as made the sunlight cease shining on Gibeon and the moonlight cease shining in the valley of Ajalon (through mistranslation the pertinent Scripture was made to say that the sun and moon were motionless for a full day on the mountain and in the valley-an impossibility, because the sun and moon never were there, but their light has been there, Josh. 10:10-14); Elijah's increasing the widow's meal and oil, raising her son, causing rain to cease and come again (1 Kings 17:1; 18:41-45), bringing fire down from heaven upon the two companies of soldiers (2 Kings 1:10-12) and dividing Jordan (2 Kings 2:8); Elisha's dividing Jordan (2 Kings 2:14), sweetening Jericho's waters (2 Kings 2:19-22), increasing the widow's oil (2 Kings 4:1-7), making the poisonous pottage harmless (2 Kings 4:38-41), curing Naaman's 

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leprosy and putting it upon Gehazi and his seed (2 Kings 5:1-19, 26, 27), causing the ax to float (2 Kings 6:6), revealing the Syrian king's plans (2 Kings 6:12), opening his servant's eyes (2 Kings 6:17), blinding the Syrians (2 Kings 6:18); Isaiah's curing Hezekiah (Is. 38:21), and all the miracles of Jesus and the Apostles. Thus we see that God needed not to bind Himself to human instruments to work miracles, though He frequently used them as instruments to perform these, yea, most frequently so did. 

There are especially three terms that the Bible uses to designate miracles helpful to understanding better the last part of our definition of miracles: causing wonder in the beholder as being beyond human ability to perform and usually beyond human ability to understand. They are called powers (or mighty works), wonders and signs. Please look up the following references in the A. R. V. text and margin, since the A. V. does not give the pertinent translations with the exactness of the A. R. V.: (1) POWERS: Matt. 11:20, 21, 23; 13:54, 58; Mark 6:2, 5, 14; Luke 19:37; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28, 29; Gal. 3:5; (2) WONDERS: Acts 2:19; (3) SIGNS: Matt. 12:38, 39; Mark 16:17, 20; Luke 23:8; John 2:11, 18, 23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2; 7:31; 9:16; 11:47; Acts 4:16, 22; 8:6; 2 Cor. 12:12; (4) a combination of two or all three of these words: Acts 2:22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 8:13; 14:3; 15:12; 2 Thes. 2:9; Heb. 2:4. The Greek word dynameis, translated powers, describes the fact that miracles are an expression of supernatural or superhuman strength. The Greek word terata, translated wonders, shows how miracles (which word is derived from the Latin miracula, wonders) astonish by their supernatural strength and by usual human inability to explain them. And the Greek word sēmeia, translated signs, refers (1) to the attestatory force, and (2) to the typical application of miracles. Thus in these words, among other things, are conveyed the thoughts that are expressed in the last part of our definition of miracles: 

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causing wonder in the beholder as being beyond human ability to perform and usually beyond human ability to understand. The above briefly explains the details of our definition of miracles. 

Both God and Satan can work and have worked miracles. Most of the above passages show God to be the causal Agent in working miracles; hence we will add no further proof on this phase of the subject, since that would be merely repetition of what is proven above. But many people are surprised when first apprized of the fact that Satan can work and has worked miracles. Yet the Bible substantiates this proposition. The first Biblical record that we have of his working miracles is his having the angels before the flood assume human bodies in which they married women and produced the race of antediluvian giants (Gen. 6:2, 4). The second Biblical record of Satan's working miracles is connected with his wrath against Job, by killing with lightning his sheep (Job 1:16) and his sons with a whirlwind (19) and by plaguing him with boils from head to foot (Job 2:7). The third Biblical record of Satan's miracles is his counterfeiting through Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim. 3:8) certain of the Egyptian plagues whereby he created various beings like serpents (Ex. 7:11, 12), bloody water, probably water infested thickly with tiny red creatures (22) and frogs (8:7). The New Testament teaches the same of him (Matt. 7:22, 23; 24:24; 2 Thes. 2:9; Acts 8:9-11). 

This brings up the question, How can we tell whether a miracle is wrought by God or by Satan? This question we answer as follows: (1) The Divine miracle must attest the truth as against error; for they were given as the credentials of a Divine Revelation; (2) they must be wrought in connection with the ministry of a good instrument, in distinction from the ministry of an evil instrument; (3) their design and effect must be a good one; and (4) they must not come after the last believer died upon whom an Apostle had laid his bands in bestowing the gifts of the Spirit; for God 

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restricted the bestowment of these gifts, among which was that of miracles (1 Cor. 12:7-11), to the Apostles (Acts 8:6, 7, contrasted with 15-17; Gal. 3:5 [given as a proof that Paul had exclusive apostolic powers, whereas his traducers denied his apostleship, which against them he proves to the Galatians by reminding them that he had bestowed these gifts upon them]). That death followed closely upon the completion of the Bible as the Divine Revelation (1 Cor. 13:8-12), since these gifts were of short duration in the Church, i.e., until the Divine Revelation would be complete, while the graces of the Spirit would last throughout the Gospel Age (v. 13). These four criteria prove that the papal and heathen miracles are of Satanic origin, as also are the faith cures, exorcisms, etc., of the present time, even as express Scriptures prove (Matt. 7:22, 23; 24:24; 2 Thes. 2:9; Rev. 16:14). We might here add that good angels, as well as good men, have been used by God as instruments to work miracles (Gen. 21:19; 2 Kings 19:35; Acts 12:6-11), even as evil angels as well as evil men, have been used by Satan as means to work miracles (Rev. 16:14; Acts 8:9-11). 

Sometimes miracles have been exaggerated by well-intentioned, but misinformed apologists into being Acts contrary to nature. We are certain that no miracle of God's can be proven to have been wrought contrary to nature. The unaided forces and laws of nature and unaided men are unable to work a Divine miracle, which always implies that the supernatural reaches into the sphere of nature and ordinarily by its forces produces effects that nature of itself cannot produce. Certainly, man by the exercise of his will and intelligence does reach into and produce wonders in the sphere of nature, by manipulating its forces and laws unworkable by unaided nature, e.g., into producing the engine, the dynamo, the heavier-than-air flying machine, the submarine, the telephone, the radio, artificial ice, steel heated by ice (by Tyndall, the great physicist), dry ice, a thousand and one marvels of electricity, etc., 

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etc., as affecting wonders, and all this, not contrary to, but in harmony with and by the intelligent and purposeful use of the forces and laws of nature. With greater intelligence and larger purpose, of course, superhuman beings can do and have done greater wonders—miracles—within the sphere of nature, ordinarily by the use of its forces and laws. Above we pointed out how in connection with very great miracles God, ordinarily beyond our ability, manipulated forces and laws in nature in harmony with their nature to work them. 

We might show this in certain other miracles: The flood was produced by God's causing the canopy of water that enclosed the earth to drop, using for this the force and law of gravity. In the carnation of His Son He used the personality-disposed life-principle of the Logos, instead of the semen of a human male, to fructify the ovum in the Virgin Mary. Personality-disposed life-principle is a force of nature; and in that carnation the same law of begettal was observed, i.e., the union of personality-disposed life-principle and an ovum, as acts in the case of ordinary begettals, the union of personality-disposed life-principle in semen and an ovum. Jesus' changing water into wine was effected by His taking elements out of the air and earth that when united with water makes wine. While we do not understand how it was accomplished, yet this was done by the use of forces and laws of nature. The same is true as to His multiplying the loaves and fishes, i.e., by drawing out of air, water and earth the elements that properly compounded go to make bread and fish. How He did it we do not understand—it was a miracle—yet in doing it He used nature's forces and laws to accomplish the miracle. And so with practically all other miracles. None of them are contrary to, but in harmony with and ordinarily done through nature's forces and laws. That we cannot understand the process should not make us reject the fact—miracles—any more than our not understanding why our antipodes are not walking upside down, how out of the 

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union of a male's semen and female's ovum persons are produced, or how a blade of grass, a tree or a vine are produced from a planted seed, should move us to reject these facts. All about us in nature we see facts produced by the forces and laws of nature whose how we cannot explain. We may be sure that the God who made the forces and laws of nature did not act contrary to them when for the purposes of His revelation He reached into nature's sphere to work evidences of His Revelation by miracles; for if man can substitute higher laws of nature to attain some of his ends, instead of using lower ones that ordinarily accomplish them, God can assuredly do more. 

We, therefore, call the theory of miracles as being contrary to nature a gross exaggeration. Nor is it correct to call a miracle necessarily an acceleration of nature's processes. This can readily be seen, e.g., in the matter of Christ's changing water into wine. Jesus did not therein accelerate the vine's growing grapes, the pressing of these into grape juice, and the fermenting of this grape juice. He in a way unknown to us took out of the air and earth certain elements so changed and so put into the water as to cause the water to have the taste, appearance and chemical elements of wine. The same thing can be seen in Christ's multiplying the loaves and fishes. He did not accelerate the growth of the wheat, grinding it into flour, making the latter into dough and then baking it. In some way unknown to us He took out of air, earth and water certain elements so changed as to make them have the appearance, taste and chemical elements of bread. A similar thing was done as to the fishes. Some, to avoid certain objections, have transferred such miracles from the physical to the mental world, alleging that apart from reality the water, bread and fish were given the appearance and taste of such by a mental delusion; but such an explanation makes of Christ a faker, a magician, a sleight-of-hand trickster, and what is worse, a deceiver. Nor should we affirm that a miracle cannot be performed 

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except by the use of natural forces and laws. The slaying of Egypt's firstborn and Sennacherib's host, making the fires that killed the Babylonian officers harmless to the three Hebrew Youths and making the lions harmless to Daniel very likely were done by supernatural agency apart from the forces and laws of nature. 

Miracles operated on both inanimate and animate things. Of the former kind were the creation of the physical universe, the flood, the exposure of the reef over which Israel crossed the Red Sea and its being covered again when the Egyptians were in the midst of the sea, the drying up of Jordan and its waters twice separating, the overthrow of Jericho's walls, Gideon's wool dewed and not dewed, turning back the shadow on the sun dial, quenching the power of the fire to harm the three Hebrews, changing water into wine, multiplying the loaves and fishes, stilling the storm, opening the prison gates to Peter, etc., etc. The following are some of the miracles wrought on animate things: withering the barren fig tree, all the healings of the Bible, confusion of tongues, giving parenthood to Abraham and Sarah, most of Egypt's plagues, the destruction of Sennacherib's army, closing the lions' mouths, Jesus' carnation, etc., etc. 

The necessity of miracles as the Bible sets them forth is varifold. Primarily and fundamentally they were needed: (1) to prove to God's servants His use of them (Ex. 3:11, 12; Judg. 6:17-22, 36-40); (2) to certify that those who were their instruments were given such credentials as proved them to their beholders to be God's ministers in the matters in which they were engaged (Ex. 4:29-31; 10:16, 17; 12:31-33; 14:31; Ps. 106:9-11; Dan. 3:28, 29; Luke 5:4-11; John 2:23; 4:48-53; 7:31; 11:43-45; 12:10, 11); (3) to attest that His servants were giving a revelation from God (Ex. 8:22; 9:16, 29; 10:1, 2; Num. 16:28-35; Deut. 4:33-35; 11:1-7; Josh. 2:10, 11; 3:10, 11; 4:23, 24; Judg. 2:7; 1 Kings 18:24, 37-39; 

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2 Kings 5:14, 15; 2 Chro. 7:1-3; Dan. 2:47; 6:20-27; Matt. 11:3-5; Mark 2:9-12; John 2:11; 5:36; Acts 2:22; 4:21; Heb. 2:3, 4); (4) to exemplify summary justice on exceptionally wicked ones (Gen. 6:5-7, 11-13; 7:17-24; 19:4-11, 24-26; Ex. 14:23-30; Num. 12:10-15; Lev. 10:1, 2; 1 Kings 13:3-6; 2 Kings 5:26, 27; Acts 13:11) and (5) to benefit the worthy needy (Is. 63:9; Matt. 8:2, 3, 16, 17; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; John 11:38-44). More particularly reasons (1), (2), (3) and (4) are to the point as proving the necessity of Divine miracles. Since Satan has used and still uses miracles to palm off deceptions and false religions, e.g., the religions of the heathen and of papacy, it is necessary that God give the evidence of true miracles to convince certain of His servants that He desired to use them as organs of revelation, and to show to others that they were His true servants and to lend credit and attestation to their messages in the eyes of their hearers that such servants were bringing genuine, as distinct from counterfeit revelations. And God furnished them with the above-mentioned four criteria that they were true revealers and mouthpieces of God. The other reason, (5), is less important and less directly contributes to the proof that the Bible is a Divine Revelation. 

Miracles are not of themselves alone conclusive as a proof of a Divine Revelation, because as we have seen, Satan has used and does still use them as counterfeit credentials of his false religions, which he attempts to palm off as Divine. To be of probative value as evidence of a Divine Revelation miracles must come combined with certain other things. The first of these is that they be wrought by good men who seek not their own, but the glory of God and the blessing of the people. Here counterfeit miracles usually break down, for they usually are wrought by self-seekers and frauds, by power, wealth, luxury and ease seekers and often by gross sinners. Additionally, they must be combined with a set of teachings—the revelations themselves— 

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that must be self-harmonious, harmonious with all other Divine revelations, with a character worthy of the Supreme Being, perfect wisdom, justice, love and power, with an atonement feature working reconciliation between God and man, with facts, with the needs of mankind and with a solution of all implied problems harmonious with the purposes of the revelation. A miracle-worker whose teachings are disharmonious with these principles cannot be accepted as an instrument of a Divine Revelation; rather his miracles must be counterfeit miracles and his revelations must be of Satanic origin; for in this particular all of Satan's revelations inevitably break down, e.g., papal doctrines. And, finally, the ultimate purpose of genuine Divine miracles must aim at, and attain to real good in theory, practice and results. And the Bible's miracles have these accompaniments, and none others have. Hence they are stringent and logical proofs that the revelation—the Bible—that they accredit is the Divine Revelation. Hence Christians find in miracles an internalo-external evidence that the Bible of Moses, the Prophets, Christ, the Apostles and the Evangelists is the Divine Revelation, and is worthy of their acceptance as such. 

The second internalo-external proof that the Bible is a Divine Revelation is prophecy. The Bible contains a marvelous and widely embracing system of prophecy, much of which has already been fulfilled, some of which is now fulfilling, and the rest of which awaits future fulfillment, the time of its enactment not yet having arrived. The numberless prophecies of the Bible are a most impressive proof of its being a Divine Revelation; for nothing short of omniscience could have foreknown and forecast the details of very many future events covering many thousands of years and connected with conditions non-existent at the time of the prophecies' delivery, since neither human nor angelic wisdom could have seen so far into the future and forecast events whose fulfillment had no resultant

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relation to conditions then operating. Nothing short of Divine omniscience could have foreknown and forecast such a vast system of interlocking events. God Himself tells us that He would do absolutely nothing connected with the outworking of His plan but was by Him revealed [forecast] through His servants, the Prophets (Amos 3:7). As a matter of fact, God Himself appeals to His ability to forecast the details of the future as a proof of His Deity and omniscience, and denies that any other being can do this thing, and thus also proves His supremacy (Is. 46:9-11; 42:9; 44:7; 48:5, 6; Dan. 2:28, 29; Acts 15:18). Hence, the Bible's prophecies are an unanswerable proof of its Divine origin. 

Before the presentation of some details on the fulfillment of prophecy a few general remarks on it will be given. First of all, it appeals to our senses; for its evidence is before our eyes, e.g., the desolation of Jerusalem and Palestine, the scattering of the Jews among the nations, the rise and fall of four universal empires: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, the separation of the latter into the ten language groups of European nations, the spread of Christianity, the apostasy that had its beginning early in the Gospel Age, the rise, reign, revelation and consumption of the papacy, etc., etc., etc. Secondly, it is peculiar to the religion of the Bible that its revealers appealed to prophecy as a proof of its being a Divine Revelation. Prophecy is not claimed by Mohammedanism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Hinduism, or any other heathen religion, as a proof of its Divine origin. Some heathen oracles claimed to forecast isolated events, their forecasts having been given only reluctantly under inescapable insistence, and usually having been clothed in such ambiguous terms as to fit different eventualities, e.g., King Croesus, of the Lydian Empire, was encouraged by the oracle of Delphi to war on King Cyrus, of the Persian Empire, it promising him that if he would cross the Halys River, which 

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separated the two empires, an empire would fall; and after Croesus was conquered, and reproached the oracle for deceiving him, he was answered that the oracle had not specified which empire would fall! Never did any of these oracles claim to forecast an elaborate system of interlocking events to fulfill at varying times in the far distant future, as the Bible does. 

Thirdly, the argument from prophecy, like a revolving snowball, gathers ever-increasing bulk and weight as passing time witnesses an ever-increasing number of them fulfilling; for prophecy covering details of a period of 7,000 years gradually in its many parts finds fulfillments as gradually as due; hence in our day, when over 6,000 years of its 7,000 years' scope have witnessed the ever-increasing fulfillment of prophecies, the argument that they supply to the Divine origin of the Bible is a stronger one than, e.g., in the days of Christ, as strong as they then were. Fourthly, it is only when we consider that prophecy forecasts a vast system of interlocking events thickly spread over 7,000 years that the grandeur, sublimity and cogency of its probative power make its proper impression on the mind. To see this we will now consider some details connected with prophetic persons, nations, countries, cities and towns. 

First, Christ as a subject of prophecy will be considered. Immediately after man's fall God promised a Deliverer in the woman's seed, who, after undergoing the enmity of Satan's seed, would finally destroy Satan (Gen. 3:15). It was prophesied that He would be of the seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:3-5; 22:16-18), a descendant of Judah (Gen. 49:10), Jesse (Is. 11:1, 2) and David (2 Sam. 7:12), and would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2) of a virgin mother (Is. 7:14). The date (Oct., 30 A. D.) of His official appearance as Messiah, the Prince, i.e., His anointing, is given as 483 years from Nehemiah's finishing (Oct., 455 B. C.) Jerusalem's walls (69 symbolic weeks of

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years, i.e., 69X7=483 years, Dan. 9:25); a week of years, i.e., 7 years later, was the time for the end of His special favor to the Jews (Oct., 36 A. D.), when the Gospel call went out to Gentiles in Cornelius' home (Dan. 9:24); and He was to be cut off in death after the 483 years, and that in the middle of the last week of years, i.e., April, 33 A. D. (Dan. 9:26, 27), while limiting His special favor to Israel for the last week of years, in the middle of which His death would end the validity of the Jewish temple service (Dan. 9:27). It is prophesied that He would be raised up as a great teacher-prophet (Deut. 18:15, 18). Many prophecies inapplicable to any one else point Him out as the coming King (Zech. 9:9), Saviour (Is. 62:11), Redeemer (Is. 59:20), Lord (Ps. 110:1, 2), Covenant Messenger (Mal. 3:1) and Divinely Commissioned Comer (Ps. 118:26). That Galilee would be the main field of His mission is expressly foretold (Is. 9:1, 2). 

Special features of His acts and sufferings were likewise foretold. Thus it was forecast that He would not have the form and the appearance that Israel would desire in the Messiah whom they expected to come only as a great warrior king (Is. 53:2), that He would be despised and abhorred (Is. 49:7; 53:3), and that He would become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to Israel (Is. 8:14, 15). It was prophesied that He would be betrayed by one of His apostles (Ps. 41:9) for 30 pieces of silver to the Jewish hierarchy (Zech. 11:12, 13), and would be delivered for execution to the civil power (Zech. 13:7), that He would be buffeted, scourged and spit upon (Is. 50:6), that His hands and feet and side would be pierced (Ps. 22:16; Zech. 12:10), that He would be the object of gaping (Ps. 22:13), that His literal heart would suffer paralysis (14), that He would have great thirst (15), that He would be encompassed in His execution by sectarians and wicked ones (16) and that His garments

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would be parceled out, and lots would be cast for His vesture (18). Is. 53 forecasts His sufferings as clearly as though recounting accomplished facts. Thus it foretells that few would accept Him during His ministry (1) that He would seem to give no promise of Messianic greatness (2), that He would be despised, rejected, full of sorrow, unpopular (3), enduring others' ills while considered as accursed of God (4), suffering vicariously for man (5), bearing the stroke of others' sins (6), meekly suffering oppression and affliction (7), enduring restraint and an unjust trial, and dying for others' sins (8), buried as a wicked one, but in a rich man's tomb, despite His innocence (9), made a sin-offering unto Divine pleasing, would later carry out God's full arrangement for human salvation (10), will be satisfied with the blessing of mankind as the result of His death for them (11), would attain great exaltation and have joint heirs because of His vicarious ministry and death (12), all guaranteed by His prophesied resurrection (Ps. 16:10). Hallelujah! What a Saviour! 

