The Reformation, 14th-16th century : what it meant then, what it means now

MAY ^^7 1914

THE

REFORMATION

14th — 1 6th Century

What It Meant Then
What It Means Now

ALONZO TREVIER JONES

1913

COPYBIGHT, 1913
BY

Alonzo T. Jonks

PREFACE

This book is not a history of The Reformation.

It is a study of The Reformation: of —

Why it came,

How it came,

What it was when it came.

Was it and is it a proper thing that The Reforma-
tion should be in the world? or did Rome do
right in refusing it? and should it now be re-
pudiated by the people of the United States?

That there may be no room for question as to
what The Reformation was when it came, each
principle of it is clearly and fully stated in the
very words of the men by whom it came.

Then, in order that the real character of it may be
certainly known, each principle is tested by the
Scriptures.

One special wish throughout has been to make
everything plain even to the commonest under-
standing.

(Hi)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
The Reformation Renounced.

''A Solid Front"— Luther's Disintegrating Doc-
trine—Not Against Eome— The Great Councils— Paral-
lel with Rome—* ' State Aid ' ' — Faithlessness 1-10

CHAPTER II.
What Is "Protestant?"

The Edict of Worm&— The Secular Arm— Luther 's
Answer — Luther to the Emperor — Diet of Nuremberg—
The Pope's Confession — Germany's Grievances — The
Pope Threatens Frederick — Second Diet of Nuremberg—
''The New Mohammed"— Confederations — "Save the
Church"— The Word of God— Diet of Spires— Church
Holidays Evil — The Deadlock — "Save the Empire" —
Religious Liberty — Papal Peace — Second Diet of Spires
— Imperial Revolution— The Diet Stands Firm — Proposal
of Compromise— The Crisis— "A Settled Affair"- The
Protest— What Is Meant by True and Holy Church— The
Protestants— What It Means 11-44

CHAPTER III.
What "Protestant" Means in America.

The Falling Away Begins — False Protestant — State
Churches — Crime and P'olly — Protest in Virginia — Vir-
ginia Freed — Madison Leads for Religious Liberty — Relig-
ious Freedom in Virginia — Natural Right — National Re-
ligious Freedom — Constitutional Guaranties — American
Principles — Reformation Principles — Character of Legal
Religion— Fruits of Established Religion — Gospel Liberty
— Washington for Religious Liberty — Individuality — Sep-
aration of Christianity and the State — The Christian
Principle — A Hundred Preachers Deny It — The Glory of
America — Changed the Face of the World — Rome's De-
signs on America 45-70

CHAPTER IV.
What Caused The Reformation?

Submission or Expulsion — The Church Militant — Ec-
clesiastical Monoi)oly — All for Money — Pardon of Sin
for Money — The Papal Tax List — Quarrels Cultivated —
The Inquisition — Compelling to Sinfulness — Dissolution
of Marriages — "A Wide-Spread Contagion" — The
Church Responsible — The Papal Pinnacle — Two Popes
at Once — Papal Anarchy — Three Popes at Once — The
Council of Constance — Pope .Tohn Deposed — "The
Church" Saved by ''The World" — Worse than the
World — "The Tempest of Abomination" — "Ministers
of The Beast"— The Pope is Told the Truth— "More

iv

Contents

Like a Step-Mother "—" The Euin of the World"— ''Re-
ligion a Mine of Gold" — Papal Supremacy Complete —
God Sent The Reformation 71-104

CHAPTER V.
The Reformation : and the Roman Church.

The Key of All— ''Isn't That The Church?"—
''Stand by the Old Ship" — The Rise of the Reformation
—Is That' The Church? — Militz and Matthias — The Ref-
ormation is Regeneration — Oxford and Prague — God De-
fends The Reformation — Ziska: the Blind General — Mi-
raculous Panics — "Negotiations" — The Reformation
Given Away — The Faithful Ones— The Promises of Com-
ing Day — Huss's Dream — The Elector Frederick's Dream
—"Thou Art Come, O Desired One!" — Duke George
Arraigns The Church — The Reformation or Rome — Rome
or The Reformation 105-132

CHAPTER VI.
The Reformation Church.

What Is The Churcli ?— The True Church— The Di-
vine 1!mflTITtTion^=^The Church Is Infinite — The Fulness of
God — The Divine Concept— The Mystery of God — The
Family of God— The Household of God — The Church in
Heaven and Earth — The Pre-eminence — The Church of
the Universe — The Associations of The Church — The An-
tagonist of The Church — The Mystery of God Finished —
The Rejoicing Universe 133-152

CHAPTER VII.
The Reformation Head of The Church.

Christ the Visible Head— The Visible Becomes In-
visible—Christ with Us— The Invisible Becomes Visi-
ble—"The World" Cannot See— "Ye See Me"— The
"Visible Church" — A Visible Fraud — The True and the
False Invisible 153-166

CHAPTER VIII.

The Reformation Building of The Church.

The Foundation Stone — Receive Him — "Added
to the Lord ' ' — The Marriage Ceremony — ' ' Added to The
Church"— The Lord Does Not Cast Out— "The Church
is thy House"— "The Churches of God"— The Single
Assembly— God 's Building— The Crown of Creation 167-180

CHAPTER IX.
The Reformation Guidance of The Church.

The Spirit to Every One — The Head of Each One —
Head O^^er All to Tlie Church— The Gifts of the Spirit

vi Contents

— Be No More Children — The Greco-Eoman Obtrusion —

The Colossal Presumption — Subject to Christ 181-192

CHAPTER X.
The Reformation Christian Unity.

The Soman "Mark of Unity"— The Christian Unity
— The Christian Fellowship — All One in Christ Jesus —
That the World May Know— The False Unity 193-204

CHAPTER XI.
The Reformation and the Bible.

The Eoman Church and the Bible — The Scripture
the Faith of The Church — Understanding The Scriptures
— All Kules Are One — Freedom of Christians — The En-
thralled Conscience — The Evil of Human Ordinances —
Human Superstitions — Fundamental Principles — Noth-
ing but the Word of God — All Duty is Commanded —
Sanctification Through the Word 205-220

CHAPTER Xn.
The Reformation and The Gospel.

Eighteousness by Faith — Christ Is All — ''The Just
Shall Live by Faith"— The Ten Commandments — The
Purpose of The Law — Eighteousness Without the Law —
The Purpose of The Gospel— The Faith of Jesus— Into
the Holiest— Unlawful Use of The Law 221-234

CHAPTER XIII.
The Reformation Christian Brotherliness.

The Universal Priesthood — The Primitive Dignity
— Christian Liberty — The Highest Service — Authority to
Preach — The Eeal Excommunication — The Divine Call
— "Orders, Sects, and Parties, Fall" — Price of Loyalty
to God — Simple Christianity — Princes of the Gentiles —
The Church Not to Eule— ''The Form of a Servant"—
Christian Government — The Christian Ministry — Chris-
tian Dignity — All Are Ministers — "A Mischievous In-
sect"— The Nicolaitanes — Anti-pa-pas — "Which Thing
I Hate"— The Greatest of All 235-260

CHAPTER XIV.
The Reformation Religious Liberty.

The Holy Emi)ire Church — Spiritual Emperor: Secu-
lar Pope — The Sole Point of Issue — The Word Above The
Church— The Church Off The Throne— "Unconditional
Submission" — Submission Only to the Word — Apostolic
Eeligious Liberty — "Lord, Thou Art God" — "God
Eather than Men" — Christian Eeligious Liberty — Bands
and Fetters — Eeligious Liberty Itself 261-278

Contents vii

CHAPTER XV.
The Reformation and the Papacy.

Wicklif on Antichrist— ' ^ The Chief Antichrist"—
Militz on Antichrist — Militz Preaches in St. Peter's —
Matthias on Antichrist — The Cunning of Antichrist —
False Miracles and Wonders — The Person of Antichrist
— Huss on Antichrist — Luther on Antichrist — Truth That
Must be Told — The Bible on Antichrist — Against the
Most High — Papacy Confirms the Prophecy — Eonie Fas-
tens It upon Herself — Divine Description of Rome —
Jesus on the Prophecy — Paul on the Prophecy — Daniel
and Paul — The Heavenly Things — The Sanctuary of
Christianity — In Heaven Itself — The Daily Ministry of
Christ — Taken Away and Cast Down — The Daily Min-
istry of Rome — In Place of The True — Can Never Take
Away Sin — Desolation and Abomination — The Secret of
Rome's Power— The Place of Satan's Seat— The Throne
of Satan— The Beast— The Ultimate Antichrist 279-320

CHAPTER XVI.
The Reformation and Federation.

The Splendid List — The Masterpiece of Christian
Truth — Men Instead of Word and Spirit — The New Eng-
land Theocracy — Extension of The Reformation — John
Wesley on The Church — Wesley on the Papacy — The
Reign of Satan — Wesley on the False Christian — Pur-
pose of The Reformation — The Advent Movement — Cul-
mination of The Reformation — Wm. Miller on The
Church — The Name of "Adventists" — '^Sectarian-
ism"— Christianity is Individual — Denominationalism —
The Baptists and Federation — Object of the Federal
Council — The Ecclesiastical Power — ''Say Ye Not 'A
Confederacy' " — Individuality and Salvation 321-356

CHAPTER XVII.
The Federal Council and The Reformation.

"Power Over Men" — The State Supplanted — The
New Inquisition — Religious Legislation — The "Cliris-
tian" Religion by Force — The Fourth Commandment —
What The Issue Is — Enforced Sabbath Observance — The
Lord 's Day — Two Separate Things — A Sacerdotal State
— Sunday Laws Religious Only — Union of Church and
State — Both Days Observed — The Council of Friuli — Sun-
day First Called Sabbath— The Council of Trent— The
Change Accomplished — The Rise of the Puritans — The
Puritans' Perplexity — The Puritan "Sabbath" — Queen
Elizabeth— The Book of Sports — diaries I — The Sunday

viii Contents

Law of Charles II — The ''Model" Sunday Law — Gene-
alogy of Sunday Laws — The Federal Council Follows —
History Repeating — The Reformation Principle — The
Will and Worship of Rome — The Sign of Rome — All the
World Worships — All Denominations — Both Days ''Free
From All Work" — Rome 's Reign Enforced 357-404

CHAPTER XYIII.
The Reformation and The Sabbath.

The Reformation Demands It — The Doctrine of Sun-
day—What Is The Sabbath — It Was Made for Adam —
Christ the Only "Adam" — The Divine Sign — Knowledge
of God — God as Revealed in The Sabbath — God as Re-
vealed in Christ — The Sabbath Blessing — The Divine
Parallel— The Bread of The Presence — The Sabbath "Re-
niaineth"— Christ Is The Way— "As God Did"— What
Sabbath Keeping Is — In the Lives of Christians — To the
End of the Bible— After the Bible Closed— To the
Eleventh Century— To the End — The Sign of Loyalty to
God — Forevermore 405-434

CHAPTER XIX.
That Woman Jezebel.

Jezebel 's Reign — Jezebel Restored — The Crowning
Evil — False Worship Enforced — The Mystery of Iniquity
Finished — The Reformation Finished — The True Ones
Delivered 435-444

CHAPTER XX.
The Two Women of Revelation.

No Daughter: Many Daughters — The Children of
Babylon— The Children of Zion 445-450

CHAPTER XXI.
The Christian and Reformation Religious Liberty of
The Fourteenth Amendment.

Citizenship National — Its Intent — Protects Inborn
Rights — A New Charter of Liberty — Privileges and Im-
munities— It Means Religious Liberty — It Includes Sun-
day Laws — Washington Against Sunday Laws — Wash-
ington's Letter — Every Sunday Law Void — The Consti-
tution Disregarded — The Right of The People — The Twin
Despotisms — Upon Principle Alone — Lincoln's Work and
Ours — Emancipation Proclamation — The Gospel Principle
— The Two American Principles — Columbia Queen of the
Nations — This All Means You — Conclusion — The Crown-
ing Contest 451-481

THE REFORMATION

CHAPTER I.
The Reformation Renounced.

In the City of Chicago, 111., Dec. 5, 1912, an as-
sembly of three hundred and nineteen clerical dele-
gates from thirty-one professedly Protestant
denominations intentionally and expressly repudi-
ated the word *' Protestant.''

That is an occurrence that can never mean less
than 7nuch every tvay. It will be found to mean
much more, and in more ways, than was thought
of by the three hundred and nineteen who did it.
And to the people of the United States it means
the most of all.

The assembly by which this meaningful thing
was done, was the ^'Second Quadrennial Meeting
of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ
in America.'' It was held in the Hotel La Salle,
Chicago, 111., Dec. 4-9, 1912, and was composed of
three hundred and nineteen actually present and
participating delegates.

This *^ Federal Council" was then composed of
thirty-one denominations, including all of the most
prominent ones, having a total membership of
^^more than seventeen millions." It was origi-

2

The Reformation Renounced

nally organized by five hundred delegates from
twenty denominations, who met for the purpose in
Carnegie Hall, New York City, Nov. 15-21, 1905.

In its original organization the ^ ^ Federal Coun-
cil of Churches" was expressly and distinctly
Protestant. In the call under which the conven-
tion met in New York City, the object of the pro-
posed meeting was distinctly stated to be ^^to
secure an effective organization of the various
Protestant communions of this country;'^ and ^^to
form a bond of union that will enable Protestant-
ism to present a solid front," etc.

And then, in only the second meeting of the
Council as such, and without any issue or crisis to
demand it, spontaneously and voluntarily this pro-
fessedly Protestant organization repudiated the
word *' Protestant" that gave them an existence
as a Federal Council, that gave them an existence
as denominations, and that gave them existence
even as Christians ! And this was done in the very
first business session of the Council, and in dealing
with the very first ''Eeport" that was made to
the Council: that is, at the first possible oppor-
tunity.

The occasion for it was this: The *^ Executive
Committee" presented its report. In that report
the committee expressed the *' earnest hope that
the Second Federal Council will make yet more
clear certain fundamental facts as to the churches

Luther's Disintegrating Doctrine 3

of the country, through their federation." And
the first of these was —

''The fact of the substantial unity of the Christian
and Protestant Churches of the nation."

No sooner was opened the discussion of the
report than that word '^ Protestant" was chal-
lenged as if it were a mortal enemy that had
invaded the Council.

*'Why emphasize a word that is not a uniting
but a dividing word? a word that recalls a most
unhappy and trying experience," said one.

*^By using this word, you make it more difficult
for many of your Christian brethren to work with
you," said another.

Discussion was soon cut off by a motion to
resubmit the report for revision, eliminating the
word ^'Protestant." And this was done thus: —

''To express the fellowship and catholic unity of
the Christian Church. ' '

Then the report was promptly adopted, and
with applause.

All the circumstances of this action of the
Council plainly show that there was a full and
waiting readiness to do it. Indeed, preceding
facts prove that all that was really new or sudden
about it was the actual doing of it at the first pos-
sible opportunity.

1. In a ' ' Moral and Religious Conference ' ' held

The Reformation Renounced

at Colorado Springs in May, 1908, in the opening
address, there was spoken the following words : —

"Once the church embraced all human activity. It
was a great social structure. Then Luther proclaimed
his doctrine of individual responsibility, and the social
structure disintegrated. Individualism in the church
produced individualism in economic relations and in
the State.

''But there is coming rapidly a change. The Chris-
tian Church must recognize this movement and be the
leader in it."

That was not officially a conference of the
Church Federation; but prominent naen were of
it who in 1905 had aided in the formation of the
Federal Council. And that it is strictly indicative
of the spirit of the Council itself, is confirmed in
the next item.

2. In December, 1908, at Philadelphia, Pa., in
the first meeting of the Federal Council as such,
the *^ right of private judgment'^ that was ^^em-
phasized,'' and the ^individuality" that was ^* de-
veloped in a notable manner,'' by ^Hhe Protestant
Eeformation," was specifically abandoned as that
which should ^^no longer blind the minds of be-
lievers to the need of combination and of mutuality
in service."

The right of private judgment in religion, and
the principle of individual responsibility to God,
are two essentials of the Protestant Reformation.
Without these there never would — there never

Not Against Rome

could — have been any Reformation. But these
are not only essentials of the Protestant Reforma-
tion. They are essentials of Christianity itself.

And yet in the keynote speech of the first meet-
ing of the Federal Council that was ever held,
the declaration was made and published as the
standing word of the Council that these essentials
of the reformation and of Christianity should ''no
longer blind the minds of believers.'^

When the first meeting of the Council could
publish such a statement as that, it is perfectly
logical that the second meeting should eliminate
altogether the word ^'Protestant" as in any way
properly attaching to that organization.

3. In the public announcement of the date and
place of holding that meeting in Chicago, it was
plainly stated that this '^ United Protestantism
is not to be construed as a demonstration against
the Roman Catholic Church."

When anything bearing the name ' ' Protestant ^ '
is not even to be construed as a demonstration
against the Roman Catholic Church, then that
thing is not Protestant at all; and of course in
honesty should no longer bear the title.

Accordingly when that open statement had
been most widely made in behalf of the Council,
again it was perfectly logical as well as only con-
sistent that the Council should formally renounce
the title of Protestant."

The Reformation Renounced

4. The Roman Church as represented or mani-
fested in her Councils, especially in the Council
of Nice, was openly the aspiration of this Coun-
cil.

In his speech at the opening of the Council,
the outgoing president said that by this assembly
he was caused to —

* ' think of the Council of Nice — the first General
Council of the Christian Church. This Council has al-
most the exact number that composed the Council of
Nice. The history of the Church is largely told in her
great Councils/'

And when the number of the delegates who ac-
tually were present and officially acting in the
Council was made up and announced as ** three
hundred and nineteen,'' the statement was ac-
companied with the remark, ^ ^ Just one more than
the Council of Nice."

Yes, the history of the Roman Church is largely
told in her great Councils. And beyond all ques-
tion her conspicuously great Councils were those
of Nice, Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon, Sec-
ond of Nice, Trent, and the Vatican.

In brief the story of these ^* great Councils''
is this:

The net result of the first four was to put the
dead formulas of human creed in the place of the
living Word of God; a woman in the place of
Christ ; and a man in the place of God.

Parallel with Rome

The Second Council of Nice, three hundred and
fifty bishops, ^* unanimously pronounced that the
worship of images is agreeable to Scripture and
reason, to the Fathers and Councils of the
Church."

The Council of Trent put church-tradition
above the Bible as '^more sure and safe.''

The Vatican Council established the infalli-
bility of the Pope.

And when the Federal Council in Chicago could
count worthy of her aspiration such a record as
that, then it certainly was about time that she
were renouncing the name and title of Protestant.

All of this is fully confirmed by another act
of this Council itself, at Chicago. The Council
unanimously adopted a report in which it is de-
clared that —

*'The business of the State is to bring about such
economic conditions and environment that the idealism
of the Gospel may have as clear and fair a field as possi-
ble. It is this that justifies the Church ... in
turning to the State for a co-operation which will en-
able her to do her sacred task."

And that is in exact parallel with the instruc-
tion given by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical of
Jan. 6, 1895, to the hierarchy in America, saying
that in this ** American nation'' the Catholic
church —

The Reformation Renounced

"would bring forth more abundant fruits, if, in
addition to liberty, she enjoj^ed the favor of the laws
and the patronage of the public authority."

The Protestant Reformation neither had nor
sought either the favor of the laws or the patron-
age of public authority.

The Protestant Reformation neither sought
nor expected any State to bring about for her
such economic conditions and environment as
should give to the idealism of her Gospel any-
clear or fair field at all.

The Protestant Reformation never sought for
any State, and there was none if she had, to which
she could turn for a co-operation that would enable
her to do her sacred task.

So also was it with Christianity at the first.

Yet not only without any, but actually against
all, of these, both the Protestant Reformation
and Christianity in the beginning, did each her
sacred task triumphantly and gloriously.

And as in the beginning, so also in the latter :
when Christians lost their first love in the loss of
the fulness of the Holy Spirit and His power, they
were ready to dally with the world, to seek the
co-operation of worldly power, and to tickle their
fancy with ^* economic conditions'' and ^* civic en-
vironments'' as ''aids" in the sacred task of
preaching the Gospel of the blessed God!

But all of this was, and ever is, only to aban-

Faithlessness 9

don the Keformation and Christianity. It is to
cease to be Protestant and Christian, and to be-
come papal only.

*'The Reformation was accomplished in the
name of a spiritual principle. It had proclaimed
for its teacher the Word of God; for salvation,
faith; for King, Jesus Christ; for arms, the Holy
Ghost; and had by these very means rejected all
worldly elements.

"Eome had been established by 'the law of a
carnal commandment:' the Reformation, by 'the
power of an endless life.'

''The Gospel of the Reformers had nothing to
do with the world and with politics. While the
Roman hierarchy had become a matter of diplo-
macy and a court intrigue, the Reformation was
destined to exercise no other influence over
princes and people than that which proceeds from
the Gospel of peace.

"If the Reformation, having attained a cer-
tain point, became untrue to its nature, began to
parley and temporize with the world, and ceased
thus to follow up the spiritual principle that it had
so loudly proclaimed, it was faithless to God and
to itself. Henceforward its decline was at hand.

"It is impossible for a society to prosper if
it be unfaithful to the principles it lays down.
Having abandoned what constituted its life, it
can find naught but death.'' — D^Aubigne.

10 The Reformation Renounced

There has been an apostasy from the Eeforma-
tion, as truly as there was from Christianity at
the first. This has been manifest in each form of
Protestantism that has arisen. And now this
apostasy has reached the point of open repudia-
tion of the very title of Protestant, by the federa-
tion of thirty-one of them together.

The apostasy from Christianity at the first
meant much to the world, for it developed the
papacy in all that it has ever been. This apos-
tasy from Christianity revived in the Protestant
Eeformation can scarcely mean any less.

CHAPTER 11.

What Is '' Protestant T '

What is the meaning of the word '' Protes-
tant?'^ How came it into the world?

The word ^'Protestant/' as expressing a relig-
ious distinction; the word ''Protestant" with a
capital P; the word "Protestant," as dealt with
by the Chicago Council of the Federated Churches ;
came into the world with the word "Protest"
that was used in the Protest that was made at the
Diet of Spires in Germany, April 19, 1529.

That Protest was made against the arbitrary,
unjust, and persecuting, procedure of the papacy
in that Diet.

This procedure in the Diet of Spires of 1529
swept away the religious liberty that had been
agreed upon and regularly established in the Diet
of Spires of 1526.

The religious liberty established by the Diet
of Spires of 1526 was the result of a deadlock in
the proceedings of that Diet over the enforce-
ment, by all the power of the then papacy, of the
Edict of Worms that had been issued in 1521 com-
manding the destruction of Martin Luther, his
adherents, his writings, and all who printed or
circulated his writings, or who on their own part
should print or circulate the like.

12 What is ''Protestant?"

Tims the Protest in which originated the word
^^ Protestant^' was against the effort of the pa-
pacy to destroy the Reformation, and was in be-
half of the Reformation and its principles.

And now for anybody to renounce, repudiate,
or disown, the word or title ^^ Protestant,'' is to
repudiate the Protest.

To repudiate the Protest, is to repudiate as
unworthy the cause and the principles in behalf of
which the Protest was made.

And that cause was the Reformation. Those
principles were the principles of the Reforma-
tion.

Therefore, to renounce, repudiate, or disown,
the word and title ** Protestant" is nothing less
and nothing else than to repudiate the Reforma-
tion.

And the Federal Council of Churches, thirty-
one denominations, having ^^a membership of
more than seventeen millions," at Chicago, 111.,
Dec. 5, 1912, did unanimously renounce, repudi-
ate, and disown, the word and title ^'Protestant."

And that this may be made so plain that all
may see for themselves that just such is unques-
tionably the meaning of that action taken, let us
now consider directly the facts, documents, and
dates, in which rests the indisputable truth of the
case.

In 1521 the Diet of Worms condemned Luther

Edict of Worms 13

and the Eeformation. There immediately fol-
lowed the ^' Edict of AVorms" that is the key to the
proceedings that called forth the Protest in which
originated the word '* Protestant."

The Edict of Worms was issued by the Em-
peror Charles V, ^'the ablest and most powerful
monarch of the sixteenth century/' After de-
nouncing Luther personally in sweeping terms,
the imperial edict thus commands : —

**We have therefore sent this Luther from before
our face, that all pious and sensible men may regard him
as a fool, or a man possessed of the devil ; and we ex-
pect that after the expiry of his safe-conduct, effectual
means will be taken to arrest his furious rage.

*' Wherefore, under pain of incurring the punish-
ment due to the crime of treason, we forbid you to
lodge the said Luther as soon as the fatal term shall
be expired, to conceal him, give him meat or drink, and
lend him, by word or deed, publicly or secretly, any
kind of assistance. We enjoin you, moreover, to seize
him, or cause him to be seized, wherever you find him,
and bring him to us without any delay, or to keep him
in all safety until you hear from us how you are to act
with regard to him, and till 3^ou receive the recompense
due to your exertions in so holy a work.

"As to his adherents, you will seize them, suppress
them, and confiscate their goods.

"As to his writings, if the best food becomes the
terror of all mankind as soon as a drop of poison is

* The soiircps of the quotations, facts, and dates, in this
chapter are, D'Aubigne's ''History of the Reformation," Book
VII, chap, viii; Book X, chap, iii, v, xii; Book XIII, chap, i,
V, vi.

Ranke's "History of the Popes," Book I, chap. iii.

Wylie's "History of Protestantism," Book VI, chap, vi;
Book IX, chap, iii, iv, vi, ix — xi, xv.

14 What is ''Protestant?''

mixed with it, how much more ought these books,
which contain a deadly poison to the soul, to be not
only rejected, but also annihilated! You will there-
fore burn them, or in some other way destroy them
entirely.

"As to authors, poets, printers, painters, sellers or
buyers of placards, writings or paintings, against the
Pope or the church, you will lay hold of their persons
and their goods, and treat them according to your good
pleasure.

"And if anyone, whatever be his dignity, shall dare
to act in contradiction to the decree of our imperial
majesty, we ordain that he shall be placed under the
ban of the empire.

"Let everyone conform hereto. "

And that the emperor meant every word of that
edict, and that it should be enforced in full of all
that it said, is made plain in the following sen-
tences which he wrote with his own hand: —

"Sprung from the Christian emperors of Germany,
from the Catholic kings of Spain, the archduke of
Austria, and the dukes of Burgundy, who are all il-
lustrious as defenders of the Roman faith, it is my
firm purpose to follow the example of my ancestors.
A single monk, led astray by his own folly, sets him-
self up in opposition to the faith of Christendom! I
will sacrifice my dominions, my power, my friends,
my treasure, my blood, my mind, and my life, to stay
this impiety."

Before the Diet had assembled, the Pope had
included Luther in the list of heretics denounced
in the annual proclamation of the ^^ Greater Ex-
communication/' The Edict of Worms was the
movement of the ** secular arm'' that should give
effect to that excommunication.

Luther ^s Answer 15

In the Diet, April 18, 1522, to the Emperor, to
the papacy, to the Diet itself, to all Germany, to
Europe, and to the world, Luther had given his
'^answer.'' That answer, as summed up by Luther
himself, after having spoken two hours, stands as
follows : —

''Since your most serene majesty, and your high
mightinesses, call upon me for a simple, clear, and
definite answer, I will give it. And it is this :

''I cannot subject my faith either to the Pope or to
Councils ; because it is clear as day, that they have often
fallen into error, and even into great self-contradiction.

"If, then, I am not disproved by passages of Scrip-
ture, or by clear arguments, — if I am not convinced
by the very passages which I have quoted, and so
bound in conscience to submit to the Word of God, I
neither can nor will retract anything. For it is not safe
for a Christian to speak against his conscience.

"Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help
me. Amen."*

The personal presence of the Emperor and
of the Pope's nuncio in their known antagonism
to it all, could not wholly restrain applause in re-
sponse to that quietly brave and noble answer in
the very moment of its giving. And that applause,
with the noble ^'answer'' itself, presently re-
sounded through the whole of Germany, inspir-
ing multitudes to speak out the faith and truth
of the Gospel.

In the Diet the papacy had been arraigned by

* ' ' Hier stehe ich. leh kann nicht anders. Gott helf e mir.
Amen."

16 What is ''Protestant?

loyal Eoman Catholic princes no less vigorously
than by Luther. As a result, a formulated list of
one hundred and one grievances had been lodged
with the Diet for redress.

This had given great force in the minds of all
to the merit of Luther's attacks, and above all to
his plea for something better than a system that
could produce only such grievous fruits. And his
free answer to the Emperor and the Diet ; and his
plain refusal, alone, in the face of all the power of
the empire and the papacy, to recede an inch or
to retract anything, was the trumpet-sound of
freedom that all were glad to hear.

April 26 Luther left Worms to return to his
home at Wittemberg. April 28, at one of the
stations on the way, he wrote to the Emperor a
personal letter in which he said : —

''God who is the searcher of hearts is my witness
that I am ready with all diligence to obey yonr majesty,
whether in honor or disgrace, whether by life or by
death, and with absolutely no exception but the Word
of God, from which man derives life.

"In all the affairs of the present life, my fidelity
will be immutable ; for, as to these, loss or gain cannot
at all affect salvation. But in regard to eternal bless-
ings, it is not the will of God that man should submit
to man. Subjection in the spiritual world constitutes
worship, and should be paid only to the Creator."

While he was on his homeward journey, May
4, 1521, Luther was '* captured'' by friendly hands
and was carried to the Wartburg, where he re-

Diet of Nuremberg 17

mained out of the knowledge of the world till
March 3, 1522. But in all this time the Reforma-
tion went triumphantly onward throughout Ger-
many, and even to Denmark and other neighbor-
ing countries.

In spite of the Edict of Worms and all the
power behind it, in the very year of its procla-
mation there issued from the press at Wittemberg
more than two hundred evangelical publications
that were scattered and read everyT\^here. They
were even translated into French, Spanish, Eng-
lish, and Italian.

The progress of the Turkish armies in 1522
so occupied the attention of the empire that there
was no room for any general enforcement of the
Edict of "Worms. Yet the Emperor was deter-
mined that the Reformation should not be lost
sight of. October 31 he wrote to the Pope : —

**It is necessary to arrest the Turks, and punish
the partisans of the poisonous doctrines of Luther with
the sword."

In December, 1522, the imperial Diet assembled
at Nuremberg, with its chief purpose, under in-
structions from the Emperor and the Pope, to
deal with the Reformation.

The first thing that was put before the Diet
was the demand from the Pope by his legate that
Luther should be destroyed. With the papal brief
in his hand, the legate declared : —

3

18 What is "Protestant?"

''It is necessary to amputate this gangrened limb
from the body. The omnipotent God has caused the
earth to open and swallow up alive the tAVO schismatics,
Dathan and Abiram. Peter, the prince of the apostles,
struck Ananias and Sapphira with sudden death for
lying against God. Your own ancestors at Constance
put to death John Huss and Jerome of Prague, who
now seem risen from the dead in Martin Luther. Fol-
low the glorious example of your ancestors; and, with
the assistance of God and St. Peter, carry off a mag-
nificent victory over the infernal dragon."

Yet the Pope thought to make sure of the
favor of the Diet by confessing the corruptions
of the papacy, and actually declaring the universal
desire for the reformation of the papacy ^^both
in the head and the members.'' He said: —

"We know well that for a considerable time many
abominable things have found a place near the holy
chair: abuses in spiritual things, exorbitant straining
of prerogatives — everything turned to evil. The dis-
ease has spread from the head to the limbs — from the
Pope to the prelates. We are all gone astray; there
is none that has done rightly, no, not one. We desire
the reformation of this Roman court, whence proceed
so many evils. The whole world desires it. And it
was with a view to its accomplishment that we were
resigned to mount the pontifical throne. ' '

It is true that this so much ^ ^ desired reforma-
tion'' was not to be wrought ^Hoo precipitately;"
no one must be ''too extreme;" it must "proceed
gently and by degrees, step by step. ' ' But for the
Pope to pronounce such a thing at all, as he did,
and in writing, officially to the whole imperial

Germany's Grievances 19

Diet, and under precisely that sort of attack!
The papal party in the Diet could scarcely be-
lieve their ears. The evangelicals rejoiced.

Instead of this stroke's winning the Diet to
the papal side, it put a decided check upon the
Edict of Worms, fully justified Luther and the
Eeformation, and encouraged the Diet to bolder
measures.

The Diet therefore ''resolved to collect into
one body all the grievances which Germany com-
plained of against Rome, and despatch them to
the Pope." To this even the ecclesiastics in the
Diet offered no opposition.

When those grievances were formally listed,
there were found to be eighty-four of them: a
'* terrible catalogue of the exactions, frauds, op-
pressions, and wrongs, that Germany had endured
at the hands of the Popes. ' ' And the presentation
concluded with the significant sentence —

''If these grievances are not redressed within
a limited time, we will consider other means of
escaping from this oppression and suffering."

As to Luther the Diet informed the Pope that
to enforce the Edict of Worms against him and
put him to death for saying the very things that
the Pope himself had just now said, would be both
so unjust and so dangerous that it would be but
madness. If theologically Luther were wrong, the
proper thing to do was for the church to refute

20 What is ''Protestant?''

from the Scriptures his errors ; and they knew of
but one way effectually to do that, which was by
a General Council. And they demanded that such
a Council should be called to meet within a year
in some free city of Germany; and decreed that
^'in the meantime the pure Gospel shall be freely
preached piously and soberly, according to the
exposition of Scripture received and approved by
the Church/'

By this unexpected turn of affairs the legate
was so displeased that he utterly abandoned the
Diet, and left Nuremberg. And when the official
account of the proceedings reached Rome, the Pope
was filled with wrath; and gave vent to it in a
scathing letter to the Elector Frederick, Luther's
sovereign, in which he blamed Frederick for all
the wars, calamities, and evils, that afflicted the em-
pire, because he had not destroyed Luther. He
threatened the Elector with the vengeance of God
here and hereafter, and of the ' ' two swords of the
empire and the popedom, " if in this thing he were
not '^speedily converted."

This cry of the Pope awakened the enforce-
ment of the Edict of Worms in the Catholic States
of Germany. Duke George took the lead in this.
He too wrote to Frederick, who was his own
brother, urging him to enforce the Edict of
Worms. The noble Elector replied —

*' Whosoever shall do a criminal act within

Second Diet of Nuremberg 21

my States shall not escape condign punishment.
But matters of conscience must be left to God.'^

In 1524 the Imperial Diet met again in Nurem-
berg. The imperial commissioner came with the
word of the Emperor, complaining that the Edict
of Worms was not obsei-ved, and demanding that
it be put into execution. The Pope's legate, in
his opening address, cited the Edict of Worms,
called for its enforcement, and demanded that
^Hhe Eeformation should be suppressed by force.''

Members of the Diet immediately inquired,
'^What has become of the grievances presented
to the Pope by the Germanic nation!"

The legate answered that although three copies
of the resolutions had reached Kome, —

"the Pope and college of cardinals could not believe
that they had been framed by the princes ! They
thought that some private persons had published them
in hatred to the court of Rome ! Therefore I have no
instructions as to that!"

That the solemn representations of the Diet
should be ignored, and a slur cast upon the Diet
iitself, through such a subterfuge as that, caused
a wave of just indignation to sweep the whole as-
sembly. When their turn should come, they would
know how to answer. And presently it came.

Both the legate and the imperial commissioner,
each for his master, insisted on the full enforce-
ment of the Edict of Worms. The Diet had no

22 What is ''Protestants '

power to repeal it. They would not enforce it.
Nor would they allow themselves to be put in the
attitude of rebellion, by a flat refusal. Therefore
they framed and adopted a decree that —

*^It is necessary to conform to the Edict of
Worms and vigorously to enforce it as far as pos-
sible,''

And all knew, indeed a majority of the States
had already declared, that it was not possible at
all. But both Emperor and Pope had to be con-
tent with the 'Mecree.''

Again the Diet demanded a General Council
to be held on German soil. They also agreed that
a Diet should assemble at Spires in November of
that same year, 1524. These acts offended both
the Emperor and the Pope, each that he was not
first consulted and deferred to. The Pope wrote
to the Emperor : —

*'If I am the first to face the storm, it is not because
I am the first to be threatened by it; but because I
sit at the helm. The rights of the empire are attacked
even more than the dignity of the court of Rome."

The Emperor issued an edict declaring: —

*' It belongs to the Pope alone to assemble a Council,
— to the Emperor alone to ask it. The meeting fixed
to take place at Spires can not, and will not, be tolera-
ted. It is strange in the German nation to undertake
a work which all the other nations of the world, even
w^ith the Pope, would not be entitled to do. The proper
course is to hasten the execution of the decree of Worms
against the new Mohammed."