His blessed and glorious character were revealed prophetically, that it was to be fairer than any other human's character (Ps. 45:2), that He would be gracious and sympathetic to the weak and burdened, as a true shepherd to his flock (Is. 43:3; 40:11), that He would be just, salutary and humble (Zech. 9:9), that He would lack rabble-rousing and demagogic characteristics (Is. 42:2), that He would have the eloquence of the learned, that He would know how to speak seasonably and winsomely to the weary and heavy laden (Is. 50:4), that He would have a full measure of God's Spirit of wisdom, justice, power and love (Is. 11:2), that He would be sinless and errorless (Is. 53:9), that He would be meek and content amid oppression and affliction, even as a lamb brought to the slaughter and uncomplaining as a sheep undergoing shearing (Is. 53:7), and that He would willingly submit in the utmost resignation to insults of the worst 

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kinds for the Lord's sake, including scourging, pulling out of the hair of His beard and being spit upon (Is. 50:6). Mark the prophecy of Is. 50:5-7 "The Lord God hath opened mine ear; and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. The Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint; and I know that I shall not be ashamed." These forecast characteristics Jesus realized in His experiences of labor and suffering, and none else did, even as the other prophecies referred to above met in Him alone. Who else that ever lived fulfilled them? They are thus as fulfilled in Him a proof that the Book that contains them is evidently a Divine Revelation. The prophecies that forecast His Millennial reign we will here pass by, as not yet fulfilled; but they will as surely be fulfilled in due time as those that Marked His first Advent. 

The Jews occupy a large place in prophecy. We will first briefly set forth some prophecies and their fulfillments occurring before their Babylonian captivity, whose 70 years' duration were forecast as necessary to fulfill the 70 jubilee years, which for 19 times before that captivity they had failed to keep properly, which for 12 times before their scattering by Rome they failed to keep aright after their Babylonian exile ended, and which, had they had the opportunity to keep the remaining 39 times, they would likewise not have kept well; wherefore God kept them 70 years out of the land that the 70 jubilees would be fully kept (fulfilled); for as long as they were in Babylon the land rested, there was no alienation of patrimonial estates and no debts in the land; hence then the full number, 70, of jubilees were kept (2 Chro. 36:20-22; Jer. 29:10; Lev. 26:34). The main prophecies made and fulfilled in Israel before their Babylonian captivity are the following: the coming of Josiah (1 Kings 13:2; 2 Kings 23:1-20); the death of the disobedient prophet (1 Kings 13:21, 22, 24-30); the overthrow of the royal houses of Jeroboam, Baasha and Ahab 

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(1 Kings 14:5-17; 16:2, 3, 9-13; 20:42; 21:18-24; 22:31-38; 2 Kings 1:3-17; 9:22-25, 30-37): Jericho's rebuilding (Josh. 6:26; 1 Kings 16:34); the drought in Elijah's day (1 Kings 17:1-7, 14; 18:42-45; Jas. 5:17); the overthrow of Ben-hadad's army, (1 Kings 20:13-30); Elijah's disappearance (2 Kings 2:3-11); Israelites in siege-famines eating their children (Lev. 26:29; Deut. 28:53; 2 Kings 6:28, 29; Jer. 19:9; Lam. 4:10); the death of Jehoram's favorite and the end of Samaria's famine (2 Kings 7:1-18); Joash's and Jeroboam's defeating Syria (2 Kings 13:16-25; 14:25-28); four generations of Jehu's descendants occupying Israel's throne (2 Kings 10:30; 15:12) and Judah's captivity (2 Kings 20:17, 18; 24:10-16; 25:11-21). Wonderful indeed! 

Jesus made 37 years beforehand a remarkable prophecy of Jerusalem's and the temple's overthrow (Luke 21:5-24), and it was fulfilled to the letter, as Josephus, the eye-witness Jewish historian, without seemingly knowing of the prophecy, but being an able and true recorder of the events of the Jews' war with the Romans, 66-73, A. D., narrates the fulfillment; for, being an opponent of Christ, he certainly would not have sought to prove the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy. The following is a brief statement of the main prophesied events: that the temple would be overthrown, not one stone above its foundation left standing upon another (6); that many false Christs would appear before Jerusalem's destruction, and claim that the time of their reign was near (8); that wars and rumors of wars would arise before Jerusalem's and the temple's end would come (9); that nations and kingdoms would arise against one another before that end; that great earthquakes, famines, pestilences, fearful sights and great signs from heaven would come first before that end (11); that before it Christians would suffer violence, be persecuted, imprisoned and brought before kings and rulers for their faith's sake (12); 

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that such occasions would become opportunities for Christians to give testimony to their persecutors and judges, and that they would be given irrefutable wisdom and utterance against their accusers (13-15); that closest relatives and friends would become their betrayers, and cause some of Christ's followers to be put to death (16); that they would be hated by all sectarians for Christ's sake (17); that they would undergo no harm as New Creatures (18), if they persevered in well doing unto the end (19); that Jerusalem's encirclement by armies (not the near siege from the Spring to the late Summer of 70 A. D., but the encirclement, siege, from afar, occurring in the early Fall of 69 A. D.) would be to Christians the sign of the near approach of its desolation (20); that Christians in Judaea would thereupon flee to the mountains; that those of them in Jerusalem would flee from its midst and that those of them that were in the country would not enter Jerusalem (21); that those days, 69-70 A. D., would be the especial days for punishing Israel for their wickedness, particularly against the Mosaic law and against Christ and His followers (22); that those times would be especially severe on expectant and suckling mothers; that great punishment would be upon the people and distress upon the land (23); that those in Jerusalem in great numbers would be put to death, and other great numbers would be exiled as captives among all nations, and that Jerusalem would be under Gentile dominion until 2520 years from its overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar will have passed away (24). Miseries incalculable! 

Josephus in his history, "The Wars of the Jews," very elaborately gives almost all of the details on the above prophetic events as occurring, the rest of them, like the persecution, etc., of Christians, being given in the Acts of the Apostles. The fulfillments, as recorded by him, were so detailed that infidels, to evade the force of the argument, invented the fiction that Jesus never uttered the prophecy of Luke 21:5-24, but that 

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the evangelists invented that prophecy after Jerusalem's destruction, as a prophecy after the event! But the history of the Apostolic time proves that Matthew, Mark and Luke wrote their gospels years before Jerusalem's overthrow, e.g., that Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles about the time of St. Paul's release from his first Roman captivity in 61 A. D., is evident from the fact that the account closes with that captivity and does not record the release; and we know from Acts 1:1 and Luke 1:1-4 that Luke's gospel was written before his Acts was written. As a matter of fact, only one of the four evangelists, John, wrote his gospel after Jerusalem's overthrow; and, writing about 95 A. D., he omitted entirely this prophecy from his account, doubtless doing so because it was fulfilled already. Both Matthew and Mark, according to the testimony of primitive Christians, wrote their gospels in the forties of the first century, Mark writing his gospel at Peter's dictation and Luke writing his gospel at Paul's dictation. Both Peter and Paul dying over three years before Jerusalem's destruction, yea, before the Romano-Jewish War broke out in Oct., 66, evidently these two gospels were written years before Jerusalem's destruction occurred. Hence the prophecy of Luke 21:5-24 is not a prophecy after the event, vaticinia post eventum, as the Romans called prophecies made after the event. 

The Bible gives many prophecies of the captivities of the Jews in Babylon and in the heathen Roman empire and in Christendom. Here we will consider, as prophesied, that captivity of Israel that followed their war with the Romans, 66-73 A. D. In Lev. 26 there is a prophecy of all of Israel's captivities, both in and out of their land—all the evils brought upon them for their violating their Law Covenant. As just indicated, the last of these captivities will be here prophetically studied, as proof of the Bible's being a Divine Revelation. 

In Lev. 26:14-45 there is a remarkable prophecy of the punishments that God forecast as coming upon 

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Israel for their violations of His Covenant. In vs. 14-17 their transgressions and consequent punishments during the times of the judges and kings are set forth. Then, they still not amending, v. 18 threatens them with seven times of punishment. Vs. 19, 20 go back and treat again prophetically of the punishments of the times of the judges and kings, which not sufficing, a second time the threat of seven times of punishment is made in v. 21, where the word "more" should not be in the text, for not seven times more plagues were threatened there. The same thing is repeated a third time in vs. 22, 23 and 24. This is done a fourth and final time in vs. 25-27 and 28. All this is done for emphasis. Since we see that four times stress is laid on the punishments of the judges' and kings' times, what is meant by the added seven times of punishment following the punishments of the day of the judges and kings? We understand it to refer to seven symbolic years, i.e., 7 X 360 years; for 360 years are a symbolic year in prophecy. This we see from the 70, 69 and 62 symbolic weeks of Dan. 9:24-27 and from the seven literal times or years fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:23; 12:7, 11, 12; Rev. 12:14; 11:2, 3), as typing seven symbolic times or years. Seven symbolic years are 7 X 360, or 2520 years. Since we see that a symbolic week is seven years (a day for a year) and a symbolic month is 30 years (30 years being a month of symbolic days), a symbolic year is thus 360 years, as we gather from the passages in Daniel and Revelation just cited. This enables us to see that by the term, Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24), Jesus meant the 2520 years from 607 B. C. (when Nebuchadnezzar began the desolation of the land which effected its 70 years' depopulation) to 1914 A. D. (when the trench warfare of the World War began, by which Satan began the antitypical 70 years' depopulation of Christendom); for from 607 B. C. to 1914 A. D. Israel was to receive special punishment for violating the Law Covenant by being trodden under foot of the Gentiles. 

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And since 1914, when the time of wrath began, both Jew and Gentile suffer for sins as humans, apart from any covenant. Israel's share in this latter suffering is part of the first part of the experience called "Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:5-7), since the first part began in 1881. Its second part, still future, is described in Ezek. 38 and 39. 

Accordingly, following immediately the fourth prophecy of seven times (Lev. 26:18, 21, 24, 28), the prophecies of vs. 29-45 refer to the evils befalling Israel from 607 B. C. to 1914 A. D. for their Law Covenant violations. In Titus' siege of Jerusalem parental cannibalism occurred, as Josephus testifies (29). Their sins and creed idols were destroyed, together with their worshippers' carcasses they were cast out, because the Lord abhorred them (30). Roman soldiers destroyed their cities, and the court, holy and most holy of their temple, God no more accepting their incense (31). Their land would not thereafter always be depopulated, but always would be made quite unfruitful, until the end of the seven times, to the astonishment of their enemies inhabiting it, who knew of its former fertility (32). And while their land would be desolate and their cities waste they would be scattered among the nations by the Romans, who with their successor nations would constantly use violence against them in every land of Christendom (33). During the Babylonian captivity, when all of them would be in Babylon, the land would experience the complete number (70) of its jubilees, which their covetousness did not before permit it to enjoy (34, 35). Those who would survive the Roman conquest would be faint-hearted, and would flee in fear at the least sound, as from war, even fainting when none would pursue them (36). They would slay one another to prevent their enemies doing so, as occurred at Masada, Palestine, and at York, England; in the former nearly 1,000 and in the latter 1,500 men, women and children fell in turn by lot at one another's hand; and certainly amid their wars in

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Palestine and persecutions by all European nations they were powerless to face their enemies (37). Destruction would await them in nations and their substance would then be devoured by oppression and exactions (38). Those who would remain would in their enemies' lands decrease for their and their ancestors' sins (39). 

But if amid their Divinely-apportioned punishments, while in exile among their enemies, they would repent, God would have mercy on them and their land, in harmony with the Mosaic and Oath-bound Covenants (40-42). They would be banished from their land unto its rest and desolation during the Babylonian captivity; and because of their heart and act violations of their Law Covenant they would receive punishment (43). Yet during these times God, remembering His Covenant, would not utterly abhor and destroy, but would marvelously preserve them as a people, through being mindful of His covenant with their ancestors (44, 45). Thus God promised to return them to His favor and their land. All students of Jewish history from 607 B. C. onward, particularly from 66-73 A. D. onward, know from their wars, their exiles, their cities' and land's desolation and their gross persecutions in the Dark Ages, that every one of the prophecies of vs. 29-45 has been fulfilled, some of them having a continued fulfillment, some of them having repeated fulfillments and some of them having a single fulfillment. Thus the presence of these prophecies in Lev. 26, written a thousand years before any of them began to be fulfilled, over 1,600 years before most of them began to be fulfilled and over 3,500 years before their fulfillment ended, are a strong proof that the Bible is a Divine Revelation! For at the time they were written there was nothing, apart from the Divine forecast, to indicate that they would happen. Their dispersion throughout the Gospel Age, in many lands is forecast in the following passages: Lev. 26:33-39; Jer. 16:13-16; 30:11; Hos. 3:4, as well as in others. 

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Not only do vs. 31-35, 43 forecast the desolation of their land and their cities, but also other Scriptures forecast the same (Deut. 29:22, 24, 27; Is. 17:4-6; Jer. 4:20, 26-28; 12:4-7, 10-13; 19:8; Amos 3:14; 5:3, 5; 7:8, 9; Mic. 1:6; Matt. 11:20-23; Luke 10:12-16; 21:24). These prophecies have had an abundant fulfillment. The land has been bereaved of the Israelites; and its fertility has greatly diminished, as Is. 17:4-6 shows; it has been desolate, for the most part overgrown with thorns, briars and thistles. The plain of Sharon, the valley of Jezreel, the hill countries of Galilee, Samaria and Judaea, as well as the country east of the Jordan—all have given evidence of the barrenness and desolation of the land that was once the most fertile in the whole world. Greatly reduced has its population been. The few Jews that have been tolerated there, beginning long years after 135 A. D., when Bar Chochbah's rebellion was suppressed by the Romans, have until 1878 had a most desperate lot, their Gentile neighbors making life from almost every standpoint nearly unbearable for them. Thus the forecast desolation of the land of Israel has been fulfilled. 

And what shall we say in truth of their cities and towns? Even the same as of the land: they are for the most part utterly waste, and for the rest are partly in ruins and partly comparatively sparsely inhabited. This has been true of their cities and towns east, as well as west of Jordan. East of Jordan there were very many cities and towns that Israel took from Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, and that they inhabited. Almost nothing but ruins for centuries Marked the cities and towns that they took from the former, while those that they took from the latter are partly fully standing, having been built of basalt, but uninhabited, partly in partial ruins, with a few houses standing and partly inhabited by a few poverty-stricken Gentiles. West of the Jordan most of their cities and towns are utterly waste, particularly those that Jesus mentions as rejectors of His message, even the sites of 

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most of them being unrecognizable. Samaria is in utter desolation; likewise Caesarea and the cities of the Valley of Jezreel and of the Plain of Sharon. This is also true of most of the cities of Galilee and Judaea. And those that have been rebuilt by Gentiles are in far from a prosperous condition. Truly the curses of the Mosaic Covenant have lain very heavily upon Israel and their land, cities and towns. But at the time that the pertinent prophecies were made nothing seemed more unlikely to happen to them than such disasters; hence the fulfillment of these prophecies is a powerful proof of the Bible's being God's Revelation. 

But it will be noted that in connection with almost all of these prophecies of disfavor and woe upon the Jews and their land, cities and towns, God promises the restoration of Israel to His favor and to the Holy Land, and of the land to more than its former fertility and the rebuilding of their waste cities and towns. Thus God did not forsake them forever. And before our very eyes we see the beginnings of the fulfillment of these prophecies. The following is a list of some of those that predict their return to His favor: Lev. 26:40-45; Ps. 102:13-17; Is. 40:1, 2; Ezek. 16:60, 63; Rom. 11:25-27. They fell into partial disfavor because of their violations of the Law Covenant (their iniquities, Ps. 107:17), and fell into full disfavor for rejecting Messiah (their transgression, Ps. 107:17). St. Paul (Rom. 11:25) assures us that this full disfavor would rest upon them until the fullness of the Gentiles [the full number of the Gentile elect] would come in [enter into the Body of Christ]. Such a coming into the Body of Christ by the full number of the Gentile elect had a twofold fulfillment: (1) a probationary one, which we will show occurred Passover, 1878, and a final one, which occurred by Oct., 1914. Accordingly, they were to remain in blindness as long as the Gospel-Age election was in process. It will be noted that they fell into disfavor as a nation the day that Christ pronounced blindness upon them—Nisan 10, 33 A. D.— 

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the day He entered Jerusalem (Luke 19:42). Two days later Jesus said that they were already a desolate and blinded people (Matt. 23:27-39). Hence the day of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem their blindness began, which, according to Zech. 9:9-12, began what Zechariah calls their double. Jeremiah (16:18) tells us how long their punishment would last—a period that he also calls a double. Is. 40:2 tells us that after they suffered their appointed time (see the margin), which is called her double, the Lord's favor would begin to return to them and that as a result they should be comforted. 

Summing up: Rom. 11:25 tells us that they would be in full disfavor as long as the Gospel Age would last in its selection of the full number of the Gentile elect. Hence their double would last as long as the Gospel Age. The Hebrew word translated double in Is. 40:2, kephel, means a page folded upon itself, the fold beginning at its exact middle. The Hebrew word used in Zech. 9:12 and Jer. 16:18 is mishneh, which, among other things, means an exact repetition in time and general character. Zech. 9:12 tells us that the double began in its second part the day of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, Nisan 10, 33 A. D. We note that according to the Bible chronology Jacob, the head of the Fleshly Israel, died and thus the Jewish Age, as distinct from the Patriarchal Age, which ended at Jacob's death, began April, 1813 B. C., while Jesus, the Head of Spiritual Israel, died April, 33 A. D., exactly 1845 years after Jacob's death. We know that in April, 1878, exactly 1845 years after Jesus' death, the first two expressions of God's returning favor came upon Israel: (1) Franz Delitzsch began preparations to circulate the popular edition of his Hebrew New Testament, and (2) the Concert of Europe began preparations for the convening of the Berlin Conference, which in June, 1878, the same time as Delitzsch began the general circulation of his Hebrew Testament, decreed certain ameliorations of restrictions on the resident

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Jews in Palestine and on the return of other Jews to Palestine. Thus the facts prove that the second part of the double ended in 1878—1845 years after Jesus' death, when the second part of the double began. And since Jacob died and the Jewish Age began 1845 years before Jesus' death, the first part of the double began at Jacob's death and was just as long as the Jewish Age, which ended at Jesus' death. In other words they were to have as a nation God's disfavor just as long as they as a nation had His favor. Hence the Jewish and Gospel Ages in their first ends are exactly of the same length; and, singularly enough, as it was 36½ years later than April, 33 A. D. that the surrounding of Jerusalem from afar set in, Oct., 69 A. D., when the Jewish Harvest ended, so it was 36½ years after April, 1878, that trench warfare, by which Christendom's devastation started, in the World War set in, Oct., 1914, when the Gospel Harvest and Israel's seven times, 2520 years from Oct., 607 B. C., ended. 

Accordingly, we should see Israel's blindness and prejudice against Jesus (Rom. 11:25) passing away. And what do we see? This: Whereas in April, 1878, Israel's blindness and prejudice were as dense as for centuries, beginning with that date, slowly and gradually these are disappearing, e.g., now most Jews think very favorably of Jesus, calling Him the Greatest of Israel's prophets, a Holy Man and a most marvelous Reformer, e.g., Rabbi Stephen Wise, America's most prominent rabbi and Jewish leader, in his sermons warmly recommends to his congregation to welcome the Gospels to their homes and to study them, many other Jewish pulpits echoing the same sentiments. Again, some other Jewish authors have written commendatory lives of Christ, e.g., Dr. Joseph Klausner, who is probably the first living Jewish Hebrew Scholar, has written a life of Jesus in very complimentary terms, though of course, he does not accept Him as the Messiah. Like leaders, like led! Delitzsch's Hebrew Testament 

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and that of Ginsburg, as also translations of it into Yiddish, are widely read in Jewish circles and are removing Israel's blindness and prejudice slowly, but surely. We are not to expect their full deliverance from their Gospel-Age blindness and prejudice, until after the completion of the day of wrath and of Jacob's trouble, but the work now going on is clearing the ground for that glorious result. 

The other form of God's returning favor to Israel is their return to the Holy Land and its prospering under their care by God's blessing. This is forecast in very many Scriptures, of which we will cite a few: Jer. 16:14-18; 30:4-8, 18-22; 31:4-14, 21, 23-25, 27, 28, 35-40; 32:36, 37; 33:7, 10, 11; Ezek. 36:1-15, 24-38; 37:1-28; Hos. 3:4, 5. Others than these could be cited, but these—will be sufficient. These Scriptures cannot refer to their return from Babylon; for they call it the return from the North Country [Russia, which is north of Palestine, while Babylon is east of Palestine] and all the other countries where they were scattered, countries that none of their fathers knew, while Abraham came from Chaldean Babylon, and while Babylon was but one country, though made up of several states. Hence the return spoken of in these passages is from their second exile. Shortly after the Berlin Congress, June, 1878, removed the disabilities on Israelites' return and stay in Palestine, they began at first in small, then in increasing numbers to return. The persecution, begun in Russia, in 1881, then a little later in Romania and Galitia, increased the number of the returning exiles. In the 1890's political Zionism began to influence numbers to return. 

But by 1909 the Zionist movement had about died out. The next year Pastor Russell and his cooperators began to arouse this practically dead movement; and in a few years, by appeals to the prophecies, rekindled the fires of Zionism along religious but not conversionist lines; and within a few years this Christian Zionistic movement made Israel aglow with the idea. It is this

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feature of the subject that is set forth in tableau in Ezek. 37:1-14. The Editor of this Magazine had the privilege of taking part in this Christian Zionism that did not attempt Israel's conversion, but that attempted their encouragement to return to the Holy Land. Trench warfare setting in on the first day of the seventh lunar month (Tishri), the very day that the Times of the Gentiles ended, that trench warfare beginning then to bring pressure on Britain in due time increased this pressure so greatly as to force Britain to issue the Balfour Declaration, pledging Palestine to Israel as a national home. Thereupon Israel's return to the Land advanced by leaps and bounds; and despite Britain's late efforts to restrict Israel's return, the Lord has brought such pressure upon it, in part through the present war, as forced it to let Israel return with comparatively no restrictions. Thus we are seeing the beginnings of Israel's return to Palestine. And with it the returning exiles are, wherever they settle, restoring under Divine blessing through scientific agriculture and fruit culture the former fertility of the Land, which they are rescuing from swampy, arid and malarial conditions, e.g., the valley of Esdraelon (Jezreel), one vast malarial swamp, has been turned into an Edenic garden. Palestine's fruits, e.g., oranges, are superior to any others in the world. Not only so, but city after city is being erected, e.g., Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, etc. Thus before our very eyes we are seeing the pertinent prophecies going into fulfillment. As Israel's preservation amid and despite the fiendish treatment to which heathen Romans, nominal Christians and bigoted Mohammedans subjected them (we rejoice that true Christians never maltreated them) is not only a matter of prophecy, but is a miracle, even as prophecy also partakes of the miraculous. Hence prophecy as to Israel, their land, cities and towns is another most impressive proof that the Bible which contains so many prophecies is a Divine Revelation. 

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Well may we say with the sacred poet, 

Open now the crystal fountain, 

Whence the healing streams do flow; 

Let the fiery, cloudy pillar, 

Lead me all my journey through. 

Strong Deliverer, 

Be Thou still my strength and shield. 

But prophecy does not concern itself merely with forecasts of Jesus, the Jews, their land and their cities. It also concerns itself with many other subjects, covering all secular and religious affairs in any way connected with the unfolding of God's plan (Amos 3:7), more particularly as this plan is related to the Gospel-Age people of God, all of the prophets testifying as to them (1 Pet. 1:10-12). Daniel, the prophet (Matt. 24:15), more especially treats of such secular affairs and less particularly of such religious affairs, especially when the latter are more or less related to the former. A brief consideration of a few of Daniel's pertinent prophecies will be helpful in this connection, e.g., in Dan. 2 occurs a prophetic account of the rise and progress of the universal empires under the imagery of a metallic image of a man and a stone, the golden head representing Babylon; the silver shoulders and arms, Medo-Persia; the brazen belly, Greece; the iron thighs and legs, the Roman Empire; the feet and ten toes, modern Europe and its ten-languaged nations; and the stone, Christ and the Church as God's Kingdom, which will destroy the five universal empires represented in the metallic image. Fulfilled is this prophecy in showing the transition of the universal dominion from Babylon to Persia, from Persia to Greece, from Greece to Rome and from Rome to Modern Europe. Fulfilled also is the selection of Christ and the Church as the stone out of Satan's empire (the mountain); and now is fulfilling in the world's mental and physical tribulations its smiting the image at its feet; and it will soon grow into a universal kingdom, blessing all and abiding eternally. 

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Passing by the typical prophecies of Dan. 3-6, practically all of which have already been fulfilled, we will take a brief glance at Dan. 7. Its vision in vs. 2-14 covers practically the same ground as Dan. 2, with the exception that the ten horns here represent ten kingdoms that ruled in Italy during the Gospel Age, as springing out of the Roman Empire, and its little horn represents the papacy, whose rise overthrew the Western Empire and the kingdoms of the Heruli and the Ostrogoths. Vs. 9-14 show God's part in overthrowing the kingdoms of this world through the Christ in the tribulation now in the world and His giving the Christ a universal and eternal kingdom. Dan. 8 prophesies particularly of Medo-Persia (the ram with two horns, vs. 3, 4), Greece (the he goat, v. 5), first as one kingdom under Alexander the Great (the notable horn, vs. 6, 7) and then as a fourfold kingdom, each part under one of Alexander's four generals (the four horns, v. 8). Out of the fourth horn, Cassander's Greece, after Rome had acknowledged subjection to it, thus becoming a part of it, developed the papacy (the little horn, v. 9), whose reign of sin and error is described in vs. 9-14 as overcoming civil and ecclesiastical powers and the Church and its leaders (v. 10), claiming usurpatorily and fraudulently Christ's place, setting aside His ransom sacrifice by the mass, displacing the true Church (v. 11), subduing the laity, crushing the Truth and prospering (v. 12), and not being overpowered fully in its fundamental errors until 2300 years after the building of Jerusalem's walls by Nehemiah, 455 B. C., hence until 1846, when the true Church would succeed in ridding itself of the papal doctrines of the consciousness of the dead and eternal torment as the final vestiges of error connected with the Roman mass (vs. 13, 14). Certainly, the three chapters summarized above are in evidence of the Bible's being a Divine Revelation. 

A brief summary of Dan. 9:24-27 was given in connection with prophecies about Christ; hence Dan. 11 

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and 12 will be here briefly explained as proving the Scriptures to be God's Revelation: The four Persian kings of Dan. 11:2 were Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius Hystaspes and Xerxes, who, very rich, warred on Greece. Alexander (v. 3) overthrew Persia, but at his death the empire was divided into four parts between his four generals, Cassander, Seleucus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus (v. 4). Then follows a prophecy dealing with the kings of Egypt (the Ptolemies) and the kings of Syria (the Antiochi): Ptolemy Philadelphos (v. 5), Antiochus Theos, Bernice and Ptolemy Philadelphos (v. 6), Ptolemy Energetes and Seleucus Callinicus (v. 7), the latter's sons and Antiochus Magnus in their wars with each other (vs. 8, 9), and the wars between the latter and Ptolemy Philopater (vs. 10-13). Then the prophecy shows that the Syrians under Antiochus Epiphanes and Scopas would wage war against Egypt, the former proving to be the plunderers of the Jews and the temple (v. 14). The Romans, as taking the place of Greece and Syria, would then conquer Egypt (v. 15), and would be a very arbitrary ruler in Pompey and Julius Caesar (v. 16), the former taking Palestine, the latter Egypt (v. 16). The debaucheries centering in Mark Anthony and Cleopatra are forecast in v. 17, while Antonym's and Augustus' war is described in vs. 18, 19, the latter becoming the tax-maker of v. 20. Next Tiberius' character and reign are forecast (vs. 21-24); and the conflict between the Roman Emperor, Aurelian, and Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, is forecast (vs. 25, 26, 28). The deceitful course of the Roman Empire and Papacy toward each other as they partook of the table of power-grasping is forecast in v. 27. The difference between Augustus' and Aurelian's course in Egypt and Palmyra respectively and that of Napoleon in Egypt is contrasted in v. 29, the reason being that the British Admiral, Lord Nelson, destroyed Napoleon's fleet before Egypt, which made him in grief return to France, where a little later he became confederate with the pope as against

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God's Word (v. 30). The wicked course of the papacy is forecast in vs. 31, 32; and the victories and defeats of the earliest reformers (those from 799 to 1309) are predicted in v. 32, while those of the later reformers (1309-1849) are foretold in vs. 34, 35. 

Then follows a brief forecast of Napoleon's course in arbitrariness, ambition and daring against the pope until wrath would be executed upon the latter (v. 36). His disregard of the papacy and Protestant sects and rulers in his self-exaltation are foretold in v. 37. His glorification of militarism as his god is predicted in v. 38. His use and honor of militarism and his appointing rulers over his newly created governments are predicted in v. 39. In 1799, when the time of the end began, he was attacked by a combination of the overwhelming European and African powers and navies in and before Egypt (v. 40). His invasion of Palestine and avoiding of trans-Jordan and trans-Dead Sea countries are foretold in v. 41; and his victories in Palestine, Egypt and the countries near them, to the great injury of Egypt, are set forth in v. 42, including his taking much spoil (v. 43). But the tidings of the European coalition against him, forecast in v. 44, would trouble him and make him return to France at the time of the end's beginning, to wage furious war; and despite his camping in Palestine, as foretold, he would come to his end in helplessness (v. 45). It would be during the time of the end (1799-1954) that Christ would arise and overthrow Satan's empire amid unparalled tribulations (Dan. 12:1). Then, after forecasting the resurrection, this chapter tells that God's plan would become clear only in the time of the end, and that to the faithful people of God alone (vs. 4, 10). Then there were predicted three periods, of 1260, 1290 and 1335 symbolic days, i.e., literal years, which were to begin in 539, with the papal initial steps toward gaining temporal power. The 1260 years would end in 1799, with papacy's loss of power to crush the Truth and God's people (v. 7), which resulted from 

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Napoleon's leading the pope into captivity. The 1290 years would end in 1829, when the vision would begin to clarify, which occurred through the Lord's making clear to William Miller certain time features somewhat related to the Second Advent (v. 11). But the great clarification of the vision would begin to set in, in 1874, when the Lord made clear to Pastor Russell the doctrine that Christ's Second Advent would be invisible, after the start of such clarification, head- and heart-satisfying Bible truths would be made manifest (v. 12). Some time after the time of the end Daniel would be awakened and rewarded (v. 13). 

Thus we see that the prophecy of Dan. 11:2—12:13 takes in the main features of the history of heathen powers in their relation to God's Fleshly Israel from 535 to 2 B. C., when Augustus' universal enrollment and taxes were enacted for Palestine, and the main features of Europe's civil and papal history in relation to God's Spiritual Israel, with particular application in Dan. 11:28, 30, 36—12:13 to the time of the end politically and religiously. This prophecy is one of the greatest of the Bible. But some Christian interpreters, following the misinterpretations of rabbis, have applied Dan. 11:15-45 to the squabbles between the Ptolemies and the Antiochi, particularly to Antiochus Epiphanes do they so apply vs. 14-45. Infidels, who deny prophecy, have seized upon their blunders and claim that these two chapters were not written by Daniel by 535 B. C., but were written as a supposed forecast after the event, by an unknown writer after the wars between Syria and Israel, i.e., after the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, who died 164 B. C. But how will they account for Daniel's prophecies elsewhere of Rome's subsequent universal dominion, of the later rule of the ten-languaged nations and their now being broken to pieces in the great tribulation, which began in 1914? Jesus, prophesying of things yet future and alluding to Dan. 12:11, Himself tells us (Matt. 24:15) that Daniel forecast the papacy's sitting as the

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desolating abomination in God's temple, the Church. Each of these considerations overthrows their contention; and thus this prophecy is demonstrated to be a mighty proof of the Bible's being a Divine Revelation, since nothing short of God could have forecast such a series of world and Church events. 

We have already called attention to our Lord's prophecy of the Apostolic times and Jerusalem's overthrow, recorded in Luke 21:5-24. But most Christians are not aware that there is a different viewpoint between our Lord's great prophecy as given in Matt. 24:3-51 and Mark 13:3-37, on the one hand, and that given in Luke 21:5-24, on the other hand. The difference is this, that whereas the last refers especially to the Jewish Harvest and the 3½ years following, i.e., 29-73 A. D., the first and second give a general picture of the Gospel Age as a whole (Matt. 24:3-14; Mark 13:3-13) and of its end as a particular picture (Matt. 24:15-51; Mark 13:14-37). The reason for this is that the Jewish Harvest shadows forth (1) the Interim (the period between the Jewish and Gospel Harvests) and (2) the Gospel Harvest. It is because of this twofold typical relation of the Jewish Harvest that the language of Luke 21:5-24 has such similarity in various ways to that of Matt. 24 and Mark 13. According to Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:4 and Luke 21:7, there are four things inquired about: (1) When the temple and city would be overthrown (when shall these things be); (2) What would the sign be when these things will have been fulfilled (what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled); (3) What would be the sign of Jesus' second presence (What shall be the sign of Thy presence); and (4) What shall be the sign of the consummation of the Age. In all these references please see the A. R. V. margin. The first question, of course, was with reference to the destruction of the temple and city; the second referred to the great sign that should Mark the Interim, which was the preaching of the Gospel until its witness

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would be world-wide (Matt. 24:14); the third referred to the Harvest Truth, as the sign of Jesus' second presence (Matt. 24:30), given while great delusions would be in the world (Matt. 24:15-29); and the fourth referred to the harvest work as the summing up of the Age (v. 31). And connected with these last two things would certain Marked events take place (vs. 32-54). Marvelous are the fulfilled details of our Lord's prophecies given before in Luke 21:7-24; and still more marvelous are the fulfilled details of Matt. 24:5-51 and Mark 13:4-37. But lack of space prevents our giving them here. They may be read in Vol. IV of the Studies in the Scriptures, 563-614. 

In 2 Thes. 2:1-12 a very remarkable prophecy of the papal Antichrist is given, in its nature, rise, reign, end and evil influence; for details thereon please see our 16-page issue of Sept. 15, 1942, Herald, which we furnish at 10 cents per copy. Paul gives us many other prophecies, notably 2 Tim. 3:1-9, 13; 4:3, 4. James (Jas. 5:1-8), Peter (2 Pet. 2:3), John (1 John 4:1-3) and Jude (Jude 4-19) also give us many remarkable prophecies. But the greatest prophecy of the entire Bible is the Book of Revelation, which gives a prophetic history of the Church real and nominal in their inter-relations and in their relations to the civil powers (1-19), as well as forecasts the Millennial reign in a series of seven pictures (20:1—22:3). Practically everything up to Rev. 19:5 has already been fulfilled. We trust later, D.v., to expound the Book of Revelations. 

Turning back to the Old Testament, we note that it gives us many prophecies on the Gentile peoples, lands and cities, with which Israel had more or less contact. Very briefly we will give some things thereon. Among other things, the Bible prophesies overthrow, ruin and desolation upon them, e.g., Ammon (Jer. 49:2, 6; Ezek. 25:2-10; 21:32; Zeph. 2:9); Moab (Jer. 48 1-47; Is. 11:14; 15:1-8; 16:2-10; 17:2; 25:10; Zeph. 2:8-10); Edom (Jer. 49:7-18; Ezek. 25:13; 

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35:1-4, 7, 9, 14, 15; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:11; Obad. 1:21; Mal. 1:3, 4); Philistia (Ezek. 25:15-17; Jer. 47:4-7; Amos 1:6-8; Zeph. 2:4-7; Zech. 9:5-8); Nineveh (Nah. 1:2; 3:6; Zeph. 11:13-15); Babylon (Is. 13:1-22; 14:1-23; 21:9; 44:24-28; 45:1, 13, 21; 46:1, 2; 47:1-14; Jer. 25:12-14; 50; 51); Tyre (Ezek. 26; 27; 28; Zech. 9:4; Is. 23:6, 12; Joel 3:6, 7) Egypt (Ezek. 30:13-19); and the Arabs (Gen. 16:12; 17:20; Is. 21:13-17). It also prophesies the general course of the three races of mankind (Gen. 9:25-27), whose fulfillment is patent from past and present history. Thus the Scriptures prophesy evils upon the Gentile peoples, countries and cities. Travelers in these countries and cities and among these above-mentioned peoples testify of their conditions, that they are as the prophets of God foretold of them. Not only Christians so do, but non-Christians and enemies of Christianity, without, however, designing such corroboration of prophecy, so set forth such conditions, e.g., the skeptical Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and the infidel Volney in his travels unintentionally bear very minute witness to the fulfilled facts of these prophecies, in describing these nations, lands and cities. And thus we have from this set of prophecies another evidence of the Bible's being a Divine Revelation. 

To overcome the argument from prophecy, some infidels have claimed that its fulfillment was a matter of chance against which view we quote the following from the pen of an eminent mathematician: "The prophetic scheme is evidently too vast and multifarious for human agency; and this excluded, there remains only the hypothesis of chance—the negation of all intelligence, human and Divine. The law of events, under this supposition, is the same as that by which probabilities are calculated in some of the pursuits and occupations of life; and an argument on this point, therefore, resolves itself into a mere application of the theory of probabilities to the subjects of prophecy. If it

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result from such application that the fulfillment was an event to be calculated upon with some degree of reasonableness, independently of any intelligent supervision, then are we at liberty to adopt the philosophy of chance; but otherwise we are bound to reject it. The laws of chance, applicable to the case, may be briefly stated as follows: When circumstances seem to determine an event equally, in two different ways, the chances are said to be equal; and the expectation of either result is expressed, with evident truth, by the fraction ½. But when the determining circumstances are unequally divided, so that any proportion, more or less than half of the whole number, operates in favor of a particular result, the chance of that result is expressed by the corresponding fraction. If a ball, for example, is to be drawn from a bag containing equal numbers of white and black, the probability of a white one being drawn is expressed numerically by ½; but if there be only one-fifth of the whole number white, the ratio of expectation will be 1/5, and so for any proportion; and this is the general law of simple probability. The probability of a joint occurrence, when two independent events are expected, is determined by the product of their simple ratios; for there must evidently be, in this case, a whole range of possible results, as regards one event, corresponding to each possible result of the other; and by a parity of reasoning, the same truth is made evident for any number of events jointly considered. If balls, for example, are to be drawn concurrently from two or more bags, containing different proportions of black and white, the probability of the whole result being white will be found in the compound ratio of all these proportions: thus, if one contains ½ white, another 1/5th, another 1/8th, and another 1/10th, there will be one chance in 800 [2X5X8X10=800] that, in drawing one ball from each, the whole four will be white; and this is the general law of compound probability. 

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"With these premises let us open the book of prophecy, and select an example from among the various remarkable events there predicted. We choose one of so extraordinary a character as to place it among the most improbable events (humanly speaking) of any age or nation; but to be quite sure that we do not overestimate it, we suppose it to have an equal chance of general fulfillment; expressed, as we have said, by the fraction ½. This does not, however, include the particularities of time and place, both of which are comprehended in the terms of the prediction. With regard to time, we observe, that as there is no natural circumstance to determine the event spoken of to one age or period more than another, the probability of exact fulfillment in this respect must be inversely as the whole number of ages in which it might have taken place. This, if we allow forty years for the average duration of an age, is about sixty; and the fraction 1/60, therefore, expresses the contingency of time in the case supposed. With regard to place, the probability of exact fulfillment is evidently determined by the relation of the locality named to the whole world. This, in the case referred to, is not greater than that of one to 100,000; and the fraction 1/100,000, therefore, is the numerical factor for this element of probability. Combining these three ratios, we obtain an aggregate of no less than twelve millions of chances against the fulfillment of the assumed event at the time and place designated; and this event is the personal appearance of Jesus Christ upon earth as the Savior of the world. 

"Remarkably associated with this appearance in many ancient predictions was the continuance of the Jewish dominion, and of the temple at Jerusalem; the joint contingency of which, according to the principles explained, cannot be rated at less than 1/10340. A multitude of predictions is found, also, in various parts of Scripture, relative to extraordinary particulars in the life, character, and death, of our Savior, as well as with reference to the political and social aspect of the

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times in which he appeared. Many of them are so nearly miraculous in their nature, or so minute and circumstantial in their details, as almost to preclude the idea of chance in any sense. And we are very sure, therefore, that we do not assume too much in assigning to twenty of them an average equal chance of nonoccurrence. Proceeding upon this ground, we find the probability of their joint occurrence opposed by a disparity of more than a million of chances to one; and it results from the combination of all the ratios thus found, that the advent of our Savior, in all its characteristic circumstances and relations, could not have been calculated upon as a matter of chance occurrence with more than one in four thousand millions of millions of chances. The term probability can scarcely be applied with propriety to a case so very remote; but the argument does not stop here. Our Savior, at a time when all the calculations of human forethought were diametrically opposed to Him, predicted the general dissemination of His gospel [throughout the Jewish symbolic heavens], and the consummation of prophecy with regard to the destruction of Jerusalem, in the short space of a single generation; and so it turned out. By the laws of probability, neither event had, at the utmost, more than one chance in ninety of occurring at that particular time; and there was, therefore, only one in 8,100 of their joint occurrence. 

"The predictions relative to the siege of Jerusalem, the subjugation of Judea, and the dispersion and subsequent condition of the Jews, present many particulars equally remarkable in character and fulfillment. We select twenty-four, which have severally a degree of probability not greater than ½, and the result is an aggregate of nearly seventeen millions of chances opposed to their joint occurrence. The predictions of the Old and New Testaments relative to the state and condition of the Church in various ages, and its influence upon the moral and political welfare of mankind, furnish another class of particulars which have been singularly 

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verified. The individual probability of most of them would be much less than ½; but we concede this, and limit ourselves to twelve points, the aggregate contingency of which is about 1/4000. Finally, the prophecies of the Old Testament relative to the Gentile nations around Judea, and the great empires, Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, etc., present about fifty particulars worthy of notice in this calculation. To avoid, however, all possibility of error, we consider only half that number, from which we deduce the expectation of their united fulfillment in the ratio of one to thirty-three millions. 