Confederations 23

Following the adjournment of the second Diet
of Nuremberg, the Pope's legate, in a conference
at Ratisbon, formed a league, composed of the
archduke of Austria, the dukes of Bavaria, the
archbishop of Salzburg, and nine bishops, against
the Reformation. This league engaged —

1. To execute the Edicts of Worms and Nurem-
berg.

2. To allow no change in public worship.

3. To give no toleration within their States
to any married ecclesiastic.

4. To recall all the students belonging in their
States who might be at Wittemberg.

5. To employ all the means in their power for
the extirpation of heresy.

6. To enjoin upon all preachers that, in ex-
pounding difficult passages of the Scripture, they
confine themselves to the interpretation given by
the Latin Fathers Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine,
and Gregory the Great.

The League also offered as a reform that
priests should be forbidden —

1. To engage in trade.

2. To haunt taverns.

3. To freciuent dances.

4. To engage over the bottle in discussing ar-
ticles of faith.

May 5, 1525, died the Elector Frederick. Im-
mediately Duke George set about to form in north

24 What is ''Protestant?''

Germany a league similar to that of Ratisbon in
the south, against the Reformation. In July this
was consummated at Dessau. It was composed
of the Electors of Mentz and Brandenburg, two
dukes of Brunswick, and Duke George.

Just at this time there arrived in Germany
from Spain, a decree of the Emperor appointing
that a Diet be held at Augsburg in November of
that year, to take measures —

*'to defend the Christian religion, and the holy rites
and customs received from their ancestors ; and to pro-
hibit all pernicious doctrines and innovations. ' '

Under this appointment the attendance at
Augsburg was so small that the Diet adjourned to
meet at Spires in midsummer of 1526.

In this intervening time a church convention at
Mentz sent a deputation to the Emperor and one
also to the Pope, asking them to ^^save the
Church."

About the same time Duke George and two
other members of his league conferred together
and decided to send one of their number per-
son-ally to the Emperor to beg his assistance, be-
cause ^Hhe detestable doctrine of Luther makes
rapid progress."

The Emperor gave to their deputy a special
commission to assure them that —

*^with deep grief he had learned of the con-
tinual progress of Luther's heresy; and that, neg-

The Word of God 25

lecting every other affair, he was going to quit
Spain and repair to Rome to make arrangements
with the Pope, and then return to Germany to
combat the detestable pest of Wittemberg. ' '

The Leagues of Ratisbon and Dessau, with the
reawakening of the Emperor and the Pope, all
unitedly to enforce the Edict of Worms every-
where, amounted to a general alliance against the
Reformation.

This of necessity caused that the Princes who
had received the Gospel, and such others as would
not afflict their own people nor war upon their
own States, should stand in mutual sympathy and
support against that thing being forced upon their
States or their people.

The Princes who had decidedly accepted the
Gospel, made public their agreement in a signed
document running as follows : —

*'God Almiorhty having, in His ineffable mercy,
caused His holy and eternal Word, the food of our
souls and our greatest treasure here below, to appear
again amongst men : and powerful manoeuvres having
been employed on the part of the clergy and their ad-
herents to annihilate and extirpate it ; we being firmly
assured that He who has sent it to glorify His name
upon the earth is able to maintain it, engage to pre-
serve this holy Word to our people: and for this end
to employ our goods, our lives, our States, our sub-
jects, all that we possess — confiding not in our armies,
but solely in the omnipotence of the Lord, whose in-
struments we desire to be."

26 What is ''Protestant?''

The Elector of Saxony and ten other power-
ful Princes signed this document. Upon their
banners and escutcheons, and upon the liveries
of their retainers and servants, they emblazoned
and embroidered the full five initials ^ ' V. D. M. I.
^." of their motto — ''Verbum Domini Manet
in JElernwn'' — The Word of the Lord abideth
eternally.

This Christian courage of the evangelical
Princes, and the expressive inaction of those
Princes who were willing to be neutral, put a
check upon the papal leagues and general alliance ;
and still suspended the force of the Edict of
Worms. Thus matters stood at the time of the
assembling of the Diet of Spires, June 25, 1526.

On arrival at Spires the evangelical Princes
immediately asked the Bishop of Spires for the
use of a church in which to worship and to listen
to the preaching of the Gospel. The bishop, re-
senting such temerity, indignantly refused : ' ' What
would be thought of me at Kome V^\

The Princes complained of the injustice, for
the churches belonged as much to them as to the
bishops and were properly for the religious bene-
fit of all the people.

Not being allowed any church, the evangelical
Princes had the Gospel preached daily in the halls
of their palaces. Immense crowds, of people from
both city and country, attended the preaching of

Diet of Spires 27

the Gospel, while the mass was said in empty
churches. Evangelical writings were abundantly
distributed, and eagerly read by both princes and
people. The whole city and region round was
moved more by the Eeformation than by the Diet.

An immediate etfect of all this was that the
Princes who had been only neutral as to the en-
forcement of the Edict of Worms, now in the Diet
stood decidedly against any enforcement of it.
The Diet did not say that the Edict of Worms
should be enforced ^'as far as possible.'' It said
plainly, not only that the enforcement of the Edict
was impossible, but also that if the Emperor were
present he himself would be of the same mind.

Next, against the opposition of the ecclesias-
tical section of the Diet, a resolution was adopted
that the Diet should consider the church-abuses.
The deputy from the City of Frankfort said :

^ ^ The clergy make a jest of the public good, and
look after their own interests only."

The deputy from Duke George the rabid enemy
of Luther, said :

^^The laymen have the salvation of Christen-
dom much more at heart than the clergy."

^ ' Never had the towns spoken out more freely ;
never had the Princes pressed more urgently for
a removal of their burthens." — Ranke.

Several cities, by their representatives, pre-
sented to the Diet a paper containing a list of

28 What is ''Protestant?''

abuses from which they asked relief. They asked
that the law of forbidden meats should be abol-
ished : that as to ceremonies all men should be left
at liberty, till a General Council should meet : that
till then also there should be the free preaching
of the Gospel.

They complained of the church holidays, which,
of course, were all compulsory. They said —

**The severe penalties which forbid useful la-
bor on these days, do not shut out temptations to
vice and crime; and these periods of compulsory
idleness are as unfavorable to the practice of vir-
tue, as to the habit of industry. '^

These complaints too were entertained, and
*Hhe Diet was divided into committees for the abo-
lition of abuses." August 1 a general committee
reported ^Hhe necessity of a reform of abuses."
Finally ''the proposal was made that the books
containing the new statutes should be forthwith
burned without reserve, and that the holy Scrip-
tures should be taken as the sole rule of faith.
Although some opposition arose, yet never was a
resolution adopted with more firmness." — Ranke.

The tide was flowing strongly in the unexpected
direction. The Diet that was confidently con-
voked to speak the last word to the lieretics, and
if not heard was to deal tlie finishing blow to the
Eeformation, was speaking weighty words and
dealing body blows to the papacy.

The Deadlock 29

The situation was desperate. Something tell-
ing must be done. ^^ Fanatical priests, monks, ec-
clesiastical princes, all gathered round Ferdinand.
Cunning, bribery, nothing was spared.''

The reason that Ferdinand was the centre of
effort was this: Ferdinand was the Emperor's
brother. He was the voice of the Emperor in
the Diet. He had in his possession a document
of ^instructions" from the Emperor to the Diet,
dated March 23, 1526, four months before the
Diet had assembled. In this document the Em-
peror —

'^ willed and commanded that they should de-
cree nothing contrary to the ancient customs, can-
ons, and ceremonies, of the Church; and that all
things should be ordered within his dominions
according to the form and tenor of the Edict of
Worms."

The papal party in the Diet knew that Fer-
dinand had this document. The evangelical Princes
and the deputies from the cities did not know
that he had it. In the hope that the course of
things in the Diet should be such that he might
not have to use it, Ferdinand had not given it to
the Diet at the beginning; and now that the Diet
had gone so far in the opposite direction, he hesi-
tated to publish it, knowing that in the present
circumstances it amounted almost to a declara-
tion of war.

30 What is ''Protestant?''

Those who surrounded Ferdinand urged that
he now bring forth the Emperor's 'instructions.'*
''To refuse their publication was to effect the
ruin of the Church and the Empire ! Let the voice
of Charles oppose its powerful veto to the dizzi-
ness that is huriying Germany along, and the
Empire will be saved!"

Ferdinand yielded, and August 3 put the docu-
ment before the Diet. The immediate effect of its
promulgation was just what Ferdinand had feared.
But presently the date of the document was asked
for. When it was given, ' ' March 23, ' ' all breathed
freely again; for the whole effect of it was gone.

The Diet calmly replied that since that time
the Emperor and the Pope had fallen out and
were now at war, and this fact itself vitiated the
force of the instructions; for they were founded
on concert with the Pope. Indeed the document
itself said that the Emperor was "about to pro-
ceed to Eome to be crowned,'' and that he would
then "consult with the Pope touching the calling
of a General Council." And since these parts of
the document were now inoperative, so were all.

Further investigation developed the even more
decisive fact that the Emperor had actually writ-
ten to Ferdinand lately, saying in so many words,

"Let us suspend the Edict of Worms. Let us bring
back Luther's partisans by mildness, and by a good
council cause the triumph of evangelical truth."

Religious Liberty 31

This proposal was only a political turn taken
by the Emperor to play against the Pope. But it
perfectly fitted the necessity of the Diet; for it
both suspended the Edict of Worms, and sanc-
tioned all that the Diet had done to *^ cause the
triumph of evangelical truth."

The result was a deadlock in the proceedings
in the Diet. Yet the way out was another advance
of the Reformation, and further ^ triumph of evan-
gelical truth. * ' That way was the way of religious
liberty and the supremacy of the Word of God.
There was unanimous agreement to —

*^Let every man do as he thinks fit: until a
council shall re-establish the desired unity by the
Word of God.''

This conclusion was framed into' a formal de-
cree of the Diet. This decree was called *Hhe Ee-
cess of the Diet of Spires." It was dated Aug. 17,
1526, and was officially signed by Ferdinand on
the part of the Emperor. It provided that —

1. A universal, or at least a national free,
Council should be convoked within a year.

2. The Emperor should be invited to return
speedily to Germany.

3. ^*As to religion and the Edict of Worms,
in the meanwhile till a General or National Coun-
cil can be had, all shall so behave themselves in
their several provinces as that they may be able

32 What is ''Protestantf'

to render an account of their doings both to God
and the Emperor."

The expected Council was not called within
the year suggested, nor at all. This allowed the
religious liberty established by the Diet to con-
tinue, with no check nor limitation: except in the
rigidly Eomish States.

The Emperor's war with the Pope occupied all
the attention of both. After that war had brought
upon the City of Eome such a sacking by the im-
perial troops as it had never known since that by
the Goths and the Vandals, if even then, the Em-
peror and the Pope concluded a '^ peace," June
29, 1528.

Of course this ^* peace" meant only destruction
to the Christians of the Reformation. An article
of the treaty stipulated that the Emperor should
re-establish the authority of the Pope in Germany.
The Emperor promised that ^^witli all his might"
he would put down the heretics.

However, this should be done by means of
the action of a Diet and the power of the States,
if possible. But if that should fail, then it must
be done by the power of the imperial armies. Ac-
cordingly, Aug. 1, 1528, the imperial letters were
sent out appointing the meeting of the Diet Feb.
21, 1529, at Spires.

To attack the Reformation through the action
of a Diet was now more difficult than ever, because

Second Diet of Spires 33

the present order of religious liberty was of the
direct and unanimous action of the Diet signed
with the names and sealed with the oaths of all.
By every formal and constitutional sanction that
act was the law of the empire. Yet in the ^ ^ peace ' '
between the Emperor and the Pope, these consider-
ations should count for nothing. All must be
swept away, to give place to the Edict of Worms.
The Reformation must be put down.

When the time came for the assembling of the
Diet, everything was made to bear the impress of
the purpose of the new compact. The papal party
attended in greater numbers than ever before, and
distinctlj^ manifested a superior and confident air.
The evangelical Princes were now forbidden to
have the preaching of the Gospel even in their
own halls. However, they did not respect this
command. The Elector of Saxony wrote that
about eight thousand people attended morning and
evening worship in his chapel on Palm-Sunday.

Upon the formal opening of the Diet, the im-
perial commissioners conveyed the information
that —

*'It is the Emperor's will and command that the
Diet repeal the Edict of Spires."

The papal party of course insisted that this
should be done immediately, because, as they said,
that Edict of religious liberty —

34 JVhat is ''Protestant?''

1. Protected all kinds of abominable opinions.

2. Fostered the growth of heretical and dis-
loyal communities. (Meaning evangelical congre-
gations.)

3. It was the will of the Emperor.

4. Whoever opposed the repeal was not the
friend of the Emperor.

The evangelical Princes maintained that —
1. The Edict of religions liberty had been
unanimously adopted, signed and sworn to, by
the members of the Diet, and by Ferdinand on
behalf of the Emperor.

2. It was thus a part of the constitution of
the empire.

3. For only a majority now to presume to re-
peal it, would be an open breach of national and
constitutional faith.

4. If such procedure were to be adopted, there
could never be any security in anything.

5. Also a centralized authority would thus be
established that would sweep away the local.

6. The independence of the individual States
would be destroyed.

7. Yet after all, there would yet remain the
right of each State to resist such an order of things
in its own territory.

8. Therefore the demand of the Emperor meant
nothing less than revolution and war.

These arguments were so forceful, and the dan-

The Diet Stands Finn 35

gerous consequences of repeal were so manifestly
logical, that even Catholic princes were won. The
Emperor's proposal did not carry. The Diet re-
fused to repeal the Recess of Spires.

Then the papal party played a bold stroke.
The imperial commissioners announced that —

"By virtue of his supreme power, the Emperor has
annulled the Edict of Spires. ' '

This was worse yet. The Emperor's action
in this was wholly unconstitutional and arbitrary.
For a majority of the Diet to do such a thing would
be arbitrary and revolutionary. But for the Em-
peror alone to do it of his own arbitrary will and
power, was more so. The Diet — not the evangeli-
cal Princes only, but the main body of the Diet —
met this new assertion with calmness and courage.
They refused to recognize it.

But this being a part of the settled program, the
papal party proceeded as if the Emperor's ar-
bitrary act were fully and formally legal. And
with the Edict of Spires presumed thus to be out
of the way, they demanded that the Diet now
order the full enforcement of the Edict of Worms.

The Diet would not itself repeal the Recess,
nor would it recognize the Emperor's annullment
of it. With it standing, the Edict of Worms could
not be revived. Then the papal party took a
course seemingly to propose the continuance of
the Edict of Spires and the avoidance of the Edict

36 What is ''Protestant?

of Worms ; but really to undermine the Edict of
Spires, and to smother the Reformation, instead
of to crush it.

April 7 they secured a majority vote in the
Diet in favor of a resolution that —

1. In all places where the Edict of Worms had
been enforced, every religious innovation should
continue to be interdicted.

2. In all places where the Edict of Worms had
not been, or could not be, enforced, there should
be no new reform.

3. The reformers should not touch any con-
troverted point.

4. They should not oppose any celebration of
the mass.

5. They should not permit any Catholic to em-
brace the doctrines of Luther.

6. They should acknowledge the episcopal
jurisdiction of the Catholic Church.

7. They should not tolerate any Anabaptists
nor any Sacramentarians.

This on its face was a proposal for the positive
smothering of the Reformation; for it stopped
every activity of the reformers, and gave full
scope to every activity of the Catholics.

Against the new proposal the evangelical
Princes contended that —

^'This Diet is incompetent to do more than to
preserve the religious liberty established by the

The Crisis 37

former Diet, until the Council shall meet accord-
ing to the original agreement embodied in the pro-
vision of the Recess. Therefore we reject this
decree. We reject it also because, in matters of
faith the majority have no power. '^

The passage of the new proposal, April 7th,
was but the first step : others had to follow before
it could be a law. But bearing down all pleas or
considerations of right or justice, it was jammed
through the remaining stages; for ^'Ferdinand
and the priests were determined on vanquishing
what they called a Maring obstinacy.'

*^Tliey commenced with the weaker States.
They began to frighten and divide the cities, which
had hitherto pursued a common course. On the
12th April they were summoned before the
Diet. In vain did they allege the absence of some
of their number, and ask for delay. It was re-
fused, and the call was hurried on. Twenty-one
free cities accepted the proposition of the Diet,
and fourteen rejected it.

^^On the 18th April it was decreed that the
evangelical States should not be heard again ; and
Ferdinand prepared to inflict the decisive blow, on
the morrow.

**When the day came, the king appeared in the
Diet surrounded by the other commissaries of the
empire and several bishops. He thanked the
Roman Catholics for their fidelity, and declared

38 What is ''Protestant?''

that the resolution, having been definitely agreed
to, was abont to be drawn np in the form of an
imperial decree.

^^He then announced to the Elector and his
friends, that their only remaining course was to
submit to the majority. The evangelical Princes,
who had not expected so positive a declaration,
were excited at this summons ; and passed, accord-
ing to custom, into an adjoining chamber to delib-
erate.

^*But Ferdinand was not in a humour to wait
for their answer. He rose and the imperial com-
missioners with him. Vain were all endeavors to
stop him. ^I have received an order from his im-
perial majesty,' replied he; 'I have executed it.
All is over. ' ' — D' Auhigne.

When the Princes returned from their delibera-
tion and found Ferdinand and his party gone, they
sent to him a deputation entreating him to return.
He replied only, ^^It is a settled affair. Submis-
sion is all that remains."

Then the evangelical Princes, seeing that the
whole matter had been decided against them, and
the meeting adjourned to prevent their answering,
and all this in their absence, decided **to appeal
from the report of the Diet to the Word of God,
and from the Emperor Charles to Jesus Christ
the King of kings and Lord of lords.''

Accordingly the next day, April 19, 1529,

The Protest 39

the evangelical Princes appeared before the Diet,
and, for himself, for the princes, and for the whole
evangelical body, the Elector John of Saxony read
the declaration of Protest that put the word
'' Protestant" in the world, and gave to the Eefor-
mation the name and title of Protestant.

That noble, just, and Christian Declaration
runs as follows : —

"Dear Lords, Cousins, Uncles, and Friends! —
"Having repaired to this Diet at the summons of
his majesty, and for the common good of Christendom,
we have heard and learnt that the decisions of the last
Diet concerning our holy Christian faith are to be re-
pealed, and that it is proposed to substitute for them
certain restrictive and onerous resolutions.

"King Ferdinand and the other imperial commis-
sioners, by affixing their seals to the last Recess of
Spires, had promised, however, in the name of the
emperor, to carry out sincerely and inviolably all that
it contained, and to permit nothing that was contrary
to it. In like manner, also, you and we, electors, princes
prelates, lords, and deputies of the empire, bound our-
selves to maintain always and with our whole might
ever}^ article of that decree.

' ' We cannot, therefore, consent to its repeal : —
"Firstly, because we believe that his imperial maj-
esty (as well as you and we) is called to maintain
firmly what has been unanimously and solemnly re-
solved.

"Secondly, because it concerns the glory of God
and the salvation of our souls, and that in such matters
we ought to have regard, above all, to the command-
ment of God, who is King of kings and Lord of lords ;
each of us rendering Him account for himself, without
caring the least in the world about majority or mi-
nority.

40 What is ''Protestant?''

"We form no judgment on that which concerns you,
most dear Lords : and we are content to pray God
daily that He will bring us all to unity of faith, in
truth, charity, and holiness, through Jesus Christ, our
throne of grace, and our only Mediator.

*'But in what concerns ourselves, adhesion to your
resolution (and let every honest man be judge) would
be acting against our conscience, condemning a doc-
trine that we maintain to be Christian, and pronoun-
cing that it ought to be abolished in our States, if we
could do so without trouble.

''This would be to deny our Lord Jesus Christ, to
reject His holy Word, and thus give Him good reason
to deny us in turn before His Father, as He has
threatened.

' ' What ! we ratify this edict ! We assert that when
Almighty God calls a man to His knowledge, this man
cannot, however, receive the knowledge of God! Oh!
of what deadly backslidings should we not thus be-
come the accomplices, not only among our own sub-
jects, but also among yours!

"For this reason we reject the yoke that is im-
posed on us. And although it is universally known
that in our States the holy sacrament of the body and
blood of our Lord is becomingly administered, we can-
not adhere to what the edict proposes against the
Sacramentarians, seeing that the imperial edict did not
speak of them, that they have not been heard, and that
we cannot resolve upon such important points before
the next Council.

"Moreover, the new edict declaring the ministers
shall preach the Gospel, explaining it according to the
writings accepted by the holy Christian Church, we
think that, for this regulation to have any value, we
should first agree on what is meant by the true and
holy Church. Now, seeing that there is great di-
versity of opinion in this respect; that there is no
sure doctrine but such as is conformable to the Word
of God; that the Lord forbids the teaching of any
other doctrine; that each text of the Holy Scriptures

The Protestants 41

ought to be explained by other and clearer texts ; that
this holy book is in all things necessary for the Chris-
tian, easy of understanding, and calculated to scatter
the darkness, we are resolved, with the Grace of God,
to maintain the pure and exclusive preaching of His
holy Word, such as is contained in the biblical books of
the Old and New Testament, without adding anything
thereto that may be contrary to it. This Word is the
only truth ; it is the sure rule of all doctrine, and of all
life, and can never fail or deceive us. He who builds
on this foundation, shall stand against all the powers
of hell: whilst all the human vanities that are set up
against it, shall fall before the face of God.

"For these reasons, most dear lords, uncles, cous-
ins, and friends, we earnestly entreat you to weigh
carefully our grievances and our motives. If you do
not yield to our request, we Protest by these presents,
before God, our only Creator, Preserver, Redeemer,
and Saviour, and who will one day be our Judge, as
well as before all men and all creatures, that w^e, for
us and for our people, neither consent nor adhere in
any manner whatsoever, to the proposed decree, in any-
thing that is contrary to God, to His Holy Word, to our
right conscience, to the salvation of our souls, and to
the last decree of Spires.

**At the same time we are in expectation that his
imperial majesty w^ill behave towards us like a Christian
prince who loves God above all things ; and we declare
ourselves ready to pay unto him, as well as unto you,
gracious lords, all the affection and obedience that are
our just and legitimate duty."

^^Thus, in the presence of the Diet, spoke out
those courageous men whom Christendom will
henceforward denominate The Protestants."

And that is the origin of the word *^ Protes-
tant. ' ' That is the true story of the word ' ' Prot-
estant'' as dealt with and repudiated by the

42 What is ''Protestant?''

Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in
America, thirty-one denominations with ^^a mem-
bership of more than seventeen millions.''

And now, having looked the story through, —

What is there in it anywhere from beginning to
end, that should cause anybody but a papist to
want to repudiate the word ^^ Protestant,'' or the
principle J or the idea, of it?

What is there anywhere in the story that
*^ serves to recall" such a ^^most unhappy and
trying experience" that anybody but a papist
should now want to repudiate the word ^' Protes-
tant?"

What is there anywhere in the story that can
be so compromising or discreditable to anybody
but a papist, that he must needs repudiate it in
order that his ' ' Christian brethren may work with
him?"

Please look that story over again, yes even
over and over and again and again; analyze it:
examine each particular phase of it: distinguish
each particular principle in it. Then upon the
straight and simple story ask yourself, —

In fact and in truth, what does the word
** Protestant" indicate? What does it tell? What
does it mean?

And by the open evidence of the plain, straight,
and simple, story, the answer comes.

It means protest against the burning or other-

What It Means 43

wise destroying of either the men or the writings
of the men who are found to disagree in religion or
faith with other men either in a church or a State.

It means protest against arbitrary and unjust
procedure of ecclesiastical combines.

It means protest against any denunciation or
condemnation of men in their absence, or without
their being heard.

It means protest against any alliance or con-
nection whatever between the ecclesiastical and the
civil power.

It means protest against any assertion or claim
of any power or right of any majority in matters
of religion or faith.

It means protest against any intrusion what-
ever of the civil power, under whatever plea, in
any matter that in any way partakes of religion or
faith.

It means protest against all arbitrary authority
of the church under whatever form, name or claim.

In this it means protest against any exercise
of ecclesiastical authority or power in any other
wise than only by the ministry of the word of God.

It means protest against any restriction what-
ever, of any kind, on the full preaching of the word
of God, even on ** controverted points,'' to every
creature everywhere and always.

It means protest against any restriction what-
ever, of any kind, on the full and free exercise and

44 What is ''Protestant?"

enjoyment of the right of any individual at any
time to embrace any doctrine that he may choose
to believe.

It proclaims and defends the full and complete
liberty of every individual, himself alone.

In this it proclaims and defends the perfect
individuality of every soul.

And in this it proclaims and defends the sole
and complete responsibility of the individual soul
to God only, in all things pertaining to religion or
faith.

It rests in and proclaims the word of God alone,
as in the Bible of the Old and New Testaments,
as all-sufficient in all things pertaining to religion
and faith.

That, all of that, and nothing less than that, in
truth and in fact, is what the word ^^ Protestant'^
means. That is what it means to be a Protestant.
And that is what was repudiated by the Federal
Council of Churches, when it unanimously repudi-
ated the word ''Protestant.'^

Are you a Protestant ?

CHAPTER III.
What * ^ Protestant " Means in America.

The development of the splendid word ^'Prot-
estanf was not for that day only. The prin-
ciple of it was then, and always has been, a very
practical thing.

*^It was this noble resolution that gained for
modern times liberty of thought and independence
of faith. ' ' — Z> ^Auhign e.

And in and for all modern times the liberty
of thought and independence of faith — the Relig-
ious Liberty — established as a natural and un-
alienable right of mankind by the Constitution of
the United States, is the truest expression of the
principle of the Protest that there is in any organic
connection in the world.

Yet it was at a great price, and only through
a long and strenuous contest that in this New Na-
tion there was gained at last for mankind this
freedom.

It was not many years after the Protest was
presented at Spires, before, in principle, it had to
be repeated and maintained even against those
who professed to be Protestants. For when the
original and true Protestants had passed away,
many ceased to be Protestants and became only
Lutherans, Zwinglians, etc. They ceased to think

45

46 What '^ Protestant ^^ Means in America

only on the truth of God, and cared only for the
truth of Luther or some other.

The Eeformation and the Protest appealed
only to the plain Word of God as it stands in the
Scriptures. This Word was steadily and faith-
fully preached; and each one was free to believe
and to preach the Word as he found it.

But ere long it came to be required that all
must believe and preach the word as some one else
had found it : and that none should preach except
he preach this.

This renewal by professed Protestants of the
same old attitude, inevitably brought renewal of
the Protest by every one who would be a true
Protestant.

The continuance of the Protest, against the
continuance of the papacy among professed Prot-
estants, brought again intolerance, excommunica-
tion, and persecution even by means of the civil
power, on the part of those who would not ad-
vance with the ever advancing truth of God.

*^^The principles which had led the Protestants
to sever themselves from the Eoman Church,
should have taught them to bear with the opinions

* The sources of the quotations, facts, and dates, in this
chapter are, Bancroft's ''History of the United States," Vol,
V, epoch iv, chap, ix, xvii, xxi; Vol. VI, Book II, chap, v;
Book IV, chap, iii; Book V, chap. i.

Baird's "History of Eeligion in America," Book III, chap.
iii.

Bryce's "Holy Eoman Empire," chap. xix.

False Protestant 47

of others and warned them from the attempt to con-
nect agreement in doctrine or manner of worship
with the indispensable forms of secular govern-
ment. Still less ought they to have enforced that
agreement by civil penalties ; for faith, upon their
own showing, had no value save as it was freely
given.

^' A church which does not claim to be infallible,
is bound to allow that some part of the truth may
possibly be with its adversaries. A church which
permits or encourages human reason to apply
itself to revelation, has no right first to argue with
people and then to punish them if they are not
convinced.

'^But whether it was that men only half saw
what they had done, or that finding it hard enough
to unrivet priestly fetters, they welcomed all the
aid a temporal prince could give; the actual con-
sequence was that religion, or rather theological
creeds, began to be involved with politics more
closely than had ever been the case before. . . .

**In almost every country the form of doctrine
which triumphed associated itself with the State,
and maintained the despotic system of the Middle
Ages while it forsook the grounds on which that
system had been based.

**It was thus that there arose National
Churches, which were to be to the several Protes-
tant countries of Europe that which the Church

48 What *^ Protestant^' Means in America

Catholic had been to the world at large ; churches,
that is to say, each of which was to be co-extensive
with its respective State, was to enjoy landed
wealth and exclusive political privilege, and was
to be armed with coercive powers against recu-
sants.

^*It was not altogether easy to find a set of theo-
retical principles on which such churches might be
made to rest. For they could not, like the old
church, point to the historical transmission of their
doctrines ; they could not claim to have in any one
man or body of men an infallible organ of divine
truth ; they could not even fall back upon general
councils, or the argument, whatever it may be
worth, 'Securus indicat orhis t err arum.'

*^But in practice these difficulties were soon
got over. For the dominant party in each State,
if it did not claim to be infallible, was at any rate
quite sure that it was right; and could attribute
the resistance of other sects to nothing but moral
obliquity. The will of the sovereign, as in Eng-
land; or the will of the majority, as in Holland,
the Scandinavian countries, and Scotland; im-
posed upon each country a peculiar form of wor-
ship, and kept up the practices of mediaeval in-
tolerance without their justification.

*' Persecution, which might be at least palliated
in an infallible Catholic and Apostolic Church,
was peculiarly odious when practiced by those who

Crime and Folly 49

were not Catholic, wlio were no more apostolic
than their neighbors, and who had just revolted
from the most ancient and venerable authority in
the name of rights which they now denied to others.

* * If union with the visible church by participa-
tion in a material sacrament be necessary to eter-
nal life, persecution may be held a duty, a kind-
ness to perishing souls. But if the kingdom
of heaven be in every sense a kingdom of the
spirit; if saving faith be possible out of one
visible body and under a diversity of external
forms; if the sense of the written revelation of
God be ascertainable by the exercise of human rea-
son guided by the Divine breath which bloweth
where it listeth; persecution becomes at once a
crime and a folly." — Bryce,

Yet, against all the principles of the Protest,
in spite of consistency and justice, and in defiance
of plain Christianity ajid common sense, that ex-
ecrable crime and egregious folly persisted
among professed Protestants in all their States
and countries except in the one little blessed spot
of Rhode Island, until the rise of the New Nation
in 1776.

When, July 4, 1776, the notable Declaration
proclaimed that ^Hhese colonies are and of right
ought to be free and independent States," every
one of these new-born States, except Ehode Island
only, had an establishment of religion. In New

50 What ''Protestant'^ Means in America

England it was Congregationalism. In others it
was the Church of England. In yet others it was
*Hhe Christian religion" — a sort of ^^ general
Christianity" that any religions fanatic or
heathen magistrate might enforce by ^Hhe Com-
mon Law."

In Virginia was begun the Protest and the con-
test for Religious Liberty in this land. There
the Church of England was the form of the re-
ligious establishment. All the people were taxed
to support the preachers and to build the meet-
ing-houses of that denomination. The will of
that church was a part of the law of the State, to
which all must conform or pay harassing and
heavy fines.

No sooner had the Declaration of Independence
been made than the Baptists, the Quakers, and the
Presbyterians of the Presbytery of Hanover, in
Virginia, presented to the General Assembly a
Memorial pleading for Religious Liberty. They
said in substance: We have declared ourselves
free and independent of the government of Eng-
land. Now let us also be free and independent of
the church *of England.

Their plea was heard. And after two months
of what Jefferson said was the severest contest
in which he was ever engaged, the cause of free-
dom prevailed. Dec. 6, 1776, by a legislature ^^of
which the majority were Protestant Episcopali-

Virginia Freed 51

ans/^ a law was enacted repealing all the laws and
penalties prejudicial to dissenters, releasing them
from any further compulsory contributions to the
Episcopal Church, and discontinuing all State sup-
port to the clergy after Jan. 1, 1777.

The church was disestablished. Virginia was
free. Yet the contest for Keligious Liberty was not
ended. Immediately there was a combine of all
the denominations in Virginia, except the Pres-
byterians, the Baptists, and the Quakers, to se-
cure the establishment of ^'the Christian religion'^
by law.

In the very Assembly that had disestablished
the Episcopal Church, there was made a motion
to levy a general tax for the support of ^ ^ teachers
of the Christian religion.'^ The matter was post-
poned to the consideration of ^^a future Assem-
bly." To the next Assembly petitions were sent
by the Episcopalians and the Methodists, plead-
ing for a law le^^^ing a general tax for the support
of '* teachers of the Christian religion.''

These petitions and associated efforts were vig-
orously opposed by the Presbyterians in their or-
iginal memorial renewed with additions; by ^^the
strenuous efforts of the Baptists;" and by the
loyal strength of the Quakers. In 1779 the bill
for the general assessment for the support of
teachers of 'Hhe Christian religion" was defeated,
though it had been carried to the third reading.

52 What '* Protestanf Means in America

Then Jefferson prepared with his own hand
a document entitled ^^An Act for Establishing
Religious Freedom/* and proposed that it be
adopted by the General Assembly ' ' as a part of the
Revised Code*' of Virginia. This proposed law
was submitted to '^the whole people of Virginia**
for their ''deliberate reflection," before the vote
should be taken upon it in the Assembly.

This was in 1779 ; and the war for independence
had now become so all-absorbing that the move-
ment for the establishment of "the Christian Re-
ligion'* had to be suspended. And Jefferson's bill
for ''Establishing Religious Freedom** was before
the whole people for such consideration as the
times might allow.

However, no sooner had peace come to the
land than under the lead of ' ' The Protestant Epis-
copal Church** the demand for established religion
was again forced to the front. Petitions were pre-
sented to the General Assembly and a bill was
framed, proposing a legal "provision for teachers
of the Christian Religion.** Patrick Henry was
its patron; and "many others of the foremost
men** supported it.

Personally Jefferson was out of the country
as minister to France. But his place on the ground,
In the General Assembly and everywhere, was most
worthily filled by Madison as the leader in the
cause of Religious Liberty.

Religious Freedom in Virginia 53

Madison declared: ^'The assessment bill ex-
ceeds the functions of civil authority. The ques-
tion has been stated as if it were, Is religion neces-
sary? The true question is, Are establishments
necessary to religion! And the answer is. They
corrupt religion.''

In spite of all opposition the bill was success-
fully carried to the third reading. It was certain
to pass if it should come to the vote. Therefore
the opposition fought for time.

Using as a base the fact that the bill ^'Estab-
lishing Religious Freedom" had been submitted
to 'Hhe whole people,'' and was at that moment
still before them, Madison and his associates
moved that the bill "Establishing a Provision
for Teachers of the Christian Religion" be like-
wise submitted to the whole people for their de-
liberate reflection.

This motion was so evidently just that it
gained the majority and was carried. ''Thus the
people of Virginia had before them for their choice
the bill of the revised code for 'Establishing Re-
ligious Freedom,' and the plan of desponding
churchmen for supporting religion by a general
assessment."

"All the State, from the sea to the mountains
and beyond them, was alive with the discussion.
Madison, in a Remonstrance addressed to the Leg-
islature, embodied all that could be said against

54 What ^^ Protestant'^ Means in America

the compulsory maintenance of Christianity, and
in behalf of religious freedom as a natural right,
the glory of Christianity itself, the surest method
of supporting religion, and the only way to pro-
duce harmony among its several sects/'

Washington cast his mighty influence in behalf
of Keligious Liberty. The outcome of the contest
was that "when the Legislature of Virginia assem-
bled, no person was willing to bring forward the
Assessment Bill ; and it was never heard of more.
Out of a hundred and seventeen articles of the re-
vised code which were then reported, Madison se-
lected for immediate action the one which related
to Religious Freedom.

"The People of Virginia had held it under
deliberation for six years. In December, 1785,
it passed the House by a vote of nearly four to
one. Attempts in the Senate for amendment pro-
duced only insignificant changes in the preamble,
and on the 16th of January, 1786, Virginia placed
among its statutes the very words of the original
draft by Jefferson, with the hope that they would
endure forever : —

" *No man shall be compelled to frequent or sup-
port any religions worship, place, or ministry whatso-
ever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or
bnrthened in his body or ^oods, nor shall otherwise
suffer on account of his religions opinions or belief;
but all men shall be free to profess, and by argument
to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and the

National Religious Freedom 55

same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their
civil capacities. . . . The rights hereby asserted
are of the natural rights of mankind, and if any act
shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or nar-
row its operation, such act will be an infringement of
natural right'."