"There remains still a vast number of correlative and circumstantial details not reducible to any of the foregoing heads, which are found scattered through the pages of Scripture, and furnish a thick array, of corroborative evidence for the affirmative view of the subject; but we need not fear to waive the use of them in the present calculation. The composition of the ratios already determined gives an aggregate which it requires nearly forty places of figures [120 digits] to enumerate, and which the utmost powers of the human mind may vainly attempt to appreciate. If we should even assume a single grain of sand for the numerator of the fraction, the whole globe of the earth, repeated many millions of times, would scarcely suffice for the denominator; and such is the extreme improbability of any consistent fulfillment of the Scriptural prophecies on the principles of chance. It will not be objected to this calculation that it regards the different subjects of prophecy as parts of one and the same system; for although they were in fact uttered by different prophets and in different ages of the world, they are all united by a common subject; and that with a degree of consistency and harmony scarcely less wonderful than the fulfillment itself." 

The above mathematical discussion on probability takes into consideration and uses only the literal fulfillments of prophecy, even as such has been the case of

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prophecy so far discussed in this article. But the Scriptures use a vast number of these literal prophecies in symbolic ways, e.g., Ammon symbolizes clericalism; Moab, autocracy; Edom, Jewry, Christendom and the Great Company; Philistia, sectarianism; Babylon, churchianity; Assyria, Romanism; Ninevites, mankind out of harmony with God; Tyre, compromiseism; Syria, radicalism; Egypt, Satan's empire; Arabia, treason; Hamism, unjustification. And when the peoples of these various countries, cities, etc., are referred to in such symbolic ways the votaries of such qualities are meant, e.g., Ammonites symbolize clericalists; Moabites, autocrats, etc., etc. Another fact is not taken into account in the above mathematical discussion of probability, i.e., that the histories, biographies and the Mosaic, Davidic and Solomonic institutions are all typical and, generally speaking, refer to future things (1 Cor. 10:6, 11; Col. 2:16, 17; Heb. 10:1). Hence they are, generally speaking, prophecies in typical form. And most of these types have multiple applications, e.g., St. Paul shows that 1 Cor. 10:1-14 applies to both Harvests (v. 11, literally, the ends of the Ages [Jewish and Gospel Ages]; "the Harvest is the end of the Age," Matt. 13:39). Again, Jesus' use of the Jewish Harvest as a type of the Interim, as well as of the Gospel Harvest (Matt. 24:4-51; Mark 13:3-37; compared with Luke 21:7-24), proves that these types that refer to the Harvests have an application to the Interim. Again all types that refer to the Gospel Harvest type Epiphany matters, since the Gospel reaping time, called in the Greek the Parousia, and the separation time, called in the Greek, Epiphaneia [whence comes our word Epiphany], are parallels; hence they have parallel events at parallel times, i.e., 40 years from each other. And, finally, since the Gospel Age has three small parallel periods as miniature Gospel Ages during the Epiphany: (1) the Small Miniature, in which a day parallels a year in the Gospel Age; (2) the Medium Miniature, in which a year

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parallels a century in the Gospel Age; and (3) the Large Miniature, in which 25 months parallel a century in the Gospel Age. These three miniatures, therefore, witness the fulfillment of parallel events in the day, year and 25 months, as the three Miniatures call for, corresponding to the year or century in the Gospel Age, which means that all prophecies and types fulfilled in the Gospel Age have at corresponding times in these Miniatures three additional fulfillments. Applying these symbolic prophecies and prophetic types in all their applications to the above-described compound probability figures as additional prophecies, the number of digits required to set forth the result would be many, many times more than the number of digits setting forth above the compound probability derived from the literal prophecies. In other words, the probability of their compound fulfillment would be as one to an almost infinite number of improbabilities. In other words, the matter of probability is only theoretically, and not actually applicable to the subject. 

We close our discussion of prophecy as a proof that the Bible is a Divine Revelation with the remark that by far the largest part of the Bible is prophetic, since in addition to its literal and symbolic predictions all its histories, biographies and Mosaic, Davidic and Solomonic institutions as types are, generally speaking, prophetic, which fact implies that the bulk of the Bible is at least a Divine Revelation, and this goes a long way to prove that the rest of it is a Divine Revelation. 

Having concluded our discussion of prophecy as the second internalo-external proof that the Bible is a Divine Revelation, we desire to present several external proofs of the same thing. The first of these is the evidence of experience as demonstrating that the Divine Plan of the Ages in its elective features, set forth in the Bible as its main contents, is shown by the experience of the elect to be such as the Scriptures teach that their experiences would be. By this we mean that the elect have experienced at each stage of

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their progress on the way of salvation, as they complied with the Scripturally prescribed conditions applicable to each stage, exactly what the Scriptures teach would be their experiences upon such compliance. If this is true, it would be a strong proof that the Divine Plan of the Ages, which is the heart of the Bible, must be the Divine Revelation as to salvation for the elect. We have already shown that all the methods for salvation prescribed by non-Christians and philosophies are fallacious; for they either prescribe false methods or insufficient methods or inapplicable methods therefore, i.e., their methods either ignore or gloss over man's inability to save himself, or give insufficient or inapplicable means for him to gain salvation. Even the Law Covenant gave, for fallen men, inapplicable means, perfect obedience to the Law, however well the Law would have effected it, if man were perfect; "for the Law made nothing perfect." It is only by means of a ransom-price, which the Bible alone prescribes, that Wisdom could arrange, justice and Love motivate, and Power execute salvation either for the elect or for the non-elect. Hence if the plan of salvation revealed in the Bible can effect salvation for the elect now and for the non-elect later, it comes with the credentials of a Divine Revelation, since by their failure all other plans are proven to have come from other than the Divine Source; for to make a successful plan of salvation required wisdom, justice, love and power, and none of these less than supreme, i.e., it must have come from God. We now give the proofs of our proposition. 

(1) So far as the salvation of the non-elect is concerned, it must be said that the time for its operation being Millennial, it is future, and hence its stages are not now operating as matters of experience, though this much as to their relation to salvation as factual can be said, that their experience with evil and their degradation, physical, mental, moral, artistic and religious, as antecedent and preparatory to salvation, are now 

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matters of experience, and that they are certainly by experience, the most thorough of all teachers, given such an experimental knowledge of the nature and effect of sin as will prove reformatory of them when by contrast they get their experience with righteousness and its physical, mental, moral, artistic and religious uplift. There is thus an immense number of experiences with evil undergone by the non-elect available as facts to prove this particular feature of the Divine Plan of the Ages to be factual. But as just intimated, these are antecedent and preparatory to their salvation, but are not facts of their salvation's process as now operating experimentally. 

(2) The Bible lays down certain qualities as needed by people, if God would work with them along elective lines. These qualities are humility (Ps. 10:17; 138:6; Is. 57:15; 66:2; Mic. 6:8; Matt. 5:3; 11:25, 26; 18:2-4; 23:12; 1 Pet. 5:5, 6), meekness (Ps. 22:26; 25:8, 9; 149:4; Is. 29:19; Jas. 1:4), honesty (Ps. 15:1-5; 24:3-6; 34:15; 84:11; Prov. 12:22; Is. 33:15, 16; Luke 8:15; 2 Cor. 4:2), goodness (2 Chro. 19:3-11; Ps. 37:23; Prov. 11:27; 12:2; 14:22; Eccl. 2:26; Amos 5:14, 15; Matt. 12:35; Luke 8:15), longing for truth and righteousness (Ezra 8:22; Ps. 34:10; 107:5, 9; Matt. 5:6; Luke 1:53), reverence (Job 28:28; Ps. 25:12-14; 34:9; 85:9; 86:11; 103:11, 13, 17; 111:10; 147:11; Prov. 14 27; 22:4; Acts 10:35; 13:26; 2 Cor. 7:1; Phil. 2:12), and faith (Ps. 18:30; 34:8, 22; 125:1; Prov. 29:25; Is. 26:3; 57:13; John 11:25, 26; Rom. 1:16, 17; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21; Eph. 6:16; Col. 1:22, 23; 1 Thes. 2:13; 2 Thes. 2:13; Heb. 11:6; 1 Pet. 1:5, 7, 9). These qualities in their total add up to piety, without which one cannot enter the elective salvation process, and with which he can and does (John 14:15-17, 21, 23). These the Bible teaches are needful at every stage for progress in the way of salvation. And the experience of the elect proves that this is true. Every one of them knows that by the exercise of these 

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qualities the Lord's Word ever increasingly became clear to him, that he was thereby brought through the successive steps of repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ unto justification, then through successive steps unto sanctification of will, body and spirit, as well as progressively through it, and then through successive steps of deliverance unto ever-increasing victory over the devil, the world and the flesh, as these manipulate sin, error, selfishness and worldliness against him. These qualities as the prerequisites for advancement in the various stages of the elective salvation are not imaginations; they are the human powers that cooperate with God in effecting these stages of salvation; and by their effects in each of such stages of salvation the elect are given experimental proof positive that their pertinent progress in these steps are facts of God's and the elect's working out in the latter the salvation process as the Bible in its plan of salvation for the elect reveals to be God's method of saving them. Hence their experiences factually prove that the plan that the Bible reveals is the Divine Plan of the Ages as to the salvation process for the elect, and hence is the Divine Revelation. 

(3) Conversely the Bible teaches that (1) whoever has by Satan been hardened unto not having these qualities even in their most elementary forms God will not, for their ultimate good, allow to enter even the first stage of the elective salvation process, enlightenment as to these stages and of course, they cannot enter into the following stages thereof (2 Cor. 4:4; Mark 4:11, 12; John 12:37-40). (2) It further teaches that whoever enters any of these salvation stages and thereafter loses these qualities, which, when done is done only gradually, he will as gradually retrograde from such stages as a backslider (Matt. 24:12; Mark 4:18; Luke 9:62; Heb. 3:12; 12:15; 2 Pet. 1:9), and, if he loses them completely, he forsakes such stages entirely and is irrecoverable (Ps. 125:5; 

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Prov. 14:14; Matt. 5:13; John 15:6; 1 Tim. 1:19; 6:9, 10; Heb. 6:4-8; 10:26-29; 2 Pet. 2:20, 21). (3) It further teaches that if, after a large loss of such qualities, one recovers himself, he is helped back to advancement unto gaining life, but with the loss of his crown (1 Cor. 5:5; compare with 2 Cor. 2:5-8; 1 Tim. 1:20; 1 Cor. 3:11-13, 15; Rev. 7:9, 13, 14). And (4), the Bible teaches that if there is a slight loss of one or more of these qualities and recovery of them is made, the pertinent person does not lose his standing in the Little Flock (Prov. 24:16; Acts 15:37, 38; compare with 2 Tim. 4:11; John 18:16, 25, 27; compare with 21:15-19; Gal. 2:11-14; compare with Rev. 21:14). The experience of all the individuals belonging to the four sets of character just described proves what is stated above of each one of them. The vast bulk of the human family, the unbelief class, are of the first class and do not enter the elective salvation process at all. Their experience thus proves that the pertinent Scripture teachings are true as to those excluded from the opportunity of being offered the elective salvation. 

All backsliders of the second class know from their experience that the degree of their loss of these seven qualities Marks the degree of their spiritual retrogression, as experience, that of the second deathers, proves that when these qualities are entirely lost no recovery is possible for them. But the experience of the third set of characters proves that, while they have largely injured these qualities, under untoward experiences of striping they are recovered from their fall; but they carry the Marks of their fall in attaining a character inferior to that of the Little Flock's, and lose joint-heirship with Christ and the Divine nature, though they will gain everlasting life in an inferior grade of spirit existence. Experience shows that just now there is an exceptionally large number of such, who are undergoing buffeting at Satan's hands for the destruction of their fleshly minds. As to the fourth 

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set of characters, it should be said that in view of the fact that each one of the Little Flock, except Jesus, in a more or less small degree has at some time injured one or more of these qualities, and the fact that the Little Flock has been developing all through the Gospel Age and the further fact that the full number of them has now been won, experience proves their recovery from such falls. Hence experience proves the Scriptural principles explained in this paragraph to be true; hence these features connected with the plan of Salvation, being true, are in harmony with the thought that that plan is of Divine origin and that the Bible, therefore, whose heart it is, is a Divine Revelation. 

(4) The presuppositions of the Bible plan of salvation, both for the elect and the non-elect, man's sinfulness, hence man's condemnation by justice to death, are also facts of experience. That the Bible teaches man's sinfulness and death-condemnation by justice is very evident. Rom. 1:18—3:20; 5:12-21; Gen. 2:17; 3:17-19; Jer. 31:30; Rom. 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5; 1 Cor. 15:21, 22, 56; Jas. 1:15; 1 John 5:16 are a few passages that prove these two points to be matters of Biblical teaching. The experience of all mankind proves the first point to be true. The experience of all preceding generations proves the second point to be true to a completion; and the present race undergoing the dying process leading them on gradually to the death state proves the second point to be true, and thus implies that the Bible is a Divine Revelation. 

(5) The experience of the elect proves the truth of that feature of the Bible plan of salvation for the elect which teaches that it overcomes the condemnation of sin. The Bible teaches that, we being unable to save ourselves from the condemnation of sin, God sent His Son to become our ransom-price, which He laid down by His death (Rom. 5:6, 8; 8:13; Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:4-6), that by His merit the condemnation for sin may be cancelled for true believers, i.e., justification from sin's condemnation comes to us through 

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faith in God's promise to forgive us for Jesus' merit (Rom. 3:21-28; 10:4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:16; 3:13, 22, 24; Phil. 3:9); for Jesus, substituting all that He was and had as a human being as the exact equivalent of the forfeited all that Adam was and had and that we were and had in him, imputes to God this exactly equivalent merit in offset of that forfeited all before God's Justice. Thus God's justice, being satisfied by the exact equivalent of the debt that it held against us, cancels the condemnation of sin against us when we exercise mental appreciation of, and heart's reliance upon His promise to cancel that condemnation through Jesus' merit. The pertinent facts of experience are these: God caused these facts to be preached to us; we in living faith accepted the message. Thereupon God cancelled sin's condemnation of us. How do we know that He did this? By the following facts of experience: (1) Whereas God formerly held our sins against us, proved by His giving us no fellowship, He, on our accepting Christ, received us into fellowship. (2) Whereas formerly He let us wander in sin and error, on our accepting Christ He began and has since continued to enlighten us on our relations to Him, Jesus and our fellows. (3) Whereas before He effected toward us many expressions of providential disfavor, He, on our accepting Christ, began a series of providential Acts showing His favor, like preserving us from evil, directing our course, restraining our waywardness, chastising our faults, rewarding our righteous efforts, etc. All of these Acts prove by experience that He has forgiven us our sins, i.e., delivered us from the condemnation of sin. No other than the Bible religion backs its theory of forgiveness of sins by experimental facts. Hence in this particular the Bible religion proves itself to be a Divine Revelation. This series of facts, as well as others that we will mention, implies that, being active therein, Jesus must have risen from the dead, for a dead Savior could not save himself let alone others.

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(6) Experience proves that feature of the plan of the elective salvation to be true which reveals that the elect by their faithfulness in their faith-justification overcame the power of sin through the help that Jesus gives them, whereas before some of them were vile sinners, and all of them more or less slaves of sin, unable by their own powers to overcome it (1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Rom. 6:17-19; 7:5). But after being justified by faith the elect have sought faithfully by Jesus' help to overcome the power of sin in themselves and have succeeded therein (1 Cor. 6:11; Rom. 8:1-4; 6:17-19). Some of them have been haters and murderers, but under Jesus' leadership have become benevolent and beneficent people. Some of them have been fornicators and adulterers, but, blood-washed, they have overcome unchastity. Some of them have been thieves, extortioners and covetous, but leaning on Jesus for help, they have overcome thievery, extortion and covetousness. Some of them were drunkards, but by Jesus' help they have become sober, hating and avoiding intoxication. Some of them were slanderers and revilers, but by Jesus' grace have become controllers of offending tongues. Many of such sinners sought, before their acceptance of Christ as their Savior, to reform themselves, but were unable so to do; but on gaining justification by faith, they have been by Jesus' ministry given an internal power that enabled them to conquer the power of sin working in their mortal bodies. What do these facts prove? This, that by Jesus' ministry lovers and committers of sin, slaves of sin, have become freed from its power, which is another series of facts that proves that the elective salvation is evidently operated by God through Jesus Christ in a way that the Bible reveals it would do, which proves that this feature of the elective salvation is Divinely revealed, hence is a part of the Divine Revelation. 

(7) The preceding point deals with the negative side of a righteous character—overcoming the power of 

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sin. But under this point we desire to deal with the positive side of a righteous character developing and practicing justice, duty-love. The Bible teaches that the faithful elect in connection with their faith-justification live righteous lives Godward and manward. Righteousness Godward renders God duty-love with all the heart, mind, soul and strength, while righteousness manward renders the neighbor the same kind of love as one renders to himself. These two forms of duty-love so pithily stated (Mark 12:29-31), and yet including the whole duty of man, are of themselves an evidence that they are a Divine Revelation; for nothing short of omniscience could in so terse a form state all the contents of justice. Experience proves that some who once hated God, rendered service to false gods, took the name of the true God in vain and violated the rest of faith, were changed by their justification through faith into loving God supremely, rendering Him service, hallowing His name and exercising the rest of faith as fixed character features of righteousness toward God, as experience also proves that people who have dishonored and disobeyed their superiors, hated and physically injured their neighbor, committed adultery and fornication, unjustly appropriated to themselves the belongings of their neighbor, slandered and misrepresented their neighbor and coveted his belongings, have by their justification through faith developed and exercised such a duty-love to their neighbor as made them honor and obey their superiors, practice benevolence and beneficence toward their neighbor physically, protect and preserve the chastity of others, benefit others in their possessions, speak well and truthfully of others and generously rejoice in, and contribute to their neighbor's welfare. Before their turning to the Lord they were unable to develop and to practice such duty-love; but by following the pertinent Bible directions they got through it the power so to develop and do toward God and man. The Bible teaches that such are 

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the results of a faith-justification received and preserved (Ps. 1:3; 112:4-8; Prov. 2:5-11, 20; 11:5, 6, 30; 13:6; Is. 58:6-8; Hos. 10:12; Matt. 12:35; John 3:21; Acts 9:36; Rom. 6:19, 22; 2 Cor. 9:10; Phil. 1:11; Tit. 2:12; 3:14; Jas. 3:13, 17, 18). Such, therefore, by experience know that their faith-justification empowered them so to develop and do. And thus they have experienced the revelatory character of the Bible in its faith-justification features for the elect, as their experience therein proves that God by Christ is working in and for them in faith-justification. 

(8) The preceding point proves how the elect as humans are enabled to live a righteous life through the powers Divinely given them in their faith-justification experiences. But there is another step in the Christian life that through the powers that God by Christ gives the elect in their faithful responses to the motives of righteousness worked in them amid and through their faith-justification, i.e., consecration unto sacrifice. The Scriptures treat of a twofold consecration: (1) consecration to righteousness, which is experienced in one's standing in faith-justification; and (2) consecration to sacrifice, which one experiences in his standing in sanctification. The Bible teaches that those who would be of the elect not only experience the consecration of righteousness, but also experience the consecration of sanctification. Hence in justification one gives up his will to sin and accepts God's will to do right. But in sanctification one not only continues to keep his will dead to sin and alive to righteousness, but additionally to make and keep his will dead selfward and worldward and alive Godward, while sacrificing, in the advancement of God's cause, his human rights to his own time, strength, health, talents, influence, means, reputation, comfort, position, life, etc. Such a course is entered into initially by giving up one's will selfward and worldward and accepting God's will as his own will. But we are unable of ourselves to make such a surrender and acceptance; 

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for to do this we would have to be stronger than self and the world, a thing that self-evidently we are not; for no one is stronger than himself. How, then, do we ever come to consecrate to sacrifice? In this wise: God (John 17:17) by the ministry of Jesus (1 Cor. 1:30; Heb. 2:11) through the pertinent Bible truths fills our hearts with a consecrating faith and love whereby we are enabled to present ourselves to God as sacrifices (Rom. 12:1; 2 Cor. 8:5; Prov. 23:26). All of those who are experiencing the elective salvation have been thus enabled to perform this act, which they were of themselves unable to do, and which must be done to enter the elective salvation. Their experiences, therefore, prove that the pertinent Scriptural teachings are true; and such teachings, being exclusively of Biblical inculcation, are by experience proven to be true of the elective salvation, which only God could reveal; hence the Bible on this point is by experience proved to be a Divine Revelation. 