Of this blessed result of that splendid cam-
paign in Virginia, Madison happily exclaimed, as
he bad well earned the right to exclaim, *^Tlms in
Virginia was extinguished forever the ambitious
hope of making laws for the human mind.''

Yet this grand result in Virginia did not end
either the story or the campaign of Eeligious Lib-
erty in this land. Before the campaign in Vir-
ginia had closed in that triumph of Religious Lib-
erty, the first steps had been taken for the calling
of a convention to consider the forming of a na-
tional government by and for the people of all the
States. And out of that campaign of Religious
Liberty which they had made triumphant in Vir-
ginia, Madison and Washington went directly into
the campaign for the forming of a national govern-
ment. And into the new campaign they carried
with them and finally fixed in the National Con-
stitution the very principles of Religious Liberty
which they had carried to such a triumphant issue
in Virginia.

All that was said on this subject in the Consti-
tution as originally framed was the closing clause
of Article VI: —

56 What ^^ Protestant'^ Means in America

"No religious test shall ever be required as a quali-
fication to any office of public trust under the United
States.''

The National Government being one only of
delegated powers, if nothing had been said on the
subject, this itself would have excluded the govern-
ment from any and all connection with or cog-
nizance of religion. But then such power might
have been usurped on the plea that the subject
was forgotten. The insertion of that clause proved
both that the subject had been considered and that
it had been decided : and that it had been decided
in the way of excluding religion entirely.

Yet this did not satisfy the people. The dis-
cussion of the subject in Virginia had spread
through all the other States, and had awakened
there an interest that now found expression.
When the Constitution was submitted to the
people for ratification, objection was made every-
where that it did not fully secure Keligious Lib-
erty. Only negative expression was not enough.
What was intended should be positively asserted.

Accordingly the ratification of the Constitu-
tion was with the distinct understanding that there
should immediately be appended articles of the
nature of a Bill of Eights. By the first Congress
that ever met under the Constitution, this was
done in the form of the first ten Amendments.
And the very first clause of all is the one that posi-

American Principles 57

lively assures the complete Religious Liberty that
had all the time been intended : —

''Congress shall make no law respecting an estab-
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof."

Yet even that did not quite finish the story. In
1797 there was made and signed by President
Washington regularly ^'by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate'^ according to the Con-
stitution, a treaty in which it was declared —

^'The government of the United States is not
in any sense founded upon the Christian religion/'

And by the Fourteenth Amendment, this Re-
ligious Liberty is extended and guaranteed to
all the people in all the States: for —

*'No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citi-
zens of the United States.''

Such is the straight and plain story of The
Fact of the establishment of full and complete Re-
ligious Liberty as a natural and constitutional
right in this New Nation of the United States.

It is now necessary to cite from the same
sources The Principles upon which all of that was
done. And herein lies the great importance to all
the people of the United States and of the world,
of that action of the Federal Council of Churches
in repudiation of the word *' Protestant:" when in
the Protest there was wrapped up the Reforma-

58 What ^'Protestanf Means in America

tion. For, people who are capable of repudiating
the Protest are already qualified to abandon the
results of it.

The men who erected this noble temple of Ee-
ligious Liberty, first made clear what they meant,
and what is to be understood, by the word *'Ee-
ligion. ' ' They said : —

''Religion, or the duty which we owe to our Crea-
tor, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed
only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence,
and is nowhere cognizable but at the tribunal of the
universal Judge."

Then they distinguished and declared the Prin-
ciples upon which they claimed for themselves and
advocated for all, perfect Eeligious Liberty.
They said: —

'*To judge for ourselves, and to engage in the ex-
ercise of religion agreeably to the dictates of our own
consciences, is an unalienable right, which, upon The
Principles on which The Gospel was first propagated
and The Reformation from Popery carried on, can
never be transferred to another."

Further they said: ''In the event of a statute
for the support of the Christian religion, are the
courts of law to decide what is Christianity I and
as a consequence to decide what is orthodoxy and
what is heresy?''

"Who does not see that the same authority
which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of
all other religions, may establish, with the same

Character of Legal Religion 59

ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclu-
sion of all other sects T'

'*It is impossible for the magistrate to adjudge
the right of preference among the various sects
that profess the Christian faith, without erecting
a claim to infallibility which would lead us hack
to the Church of Rome."

Upon the principles on which the Gospel was
first propagated and the Reformation carried on,
they declared against any govermnental recog-
nition of any religion. And they declared specifi-
cally against any governmental recogTiition of
''the Christian religion,^' expressly in order that
this Nation and people should forever he kept
from heing led hack to the Church of Rome.

Other splendid sentences from the documents
of that campaign, equally show that the men who
wrought for Religious Liberty had ever in mind
the distinction between the principles of the pa-
pacy and those of the Reformation.

Of that *'Bill Establishing a Provision for
Teachers of the Christian Religion,'' they said:

''Wliat a melancholy mark is this bill, of sud-
den degeneracy ! Instead of holding forth an asy-
lum to the persecuted, it is itself a signal of per-
secution. . . . Distant as it may be in its
present form from the Inquisition, it differs from
it only in degree. The one is the first step, the
other is the last in the career of intolerance."

60 What ''Protestant'' Means in America

*^ During almost fifteen centuries has the legal
establishment of Christianity been on trial. What
have been its frnits! More or less, in all places,
pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and
servility in the laity ; in both, superstition, bigotry,
and persecution. . . .

''What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical
establishments had on civil society! In some in-
stances they have been seen to erect a spiritual
tyranny on the ruins of civil authority. In many
instances they have been seen upholding the
thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have
they been seen the guardians of the liberties of
the people."

''Torrents of blood have been spilt in the Old
World in consequence of vain attempts of the secu-
lar arm to extinguish religious discord by pro-
scribing all differences in religious opinion. Time
has at length revealed the true remedy. Every
relaxation of narrow and rigorous policy . . .
has been found to assuage the disease.

*'The American theatre has exhibited proofs
that equal and complete liberty, if it does not
wholly eradicate it, sufficiently destroys its ma-
lignant influence on the health and prosperity of
the State. If, with the salutary effects of this sys-
tem under our own eyes, we begin to contract the
bounds of religious freedom, we know no name
which will too severely reproach our folly.''

Gospel Liberty 61

These quotations are sufficient to show that in
their contention for Religious Liberty, those noble
men held steadily before them the principles of
the Protest and the Reformation; and that they
held consistently to those principles.

And they blended in one with these, ' ' the prin-
ciples on which the Gospel was first propagated/^
In this too they held consistently, and were emi-
nently correct and true to the truth.

The Lord Jesus, the Author of the Gospel as
it was first propagated, proclaimed from God this
perfect Religious Liberty, in the sweeping words,
**If any man hear my words and believe not, I
judge him not. ^ ' John 12 : 47.

When the Creator and Lord of all declares
every man's freedom not to believe even His
words, then that utterly excludes all other per-
sons, potentates, and powers, from ever judging
or condemning anybody for any dissent or vari-
ance in any matter of religion or faith.

And that is the American and Constitutional
principle, from the Christian and Reformation
principle.

And so says the Scripture again: ^^Who art
thou that judgest another man's servant? To his
own Master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall
be holden up ; for God is able to make him stand.

**So then every one of us shall give account
of himself to God.'' Rom. 14: 4, 12.

62 What ^'Protestant'' Means in America

And from the Christian and Reformation prin-
ciple that is the American and Constitutional
principle ; for Washington said : ^ ' Every man who
conducts himself as a good citizen is accountable
alone to God for his religious faith; and should be
protected in worshipping God according to the
dictates of his conscience."

Again Jesus said: *^ Render to Caesar the
things which are Caesar's ; and unto God the things
that are God 's. ' ' Matt. 22:21.

When that word was spoken, in all the ^* civil-
ized" world Caesar and God, religion and the
State, were held to be one and inseparable. But
by that word Jesus split in two that heathen and
Satanic thing, and set them as far apart as are the
world and Christ, and Satan and God.

And from the Christian and Reformation prin-
ciple, that is the American and Constitutional prin-
ciple.

In the sense of *^ revolt" being *'to turn away
in horror or disgust, to be repelled or shocked,"
the Reformation was a revolt from the papacy.
And it was much more than that. It was a revival
of original Christianity. And in that it was the
revival of the divine principle of Individuality.

In this respect also the American and Consti-
tutional principle of Liberty is the truest expres-
sion that there is in any organic connection in all
the world, of * ^ the principles upon which the Gos-

Individuality 63

pel was first propagated and the Reformation from
popery carried on."

' ^ No one thought of vindicating religion for the
conscience of the individual, till a voice in Judea,
breaking day for the greatest epoch in the life of
humanity by establishing a pure, spiritual, and
universal, religion for all mankind, enjoined to
render to Caesar only that which is Ccesar's. The
rule was upheld during the infancy of the Gospel
for all men.

*^No sooner was this religion adopted by the
chief of the Eoman Empire than it was shorn of
its character of universality and enthralled by an
unholy connection with the unholy State. And so
it continued, till the New Nation — the least de-
filed with the barren scoffings of the eighteenth
century, the 77iost general believer in Christianity
of any people of that age, the chief heir of the
Reformation in its purest form — when it came to
establish a government for the United States, re-
fused to treat faith as a matter to be regulated by
a corporate body, or having a headship in a mon-
arch or a State.''

* ^ The Constitution establishes nothing that in-
terferes with equality and individuality. It knows
nothing of differences by descent, or opinions, or
favored classes, or legalized religion, or the politi-
cal power of property. It leaves the individual
alongside of the individual.

64 What ''Protestant'' Means in Ameri

ica

^^No nationality of character could take form,
except on the principle of individuality, so that
the mind might be free, and every faculty have the
unlimited opportunity for its development and cul-
ture. . . . The ride of individuality was ex-
tended as never before. . . . Religion was be-
come avowedly the attribute of man, and ^o^ of a
corporation.

^'Vindicating the right of individuality even in
religion, and in religion above all, the New Nation
dared to set the example of accepting in its rela-
tions to God the principle first divinely ordained
in Judea.''

It is important especially to emphasize the fact
and the truth that the American and Constitu-
tional principle of Eeligious Liberty is the separa-
tion of the Christian religion and the State, the
separation of Christianity and the State, and not
merely the separation of Church and State.

The separation of Church and State was a
question already settled, and was in the past, be-
fore there was even begun the contest that ended
only in the establishment of the Religious Liberty
of the Constitution.

And when that contest was begun it was not
over any revival of the union of Church and State ;
but distinctly over an attempt to form a union of
''Christianity'' and the State, in the proposal to

The Christian Principle 65

establish the legal recognition and support of ' ' the
Christian religion. ' '

The sole question from beginning to end of the
whole campaign, was as to whether "the Christian
religion'^ should have governmental recognition
and support, or whether it should be excluded from
all governmental support, connection, or recog-
nition.

In all the documents that are the essential
features of the issue, there is not once found the
phrase "Church and State '^ nor any phrase of
kindred import.

Throughout, the phrases are " religion '' — in
the abstract, "the Christian religion," "Chris-
tianity," "the legal establishment of Christi-
anity. ' ' This is what was opposed, in the interests
of Religious Liberty.

They said that the proposal for the legal recog-
nition and support of "the Christian religion"
was "entirely subversive of Religious Liberty."

They said that it was "a contradiction to the
Christian religion."

They said that it was "a departure from the
plan of the Holy Author of our religion ; ' ^ because
"Almighty God hath created the mind free," and
He "being Lord both of body and mind yet chose
not to propagate His religion by coercions on
either, as was in His Almighty power to do."

And the campaign ended with the whole ques-

66 What ''Protestant'' Means in America

tion summed up in the plain word of Washington
in the supreme law of the Nation, —

^*The government of the United States is not
in any sense founded on the Christian religion.''

That and that alone is the American and Con-
stitutional principle of Religious Liberty. And it
is the Protestant and Christian principle.

That is, the Christian principle absolutely ex-
cludes Christianity from all governmental support,
connection, or recognition.

Thus by the facts and essential documents of
the whole record, nothing can be plainer than that
the American Constitutional principle of Religious
Liberty is not merely the separation of Church and
State, but it is specifically the separation of Chris-
tianity and the State.

Yet plain as that is in the essential history of
the Nation and the Constitution, plain as it is by
Protestant and Christian principle, it is safe to
say that hardly one in a thousand of the pro-
fessed Protestant preachers in the United States
recognizes it or will allow it.

For illustration, in the month of March, 1912,
more than a hundred professed Protestant
preachers of Washington City met together to
adopt a resolution to be presented to President
Taft against the wearing of the garb of the Roman
Church by teachers in government schools. Yet
in that meeting, for that purpose, and on that

The Glory of America 67

question, it was distinctly declared, and endorsed
by the whole body with applause, that —

''We mean the separation of Church and State:
not the separation of Christianity and the State."

Benjamin Franklin said that ^'lie who shall
introduce into public affairs the principles of
primitive Christianity, will change the face of
the world."

Jefferson, Madison, Washington, and the peo-
ple of the United States did introduce into public
affairs in this Nation the principles of primitive
Christianity that are specially for the guidance of
States and nations as such — the principle of the
exclusive jurisdiction of God alone in all affairs
of religion, the principle of the exclusion of the
government from all things pertaining to religion,
the ])rinciple of freedom of conscience, the princi-
ple of Individuality, the principle of perfect Ee-
ligious Liberty.

And this has changed the face of the world.

Not till the planting of this newest nation did
these principles ever find any place of recognition
in government — except always upon the little
theatre of Rhode Island. The principles had al-
ways been in the Bible for recognition by every
government. The principles were ordained
of God for the recognition of governments
and of men everywhere. But to this New Nation

68 What ^'Protestant" Means in America

alone of all tlie world befell the splendid dis-
tinction of taking the divinely ordained way of
genuine Religions Liberty as a fundamental gov-
ernmental principle.

When this great thing had been done by this
New Nation, there was not another nation in the
world that would consent that it was in any wise
a sound or safe thing to do. But now every nation
in the world has accepted and officially proclaimed
Eeligious Liberty as a governmental principle. It
is not in all of them practically applied in its true
measure ; but it has in all of them been adopted and
proclaimed as a governmental principle.

And thus by making these principles of primi-
tive Christianity, and of primitive Christianity
revived in the Reformation, a fundamental fix-
ture in public affairs — by this one thing alone this
New Nation has wrought a revolution of this whole
world. She has changed the face of the world.

But Rome never wanted the face of the world
thus to be changed. It meant to her, weakening
of influence and loss of power. It was all done
in spite of her, and against all her principles and
interest. And now that it has been done, she is
determined to reverse it. And since by the New
Nation it was done, upon this Nation Rome centres
all her energies for the reversal of it.

Accordingly, as far back as 1892, in a letter
direct from the Vatican, there was published in

Rome's Designs on America 69

the United States the will and hope of the papacy
concerning this Nation. The following are some
of the expressive sentences of that letter :

''What the church has done in the past for others,
she will do for the United States. ' '

"That is the reason the Holy See encourages the
American clergy to guard jealously the solidarity, and
to labor for the fusion, of all the foreign and hetero-
geneous elements into one vast national family."

"Like all intuitive souls, he [Leo XIII] hails in
the united American States and in their young and
flourishing church the source of new life for Euro-
peans. ' '

"He wants America to be powerful, in order that
Europe may regain strength from borrowing a rejuven-
ated type. ' '

"What can we borrow, what ought we to borrow,
from the United States for our social, political, and
ecclesiastical, reorganization? ' '

"If the United States succeed in solving the many
problems that puzzle us, Europe will follow her exam-
ple, and this outpoTiring of light will mark a date in
the history not only of the L^nited States, but of all hu-
manity. ' '

In 1893, by his '' apostolic delegate '' in this
country the same pope sent to the Catholics of
America the special message and command —

"Bring your fellow-countrymen, bring your coun-
try into immediate contact with that great secret of
blessedness — Christ and his Church."

"For here in America do we have, more than else-
where, the key to the future."

To that ambitious and pernicious end, all since
has been and ever is most diligently worked. The

70 What '^Protestant" Means in America

chief stroke so far was the appointing in 1912
of three American cardinals all at once. And if
the sinking of the Titanic had not put the etiquette
of the thing at the bottom of the sea, the American
cardinals would even now be parading their papal
pomp as '' princes of the blood ^' in precedence of
every official, native or foreign, in this land.

And to all that papal program for marring
the now fair face of the world, the Federal Coun-
cil of Churches in America — in America, think of
it ! — swings her influence, by that public repudia-
tion of the word and idea of ^^ Protestant.'*

For to Rome herself in her wicked encroach-
ments what greater encouragement could be given ;
and on principle what greater favor could be
shown to the papacy in every way ; than in the fact

that there are thirty-one denominations *^more

than seventeen millions '* of people — who are
thus distinctly pledged to silence, whatever Rome
may do!!

No worse betrayal of a nation and people was
ever played in the world than in that blind and
thoughtless action of the Federal Council of
the Churches in America, in repudiating that
splendid word ^'Protestant.*'

Are you a Protestant?

CHAPTER IV.

What Caused the Refokmation?

The Roman Churcli filled Europe. The Papacy
ruled all.

The Roman Church was an ecclesiastical struc-
ture that embraced all the people of Europe:
claiming dominion over every activity of human
life — mental, moral, and spiritual ; over every in-
terest of mankind — temporal and eternal; and
over all regions — heaven, earth, and hell.

The Papacy was the Roman Church permea-
ting and possessing all the power of State and Em-
pire : bending all to her own use ; and controlling
all in her own interests; to the making of her
claimed dominion over mankind and the world
absolutely effective, and effectively absolute.

**The whole fabric of medieval Christianity
rested upon the idea of the Visible Church ; ' ' and
^^The Holy Empire is but another name for the
Visible Church. ' ' * * Thus the Holy Roman Church
and the Holy Roman Empire are one and the
same thing, seen from different sides." — Bryce.

The ecclesiastical structure consisted of —

1. The gradation of priests, bishops, archbish-
ops, cardinals, and the Pope.

2. The monks of every order, subject only to
their respective superiors and to the Pope.

71

72 What Caused the Reformation?

By ages of possession tliis church had suc-
ceeded in filling all the people with the supersti-
tion that the church had full control of eternal
Salvation : that this Salvation rested peculiarly in
the ** sacraments, " and that of her own will the
church could bestow or withhold the *^ sacra-
ments."

Whether, therefore, any person could be par-
taker of Salvation depended upon his attitude
and degree of submission to the church. This sub-
mission was held under threat not only of the loss
of eternal Salvation, but also the incurring of Per-
dition hereafter, and this accompanied by as large
a measure as possible of perdition present, in un-
escapable and unappeasable persecution.

*^'Step by step the supremacy of the Roman
see had been asserted and enforced, until it en-
joyed the universal jurisdiction which enabled it
to bend to its wishes every prelate, under the naked
alternative of submission or expulsion. The Pa-
pal mandate, just or unjust, reasonable or unrea-
sonable, was to be received and implicitly obeyed ;
for there was no appeal from the representative of
St. Peter.

*^In a narrower sphere, and subject to the

* The sources of the quotations, facts, and dates, in this
chapter are, Lea's ''History of the Inquisition," Vol, I, chap,
i; De Cormenin 's "History of the Popes;" Bower's ''History
of the Popes;" Milman's "History of Latin Christianity,"
Book XIII.

The Church Militant 73

Pope, the bishop held an authority which, at least
in theory, was equally absolute ; while the humbler
minister of the altar was the instrument by which
the decrees of Pope and bishop were enforced
among the people : for the destiny of all men lay
in the hands which could administer or withhold
the sacraments essential to salvation.

^'It would be difficult to set bounds to the in-
trusion upon the concerns of every man, which was
thus rendered possible, or to the influence thence
derivable. Not only did the humblest priest wield
a supernatural power which marked him as one
elevated above the common level of humanity, but
his person and possessions were alike inviolable.
No matter what crimes he might commit, secular
justice could not take cognizance of them and sec-
ular officials could not arrest him."

*^Holy orders were become a full protection
for all enormities." — Hume.

^'The church militant was thus an army en-
camped on the soil of Christendom, with its out-
posts everywhere, subject to the most efficient disci-
pline, animated with a common purpose, every
soldier panoplied with inviolability and armed
with the tremendous weapons which slew the soul.
There was little that could not be dared or done
by the commander of such a force, whose orders
were listened to as oracles of God from Portugal to
Palestine and from Sicily to Iceland." — Lea.

74 What Caused the Reformation?

The church held in full possession an absolute
monopoly. And as with every other monopoly,
this one was held primarily and principally for
power and profit.

As to Profit,

Carrying such dignities and such immunities
— such powers — all ecclesiastical offices were the
objects of wholly selfish ambition: of every car-
dinal to be Pope, of every archbishop to be car-
dinal, of every bishop to be an archbishop, of
every priest or monk to be a bishop.

And to attain the object of ambition each one
was ready to employ the means most likely to
win. And this was money. ^^ Under these cir-
cumstances simony, with all its attendant evils,
was almost universal.'' For not only were the
principal dignities thus obtained, but likewise all
the minor offices or positions of trust within the
jurisdiction of these.

Naturally the thing was worked from both
sides : by the one who would obtain the office, and
by the one who had the office to bestow. The
one who would get the office, must pay high for it.
But if what this one would pay seemed, to the
one who had the office to bestow, not to promise
enough, then the office was given to the one who
would most largely share with the superior the
plunder of the office — often even to boys of four-

All for Money 75

teen, ten, or even seven years, and to the most
worthless characters.

Of course, at the final turn all of this money
must come from the people. Thus money, money,
money, money, was the one chief subject of thought
and of administration.

Money and how to get it, was the one chief ac-
tivity of the clergy from highest to lowest. Money
was the one chief thing kept before the people
and ever pressed upon them. Whoever could in-
vent some new form of exaction, some new trick
to turn money, some new device to wring out yet
more money, was immediately distinguished.

To the local priest and his assistants fell the
regular and perpetual presentation of the demand
for money. Whenever the bishop made his visita-
tion, it was a new occasion for money. When the
archbishop made a progress, it meant more money.
When a cardinal came, it meant still more money.
When the Pope's nuncio came, it meant yet more
money. And when the Pope himself came, it
meant most money of all.

In addition to all these, there were many agents
traversing the countries bearing papal letters
*' empowering them to exercise judicial functions
and enforce them with the last dread sentence
of excommunication. Europe was thus traversed
by multitudes of men armed with these weapons,
which they used without remorse for extortion

76 What Caused the Reformationf

and oppression. These letters thus afforded a
carte blanche through which injustice could be
perpetrated and malignity gratified to the fullest
extent.

**An additional complication which not un-
naturally followed was the fabrication and falsi-
fication of these letters. It was not easy to refer
to distant Rome to ascertain the genuineness of a
papal brief confidently produced by its bearer;
and the impunity with which powers so tremen-
dous could be assumed, was irresistibly attractive.
. . . To the people, however, it mattered little
whether they were genuine or fictitious : the suffer-
ing was the same whether the papal chancery had
received its fee or not.*'

Another addition was in the crowds of monks,
*' bearded and tonsured, and wearing the religious
habit, who traversed every corner of Christendom,
living by begging and imposture, peddling false
relics and false miracles.*'

Yet another was an equally widely distributed
and industrious horde of pardoners , bearing ^^ pa-
pal or episcopal letters by which they were au-
thorized to issue pardons for sins in return for
contributions. Though these letters were cau-
tiously framed, yet they were ambiguous enough
to enable the pardoners to promise, not only the
salvation of the living, but the liberation of the
damned from hell — for a few small coins.

The Papal Tax List 77

'* Needy bishops and popes were constantly is-
suing such letters; and the business of the par-
doner became a regular profession, in which the
most impudent and shameless were the most suc-
cessful. ' ' This invention and enlistment of travel-
ling pardoners to carry to the most remote and
the poorest, indulgences for cash, was for the pur-
pose of getting the money of those who could not
make the pilgrimages nor attend the jubilees that
had been invented for the same purpose.

Births were taxed, marriages were taxed,
deaths were taxed, burials were taxed, purgatory
was taxed, and hell was taxed.

By a trick even excommunication was made a
source of revenue. For if a demand or a command
however unjust, were resisted, excommunication
was inflicted. Then to obtain ** reconciliation*'
with *Hhe church" the victim must render the
original demand, and pay an additional levy
besides.

From this it is easy to see how readily every
failing as well as every offense of every person
was made a means of revenue. Pope John XXII
actually reduced to specific formulae the rates to
be levied on the sins of all. The list is sufficient to
cover almost every sin that mankind might com-
mit. Yet all these are levied upon at set rates
of so many *'livres," ^'francs,*' and *'sous." Thus
it is literally and undeniably true that no small

78 What Caused the Reformation?

portion of the vast revenues of the papacy was
derived from a direct and specific tax upon sin-
ning.

Nor was it a tax for prohibition, or to induce
cessation, of the sinning. It was expressly for
* ^ absolution, " **free dispensation," ** assurance
against all pursuit," ^^ guaranteed from all pur-
suit and all infamy. ' ' Such are the words that are
used throughout: with no word or implication of
prohibition or cessation.

The condition of society revealed in this awful
list, is fearful in its blackness. But when it is seen
that the whole purpose of the scheme was to secure
revenue, and this for '* absolution," ^^free dispen-
sation," ** assurance," and ^'guarantee" of immu-
nity from all pursuit or penalty, the evil was palli-
ated and encouraged rather than checked or for-
bidden, and the blackness is intensified rather than
relieved, by any agency or ministration of Pope
or church.

In strict consonance is the fact that litigation
of differences and quarrels of the people was culti-
vated: this also for the revenue that it would
bring through the church-courts by the costs
of the ease, and the fines exacted. * * When a priest
was inducted into a benefice, it was customary to
exact of him an oath that he would not overlook
any offenses committed by his parishioners, but
would report them to the Ordinary, that the of-

The Inquisition 79

fenders miglit be prosecuted and fined; and that
he would not allow any quarrels to be settled
amicably. ' '

Of course it was necessary for the church to
have something with which to satisfy impertinent
inquiry from the victims, as to what caused the
need of all this money, and what was done with it.

One of the principal things so employed, was
the building of grand cathedrals and great
churches and abbeys that were kept always under
construction — any one of them continuing unfin-
ished from a hundred to five hundred years. It is
well known that ^^the building of St. Peter's'' was
the ostensible basis of the indulgence market that
aroused Luther.

Peter Cantor affirms that these magnificent
structures with their wonderful works of art in
stained glass, paintings, and sculpture, **were
built out of exactions on the poor, out of the un-
hallowed gains of usury, and out of the lies and
deceits of the pardoners. ' '

Another successful blind was the crusades for
the confirmation of ^Hhe faith" against the in-
vasions of ^Hhe devil" by means of heresy. Then
a source of immense revenue was found in the con-
fiscation of all the possessions of heretics.

The inquisitors were gliding everywhere. The
universal oppressions and exactions of the church
caused universal discontent among the people.

80 What Caused the Reformation?

There were many genuine heretics. The teachings
of these with the widespread discontent excited
double diligence and activity to detect and prose-
cute heretics.

Then appeared another unquestionable proof
of the church's essential hatred of righteousness
and love of iniquity. The genuine heretics
preached and practiced the righteousness of the
faith of Jesus and the keeping of the command-
ments of God : producing a truly pure and correct
manner of life. These were bitterly and uncom-
promisingly persecuted. Any one therefore who
held really a correct life was subject to suspicion
of heresy, and was in danger of prosecution by
the inquisition.

For instance: A certain Catholic cleric of
Spire by his sincere preaching ^ 'led certain women
to lay aside their vanities of apparel, and behave
with humility." He escaped being burnt as a
heretic only by the special intercession of a church-
man who could be trusted.

A genuine Catholic was by mistake brought
before the tribunal of the Inquisition. The proof,
in his own words, that effectually purged him of
even suspicion of heresy, was, **I eat flesh, and
lie, and swear, and am a faithful Christian."

Another fruitful source of revenue was di-
vorce. For kings, princes, and nobles, who could
pay enormous sums and swing political influence,

Dissolution of Marriages 81

the divorce market was always open. And through
god-fathers, god-mothers, etc., the degrees of
''spiritual relationship'' were almost boundlessly
extended; and all these degrees were of equal
force with those of the flesh and blood.

For a sufficient price, therefore, it was easy to
find that a marriage was within the forbidden de-
grees of relationship ; and, therefore, void. Peter
Cantor was a Catholic churchman of such standing
as to have influence even with Innocent III. And
he asserts that ''the most holy sacrament of matri-
mony, owing to the remote consanguinity coming
within the prohibited degrees, was made a sub-
ject of derision to the laity by the venality with
which marriages were made and unmade to fill the
pouches of the episcopal officials.''

Of course all this was held not to be divorce;
but only the finding of the fact that the marriage
was within the forbidden degrees : and, so, that it
never was a valid marriage. And if never a mar-
riage, then the severance of it couldnH be divorce !

But this was only another phase of the infinite
casuistry by which any truth or principle of right-
eousness could be avoided. For the forbidden de-
gree was never discovered till after the marriage :
and the marriage according to all the many rules,
formulae, and forms, of the church. And even then
it was never discovered except for a price.

The church rigidly forbade marriage of the

82 What Caused the Reformation?

clergy, and forbade divorce to all who were niar-
ried. Under these prohibitions, those who were
married could do everything but be divorced — ex-
cept for a sufficient price ; and the clergy could do
everything but be married.

To the clergy marriage was the one unpardon-
able offense. For this there was no ' ' absolution, ' '
nor ''free dispensation," nor ''assurance against
pursuit," nor "guarantee from all pursuit and
from all infamy. ' '

"The records of the Middle Ages are accord-
ingly full of the evidences that indiscriminate li-
cense of the worst kind prevailed throughout every
rank of the hierarchy." No small portion of the
tax-list of John XXII was devoted to the many
phases of activity in this field of iniquity. ' ' The
personal evil wrought by a dissolute priesthood
was a wide-spreading contagion."

"The abuse of the lawful authority given by
the altar and the confessional was a subject of
sorrowful and indignant denunciation in too many
synods for a reasonable doubt to be entertained
of its frequency, or of the corruption which it
spread through innumerable parishes and nun-
neries.

"The almost entire practical immunity with
which these and similar scandals were perpetra-
ted, led to an undisguised and cynical profligacy ;
which the severer churchmen acknowledged to ex-

The Church Responsible 83

ercise a most deletereous influence on the morals
of the laity, who thus saw the exemplars of evil
in those who should have been their patterns of
virtue/'

''There is no injustice in holding the church
responsible for the lax morahty of the laity. It
had assumed the right to regulate the consciences
of men, and to make them account for every ac-
tion and even for every thought.

''When it promptly caused the burning of those
who ventured on any dissidence in doctrinal opin-
ion or in matters of pure speculation, it could not
plead lack of authority to control them in practical
virtue. Its machinery was all-pervading, and its
power was autocratic.

' ' It had taught that the priest was to be venera-
ted as the representative of God, and that his com-
mands were to be implicitly obeyed. It had armed
him with the fearful weapon of the confessional;
and by authorizing him to grant absolution and to
pronounce excommunication, it had delegated to
him the keys of heaven and hell. By removing him
from the jurisdiction of the secular courts, it had
proclaimed him as superior to all temporal au-
thority.

"Through ages of faith the populations had
humbly received these teachings, and bowed to
these assumptions, until they entered into the
texture of the daily life of every man.

84 What Caused the Reformation?

^^ While thus grasping supremacy, and using it
to the utmost possibility of worldly advantage, the
church could not absolve itself from the responsi-
bilities inseparably connected with power. And
chief among these responsibilities is to be num-
bered the moral training of the nations thus sub-
jected to its will/'

As to Poiver.

The office, the dignity, the authority, and the
wealth, of the Pope, had been raised higher than
all else in the world. This pinnacle of papal ab-
solutism was attained in Pope Boniface VIII, and
was proclaimed by him in the two notable sen-
tences : —

1. "There is no other Caesar, nor king, nor emperor,
than I, the sovereign pontiff and successor of the apos-
tles."

2. "We assert, define, and pronounce, that it is
necessary to salvation to believe that every human being
is subject to the pontiff of Rome."

The Pope asserted claim to equality with God.
He exercised powers far beyond Grod. To be
Pope, then, became the supreme object of iniqui-
tous ambition.

This development had been greatly aided by
the almost constant wars between the popes and
the emperors. The emperor, the more to further
his cause against the Pope, would resort to the
expedient of bringing about the election of a rival

Two Popes at Once 85

Pope : and sometimes the rival Pope became fully
the Pope.

Many times had this occurred. But when a
plurality of Popes became a fixture for fifty years,
no emperor nor king had any part in it. It was
wholly of the church, and was strictly ecclesiasti-
cal procedure.

April 8, 1378, the cardinals elected Pope Urban
VI. Becoming displeased with him, September
20 the same year the same cardinals elected Pope
Clement VII.

This threw all Europe into confusion that not
only continued but increased for fifty years. Not
only were the nations divided, but ' ^ even private
families : some adhering to one of the competitors,
and some to the other.

Urban was received as lawful Pope in Italy
and almost all over Germany, in England, Portu-
gal, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Prussia,
Norway, Bohemia, Tuscany, Lombardy, and the
duchy of Milan.

Clement was acknowledged in France, Spain,
Lorraine, Savoy, Scotland, Sicily, and in the
islands of Ehodes and Cyprus.

**As nothing could be certainly determined in
favor of either of the pretenders, some sided at one
time with one, and at another time with another :
as their interests directed them. Indeed both had
amongst their partisans some of the most eminent

86 What Caused the Reformation^

men of the age for their integrity as well as their
knowledge in the civil and canon law ; and by those
of one party, new pieces were daily published, and
answered by those of the other." — Boiver.

The division and confusion was not confined
to the field of opinion and literary discussion.
^'Anathemas, interdicts, depositions, and maledic-
tions, were the prelude to the bloody strife which
was soon to overwhelm the Western nations.

*^ Urban launched a bull against his competitor,
and cited him to appear before the court of Eome
to be judged and condemned as antipope.

^^ Clement, on his side, fulminated a terrible de-
cree against his enemy, and cited him to appear
before the consistory of Avignon to be judged for
the usurpation of the apostolic chair.

' ' Finally, both having refused to appear, they
anathematized each other by the ringing of bells
and the light of torches, declaring each other apos-
tates, schismatics, and heretics.

*'They preached crusades against each other,
and called to their aid all the banditti and male-
factors of Italy and France; and let them loose
like wild beasts on the unfortunate inhabitants
who recognized Clement or preferred Urban.

^^In the States of the church the Clementists
made horrible havoc: ruined castles, burned vil-
lages, and even several cities. They penetrated as
far as Eome, under the lead of Budes, a Breton

Papal Anarchy 87

captain, seized on the fortress of St. Angelo and
committed atrocities in all parts of the city.

'*In Naples and Romagna the Urbanists, com-
manded by an Englishman named Hawkwood, took
their revenge and committed reprisal.

*' Everywhere pillage, rape, incendiarism, and
murder, were committed in the name of Clement,
or in the honor of Urban. The unhappy cultiva-
tors fled with their wives and children, to escape
the satellites of the Roman pontiff, and were mas-
sacred by the soldiery of the Pope of Avignon. ' ' —
De Cormenin,

^^ Everywhere might be found divisions, spolia-
tions, even bloodshed ; ejected and usurping clergy,
dispossessed and intrusive abbots and bishops;
feuds, battles for churches and monasteries.

''Among all other causes of discord, arose this
the most discordant: to the demoralizing and un-
christianizing tendencies of the times was added
a question on which the best might differ, which
to the bad would be an excuse for every act of
violence, fraud, or rapacity. ' ' — Milman.

The anarchy continued under the successors
of the original two Popes. In 1398 the king of
France took the lead and was joined by the kings
of Hungary, Bohemia, England, Aragon, Castile,
Navarre, and some of Germany, in an effort to
relieve their dominions of the anarchy. They de-
manded that both Popes resign.

88 What Caused the Reformation?

The Pope in Rome replied : —

"Pope I am, and Pope will I remain: despite all
entreaty of the kings of Prance and Germany. ' '

The Pope in Avignon made answer : —

"I have been invested by God in the papacy. I
will not renounce it for count, nor duke, nor king. Let
the king of Prance issue what ordinances he will, I
will hold my office and popedom till I die."

Next, both colleges of cardinals united against
both Popes. This, with the influence of the kings,
secured the assembling of a General Council at
Pisa in 1409. This Council declared both Popes
deposed, all their acts null and void, and the car-
dinals at full liberty to proceed to an entirely new
election. The cardinals elected Pope Alexander
V, June 26, 1409.

All this procedure of Council and cardinals
was intended to restore the papacy to only one
Pope. But it did not work that way. Instead of
the afflicted world having now only one Pope, the
discovery was soon made that it had three. And
Europe, instead of being divided between only two
Popes, was divided among the same two and an-
other one.

The triple-headed monstrosity of the papacy
now stood:

Pope Gregory XIT in Gaeta : acknowledged by
the king of Sicily, the Emperor Rupert, and some
of the cities of Italy.

Three Popes at Once 89

Pope Benedict XIII in Avignon : acknowledged
by the kings of Aragon, Castile, and Scotland, and
the earl of Armagnac.

Pope Alexander V first at Pisa and then at
Bologna: acknowledged by the remaining kings
and princes of Europe.

Alexander V died in less than eleven months
after his election. He was succeeded by John
XXIII — the last and worst of the Johns, and
one of the worst even of the Popes.

In former times this John, as Balthasar Cossa^
had been a pirate on the Mediterranean Sea. Now
he was chief pirate of the Papal See, and of
the deepened sea of papal anarchy that flooded
Europe.

Pope John and the king of Sicily were at deadly
enmity, and their warring desolated vast regions
of Italy. To strengthen himself against the king
of Sicily, John sought an alliance with the Em-
peror Sigismund. To secure this he had to agree
to the assembling of a General Council, and this in
the imperial city of Constance: to quench the
schisms of the Popes and heal the miseries of
Christendom.

Accordingly, an imperial letter and a papal
bull were sent throughout Christendom summon-
ing 'Hhe General Council of Christendom to meet
at Constance'* Nov. 1, 1414. The Council met on
that date, and continued till April 22, 1418.

90 What Caused the Reformation?

At the opening of the Council, John XXIII was
present in person, and presided. Both the other
Popes sent deputies : not to be of the Council, nor
to recognize the Council; but to be watchful of
the interests of those Popes respectively. Pope
Gregory's deputies lodged with the emperor a
petition that John should not be permitted to pre-
side in the Council.

Gregory's deputies announced to the Council
on his behalf, that he was ready to resign the pope-
dom provided both the other Popes would resign
at the same time.

To consider this subject, there was appointed,
apart from the Council as such, an assembly of
the heads of the nations who were present. This
assembly unanimously agreed and recommended
that all three of the Popes resign.

John made a show of accepting the recom-
mendation. He himself wrote a form of his own,
promising to resign, provided the other two would
resign at the same time.

This was not satisfactory to the assembly, and
they wrote one for him to accept. Yet this was
so written that it was not of itself actually a
resignation; and John made a most impressive
show of accepting it. In the presence of the whole
Council, on his knees at the ^* altar" with his
hand on his breast, he declared, vowed, promised,
and swore to God that he would accept it.

The Council of Constance 91

All this he did with such an air of sincerity, that
the emperor was so carried away with it as to take
off his imperial crown, prostrate himself before
John, kiss his feet, and in the name of the whole
Council thank him for his ^^good resolution/'

But lo ! as soon as John saw that the Council
was really going to put the recommendation into
immediate effect, he with his cardinals ran away in
the night.

This he did for the purpose of breaking up the
Council. For the Popes held, and he supposed
that the Council would consent, that without the
Pope the Council would be powerless and would
of necessity dissolve.

But his calculation missed entirely. The Em-
peror Sigismund, attended by the marshal of the
empire, and with trumpets sounding before him,
personally rode through the city proclaiming that
the Council was not dissolved by the flight of the
Pope ; and that he would defend the Council with
the last drop of his blood.

Before the emperor and the assembly of the
heads of the nations, the chancellor of the Uni-
versity of Paris presented an argument proving
to their satisfaction that a General Council is su-
perior to the Pope ; and that its deliverances hold
good, with or without the Pope or his approval.
Accordingly the Council met in regular session
and adopted these articles : —

92 What Caused the Reformation?

''I. That the Council had been lawfully assembled
in the city of Constance.

''II. That it was not dissolved by the withdrawal
of the Pope and the cardinals.

'*III. That it should not be dissolved till the schism
was removed and the church reformed in its head and
members.

"IV. That the bishops should not depart, without
a just cause approved by the deputies of the nations,
till the Council Avas ended ; and if they obtained leave
of the Council to depart, they should appoint others to
vote for them as their deputies or proxies. ' '

From his retreat, John sent to the Council a
notification that his pledges, oaths, and agree-
ments, in the presence of the Council, had been
made under duress and because of fear; therefore
he was not obliged to be bound by them.

Then the Council in regular session made the
following declaration : —

*'The present Council, lawfully assembled in the
city of Constance, and representing the whole church
militant, holds its power immediately of Jesus Christ,
and all persons of whatever state or dignity (the papal
not excepted) are bound to obey it in what concerns
the faith, the extirpation of the schism, and the reforma-
tion of the church in its head and members. ' '

Then the Council unanimously deposed John
XXIII because of his ''scandalous conduct, '' his
"highest degree of maladministration in both tem-
porals and spirituals," his "detestable behavior,''
his having "shown himself incorrigible,'' and
"other crimes."

Gregory XII did really resign: but only by

"The Church'' Saved hij "The World'' 93

being allowed to convene the Council anew, as a
Council of his jurisdiction.

Benedict XIII was deposed: but he persisted
till his last breath — about seven years — that he
was the only true and lawful Pope, and that ' ' the
only holy catholic and apostolic church was to be
found at Peniscola'' where he was. Dying, he
charged his cardinals to elect another Pope to
succeed him. This they did; but he immediately
abdicated in favor of the Pope, Martin V, who had
been elected by the Council of Constance, Nov. 8,
1417.

Thus by the efforts, the authority, and the
power, of the emperor and the heads of the na-
tions, the open anarchy of the Eoman Church was
ended and she was saved from herself.

It is particularly to be remarked and remem-
bered that it was not by the papacy, nor by the
church as such, that this was accomplished.

From beginning to end the initiative was in
the heads of the nations.

It was the emperor, through Pope John^s neces-
sity, who secured the calling of the Council of
Constance.

It was the emperor's determination and public
proclamation, that held the Council together after
the flight of the Pope with the direct purpose of
dissolving it.

It was the ^^assemblv of the heads of the na-

94 What Caused the Reformationf

tions," apart from the Council as such, that took
the initiative and held the helm throughout the
term of what was the Council of Constance in fact.

Thus it was by the heads of the nations — the
*^ secular estate" — and by these alone, that the
Council of Constance was made a fact, when by all
that was the church — the *^ spiritual estate" — it
would have been made only a fizzle.

And under the determination and guidance of
these the Council was made a fact ivithout the pres-
ence of any Pope, or Pope's legate, or Pope's rep-
resentative in any way whatever.

And under the determination and guidance of
the emperor and the heads of the nations — ^Hhe
secular estate" — the Council was made a fact
expressly for the one chief purpose of ^Hhe refor-
mation of the church in its head and members/^

Now all those who did this were only of the
' ' laity. ' ' In the theory and practice of the Roman
Church, these were the worldly or ^'secular es-
tate," while the *' clergy" and the monastic orders
were the church proper or ^^ spiritual estate."

The sum of the situation, therefore, is that the
laity must reform the clergy: the secular must
save the spiritual — the ivorld must save the
church!

But The Church is in the world to save the
world.

The Roman Church professed that she was in

Worse than The World 95

the world to save the world, and that Salvation
was only of her. But lo ! this church had sunk her-
self so low, and was so certainly dragging the
world with her to perdition, that by an effort of
very desperation the world must first save itself
from the church, and then save the church from
herself.

The Church of right being in the world to save
the world ; the Roman Church professing to be the
only and true Church and the only way of Salva-
tion for the world; and that church so reversing
the order that she herself must be saved by the
tvorld and from herself — in this she demonstrated
in perfection that she is not in any sense the true
Church, and that she is not only the worst thing in
the world but that she is worse than the very world
itself.

This is evident from the plain facts. And it
is abundantly confirmed by unquestionable au-
thority.

Cardinal Baronius is the standard annalist of
the Roman Church. He lived 1538-1607. Of the
papacy in the ninth century, he says : —

*' Never had divisions, civil wars, the persecutions of
pagans, heretics and schismatics caused it to suffer so
much as the monsters who installed themselves on the
throne of Christ by simony and murders. The Roman
Church was transformed into a shameless courtezan,
covered with silks and precious stones, which publicly
prostituted itself for gold.

96 What Caused the Reformation?

''The palace of the Lateran was become a disgrace-
ful tavern, in which ecclesiastics of all nations disputed
with harlots the price of infam}^ Never did priests,
and especially Popes, commit so many adulteries, rapes,
incests, robberies, and murders ; and never was the ig-
norance of the clergy so great, as during this deplorable
period. . . .

"Thus the tempest of abomination fastened itself
on the church, and offered to the inspection of men the
most horrid spectacle. The canons of councils, the
creed of the apostles, the faith of Nice, the old tra-
ditions, the sacred rites, were buried in the abyss of
oblivion; and the most unbridled dissoluteness, fero-
cious despotism, and insatiable ambition, usurped their
place.

"Who could call legitimate pontiffs the intruders
who seated themselves on the chair of the apostles?
and what must have been the cardinals selected by such
monsters ? ' '

Of the papacy in the tenth century the same
writer says : —

"In this century the abomination of desolation was
seen in the temple of the Lord ; and in the See of St.
Peter, reverenced by angels, were placed the most
wicked of men : not pontiffs, but monsters.

"And how hideous was the face of the Roman
church, when filthy harlots governed all at Rome,
changed Sees at their pleasure, disposed of bishoprics,
and intruded their gallants and their bullies into the
See of St. Peter!"

Of the twelfth century Baronius avows that ' ^ it
appeared as if Antichrist then governed Christen-
dom/' He wrote as a historian; but Bernard, of
Morlaix, a monk of Cluny, lived at the time, and
he wrote of it thus : —

''Ministers of the Beast'' 97

''The golden ages are past. Pure souls exist no
longer. We live in the last times. Fraud, impurity,
rapine, schisms, quarrels, wars, treasons, incests, and
murders, desolate the church. Rome is the impure city
of the hunter Nimrod. Piety and religion have deserted
its walls. Alas! the pontiff, or rather king, of this
odious Babylon, tramples under foot the Gospels and
Christ, and causes himself to be adored as a god."

Honorius of Antron, a priest, also lived at the
time ; and he declared ; —

''Behold these bishops and cardinals of Rome!
These worthy ministers who surround the throne of
the Beast! They are constantly occupied with new
iniquities, and never cease committing crimes.

"Thus, in all the churches, the priests neglect di-
vine service ; soil the priesthood by their impurities ;
deceive the people by their hypocrisy ; deny God by
their works ; render themselves the scandal of nations ;
and forge a chain of iniquities to bind men.

"The reign of God has finished, and that of An-
tichrist has commenced. A new law has displaced the
old. Scholastic theology has sallied from the depths
of hell to strangle religion. Finally there are no
longer morality, tenets, nor worships — and lo ! the
last times announced in the Apocalypse have come."

Hadrian IV was Pope from Dec. 4, 1154, till
Sept. 1, 1159. He was an Englishman. His coun-
tryman John of Salisbury visited him, and was
received on terms of intimacy. One day, in an
exchange of confidences, the Pope asked John to
tell him freely and honestly what opinion the
world entertained of him and the Roman church.

John did so : telling him with all the freedom
of a friend what he had heard expressed in the

98 What Caused the Reformation?

countries through which he had travelled. And
this is what he said : —

*'They say, holy father, that the Roman church,
the mother of all churches, behaves toward other
churches more like a step-mother than a true mother :

''that scribes and Pharisees sit in her, laying heavy
weights upon men's shoulders, which they themselves
touch not with a finger:

''that they domineer over the clergy, but are not
an example to the flock nor do they lead the right way
to life:

"that they covet rich furniture, load their tables
with silver and gold, and yet, out of avarice, live spar-
ingly:

"that they seldom admit or relieve the poor, and
when they relieve them it is only out of vanity that they
do it:

"that they plunder the churches, sow dissensions,
set the clergy and people at variance, are not affected
with the miseries and sufferings of the afflicted, and
look upon gain as godliness and piety:

"that they do justice, not for justice' sake, but for
lucre :

"that all things are venal — that for money you
may obtain today what you please, but the next day
you will get nothing without it.

"I have heard them compared to the devil, who is
thought to do good — when he ceases from doing
mischief :

"I except some few, who answer the name of pas-
tors and fulfill the duty.

"The Roman pontiff himself is, say they, a burden
to all almost insupportable.

"All complain that, while the churches that the
piety of our ancestors erected are ready to fall, or
already lie in ruins while the altars are neglected, he
builds palaces and appears gorgeously attired in pur-
ple and gold.

''More Like a Step-Mother'' 99

''The palaces of the priests are kept clean, but the
Church of Christ is covered with filth.

"They plunder whole provinces, as if they aimed
at nothing less than the wealth of Croesus.

''But the Almighty treats them according to their
deserts, often leaving them a prey to the very refuse
of mankind; and while they thus wander out of the
way, the punishment they deserve must and will over-
take them; the Lord saying, 'With what judgment ye
judge, ye shall be judged,' and 'With what measure
ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.'

"This, holy father, is what people say: since you
want to know it."

When honest John had finished, tlie Pope asked
him to give his own opinion. John did, thus —

*^We must obey your commands, but must not
imitate you in all your actions.

^'Why do you inquire into the lives of others,
and not into your own!

^ ' All applaud and flatter you, all call you lord
and father : if father, why do you expect presents
from your children?

^ ' If lord, why not keep your Romans in awe and
subjection!

^ ' You are not a father in the right way.

^ ' Give freely what you have received freely.

*^If you oppose others, you will be more griev-
ously opposed yourself.^'

In the thirteenth century Robert Greathead,
bishop of Lincoln in England made earnest Chris-
tian effort to reform the clergy of his diocese. He
found himself baffled at every turn by appeals to

100 What Caused the Reformation?

Rome. Robert himself went to Rome to make a
personal appeal to Pope Innocent IV for a check
on this practice. But he found every attempt ut-
terly to fail, because every channel was blocked
before him with bribes. And in the very presence
of Pope Innocent, Robert indignantly exclaimed, —

*^0h, money, money, how much thou canst ef-
fect! especially in the court of Rome."

In an address before Pope Innocent and his
cardinals Robert told them plainly that —

'*The clergy were a source of pollution to the
whole earth : they were antichrists and devils mas-
querading as angels of light, who made the house
of prayer a den of robbers : and the Roman curia
was the source of all the vileness which rendered
the priesthood a hissing and a reproach to Chris-
tianity. ' '

Gregory X was Pope 1268-1276. In his speech
of dismissal of the Council of Lyons in 1274, he
told the assembled clergy that they were ^Hhe
ruin of the world. '*

In the fourteenth century we come to the times
of John XXII with his systematic tax on sins, for
^^ absolution," ^'free dispensation," *^ assurance,"
and ^* guarantee against all pursuit and all in-
famy;" and the times of the double- and triple-
headed papacy.

Of that John's scheme of making capital of
sinning, the abbot of Usperg exclaimed: —

*' Religion a Mine of Gold'' 101

"Rejoice now, 0 Vatican! all treasures are open
to thee. Thou canst draw in with full hands. Rejoice
in the crimes of the children of men, since thy wealth
depends on their abandonment and iniquity!
Now the human race are subject to thy laws ! Now thou
reignest — through depravity of morals and the inunda-
tion of ignoble thoughts. The children of men can
now commit with impunity every crime, since they
know that thou wilt absolve them for a little gold.
Provided he brings thee gold, let him be soiled with
blood and lust. Thou wilt open the kingdom of heaven
to debauchees, Sodomites, assassins, parricides — what
do I say? Thou wilt sell God himself for gold!"

In the time of the double popedom of Boniface
IX and Clement VII the doctors of the University
of Paris addressed a letter to the king of France,
in which they said : —

**Two Popes elevate to prelacies only unworthy and
corrupt ministers, who have no sentiments of equity
or shame, and who think only of satiating their pas-
sions.

"They rob the property of the widow and the or-
phan, at the same time that they are despoiling
churches and monasteries.

"Sacred or profane, nothing comes amiss to them,
provided they can extract money from it.

"Religion is for them a mine of gold, which they
work to the last vein.

"They sell everything from baptism to burial.

"They traffic in pyxes, crosses, chalices, sacred
vases, and the shrines of saints.

* * One can obtain no grace, no favor, without paying
for it.

"It is not the worthiest, but the richest, who ob-
tain ecclesiastical dignities.

"He who gives money to the Pope can sleep in

102 What Caused the Reformation?

safety though he may have murdered his own father;
for he is assured of the protection of the church.

''Simony is publicly exercised^ and they sell with
effrontery to the highest and last bidder, dioceses,
prebends, or benefices.

"Thus do the princes of the church. What shall
we say of the lower clergy, who no longer administer
the sacraments but for gold ?

"What shall we say of the monks, whose morals
are more corrupt than those of the inhabitants of an-
cient Sodom?

"It is time, illustrious prince, that you should put
an end to this deplorable schism, proclaim the freedom
of the Gallican church, and limit the power of the pon-
tiffs.''

And when the popedom became triple-headed,
all forms and phases of the incubus were propor-
tionately intensified. Then came the Council of
Constance, with the effort of the heads of the
nations for deliverance.

In complete and horrible measure it had been
demonstrated to all the world that the essence of
the papacy and the ultimate of the power and rule
of the Roman church is only anarchy — the com-
plete undoing of men and nations.

At the height of her power the Roman church
had everything her own way. All the nations were
absolutely subject to her will. Nobles, princes,
kings, and emperor, all moved at her bidding. Her
dominion over mankind was complete and abso-
lute. The power and legitimacy of her empire
there was none to dispute.

God Sent The Reformation 103

In that position of absolute supremacy, with
simply nothing to restrain her from doing exactly
as she pleased and what she would, then whatso-
ever she did, that is only what was in her to do.

And what did she do ? — There is the record :
the blackest in all the history of the world. She
compelled mankind to sin ; she filled her world to
the sinking point with iniquity and woe; she so
afflicted the nations with her anarchy that they
must rise up against her to save themselves from
her, and to save her from herself.

And the climax of all that is of her, of herself,
is that when all had been subdued unto her then
she could only tear her own vitals by first a double
and then a triple rending of herself.

She must rule all the world, only to prove that
she could not rule herself. And when there re-
mained nothing but to rule herself, she could only
destroy herself.

And than that there could be no more certain
evidence that the power and rule of the Eoman
church is essentially anarchistic — the very mys-
tery of iniquity.

And that — that church itself, what that church
showed itself essentially to be, that is what
caused The Reformation.

All the world was calling for a reformation,
and God sent The Reformation.

When the Council of Constance declared the

104 What Caused the Reformationf

necessity of a ^'reformation of the church in its
head and members, ^ ^ The Reformation had already
begun.

Indeed that Council itself met The Reforma-
tion — and unmercifully, that is papistically, con-
demned it.

The Council of Constance burnt at the stake
both John Huss and Jerome of Prague — the then
two chief sounding voices of The Reformation.

And the absolute necessity that a complete
revolution should be wrought in the minds of men,
no less than in their manners, is sufficiently indi-
cated in the awful fact that the same Council —
the same identical men — that in order to accom-
plish ^'a reformation,'^ deposed the three Popes
because of palpable, notorious, and specified, enor-
mities, consumed out of the world the two saints
of God whom He sent to it with His message of
The Reformation which essentially consists only
in Regeneration,

CHAPTER V.
The Reformation : and the Roman Chuech.

How came The Reformation I

The Reformation did not and does not consist
in exposure and denunciation of the iniquities of
the Roman church.

That is included in The Reformation, as an
incident ; because it is of the essence of Christian-
ity to hate iniquity, as it is to love righteousness.

It was the iniquities, enormities, and desola-
tions, wrought by the Roman church, that caused
the universal desire and the pressing demand that
there should be a reformation. Yet The Reforma-
tion was not wrought by magnifying or dwelling
upon those things.

The Reformation springs from another prin-
ciple, lives in another atmosphere, and works in
another field, than that.

If exposure and denunciation of the iniquities
of that church could have wrought reformation,
then The Reformation would have been in the
world more than five hundred years before it was.

The quotations in the preceding chapter of the
many scathing words of denunciation and expo-
sure of the Roman church on her own part, and of
the papacy as a whole, and all by men of standing
in that church itself, are sufficient to show that if

105

106 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

that could work reformation there was enough of
it to have accomplished the most complete and per-
fect reformation.

Yet all that is only a little of what could just
as easily be quoted. And all of it said by men who
lived all their days and died in full and honored
membership in that church: some of them now
saints of that church.

The men whose preaching made The Eeforma-
tion could have said all that they ever said, and
more, in denunciation of the iniquity in the church,
and the enormities of the Popes; and yet could
have remained in good standing in that church,
all their days: if they had still held that church
to be the only and true church, and have held them-
selves in conformity with her accordingly.

All men saw the iniquities practiced. They
actually felt them on every side. Nobles, kings,
emperors, priests, bishops, cardinals, and councils,
called for reformation. Even Popes confessed the
sore need of it.

Princes and peoples wanted it for relief. The
more observant of the clergy wanted it because of
the fear that without it there would be such an
universal uprising of the people in wrathful retali-
ation as would literally wipe out the whole order
of the clergy.

But from whatever cause a reformation was
desired, it was always attempted without right-

Isn't That The Church? '' 107

eousness. It was from men only, and not from
God. And it was in this way from the very men
who were essentially the cause of the demand for
reform, and were essentially of the thing that must
be reformed : that is, the church.

Inevitably all such attempts must be flat fail-
ures. How dismal was the effort — the failure
— of the Council of Constance at reformation,
when what was considered the best that it could do
to save the church, — the burning of Huss and
Jerome — was the worst thing that it could possi-
bly do, for any cause or for any reason !

The explanation of this blank incongruity, and
the key of the whole vicious circle of self-involved
contradictions, is in the fact that all those men
who denounced the Popes and their evil practices,
and the extortions and oppressions of the clergy,
held that the church of which all these evils were
but the expression, was the true and only church!

Even when they were compelled to admit that
the church was inextricably involved in it all, and
when they were thus required to reflect even upon
the church, this was always done with the reserva-
tion and apology that in spite of all this she was
the true and only church.

They denounced the men and the activities of
the men, even of the Popes and the papal court,
but still apologized and pleaded for the machine.

They condemned the evil practices , but justi-

108 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

fied the system by which alone it was possible that
those practices could not only be perpetuated, but
could even exist.

The times were evil, but ^'the church," which
made the times what they were, was ^'righteous!"

Church-me^ were bad ; but ' ^ the church, ' ' whose
members and the expression of whose life those
church-men essentially were, was ^^good!"

Customs were pernicious; but *'the church,"
whose the customs essentially were, was ''the
abode of sanctity!"

Practices were abominable; but ''the church,"
which invented many and profited by all of these
practices, was ' ' holy ! ' '

Popes were demoniac; but "the church," of
which the Popes were "the head" — the acting
will, the guiding mind — was " divine ! ' '

See the grand churches and magnificent cathe-
drals! Hear the "heavenly" music of the "di-
vine" chants! Catch the impressive odor of the
"holy" incense! Feel the awe of the "solemn"
services, as the richly-robed ecclestiastics minister
at the "altar," kneel before the "host," and move
in "holy" procession! Think of the wide extent
of her "missions!" Behold her "perfect organi-
zation," by which she executes as by one man the
wonders of her will, holds empires in awe, and
rules the world! Isn^t that the true and only
holy church?

''Stand hy the Old Ship'' 109

The church was ' ' the ark of God, ' ' the ' ' ship of
Salvation.'' The pilot, the captain, and the crew,
might all be pirates, and use every motion of the
ship only for piratical purposes, and load her to
the sinking point with piratical plunder, and keep
her ever headed straight toward perdition, yet
*Hhe grand old ship'' herself was all right and
would come safely to the heavenly port. There-
fore, ** cling to the ark," ''stand hy the old ship,"
and yoii will be safe and will land at last on the
heavenly shore.

Such in essence is the conception held, and that
for ages had been inculcated. For instance, in
the very passage quoted on page 96 from Cardinal
Baronius, in which he describes the fearful condi-
tions of that church in the ninth century, there
stand the cardinal 's words as follows : —

** Christ was then assuredly sleeping a profound
sleep in the bottom of His vessel whilst the winds buf-
feted it on all sides, and covered it with the waves of
the sea. And what was more unfortunate still, the dis-
ciples of the Lord slept more profoundly than He, and
could not awaken Him either by their cries or clamors. "

And in the General Council of Basle, 1432, the

Pope's legate exhorted the Bohemians that —

**In the time of Noah's flood, as many as were with-
out the ark perished."

So long as this delusion was systematically
inculcated, blindly received, and fondly hugged, of
course reformation was impossible.

110 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

But as soon as there arose men with the cour-
age of conviction and the confidence of truth, and
spoke out plainly and flatly that the Eoman system
is not The Church at all in any feature or in any
sense, then The Keformation had begun.

That is how The Eef ormation came. And with-
out that The Eef ormation never could have come.

The Eef ormation as in the sixteenth century —
the times of Luther — is not in fact the beginning
of The Eeformation. That was more the revival
of it than the beginning.

The Eeformation in truth began near the
middle of the fourteenth century. And it takes
that of both the fourteenth and the sixteenth
centuries to make The Eeformation indeed.

The Eeformation arose practically at the same
time in England and in Bohemia: in England by
Wicklif, 1360-1384; in Austria and Bohemia by
Conrad of Waldhausen, 1350-1369 ; in Bohemia by
Militz, 1360-1374; by Matthias of Janow, 1370-
1394; and all of these were summed up in John
Huss in Bohemia, 1398-July 6, 1415, and Jerome of
Prague through the greater part of Europe, 1374-
May 30, 1416.

These men saw the Eoman church as it is.
They were compelled to contemplate the deplor-
able scene of exactions, oppressions, and devasta-
tions, wrought by the church, and the anarchy
of the popedom. It was ever before their eyes.

Is That The Church? Ill

They considered this universal and deepening
sea of iniquity, of all of which the Roman church
more than anything else was the chief cause. They
considered that church herself, in what she
claimed to be, and in what she had proved herself
to be. And upon thoughtful consideration, and in
sober view, of it all, they were compelled to ask —

Is that, can that be, the true Church?

Is that the Church that Jesus sent into the
world, to bless and save the world?

Is it the best that Christ the Lord could do to
save the world, to put in the world a system and
a power that proved itself only an unmitigated
and deepening curse to the world?

Then they studied anew the Scriptures to know
what is The Church according to the word, the
thought, and the purpose, of God.

They asked of the living personal Christ that
He make plain to them His own truth as to just
what is His Church.

They asked that the Holy Spirit of promise
should guide them into this truth : that in this, He
should take the things of Christ and of God and
show unto them.

Here is a prayer of Militz, that is good for
every person in the world for all time: *'I
prayed often that Almighty God would give me
the Holy Spirit, and anoint me with His unction,
that I might not fall into any error, and might

112 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

enjoy the taste and perfume of true wisdom, so
that I might deceive none and be deceived by none,
and wish no longer to know anything but what is
necessary for me and the Holy Church/'

And here is a touch of the experience of Mat-
thias which is met with an answering glow in the
heart of every Christian: ''Once my mind was
encompassed with a thick wall. I thought of noth-
ing but what delighted the eye and the ear, till it
pleased the Lord Jesus to draw me as a brand
from the burning. And while I, worst slave of my
passions, was resisting him in every way, he de-
livered me from the flames of Sodom, and brought
me into the place of sorrow, of great adversities,
and of much contempt.

''Then first I became poor and contrite; and
searched with trembling the Word of God. I be-
gan to admire the truth in the holy Scriptures, to
see how, in all things, it must be fulfilled. Then
first I began to wonder at the deep wiles of Satan :
to see how he darkened the minds of all, even
those who seemed to think themselves wisest.

"And there entered into me, that is into my
heart, a certain unusual, new, and powerful fire;
but a very blessed fire, and which still continues
to burn within me and is kindled the more in pro-
portion as I lift up my soul in prayer to God and
to our Lord Jesus the crucified. And it never
abates or leaves me : except when I forget the Lord

The Reformatioyi is Regeneration 113

Jesus Christ, and fail to observe the right disci-
pline in eating and drinking ! then I am enveloped
in clouds, and unfitted for all good works, till,
with my whole heart and with deep sorrow I return
to Christ, the true physician, the severe judge,
He who punishes all sin, even to idle words and
foolish thoughts."

Those earnest Christian words fairly indicate
the Spirit and source of The Reformation. It is
only from the Spirit and Word of God, manifested
in the regeneration of men: not in any revamping
of a system, nor even in a renovation of manners.

Wicklif taught in the University of Oxford.
The king of England married Anne, a sister of
the king of Bohemia. Queen Anne received the
Gospel. She read the Wicklif Bible, and recom-
mended it to the high ones of the kingdom about
her.

The University of Oxford, the University of
Paris, and the University of Prague, were at that
time the three great universities of Europe. Anne
of Bohemia being England's queen formed a con-
necting link between Prague and Oxford.

Bohemian youth went to Oxford to study ' * and
were there seized with enthusiasm for the doc-
trines of Wicklif;" and young English theo-
logians went from Oxford to Prague where they
spread the truths which they had learned from
Wicklif. The writings of Wicklif were owned

114 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

and studied by professors of the University of
Prague.

Also the English students who went to Prague,
met there the preaching and writings of the Bohe-
mian Eeformers; and the students who went to
Oxford from Bohemia carried there these writings
and teachings. Thus The Eeformation in England
and Bohemia became one. Jerome studied in Ox-
ford. Huss studied the writings of Wicklif in
the University of Prague.

Wicklif 's teachings centred in the keeping
of the Commandments of God and the Faith of
Jesus. The teaching of the Bohemian Eeformers
included that, but centred more in the prophecies
of Daniel and the Eevelation, Matthew 24, and 2
Thess. 2, and other scriptures concerning the
second coming of the Lord, and The Church: the
Church, true and false.

By the work of Militz, Conrad, Matthias, and
their disciples, evangelical truth was spread
throughout Bohemia ; and the field was thus pre-
pared for the writings of Wicklif.

The mingling of the students of the two coun-
tries was the means of the blending of the great
features of the respective teachings : each becom-
ing the complement of the other.

Thus the teachings in the two countries of
England and Bohemia became a symmetrical
whole in the evangelical message that sounded

God Defends The Reformation 11.5

throughout Europe, that was the rise of The
Eeformation.

Then the papacy arose in her wrath to put it
down.

The burning of Huss and Jerome kindled a
flame that speedily spread over all Bohemia.
^'Within four years from the death of Huss, the
bulk of the nation had embraced the faith for which
he died.'' The papacy attempted by the force of
mighty imperial armies to quench it ; but at every
turn she was miraculously defeated.

^^ Miraculous'' is the word to use. No other
would tell the whole truth.

* Crusade after crusade was pushed upon de-
voted Bohemia. The armies of 70,000; 80,000;
100,000; 130,000; 180,000; were of the veterans of
Europe. They were led by the emperor and the
Pope's legate-a-latere. They were officered by
electors, dukes, landgraves, and princes. They
were directed by the best and most practiced gen-
erals that Europe knew.

The Bohemians were mostly innocent peasants
armed with flails and such other implements as
they might gather — till they were supplied with
arms from the defeated crusaders. Their general
was a man totally blind — John Ziska. And yet,

* The sources of the quotations, facts, and dates, in this
chapter are, Wylie's ''History of Protestantism,'* Book III,
chap, xiii — xix; D'Aubigne's ''History of the Eeformation, ''
Book III, chap, iv; Book VII, chap, iv, viii.

116 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

besides many skirmishes and sieges, in sixteen
pitched battles that blind man and his peasants
defeated the imperial armies. They never lost a
single battle, siege, or skirmish.

Ziska died of the plague in 1424. He had
named Procoj)ius as his successor. The victories
continued: and, in some sense, in even a more
miraculous way.

In 1427 the crusading army of 180,000 was at
the river that flows by Meiss prepared to attack
the town. The Hussites marched up to the river
on the opposite bank, and stood still. ' ' It was only
for a moment that the invaders contemplated the
Hussite ranks. A sudden panic fell upon them.
They turned and fled in the utmost confusion.'^

In 1431 the crusading army of 130,000, march-
ing from Nuremberg, invaded Bohemia. They
were encamped at a point near Reisenberg. The
Hussites were not yet in sight; but the sound of
their wagons and the chanting of their host were
heard. The Pope's legate stood on an eminence to
see the great battle that was impending. But in-
stead of his expected battle he saw a stampede of
his whole army.

He was ^'startled by a strange and sudden
movement in the host. As if smitten by some
invisible power, it appeared all at once to break
up and scatter. The soldiers threw away their
armor and fled, one this way, another that ; and the

Miraculous Panics 117

wagoners, emptying their vehicles of their load,
set off across the plain at full gallop.

* * The panic extended to the officers equally with
the soldiers. The Duke of Bavaria was one of the
first to flee. He left behind him his carriage : in
the hope that its spoil might tempt the enemy to
delay their pursuit. Behind him, also in inglorious
flight, came the Elector of Brandenburg ; and fol-
lowing close on the elector were others of less
note, chased from the field by this unseen terror.

^^The army followed: if that could be styled
an army which had so lately been a marshalled and
bannered host; but was now only a rabble rout,
fleeing when no man pursued. ' '

The cardinal legate tried to stem the tide. He
threw himself in the path of flight, exhorting that
they stand and fight ^ ' for Christ and the salvation
of souls," and urging that they had ''a better
chance of saving their lives'^ by fighting than by
flying.

He succeeded in rallying a few. ^*But it was
only for a few minutes. They stood their ground
only till the Bohemians were within a short dis-
tance of them. Then that strange terror again
fell upon them, and the stampede became so per-
fectly uncontrollable that the legate himself was
borne away in the current of bewildered and hur-
rying men. . . .

''He left behind him his hat, his cross, his bell,

118 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

and the Pope's bull proclaiming the crusade —
that same crusade that had come to so ridiculous
a termination.

^ ^ This is now the second time the strange phe-
nomenon of panic had been repeated in the Hussite
wars. . . . There is here the touch of a Divine
finger — the infusion of a preternatural terror.

^ ^ So great was the stupefaction with which the
crusaders were smitten that many of them, instead
of continuing their flight into their own country,
wandered back into Bohemia. While others of
them, who reached their homes in Nuremberg, did
not know their native city when they entered it;
and began to beg for lodgings as if they were
among strangers.''

Then the papacy turned to new tactics. She
proposed negotiations. And the Bohemians
allowed themselves to be lured with her wiles and
to be taken in her net !

The council of Basle was in session, 1432. The
Bohemians were invited to come to the Council
for a conference. Three hundred of them went;
and in a discussion continued through three
months, held their ground. Then they went home.

Next the Council sent ^^a proposal to renew at
Prague the negotiations that had been broken off
at Basle." *'The Bohemian chiefs returned an-
swer to the Council, bidding them to send forward
their delegates to Prague."

The Reformation Given Away 119

The Diet of Bohemia was convoked, in 1434,
with special reference to this matter. The outcome
of the meeting was that the Bohemians agreed to
a compromise. And of all things, a compromise
of such character as revealed that they had already
forgotten The Eeformation; and that they now
cared far more for peace with Rome than they
cared for divine truth and the peace of God for
which the Bohemian Reformers had so nobly con-
tended, and for which Huss and Jerome had gone
to death at the stake.

The compromise was that the four articles on
which the Bohemians insisted, were accepted
by tlie Council : the right of explaining the articles,
to belong to the Council!*

This was only to give everything away to
Rome. Rome knew this, and so intended it. The
secretary of the Council, who himself drafted the
document, said of it : —

*'This formula of the Council is short, but there is
more in its meaning than in its words. It banishes all
such opinions and ceremonies as are alien to the faith,
and it takes the Bohemians bound to believe and to

* The four articles were —

**I. The free preaching of the Word.

*'IL The right of the laity to the Cup, and the use of the
vernacular tongue in all parts of Divine worship.

''III. The ineligibility of the clergy to secular office and
rule.

''IV. The execution of the laws in the case of all crimes,
without respect of persons."