(9) The Bible teaches that those who would be undergoing the elective salvation, after experiencing justification by faith and consecrating themselves to sacrifice would, under the Gospel-Age call, be begotten of the Spirit unto sonship of God (Matt. 3:16, 17; John 1:12, 13; Rom. 8:14-16; 1 Cor. 4:14, 15; Phile. 10; 1 John 5:1, 18). This begetting is the beginning of the new nature in its recipients, whereby one becomes a New Creature (2 Cor. 5:16, 17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:10) and as such is a candidate for the Divine nature and joint-heirship with Christ (2 Pet. 1:4; Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:10-12). Such begettal implants a new set of capacities in our hearts and minds; for it gives each of our brain organs the power to project itself beyond the human things to which it as the human disposition is exclusively adapted to the corresponding things on the spiritual plane. E.g., such affections as cleave to human spouses, children, parents, brethren, friends, home, country, etc., reach beyond these to spiritual spouses, children, parents, brethren, friends, 

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home, country, etc. This implantation of spiritual capacities to the brain organs of the elect is a matter of fact testified to by hundreds of thousands as their experience. Hence experience proves that this step in the elective salvation is a reality, and proves God's acting out the pertinent features of His plan, which proves that part of the plan to be a part of the Divine Revelation, and thus proves the Bible to be the depository of such a revelation. 

(10) The Scriptures teach that those unbegotten of the Spirit during the offer of the High Calling cannot understand or appreciate spiritual things; for as beings of natures lower than the human cannot understand or appreciate things peculiar to natures higher than theirs, e.g., dogs, cats, cows, etc., cannot understand and appreciate things peculiarly human, so human beings cannot understand and appreciate matters that are peculiar to spiritual natures, especially the Divine nature (Job 28:12-28; 1 Cor. 1:18-23; 2:6-9, 11, 14-16; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 4:18). The universal experience of those unbegotten of the Spirit during the Gospel-Age call proves that this is true; for such listen with blank minds to new creatures talking of the spiritual things, and regard their speech as either foolish or unintelligible; hence here again we find experience to corroborate the Bible teaching that the natural man is blind to spiritual things, which proves that this feature, negatively related to the elective salvation, implies that this part of the Bible is of Divine revelation. 

(11) On the other hand, the Bible teaches that those begotten of the Spirit can and do understand and appreciate spiritual things. The contrast between the natural man and the spiritual man in 1 Cor. 2:6-16 proves, as well as asserts this. Other Scriptures teach the same thing, e.g., as a part of the pre-anointing, even before their actual begetting, which occurred at Pentecost, the Apostles were given to understand certain deep things hidden from all others (Matt. 13:10-17; John 17:7, 8). The knowledge and appreciation of 

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spiritual things was conditioned on faith and willingness to do God's will, i.e., consecration (John 7:11; 8:31, 32; 10:4, 38). Other Scriptures teach this thought (John 16:13, 14; 17:17, 20; Ps. 25:14; 107:43; 111:10; Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Prov. 2:112; 28:5; Eccl. 8:5; Is. 11:1-3; 54:13; Jer. 9:24; Dan. 12:10; Hos. 6:3; 14:9; Matt. 11:25-27; Rom. 15:14; 1 Cor. 8:3; Phil. 3:8, 10; Col. 1:26, 27; 3:10, 16; 2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pet. 1:2-4). The ability to understand and appreciate spiritual things is bestowed upon the Gospel-Age elect through their begettal of the Spirit, which implants in their intellectual faculties the capacity to perceive, remember and reason on spiritual things—the things of God and Christ as Spirit beings, the Holy Spirit in God, Christ and themselves, the spiritual doctrines, precepts, promises, exhortations, prophecies, histories and types. Their possessing such a power as a result of their Spirit-begetting is an evidence that the plan of salvation, an outworking of which it is, is a matter of Divine Revelation, and hence the Bible in its pertinent part is such. 

(12) The Scriptures teach that those not begotten of the Spirit, natural men, cannot aspire to, and long for present spiritual knowledge, possessions and privileges, or for the future spiritual, heavenly natures, characters, associations, inheritances, homes, honors and works (1 Cor. 2:9). The reason for this is very apparent. They do not have the heart qualities—love for the things of the Spirit—necessary for such aspirations and longings; for they are of the earth earthy, and thus are adapted to earthly conditions only, while these aspirations and longings are within the ability of those only who are of the heaven heavenly (1 Cor. 15:45-49). The universal experience of mankind as such is that they are earthy, and thus are adapted to things earthy and not to things heavenly. Even the fact that false religions hold out the hope of heaven to their votaries, while the latter clothe the pertinent hope with earthly garments and thus their heaven arises not 

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above the idea of what the Millennial Paradise will be, proves that they do not aspire to heavenly spiritual things. But the pertinent feature of the plan of the elective salvation excluding the natural man as such from spiritual aspirations and longings, the pertinent experience proves the Bible to be a Divine revelation. 

(13) Conversely, the elective salvation of the Gospel Age has a part of it the feature that the elect aspire to, and long for present and future spiritual privileges, i.e., for present spiritual knowledge, appreciation, character, fellowship, service, testing and victories, and future spiritual nature, character, associations, inheritance, home, honors and works (Matt. 5:6; 6:33; Rom. 12:2; Phil. 3:12-14; Col. 3:1, 2; 1 Cor. 12:31; 1 Tim. 6:11, 12; Heb. 4:11; 11:40; 1 Pet. 1:13; 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:13, 14; 1 John 3:2, 3; Jude 21). It is a matter of the experience of all of these that those who are in the high-calling salvation process are so constituted as to have such aspirations and longings. Their experiences as such are revealed as such in the Bible alone as accompaniments of the elective salvation. Hence their pertinent experiences corroborate the fact that, the Bible alone revealing such experiences as belonging to the elective salvation, it must be a Divine Revelation. 

(14) It is furthermore a fact of experience that these elect are given credentials that they are sons of God. The Bible shows that sons of God are given certain evidences of their being such. Some have thought that their experiences of peace and joy and the conviction that they are sons of God are these proofs: but these are certainly imperfect proofs, since in time of trial, when the proof is most needed to help one stand, these feelings often fail them; but the proofs that the Bible gives for our sonship are unmovable in times of trial. The following are the main ones: (1) spiritual knowledge and appreciation; (2) aspiration and longing for true spiritual things [for passages on these two points please see points (12) and (13)]; 

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(3) development of Christlikeness (Matt. 16:24; Rom. 6:4, 5, 11; 8:9-11, 14, 29; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:10, 11; John 10:4; 13:15, 34; Gal. 6:2; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6; 3:2, 3, 16); (4) opportunities of service (Mat. 21:28; Luke 19:12, 13; Rom. 12:1; Mal. 3:17); (5) persecution for righteousness (Matt. 5:10-12; John 15:18-21; 16:2, 3; 2 Tim. 3:11, 12; Heb. 10:32-34; 1 Pet. 2:19-23; 3:14-17; 4:14); (6) trials and tests of character (Mal. 3:2, 3; Acts 14:22; Rom. 5:3, 4; 1 Thes. 1:4, 5; Jas. 1:3, 12; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:13, 14); and (7) chastisement for faults (Ps. 119:67, 75; Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5-11; Rev. 3:19). These seven things are experiences which the Bible teaches that God gives His children as proofs that they are His sons, and that He deals with them as sons. They undergo these as solid facts of experience, and these prove that the Bible's pertinent teachings are true, and as sonship is a feature of the elective salvation, and as the Bible alone reveals it as such a feature of God's plan, it must be a Divine Revelation. 

The foregoing 14 kinds of experiences were set forth as proofs that the Bible is a Divine Revelation. Hereinafter 14 others will be presented as evidence of the same proposition. As the first 14, with one exception, were facts of the elects' experience, so the bulk of the second 14 will be the facts of the elects' experiences, which accordingly we will now present: (15) The first of these, and thus the 15th of the entire series, is the elects' experiencing the Bible's teaching that all things work together for good to those who love God (Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Gen. 50:20; Ezra 8:22; Ps. 34:10). The good referred to here is not earthly good, as health, prosperity, popularity, ease, life, etc., for these the elect sacrifice in God's interests, and hence the elect have hard experiences in earthly matters (Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12). It is spiritual good that is here meant, like Christlikeness, as Rom. 8:29 gives as the good referred to in v. 28 and as the statement of 2 Cor. 4:16-18 proves. Hence the good that all the elects' experiences work for them

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is increase of the knowledge and appreciation of God's Word, opportunities to serve it to others, and the fruits and graces of the Spirit. These experiences include both the toward and untoward, the easy and hard, the agreeable and disagreeable, the pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Even their slips and stumblings into various faults and weaknesses are included; for God uses these to put them better on their guard to overcome them in later experiences. Hence the Bible teaches that God manipulates all of their experiences for the elects' spiritual good. It is the experiences of all of the elect that every experience of theirs is by God directed to help them overcome their evil qualities and works and develop good characteristics and works. Thus at every turn they experience God's fulfilling in their lives this Bible teaching. And these experiences are to them a strong evidence that the Bible's pertinent teachings have originated in God, and prove that the pertinent teachings are a Divine Revelation. 

(16) The Bible further teaches that God through Christ makes His faithful elect victorious in their battles against sin, selfishness and worldliness (internal foes), however keenly and subtly the devil, the world and the flesh manipulate these in attempts to defeat them; and the elect experience such victories against their aforesaid foes. That the Bible teaches that the elect would be engaged in spiritual warfare against such foes is evident from the following passages: 2 Cor. 10:3; 1 Tim. 1:18, 19; 6:12; 2 Cor. 2:11; 6:12; Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rom. 7:23; 1 Cor. 9:25-27; 2 Cor. 12:7; Gal. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:11; John 16:33; 1 Pet. 4:2; 1 John 5:4, 5. It teaches that they must fight under Christ's leadership (Heb. 2:10), with faith and a good conscience (1 Tim. 1:18, 19), perseverance (1 Pet. 5:9; Heb. 10:23), earnestness (Jude 3), watchfulness (1 Cor. 16:13), sobriety (1 Thes. 5:6), endurance (2 Tim. 2:3, 10), prayer (Eph. 6:18) and without earthly entanglements (2 Tim. 2:4). The Bible teaches that those who so fight against sin, 

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selfishness and worldliness, as these are led by the devil, the world and the flesh, will by God be given all needed helps unto complete victory (1 John 4:4; Ps. 118:13; Is. 41:13, 14; Ps. 140:7; 2 Cor. 7:5, 6; Is. 41:10) through Christ's leadership (2 Cor. 12:9; 2 Tim. 4:17, 18; Rom. 7:25; 8:37-39; 1 Cor. 15:57). It is the experience of the elect that, in proportion as they fulfill the conditions of this warfare, are they victorious, i.e., if they but little fulfill these conditions, they are but little victorious; if they fulfill them more, they are more victorious; and if they fulfill them as fully as they are able, their victory is as full as it can be made, as it is also the experience of the unfaithful that they suffer defeat. Hence these experiences are strong proof that the involved Bible teachings are a Divine Revelation. 

(17) The Bible teaches that the elect, especially their teachers, will be victorious in their conflicts with error (an external foe); and a long and sharp battle with error, as is taught by the devil and his mouthpieces, have the elect, especially their teachers, had during the Gospel Age with error subtly manipulated by Satan and his mouthpieces. The following are some of the Scriptures that teach that they would have such conflicts therein: Rom. 16:17, 18; 2 Cor. 2:17; 11:3, 4; Gal. 1:6, 8; Eph. 4:14; Col. 2:4, 18-23; 1 Tim. 1:3, 4, 6, 7; 4:1-3; 6:3-5, 20, 21; 2 Tim. 3:6-9, 13; 4:14-18; Tit. 1:10, 11, 14; 3:10, 11; Heb. 13:9; 2 Pet. 2:1-3, 14-19; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 7, 9-11; Jude 4, 11; Is. 54:17; Luke 21:15. In every stage of the Church this conflict between truth and error has been waged. In the days of the Apostles this was true as the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, as well as the passages just cited, prove. As the Dark Ages drew on, and as they prevailed, this conflict continued to be fought. The period of the Reformation by individuals was quite Marked thereby; and the period of the Reformation by sects was more Marked thereby. So, too, was this true of the reaping period, as it is true of the present testing period of the consecrated in their three 

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classes. Thus experience proves that these conflicts have come; and the experiences of the elect, especially of their leaders, prove that they were victorious in this warfare against error. This can best be seen in the experience of the Apostolic Church, the Reformation Church and the Harvest Church. These battles involved every subject of Bible doctrine, organization and practice; and God in these conflicts always fulfilled the pertinent promises, e.g., Is. 54:17 and Luke 21:15, giving His faithful the ability to refute all errors that were urged against, or intended to corrupt their message. These experiences prove such teachings to be a Divine Revelation. 

(18) The Bible teaches that it itself is the power of God stimulating His people to the spread of Christianity; and the experiences of God's people are an illustration of the fact that it does so stimulate them. It sets before their hearts and minds the motives that impel them to spread its tidings (Jer. 15:16; 20:9). Thus it arouses them to a faith that moves them to spread its message (2 Cor. 4:13). It gives them the power necessary to make them effective therefore (John 17:17; 1 Cor. 1:17, 18, 21, 23, 24; 1 Thes. 1:5). It gives them the love that constrains them thereto (2 Cor. 4:14; 2 Tim. 2:10). It stimulates them thereto with the hope of blessing others (1 Cor. 9:10, 17). It likewise gives them the motives that arouse them to obedience (1 Cor. 9:17; Acts 26:16-20). It induces them to exercise the pertinent self-denial, tact and resourcefulness (1 Cor. 9:19-23). Urged on by such motives, the elect have gone everywhere preaching the Word, and have found it effective in spreading Christianity, in bringing many through repentance and faith unto justification (Rom. 1:16), in bringing justified ones unto the high calling (Rom. 8:30; 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:2-4) and in enabling those faithful in the high calling to make their calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10, 11; 1 Cor. 9:24-27). Thus the Bible gives power to its believers to spread its message; and 

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they experience its effectiveness to spread Christianity (Is. 55:10, 11; Jer. 23:29; Heb. 4:12). Accordingly, such experience of its pertinent teachings is a proof that they are a Divine Revelation. 

(19) Another proof that the Bible is a Divine Revelation is the Christian's experience that as he fulfills the conditions of prevailing prayer that it sets forth, he obtains the answer to his petitions. It is a mistake to believe that God hears and answers every prayer and everybody's prayer. Not only the Bible teaches that He does not so do; for God does not hear nor answer the prayer of the wicked or the wrong prayers of the righteous (Ps. 18:41; 66:18; Prov. 1:24-29; 28:9; Is. 1:15; Jas. 1:6, 7; 4:3; 1 Pet. 3:7); but the experience of many proves that God does not so do. On the contrary, the Bible teaches that there are conditions placed upon the prayer, if it is to be acceptable. The all-embracing condition is that prayer must be made in Jesus' name (John 14:13, 14; 16:23-27). To ask in Jesus' name implies several things: (1) that one be a child of God (John 16:27); (2) that he abide in Christ, i.e., remain a believer in Christ's merit for forgiveness, be faithful as a member of Christ in His consecration, and be a believer in God's promises to answer him (Rom. 3:21—4:8; Acts 10:43; Matt. 21:22; John 15:7; Jas. 1:5, 6; 5:16); and (3) that he be controlled in his petitions by the teachings of God's Word (John 15:7; Ps. 145:18; Prov. 15:8; Jas. 4:3; 1 John 3:23; 5:14, 15). Those who fulfill these conditions do not pray for earthly health, life, fame, riches, position, etc.; for in their consecration they offered these to God in sacrifice; and their faithfulness in consecration refuses to take back what they consecrated to God; but they do pray for spiritual knowledge, the graces, opportunities of spiritual service and for spiritual endurance of their trials, sufferings and persecution. And these petitions are always answered, though the answer for the good of the petitioner is sometimes delayed. Thus their experiences in great

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abundance prove that their prayers are answered; and these prove that the pertinent Bible teachings must have come from God and are thus a Divine Revelation. 

(20) The Bible further teaches that God is training His people for fitness to be kings and priests for the Millennium; and their experiences prove that this is true. That God is training them to be Millennial kings and priests is evident from numerous Scriptures (Matt. 19:28, 29; Luke 12:32; 22:29; Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; 2 Tim. 2:11, 12; Rev. 1:6; 3:21; 5:9, 10; 20:4-6). This training involves that He causes them to grow in the Divine knowledge (Matt. 7:24, 25; 25:1, 2, 10; John 7:17; 8:32; 10:4; 17:3, 8, 25; Rom. 16:19; 1 Cor. 2:10-16; 14:20; Eph. 4:11-13; 5:17; Phil. 3:8; Col. 1:10; 3:10, 16; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 3:18), in the Divine graces (John 15:1-8; Rom. 12:9-21; 1 Cor. 13:1-13; Gal. 5:22-25; Col. 3:10-21; 2 Tim. 2:24, 25; 2 Pet. 1:5-11), and in the Divine service (Matt. 21:28; 24:45-47; Luke 12:35-48; 16:10-13; John 13:16; Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 4:2; Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22-25). It also involves that He disciplines them (Ps. 94:12, 13; 118:18; 119:67, 75; Heb. 12:5-11; Rev. 3:19), that He inures them to hardship (Matt. 24:13; Acts 14:22; Rom. 8:35-39; 2 Cor. 4:8-12; 6:4, 8-10; Gal. 6:9; Eph. 6:13, 18; Phil. 4:1; Col. 1:23; 2 Thes. 3:13; 2 Tim. 2:1, 3, 12; Heb. 3:14; 10:23; 12:1-4; Jas. 1:4, 12; 5:10, 11; 1 Pet. 1:6, 7; Rev. 2:10; 3:11, 12), that He exposes them to persecution for the Lord, the Truth and the brethren (Matt. 5:10-12, 44; 10:16-18, 21-23, 28; 20:22, 23; 23:34, 35; 24:8-10; John 15:18, 19; 16:1, 2; Acts 4:16-20; 5:29, 40-42; 1 Cor. 4:9-13; 2 Cor. 11:23-27; 2 Thes. 1:4; 2 Tim. 3:12; Heb. 10:32-35; 13:13; 1 Pet. 3:14; 4:12-16, 19), and that in all such experiences they show forth the Lord's spirit (for passages on this phase of our subject please see some cited in this paragraph under the point that treats of their training as implying their growth in the Divine graces). God's people have all through the 

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Gospel Age experienced God's training of them in these seven ways. To our part therein all of us can testify as matters of our experiences. Thus again experience proves the Divine origin of the pertinent teachings, and thus proves the Bible to be a Divine Revelation on the involved subjects. 

(21) Again, the Bible teaches that the elect are the objects of God's special providence; and their experiences prove this to be a fact. The Bible teaches that God gives these the benefits of each of the seven features of His providential care: (1) He arranges for the supply of their needs, and then supplies them (Ps. 65:9-13; 104:10-19, 24-30; 136:25; 145:15, 16; 147:8, 9; Is. 33:16; Acts 14:17); (2) He preserves them by shielding them from the attacks of too strong evils (Ps. 34:17, 19, 20; 91:1-12; Is. 4:5, 6; 32:2; 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 3:10) and by bracing them to meet such evils as by His grace they are enabled to meet (Ps. 34:7; 44:1-3; 105:14-21; 127:1, 2; 146:7-9; 2 Cor. 12:7-9); (3) He directs their course in life, both collectively and individually (Ps. 37:17, 23, 24, 28, 32; 91:11, 12; Prov. 20:22; 24:16; Is. 26:7; 30:21; 31:4, 5; 40:11; 52:11-53:12; 58:11; Jer. 2:6; 3:4; Rom. 8:28; 2 Thes. 3:3; 1 Pet. 2:12); (4) He works all their experiences for their spiritual good (Gen. 50:20; 1 Sam. 2:6-9; Ezra 6:22; Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Phil. 1:12-14); (5) He restrains them from evil and unprofitable works by hindrances that He brings into their lives (Acts 8:1, 4-8; 16:6, 7, 9; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Phil 1:12-14); (6) He trains them by disciplines, hardships and persecutions (for many pertinent passages please see the preceding point; additionally we cite the following: Ps. 66:10; 119:71; Eccl. 7:14; Is. 1:25; Mic. 6:9; Mal. 3:3; John 11:4; 15:2; 1 Cor. 11:32; 2 Cor. 4:11, 17; Heb. 2:10, 17, 18; 5:8; 1 Pet. 5:10; Rev. 2:10); and (7) God stripes them for wrong-doing (Ps. 50:21; Zech. 1:6; Matt. 5:19; Luke 12:45-48; Rom. 11:17-21; Col. 3:25; Heb. 2:3; 4:1; 10:30; 12:25). 