120 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

maintain all that the Church Catholic believes and main-
tains. ' '

And when this same man became Pope — Pius
11 — he ^ ^ repudiated his own handiwork, and
launched excommunication against Podiebrad
[king of Bohemia] for attempting to govern on its
principles."

Why could not the Bohemians see that this
compromise was nothing but a complete surrender
to Eome ? — They had turned from the light to the
darkness, from God to Eome.

God could fight for them and wondrously de-
liver them from all the power and expectation of
Rome. He had abundantly shown to all the world
that He would do this — while they stood with
Him against Rome.

But when they allowed themselves to be lured
from Him by the wiles of Rome and drawn into
negotiations for ^' peace" with Rome, He could
not fight for them in that. He could only let them
have their own chosen way — and that the way of
Rome!

The Reformation which had been so nobly be-
gun and so wondrously maintained in Bohemia,
was given away. It was not sold for a price. It
was not even bartered, for a consideration. It was
thoughtlessly given away.

This surrender was made by

those who professed to be of The Reformation,

The Faithful Ones 121

but did not know The Reformation in spirit and
in truth :

those who had espoused 'Hhe cause'' of The
Reformation, but not The Reformation itself :

those who had never received the divine prin-
ciple and truth of The Church of the living God,
but in whose minds and hearts there still lurked
the superstitious fallacy that the Roman church is
the true and only church:

those who were glad to be freed from the exac-
tions and oppressions of Rome, but cared not
most of all to be freed from Rome herself.

When these met what seemed to them to
promise the privilege of enjoying the benefits
brought by The Reformation, and also the fellow-
ship of Rome, of course they accepted it ; for that
is just what they had always wanted.

Yet there were those who were faithful. These
utterly rejected the compact in which all was sur-
rendered to Rome. Of those who accepted that
compact, these said — '^In this manner they re-
ceded from the footsteps of Huss, and returned to
the camp of Antichrist.''

These who were true to The Reformation be-
came the object of bitter attack from all parties,
and of persecution from all sides. Those who had
professed to be of them, but had given themselves
away to Rome, were the first to make war upon
them.

122 The Reformatiori : and the Roman Church

By the cruel persecutions poured upon them,
*^they were dispersed in the woods and mountains.
They inhabited dens and caves. And in these
abodes they were ever careful to prepare their
meals by night, lest the ascending smoke should
betray their lurking places.

*^ Gathering round the fires which they kindled
in these subterranean retreats in the cold of win-
ter, they read the Word of God, and united in
social worship." As they read and worshipped,
and year after year went by; their numbers few,
and the persecution ever persistent ; and the reign
of Rome universal ; they were led to wonder how
fared it with Christians otherwhere, or whether
there were any others.

*^Were they alone all the witnesses of truth
left on the earth f or were there others : companions
with them in the faith and patience of the kingdom
of Jesus Christ? They sent messengers into the
various countries of Christendom, to inquire
secretly and bring them word again.

' ^ These messengers returned to say that everj^-
where darkness covered the face of the earth ; but
that nevertheless, here and there, they had found
isolated confessors of the truth — a few in this
city and a few in that — the object like themselves
of persecution. '^

Yet they remembered the words of promise of
coming day, that had been left them.

The Promises of Coming Day 123

Wickliff had written that from amongst the
monks * ^ some brothers whom God may vouchsafe
to teach, will be devoutly converted to the primi-
tive religion of Christ, and, abandoning their false
interpretations of genuine Christianity, after hav-
ing demanded, or acquired of themselves, permis-
sion from Antichrist, will freely return to the
original religion of Christ ; and they will build up
the Church like Paul.''

Matthias of Janow, as he was dying, said to his
sorrowing friends : ^ ' The rage of the enemies of
the truth now prevails against us ; but it will not be
forever. There shall arise one from among the
common people, without sword or authority, and
against him they shall not be able to prevail.''

Huss, in the dungeon in chains, just before his
death, dreamed that certain persons had resolved
to destroy in the night all the pictures of Christ
that were on the walls of Bethlehem chapel in
Prague where he used to preach : and that, indeed,
they did destroy them.

But the next day many painters were engaged
in drawing more pictures, and more beautiful ones,
than were there before : upon which Huss gazed in
rapture. When the painters had finished, they
turned to the company of people who were looking
on, and said: ^'Now let the bishops and priests
come and destroy these pictures."

And a great multitude of people joyed over it ;

124 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

and Huss rejoiced with them. And in the midst of
the laughter and rejoicing, he awoke.

There were no real pictures of Christ on the
walls of Bethlehem chapel. There were inscribed
only the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer,
and single verses of precious Scripture.

Of the dream, Huss said: *'I hope that the life
of Christ which, by my preaching in Bethlehem,
has been transcribed upon the hearts of men, and
which they meant to destroy there, — first by for-
bidding preaching in the chapels and in Bethlehem,
next by tearing down Bethlehem itself — that this
life of Christ shall be better transcribed by a
greater number of better preachers than I am : to
the joy of the people who love the life of Christ.
Over which I shall rejoice when I awake : that is,
rise from the dead.''

And as he stood at the stake, made fast to it by
a chain, he said: ^^It is thus that you silence the
goose ; but a hundred years hence there will arise
a swan whose singing you shall not be able to si-
lence."*

The hundred years passed. And then came
from among the monks the ^^ brother" of Wicklif,
the one from *^the common people" of Matthias,
and the ^^swan" of Huss — Martin Luther.

On the morning of Oct. 31, 1517, the Elector

* The word "Huss" in the Bohemian language is equivalent
to goose.

The Elector Frederick's Dream 125

Frederick of Saxony, in his castle of Schweinitz,
about eighteen miles from Wittemberg, related to
his brother, Duke John, and his chancellor, the fol-
lowing experience : —

The Elector. — ' ' Brother, I must tell you a dream
which I had last night: the meaning of which I should
like much to know. It is so deeply impressed on my
mind, that I will never forget it were I to live a thou-
sand years. For I dreamed it thrice, and each time
with new circumstances.

Duke John. — ''Is it a good or a bad dream?"

The Elector. — "I know not: God knows."

Duke John. — "Don't be uneasy at it; but be so
good as to tell it to me."

The Elector. — "Having gone to bed last night,
fatigued and out of spirits, I fell asleep shortly after
my prayer, and slept quietly for about two hours and
a half. I then awoke, and continued awake till mid-
night — all sorts of thoughts passing through my mind.
Among other things, I thought how I was to observe the
feast of All Saints. I prayed for the poor souls in pur-
gatory ; and supplicated God to guide me, my counsels,
and my people, according to truth.

"I again fell asleep, and then dreamed that Al-
mighty God sent me a monk, who was a true son of the
Apostle Paul. All the saints accompanied him by order
of God, in order to bear testimony before me and to
declare that he did not come to contrive any plot ; but
that all that he did was according to the will of God.
They asked me to have the goodness graciously to per-
mit him to write something on the door of the church
of the castle of Wittemberg. This I granted, through
my chancellor.

"Thereupon the monk went to the church, and be-
gan to write in such large characters that I could read
the writing at Schweinitz. The pen which he used
was so large that its end reached as far as Rome, where

126 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

it pierced the ears of a lion* that was couching there ;
and caused the triple crown upon the head of the Pope
to shake. All the cardinals and princes, running has-
tily up, tried to prevent it from falling. You and I,
brother, wished also to assist; and I stretched out my
arm — but at this moment I awoke, with my arm in
the air, quite amazed, and very much enraged at the
monk for not managing his pen better. I recollected
myself a little ; it was only a dream.

"I was still half asleep, and once more closed my
eyes. The dream returned. The lion, still annoyed
by the pen, began to roar with all his might so much
so that the whole city of Rome and all the States of
the holy empire ran to see what the matter was. The
Pope requested them to oppose the monk, and applied
particularly to me on account of his being in my coun-
try. I again awoke, repeated the Lord's Prayer, en-
treated God to preserve his holiness, and once more
fell asleep.

' ' Then I dreamed that all the princes of the empire,
and we among them, hastened to Rome, and strove,
one after another, to break the pen. But the more we
tried, the stiffer it became — sounding as if it had
been made of iron. We at length desisted. I then
asked the monk (for I was sometimes at Rome, and
sometimes at Wittemberg) where he got his pen, and
why it was so strong. 'The pen,' replied he, 'belonged
to an old goose of Bohemia — a hundred years old. I
got it from one of my old schoolmasters. As to its
strength, it is owing to the impossibility of depriving
it of its pith or marrow ; and I am quite astonished at
it myself.'

"Suddenly I heard a loud noise — a large number
of other pens had sprung out of the long pen of the
monk. I awoke a third time : it was daylight."

Duke John. — "Chancellor, what is your opinion?
Would we had a Joseph or a Daniel enlightened by
God."

* Leo X was then Pope.

''Thou Art Come, 0 Desired One!'' 127

The Chancellor. — ''Your highnesses know the com-
mon proverb, that the dreams of young girls, learned
men, and great lords, have usually some hidden mean-
ing. The meaning of this dream, however, we will not
be able to know for some time, — not till the things to
which it relates have taken place. Wherefore, leave
the accomplishment to God, and place it wholly in His
hand."

Duke John. — ''I am of your opinion, Chancellor:
'tis not fit for us to annoy ourselves in attempting
to discover the meaning. The God will overrule all for
His glory."

The Elector. — ''May our faithful God do so. Yet
I will never forget this dream. I have indeed thought
of an interpretation ; but I keep it to myself. Time,
perhaps, will show if I have been a good diviner."

At noon of that very day the interpretation of
the dream began, and the meaning to be made
plain. For at that hour, without having made
known to anybody his intentions, the monk, Martin
Luther, nailed to the door of Wittemberg church
his ninety-five theses against Rome.

The Reformation had arisen again.

And it had risen, nevermore to be put down.
Luther in Germany, Zwingle in Switzerland, and
soon others with these and everywhere, to the joy
of a great multitude were engaged in restoring the
image of Christ in the lives of men.

And among the laughing and rejoicing peoples
there were two hundred congregations of Refor-
mation Christians in Bohemia, who were de-
scended through the long night and had watched
eagerly for the promised day.

128 The Reformation : and the Roman Church

What it meant to all, was summed up in the
words and sounded forth in the voice of one in
curious garb, holding aloft a large cross, and chant-
ing in a tone that seemed fitted to cause the dead
to hear, as Luther entered the City of Worms —

^^Thou art come, 0 desired one! — thou for
whom we have longed and ivaited in the dark-
ness l'^"^

Through a hundred years the Roman church
had demonstrated that for The Eeformation, for
The Church and the Christianity which The Refor-
mation revealed, she holds only perpetual enmity.
In this additional field — the field of the strictly
spiritual — the Roman church had further proved
to all the world the truth that the Reformers
preached, that she is not the true church in any
feature nor in any sense.

Tlie conditions in Europe were now barely less
deplorable than when The Reformation first arose.
The hundred years between, had been but a hun-
dred years more of all that the Roman church
could show herself to be.

The promise and effort of the Council of Con-
stance to ''reform the church in its head and mem-
bers," had amounted to nothing more than the
ending of the open anarchy of the church, and the
bringing back of the popedom to only one Pope

Advenisti, O desideribilis!

Quern expectabamus in tenebris! "

Duke George Arraigns The Church 129

at a time. All of the other evils of the church
held steadily onward.

The speech that was made by Duke George
in the Diet of Worms, and that was put in writing
for the action of the Diet, will be sufficient evi-
dence here that the church was still the same —
simply incorrigible : and this simply because that
church being ^'infallible'' is ' ' irref ormable of it-
self. ' ' Duke George said : —

"The Diet must not forget the grievances of which
it complains against the court of Eome.

"What abuses have crept into our States!

"The annats which the emperor granted freely
for the good of Christendom, now demanded as a debt ;

"the Roman courtiers every day inventing new
ordinances in order to absorb, sell, and farm out,
ecclesiastical benefices ;

"a multitude of transgressions winked at;

"rich offenders unworthily tolerated, while those
who have no means of ransom are punished without
pity;

"the Popes incessantly bestowing expectancies and
reversions on the inmates of their palace, to the detri-
ment of those to whom the benefices belong;

' ' the commendams of abbeys and convents of Rome
conferred on cardinals, bishops, and prelates, who ap-
propriate their revenues, so' that there is not one monk
in convents which ought to have twenty or thirty ;

"stations multiplied without end, and indulgence
shops established in all the streets and squares of our
cities — shops of St. Anthony, shops of the Holy Spirit,
of St. Hubert, of St. Cornelius, of St. Vincent, and
many others besides;

"societies purchasing from Rome the right of hold-
ing such markets, then purchasing from their bishop

10

130 The Reformation: and the Roman Church

the right of exhibiting their wares, and. in order to
procure all this money, draining and emptjdng the
pockets of the poor ;

''the indulgence, which ought to be granted solely
for the salvation of souls, and which ought to be mer-
ited only by prayers and fastings, sold at a regular
price ;

"the officials of the bishops oppressing those in
humble life with penances for blasphemy, adultery,
debauchery, the violation of this or that feast-day,
while, at the same time, not even censuring ecclesiastics
who are guilty of the same crimes ;

"penances imposed on the penitent, and artfully
arranged so that he soon falls anew into the same fault,
and pays so much the more money.

"Such are some of the crying abuses of Rome.

"All sense of shame has been cast off, and one
thing only is pursued — money ! money !

"Hence, preachers who ought to teach the truth,
now^ do nothing more than retail lies — lies, which are
not only tolerated, but recompensed, because the more
they lie, the more they gain.

"From this polluted well comes forth all this pol-
luted water.

"Debauchery goes hand in hand with avarice.

"The officials cause women to come to their houses
under divers pretexts, and strive to seduce them, some-
times by menaces, sometimes by presents, or, if they
do not succeed, injure them in their reputation.

"Ah! the scandals caused by the clergy precipitate
multitudes of poor souls into eternal condemnation !

"There must be a universal reform^ and this re-
form must be accomplished by summoning a General
Council.

"Wherefore, most excellent princes and lords, with
submission I implore you to lose no time in the con-
sideration of this matter. ' '

That he should retract what he had written in

The Reformation or Rome 131

denunciation of the Eoman church in all these
things, was part of the demand that was made
upon Luther at the Diet of Worms.

He replied: ''I have composed books against
the papacy — books in which I have attacked those
who, by their false doctrine, their bad life, and
scandalous example, desolate the Christian world,
and destroy both body and soul. Is not the fact
proved by the complaints of all who fear Godf
Is it not evident that the human laws and doctrines
of the Popes entangle, torture, martyr, the con-
science of the faithful; while the clamant and
never-ending extortions of Rome engulf the wealth
and riches of Christendom, and particularly of
this illustrious kingdom?

*^Were I to retract what I have written on this
subject, what should I do ? — What but fortify
that tyranny, and open a still wider door for these
man}' and great iniquities? Then, breaking forth
with more fury than ever, these arrogant men
would be seen increasing, usurping, raging, more
and more.

*^And the yoke which weighs upon the Chris-
tian people would, by my retractation, not only be
rendered more severe, but would become, so to
speak, more legitimate ; for by this very retracta-
tion, it would have received the confirmation of
your most serene majesty, and of all the States of
the holy empire.

132 The Reformation: and the Roman Church

^^Good God! I should thus be, as it were, an in-
famous cloak, destined to hide and cover all sorts
of malice and tyranny."

And because he would not retract, and so con-
firm the papacy in all that she is, there was pub-
lished against him the Edict of Worms, which
brought, in opposition to it, the Protest that put
into the world the word Protestant which the Fed-
eral Council of Churches did retract.

And the retractation of the word Protestant,
by the Federal Council of Churches, carries in it.
the sanction of all that the retractation by Luther
that day would have sanctioned. This means the
same as that would have meant.

It means the making choice of Rome, not merely
instead of, but against, The Reformation.

And this creates the situation in which every
person in America must now make his choice of —

The Reformation or Rome.

And the impetus given to the Romeward trend,
and the encouragement given to Rome herself, in
this Nation, by that retractation of Protestant —
that choice of Rome against The Reformation —
by the Federal Council, will soon develop the situ-
ation in which every person will be compelled to
make his choice of —

Rome or The Reformation.

CHAPTER VI.

The Reformation Church.

The men who made The Reformation were not
men who started out with an ambition to be Re-
formers, nor even heretics.

Their sole ambition and one supreme aim was
simply to be Christians: Christians according to
the truth of God as in His Word and Spirit.

This became the life of each one of them. And
this made them to be both heretics and Reformers :
heretics first of all, and throughout all their days
and afterward, in that age; but later and now
Reformers.

The Roman church claims that ^'the church^'
is rightly defined to be : —

''The society of the validly baptized faithful united
together in one body by the profession of the same
faith, by the participation of the same sacraments, and
by obedience to the same authority, Christ, its invisible
head in heaven, and the Roman Pontiff, the successor
of St. Peter, Christ's visible representative and vice-
jj^erent upon earth." — ''Christian Apologetics," Sec-
tion 300.

The condition of tyranny and misery that had
been forced upon the world by the Roman church,
of which these men were members, caused these
men who, above all things else, would be Chris-
tians according to the Word and Spirit of God, to
inquire of God in His Word and by His Spirit —

133

134 The Reformation Church

What, in God's truth, is God's Church?

And in God's Word, and by His Spirit, they
found the answer.

They found this answer so full and complete,
and of such transcendent glory, that it carried
them with calm and confident rejoicing through all
the cruelty of persecution and flame that Rome
and her spirit could kindle.

And what is this answer! What did they find
The Church of God's truth to be?

Wicklif said*: ''Holy Church is the congrega-
tion of just men for whom Christ shed His blood. ' '

''All who shall be saved in the bliss of heaven
are members of Holy Church, and no more.^^

' ' There is one only universal Church : consist-
ing of the whole body of the predestinate."

Matthias of Janow said: "All Christians who
possess the Spirit of Jesus the Crucified, and who
are impelled by the same Spirit, and who alone
have not departed from their God, are the one
Church of Christ: His beautiful bride, His body."

"The Church is the body of Christ, the com-
munity of the elect."

* ' All who have been sanctified, have been sanc-
tified by the anointing grace and sprinkling of

* From here to the end of the book, all the quotations of the
words of Wicklif and of the Bohemian Reformers are from
Neander's ''History of the Christian Religion and Church,"
Vol. V; and of Luther and Zwingle, from D'Aubigne's "History
of the Reformation."

The True Church 135

the blood of Jesus. Hence it follows that every
Christian is a saint, and every saint a Christian.
So one cannot be a Christian and at the same time
not a sainf

^*Do not object to me the bad Christians, who
have lost the first grace by reason of their misuse
of it; for these are not Christians.''

Huss said: *^The Church is the community of
the elect. * Where two or three are gathered to-
gether in My name, I am in the midst of them.'
There, then, would be a true particular church:
and, accordingly, where three or four are assem-
bled, and up to the whole number of the elect. In
this sense, the term ^Church' is often used in the
New Testament.

^^And thus all the righteous who now, in the
archbishopric of Prague, live under the reign of
Christ, are the true Church of Prague. But the
Catholic Church is the predestinate of all times.' ^

^'The true Church lies in nothing else than
the totality of the elect."

Luther did not begin with this truth. But the
fundamental truth of Justification by Faith only
— the Righteousness of God which is by Faith —
with which he did begin, inevitably led him pres-
ently to this. And in his discussion with Eck, be-
fore he had been excommunicated by Rome, Lu-
ther said:

^'Certain of the tenets of John Huss and the

136 The Reformation Church

Bohemians are perfectly orthodox. This much is
certain. For instance, *that there is only one
universal Church;' and again, 'that it is not neces-
sary to salvation to believe the Roman church
superior to all others.' Whether Wicklif or Huss
has said so, I care not. It is the truth/'

Later he said:

*'The Pope, the bishops, the monks, and the
priests need not make a noise. We are the Church,
There is no other Church than the assembly of
those who have the Word of God and are purified
by it/'

And Zwingle said: *'The Church universal is
diffused over the whole world, wherever there is
faith in Jesus Christ — in the Indies as well as in
Zurich.

''And as to particular churches, we have them
— at Berne, at Schaffhausen, here also.

"But the Popes, their cardinals, and their
councils are neither the Church universal^ nor the
church particular/'

"In every nation whosoever believeth with the
heart in the Lord Jesus Christ, is saved. This is
The Church out of which no man can be saved."

Those men made not these statements in col-
lusion. The last two of them were hundreds of
miles apart, and had no communication with each
other ; and were both more than a hundred years
after the first three.

The Divine Definition 137

Of the first three, while Matthias and Wicklif
lived at the same time, they were apart the wide
distance between Oxford and Prague, and they
worked entirely independently. Huss was a stu-
dent during the latter years of the life of Matthias,
and arrived at the same truth by his own personal
study.

Yet all of these found in the Bible the same
identical view of the truth of The Church. That
itself is strong evidence that such is the Scripture
view of The Church.

But we have the Scriptures, and can test this
for ourselves. Is that, then, the truth of the Word
of God as to The Church? Let us see.

The plain statement of Inspiration as to what
The Church is, is this: ''The Church which is His
body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.^'
Eph. 1:22,23.

That is the Lord's own definition of His own
expression *'The Church. '' It is a double defini-
tion.

First, it defines The Church to be ''His body.''

Secondly, it defines the expression "His body,"
to be "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."

Who is He who filleth all in all ? — Plainly,
God.

What, then, is the extent of "the fulness of
Him?" — Plainly, nothing less than infinity.

And The Church is that — ''the fulness of

138 The Reformation Church

Him who filleth all in all.'' Plainly then, The
Church is nothing less than an infinite thing.

Accordingly, anything ever in the world that
claims to be The Church, but is anything less than
infinite, is a fraud and an imposture. It is a fraud
in the claim, and an imposture upon those who
accept the claim.

Of this ^ ^fulness of Him," it is written: ^^Do
not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord ? ' ' Jer.
23:24.

He fills heaven and earth. The Church is '^the
fulness of Him." Plainly then The Church fills
heaven and earth.

Anything then claiming to be The Church that
comes in any wise short of filling heaven and earth,
comes just so far short of being The Church in
truth.

Now the Eoman church never filled even the
earth, much less heaven and earth. When The
Reformation arose, that church did fill Europe.
But Europe is a very small part of the earth.

And when that church was the fulness of even
Europe, it was such fulness only in overtopping
wickedness. But the fulness which The Church
is, is a fulness in righteousness, not in luickedness.
It is the fulness of God, not of the Devil.

But there are others in the world claiming to
be The Church. Is there any one of these that is
the fulness of heaven and earth? It is the same

The Fulness of God 139

again : none of them fills even the earth, much less
heaven and earth. Not all of them together fill
even the earth.

Therefore, not one of them is The Church. Not
all of them together compose The Church. And
each of them alone, and all of them together as
one, comes as far short of being The Church as
each and all come short of filling heaven and earth :
that is infinitely far.

Even though all the denominations in the world
were completely one, and that one eompletely
Christian, yet even this would come far short of
filling the earth, and infinitely far short of filling
heaven and earth. And it would all come just that
far short of being The Church, which is ^^the ful-
ness of Him who filleth all in all.'*

That would be of The Church; but it would
not he The Church. The Church is a larger thing
than that would be.

Yet more: Even though all the people in the
world were such Christians as John and Paul,
and were all united in truest fellowship, that would
not fill the earth : and still less would it fill heaven
and earth. Thus even that would not be The
Church.

It would be of The Church ; but it would not he
The Church. The Church is infinitely a larger and
grander thing than even that would be.

The Church is the fulness of God. He fills

1^0 Tlie Reformation Church

heaven and earth. What is tliis fulness of Him?
Eead it: ^^ Behold, the nations are as a drop of a
bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the
balance. . . . All nations before Him are as
nothing; and they are counted to Him less than
nothing, and vanity. ' '

''Before Him" — as to Him, as to the fulness
of Him — all the nations are as a drop of a bucket.
Think of the largest bucket. Let it be filled to
overflowing. Then take from it a drop. What
proportion will be that drop to the fulness of the
bucket !

Yet that illustrates what are all the nations in
proportion to ''the fulness of Him that filleth all
in all."

Therefore, if all of all the nations were as per-
fectly Christian as John and Paul, and not a soul
in the world otlierwise, yet all of that would be as
far short of being The Church, as a drop of a
bucket is short of being the fulness of the bucket;
or as the "small dust of the balance" is short of
being the fulness of the dust of the earth.

The Word says that ''to Him," not hy Him, all
the nations are counted as nothing, and even "less
Viv^n nothing. ' ' As counted hy Him, a man is more
])reciou.s than gold and is more than a world. But
as "counted to Him," in proportion to the fulness
of Him, all the nations are "less than nothing."

And The Church is "the fulness of Him."

The Divine Concept 141

Only that is The Church. Anything that is less
than that cannot possibly be The Church.

What an infinite deception, then, is that with
which Eome has filled the professed Christian
world — that a little 7 x 9, or 2 x 4, structure,
or a thing of the conception of the pinhead capac-
ity, of finite-minded, sinful man, could be The
Church of the infinite God!

No, no. The Church is the glorious conception
of the infinite, the living God.

Its structure is the expression of ' ' the eternal
l)urpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord.''

It is perceived only by means of *Hhe Spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Riyn.^'

No eye ever saw, no ear ever heard, it never
entered into the heart of man to conceive, what
The Church is, nor what in The Church God hath
prepared for them that love Him. 1 Cor. 2 : 9-12.

^^But God hath revealed them unto us by His
Spirit." Knowledge of The Church itself, knowl-
edge of the structure of The Church, and knowl-
edge of the things of The Church, is found only by
finding the thought of God in His Word. And this
is found only through the Spirit of revelation in
the knowledge of Him. Eph. 1 : 16-23.

To receive this Spirit, to be taught by this
Spirit, to be led by this Spirit, was the prayer that
led to The Eef ormation, and that led in The Eef or-

142 The Reformation Church

mation. And that is the prayer that must lead now
in this time when there is forced npon all the peo-
ple the choice of The Eeformation or Rome.

In this prayer let us proceed in the study of the
Word, to know in Spirit and in Truth what is The
Church.

The first Scripture that occurs is the beginning
of a prayer. And the prayer is in view of this very
feature, this transcendent feature, of the Mystery
of God. The prayer begins with the words, *^And
for this cause.''

And the ^^ cause" of the prayer is this: '^Unto
me who am less than the least of all saints, is this
grace given that I might preach among the Gen-
tiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and make
all see what is the fellowship of the Mystery which
from the beginning of the world hath been hid in
God who created all things by Jesus Christ."

And this preaching is 'Ho the intent that now
unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places might be known hy The Church' ' — that is,
hy meayis of The Church, through The Church,
unto these might be known — ''the manifold wis-
dom of God, according to the eternal purpose
which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

*'And for this cause I bow my knees unto the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom
the whole family in heaven and earth is named."
Eph. 3 : 8-11, 14.

The Family of God 143

Note that it is not the i'dvcalies in heaven and
earth, as if there were two or more. It is specifi-
cally singular — 'Hhe whole family'^ — as of one
in heaven and earth. That is, all the children of
God, all creatures who are His, in heaven and
earth, compose just one family — God's family.
And that family is The Church — God's Church.

An earthly family might be not all at home, at
the birth-place — one there, another in Ohio, an-
other in California, another in Florida. Yet they
would be the one family of the father, and of the
birth-place. And the father could speak truly of
them as his whole family, at home, in Ohio, Cali-
fornia, and Florida.

So the children of our heavenly Father are all
the one family. Some of us are not at home : we
are in a foreign land, amongst strangers, and even
enemies. But bless the Lord, we are all members
of the one family of the heavenly Father.

And, oh! joy, we are all going home one of
these days. There is going to be a grand home-
coming, an eternal reunion, when He comes to re-
ceive to Himself His own. And when He thus
comes to take His children all home, it is then that
He presents to Himself the ''glorious Church,
. . . holy and without blemish.'' Eph. 5: 27.

Again, it is written : ' ' Ye are no more strangers
and foreigners ; but fellow-citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God." Eph. 2 : 19.

144 The Reformation Church

A household is an organized family, those who
are at home in the same house. And though some
of God's children are in a foreign country, and
strangers here, we are not foreigners to the coun-
try of promise J we are not aliens from the common-
wealth of the Princes of God, we are not strangers
in ''the house of God which is The Church of the
living God.*' And they that be planted in the
house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of
our God." Ps.92:13.

The arms of the cross of Jesus the Crucified
embrace heaven and earth. ''For it pleased the
Father that in Him should all fulness dwell. And
having made peace through the blood of His cross,
by Him to reconcile all things unto flimself. By
Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or
things in heaven." Col. 1: 19, 20.

All in earth who are reconciled to God by the
blood of the Cross, are of The Church. And all in
heaven who are reconciled to God by the blood of
the same Cross, are equally and as truly of the
same Church. And all these in both heaven and
earth compose The Church: one, only, true, and
ever the same Church, "growing unto an holy
temple in the Lord, for an habitation of God
through the Spirit. Eph. 2 : 22.

Not only does The Church itself as a whole
embrace heaven and earth. The Church, even only
as it relates to the earth, is found only in heaven

The Church in Heaven and Earth 145

and earth. For there are some who used to be of
The Church as in the earth, who are now alive on
the other side and are of The Church as in heaven.

Some of these, as Enoch and EHjah, went aHve
from here to there without any touch of death at
alL Moses, the four and twenty elders, and the
multitude of those who came out of the graves
after Christ's resurrection, and formed the train
in His triumphal ascension, went to the other side
through a resurrection from the dead. Jude 9;
Rev. 5:9; Matt. 27 ; 52, 53 ; Eph. 4 : 8 with margin ;
Coh 2: 15.

All of these were members of The Church when
they were on this side. And when they went
through to the other side, it was not necessary in
any sense for any one of them to change his church-
membership, nor in any way to change his relation
to The Church.

Each one of all that glorified number was just
as much a member of The Church while he was
here as he has been since he went over there.
Elijah was a member of The Church wliile he was
on this side, he was a member of The Church in
the moment of his translation, he has been a mem-
ber of The Church every moment since, and will
be the same forevermore: and always the same
member of the same Church. And so with all the
others of that glorified company : for The Church
is one and the same everywhere in the universe.
11

146 The Reformation Church

And now suppose that Elijah were to return
to this side to live through the last days with those
who shall be translated as was he from the wrath
of 'Hhat woman Jezebel. '^ Eev. 2: 21. What
*^ church" would he need to ^'join," of what de-
nomination must he be a member, in order to be a
member of the ^'true church!"

Plainly, just none of them at all: and for the
simple and sufficient reason that he is already and
forever a member of The One True and Only
Church. Wherever he may go in the wide uni-
verse, he is still and ever a member of that One
Church. And yet that is but The Church of which
he was a member when he was here.

Thus by every evidence and every considera-
tion of Scripture, it is certain that The Church is
a higher, nobler, grander, thing — indeed that it
is by far another thing — than is anything that has
ever been thought of as The Church by churchmen
of all this world.

And so it is written that Christ is ^^the Head
of The Church, that'' — so that, in order that —
*^in all things He might have the pre-eminence."
Col. 1: 18. That is to say that if Christ were
Head of everything in the universe except The
Church, He would not in all things have the pre-
eminence. But just by the one thing of being the
Head of The dmrch, this one thing alone gives
Him ^ ' in all things the pre-eminence. ' '

The Church of the Universe 147

That one single expression of the Scripture
reveals the truth that The Church is the higgest
thing in the universe. It is the universe of intel-
ligences, who live with God and in God.

That one thought alone reveals The Church as
the fulness of the universe — ^'the fulness of Him
who filleth all in all.'' Indeed, the very next word
of the Scripture stands thus: ^^tliat in all things
He might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased
the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell."

Also, in another place, it is written that God
has **made known unto us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure, which He hath
purposed in Himself.'' And this purpose is, ^^That
in the dispensation of the fulness of times He
might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in Him." Eph. 1: 9, 10.

That is to say: In and through Christ by the
Holy Spirit God is unifying the universe.

And that unified universe is ^'The Church,"
'Hhe Household," ^Hhe whole family" of the liv-
ing God.

And that is the accomplishing of the eternal
purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord before there was ever a creature or any crea-
tion.

And when this unification of the universe shall
have been accomplished in Christ, ''then shall the

148 The Reformation Church

Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all
things under Him. ' ' And all this is in order ' ^ that
God may be all in all/' 1 Cor. 15 : 28.

And this is The Church into which — to the
fellowship and infinite and eternal benefits of
which — all people are kindly called and gra-
ciously imdted in tenderest tones of the compas-
sionate pleadings of divine love.

And see the wonderful associations and Associ
ates that are found in this Church by all who come.
*^Ye are come — unto

* * Mount Zion ; and unto

^ * the City of the living God, the Heavenly eJeru-
salem ; and to

**an innumerable company of angels ; to

*Hhe general assembly and Church of the First-
horn which are written in heaven; and to

*'God the Judge of all; and to

^ ^ the spirits of just men made perfect ; and to

** Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant; and
to

*Hhe blood of sprinkling that speaketh better
things than that of Abel.^' Heb. 12: 22, 23.

All these associations and Associates are
heavenly, and nothing but heavenly. Whosoever
is of The Church of the Bible is of this heavenly
company; and all these heavenly associations are
his, to help and cheer him on the way, and for
him to enjoy as he goes.

The Antagonist of The Church 149

^*And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.
And let him that is athirst, come. And let him
that heareth, say Come. And whosoever will, let
him'^ come.

This is The Church which Christ loved, and for
which He gave Himself, ^^that he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
Word, that He might present it to Himself a glori-
ous Church.'' Eph. 5:25-27.

This is The Church of which Christ speaks to
God, when He says to Him, ^^In the midst of The
Church will I sing praise unto thee.'' Heb. 2: 12.

The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the Head of
The Church, has never yet had a chance to be in
the midst of The Church.

In The Church as it was in heaven, the pride
and self-exaltation of Lucifer wrought division
and confusion.

As soon as He had started The Church in the
earth, the same proud and self -exalted one insinu-
ated the same confusion here.

In The Church as carried over the Flood, the
mischievous one wrought to confusion again.

In ^'The Church in the wilderness" and in the
land of Canaan, the same one still wrought division
and confusion.

In The Church as brought back from Babylon,
the same vicious schemer and ever antagonist of
The Church wrought to the same end (Zech. 3),

150 The Reformation Church

and so continued that when the Lord Jesus ^ ^ came
unto His own" He was rejected by His own pro-
fessed Church, and was crucified out of the world.

In The Church as Christ renewed it in the
earth, the same arch-enemy of The Church
wrought more insidiously than ever : this time unto
the great * ^falling away" and the revelation of
^Hhat man of Sin, the son of Perdition," '^the
mystery of Iniquity," opposing and exalting him-
self above all that is called God or that is wor-
shipped, even sitting in the temple of God and
passing off himself for God. Gal. 2 : 12, 13 ;
Acts 21 : 18-24 ; Acts 20 : 17, 29, 30 ; Kev. 2 : 1, 4, 5 ;
3 John 9, 10; 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

And in The Church as renewed in The Refor-
mation, the same original antagonist of The
Church again so wrought that he at last persuaded
even those who professed the name and principles
of Protestant to renounce that very word: and
this in order that they might not even seem to
antagonize the Eoman church — that most invet-
erate antagonist of The Protestant Reformation!

But thank the Lord, He again renews His
Church in the earth: and this time, against all
the wiles and all the power of the Devil, to stand
true and pure unto the end. For it stands written :
**In the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel
when he is about to sound. The Mystery of God
shall be finished." Rev. 10 : 7.

The Mystery of God Finished 151

And now in this final effort of tlie arch-enemy
against The Church, in this time of the finishing
of the Mystery of God, she is to arise and shine
with the glory of the Lord risen npon her unto the
finishing of the Mystery in the blending of her
glory with that of the King of glory at His glo-
rious appearing in the glory of His father and His
own glory and that of all the angels and glorified
ones with Him. Isa. 59 : 19 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 9, 10 ; Isa.
60;1, 2; Matt. 16:27.

For then it is that He presents to Himself His
glorious Church.

And then, with all the heavenly ones with Him,
with all of His that are in their graves hearing
His voice and coming forth, and all of His who are
alive '^caught up together ivith them to meet Him''
— then it is that He is ^'in the midst of The
Church." 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17.

And then in the infinite joy of ^Hhe travail of
His soul" satisfied in God's eternal purpose in
Him actually accomplished. His divine soul bursts
forth in that long-awaited song of praise to God.

None but He can sing that song, and so the
words of it are nowhere given. None but He has
the experience; none but He knows the awful
cost; and none but He can know the joy. Heb.
12:2.