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The Bible teaches that all seven of these forms of the Divine providence are exercised by Him primarily through the ministry of Jesus Christ (Gen. 48:15, 16; Ps. 34:6, 7; Mal. 3:23; Matt. 28:18, 20; Mark 16:20; 1 Cor. 1:30; 8:6; Eph. 1:22; 5:29; Rev. 2:23; 3:7, 19) and secondarily through the ministry of the angels (Ps. 91:11, 12; Matt. 18:10; Acts 5:19, 20; 12:5-11, 23; 27:23; Heb. 1:13, 14). The experiences of all God's elect by innumerable cases prove that He has exercised toward them all seven of these Biblically-taught forms of providential care; and they therefore prove that the Bible on these lines of thought is from God, hence a Divine Revelation. 

(22) God forecast that in the end of the Age He would harvest out of Sectarianism His faithful for a great feast of truth, growth in grace and opportunities of service; and experience proves that this occurred from Oct., 1874, to Oct., 1914, which period for that work was pointed out by time and sign prophecy. The Scriptures show that such a harvesting work was to take place in the end of the Age (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43; Rev. 14:14-16; Matt. 24:31, 28, 40, 41; Ps. 50:5). The Bible calls the involved 40 years a working day, and shows that there would be issued five calls to His people to work in God's vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16; John 11:9; 9:4). A symbolic 12-hour working day of 40 years yields as its hours 12 periods of 3⅓ years. Accordingly, the symbolic call hours of the 40-year day of Matt. 20:1-16—1874-1914—are as follows: 1st and 2nd hours were Oct., 1874-June, 1881; the 3rd hour was June, 1881-Oct., 1884; the 6th hour was June, 1891-Oct., 1894; the 9th hour was June, 1901-Oct., 1904 and the 11th hour was Feb., 1908 June, 1911. The facts prove that during these five periods especially large numbers of saintly people were separated from Sectarianism through the Truth as a symbolic sickle swayed as tracts, magazines, pamphlets, booklets, books and newspapers, as sermons, talks and lectures, and as conversations and correspondence; 

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and they were given glorious feasts of truth, opportunities for developing character and for witnessing to the Truth. Facts also prove that by the operation of the first phase of the World War's trench warfare a cutting oft of this reaping work set in. Thus the harvest work was done in the period that prophecy declares it would be. Millions of people witnessed this work without understanding it; and hundreds of thousands at the time understood what it meant. Hence experience proves that this prophesied work was done at the proper time and in the five stages of its main features. Thus experience proves that the pertinent features of the Bible are of Divine Revelation. 

(23) The Bible teaches that this period of reaping—the end of the Age—would be accompanied by five siftings; and the facts of the case prove that a sifting accompanied each one of the five special calls; a thing that we should expect, since those found unworthy of continuing under the call naturally would be cast out of it, losing their crowns, and others would be invited to take their lost crowns (Rev. 3:11). In 1 Cor. 10:5-10 St. Paul refers to five special evils that Israelites committed during their journey in the wilderness. In v. 6, where the Greek word typoi, which means types, is translated ensamples, we are shown that these five evils were typical, and were written to warn God's Gospel-Age people not to do their antitypes; and in v. 11 we are told that these things happened as types of things in the ends of the Ages. The AN. renders the Greek expression telē ton aionon, ends of the world, which would require the Greek to be telē tou kosmou; the A.R.V. properly renders it, the ends of the ages. Jesus tells us that the Harvest is the end of the age (Matt. 13:30, 40; see A.R.V. margin). At the end of the Jewish Age there was a Harvest (John 4:34-38; Matt. 9:36-38) and in the foregoing point we saw that there was also a Harvest at the end of the Gospel Age. Accordingly, we understand 1 Cor. 10:11 to refer to these two Harvests, in each of which

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there were five siftings accompanying five calls. The early morning sifting of the Gospel Harvest began April, 1878, along no-ransomism lines, the third hour sifting began Oct., 1881, along infidelism lines, the sixth hour sifting began Oct., 1891, along combinationism lines, the ninth hour sifting began Oct., 1901, along reformism lines and the eleventh hour sifting began Feb., 1908, along murmersome contradictionism lines. Accordingly, experience proves that the pertinent parts of the Bible are matters of Divine Revelation. 

(24) The development of the Great Company as a class, the Bible teaches would come after the Reaping and during the great tribulation, though the individuals thereof have lived throughout the Age, according to the Bible; and experience proves that this has been taking place of them as a class since Jan., 1917. The Bible teaches this, both directly and by implication (Lev. 16:15-19, 20-22 [the Lord's goat represents the Little Flock, Heb. 13:13, and the scape, Azazel's, Satan's goat, the Great Company, vs. 7-10; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:18, 19]; Mal. 3:1-4; Matt. 7:24-27; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; Jude 22, 23; Rev. 7:2-8, 9-17; 19:1-10). Numerous types of the Old Testament give the same thought as to the time of their rise, e.g., Lot, Rahab, Eli, Benjamin, the Levites, etc. In the preceding citations the Little Flock and the Great Company are differentiated. The Little Flock is therein represented as first dealt with crucially in the end [harvest] of the Gospel Age in a special manner; then afterward, in the great trouble, which began in 1914 and is to continue yet for many years, the Great Company is treated as being dealt with. This we see going on before our very eyes. The reaped people of God were a united whole from 1874 to 1914, and shortly afterward. Then in 1915 there began in England a divisive movement working secretly among the reaped people of God; and they pursued such a course as led to a division there in Jan., 1917; and in America contemporaneously a secret divisive work began in 1915; and by the summer of 

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1917 a division similar to that in Britain set in: and by now the Great Company is divided worldwide into its forecast 60 groups, corresponding to the 60 genealogical groups of the Levites given in Exodus, Numbers and 1 Chronicles, the 60 posts of the tabernacle court, the 60 defenders of Solomon's bed (Cant. 3:7) and the 60 queens (Cant. 6:8). This Scripturally forecast class developing before our very eyes and experiencing this development, experience proves that the pertinent Scriptures are a Divine Revelation. 

(25) The Bible teaches that in the end of the Age Satan's empire would in its various parts enter into various combinations, and in such a condition would be overthrown. And since 1874 we have been seeing such combination going on; and since 1914 the weakening of that empire has been going on in the two phases of the World War; and in Armageddon, which will follow the last phase of that war, that empire will be completely destroyed. The following passages show that such a work of combination would set in preparatory to the overthrow of Satan's empire (Matt. 13:30, 40-42; Is. 8:9-11; Rev. 6:14; 14:18-20; 16:14; 19:19; Zeph. 3:8, 9). In harmony with the fulfillment of such bundling of the tares we see the sects gathering into unions and federations, Romanism and Protestantism, the two parts of the ecclesiastical heavens, not uniting, but approaching one another cooperatively, as two rolls of a scroll (Rev. 6:14), as in the various congresses of religions we see Churchianity, Judaism and heathenism making approaches to one another as tare bundles; and in the bundles of national alliances and axises we see the national tares combined. In capital we see the bundles associating themselves as corporations, trusts, combines, pools, mergers and cartels. In labor we see the bundles operating as trade unions, socialistic combinations, anarchistic clubs and communistic aggregations. In society we recognize the same movements operating, as insurance societies, secret societies, fraternities,

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clubs and ex-soldier associations. Such combinationism springs from the consciousness that self-preservation can be maintained, not by individual, but only by united effort in the various phases of man's modes of activities. Such combination—tare bundles—of what are elements of Satan's empire began to be cast into the symbolic fiery furnace—the great tribulation—in 1914 through the first phase of the World War, which did much burning of these tare bundles. This burning continued in the second phase of the World War. The utter figurative burning up of these tare bundles as parts of Satan's empire was not completed by the World War, which however greatly weakened that empire; but the second stage of the great tribulation (Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21, 22; Rev. 16:18-21; 19:20, 21), called Armageddon, will utterly annihilate that empire and destroy the tare bundles and the tares as tares, imitation wheat, nominal, not real, Christians, but not as individuals. We see this bundling process as having gone on ever since 1874; and since 1914 we see these bundles burning. Hence we see the tares experiencing the bundling and first part of the burning. Accordingly, such sight and experiences prove pertinent Scriptures to be a Divine Revelation. 

In the 25 points so far presented we have given copious, but by no means exhaustive citations of pertinent Scriptures, and that because we desired to show how large a part of the Bible is by experience proven to be true. And from these 25 points we desire to draw as conclusions flowing from them three lines of thought that are taught in very large parts of the Bible and are thus proven to be true by experience. 

(26) The first of these three lines of thought that are by these 25 experiences proven to be true is the Bible teachings on God's existence, attributes of being and attributes of character as we have presented them in Epiphany Studies In The Scriptures, Vol. I. These 25 experiences have made us experience personal contact, not by our five natural senses, 

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but by our corresponding five spiritual senses as New Creatures, with God in His existence, attributes of being and attributes of character. Hence they prove to us who have such experiences that the pertinent Bible passages, and these run literally into the thousands, are a Divine Revelation. 

(27) The second of these three lines of thought that are by these 25 experiences proven to be true is the Bible teachings of Christ's prehuman, human and posthuman natures, His carnation, earthly ministry, atoning sufferings and death, His character, resurrection, ascension, Pentecostal work and His Gospel-Age ministry of the elect. These 25 experiences have made us experience personal contact, not by our five natural, but by our corresponding five spiritual senses as New Creatures with Him in the matters treated of in the preceding sentence. Hence these experiences prove that the pertinent Bible passages, which also run into the thousands, as to Jesus in these respects are a Divine Revelation. 

(28) And, finally, the third of these three lines of thought that are by these 25 experiences proven to be true is the Bible teaching on the nature, the character, the office and the work of the Holy Spirit. These 25 experiences have made us have personal contact with, yea, possession of, the Holy Spirit in its nature, character, office and work for the Gospel Age, not, of course, by our five natural, but by our corresponding five spiritual senses as New Creatures. Hence these experiences prove to us who have them that the pertinent Bible passages, which, too, run into the thousands, as to the Holy Spirit in these respects are of Divine Revelation. Thus we conclude our pertinent proof. 

The reader of this discussion of the 28 sets of experiences here set forth on the Bible's being a Divine Revelation will doubtless have noticed that it has been very brief, in fact but little more than an outline on which great details, if necessary, could be given. The 

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reader can, if a faithful consecrated child of God, very easily from his own experience, fill in this outline with many details, which activity doubtless would afford him much spiritual joy and rich edification; hence we close this line of proof, which adds up to the fact that the entire plan of the elective salvation is thereby demonstrated to be of Divine Revelation, and thus that a large part of the Bible is such. 

In giving the elects' 28 experiences as the proof from experience that the Bible is a Divine Revelation, we proved at the same time, without mentioning the fact, by these 28 experiences, that these as the Bible's uniform and sure fruits as to the elect, of themselves as products, in addition to experience, prove it to be a Divine Revelation. It will not be necessary to show this as a separate proof, inasmuch as this would lead to much repetition in going over the same 28 points, though applying them as proofs somewhat differently. Hence we offer this point without further discussion as our second external proof of the Bible being a Divine Revelation, leaving it to the reader who has carefully noted these 28 proofs from experience to apply them as products of the Bible as the second external proof on our thesis. These 28 points, applied from the standpoint of experience and from the standpoint of their being Bible effects, are our first and second external proofs on the Bible's being a Divine Revelation to God's people. In our present discussion, as our third external proof thereon we desire to give a large number of facts that, demonstrating it to be the beacon light of civilization, prove that its effects on the non-elect are an evidence of its being a Divine Revelation; for such effects should follow such a Revelation. Beacon lights serve a double purpose: they warn against dangers that lurk unseen in the deep; and they guide the mariners amid lurking dangers safely through them in their journeys in the seas. And the Bible has done this in the advancement of civilization, pointing out its 

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evils unto their overthrow and avoidance, and leading it into the paths of uplift and progress. But since for the bulk of the Gospel Age the Bible has been a more or less inaccessible book, by reason of its scarcity and its confinement, for the most part, in non-vernacular languages, some may ask, How could this be true of it? Our reply is that God's elect people have been the special custodians of the Bible and its contents; and as such they have shed forth its teachings and their spirit in such ways as have mightily influenced society against its evils and in its progress toward good; for as the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13) they have, through the Bible's teachings and their Spirit, been a nourishing, preserving and seasoning power in human society; as the light of the world (Matt. 5:14) they have taught the Bible's principles of justice and love in ways deeply influential in setting aside wrong and in establishing good for the non-elect—the justified and nominal Christians—mentally, morally and religiously; and as the Spirit's channel of reproving the world of sin, righteousness and the coming judgment (John 16:8-11), they have created conditions resulting in many non-elect giving up evils and doing good. 

It is preeminently the force that has led to the reform of evils and the establishment of good wherever it has been allowed to affect human conditions. We do not deny that vestiges of God's image, remaining in the human race, have in heathendom effected the setting aside of some evils and introducing some good, though the depravity of mankind existing in heathendom has seriously neutralized mentally, morally and religiously this effect by inaugurating many general evils. Nor do we deny that non-Christian commerce, law, science, philosophy and humanitarianism despite their imperfections, have effected some reforms of evil and plantings of good in human society; but at the same time we claim that they have done well in these respects in proportion as they have acted under the influences set

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into operation by the Bible, working through the elect people of God. Even Mohammedanism, despite its many imperfections, owes its best effects to the influence of the Bible upon it, and owes its worst effects to its non-Biblical teachings and practices. But while we concede to such forces some credit for some reforms of evil and some advances of good, their effects in these respects pale almost into insignificance when compared with the effects that the Bible has wrought in these matters. But the Bible does not act revolutionarily in producing these effects to the direct antagonizing and disrupting of evil social conditions that it meets; but it slowly spreads its principles and spirit into changing the individual internally, and through him works similarly in others and thus effects the needed reforms by changing public sentiment to better conditions, e.g., its abolishing slavery. 

Certain general remarks would here be in place. First of all, we would say that our subject has often been discussed; for many Christian authors and books have stressed the fact that the Bible as the beacon light of civilization has therein credentials of its being a Divine Revelation. Among such authors and books we take pleasure in naming C. L. Brace and his book, Gesta Christi (Achievements of Christ) and R. S. Storr and his book, The Divine Origin Of Christianity Indicated By Its Historical Effects, to the former of whom we are especially indebted for many facts hereinafter given. Secondly, we are not to forget that the object of the Gospel Age is not the conversion of the world; but it is primarily the gathering of the Church out of the world to become Christ's joint-Heir in blessing the world with the opportunity of gaining life through obedience amid Millennial conditions, and secondarily to give witness to the world of sin, righteousness and the Millennial judgment as a preparation of the world for the Millennial blessings. Thirdly, God has by the tabernacle given us a picture of this general situation: The Most Holy representing God, 

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Christ and the Glorified Church; the Holy, the Church in the flesh as Gospel-Age Priests; the Court, the faith-justified as Gospel-Age Levites; and the Camp, the mere hangers-on as Gospel-Age Israelites who are merely nominal Christians. The blessings start from God by Christ through the Priesthood, the elect, reaching the Levites and then the Campers. We will especially show how the Bible by the Priests reached in a general way the justified and in a special way the unjustified world. Aaron's blessing the people with one hand (Lev. 9:22) while sacrificing represents in part, the elects' imparting these blessings. 

Fourthly, Churchianity is not the agent of these blessings; rather frequently, especially in its Romanist form, it greatly hindered the good work by its hierarchical power, bigotry, sectarianism, persecution, inquisition, superstition, accommodation to heathenism, etc. Fifthly, we will not begin our proofs with pre-Christian times, since the Bible then was only gradually being given and that in its Old Testament form, and was thus then incomplete. Sixthly, while the Old Testament, as it grew, increasingly uplifted Israel to a much higher moral and religious plain than that on which heathenism stood, by God's express arrangement Israel was not to mingle among the heathen nor attempt a conversionist work among them, though such becoming of their own volition proselytes were received into the nation as Israelites. And seventhly, we will limit our view to the duration of the general call to the high calling—A. D. 36 to 1881; for we are to recall that from 1878 to 1881 the general call ceased; the nominal church was cast off from Divine favor and mouthpieceship; and a verbal attack was, by our present Lord, begun to be launched against Satan's empire, continuing as such exclusively until 1914, when there was added to it the attack by violence that is to overthrow that empire completely in the greatest tribulation of all past and future history. Facts abundantly prove that since 1878-1881 there has been a deterioration of the 

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Bible's good effect, not on the Church, but on the world, as can be seen, e.g., in the two phases of the World War, its second phase witnessing even greater deterioration morally and religiously than its first phase, as the Axis' course proves. 

We are now ready to begin our study proper, presenting it from the standpoint of the three divisions that are used by Mr. Brace in his Gesta Christi—I, The Old Roman World; II, The Medieval World, and III, The Modern World. We cannot give details on any of the points under these three heads; but trust to present a sufficiency of well-authenticated facts that will prove that the Bible as the beacon light of civilization in its working great social, civic, family, educational, legal and religious miracles of uplift and ennoblement comes to us thereby with credentials that it has effected on civilization what we should expect from a Divine Revelation. The first fact exhibiting the uplifting effect mentally, morally and religiously of the Bible on the Old Roman World is its monotheism, i.e., its revelation that there is but one God Who is perfect in wisdom, justice, love and power, especially in love. The polytheism of the Old Roman World with its immoral, foolish, weak, loveless and unjust gods was mainly responsible for the deep degradation, moral and religious, prevailing in the Roman Empire, particularly in the Orient and in Greece and Italy. Perhaps in no other period of history was there deeper moral and religious degradation in family, state, religion and society than in the period when the Bible influence began to work on the Old Roman World. But gradually under the impact of the doctrine of the one God of perfect wisdom, justice, love and power, wisely and lovingly presented by the Church in living oneness with Him, the degrading effect of polytheism in family, state, religion and society in the Old Roman World was reformed, as history students know. 

The second Biblical doctrine that wrought mightily in uplifting effect in the Old Roman World on the 

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family, state and society, is the great value of man as such. In the Old Roman World man as such was deemed of little value; hence was most unjustly and cruelly treated in family, state and society. But with the Bible message, presented by the Church, which was filled with love for God, Christ and its members and an enthusiasm for humanity, that man was originally in God's image and likeness, vestiges of which still persisted in him, that God loved him so much as to give up to a most shameful death His only begotten and well-beloved Son, that Jesus' death is the inestimable purchase price laid down for man's redemption, that mankind was brothered in Adam and would become so in Christ, gradually, as it permeated the various ranks of society, changed the whole viewpoint then prevailing, and with this gradual change of viewpoint came the change of attitude that little by little and more and more set aside the great injustices and cruelties in the family, state and society and uplifted these to great betterment. 

The third great Bible doctrine that wrought mightily in uplifting civilization in the Old Roman World was the character and Saviorhood of Jesus. The Biblical thoughts on His character and offices filling the elect with a loving devotion to Him, unexemplified before, wrought most mightily, first on the lower ranks of society in the Old Roman World, then upon the middle classes and finally upon the upper classes, effecting the setting aside of evil after evil in all forms of society, and introducing the opposite good. These three doctrines filling with their spirit the elect, aroused them to such pertinent activities as put into operation influences in the Old Roman World that greatly changed its civilization for the better. We will now show how these three doctrines and others presented in God's Spirit by the faithful set aside abuses and bettered conditions. 

We begin with the family in the Old Roman World. According to the heathen Roman law and custom the 

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father had absolute control of wife and children, and that to such an extreme as to sanction his putting them to death at a mere whim, without his being called to question thereover, grossly whipping and otherwise torturing them, requiring absolute obedience from them in the most unreasonable and tyrannous manner, not considering himself as bound to keep the marriage bed pure, at mere whim divorcing his wife and disowning his children, and utterly neglecting his daughters, who were considered a great liability. Neither wives nor daughters could inherit property, and were put, on the husband's and father's death, under guardianship which not only often exploited them, but in such exploitation sometimes required them to become prostitutes, which the Roman law permitted. But the Bible's teaching that husband and wife are to be as Christ and the Church, that fathers are to be toward their children as God is to His children, and that the strong are to deny themselves in the interests of the weak, not only set aside these evils, but made husband and wife respect, love, cherish and treat one another as Christ and the Church and as being both heirs of God in the hope of eternal life, made the father avoid provoking his children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, made him considerate of their needs, pitiful of their weaknesses and helpful in giving them a good start for life's battles. The thought of husband and wife being as Christ and the Church and as God's heirs together of the hope of eternal life barred divorce, except for violation of the marriage bed or its equivalent. Fatherly responsibility spread by the Bible ended disowning children at whim, taking their lives, and despising and utterly neglecting daughters. Marital purity inculcated by Bible principles ended the double sex-standard, especially the husband's disregarding his marriage vows; and from the old Roman home the change was made to the Christian home, the more nearly so as people yielded themselves to pertinent Bible principles. These changes came slowly but increasingly 

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during the heathen domination in the Roman Empire up to the times of Constantine, 312-337; and from then on until the days of Justinian, 527-565, they made ever increasingly rapid progress in making home life a picture of heaven among very many, Justinian making laws of these things. 

Woman, according to the old Roman law and practice, was indeed in a most base condition. She had no property and personal rights, was everywhere despised as an inferior creature, kept in most dense ignorance, taken advantage of from almost every standpoint, made the drudge in the home, the butt of almost every abuse and coarse joke, the blame of every untoward occurrence, the target of uncomplimentary and ridiculing shafts and the despised of man. Married or unmarried, she had to have a special guardian who almost invariably exploited, tyrannized over, and terrorized her (tutelage of women). Many women, rebelling against such tutelage, forced upon the old Roman society free marriage, which was worse even than companionate marriage, which gave them property and personal rights, but destroyed home life and the purity of the marriage bed, and led to divorce so often that such women counted their years not according to the consuls, who held office for a year, but according to the number of their divorced husbands. Concubinage with all its bad effects was another evil sanctioned by the Roman heathen law and practice. But the pertinent Bible principles in both Testaments in its examples and teaching presented faithfully by the elect undermined the heathen theories underlying these gross distortions of woman's place in God's order for male and female, and one by one displaced the depraved theories, and the depraved practices springing out of them, and altered them into giving woman her right place as man's companion and helpmeet in society, and sister before God, resulting in woman's being regarded by real men with deference, respect and almost veneration. The women of Christendom should never forget that 

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it was the Bible's influence that lifted woman up from under man's feet and placed her at his side; for "in Christ Jesus there is neither … male nor female." And this Bible influence went out from and through the elect to the justified first, and from them to the campers. These changes occurred contemporaneously with those discussed in the preceding paragraph as the matter was summed up in its last sentence. 

The matter of personal purity, especially in its relation to marriage, though touched on above, deserves special mention; for as to it the heathen Roman world was in the most deplorable condition; and the influence of the Bible working through the faithful Church as the salt of the earth wrought wonders of reformation in this respect. The double sex standard prevailed in the heathen Roman World whereby the utmost license was permitted the stronger sex and the utmost restraint was imposed upon the weaker sex with mortal penalties attached to infractions. Later—just before and after the time of Christianity's introduction—great license prevailed for both sexes. Again, unnatural vices prevailed almost universally both among men and men women and women, as well as individuals alone practicing such vices. Of course such evils greatly militated against the sanctity of marriage and of person. The heathen Roman Empire was in this respect rotten from top to bottom, e.g., Julius Caesar, probably the greatest of the Romans, was, exaggeratedly, no doubt, described for many facts as "everyman's wife and everywoman's husband." But the Bible's insistence that the elect's bodies are God's temple, a fact that the apostasy wrongly claimed of the bodies of the unjustified and the campers, made men and women respect their bodies as too sacred to be used for sex sins and for unnatural vices. The Bible's true thought that as images of God, though fallen, mankind should keep their bodies pure, that sex sins and unnatural vices deprave both body and soul, that the family, the state and society are greatly injured by them, as well as its thought that 

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purity elevates body and soul, spread among all classes with healing effect until the whole public atmosphere was changed, so that what remained of such sins was driven out of the public to the secrecy of under-cover conditions. As public sentiment slowly changed it slowly expressed itself in law, which usually follows, and which does not usually create public sentiment. There was the same progress as to time made in this respect as we saw in the two preceding respects, until in Justinian's day the unbridled and public practice of sex sins and unnatural vices disappeared. 

Another Bible-wrought reform put aside the slavery of the Old heathen Roman Empire. Slavery was universal in that empire. War captives, debtors and poor and despised people were enslaved, as well as the children of slaves. Impoverished people frequently sold themselves into slavery to secure food, clothing and shelter. In Italy and Greece the slaves by far outnumbered the free, while of the 120,000,000 inhabitants of the empire, according to Gibbon, a half was slave. While exceptionally, masters were humane to their slaves, usually they were very cruel to them, making them drudge to utter exhaustion, giving them the scantiest support, breaking up slave families by distributing them among different masters, making them breed prolifically to increase their slaves, making them practice promiscuity unto the breaking up of their families, making eunuchs of many of them, forcing some of them into prostitution for gain, making them take part in licentious shows, having them unmercifully scourged and otherwise tortured, often for slightest oversights, not seldom crucifying some of them, gratifying their lusts on female slaves, in some cases feeding them to man-eating fish in their artificial lakes, forcing them to become gladiators, and thus to fight with one another and with savage beasts in the arena for the amusement of the populace, as well as engage in private gladitorial contests, making of them human sacrifices to the gods, etc. The lot of these poor creatures 

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in general was most miserable. No wonder that many of them slew their masters and then suicided, utmost woe overtaking unsuccessful attempters thereat. 

Be it noted that the Bible did not charge the overthrow of slavery; but it inculcated principles which, as they were gradually imbibed, as gradually led to healthy reforms. The following were the main ones of such principles: One should not enslave or hold in slavery fellowmen since God created all in His image, and Christ's precious life was the price that He laid down to free all; Christian brethren should not make, or hold any of their brethren slaves; slaves are Christ's freemen; those who partake of the same spiritual food, baptism and communion are brethren, while so engaged, not lords and slaves; master and slave are alike children of God and brethren; all—master and slave—must stand before the same judgment seat to give an account of their deeds. Under the influence of such principles first spontaneously among professed Christians and then by law among others, slavery with the above-mentioned connected evils was almost totally broken up. Christian masters were like loving fathers, freely giving their slaves freedom, the same and pertinent principles endearing their Christian masters to Christian slaves who therefore served them all the better, and in this relationship, of course, the enslavement of Christians by Christians became impossible. Often the relation between Christian master and slave was so tender as to cause the latter to reject the voluntary offer of freedom that they might continue to serve them whom they loved in the best of bonds. Thus by Justinian's times the slavery of Christians among Christians ceased, and among others ceased, was much reduced or was changed into serfdom. 

The exposure of children in the Old heathen Roman Empire formed another large field for the reforming operation of the Bible. Race suicide for the unconsecrated is a great sin, and prevailed to a limited extent among the upper classes only of the old Roman heathen. Among the lower classes it was but little

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known and less practiced. But among all classes the exposure of children prevailed, i.e., shortly after unwanted children's birth many parents abandoned such in the fields, etc., e.g., near Rome there was a certain field that was the place where such children were left either to death by starvation and exposure or by wild beasts. Some people resorted to such places to collect such exposed babes, especially females, whom they raised that later they might sell them into prostitution. The causes for exposure were various: concealment of the fact that the children were illegitimate, freeing of mothers from the cares of child raising, the poverty of parents disabling them from supporting more children, parental hope that the children might be found by those better able than themselves to raise them, etc. Some of the greatest of the Romans supported the practice, e.g., Cato the elder, Cicero, etc. Roman law, if it did not sanction, winked at it, and for it none were punished. The father of Augustus was, by a ruse, frustrated from exposing his son who later became Rome's first and perhaps greatest emperor. But the Bible's principles condemned such an inhuman practice, e.g., its high estimate put upon the value of the family, its principle that for the natural man a large family is an especial blessing from the Lord, its examples of noble fathers and mothers, its high estimate put upon children as gifts from God to be raised unto good and useful men and women, the high regard in which the child Jesus was held by parents, shepherds and the Magi as an infant, and by the doctors in the temple when He was 12 years old, His love for and kind words to, and on, and Acts toward, children as pictures of the kingdom class, and above all Jesus' babyhood. These principles, inculcated by the faithful as the salt of the earth, as they gradually spread during the 500 years under review as gradually changed babe exposure, first in diminishing it in the Old Heathen Roan World, then in abolishing it utterly after the empire changed into nominally Christian.

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The Bible's principle of humaneness stood in direct opposition to the cruelties of the heathen Roman Empire; for, e.g., it is a peculiar fact that in the first three centuries of our era the consecrated, while admitting the propriety of the unconsecrated to partake in combative service, themselves, on the basis of the Savior's precept and example to the Elect to save and not destroy men's lives, refused to take part in combative service while rendering service in relieving the miseries created by war. On this point Mr. Brace, in Gesta Christi, p. 91, makes the following remark: "Le Blant, in his investigation of Christian inscriptions, mentions that among 10,050 Pagan inscriptions, which he had examined, 545 were those over the bodies of soldiers, while in 4,734 Christian inscriptions only 27 were memorials of military men." The stand of Christians on this subject led to not a few martyrdoms; but it had its influence for good. The Bible's influence during the 500 years' period of which we are now treating decidedly diminished torture in legal investigations and the most torturous deaths. It abolished branding of people, diminished the number and severity of scourgings and abolished crucifixion and impaling, the two most torturous forms of execution, the former doubtless for being the form of our Savior's execution. It led to forbidding overhard work and to requiring a day's rest every seven days, very beneficial to man and beast. Its principles led to prison reform and the freeing of prisoners from extreme prison rigors; and it led to arbitration of disputes between nations, classes and individuals. 

As a final reform of evil conditions in the old heathen Roman Empire a better distribution of property resulted from the influence of the Bible. At that time there were almost no middle classes insofar as wealth is concerned; for then, generally speaking, the human family was divided into the few rich and the many poor, even as we saw above that poverty was the main cause of the exposure of infants. The few rich were

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the aristocrats who owned almost all wealth, real and personal, as well as immense hoards of slaves, while the bulk of the people were as slaves, free laborers and paupers desperately poor. In Rome, e.g., during the three centuries of Pagan Rome under study, the vast bulk of the unenslaved were on perpetual "relief" given by the state in an unsystematic way. Undoubtedly the Bible's teaching on each providing for his own, on each one working with his hands that he might have to give to the poor, on the able feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless, on the blessedness of mercy and giving, on doing good and communicating [distributing], on ministering to the necessities of others, backed by the example of the Ancient Worthies, Jesus, the Apostles and the Apostolic Church, contributed greatly to this end. On the one hand, the Bible discourages pauperism by its exhortations and examples to diligence and industry; but on the other hand, it encourages the able to help the unable. These principles harmonized will overcome pauperism. Hence the Bible's tendency has always been toward a more equal distribution of the earth's wealth. The above-mentioned principles gradually improved the pertinent evil and resulted in bequests being made to better the condition of the extreme poor, in the institution of refuges, orphanages, homes for the aged, the blind, the infirm and the helpless widows, strangers' rests, hospitals, etc., things previously unknown in heathen Rome. Indeed, the opportunity to relieve the poor and unfortunate was seized upon as treasures to be sought; hence it was quite natural for persecuted deacon Laurence when required by the heathen governor within 24 hours to deliver up to him the treasures of the church at Rome, to appear the next day in the court with the church's poor, of whom he truly told the pagan judge, "These are the church's treasures." 

The above-given facts, a few among many, prove sufficiently that the Bible's uplifting effects on the civilization of the old heathen Roman world are such 

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as we should expect a Divine Revelation to have. We will, therefore, now turn to the consideration of its effects on the medieval world, when it came into closer contact with the Celtic and Germanic races, the latter including the Scandinavian races; for a change came over the Roman world through its inherent corruption and the wandering of nations with their inroads upon, conquests in, overpowering of, and settling in it. The barbarisms of the Celtic and Germanic races opened up to the Bible's principles new worlds of labor and conquest; and the heathen customers of these afforded the salt of the earth an opportunity to use its seasoning, preserving and nourishing powers to heal another set of evils, those prevalent in the Celtic and Germanic world. The corruption that here prevailed was not like what the Lord's people confronted in the old heathen Roman world; but was of the kind that flows from the abuse of physical strength, when it is made the overemphasized ideal and prerequisite of right and law; for deeply imbedded in pagan Celtic and Germanic character was the principle that might makes right; for from the practice of this principle the evils of the Germanic races and Celtic races (those of France and Britain) are more or less traceable, e.g., woman's low social status, feuds, private wars, wager of battle, the ordeal, torture, injustice to foreigners, plunder of the shipwrecked, piracy, slavery and serfdom. The principle that might makes right appears in the Germanic character in both phases of the World War, particularly in its second, its late, phase, which witnessed a revival of the old Germanic pagan character advocated and practiced as such by certain Nazis. In this world the three great principles, centering in the one God, in man's worth and Jesus' character and office, as well as other Biblical teachings, wrought wonders of reform as they did in the old heathen Roman world. 

We begin with the status of woman in the old pagan Germanic and Celtic world; for in both sets of

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races the general evils of the medieval pagan world were much alike. Their heathendom did not debase these two sets of races to the same great depth of corruption as the old Roman heathenism did its subjects. In general woman was there appreciated for her chastity, her intuition, her home keeping, her obedience to her husband and her care of her children; for in these respects the Celtic and Germanic women were famed. But there were evils under which their women as such labored, e.g., tutelage (guardianship), purchased as a piece of property, tyrannized over by husband and guardian, free marriage and divorce at the husband's will. Against these evils, the faithful, using the same Bible principles as were used for similar conditions in the old heathen Roman world, gradually wrought wonders of reform resulting in the change of purchase money into dower, in elevating woman's social position, in strengthening marriage, in all but abolishing divorce, in lessening and then abolishing tutelage, and in setting aside the Germanic ideal that strength gaged worth and civil status. 

Another great evil of the pagan Celtic and Germanic world was private feuds and wars. These arose through personal violence, denials of justice, infliction of wrongs and personal grudges, and resulted in individuals, families, clans and even tribes declaring private war and waging it on one another. In such cases individuals publicly sent declarations of war against individual towns, clans, etc., in all of which very much evil and bloodshed resulted. Even to this day such declarations of war, reduced to writing, are preserved in museums. Such feuds and wars desolated large parts of Germany and France, less so of Britain. To reduce these evils stress was by the Elect laid on the Bible principles of preserving peace, of forgiveness, of doing good to enemies, of leaving vengeance to God, as solely His prerogative, etc. They even resorted to ameliorating these very prevalent evils by outlawing such wars during Sundays, during festival days, during the period 

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between Thursday night and Monday morning and during saints' days. They advocated observance of "the peace of God," whereby in many cases strife was by agreement interdicted for long periods, during which overheated wrath was given time and opportunity to cool off. Penalties and fines were substituted for such private feuds and wars. Veritable crusades of peace were made in France. Pledges of peace like modern temperance pledges-were made. Peace associations were formed to counteract these evils. Messengers of peace went wherever such private feuds and wars were waged, preaching peace, brotherly love and forgiveness. Truces of God, truces instituted for the love of God, were made. Arbitration was advocated and entered into; and peace treaties were advocated and made; and thus these great evils were gradually diminished and finally set aside entirely. 

The wager of battle and the use of the ordeal were other abuses that flowed from the German ideal of might making right. If, e.g., in a lawsuit one felt himself wronged or being misrepresented, by the custom of the wager of battle he could interrupt the trial and challenge the judge or the witness, or the plaintiff, if he was the defendant, or the defendant, if he was the plaintiff, to single combat, to decide who was in the right by the outcome of the test of physical strength and skill. And the challenged had to accept the challenge on pain of being declared in the wrong. Sometimes substitutes would do the fighting for the principals; and the winner in the wager of battle was considered the one in the right proven so by the God of battles! The theory, of course, was entirely wrong; but it took centuries to eradicate it, it prevailing in England even into the nineteenth century. But God's faithful people continued unweariedly to preach Bible principles against it, like those mentioned in the preceding paragraph, to which they added others: the folly of expecting God's judgment manifested by such wrongdoings; the certainty of the innocent being defeated, 

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if he were less strong and skillful than his opponent, etc. The ordeal, which was an evil kindred to that of the wager of battle, was very widely practiced by the Celtic and Germanic races; for the superstitious and the tempters of God thought that by the ordeal, e.g., putting the hand and arm in boiling water, holding a burning coal on the bare hand or in the mouth, walking barefoot on burning wood or coal, drinking poison, etc., the innocent would by God's interposition on his behalf emerge unharmed, unpained and with no outcry, as a proof of his innocence, while the guilty would by God be made therein to suffer and cry out in pain, as a proof of his guilt. It took centuries of effort on the part of the faithful, who stressed the fact that such a thing was foreign to the Gospel, was tempting God, and from many known facts caused the weak innocents to be regarded as guilty and the strong, guilty ones to be regarded as innocent. Here, too, the principle that might makes right operated. The faithful's fight against this evil was so prolonged, because the corrupt hierarchy and clergy of the Romanist church, siding with the popular evil, more or less condoned it; but it finally succumbed to the influence of the Bible. 

Torture inflicted to secure evidence was another evil that the influence of the Bible ameliorated in the medieval world and banished in the modern world. This evil was transmitted to the medieval world from the old pagan Roman world, where it was used quite generally, especially on slaves and freedmen, but not on uncondemned Roman citizens, until later in the first century. We recall the preparations made to torture uncondemned Paul, given up when the authorities learned that he was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:24-29), and the consternation of the authorities at Philippi on finding out that they had scourged and imprisoned Paul, a Roman citizen, untried (Acts 16:19-24, 35-39). But the tortures that old Pagan Rome inflicted to elicit evidence were mild indeed when compared with those that the Romanist church, especially

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through the Inquisition, introduced to obtain evidence for trials. A mere accusation, unknown to the accused, was sufficient to expose him to torture, which was also inflicted on unaccused persons supposed to have pertinent evidence in order to obtain it. Many innocent persons on being accused admitted the charge, even when certain of execution, in order to avoid the tortures, whose pains would force them to accuse themselves of uncommitted crimes and then suffer execution therefore. Over 900 different kinds of instruments of torture were used to extract evidence by the Inquisition, some of them being so very effective in inflicting extreme torture that they doubtless were suggested by fallen angels. The Bible nowhere countenances torture of the accused, which is strikingly opposed to the Golden Rule and to reason; and it is significant that it came into its blooming period when Romanism was dominant, and continued so as long as it had the power to influence states to use it in its interests or to allow it to use it. The Christian spirit was alive enough to prevent the Inquisition from operating freely in Britain, Germany and Scandinavia; but it was quite vigorous in Italy, Austria, France and especially in Spain and its dependencies. It was always testified against by the faithful, who were generally the victims of the Inquisition and other persecuting agencies. Indeed, torture as a means of extorting evidence continued in some countries long after the medieval period, some of it occurring in Italy and Austria during this century in secular cases. But gradually the faithfuls' Biblical protests changed public opinion, until it is about extinct. 

Having presented part of the effects of the Bible during the Middle Ages on the Germanic and Celtic nations, it is in order to discuss the rest of these effects on them during that period, all of us remembering that these effects of the Bible were wrought mainly through the ministry of God's faithful people. The first of these effects, now to be considered, concerns

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the rights of strangers and foreigners. One of the faults of extreme sectualism and nationalism is their arousing the spirit of despising and mistreating the stranger and foreigner. Both the Teutons (Germans and Scandinavians) and the Celts (French and British) of the Dark Ages despised and mistreated them, e.g., a stranger staying more than three days among them was imprisoned and made a serf of the count in whose territory he overstayed this 72-hour period. The foreigner was even more severely treated, being tortured and then reduced to slavery. This occurred even in the case of merchants who sojourned for business reasons longer than these three days. But under the benign influence of the Bible exercised through the ministry of God's saints, a great change in this matter occurred. Not only was this change manifested in the conduct of the people whose hospitality and good will were gladly shown such; but it worked its way into the laws of these nations, some of which laws were largely clothed in the language of the Bible. Closely related to this mistreatment of strangers and foreigners were the related evils of wreckers and pirates. Piracy abounded on all hands, whereby sailors were killed or enslaved; merchants were plundered; and ships and their contents were seized from their owners. It was quite dangerous for a foreign ship to visit many a harbor, because of such piracy, which extended to such harbors, as well as was plied on the high seas. But a change came over this condition, largely through the influence of the Bible teachings on brotherhood, honesty, industry, mercy, etc., though trade reasons in a minor degree cooperated therein. Such trade reasons were responsible for the formation of leagues between certain cities whereby they defended the rights of the sea and of commerce against piracy, e.g., the Hanseatic League (1150-1669 A.D.), embracing the main German and Scandinavian cities of the North and Baltic Seas.

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The wreckers did even worse than the pirates. They set up false beacons to lure ships upon hidden rocks by which shipwrecks occurred and near which the wreckers lurked to plunder the wrecks, kill or enslave their unfortunate victims. Especially during storms did they ply their cruel trade. Instead of pity for the storm-wrecked, they unmercifully plundered and killed or enslaved the survivors. But the preaching of the Bible love, brotherhood, mercy and kindness gradually over several centuries, mellowed the hard hearts of the wreckers, and thereafter the beacons were properly stationed to warn of danger and guide amid them; and the shipwrecked were rescued by life-boat crews and shown mercy and hospitality, and were sent on their way in safety, with wishes of God's blessing and with as much money, etc., as the ability of the rescuers was able to give them. The effect of the Bible upon the laws of the Germanic and Celtic nations was Marked indeed. The whole spirit of these laws as well as the principles underlying them underwent a change for the better. Vindictiveness was taken out of them, and in their place human justice with allowances for human weakness in the wrongers were embodied in them. They were given as Biblical a cast as was possible; very frequently they were worded in exact Biblical language, or in nearly exact Biblical language. Contrasted with the laws previously in existence, they showed great advancement. They taught morals on religious grounds. In a Christian spirit they condemned feuds, oppression and perjury, favored marriage, curbed divorce, bore down on unnatural vices, protected the poor, the shipwrecked, the stranger and the foreigner. If the laws of Charlemagne and Alfred the Great are examined and contrasted with the heathen laws formerly in vogue, their superiority is easily recognized, and this on their face is seen to be due to the Bible's influence. 