None but He can sing the song; but all the
others can respond.

152 The Reformation Church

And then there peals forth the voice of the
*' great multitude of all them that fear Him, both
small and great, as the voice of many waters, and
as the voice of mighty thunderings,''

*'Loud as from numbers without number,
Sweet as from blest voices utfring joy,
The heavens of heavens ring' with jubilee,
And loud Hosannas fill th' eternal regions."

^'Alleluiah. Salvation, and glory, and honor,
and power, unto the Lord our God.

*' Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

**For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

*^Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to
him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and
His wife hath made herself ready.'' Eev. 19 : 1-7.

And over all and to all, the eternal God re-
sponds — with joy and singing. For He says :

*^The Lord thy God . . . will rejoice over
thee with joy;

*^He will rest in His love;

^^He will joy over thee with singing."

*^The Household of God" is all assembled.
**The whole Family in heaven and earth" is all
at home. The Church is herself. The universe is
singing.

** Christ is all and in all,"

and

^^God is all in alL"

CHAPTEE VII.

The Eeformation Head of The Church.

When the Reformers once saw The Church, it
was easy for them to see The Head of The Church.

When Wicklif, Militz, Matthias, Huss, and
Jerome, saw The Church of the Scriptures, it
was not difficult for them to see that the Roman
church is the infinite imposture that she is.

Then also it was just as little difficult for them
to see how infinitely impossible it is for anybody
but the Divine Christ Himself in Person to be The
Head of The Church. Therefore,

Wicklif said : ' ' The Church stands in no need
of a visible head.'*

*^So long as Christ is in heaven. The Church
hath in Him the best pope. And that distance
hindereth Him not in doing His deeds: as He
promiseth that He is with His always to the end
of the world.''

**We dare not put two heads, lest The Church
be monstrous. Therefore the Head above is alone
worthy of confidence."

Huss said: ''Christ is the all-sufficient Head
of The Church: as He proved during three hun-
dred years of the existence of The Church, and
still longer, in which time The Church was most
prosperous and happy."

153

154 The Reformation Head of The Church

''Why should not Christ be more present to
The Church, than the Pope, who, living at a dis-
tance of more than eight hundred miles from Bo-
hemia, could not himself act directly on the feel-
ings and movements of the faithful in Bohemia,
as it is incumbent on The Head to dof

''Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the
Father, must necessarily govern the militant
Church as its Head. Christ can better govern
His Church . . . without such monsters of
supreme heads/'

"He alone is the secure, unfailing, and all-
sufficient refuge for His Church, to guide and en-
lighten it."

"It injures not The Church, but benefits it,
that Christ is no longer present to it after a visible
manner: since He Himself says to His disciples,
and therefore to all their successors (John 16: 7),
'It is good for you that I go away; for if I went
not away the Comforter would not come to you;
but if I go I will send Him unto you.'

"It is evident from this, as the truth itself tes-
tifies, that it was a salutary thing for the Church
militant that Christ should ascend from it to
heaven : that so His longer protracted bodily and
visible presence on earth might not be prejudicial
to her.

In the Leipsic disputation occurred the follow-
ing:—

Christ The Visible Head 155

Dr. Eck. — ' ' The Church militant is an image of
The Church triumphant. But the latter is a monar-
chical hierarchy rising step by step up to the sole Head
who is God.

** Accordingly Christ has established the same grada-
tion on earth.

''What kind of a monster would The Church be if
she were without a headf"

Luther. — ' ' The doctor is correct in saying that the
universal Church must have a Head. If there is any
one here who maintains the contrary, let him stand up !
The remark does not at all apply to me.''

Dr. Eck. — "If the church militant has never been
without a monarchy I should like to know who that
monarch is if he is not the pontiff of Rome?"

Luther. — ''The Head of The Church militant is
not a man, but Jesus Christ Himself. This I believe on
the testimony of God. Christ must reign till He has
put all enemies under His feet.

"We cannot, therefore, listen to those who would
confine Christ to The Church triumphant in heaven.
His reign is a reign of faith. We cannot see our Head,
and yet we have Him."

After His rising from the dead, the Lord Jesus
was here on the earth forty days personally and
bodily with His disciples, * ' seen of them. ' ^

In these forty days He walked with His disci-
ples, He ate with them. He talked with them. He
talked with them ^^of the things concerning the
kingdom of God:'' that is the things concerning
The Church.

Beyond all question then, during that period
of forty days The Church as on earth had a ^ Visi-
ble Head.'' And that visible Head was her own.

15G The Reformation Head of The Church

true, only, Head : visibly with her and in her, teach-
ing and counselling.

Why did He not stay thus with His Church
until now? Why did He not continue always as
the visible Head of The Church?

If in any degree or under whatever plea a visi-
ble head could ever by any possibility be needed,
then He should have continued as that visible Head
while He was so : and not to do so would plainly
be to deprive The Church of that which she needed.

As visible Head, could not He have guided
The Church as in the world, in all her affairs?
Could not He have done this from Jerusalem while
Jerusalem was the religious centre of the world,
and then from Eome when Eome became the re-
ligious centre?

And could not He have done this infinitely
better than ever could any pope or king or presi-
dent or committee or board that ever sat in Jeru-
salem, or Eome, or London, or Washington, or
Salt Lake City, or Chicago?

Yet He did not stay in the world as visible Head
of The Church here.

But did He leave, did He cease to be visible
Head of The Church here, in order to give that
place and opportunity to men, as popes or kings
or presidents or superintendents or committees
or boards, to do their worldly, political, fantastic,
fiddling, sinful tricks?

The Visible Becomes Invisihle 157

Did He care so little as that for The Church
which He had loved to the point of giving Himself

for it!

Did He care so little as that for any solitary
individual of The Church, when each of these in-
dividuals He had loved to the point of giving
Himself for Him in the agonies of the Cross!

No, no, no. '' Having loved His own, He loved
them to the end.'' ^'I have loved thee with an
everlasting love,'' ^Hhe same yesterday, today, and

forever."

In this love He had left heaven and all its
glory and joy, to be with men on the earth because
they needed Him.

In this love He had stayed with men on the
earth, as long as they would allow Him to stay.

And when men would not let Him stay any
longer, but crucified Him out of the world — after
all that, in only three days He came back again :
back to His own because they needed Him.

And He stayed there with them forty days,
when any minute He might have gone straight to
heaven and stayed there in all its beauty and
glory and joy.

All this proves over and over that of His own
free choice the Lord Jesus would rather be on
earth with needy men than to be in heaven with
the perfect God.

Yet against all this He went away from being

158 The Reformation Head of The Church

visible Head of His Clmrcli here. And tins proves
beyond all jDossibility of question that however
great may be the need of men — even His own
men in His own Church — there never can be any
need of Him as visible Head of His Church here.

And when there can be no need of Him as visi-
ble Head, then beyond all conception there can
never be any need of any other.

And He did not go away to be away: for He
said, ^^I will not leave you comfortless. / tvill
coyne to you.'' John 14: 18.

Therefore His going away from being visible
Head of His Church here, was just because of the
need of His people and Church here. This again
certifies that instead of His people and Church
ever needing Him to be visible Head, their constant
need is precisely that He shall not be that.

And this need of The Church that He should
not be visible Head was so great that it could over-
come all His overwhelmingly demonstrated desire
to be here with His people and Church.

He did not say. It is expedient for Me that I
go away.

He did not say, It is expedient that I go away.

But He did say, ^'It is expedient for you that
I go away. * '

Therefore, His going away from being visible
Head of His Church, or of any individual, was al-
together on our behalf.

Christ with Us 159

And so He said : ^ ^ It is expedient for you that
I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will
send Him unto you.'' John 16: 7.

And here is why that is: ^*I will pray the
Father, and He shall give you another Comforter,
that He may abide with you forever.

^^Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world
cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither
knoweth Him.

' ^ But ye know Him ; for He dwelleth with you
and shall be in you.

^'I will not leave you comfortless, / will come
to you/'

That is to say : When the Comforter, the Spirit
of Truth, comes to you, by Him I myself will come
to you.

The Holy Spirit does not come, to be here apart
from Christ; but to bring to us the personal pres-
ence of the living Christ Himself. As it is
written —

^ ' Strengthened with might by His Spirit in the
inner man,'^

And this is in order ^Hhat Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith. ' '

And this is in order 'Hhat ye might be filled
with all the fulness of God/'

Thus the Holy Spirit comes. He is sent, not
that He may be here of Himself ; but that by Him

160 The Reformation Head of The Church

both the Father and the Son may be with each
believer and with The Church.

So completely is this so that the Spirit never
speaks as of Himself, or from Himself, bnt only
what He hears through Christ from God. As it
is written: ''He shall not speak of Himself; but
what He shall hear, that shall He speak. ' '

' ' He shall glorify Me ; for He shall receive of
mine and shall show it unto you. All things that
the Father hath are mine. Therefore said I that
He shall take of Mine and shall show it unto you.'^
John 16:13-15.

When Jesus was in the world, He was not here
to be in the place of God ; but that God might be
here Himself, in His own place.

Jesus emptied Himself, that God might appear
to men. And so ''God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto Himself.'' Phil. 2: 5-7; 2 Cor. 5:
19.

Jesus emptied Himself and became in all things
one of us, so that God with Him should be "God
with us." Heb. 2: 11, 14, 17; Matt. 1: 23.

Accordingly, He said, "I came not to do mine
own will ; but the will of Him that sent me. ' ' " The
words that I speak unto you, I speak not of my-
self."

"The Father which sent me, He gave me a
commandment, what I should say, and what I
should speak. "Whatsoever I speak, therefore.

The Invisible Becomes Visible 161

even as the Father said unto me so I speak.'*
John 6: 38; 14 : 10 ; 12 : 49, 50.

Just so it is with the Spirit of Truth now. He
is here not to do His own will; but the will of
Him who sent Him. The words that He speaks
are not His; but the words of Him who sent Him.
In His teaching us all things, He does it only by
bringing to our remembrance all things that Christ
has said unto us. John 14 : 26.

As God was in Christ in the world, so Christ
is in the Spirit in the world. As Christ came to us
so that God with Him might be God with us, so
the Spirit comes to us and is in us, in order that
Christ may come to us and be in us, and in The
Church.

And when, on Pentecost, Christ thus came to
His disciples, and took up His abode with them,
and in The Church, He was then the Head of The
Church no less and no less persoyially than He was
in the forty days when He was visibly with them.
Yea, not merely no less, but 7nuch more.

And He was just so much the more the visible
Head now than He was in those forty days.

It is only the fallacy of men spiritually blind
to argue since Pentecost about the '^visible'' and
the ^ invisible'' Head of The Church, or about the
*' visible'' and the ** invisible" Church.

In that period of forty days He was visible
Head of The Church, in the sense of His being

12

162 The Reformation Head of The Church

visible to their natural eyes and discernible with
their natural sensibilities.

And He was that only because that as yet they
were unable to see with spiritual eyes and discern
with the spiritual sensibilities.

But the Pentecostal baptism translated them
out of the natural into the spiritual. And what
before was invisible was now visible. Now they
could see the invisible.

Thus to them Christ was now more visible j and
more truly visible, than ever He was before. And
they never talked about any ^ invisible" Head of
The Church, nor any *^ invisible'' Church. There
was no such thing, to them. And now to those who
know that baptism, and so know The Church,
there is no such thing.

Jesus said that '^the world cannot receive'' the
Spirit of Truth ^'because it seeth Him not, neither
knoweth Him." And the world knows Him not,
because it sees Him not. ^'The world" must see
— must see with the world's eyes, and in the
world's way — or else it will not know.

And worldly men and the worldly church —
the church of ^'the world" — must see something:
must see a '* visible church," and a '^visible head
of a visible church:" or else they never caai know
anything of the church. And so they never do
either see or know anything of The Church.

But thank the Lord, to all who are His, the

Ye See Me'' 163

Lord Jesus says, ^^But ye know Him ; for He dwel-
leth with you, and shall be in you. ' '

And by receiving Him, by His dwelling with
us, and being in us, we see.

Therefore, to all people the gracious word is
spoken, ^'Receive ye the Holy Ghost.'' ^* Except
a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God.''

But whosoever receives the Holy Spirit in the
heavenly baptism in the power that brings forth
a new creature — he knows and sees.

He can see si:)iritual things. He can see The
Church. He can see the Head of The Church.
For the Head of The Church says* plainly: *^Yet
a little while and the ivorld seeth Me no more. But
ye see Me." John 14: 19.

To the Christian — the spiritual man — there
is neither invisible Church, nor invisible Head of
The Church : for he can see the invisible. To him
the invisible is visible.

But to the natural man, to the man of ^^the
world," everything that is real and abiding is
invisible, because he cannot see. To all these there
must be a * Visible church" and then a ^^ visible
head" of the ^ Visible church," and then a *^ visi-
ble" representative of the ^^ visible" head of that
^^ visible" church. And in the dizzying whirl of
this fallacious thing the church, the head, and all
becomes invisible and he never sees anything.

164 The Reformation Head of The Church

For of all the dull tricks of the '^ sleight of
men" in their '^cunning craftiness/' this of a
** visible '' church is the dullest and the dumbest.

Nobody ever saw a ^'visible church. '^ Nobody
ever saw the Roman church ; nobody ever saw the
Episcopal church ; nobody ever saw the Methodist
church; nor any other such thing that is called
a church.

Wlien brought down from etherealism to plain
fact of sober inquiry and sound sense, the elusive
thing is always invisible.

Any person can test this for himself any min-
ute. There is not such a dearth of them that for
that reason it should be difficult to see one. There
are thirty-one of them in the Federal Council
alone.

Let any person look for only one of these —
largest or smallest. Let him ask the aid of some
one who is of one of these ^ Visible churches:''
Please sir, I wish to see the ^^ visible church." Can
you show it to me! or direct me to where I can
see it?

He would not know what either to say or do.

Possibly he might tell you to wait till the meet-
ing of the General Council or the General Synod,
or the General Assembly, or the General Confer-
ence, or the General Convention. ''Then the rep-
resentatives of the church from all parts of the
world will be assembled," and you can see it.

A Visible Fraud 165

You go to one of these assemblies of the ^ Vis-
ible'' church. You look it over. You ask: —

"Is this the church?

''Oh! no. This is not the chnrch itself; this is
a very small part of the church. But this represents
the church.

"I do not want to see a representative nor a repre-
sentation of the church. 1 have seen that many times.
What I want now is to see the church itself.

"But, brother, you cannot do that. In that sense
the church cannot be seen. It is all over the world.

"Is your church a visible church?

"W-e-1-1, why of course every denomination and
'orfjanized church' is a visible church.

"But just now you told me that what is really
your church cannot be seen. Is it visible, then? Is
that visible that you confess cannot be seen?

"But the official, organized, representative, body —
that can be seen.

"But is that the real church? Is that the visible
church ?

"N — n — 0 — o — it is not really that.

"Then your church is not a visible church, is it?

"Well, it does seem so."

And that is the truth of everything ever in the
world that has been held or claimed to be a ^'visible
church. ' '

There is no such thing. It is a sheer delusion.

But under cover of that deluding sleight of
cunningly crafty ecclesiastics, the Roman church
has rung in on men and the world that visible
head that is the papacy in all that it ever was.

And under cover of that same sleight continued
from the same source, every other denomination

166 The Reformation Head of The Church

has been able to ring in on men in one form or
another, the same thing in principle^ of a visible
head as nearly like the Eomish original as it can
be carried without general revolt.

There is no such thing as the ^ ^visible church."
Everything claiming to be the church, is invisible.

The Church in truth, is truly and properly in-
visible because it is wholly spiritual. It is Christ's
body, and His body is invisible.

But this truly and rightly invisible Church is
invisible only to those ivho are not spiritual, those
who cannot see the invisible.

Yet the true and only possible Head of this
truly and rightly invisible Church has freely
poured out upon all flesh His Holy Spirit, and is
ever graciously inviting all people to receive this
Divine Spirit that they may know the things of the
Spirit, the things of God.

Thus every soul in the world is shut up to the
one single alternative of —

The invisible church that is a delusion and an
imposture, or

The truly and rightly invisible Church that is
an eternal excellency, and whose glorious Head
is He whose goings forth have been from the days
of eternity and who bestows the inestimable gift
of eternal life, and rewards with eternal glory
the acceptance of the gift.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Reformation Building of The Church.

The Reformers knew The Church.
They knew The Head of The Church.
They knew also The Foundation of The Church.
Matthias said of Christ, ^' Other Foundation
can no man lay than that is laid."

Huss said: ^'I place myself on the immovable
Foundation, the Chief Corner-Stone, which is the
Truth, the Way, and the Life, — our Lord Jesus
Christ."

** Christ Himself is the Rock which Peter pro-
fessed, and on which Christ founded The Church,
who will therefore come forth triumphant out of
all her conflicts."

Luther said: ''It is undeniable that St. Augus-
tine has, again and again, said that the rock is
Christ : and he may, perhaps, have once said that
it was Peter himself.

''But even should St. Augustine and all the
fathers say that the apostle is the rock of which
Christ speaks, I would combat their view on the
authority of an apostle— in other words. Divine
authority; for it is written: No other foundation
can any man lay than that is laid, namely, Jesus
Christ.

"Peter himself calls Christ the chief and eer-

ie?

168 The Reformation Building of The Church

ner-stone, on which we are built up a spiritual
house.''

Zwingle said: *^The Foundation of The Church
is that Eock, that Christ who gave Peter his name
because he confessed Him faithfully."

Long before either Paul or Peter wrote, the
great evangelical prophet had written: ^^Thus
saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foun-
dation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-
stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall
not make haste.'' Isa. 28: 16.

Peter himself cites this prophecy as referring
to Christ and not in any sense to Peter himself.
He says: ^'Wherefore also it is contained in the
Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner-
stone, elect, precious : and he that believeth on Him
shall not be confounded. ' ' 1 Peter 2 : 6.

There is The Foundation of The Church. And
every member of The Church is built on that Foun-
dation. For so says the Word of God by Peter:
^'To Whom coming as unto a Living Stone, dis-
allowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and
precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house/'

Whoever disallows Christ as The Foundation
is of those ''who stumble at the Word, being dis-
obedient." But those who believe the Word, these
believe on Him as The Foundation whom God has
chosen and laid ''for a foundation."

The Foundation Stone 169

These coming to Him the Living Stone, and
living from Him, and living by Him, and living in
Him, are built up a spiritual house which is ^ ' The
Church of the Living God.'' 1 Tim. 3: 15.

And all these, built upon Christ who is The
Foundation of apostles, prophets and all, grow
unto an holy temple in the Lord, in ivhom all are
builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit. Eph. 2 : 20-22.

And other foundation can no man lay. Who-
ever thinks of any other foundation, or accepts
of any other foundation, is only of tlie blind stum-
blers at the Word being disobedient. 1 Peter 2: 8.

The whole buikling of The Church is from
Christ only. ''I will build My Church.'' Each
stone in the building is one who first has come to
Him the Living Stone, and from Him and by Him
has become a living stone.

The same thought is expressed in connection
with Him as The Head : ^ ' From Whom the whole
Body fitly joined together, by joints and bands
having nourishment ministered and knit together,
increaseth with the increase of God."

And the consequence of having any other foun-
dation or any other head, is only ^'voluntary hu-
mility," '^worshipping of angels," '^ will-wor-
ship," '^ ordinances, commandments, and doc-
trines, of 7nen" ''and neglecting or punishing of
the body." Col. 2:20-23.

170 The Reformation Building of The Church

The Lord Jesus ^^came to His own, and His
own received Him not. But as many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons
of God: even to them that believe in His name.
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, but of God." John 1 : 11-13.

Note that it is those who receive Him — not
those who receive creeds and doctrines of men
about Him — to whom He gives the power to be-
come the sons of God.

It is not even those who receive the Scriptures
that tell about Him, but those who receive Him —
the Personal Christ.

Those to whom He came had the Scriptures
that tell about Him. They greatly prided them-
selves on being the possessors of the Scriptures,
and being ^'the people of the Book." But they
rejected and crucified Hi7n.

He said to them, "Ye search the Scriptures;
for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And ye
will not come to Me that ye might have life."

"Ye search the Scriptures, and they are that
testify of Me; and ye will not come to me." John
5:39,40.

They received the Scriptures, instead of by the
Scriptures receiving Him, They put the Scrip-
tures in the place of Him, and then against the
Scriptures rejected Him.

There is no sonship of God, there is no Christi-

''Added to the Lord'' 111

anity, in any such way as that even with the Scrip-
tures. How much less with the ordinances, doc-
trines, and commandments of men!

No. It is those who receive Him, the Personal
Living Christ: it is those who receive Him in His
own Personal presence by the Holy Spirit: it is
only these to whom He gives power, it is only these
to whom He can give power, right, and privilege,
to become the sons of God. And to these He does
give that power. ''Receive ye the Holy Ghost.''

He, as The Foundation and The Head, coming
to us; the believer coming to Him; and thus each
coming to the other in the fulness of the Spirit,
the union is accomplished in which alone is the
building of The Church.

And so it is written that in the preaching and
ministry of the Gospel by the apostles ''believers
were added to the Lord. ' ' Acts 5 : 14.

Note that they were added to the Lord: not to
The Church. Not by any man, not by any minis-
try of men, is anybody ever added to The Church.

By the preaching of the Word men are brought
to believe on Christ, and to receive Him. Then
by baptism in water the believer is joined to Christ
in the spiritual union symbolized in the thought
of marriage.

"Ye are become dead to the Law by the body of
Christ, that ye should be married to another : even
to Him that is raised from the dead. ' ' Rom. 7 : 4.

172 The Reformation Building of The Church

Baptism is the marriage ceremony by whicli
the believer and Christ are united, that they may
live together and bring forth fruit unto God.
"For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ.'' Gal. 3: 27; Rom. 6:
4, 5, 8.

The believer being thus "added to the Lord,"
then "the Lord added to The Church daily such as
should be saved" — "such as were being saved."
For "God hath set the members every one of them
in the Body" — The Church — "as it hath pleased
Him." Acts 2: 47; 1 Cor. 12: 18.

And as by faith in Christ and baptism in water,
believers are "added to the Lord," so by faith in
Christ and baptism of the Holy Ghost, the Lord
adds them to The Church.

"For by one Spirit we are aU baptized into one
Body" — The Church. And "Verily, verily, I
say unto thee. Except a man be born of ivater and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God." ICor. 12:13; John3:5.

No man nor any combination or association
of men can ever by any possibility^ add anybody to
The Church which is Christ's Body the fulness
of Him who filleth all in all. That is accomplished
only by the baptism of the Holy Spirit ; and none
but the Lord can baptize with the Holy Spirit.

No man can add anybody to The Church, and
thank the Lord no man nor any combination or

''Added to The Church'' 173

association of men can ever cnt off, ' ^ excommuni-
cate, ' ' or cast out, anybody from The Churcli.

It is The Church of God, it is The Body of
Christ, it is the home of the Holy Spirit ; and only
God, and Christ, and the Spirit rule there. And
these rule only in righteousness and holiness and
in the tenderness of infinite love and compassion.

Men do add people to what they call ^Hhe
church,'' as pleases them. And men do cast out
of such ^'churches" those who do not please them.
And so such things are only men's ^ * churches, ' '
and it is far better to be out of all such things than
in them.

Not so in The Church of the living God. For
He himself says, * ^ He that cometh to Me I will in
no ivise cast out." And of His Body ^Hhe Head
cannot say to the feet'' nor to any other member,
''I have no need of you." John 6: 37; 1 Cor. 12:
21.

He has so much need of every soul that He gave
Himself on the Cross for each one. And He never
can say to anyone, ^^I have no need of you."

But men — cruel, hard-hearted, church-officials
— can say it glibly and readily. These never died
for anybody: and they never will. These feed
themselves, but feed not the flocks.

These eat the fat and clothe themselves with
the wool, and kill them that are fed: but they
feed not the flock.

174 The Reformation Building of The Church

These strengthen not the diseased, nor heal
that which is sick, neither bind up the broken, nor
bring again that which is driven away, nor seek
that which is lost ; but with force and cruelty do
they rule them.

These thrust with the side and with shoulder,
and push all the diseased with their horns, till they
have scattered them abroad. Eze. 34.

But with the gracious Lord it is not so. When
one is thus cast off and driven out by men, He
immediately goes seeking for him. And when He
has found him. He reveals Himself to him, and
teaches him how to believe on Him and how to wor-
ship Him as never before. John 9 : 34-38.

And to such His gracious message is, *^Hear
the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word :
Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out
for My name's sake, said. Let the Lord be glori-
fied; but He shall appear to your joy and they
shall be ashamed.'' Isa. 66: 5.

*^ Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and
when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as
evil, for the Son of man's sake.

^^Eejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for,
behold your reward is great in heaven : for in like
manner did their fathers unto the prophets." Luke
6: 22, 23.

In the Lord's Church, it is only after every-

''The Church in thy House'' 175

thing possible has been done to keep him in The
Church, and when against all this he ivill go — it
it is only then that the fixed separation which he
himself has thus made is sorrowfully recognized
by the congregation and in The Church. Matt.
18: 10-20; Gal. 6:1; Titus 3: 10, 11; 2 Cor. 13: 1.

Here, then, is the individual believer: by the
ministry of the GospeP^ added to the Lord "and by
'^the Lord added to The Church." Wherever any
such individual may be, he is a member of The
Church.

Wherever two or three of these may be to-
gether. He, their Head, is in the midst of them;
and there is a church, and there is the church in
that place.

Four times in the New Testament these are
spoken of as ^'the church that is in their house,"
^'the church which is in his house," ^' the church
in thy house." Eom. 16 : 3, 5 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 19 ; Col.
4: 15; Philemon 2.

Not the church which meets in their house, his
house, or thy house — not once. Every time it is
^ ' the church that is in their house, * ' his house, thy
house.

That is, Christians dwelling together in a house
compose a church in that house.

This is seen certainly to be the truth by the
facts connected with the several statements.

1. The first letter to the Corinthians was

176 The Reformation Building of The Church

written from Ephesiis. Cliap. 16 : 8, 9. There was
a church in Ephesus. Aquila and Priscilla were
in Ephesus, and were members of that church.
Yet in addition to this there was a church '4n
their house'' in Ephesus.

2. When the letter to the Eomans was written,
Aquila and Priscilla were in Eome. There was a
church in Rome. Aquila and Priscilla were mem-
bers of the church in Rome. Yet in addition to this
there was a church ^4n their house'' in Rome.

3. At Laodicea there was the church of the La-
odiceans. In Laodicea Nymphas was a member
of that church. Yet in addition to this there was
a church ^4n his house."

These facts put beyond all question the truth
that by the Scriptures Christians dwelling to-
gether in the same house compose a church, and
are the church, in that house.

Next is the larger assembly of Christians in
a place: instead of two or three, there may be
two or three dozen, or two or three score. These
compose the church in that place: as ^'the church
of God which is at Corinth," ^^the church of the
Thessalonians," ^Hhe church that was at Anti-
och."

And now comes a remarkable fact. And though
it stands all through the New Testament without
a single exception, it is hardly recognized at all
among Christians and denominations.

''The Churches of God'' 111

This is the fact that in the New Testament,
Christians in private houses, and congregations or
assemblies in cities or other places, are never
spoken of collectively as the church-, but always
as ^Hhe churches.'' There is not one exception.

^^Then had the churches rest.'' Acts 9: 31.

*'So ordain I in all churches." 1 Cor. 7: 17.

*^We have no such custom, neither the churches
of God." 1 Cor. 11: 16.

**God is not the author of confusion; but of
peace, as in all churches of the saints." 1 Cor.
14:33.

*^The care of all the churches." 2 Cor. 11: 28.

*^He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches:" said the Lord
Jesus seven times in the second and third chapters
of Revelation.

It is not accident, it is not inadvertence, it is
of design, and the design of Inspiration, that all
the congregations or assemblies of Christians in
the world are invariably spoken of collectively as
**the churches."

And it being the invariable use, even in
places where, if there were any such thing, it
would be fitting to use the expression ^Hhe
church," this proves beyond all valid question
that in truth there is no such thing as all Christians
and congregations in the world forming The
Church. The Church goes far beyond all that.

13

178 The Reformation Building of The Church

Therefore, in the truth of the Bible all Chris-
tians and all assemblies and congregations of
Christians in the world do not compose The Church
of the Scriptures, and cannot be correctly spoken
of as The Church; but only as ^^the churches/'

This establishes the integrity and individuality
of the single assembly, whether of ^Hwo or three''
or more, as being of the divine order. And this
single assembly, the local congregation, in the
divine order has no earthly ecclesiastical organiza-
tion above it.

And any person or any thing that ever in any
way or under any plea or pretext comes in be-
tween ^'the churches'' and '^The Church which is
His Body the fulness of Him'' and is passed off as
' ' the church ' ' or the ' ' administration " or ' ^ organi-
zation" is an iniquitous interloper, a fraud and an
imposture.

It breaks up the divine order. It severs 'Hhe
churches" and Christians from their Head and
from The Church. It puts man between Christ
and His churches, and between Him and His own
members. It puts man in the place of Christ and of
God. It is of Satan, not of Christ whom God gave
to be The Head over all things to The Church.

In the divine order, the next step beyond the
single assemblies which are the churches is —

**The Church which is His Body.

God's Building'' 179

'^The Church of the Firstborn which are
written in heaven. '^

^^The Church of the Living God.''

The Church of which Christ is The Head, The
Foundation, the all in all, of which each individual
is a member — being set in the Body by the Lord
Himself as it hath pleased Him.

And just as the single assemblies of Christians
are invariably spoken of by the Spirit of Inspira-
tion as ^'the churches/' so the expression ^Hhe
church" as relating to The Church in general, is
invariably used with sole reference to *'The
Church which is His Body, the fulness of Him
that mieth all in all.''

Accordingly the divine order of God's building
of The Church is this :

1. The Foundation-Stone — Christ.

2. Individual believers who come to that
Foundation and *^as lively stones" are built upon
Him,

3. The church in a private house.

4. The church in a city or other place.

5. The churches of God.

6. The Church which is His Body, the fulness
of Him that filleth all in all.

7. The Head-Stone — Christ.

Christ is the Foundation ; Christ is the Head ;
the whole Building is built upon Him and in Him ;

180 The Reformation Building of The Church

and so ^^groweth unto an holy Temple in the
Lord."

The natural body of man is the divinely chosen
illustration of the structure of the spiritual Body
of Christ, which is The Church.

The natural body of man is '^fearfully and
wonderfully made." It is a mystery of God. Ps.
139 : 13-16.

The spiritual Body of Christ is more fearfully
and wonderfully made. It is "the Mystery of
God."

Only God through Christ by the Holy Spirit
built the natural body of man. Only He could
possibly do it. Gen. 1 : 26 ; Job 33 : 4.

Only God through Christ by the Holy Spirit
builds the spiritual Body of Christ, which is The
Church. Only He could possibly do it. Eph. 4:
12-16.

Not all the ecclesiasticism of bishops, presi-
dents. Popes, boards, committees, Councils, in all
the ages could ever have taken the first true
thought toward building the natural body of man.

Infinitely less could they ever have taken the
first true thought toward building the spiritual
Body of Christ, which is The Church. Isa, 55 : 8, 9.

The natural body of man is the crown of God's
natural creation.

The spiritual Body of Christ, which is The
Church, is the crown of God's spiritual creation.

CHAPTER IX.

The Eefoemation Guidance of The Church.

The Reformers knew Christ's Guidance of The
Church as truly as they knew His Headship of
The Church.

They knew that by the Holy Spirit the Lord
Jesus personally guides The Church and person-
ally guides each individual person who is of The
Church.

In this they knew that the Holy Spirit is given
to each individual Christian, and that by the Spirit
the Lord Jesus gives Himself personally to each
individual Christian.

The Roman doctrine is that the Holy Spirit is
given to ''the church" and that ''the church''
bestows the Spirit on the individual in the cere-
mony of ' ' confirmation. ' '

By the light and power of God's truth, the Re-
formers were made free from that Romish super-
stition and monopoly.

Wicklif said: "Christ ever lives near the
Father and is the most ready to intercede for us,
imparting Himself to the soul of every iv ay faring
pilgrim who loves Him."

Matthias said: "It is Jesus Christ Himself,
who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever
dwells in His Church, and in each, even most insig-

181

182 The Reformation Guidance of The Church

nificant portion of it, holding together, sustaining
and vitalizing the whole and all the parts, directly
and from within, giving growth outwardly to the
whole and to each, even the most insignificant part.

^'Ke is, therefore. Himself the spirit and life
of His Church, His mystical body.''

Huss said: ^^ Christ alone, on whom the
heavenly dove descended as a symbol of the Holy
Spirit, can bestow the baptism of the Spirit.''

**The Holy Spirit, in the absence of a visible
Pope, inspired prophets to predict the future
bridegroom of The Church, strengthened the apos-
tles to spread the Gospel of Christ through all the
world, led idolaters to the worship of the one only
God, and ceases not, even until noiv, to instruct the
Bride and all her sons, to make them certain of
all things and guide them in all things that are
necessary for salvation.

^ ^ The Church has all that it needs, in the guid-
ance of the Holy Spirit; and ought to require
nothing else. Nothing else can be a substitute
for that.

** Accordingly, The Church is sufficiently pro-
vided for in the invisible guidance, and should
need no visible one by which she might be made
dependent."

Let us see in the Scriptures how truly and how
fully in this they had the truth of God.

At Pentecost, in the presence of that great

The Spirit to Every One 183

outpouring of the Spirit, Peter said to the multi-
tude : ' ' The promise is to you and to your children,
and to all them that are afar off : even as many as
the Lord our God shall call.'' Acts 2 : 38, 39.

And further it is written : ^ ^ The manifestation
of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal
. . dividing to every man, severally, as He will.

^'We have been all made to drink into one
Spirit.'' 1 Cor. 12: 7, 11, 13.

'*If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, hoiv much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that
ask Him!" Luke 11: 13.

All that Christ is to The Church He is to each
individual who is of The Church.

He is the Head of Tlie Church. He is likewise
the Head of each individual in The Church? ^*I
would have you know that the Head of every man
is Christ." 1 Cor. 11:3.

'*He is the Head of The Body." And in the
very nature of things, in that He is Head of each
particular member of The Body.

* ^ Now ye are The Body of Christ, and members
in particular." *^For we are members of His
Body, of His flesh and of His bones." 1 Cor. 12:
27; Eph. 5: 30.

When Christ shed forth the Spirit at Pente-
cost, He gave Him to all — to each individual
personally, as well as to The Church as a whole.

184 The Reformation Guidance of The Church

When He by the Spirit came to The Church
here, He came to each individual as truly as He
came to The Church, and became the Head of each
individual as truly as He is Head of The Church.

Indeed He is Head of The Church by being
Head of each individual who is of The Church.
First, Head of the individual; then Head of the
assembly of these, of whom He is already the
Head individually.

*'The Head of every man is Christ." *' Where
two or three are gathered together in My name,
there am I in the midst of them." *^ Ye are huilded
together for an habitation of God through the
Spirit. ' ' And He is the Head of The Body — The
Church which is the fulness of Him that filleth all
in all. Matt. 18 : 20 ; Eph. 2 : 22 ; 1 : 22, 23.

Thus Christ is not Head of The Church in only
a general sense, but in the most particular sense.

He is not Head by occupying the chief position
and having charge of ^Hhe large affairs" of The
Church, with the ^^ details" left to others.

He is Head of The Church in the widest and
most intricate sense; for God ^*gave Him to be
Head over all things to The Church." Eph. 1 : 22.
He is the Head of everything that can ever per-
tain ^^^o" The Church.

Anything of which He is not the Head in the
direct and fidl sense in which He is Head of The
Church — that thing does not reach The Church.

"Head Over All to The Church'' 185

Even though it be done in the name of the
church, and as if in behalf of the church,
if He is not the Head of it, it pertains to
something else, it springs from somebody else,
and comes just so far short of being of The Church
or of pertaining "to'' The Church.

And this is eternally right. In the eternal
purpose. The Church is to be the expression of the
fulness of all the perfections of God. To The
Church this is expressed, and can be expressed,
only from Christ in whom all fulness dwells.

For anything of which He is not the Head and
spring to reach The Church, or to be of The
Church, would be only to mar or stain the divine
perfection of The Church. And Christ is now
engaged in sanctifying and cleansing The Church
from all these things *'with the washing of water
by the Word, that He may present it to Himself a
glorious Church, not having spot nor wrinkle nor
any such thing, but holy and without blemish. ' '

The blessed work of preparing The Church for
this glorious presentation, the Lord Jesus began
with the beginning of The Reformation, and He
will now finish it. For we are now in the time of
the finishing of the Mystery of God. He began it
according to the original standard in His Word,
and He will so finish it.