The influence of the Bible on education is very plainly seen as working in the period that is now under study (600-1517 A.D.). At the beginning of this 

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period densest ignorance prevailed among the poor and rich, small and great, low and high, a thing much opposed to the spirit and letter of the Bible, which in both Testaments discountenances ignorance and commends knowledge and study. Early in this period the change from the former ignorance to the spread of knowledge set in. Many monasteries became the centers of education. In the days of Charlemagne not only schools, but colleges were established. Alfred the Great strove earnestly to educate the people of his kingdom. Soon after the days of these two rulers in their respective domains the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy German Roman Empire as the domains of the former, and England as the domain of the latter, schools and colleges developed into universities, some of which still exist. Let us not be understood as meaning that education was universal, e.g., serfs and not a few others, even some of the clergy had almost none even of primary education; but those of the middle and higher classes caused their children to receive educations; and those showing talent, whether poor or otherwise, were given opportunity to qualify for medicine, law, religion and theology. In fact during this period, though for a while education was limited comparatively to the few, its recipients were an ever increasing number, until the end of this period witnessed large numbers in all walks of life having at least a primary education. Summarizing: At the beginning of this period almost none among the Germanic and Celtic nations had any book knowledge; but as it progressed, through the influence of the Bible an ever increasing advancement in education, both as to the subjects studied and students studying them, took place, until at its end the majority, except the bulk of the peasants, could at least read. Thus in a somewhat different sense from that of the following passage, the Bible has caused education to spread, as one of the effects to be expected from a Divine Revelation: "The entrance of Thy words giveth light" (Ps. 119:130). It certainly promotes education. 

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In the beginning of this period, slavery and serfdom prevailed very generally among the Germanic and Celtic nations and tribes, though by the end of the former period in the Roman Empire, due to the Bible's influence there, they, especially the slavery and serfdom of Christians, practically ceased to exist. But the salt of the earth transplanted to the Germanic and Celtic lands began to season, nourish and preserve the social earth as it was forming under the Bible's influence. This influence exercised itself through synodical and councilar actions, preaching, conversation and Acts of freedom conferred upon the slaves, from motives similar to those shown before as acting in the first period. Not only during their life time did Christian Germanics and Celtic liberate slaves; but even more often in their last wills and testaments did they free them, as they said, "for the good of my soul." And by the end of this period, slavery ceased among these peoples, for by law it was forbidden. The matter of serfdom—binding people to the soil of nobles, and requiring of them stated proportions of the earth's increase—was somewhat different. At the beginning of this period there was but little difference between the slave and the serf; but with the gradual freeing of the former, there was a lightening of the oppression of the latter, and that in proportion to the spread of Bible teachings and spirit. Thus gradually an ever larger proportion of the fruitage of their labor was permitted to remain with the serfs; their labor, which was at the beginning of this period a matter of seven days a week all year around, was decreased, as they were freed from it Sundays, holidays and saints' days; they were allowed greater freedom in their home life, and were permitted greater liberty in choosing their spouses and regulating their children. And while serfdom was not ended during this period, the most of it persisting into the next period, the last of it giving way about the middle of the 19th century, it was ever ameliorated as the centuries of this period passed. And that this was mainly due to the influence of the Bible is 

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manifest from the facts of the case, the pertinent laws and the Christian customs connected with such reforms. Thus freeing of slaves and relieving the main hardships of serfdom were direct results of the Bible's influence during the Dark Ages. 

Another Marked effect of the Bible's influence on the Germanic and Celtic peoples was the institution of chivalry and the conduct of its knights, which the Bible certainly was instrumental in producing. At the opening of this period there were widespread robber bands among these peoples. These plundered the rich and poor indiscriminately, kidnapping women, devastating church institutions, killing the missionaries, burning towns and villages—in a word were a plague on all. To counteract such and other evils of a rude and largely uncivilized society, under Bible teaching reforming influences were set into operation to end these evils. Sometime later among such agencies chivalry was introduced; and its members were first as candidates put under a set of rules as probationaries, and then later as full-fledged knights, when they qualified therefore, to which they were given a ceremony of religious induction. Their rules reflect the influence of the Bible. They were oath-pledged to avoid avarice, revenge, fraud, deceit, pride, talebearing and slander, not to fight with more than one against one, to protect, honor, and reverence women and maidens, to defend Christianity, justice, and the virtue of women, unto death, if necessary, to be loyal to their rulers, to relieve the poor, weak, oppressed, orphans and widows, to bring criminals to justice, to watch and pray, to exercise the Christian graces, especially Christian courtesy and gentleness, to keep promises, to exercise a dignified obedience and subordination to elders and superiors without flattery, to pity their enemy in distress, to care for peasants, and above all to exercise Christian benevolence and charity. We have all heard of the deeds of the knights of King Arthur's round-table. With very rare exceptions these knights kept their vows. And the influence of these for good was large, deep and widespread. And 

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without any doubt, this influence was due to the faithfuls' spreading the principles and spirit of the Bible. 

We now come to the modern period—from the time of the Reformation, 1517 to 1878; for as said before, since the casting off of the nominal church, and nominal Christendom in 1878, and the commencement of the verbal attack on Satan's empire, especially since the attack on them by force beginning in 1914, and since the removal of the saints from it and other institutions of Christendom, a gross falling away in faith and practice has set in—a fact that all observers of the signs of the times recognize; for with the saints leaving these, their influence has not been going out through or in these beneficially. Hence we restrict our study of the Bible's effects on society, to the time prior to 1878. We begin with our discussion of the Bible's effect on woman. Her status has differed in various nations of Christendom. In Romanist countries she has since the Reformation occupied a lower status than in Protestant countries, and in these her status has not been uniform. In almost all countries at the beginning of this period she held a status distinctly lower than the Bible sanctions as hers, e.g., in England the legal viewpoint was that she was her husband's property; hence could own no property in her own name, could not sue nor be sued, her husband being answerable for her in law as though she were a minor child, as he also controlled her property, and could use it at will. But under the influence of the Bible, the position of the English wife and daughter, which was much like that of other European wives and daughters, has greatly changed into giving her a legal standing equal to that of man; hence she can answer and be answered in court, can own property in her own name, sue and be sued, bequeath and inherit property, can gain court protection against a tyrannous husband, and can sequester her property from her husband's control and use. Thus in Britain, whose common law standards for woman were taken over from the Saxon laws which, seen in the discussion of the former period's status for woman

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in the Germanic law, assigned her practically no rights as against her husband, there has been a gradually nearer approach, since the Reformation, to the Bible status of the wife as being her husband's junior partner and companion. And what has happened in Britain on this score is symptomic of the rise of the Protestant European woman in general. But in America, which in early colonial days gave woman the same status as the British woman had under the common law, woman as such and as wife and daughter, gradually as Bible ideals spread, attained the place Biblically assigned her as woman, wife and daughter; for by 1878 woman in America, apart from the national franchise, exercised the full rights of citizenship, became fully recognized as her husband's full junior partner and companion, and was honored, deferred to, respected with a courtesy nowhere else shown her. And this is a gradual effect of the Bible. 

There has been progress as to legal divorce. In the beginning of this period, while a man could divorce his wife, a woman could not divorce her husband. While for the consecrated the Bible sanctions absolute divorce with the right to remarry to the innocent party for adultery only, and for desertion allows a limited divorce, i.e., separation from bed and board, for the unconsecrated it allows absolute divorce for additional reasons, like continued cruelty, insanity, conjugal indifference and disability, refusal of conjugal rights, refusal of support and care of the home. The reason for the difference is this. The consecrated are to be to one another as Christ and the Church; and as only unfaithfulness to, and abandonment of the Lord Jesus warrant a separation between Christ and any member of the Church; so only these two things warrant a divorce between the consecrated. But the unconsecrated in their marriage are not as Christ and the Church; but are married in the sense that the Mosaic Law warrants; hence divorce may set in where the purposes of marriage are perseveringly set aside or made impossible. The marriage of the unconsecrated being a matter

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of civil law, it is competent to sanction its entrance and dissanction its continuance in harmony with its judgment as to the best interests of society. If the consecrated are illy mated in the flesh, they are still to abide in their marriage, knowing that the Lord will overrule their proper conduct under the circumstances 'for their spiritual good. Hence they can well abide as they are; but the unconsecrated, having no such incentives f or maintaining wedlock, should, if the relation is beyond their reasonable endurance, seek peace through divorce, and may, for reasons apart from adultery, contract another marriage, which apart from adultery, the consecrated innocent party to a divorce can not do, without committing adultery. But the influence of the Bible upon the unconsecrated increasingly during this period has lifted up their marriage ideals to heights that have in many cases made them decidedly better spouses than they otherwise would have been and have given them a far happier home life than they otherwise would have had. At the same time, through its Old Testament pertinent teaching, it has given the hopelessly mismated among them an opportunity for escape from a bond that is a curse to them. But the Bible gives no warrant to thoughtless marriage and divorce for trivial reasons. It inculcates upon the unconsecrated the duty and privileges of marriage as solemn things which should by them be carefully fulfilled. Hence we do not find, apart from exceptional cases, up to 1878 the gross carelessness in forming and breaking the marriage tie that prevails now in apostate Christendom, particularly in France and America, the latter of whose homes once were the happiest in the world. All acquainted with the history of marriage and divorce from 1517 to 1878 know that the influence of the Bible was toward ever increasingly better married life and happier homes and against easy and careless divorce; and thus its influence wrought a world of good during this period; while at the same time its influence was in favor of divorce for the unconsecrated in hopelessly unhappy 

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marriages—those in which the ends of marriage were made impossible of reasonable attainment. 

The Bible's influence on international law, whereby contributions to international comity have been furthered, has been very Marked. It is noteworthy that among heathen and Mohammedans there has been no such a thing as international law regulating peaceably the relations of nations with one another. Certainly these were non-existent in the old Greek and Roman worlds, and almost non-existent in Christendom before the Modern period. It was especially the third generation of Protestants who began to lay the basis and form the principles of international law, the leader among whom was the great legal light, the Hollander Grotius, who was a devout and scholarly Christian. Previously wars knew no law; hence were' barbarous and cruel; the wounded were feelinglessly neglected; the treatment of prisoners of war had been cruel beyond description; privateering was engaged in on a large scale; and many so-called Christian nations thought that they had the right to possess themselves of heathen nations and lands, and acted out their supposed rights; but gradually through the influence of the Bible's principles changes were wrought; and the inviolability of private property on the high seas became recognized; privateering gradually was given up; the wounded were given decidedly better treatment; war prisoners were given kindlier treatment; wars became less frequent; and methods of conciliation and arbitration were set into operation, settling disputes over territorial boundaries and other international questions. As landmarks in this matter, we may mention the Congress of Paris in 1856 and the Genevan Settlement of 1872. The strength of the Bible's pertinent influence on these subjects was at high tide by 1878, and resulted in creating the Hague Court of International Justice and Arbitration in 1899 before it had wholly receded. Such effects are to be expected of a Divine Revelation.

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Slavery and serfdom came to an end during this period, and that as a result of the Bible's influence. Perhaps the worst manifestations of slavery came to the surface during this period through the slave trade and slavetraders, who ruthlessly plied their unholy and cruel traffic in the African Negro. Language is incapable to describe the heart-breaking scenes and experiences that characterized this traffic in its corralling the slaves, in its spiriting them, chained to one another's necks, to the ports, in its crowding them into the dark and suffocating hulls of ships and in its selling in public Markets the hopeless victims of this Satanic traffic. Christian sentiment rebelled against this condition. The names of Wilberforce of England, Gough of America, with those of a host of able coworkers in their crusades against this traffic, will never be forgotten. They rallied public sentiment to a fever heat against it; the former and his supporters secured its being outlawed in the British Empire; and the latter and his co-workers created such a public sentiment in America as ultimately led to Lincoln's emancipation proclamation of freedom for the slaves. Spain, Portugal, etc., gave up their guilty part in this traffic; and before 1878 it and slavery were extinct in Christendom. The anti-slavers continually appealed to the Golden Rule as forbidding slavery; and by their Bible arguments created the public sentiment that destroyed slavery in Christendom. Contemporaneously with this agitation on Bible principles went the agitation against serfdom, which succumbed in defeat before it in the countries where it prevailed, especially Germany, France, Hungary, Austria, Poland and Russia. 

The duel is another relic of the heathen Germanic and Celtic nations that persisted into the Modern period. It is certainly a most unreasonable theory that one's honor is vindicated by the outcome of the duel; for in most cases it is the strong and skillful, not the innocent, who triumphs in the duel. God's saints have ever in Germanic and Celtic countries raised their voices against it, and so far prevailed against it that

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it became an illegal thing in those countries and could only be practiced in extreme secrecy as to the courts and their officials. One of the greatest American statesmen, Hamilton, fell a victim of the duel at the hand of Burr. Its crushing is doubtless due to the public sentiment created by the Bible. Prison reform is another direct effect of the Bible's influence. When this period began, the cruelties of prison life were most inhuman. tailors furnishing no food nor heat nor beds nor bedding, the prisoners starved, froze and endured torture, unless their friends supplied their needs. The cells were dark, suffocating, foul, low, narrow, short, filthy, verminous and contagioned, veritable torture chambers. Frequently the prisoners were tortured most barbarously, all of which tended to deprave, harden and envile them. Beginning with Howard, who made a study of prison and prison methods, in most European countries, a large number of prison reformers, on the basis of Bible principles, aroused public sentiment against the way prisons were built and maintained and the way prisoners were mistreated, until mighty reforms set in to the great betterment of these conditions. They created the sentiment that prisons should be primarily directed, not to the punishment of the prisoners, but to their reformation; and this reform spread Christendomwide by 1878. Among other things imprisonment for debt and hanging for petty thievery, e.g., theft of a chicken or a lamb, have been banished from legal codes. Practically everywhere helpful methods of housing and treating the prisoners have been introduced, calculated to reform and make them useful members of society. Thus again we see a triumph of the Bible's influence achieved. 

The Bible's influence can be seen during this period in the extension of methodic charity and the effacing of much pauperism. Indiscriminate and thoughtless charity is an evil; for it tends to pauperize its beneficiaries and to encourage beggary. The best help that can be given the poor is to teach them to learn to supply their own needs by honest work (Eph. 4:28), 

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which the Bible inculcates, as it discourages pauperism (Ps. 37:25). Public beggars should not be encouraged by bestowing alms upon them, many of whom have been found out to be quite well off. But there are genuine cases of poverty that require Christian benefactions; and in such cases the Bible encourages charity (Rom. 15:25-27). Unknown beggars should not be given more than food until their case has been properly examined, and then, if proven to be worthy, are to be helped as needed, and especially encouraged to help themselves by such work as they are able to perform. Increasingly such principles have been put into operation. Christian charity during this period has been especially active in providing institutions of mercy for the helpless, aged, orphaned, widowed and sick. And all this has flown from the spirit of love and practical helpfulness inculcated by the Bible. 

The influence of Bible principles on governments has been in the way of uplift. Certainly throughout the period under review there has been a humanizing of international relations, a freer intercourse between nations, with a more sympathetic appreciation of their several peculiar institutions and problems. Trade barriers during this period, under the influence of the Bible, have in some cases been lowered, and in not a few broken down entirely, and thus free trade among the nations spread with resulting good feelings; for protection as against tariff for revenue only is almost exclusively a perversion increasingly introduced by national selfishness since 1878. The Bible certainly favors democracy as the ideal government, as Satan has in his empire favored autocracy; and as its influence increasingly spread the spirit of freedom, it spread the spirit of democracy, even though through the backwardness of some nations, it favors for them, until they are ripe for democracy, such forms of government as their conditions require; for be it ever remembered that the Bible spreads its influence not revolutionarily against unideal conditions;—but slowly by an educational process it fits individuals and nations 

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in character for the more ideal conditions. Its influence has ever been to treat inferior nations and races helpfully and upliftingly, despite the selfish course of exploiting nations toward an opposite condition. Its influence certainly was, in the period under review, in the interests of education of the masses, as well as the classes, and it prevailed to the extent of nearly banishing illiteracy from Protestant countries, while the papal countries, because of opposing many Biblical principles, have succeeded in keeping the bulk of the masses in illiteracy, as can be seen in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Under its influence during this period the liberalizing of government continually increased; and the franchise was given the people in every Protestant land, and in most papal lands, in all of which constitutions were granted the people limiting the power of rulers and increasing the liberty and power of the people. Its influence on the laws of Christendom was always an uplifting and ennobling one. And, finally, as a result of the Bible's influence, governments during this period increasingly charged themselves to advance the physical, mental, moral and religious prosperity, and health of their nationals. Verily, the Bible was in the period under review a powerful reformer of governments. 

It did much during this period to suppress intemperance and to advance temperance, to curb the avarice of the grasping, to spread prosperity more evenly among the people, to increase happiness in the home and honesty in business. Its spread of the doctrine on man's brotherhood and responsibility to God for his fellows, enured to the enlargement of philanthropy, to the spread of good feeling and betterment of social conditions. Its insistence on industriousness and helpfulness to the needy enured to progress in invention, prosperity and relief of the necessities of the unfortunate. Its influence was ever in the direction of suppressing vice, criminality, slummery, squalor, uncleanness, disease and pestilence, poverty, lawlessness, discontent and ambitionlessness, and was ever in the 

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direction of cultivating their opposites. Its principle of love enured to the curbing of national, social, religious and professional intolerance and to the spread of tolerance, liberality and humanity within Christendom. One of the Bible's most signal victories in this period was its breaking up the gross persecution evidenced in the methods that papacy as Antichrist and the Inquisition as Antichrist's handmaid introduced. During the Reformation papal persecution reached its high tide; and many Protestants coming out of Rome brought from her practice of persecution, though in comparison with Rome's systematic forms of cruel torture in its persecution Protestants were mild therein. Persecution is certainly opposed to the entire tenor of the Bible, since God desires a free-will service only (John 4:23, 24); and its papal forms are a most convincing factual proof of the Satanic origin of the papacy and the Inquisition; for their special victims were the saints (Rev. 17:6). But after the Bible's principle that it is the people's prerogative to test all teachings and principles and to assent to those only that strike them as true (1 Thes. 5:21; 1 John 4:1-3) and after its principle that God desires a free service only (John 4:23, 24) wrought their natural effects on Protestants, they gave up the bad heredity of persecution transmitted to them by papacy; and where the Bible's pertinent principles prevailed, violent persecution by the church and state soon ceased, except in purely Romanist countries, where it took centuries and the power of the French revolution, with its freedom, fraternity and equality (all three Biblical principles) largely to suppress; it is in papal countries, where the fires of persecution still smolder. Surely all will concede that the Bible's influence secured the suppression of the evils and the inauguration of the benefits mentioned in this paragraph, for which God be thanked. 

Even upon Mohammedan and heathen countries the Bible wrought wonderously in removing evils and introducing good, e.g., in Turkey, the Levant, Egypt, 

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"darkest Africa," Japan and China. But India is the special example of such wondrous effects. When we think of the evils of Indian caste, of child marriage, child widowhood, the burning of the widows with their husband's corpses in the suttee, the degradation of womanhood, the effects of the Hindu doctrine of the transmigration of souls—non-killing of any animal life, resulting in India swarming with deadly animals and poisonous serpents, to the destruction of multitudes of Indians—self-inflicted penitential tortures, the degradation of the untouchables, the harlotry of priestesses connected with the worship in temples as a part of such worship, etc., etc., and realize that through the Bible's influence, some of these evils were eradicated and others of them were started on the road to eradication, and that great reforms were given a great impetus through the Bible's influence, we are again shown that the Bible has in the period under review, wrought such effects as we should expect from a Divine Revelation. On the other hand, since Nominal Christendom in State, Church and Society has been cast off from special favor by God since 1878, and the faithful have been removed therefrom, the great deterioration in State, Church and Society that has increasingly throughout Christendom set in is a negative proof of the Bible's being the Divine Revelation, since where its good effects were once enjoyed by its principles being allowed to abound, evil effects increasingly manifest themselves where these formerly active principles are set aside, as has increasingly been done since 1878. 

We have now finished our discussion of the third general external effect of the Bible,—and have found from a multiplicity of evils which it set aside and a multiplicity of reforms which it inaugurated, that its effects during the eighteen Christian centuries, i.e., on the Old Roman, the Middle and the Modern periods, have been what we should expect from a Divine Revelation. Accordingly, these effects come to us as credentials of the Bible's being a Divine Revelation.