And by that Word the whole operation in, the
whole administration of, the affairs and interests

186 The Reformation Guidance of The Church

that pertain to The Church — of ^ ^ all things to The
Church" — is Christ's from God through the Spirit.
As it is written —

^^ There are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit,

^* There are differences of administrations, but
the same Lord,

*^ There are diversities of operations, but it is
the same God which worketh all in all."

By gracious gifts from God through the
Spirit, Christ Himself, Personally and directly,
keeps His own divine mind and hand ''over all
things to The Church."

Therefore, in The Church of the Scriptures
every responsibility is the gift of Christ direct
by the Spirit; and is thus set in The Church by
God Himself Personally.

''Wherefore when He ascended up on high,
He gave gifts unto men. And He gave some —

"apostles; and some,

"prophets; and some,

"evangelists; and some,

"pastors and

"teachers." Eph. 4:8, 11.

And so "God hath set some in The Church.
First —

' ' apostles, secondarily

"prophets, thirdly

"teachers, after that

The Gifts of the Spirit 187

miracles, then

'gifts of healings,

'helps,

'governments,

' diversities of tongues. ' ^ 1 Cor. 12 : 28.

' For to one is given by the Spirit the word of

'wisdom; to another the word of

'knowledge, by the same Spirit; to another

' faith by the same Spirit ; to another the work-
ing of

'miracles; to another

'prophecy; to another

'discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds
of

'tongues; to another the

'interpretation of tongues.

But all these worketh that one and the self-
same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as
He will." 1 Cor. 12: 8-11.

The responsibility of "elders" or "bishops"
is included in the gift of ' ' governments ; ' ' for the
word denotes a helmsman or pilot, who guides a
ship. Yet in addition to this we are told plainly
that this responsibility, as the others, is the gift
of the Spirit, Paul, talking to elders only, said to
them: "Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and
to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath
made you overseers/^ Acts 20: 17, 28.

The responsibility of "deacon" is included in

188 The Reformation Guidance of The Church

the gift of ^' helps;*' for the word '' deacon '* signi-
fies "a servant." Eom. 16:1.

And all of this care of Christ in these gracious
gifts, is for a double purpose. First —

''for the perfecting of the saints,

''for the work of the ministry,

"for the edifying of The Body of Christ.''

And this, ' ' Till we all come, in the unity of the
faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ."

And the second purpose, the consequence of
the first, is ^^That ye he no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning crafti-
ness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. ' ' Eph. 4 :
12-14.

Thus Christ supplies all that is needed to bring
The Church to perfection, and so protect her from
all the powers of deception, and thus prepare her
for the glorious Presentation.

It should be repeated, that it may not be for-
gotten, that every responsibility in The Church is
the direct gift of God by Jesus Christ through the
Holy Spirit.

And the membership of The Church, by the
Spirit are to be able to recognize the gift upon
the individual and accordingly to recognize that
individual in the place and work in The Church

The Greco-Roman Obtrusion 189

for which the gift has prepared him. Acts 13:
2-4; 6: 3-5.

For The Church is The Body of Christ. And
the will of the Head can be truly manifested as
that will is in Him, only by the response, in spirit
and in the Spirit, of the members of The Body.
Matt. 6: 10; Ps. 103: 20; Eze. 1: 20.

The failure of James and the church in Jeru-
salem to recognize Christ's gift of Paul and in
Paul to The Church, put Paul in Roman prisons to
the day of his death (except a very short interval
near the end), robbed the churches of Christ's
wonderful revelations in the Mystery of God, and
hastened the rise of the mystery of iniquity. Gal.
2: 12; Acts 21: 18 — ; 2 Tim. 1: 15; 4: 16; Gal. 1:
15, 16 ; Eph. 3:2-5; Col. 1 : 26-29 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 3-10.

And the failure of professed Christians to
recognize Christ's spiritual gifts, is always of
the mystery of iniquity. For it is but the mani-
festation of the natural against the spiritual, of
the will of man against the will of Christ, and of
man instead of Christ — of man in the place of
God — in The Church.

Therefore, again let it be said: In the Scrip-
tures and according to the order of God every
responsibility in The Church is the direct gift of
God by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

In the Scriptures there is no such thing as
appointment or election by men in The Church,

190 The Reformation Guidance of The Church

nor in the churches. There is ordination, but not
election.

And the ordination is the act of response of the
members of The Body to the will of their Head:
7iot the endorsement nor the legalizing of it.

Elections came in from Greece, by those Greeks
who, in the ^^ falling away/' had not the Spirit,
and so had lost their Head.

Appointments came in from Eome, when the
Greek political system in church affairs was im-
perialized and the bishop of Rome became the
head.

The Reformation threw off the Greco-Roman
heathen political naturalism, and restored the
spiritual principle of the divine order.

But there has been another falling away. Again
the spiritual principle has been lost. In every
denomination of professed Protestants the Greco-
Roman naturalistic principle of human election
and appointment prevails.

Yet they are not consistent even in this incon-
sistency. Only some of the responsibilities that
rightly pertain to The Church are allowed to be
subject to election or appointment: as deacons,
elders, and others of ^^ helps" or '' governments.''

Evangelists, pastors, and teachers, stand in
a sort of * twilight zone" — of the gift of God in
a sense, but of no standing till '^authorized" by
appointment or vote of men.

The Colossal Presumption 191

Apostles, prophets, miracles, tongues, and all
the rest are left wholly to God as His gifts : or
even denied to Him, and left out altogether, as
belonging only to primitive Christian times.

But when 77ien can elect or appoint so7ne of
God's gifts, why not all ? If men have any author-
ity at all, upon any ground or under any plea, to
elect or appoint any of these, they have equal
authority to elect or appoint all.

When every responsibility known to the Scrip-
tures, that pertains to The Church, is the direct
gift of God by the Spirit Himself in His own
divine administration and Kingdom, then what
superior right or wisdom can inen have above God
to discriminate among them?

But deeper than that, what right can men have
under any possible plea to assume any authority
or control in the matter? It is all of the realm of
God. All here relates exclusively to the kingdom
of God. In all these things Christ is conducting
the affairs of His own House.

What colossal presumption it is, then, for finite,
fleeting men to assume to exercise dominion and
authority there!

While Jesus was with His Church here those
forty days after His resurrection, ^^ speaking of
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God,''
what an arrogantly disrespectful and presumptu-
ous thing it would have been for the disciples,

192 The Reformation Guidance of The Church

with Him present, to take upon themselves tlie
conducting of the affairs of His kingdom — and
of course according to their thinking concerning
the kingdom !

And how much more would it have been arro-
gantly disrespectful and presumptuous in them to
do such thing after Pentecost when He was more
present than He was in those forty days ! !

And such only is it ever for anybody. Has
not God sufficiently characterized that thing at
its first appearance in the world — in the awful
branding that He gave it as ^^the mystery of ini-
quity," ^Hhe man of sin," 'Hhe son of perdition,"
^^that Wicked," ^^who opposeth and exalt eth him-
self above all that is called God or that is wor-
shipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of
God showing himself that he is God!"

No, no, no. * ^ The Church is subject unto Christ
in every thing :^^ not His superior, nor even His
equal, in any thing. Eph. 5 : 24.

God will yet have in this ivorld that Church
that will be ^^ subject unto Christ in every thing.*'

Out of all the Babylonish confusion of the two
great fallings away combined, Christ calls all of
His own unto Himself, in His oivn Church which
He is now sanctifying and cleansing with the
washing of water by the Word, preparatory to her
Glorious Presentation. Rev. 17 : 5 ; 18 : 4.

CHAPTER X.

The Refokmation Christian Unity.

In the Scriptures the Reformers found the
divine principle and Christian truth of Christian
unity.

Matthias said: ^^The Body of the omnipotent
and altogether indivisible Jesus Christ, the com-
munity of saints, is not divided, neither indeed can
be divided.

* ' That Church, by virtue of its eternal and im-
mutable unity, depends luholly on the unity of
God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of His
Spirit,"

*^It is Jesus Christ Himself, ivho, with the
Father and the Holy Spirit, ever divells in His
Church and in each most insignificant portion of
it, holding together, vitalizing, sustaining, the
whole and all its parts.

*^ Bound with each other in the unity of the life
of Jesus, many shall come together and be held
in union by the cords of a glowing love."

Huss said: ^'Christ alone is the all-sufficient
Head of The Church. The Church needs no other.
And therein consists its unity."

^^All true unity must have its foundation in
Christ.''

When this fundamental Christian truth was

14 193

194 The Reformation Christian Unity

announced, to the churchmen it was all new and
strange and hateful. And when it was proclaimed
abroad to all the people in their own tongue, it was
all the more so.

How utterly foreign it was to all the realm
of their horizon may be seen in some measure in
the following standard definition of the **Mark of
Unity ' ' of the Eoman church : —

' ' This unity is two-fold ; it comprises :

**1. Unity of doctrine and faith, which consists in
the common accord of all the Faithful in admitting
and beheving all that the teaching Church proposes to
them as revealed or confirmed by Jesus Christ.

"2. Unity of government, which produces unity of
communion, and which consists in the submission of
all the faithful to their respective bishops and in par-
ticular to the Roman Pontiff, supreme Head of the
Church.

''To break the unity of faith, by rejecting even
only one point of doctrine, constitutes heresy ; to break
the unity of government, by rejecting the authority of
the legitimate heads, produces schism." — "Christian
Apologetics," Section 313.

Christian unity, the only true unity that can
ever be, is toto caelo different from that. It is as
far higher than that as heaven is higher than the
earth. And it is as far truer than that as the
precision of the Spirit of Truth is beyond the
wanderings of the carnal mind.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
U2:^on doctrine, among Christians; and is far above
that.

The Roman ''Mark of Unity'' 195

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
of belief, of Christians ; and is far above that.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
of Christians upon a platform of belief, of doctrine,
or of principles ; and is far above that.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
of submission to church government; and is far
above that.

Christian unity is far more than is any union of
Christians, or among Christians ; and is far higher
than that.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
of purpose, of Christians ; and is far higher than
that.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
of effort of Christians in promoting a cause; and
is far higher than that.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
of association of Christians ; and is far higher than
that.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
even of brotherhood, among Christians; and is
far higher than that.

Christian unity is far more than is any unity
or all unity of association, or of brotherhood, or of
denomination, or of federation, even of all the
Christians that are in the world, for any purpose,
or upon any platform, or in any cause, or in sub-
mission to any church government.

196 The Reformation Christian Unity

Christian unity is nothing less, and is nothing
else, than the divine unity itself: ^'the unity of the
Spirit/'

Note that it is not unity from the Spirit. That
is, it is not a unity of people, derived from the
Spirit.

Nor yet is it, primarily, a unity that is caused
among people by their possessing the Spirit.

It is ^^the unity OF the Spirit" Himself.

Christian unity, then, is only the divine unity,
as that unity is in the Divinity, and of the Divinity
Himself.

See this in the Scriptures of Truth, where the
Keformers found it; for there it is plainly and
repeatedly stated.

First, in the Saviour's promise of the Com-
forter: *^I will pray the Father, and He shall
give you another Comforter, that He may abide
with you forever. . . .

' * I will not leave you comfortless : I will come
to you. . . .

"At that day ye shall know that I am in My
Father, and ye in Me, and / in you.'' John 14:
16, 18, 20.

There is Christian unity. There is "the unity
of the Spirit." It is the unity of the individual
Christian with, and in, the Father and the Son:
this unity accomplished by the mighty grace of
"the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost."

The CJiristian Unity 197

And just to accomplish this divine nnity is
the primary purpose and the grand object in tlie
gift of the Holy Spirit.

This is plain in the Scripture just quoted ; but
see it again as shown in the prayer in Eph. 3:
14-19: ^'That He would grant you ... to be
strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner
man; tJiat^^ — so that, in order that — '^Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; . . . that
ye might he filled with all the fulness of God.''

Next, read the Saviour's prayer for Christian
unity: and see there the same thought three times
expressed:

^* Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also who shall believe on Me through their word:
that they all may be one/'

That is the prayer. How is that prayer to be
fulfilled? How is that unity to be accomplished!
What is the real key of it? Here it is :

^ ^ That they all may be one :

(1) ^'As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in
Thee, THAT" — so that, in order that — ^^ they
may be one IN US."

(2) *^And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I
have given them, THAT " — so that, in order that
— ''they may be one, EVEN AS We are One/'

(3) ''I in them, and Thou in Me, THAT" —
so that, in order that — ''they may be made per-
fect in O^^e." John 17: 21-23.

198 The Reformation Christian Unity

Thus, three times in direct connection, there
stands expressed by the Lord Jesus His own
thought of Christian unity.

Three times He tells how it is to be found ; and
every time, without a scintilla of variation, this
Christian unity which He defined and for which
He prayed for us, finds its key, its spring, its idea,
only in unity with the Father and with the Son,
in the very unity of the Father and the Son.

That, and that alone, is Christian unity.

Christian unity then is nothing less and nothing-
else than the divine unity itself, as that unity is in
the very Godhead.

The unity of the Godhead is the unity of Spirit,
in the Spirit; for the Godliead is only Spirit.

And all who '^have been made to drink into this
one Spirit," of the **one Lord,'' through the ^'one
faith" of the one Christ, and of the **one God and
Father of all ; " and who are possessed of this ^ ^ one
Spirit;" and *Mive" and** walk" *4n the Spirit;"
— all these are one in Him and with Him in the
very ** unity of the Spirit," which is the divine
unity itself.

Next, see this thought in the words of the
Scripture defining Christian Fellowship.

^'That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you, that ye may have fellowship with us :
and truly onr felloivship is with the Father and
ivith His Son Jesus Christ. . . .

The Christian Fellowship 199

^^This then is the message which we have
heard of Him and declare unto you, that God is
light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

**If we say we have fellowship ivith Him and
walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth : but
if we walk in the Light as He is in the light we
have felloivship one with another.' ' 1 John 1 : 3-7.

By this Scripture it is plain that Christian
fellowship is not primarily fellowship with one
another; but first fellowship with the Father and
with the Son: and then fellowship with one an-
other as the consequence of this fellowship with the
Father and the Son.

It is only when Christians *^walk in the light
as He is in the light;'' it is only when we have
*^ fellowship ivith Him;" that **we have fellowship
one with another."

That light is God. Walking in the Light is
walking in God. Thus, we have fellowship with
Him : and having fellowship with Him we have it
with one another.

And this Life and Light is *^ declared" in order
that, having the Life, and walking in the Light,
we may have fellowship with Him', and this in
order that we may have fellowship ivith those
whose ^^fellowship is," truly and primarily, *'with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."

Next we see the thought of the Spirit on this
as expressed through Paul, in Eph. 2 : 11-18.

200 The Reformation Christian Unity

When God would put an end to the enmities,
and spites, and separations, between Circumcision
and Uncircumcision, and would ''make both one/'
He did it by ''reconciling both unto God in one
body by the Cross;'' so that, ''through Christ,
ive both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father,"

Thus again is Christian unity portrayed ; and
again it is only unity ivith the Father, through
the Son, by the Spirit, in the very unity of the
Godhead.

That and that alone is Christian unity. And
all so-called unity of "church-governments" of
organization, association, federation, confedera-
tion, accomplished even by Christians, is of only
human contrivance, is only a hollow sham, is a
sheer counterfeit, and never Christian unity at
all.

All wlio are of this true unity are one. They
are one already by the very virtue of the divine
unity itself; and they need no "church-govern-
ments,'' federations, confederations, organiza-
tions nor associations to cause them to be one.

They are all one already; and all sucli contri-
vances as these are only the open confession that
they have not the real unity of the Spirit and in
the Spirit — the divine unity; and they must go
about to supply the lack by constructing a mere
human, political and worldly "unity."

''All One in Christ Jesus'' 201

x\.ll who are of this true, this divine, unity are
one. The prayer of Jesus is fulfilled in all such.
They do not have to feel around to see whether
it is so.

It is so already, and they know it ; they know
it by the Spirit of Him in Whom alone the unity
is found.

They are one, from God and in God. And their
unity being in God and coming from God, nothing
that can ever come from man can ever affect it in
the least.

It being of heaven and from heaven, nothing
from earth can ever spoil it. In heavenly love it
abides, even upon earth.

And among all these, ^' there is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female. '^ ^^ There is neither
Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free. ^ '

As applied to modern conditions, there is
neither Gentile nor Jew, Circumcision nor Uncir-
cumcision, there is neither white nor black, red
nor yellow, American, European, Asiatic, nor Af-
rican: *^for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.''

^ ' Christ is all, and in all. ' ' ^ ^ The one God and
Father of all is above all and through all and in
you all;" with "the Son also himself subject''
unto the Father, "that God may be all in all.''^ 1
Cor. 15:28.

202 The Reformation Christian Unity

That is Christian unity; and nothing else is.

And this is only the revelation of "the mys-
tery of His will, according to His good pleasure
which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the
dispensation of the fulness of times He might
gather together in ONE all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven and which are in earth ; even
in Him/' Eph. 1:9, 10.

Jesus prayed for this divine unity of believers,
in order that another great and glorious thing
might follow : that is, —

"That the world may know that Thou hast
sent Me/'

And when this the true Christian unity is found
and manifested, that grand and glorious thing
does follow, and will ever follow.

And has not the fallacious unity of church-
governments, denominations, creeds, and federa-
tions been sufficiently manifested in the world to
demonstrate to the world its utter vanity? and
of all things, for any such result as the convincing
of the world that God sent Jesus Christ !

There are now more of these "church-govern-
ments,'' denominations, creeds, and federations
than there are days in the year. And is all of this
convincing the world that God sent Jesus? —
Instead of that, the direct and well-known effect
of it all is the rather to cause tlie world to doubt
whether God or anybody else ever sent Him.

The False Unitij 203

And now national, international, and world,
Federation ^' unity" will no more convince the
world of that great and glorious thing than has
denominational or credal "unity" convinced it.

Nothing but Christian unity can ever accom-
plish it; and Federation '^ unity" is not Christian
unity.

No, no, no. Let all the fallacious and false
notions of "unity" of church-governments, de-
nominations, creeds, and federations be forever
abandoned. Let only the true Christian unity be
sought and courted by each individual soul who
names the name of Christ and of God — the unity
of the believer with the Father and ivith the Son,
in the very unity of the Father and the Son.

Then will the prayer of Jesus be fulfilled. They
will all be one as the Father is in Jesus and Jesus
in Him ; and the world will know that God sent
Jesus, and that He loves us as He loves Him.

The time has come when Christian unity as it
is in truth — "the unity of the Spirit'^ — will be
known and manifested. For now is the time when
"the mystery of God should be finished." Rev.
10: 7.

This mystery is "GorZ manifest" in the flesh,
^^ Christ in you the hope of glory," through the
divine Spirit. And thus is the divine Spirit mak-
ing manifest the divine unity in Christians, and
thus true Christian unity.

204 The Reformation Christiayi Unity

And the culmination of this true Christian
unity is that '^glorious Church'' which the divine
Lord ''will present to Himself" without ''spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without
blemish'' at his "glorious appearing," in the soon-
coming day of the glorious Presentation.

CHAPTER XI.
The Refoemation and the Bible.

It was the Word of God as in tlie Bible that
made The Reformation.

It was in the Bible only that the men who made
The Reformation fonnd the things which they
taught; and in these things their appeal was solely
to the Bible.

The Reformation turns altogether on what is
the place of the Bible : and whether a person is
of The Reformation or not, depends on what is the
place of the Bible to him.

Is the Bible above ^^the church!'' or is ^'the
church'' above the Bible?

Is the Bible the supreme standard in the things
of religion and faith! or is that standard the Bible
and something else?

Is the Bible the standard, in what the Word
itself saijsl or is it the standard through what
somebody else says, or through what somebody
says that the Bible says or means!

Is it the Bible only! or is it the Bible and
tradition?

Through all these tests did the men have to
go who made The Reformation.

And it was only by their going through every
test, and holding that Word to be itself the Word

205

206 The Reformation and the Bible

of God above and independent of all the things of
men and ''the church,'* that The Eeformation was
made. The Eoman church holds : —

''The letter of the written Word is dead without the
spirit of interpretation, which alone unfolds its hidden
meaning. Now this spirit is not granted to every Chris-
tian, but to the church.

"Scripture ought, therefore, to be understood in
the sense determined by the church, under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit.

"Whoever rests not in the doctrine of the Roman
church, and the Roman pontiff, as the infallible rule
of faith, from which the Holy Scripture itself derives
its force and authority, is a heretic. ' '

Wicklif "made the sacred Scriptures the ulti-
mate standard of all law; and declared it to be
'the great problem of Church evolution, to re-
form everything according to the principles there-
in contained'.''

Accordingly, he said: "The Sacred Scriptures
are the highest and the only source of knowledge
with regard to the truths of faith. It is necessary
to examine all doctrines and determinations by
this standard; and we are justified in attacking
every doctrine that cannot be derived therefrom."

"They are blasphemers of God, who confi-
dently advise things of a doubtful character:
things which are, in the Holy Scriptures, neither
expressly commanded nor forbidden."

Because of this high regard for the Scriptures,
and knowing their great value to the individual.

The Roman Church and the Bible 207

Wicklif translated the Bible into the English of
the common people. This brought upon him the
wrath of the churchmen. Henry Knighton wrote :

"Master John Wicklif has translated out of Latin
into English, the gospel which Christ delivered to the
clergy and doctors of the church that they might ad-
minister to the laity and to weaker persons, according
to the state of the times and the wants of men, in pro-
portion to the hunger of their souls and in the way
which w^oiild be most attractive to them.

''Thus was the gospel by him laid more open to the
laity, and to women who could read, than it had for-
merly been to the most learned of the clergy. And in
this way the gospel pearl is cast abroad, and trodden
under foot of swine."

In this, Knighton expressed ''the prevailing
view'' of even "the better class of the clergy, who
ever regarded themselves as tutors over the re-
ligious consciousness of the laity, and assumed
it as certain that laymen must always be de-
pendent for their religious education on the
priests."

The priests were to impart to the laity "just
so much of the Bible as seemed to them proper
and befitting." To the priests "it was an abuse
of the Bible to bestow it all at once upon laymen,
who were incapable of understanding it, and
hence could only be led by it into error."

Wicklif replied: "They would condemn the
Holy Ghost, who taught the apostles to speak in
divers tongues. They are heretics who affirm that

208 The Reformation and the Bible

people of the world, and lords, have no need of
knowing the law of Christ, but that it is sufficient
for them to know only what the priests impart
to them orally.

^ ' For the Holy Scriptures are the faith of The
Church, and the more familiar the people become
with them, in a right believing sense, the better.
All believers must stand before the judgment
seat of Christ to give an account of the talents
committed to them. Therefore all should rightly
know these talents and their use, in order that
they may know how to render an account of them.
For the7i no answer which must be given through
a prelate or a steward, can be of any avail ; but
each must answer in his own person."

The Eoman clergy contended that to under-
stand the Scriptures required *^ a peculiar sort of
preparation which was possible only to the order
of priests." Indeed in the University of Oxford
it had actually been ordered that even ** priests
and parsons should not read the Holy Scriptures
until they had spent there nine or ten years/'

One of the Franciscan Order wrote : —

*'The prelates should not tolerate it, that every man
according: to his inclination should be allowed to read
the Bible translated into Eni>"lish ; for this has often
proved an occasion of failing into heresies. It is not
politic that every man should, whenever and wherever
he pleases, devote himself to the earnest studv of the
Bible."

Understanding The Scriptures 209

Wicklif replied: '^The New Testament is in-
telligible to all laymen who only do what in them
lies to attain to the understanding of it. ^AHioever
observes gentleness and love, he possesses the true
understanding of the Holy Scriptures."

To Wicklif all of this meant that the Scrip-
tures alone are all-sufficient. He declared: 'It is
a heresy to affirm that the Gospel, with its truth
and freedom, does not suffice for the salvation of
a Christian, without the ordinances and ceremo-
nies of sinful and ignorant men."

This meant too that the Scriptures are su-
preme in all the field of the intellectual as well as
in that of the spiritual. For he wrote: * There is
no subtlety in grammar, neither in logic, nor in
any other science, but that it is found in a more
excellent degree in the Scriptures."

Matthias wrote: ''The Holy Spirit and the
Word are the only true rule for all that relates
to man."

"The highest rule, by which every thing is to
be tried, is Christ : that single rule which is alone
necessary and alone sufficient for all apostles and
every man that cometh into the world, in all
matters, in every place, and at all times : not only
for men, but also for angels, because He is Him-
self that truth and wisdom that works from one
end of being to the other. ' '

"God alone is the infallible and self-sufficient

IS

210 The Reformation and the Bible

Being, needing no rules from without to govern
His conduct.

^^His own will is His rule, and His wisdom is
the immutable rule for that.

^^ Therefore, the Father is the shaping prin-
ciple from which all things proceed; the Son the
shaping principle towards which all things aim;
the Holy Ghost the principle in which all things
repose. And yet there are not three rules or
forms, but one.

''All rules are one. They proceed from one
principle and aim at one end. They do not obtain
their authority from themselves, nor are they ob-
served in the Church of God on their own ac-
count; but they are inseparably included in the
same holy law of Christ, which is inscribed by the
Holy Spirit on the hearts of believers, which binds
many widely separated nations in union with one
another, and makes all dwell with one set of man-
ners in the House of Jesus the Crucified.''

^^In illustration: The Ten Commandments are
plain to every one, even to the dullest of under-
standing, so that no man can pretend that he is
embarrassed by them. And Jesus the Crucified,
who is the power of God and the wisdom of God,
has in a certain manner briefly summed them up
in a single precept, requiring love to God and our
neighbor. For love is the fulfilhnent of the law,
and love is the perfect law of liberty.

Freedom of Christians 211

*^ Jesus, who simplifies everything, has abol-
ished the multitude of sacrifices and ceremonies,
and substituted in their place the ond heavenly
Sacrifice. This was so ordered for the purpose of
preserving tmity in The Church. ' '

Having all the precepts of the Scriptures
summed up in the one New Commandment of the
love of Christ; having all the ceremonies of the
Scriptures summed up in the one Sacrifice of
Christ; and having thus all the thought of the
Scriptures met in Christ the sum of all the Avill
and wisdom of God ; — upon this, Matthias pro-
claims the emancipation of the Christian from all
precepts, from all prohibitions, and from all tra-
ditions, of men in The Church,

*' While the one commandment of Christ, and
His one sacrifice, preserved in The Church greatly
promote unity ; so on the other hand, the multitu-
dinous prescriptions of men burden and disturb
the collective body of The Church of Christ.

''The righteous, they who are actuated by the
Spirit of Jesus the Crucified, stand in no need of
multiplied human commands and prohibitions ; be-
cause the Spirit of God guides and teaches them,
and because they practice the virtues and obey the
truths of God spontaneously and cheerfully like
a good tree which brings forth good fruit of it-
self, God ever supplying the power from above.

^'Such, made free by the indwelling Spirit of

212 The Reformation and the Bible

Christ, generally feel themselves cramped and
conhned by the multitude of ordinances, even in
the performance of virtuous works.

'^No man can possibly invent laws suited to
every contingency and relation. The Spirit of
God alone can do this, who knows all things and
holds them together. And inasmuch as this Spirit
is present everywhere and to all men, the spirit
of man also which is in himself, which with the
Spirit of Christ alone knows what is in man,
this alone can give to each man befitting laws and
establish them.

^'Let not precepts and prohibitions, then, be
multiplied in The Church; for by means of them
the devil has acquired a great power of involving
the people in greater guilt: partly because he
takes occasion from these ordinances to tempt
them, and partly because these ordinances en-
snare men's consciences and make the sins of the
unrighteous still heavier.

''And if one should act differently from wliat
these ordinances require, he knows that he must
incur the anger of God and His saints or the
anathema. They have enthralled the conscience
of the people, declaring the transgression of their
rules to be a mortal sin.

''For in these days they lay more stress on a
failure to observe minutely the order of the lit-
urgy, than on sins of lying, of a sleepy indolence.

The Evil of Human Ordinances 213

or covetousness, or anything of a like nature. So
that men nowadays are more afraid to transgress
one of these human ordinances, than the com-
mandments of God Himself.

*^The more ordinances there are the more fre-
quent are transgressions, and the stronger the
temptation to transgress.

^'Neither do they consider how these multi-
farious ordinances force the multitude to despise
them and the commandments of the Lord at the
same time.

''This arises from the fact that he whose mind
is turned on many things, is so much the less fitted
for single duties ; and from the fact that such or-
dinances, since they relate to sensible and out-
ward things, appear to the communities in a pecul-
iarly clear light, and inspire in them reverence,
while the commandments of God are spiritual, and
God who ordains them is a Being whom they
cannot see.

' ' Such ordinances, therefore, owing to the con-
stant presence of the lawgiver, make a greater
impression on the multitude than the command-
ments of the invisible God.

''Then again the commandments of God ap-
pear to carnal men as every-day matters; while
those human ordinances, being something new,
make a stronger impression on the minds of the
people.

214 The Reformation and the Bible

^' Again, men are fond of seeking their salva-
tion in such sensible and corporeal things which
lie near their capacities ; and lose sight of the Cru-
cified, who alone is the salvation of souls. And
they settle it fast in their consciences that they
can be justified by such visible things, though the
spiritual love of Christ may be absent from their
hearts.

* ^ I wish that things might be so ordered that no
other fear or punishment should ever be held up
before subjects than in reference to the words of
Jesus Christ and His commands.

**A11 other — the multiplied laws of men are
superfluous and inadequate. They ought not to
be called traditions, but superstitions.

**It would be a salutary thing, and calculated
to restore peace and union to Christendom, to root
up that whole plantation, and once more sum up
the whole in that one single precept : to bring back
the Christian Church to those sound and simple
beginnings, where it would be needful to retain
but a few, and these 07ily the apostolic laws.

^^All other — the inventions of men should be
regarded simply as counsels. Thus human laws
are to be recognized only as such; and the com-
mandments of God to remain in their dignity, and
as such to be reverenced and obeyed.

^*I speak to all. Let him who is capal)le of re-
ceiving it, receive it : So have I gathered from the

Human Superstitions 215

Holy Scriptures, and I believe, that all the above-
named tvorks of men, ordinances and ceremonies,
will be utterly extirpated, cut up by the roots and
cease. And God alone will be exalted, and His
word will abide forever.

'^And the time is close at hand when these or-
dinances shall be abolished.''

Huss set it as a maxim, that, ' ' The precepts of
Scripture, conveyed through the understanding,
are to rule the conscience: in other words, God
speaking in the Bible, and not the church speahing
through the priesthood, is the one infallible Guide
of men."

''The glory of Christ, and of His bride, The
Church, consists particularly in the practical imi-
tation of the life of Christ in this : that a man put
away all inordinate affections, and all human or-
dinances that would obstruct him in the pursuit of
his object.

The theological faculty of the University of
Prague declared : —

''To say that the ordinances of the holy fathers, and
the praiseworthy customs in the church, are not to be
observed because they are not contained in Holy Scrip-
ture, is an error."

Along with that they designated many other
such ''errors," and then declared that all these
"errors" were from "the one cause" that the
party of Huss —

216 The Reformation and the Bible

^'admitted no other authority than the sacred
Scriptures, explained in their own sense and in
contrariety with the doctrine of the church and of
entire Christendom. ' '

Luther said:

*^It is the most impudent of all things to af-
firm in The Church, and among Christians any-
thing that Jesus has not taught.

^^The Christian believer has no other authority
than the Holy Scriptures — they alone constitute
Divine laiv/'

And in replying to a papal attack, Luther laid
down the fundamental principles of The Eeforma-
tion, thus:

^^The Word of God, the whole Word of God,
and nothing hut the Word of God.''

How true to the Scriptures is all this, will
easily be seen from only a few references.

First, the Scriptures as the Word of God:
^^When ye received the Word of God which ye
heard of us, ye received it not as the ivord of men;
but as it is in truth, The Word of God : which ef-
fectually worketh also in you that believe." 1
Thess. 2:13; Acts7:l-4.

*'Holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost.'' 2 Peter 1: 21.

' ' The Spirit of God spake by me. ' ' 2 Sam. 23 :
2; Acts 28: 25;Heb. 3:7.

Next, the all-sufficiency of that Word: ^^AU

Nothing hut the Word of God 217

Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for —

^kloctrine, for

'* reproof, for

** correction, for

* instruction in righteousness :

^'that the man of God may be i^erfect,

** thoroughly furnished unto all good works.''
—2 Tim. 3:16-17.

'*His divine power hath given unto us all things
that pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and
virtue.

** Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises, that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature: having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust.''
2 Peter 1 : 3, 4.

**For the Word of God is living and powerful,
. . . and is a discerner of the thoughts and in
tents of the heart." Heb. 4: 13.

Next, to the exclusion of every thing else. In
the presence of that Word, the wicked is to for-
sake his ivay, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts;

^ ' For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts." Isa. 55: 7, 9.

And Jesus said: ^'When ye shall have done

218 The Reformation and the Bible

all those things which are commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants : we have done that
which was our duty to do." Luke 17: 10.

All that is duty is commanded.

For anyone to do as duty what is not com-
manded of God, is to undertake to do more than
his duty.

But God is the Author of duty; and by Him
all that is duty is commanded. Then for any one
to think of doing more than duty, is at once to put
himself beyond God and above God.

Therefore, for any one to do as duty, as of
obligation, anything that is not commanded by
God, is to go beyond God and is to put himself or
the source of the obligation — is to put man —
above God.

And that is precisely the story of the Koman
church; "the church '^ has "authority to command
men:" "the church" has "authority" to "oblige
men under sin ! ' ' And by doing things commanded
by the church, but that are not commanded by
God, men can make up for their failures to do
what is commanded by God !

In all that, there can be made "a show of
wisdom in will-worship," and a show of worship
in a voluntary and ostentatious "humility ;" but in
it all there is no help for man against the indul-
gence of his earthly nature.

It is all only the provision of Error, that fos

Sanctification Through The Word 219

ters the passions instead of sanctifies the soul.

Error only fosters the passions. Truth only
sanctifies the soul.

God would have His sanctifying truth, as that
truth is in spirit and in truth, to reach the heart
and life of man.

To this end He has given His word covering
in completest detail ''the whole duty of man*' —
''all things that pertain to life and godliness;**
and has carefully excluded every thing that is not
commanded in that word. Rev. 22 : 18, 19.

Thus He would shut out from man, all human,
hindering, burdensome, mischievous, things; and
would shut in man with Himself, in His holy audi-
ence-chamber alone, that man may hear His word
as that Word is.

And there, with His Word of Truth alone, and
with the Spirit of Truth alone to take that Word
and make it plain to the mind and seal it upon the
heart, God would sanctify unto Himself the soul
of man according to the gracious destiny that He
fixed for him before the world was.

By this sanctifying Word of divine Truth, in
The Reformation, Christ is cleansing The Church
from everything that is not of Him, preparatory
to her soon-coming glorious Presentation.

This is what meant The Reformation, in the
minds of the men of God who began it.

This is what fneans The Reformation noiv in

220 TJie Reformation and the Bible

the time of its finishing in the finishing of the
Mystery of God.

And that is v/hy that in its beginning^ in its
revival, now, and unto its finishing in the glori-
ous Presentation of The Church, the fundamental
principles of The Eeformation are just these
three :

1. The Word of God.

2. The ivhole Word of God.

3. Nothing but the Word of God.

CHAPTER Xri.

Tiii:: Eefoet^iatiox and the Gospel.

The Reformation was not in any sense a
creedal, nor a doctrinal, nor a theological, discus-
sion or controversy.

It was tlie direct and devout study and preach-
ing of the Gospel, in a spiritual, practical, experi-
ence, that con\'erts the soul, regenerates the man,
and transforms the life.

In this, Wicklif found The Ten Commandments
to be the Law of God, and as such the foundation
of 'Hhc whole body of Christian morality.''

One of the very first publications of Wicklif
in The Reformation was ''a detailed exposition
of the Ten Commandments: in which he con-
trasted the immoral life prevalent among all ranks
in his time, with what these Commandments re-
quire."

Thus he brought to the minds of men the»knowl-
edge of sin and its consequences, awakened the
conscience, and aroused the desire for a right-
eousness that should reign against all the power
of sin and sinfulness.

That was his primary and direct purpose.
Secondary to this, was the purpose to have the
peoi)le become acquainted with God; and so to
counteract the workings of the church-system that

221

222 The Reformation and the Gospel

inculcated ** greater concern for the opinions of
men than for the Law of God."

From the words of Matthias in the preceding
chapter of this book, it is abundantly evident that
with him the Ten Commandments occupied the
same place and were used for the same purpose
precisely as in the work of Wicklif.

With Huss it was still the same. As stated
on page 124 he had the Ten Commandments, with
other Scriptures, painted on the walls of Bethle-
hem chapel, which was the place of his regular
preaching — till it was destroyed by the Eoman
church.

**Huss was accustomed wherever he lodged to
leave for his hosts on departing, a copy of the Ten
Commandments : or even to write them in the meal,
as he had written them on the walls of Bethlehem
chapel."

And among the last things that he did in the
awful prison at Constance awaiting the stake, was
to write *^ short tracts on the Ten Commandments
and the Lord's Prayer."

Among the first writings that Luther ever
issued in print were ** Discourses on the Ten Com-
mandments, "and tracts** On The Lord's Prayer."

Yet not with any of these men was the Law of
God the way of righteousness. It was used only
to indicate, and to lead men to, the Way of Right-
eousness— Christ only.

Righteousness by Faith 223

Not in any of the teachings of the Eeformers
did righteousness come by the Law, nor was it re-
tained by the Law. It came and remained only by
the faith of Christ without the Law.

Yet when it did thus come and thus remain, it
was witnessed by the Law, as the very righteous-
ness which all the time the Law had demanded of
every soul, — but which the Law could not supply
— the righteousness of God.

Wicklif ^*ever presupposes the connection of all
his teaching with trust on Christ as the only
Saviour,'' *^ deriving everything from the divine
fellowship of life with Christ.'' ^'Before all we
are bound to follow Christ," said he, and *^A11
obedience should be paid solely to Christ."

^'He ascribes the whole work of salvation to
Christ alone;" declaring that *^When God re-
wards a good work. He crowns His own gift."

The great Centre of all the preaching of Militz
was the power of Christ to save men from sin and
to keep them from sinning.

A section of the city of Prague so devoted to
vice as to bear the name of ^^ Little Venice," was
so transformed by the Gospel in the preaching of
Militz that it acquired the name of ^* Little Jeru-
salem."

So was it also with Conrad. The one tran-
scendent note of all his preaching was **the trans-
forming grace of Christ." The leader of the wild-

224 The Reformation and the Gospel

est youth of Prague was converted and the whole
course of his life so changed that he was notable
for his devotion and his mildness of Christian
grace.

As to Matthias, the quotations in the preceding-
chapter are sufficient to show how true it is that
^'he everywhere holds distinctly up to view the
immediate reference of the religious conscious-
ness to Christ.'' ** Jesus the Crucified" is his fa-
vorite expression; and He alone must be all in all.

For example : *^ Jesus the Crucified is the Vine :
and all the branches proceeding from Him and
abiding in Him, have, and ought to have, respect
to Him alone: and other foundation can no man
lay."

^^AU holy Scripture, all Christian faith, pro-
claims, preaches, and confesses, that Jesus Christ
tlie Crucified is the one Saviour, and the end of the
law for righteousness to every one that believeth;

^^that He alone is all power, all wisdom, for
every Christian, He Himself the Alpha, the be-
ginning and the end;

^^aud that every one who is longing and striv-
ing to be a just and virtuous man, must first of
all and immediately put on Christ Himself and
His Spirit; because He is Himself the Way, the
Truth, and the Life.

^* After Him alone, first of all and with the
whole heart, we should seek, begin to glorify Him

''The Just Shall Live by Faith" 225

and to carry Him in our souls, Who alone hath
redeemed us at that great price — His precious
blood.''

^'Our Lord gives to Christians the beginning
of a life of grace, as it is written. The just shall
live by faith. ' '

AVith Huss also Christ was the great Centre of
his faith and of his life. The final act of the
Council of Constance in his condemnation was to
put on his head a cap painted all over with pic-
tures of devils, and to say —

^'Now we give over thy soul to the devil."

Huss, with his eyes raised toward heaven,
calmly and joyfully said, ^*But / commend into
Thy hands, Jesus Christ, my soul, by Thee re-
deemed."

And at the stake, as the flames put out his life,
tlie last words that came from his dying lips, were,
' ^ Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy upon
me/^

In a word, the whole faith and teaching of all
these saints of God who made The Eeformation
is summarily expressed in that Scripture, **Here
are they that keep the Commandments of God,
and the Faith of Jesus." Eev. 14 : 12.

And than that nothing could be truer to the
truth of the Bible. For, clearly and beyond all
other words of Scripture, the Ten Commandments
are the Law and Commandments of God alone.

16

226 The Reformation and the Gospel

With the coming of the Ten Commandments
into the world, no human hand or mind had any-
thing at all to do but merely to receive them and
place them in the Ark of His Testament as di-
rected by Him.

First, the Ten Commandments only were spo-
ken from heaven with the voice of God that shook
the earth. Ex. 20 : 1 - 17 ; Deut. 5 : 22 ; Heb. 12 : 25,
26.

Then they were written ^^with the finger of
God" on two tables of stone.

Then He said to Moses, ^^Come up to Me into
the mount, and be there, and I will give thee tables
of stone, and a Law, and Commandments, which
I have written/' Ex. 24: 12.

Moses did so, and there ^^He gave unto Moses,
when He had made an end of communing with him
upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables
of stone, written with the finger of God." ^^And
the tables were the work of God, and the writing
was the writing of God, graven upon the tables."
Ex. 31: 18; 32: 16.

"When Moses came down from the mount with
the two tables in his hands, because of the Egyp-
tian idolatry of the people at the foot of the mount
he cast down the tables and broke them.

Then the Lord said to Moses, ^^Hew thee
two tables of stone like unto the first : and I will
write upon these tables the words that were in the

The Purpose of The Law 227

first tables which thou brakest. '' Ex. 32 : 19 ; 33 : 1.

Moses did so, and went up again into the mount
with the tables in his hand. And there the second
time ^'He wrote on the tables, according to the
first writing, the Ten Commandments.^' Deut.
10:4.

Thus the Ten Commandments are the Law and
Commandments of God in a sense and in a ivay
that is distinct from and above every other word
even of God that ever came into the world.

They originated in God, they were brought into
the world only by the Voice, the ivriting, and the
handy of God Himself. They are not the law or
the commandments of Moses, nor of the prophets,
nor of Peter, nor of the apostles, nor of ^Hhe
church.'' They are distinctly and distinctively
*'the Commandments of God."

Yet for all that, they were never put into the
world, they never were intended, to be to men the
way to righteousness. But, under the Holy Spirit,
to give the knowledge of sin and awaken and point
men to Christ who alone is the Way to righteous-
ness and the Way of righteousness.

Accordingly it is written: ^^The Law entered
that the offense might abound:'' **that sin, by the
Commandment, might become exceeding sinful.''

**But where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound : that, as sin hath reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign, through righteousness, unto

228 The Reformation and the Gospel

eternal life, hy Jesus Christ our Lord.'' Kom. 5:
20, 21; 7: 13.

Again: *' Whatsoever things the law saith
it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth should he stopped^ and all the world may
hecome guilty before God.

^^ Therefore, hy the deeds of the Laiv shall no
flesh be justified in His sight for hy the Law is the
knowledge of sin.''

*^But now the righteousness of God ivithout
the Law is manifested; . . . even the right-
eousness of God which is hy faith of Jesus Christ,
unto all and upon all them that believe: for there
is no difference, for all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. ' ' Rom. 3 : 19-23.

Again : The prophet Zechariah saw a flying roll
representing the curse of sin. Then the angel said
to him, "This is the curse that goeth forth over
the face of the whole earth.

"For every one that stealeth [the second table
of the Law] shall be cut off on this side according
to it; and every one that sweareth [the first table]
shall be cut off as on that side according to it.

"I will bring it forth saith the Lord of hosts,
and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and
into the house of liim that sweareth falsely by my
name ; and it shall remain in the midst of his house,
and shall consume it with the timber thereof and
the stones thereof.*' Zech. 5: 1-4.

The Purpose of The Gospel 229

That is to say, That holy Law is in the ' ' house ' ^
of every soul. There also is the heavenly recorder
noting the transgressions of the Law, that cause
the curse. And that curse, because of transgres-
sions, unless it shall be removed, will remain in
that house until it shall consume the house with the
timber and the very stones of the house.

But, Oh! abounding grace. '^Christ hath re-
deemed us from the curse of the Law, being made
a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree.''

And this is in order ^ ^ that the blessing of Abra-
ham,'' which is the righteousness of a God by
faith, ''might come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ." And this is in order ''that we might re-
ceive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Gal. 3: 13, 14.

Therefore, the Law is, and always was, the
means ' ' to bring us unto Clirist that we might be
justified by faith. ' ' Gal. 3 : 24.

The sole purpose of the Gospel is to establish
in every soul the righteousness of God : to fix there
the character of God. Rom. 1 : 16, 17.

To do this, it must first save men from sin.
And to do this there must first be given to men
the knowledge of what sin is.

"By the Law is the knowledge of sin;" for
"Sin is the transgression of the Law." There-
fore the Law was given to give to men the knowl-

230 The Reformation and the Gospel

edge of sin. And thus the sole object of the Law is
the Gospel.

The sole object of the Gospel is to secure to
men the righteousness of God. And so the sole
object of the Law is the righteousness of God
through the Gospel,

The Law comes short of its object, without the
Gospel. The Gospel cannot work effectually with-
out the Law.

The Commandments of God, that compose the
Law of God that brings men to Christ that they
may be justified by the faith of Christ, originated
in God and came to the world by the voice and
hand of God alone.

So ^^the Faith of Jesus'^ which is the object
of that law, is that faith which originated in Jesus,
which was brought to the world by Jesus, which
was manifested in Jesus in the world, and which
was exercised by Jesus Hunself in His own Per-
son.

It is not the faith of Peter, nor of Paul, nor of
John, nor of the apostles, nor of ^'the church. ''
It is distinctly and distinctively ^Hhe Faith of
Jesus.''

And note that it is 'Hhe Faitli of Jesus:'' not
our faith in Jesus. Our faith in Jesus, is one
phase of faith. The Faith of Jesus, is another and
higher phase of the principle of faith.

Faith in every phase is the gift of God, with

The Faith of Jesus ' ' 231

Jesus ^Hhe Author and Finisher'' of it in its work-
ings. So our faith in Jesus is the gift of God : yet
it is small, weak, wavering, and often failing.

But ''the Faith of Jesus" is Faith perfected.
It is Faith that has fought the battle of the world,
the flesh, and the devil, and has triumphed at every
point. Heb. 4 : 15. It is separate and distinct
from and above all other faith ever known by man.
And this perfected Faith, this triumphant
Faith of Jesus, is the free gift of God to every
soul; and is imparted by the Holy Spirit to every
believer in Jesus, by him to be kept. 1 Cor. 12 : 9 ;
Gal. 5: 22.

And to the believer in Jesus, this perfected
Faith of Jesus makes fully sure in all its fulness
and certainty all the things of God to us exactly
according to the mind and will of God.

The Faith of Jesus makes every promise of
God ours in fullest assurance. ' ' For all the prom-
ises of God in Him are yea, and in Him, Ainen,
to the glory of God by us. ' ' Gal. 3 : 22 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 20.

The Faith of Jesus overwhelmingly and eter-
nally justifies the believer in Him. For *^we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the Faith of Christ. ' ' Gal. 2 : 16.

The Faith of Jesus makes to be ours in abso-
lute certainty, the righteousness of God: ^'even
the righteousness of God which is by Faith o/
Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all that believe.''

232 The Reformation and the Gospel

The Faith of Jesus makes certain to the be-
liever in Jesus, the life of Jesus in the mortal,
flesh. Gal. 2: 20; 2 Cor. 4:10, 11.

The Faith of Jesus gives to the believer in
Jesus'' 'M3oldness and access ivith confidence' '
''into the holiest" — the holiest of all experiences,
the holiest of all places, "the holiest of all/' Eph.
3:12;Heb.l0:19,20,22.

The keeping of the Commandments of Grod is
the gift of God ; and it is ministered to the believer
by the Lord Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. Gal.
2: 17; 5: 22, 23.

Thus the keeping of the Law of God does not
come by that law, but only by the Faith of Christ
through the Holy Spirit.

Neither the becoming sl Christian, nor the re-
maining a Christian, is by the Law ; but solely by
the grace of God through the faith of Christ.

"The law was not made for a righteous man;
but for the lawless and disobedient, . . . and
if there be any other thing that is contrary to
sound doctrine." 1 Tim. 1: 9, 10.

The righteousness of the Law, the keeping of
the Law, is wholly of grace through faith — the
Faith of Jesus.

Therefore "Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth." Rom.
10: 4.

Yet in all this, respect is had to the Law. It is

Unlaivful Use of the Law 233

the Law of God, spiritual, lioly, just, and good.
It is not set aside by faith, it is satisfied. It is not
made void through faith, it is established, Rom.
3: 26, 31; 7: 12.

Eternally ' ' the Law is good. ' ' Whether it shall
be good for particular persons turns altogether on
their using it lawfully. 1 Tim. 1 : 8.

Many will have righteousness to be hy the Law.
That is an unlawful use of the law.

Many others will have righteousness to be by
the Law and ^^ faith.'' That is an unlawful use of
the Latv and an unfaithful use of faith.

Many others will have righteousness to be by
faith and the Law. That is an unfaithful use of
faith and an unlawful use of the Law.

To have the Law give the knowledge of sin, and
make it appear so exceeding sinful that nothing
but the sacrifice of Christ can ever satisfy, that
is lawful use of the law.

Then to depend solely upon Christ to satisfy
— to ^^make His soul an offering" and the only
offering ^^for sin,'' that is lawful use of the Law.

To find righteousness without the law, without
the deeds of the Law, without works, that is lawful
use of the Law.

To find without the Law a righteousness that
is of such quality that the Law will witness that it
is righteousness indeed, that is lawful use of the
Law.

234 The Reformation and the Gospel

To receive the righteousness of God as a free
gift by the faith of Christ, that is lawful use of the
Law ; for to that the Law always freely and fully
witnesses.

The Christian — the Reformation Christian —
will have righteousness only hy faith, without the
Law, but ^'witnessed by the Law.''

He thus finds the veiy righteousness of God,
and establishes the Law in the keeping of the Com-
mandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.

With that The Reformation began, and only
with that will The Reformation end. Rev. 12 : 17 ;
14: 12-14.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Reformation Christian Brotherliness.

Each one of the men by whom The Reformation
came, had found, in a personal experience of the
grace of God and the power of Christ, redemption
from sin.

This redemption was upon the divine principle
that "there is no difference." Thus each one of
them knew by the heart's experience that ''there
is no respect of persons with God."

In this there consists essentially the equality
of all beUevers. Thus the perfect equality of
believers is essentially a principle of The Refor-
mation.

Wicklif denounced the distinctions that were
made among Christians, such as ''spirituals and
seculars," "secular and religious," and all "the
manifold gradations of rank among the clergy,"
as "utterly foreign to Christianity."

He declared that it is all an invention of "the
fiend" by which there has arisen "sectarian ani-
mosities and the spirit of domination."

"All of this came of men's forsaking the rule
of the New Testament, according to which it were
better that there should be but one order."

Matthias said: "To style Christians the ivorld
and seculars, is a calumnious misrepresentation;"

235

236 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

because by the New Testament ^' Every Christian
is an anointed man and a priest.

' ' The hitherto separating wall between priests
and laymen must be broken down.

"The distinction of an inferior and a higher
position in Christian life must be done away with.

"The universal priesthood must be revived,
and the priestly character restored to the- entire
Christian life.

"Christianity must be made to appear as a
principle of purification from all that is of the
world.

"The priest, singing, praying, and adminis-
tering the sacraments, thereby serves our common
Lord, Jesus Christ, and is therein useful to the
church.

"So the peasant, in ploughing and pasturing
his cattle, as long as he stands fast in the common
love, serves the Lord Jesus Christ and is necessary
and useful to his family or to the Holy Church.

"The same holds good of other laymen, such
as tradesmen and artisans in civil society. As
the manner of calling and the works of the priest
are necessary, so too are the various callings and
works of the peasant.

"As the calling of the priesthood and its exer-
cise comes to them from Jesus Christ, so the vari-
ous callings and employments of the peasantry
have come from God and Christ.

The Primitive Dignity 237

^^ Indeed the calling of the peasant is more
primitive and more indispensable than that of the
priest, since the occupation and practice of hus-
bandry and of the other trades existed earlier than
that of the priest.

* * Countrymen and soldiers do not exist for the
sake of priests, but priests for the sake of the
peasantry and the soldiers."

At this the clergy cried out, ^ ' You put the laity
on a level with the clergy. And in so doing you
cause the dignity of the priesthood to suffer dimin-
ution. ' '

Matthias : * ^ The man who speaks thus, plainly
evinces that he is a man actuated by a zeal
without knowledge. For he censures as an impro-
priety what he would certainly wish to take place
if he were animated by the good Spirit of God.''

*^They who begin with despising the common
manners of their fellow-Christians, who begin with
extolling in particular their own societies and
brotherhoods as compared with others, mar by
this course the unity of the Christian Church and
disturb Christian peace.

* ' They begin by thinking highly of themselves,
and would exalt themselves above the common
mass of Christians, hold themselves to be the only
spirituals and apostolicals, and call the great
mass of other Christians ^Babylon' and *the
world.'

238 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

' ' They pretend that they alone fulfill the coun-
sels of Christ: that the people neither can attain
nor ought to attain the same perfection.

^^And when a Christian, whatever he may be,
man or woman, virgin or widow, living in the
Christian community, consecrates his life to Christ
with a view to live more perfectly in the simplicity
of the Spirit, and for suitable reasons does not
enter one of these monastic orders, he must at once
suffer persecution from them and from his asso-
ciates.

' ^ Such an one must be looked upon as a heretic,
and be called by the vulgar a Beghard, a Beguine,
a Turlepinus, or by some such reproachful epithet.
He must be called up and put on trial to determine
whether he is a heretic. Hence it comes about that
among the common laity, no pious people are to be
found. ' '

All Christians being equally the sons of God,
each one according to his ability was free to make
known whatever truth of God he knew. And those
who were called of God wholly to the preaching of
the Gospel, freely did so.

Wicklif had a school from which he sent forth
everywhere through the land travelling preachers,
because, as he said, ' * The gospel relates how Jesus
went about in the places of the country, both
great and small, as in cities and castles or small
towns ; and this to teach us to profit generally unto

''The Highest Service" 239

men, and not forbear to teach to a people because
they are few, and our name may not as a conse-
quence be great."

These travelling preachers called themselves
* ^ poor priests ' ' — the word poor used not as boast-
ing of poverty, but in the sense of ** deficient in
desirable or essential qualities."

However they soon acquired from the people
the name of * bollards," because of their singing:
from lollen or lullen, to sing with a low voice as in
a lullaby lulling to sleep. They were also called
^* Bible men" because of their large use of the
Bible.

As these went forth to preach, Wicklif said to
them: **If begging friars stroll over the country
preaching the legends of the saints and the History
of the Trojan War, we must do for God's glory
what they do to fill their ivallets : and form a vast
itinerant evangelization to convert souls to Jesus
Christ*

*^The highest service that men can arrive at
on earth is to preach the Word of God.

^ ' Go and preach : it is the sublimest work. But
imitate not the priests whom we see, after the ser-
mon sitting in the ale-house, or at the gaming-
table, or wasting their time in hunting. After
your sermon is ended, do you visit the sick, the

D'Aubigne, Book XVII, chap. vii.

240 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

aged, the poor, tile blind, the lame, and succor them
according to your ability."

In Prague, Militz had the same kind of a school
composed of from two hundred to three hundred
young men. All of these ^^ resided under the same
roof with himself, were trained under his influence,
and by his society.

^^ All here was to be free : to flow spontaneously
from the one animating spirit by which all were
governed. An internal tie was all that held them
together: no outward discipline or rule, no vow,
no uniformity of dress. They soon distinguished
themselves by their serious, spiritual lives, and by
their style of preaching."

All of these preachers of the Gospel were dis-
credited by the clergy as having ^^no right to
preach," because they were not ^^ recognized" by
^'the church;" and as having ^^no authority to
preach," because they were not ^* authorized" by
* * the church. ' '

Even Wicklif, Militz, Conrad, and Huss, were
all held as having ^'no authority to preach" when
*^the church" had discountenanced or excommu-
nicated them. The Pope in a bull spoke of Militz
as having, ^ ' in the spirit of temerity and self-con-
fidence, taken upon himself the calling to preach,
which does not belong to him." The theological
faculty of the University of Prague said that such
preachers * * ought to be silenced. ' '

The Real Excommunication 241

But none of these people cared anything at all
for any or all of that. They would not be silenced
by anything but death. And even dead they still
spoke, and will forever speak.

Wicklif said: ** Those who forbear to preach
the Word of God, to perform divine service or to
assist at it, on account of any excommunication or
interdict, incur thereby excommunication.' '

That is to say, ^^Excommunication and inter-
dict" by **the church'' is nothing and effects noth-
ing. But he who yieVcls to it and is ruled by it so
as to stop preaching the Word of God or perform-
ing divine service, thus puts upon himself an ex-
communication that is something.

Militz was not at all disturbed by the Pope's
bull. He calmly said, ''I trust in God and the
power of the truth. These will triumph over
every assault."

Conrad said: '*The divine call moved me to
preach in Prague. He who is afraid to speak the
truth is not a true preacher sent of God. Un-
moved, therefore, will I praise the Word, 0 Lord,
in thee, and not be afraid. I long after the glory
of our Saviour.

^^ While I am willing to answer them who say
that Christ has not sent me, I am greatly at a loss
when I ask what the proof is of their oivn mission.
For if we look at the heart and the conduct as the
proof of those who are sent of God, it will be evi-

17

242 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

dent tliat by them the rules of Christ are not at
all obeyed.

**For Christ said to His preachers, when He
sent them forth, Freely ye have received, freely
give. But no sooner have they sl congregation
than they set up a money-table to make money out
of their hearers.

** Simony is heresy. And there is still worse
heresy than that of those who declare the Holy
Ghost to be a mere creature: namely, when by
simony the Holy Ghost is employed as a means of
getting money,''*

Huss said: **He who lives conformably to the
law of Christ, and, animated by a disposition of
sincere love, has singly in view the glory of God,
and his own and his neighbor's salvation, and
preaches not lies, not ribaldry, not fables, but the
law of Christ . . . such a person never arro-
gates to himself the call to preach without au-
thority. It is not to be doubted that the man in
such case is sent of God.

* The Keformation and Christian principle of the support
of the exclusive preaching of the Gospel, as well as of all
Christian giving, is voluntary and unsolicited giving.

Wicklif: "Thou shalt help according to thy power, that he
may have a reasonable sustenance when he doeth well his office."

Conrad insisted that "Christ never begged,"

Huss: "Whatever they obtain for their support, should be
regarded simply as a gift of free love from the spontaneous
affection of those for whose spiritual benefit they labor."

Scripture: "As a matter of bounty and not as of covetous-
ness. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so
let him give: not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a
cheerful giver. ' ' 2 Cor : 9 : 5-7.

The Divine Call 243

^^The internal divine call which springs from
the work of the Holy Spirit on the soul, is of more
authority than any outward call proceeding from
men. And a person may be constrained by this
internal call from God to stand forth even in op-
position to the ordina7ices of man. Where the
Spirit of God is, there is Liberty.

'^It is evident that every priest or deacon who
confesses the truth and practices righteousness,
has a virtual testimony i7i this very thing that he
is sent of God. And he needs not prove this divine
mission by miracles, nor by an express passage of
Holy Writ relating personally to himself, as one
sent of God to preach the Gospel.

*^It is a greater miracle to confess the truth
and practice righteousness, than to perform mar-
vellous works to the outward senses.

^^The priest or deacon who loves his enemies,
despises riches, esteems as nothing the glory of
this world, avoids entangling himself in worldly
business, and patiently endures terrible threaten-
ings, even persecutions, for the GospePs sake —
such a priest or deacon performs miracles, and has
the witness in himself that he is a genuine disciple
of Christ.

**A good death is better than a bad life. One
ought never to sin through fear of death. He
who fears death, loses the joy of living. He who
speaks the truth breaks his own neck.

244 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

^^ Truth trmmphs over all. He triumphs who
dies for the truth ; for no calamity can touch him,
if no sin has dominion over him. Blessed are ye
when men curse you, says the Truth.

^ ^ This is the foundation on which I build. This
is the food for my spirit : recruiting it with fresh
vigor to contend against all adversaries of the
truth.''

Zwingle said: ^^All Christians are the brethren
of Christ, and brethren of each other; and they
have no fathers on the earth. Thus orders, sects,
and parties fall."

Luther said: ^'All Christians belong to the
spiritual estate; and the only difference between
them is in the functions which they fulfill. We
have all but one baptism, but one faith : and these
constitute the spiritual man.

** Hence it follows that laymen and priests,
princes and bishops : or, as we have said, ecclesias-
tics and laics : have nothing to distinguish them but
their functions. They have all the same con-
dition; but they have not all the same work to
perform. ' '

' ' They call upon me for moderation : and they
themselves, in the judgment which they pass upon
me, trample it under foot! Truth will no more
gain by my moderation than it will lose by my
presumption. I desire to know what errors have
been found in my theses.

Price of Loyalty to God 245

^ ' Who knows not that a new idea is seldom ad-
vanced without an appearance of ^ arrogance, ' and
an accusation of disputatiousness? Were Humil-
ity herself to undertake something new, those of
an opposite opinion would charge her with pride.

^^Why were Christ and all the martyrs put to
death? — Because they were deemed proud de
spisers of the wisdom of the time; and advanced
new truths ivithout previously taking counsel of
the organs of ancient opinion.

*^Let not the wise of the present day, then, ex-
pect of me humility, or rather hypocrisy, enough
to ask their opinion before publishing what duty
calls me to say.

*^Wliat I do, will be done not by the prudence
of men; but by the counsel of God. If the work is
of God, who can arrest it? If it is not of God, who
can advance it 1 Not my will, nor theirs, nor ours,
but Thy will be done, 0 holy Father, who art in
heaven. ' '

For that plain and simple loyalty to God and
His word, and to God in His Word, each one of
these men without exception was denounced and
pursued by * * the church "as —

*^ dangerous,''

*4iostile to the church,"

^^overthrowing all ecclesiastical order,"

** showing contempt of church jurisdiction,"

** subverting civil order,"

246 The Refof^onation Christian Brotherliness

* inviting the people to rebellion against the

church, ' '

* ^ countenancing revolution, ' '
^ ^ in rebellion, ' ^
^'insurrectionist,''

'' revolutionist,"

^ Mestructionist. "

All of that came to such men as those, from
Popes! from Popes in the time of the double and
triple-headed papacy!! and from the Council of
Constance ! ! !

Yet all that these men preached, all that they
stood for, is but the simple Christianity of the
plain word of Scripture : not alone of the New Tes-
tament, but of the whole Bible: in the original
creation, no less than in the new creation which
is redemption.

''Have we not all one Father? hath not one God
created usf "If I did despise the cause of my
manservant or of my maidservant, when they con-
tended with me, what then shall I do when God
risetli up ! and when He visiteth, what shall I an-
swer Him! Did not He that made me make him?
and did not one fashion us in the womb?" Mai.
2:10; Job 31: 13-15.

' ' Now the righteousness of God without the law
is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the
prophets : even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them

Princes of the Gentiles 247

that believe, for there is no difference,'^ ''For
there is no respect of persons with God.'' Rom.
2:21, 22; 2: 11.

' ' He which sanctifieth and they who are sancti-
fied are cill of one. For which cause He is not
ashamed to call them brethren.'' Heb. 2 : 11.

''Be not ye called Rabbi ; for One is your Mas-
ter, even Christ, and all ye are brethren.''
"Neither be ye called masters; for one is your
Master, even Christ.'' Matt. 23: 8, 10.

Therefore, "My brethren, be not many mas-
ters, knowing that we shall receive the greater
condemnation." Jas. 3: 1. Many masters means
greater condemnation. Any masters at all, means
condemnation.

There is no exercise of authority, there is no
place for domination, among Christians-, neither
by Christians upon other Christians, nor by
Christians upon people ivho are not Christians.

For it is written: "The princes of the Gentiles
exercise dominion over them, and they that are
greut exercise authority upon them. But it shall
not be so among you." Matt. 20: 25.

Note that it is "the princes of the Gentiles"
that exercise dominion and authority over people ;
and it is "them" — the Gentiles — over whom
this dominion and authority are exercised.

And even though dominion and authority be
exercised by men in "the church/' they are still

248 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

^^prin-ces of the Gentiles" who do it. Christians
do not do it, for, ''It shall not be so among you."

And even though they be members of ''the
church," over and upon whom this dominion and
authority are exercised, and who allow it to be
exercised over and upon ' ' them, ' ' they are Gentiles
all the same. Christians do not allow it to be done :
for, "It shall not be so among you."

It is none but princes of the Gentiles who do it ;
it is none but Gentiles over and upon whom they
do it; and it is none but Gentiles ivho alloiv it to
be done over and upon them, in The Church.

It cannot be done over or upon Christians:
they will not allow it : for these have the word of
their "Leader and Commander," "It shall not
be so among you. ' '

No man can be loyal to Christ, nor true to His
word, who allows any man m "//le church'^ or in
the field of religion and faith to exercise any do-
minion or authority over or upon him. For Christ
has commanded, "It shall not be so among you."

Whosoever among Christians exercises such
dominion or authority puts himself in the place of
Christ. And whosoever allows it to be done to
him, allows man to be to him in the place of Christ.

"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the
servants of men." 1 Cor. 7: 23.

Wherever such thing appears, he by whom it
appears is a prince of the Gentiles ; and a prince

Christian Government 249

of the Gentiles in the place of Christ. Whoever
submits to it is a Gentile, and submits to a prince
of the Gentiles in the place of Christ.

That is the whole story of the papacy. And
whenever that thing is manifest in any church, it
is just so much of the papacy there.

It is a fundamental principle of The Eeforma-
tion that *^the ecclesiastical power is exercised
only by the ministry of the Word/^

Any ecclesiastical power ever, anywhere, that
is exercised in any other wise than **only by the
ministry of the Word'' is not Christian, is not
Reformation, but is papal.

Amongst Christians the only government in
which man has any governing to do is self-govern-
ment. Each one governs himself only, in the realm
of his own spirit. And ^'He that is slow to anger
is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his
spirit than he that taketh a city.'' Prov. 16 : 32.

Each one governing himself in God through
Christ by the Holy Spirit according to the will
of God, there is no room for any other government.
Acts 24:25.

And for any who profess the name of Chris-
tian but are not Christians and so cannot govern
themselves in righteousness, but must be governed
from without, there is an e-stablished and divinely
recognized ^^ power" for the governing of all such
—the ^* power" of ^'Caesar."

250 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

And in the Scriptures there is nowhere recog-
nized any third power beyond God and Caesar,
but that is neither God nor Csesar, to come in and
gather people together who cannot govern them-
selves and so must needs be ** governed" by this
interloper that is neither God nor Caesar but tries
to be both God and Caesar and so can play the
devil only.

All duty that is ever to be rendered by men
pertains either to God or to Caesar, and is to be
rendered respectively to these accordingly: just
these tivo. There is no other. Matt. 22 : 21.

Beyond this governing of himself by each in-
dividual, the only activity of Christians is in wor-
shipping God and serving God and men.

Serving God is manifested in ministering
to men that which we have received of God : first,
His grace; and secondly, all His other gifts of
every kind.

And this great office is to all alike. As it is
written: **As every man hath received the gift,
even so minister the same one to another, as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Peter
4:10.

Every soul who has received, and knows in
his own heart and life, reconciliation to God, in
that has received the ministry of that reconcilia-
tion. To him, for this ministry, God has committed
the Word of reconciliation. And he in this min-

Christian Dignity 251

istry is in Christ's stead in the world, praying
men to be reconciled to God. Cor. 5 : 18-20.

Not every one is called to devote all his time
and effort to this. But except in the devotion of
all his time and effort to it, the one who is called
is in nowise different from the Christian who is
not so called.

The difference between them is not in a differ-
ence of ministry. It is only in the difference in the
time and effort that can be occupied in the min-
istry, each in his place.

From the time when He was twelve years of
age in the world, the Lord Jesus spent six times
as long in the work of a carpenter as He spent
in His preaching ministry.

And He was just as much the Saviour of the
world when He was sawing boards and making
benches as He was when He was preaching the
Sermon on the Mount.

And forever there is just as much Christian
dignity — true dignity — in the carpenter's shop
or any other honest occupation as there is in the
preacher's study or in the pulpit. Titus 3:14,
margin.

For every souly in every honest occupation,
and from birth to death and onward to the right
hand of the throne of Christ and of God, every
step of the way is consecrated by the life of
the blessed Christ in the flesh. ' ' There is no differ-

252 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

ence,'' and ^' There is no respect of persons with
God.'' Heb. 10:19, 20.

Among Christians in truth there simply cannot
be any distinctions. There never can be any such
thing as either ^clergy" or ^' laity:" that is,
neither aristocracy nor commonalty: but simply
Christians — "a royal priesthood,'' '^ kings and
priests ' ' all 1 Peter 2:9; Rev. 1 : 6 ; 5 : 10.

Thus it was in the beginning. All were min-
isters of the Word of God's grace in reconcilia-
tion to Him, and in service to men. For, from
Jerusalem ^^they were all scattered abroad" ex-
cept the apostles, and these all '^went everywhere
preaching the Word." Acts 8: 1, 4-8.

Here, then, were the whole body of believers,
all brethren; all workers together with God; all
fellow-workers in and unto the kingdom of the
one God; all having but the one Lord and Master;
all moved by the will of their one Head; all actu-
ated and guided by the one Spirit; and all thus
busy as bees, each and together, honoring God and
blessing men.

But this was too much to be endured by Satan.
It meant too much against his kingdom and do-
minion over men. He would move everything
outside of heaven to throw into this heavenly
family on earth the spirit of discord and confusion.
The mystery of iniquity began to work.

Through the spirit of Pharisaism in those who

''A Mischievous Insect^' 253

had not drunk deep into the Spirit of God as had
those at the first, traditionalism and the Mosaic
order were continued. This gave opportunity to
make distinctions among Christians. Acts 11 : 2,
3 ; 15 : 1, 5 ; Gal. 2 : 11-13 ; Acts 21 : 20-25.

Among the elders, who were all equally bishops,
one arrogated to himself the title of bishop. This
made the three orders — bishops, presbyters or
elders, and deacons : with the bishop corresponding
to the high-priest, the presbyters corresponding to
the priests, and the deacons corresponding to the
Levites, of the Mosaic order.

Then these all were distinguished as 'Hhe
clergy, '^ while the people in general, of the
churches, were but ^Hhe laity."

The word ^^ clergy'' comes from the word kleros
in Greek. It signifies literally ^^a lot:'' and so,
of a person, an official chosen by lot. The word
kleros also signifies ^^a mischievous insect in bee-
hives" — Clerus apiarius.

The word ^4aity," ^Maic," ^^lay," comes from
laikos and this from laos in Greek. It signifies
^'the people at large:" not the people as compos-
ing a State or a political body, but merely as ^^a
mass of men" — and these the ^'unlearned."

With this aristocratic spirit of the distinction
of ^'the clergy," in the nature of the case there
entered also the spirit of rivalry for the ''dignity"
and ' ' offices ' ' that pertained to ' ' the clergy ; ' ' and

254 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

of self-exaltation, arbitrary ^ ^ authority ' ' and
domination by the ^^ higher clergy '' over the
' ' lesser, ' ' and by all ' ' the clergy ' ' over the ' ' laity. ' *

The actual working out of this spirit was first
manifested in the church at Ephesus. To the
elders of that church, in his last talk with them,
Paul said, ^^Of your own selves shall men arise
speaking perverse things to draw away disciples
after them/' Acts 20: 30.

About thirty years later it had developed to the
point where Diotrephes would assume the place
of Christ: by asserting ^'the pre-eminence/' by
rejecting Christ's apostle, by refusing Christ's
word by His apostle, and by '^casting out of the
church" all who would not yield to his dictation
and domination. 3 John 9, 10.

Then' about six years later than that, the Lord
Jesus, in His closing words to all, exposed and
denounced all this as the hateful thing that it is.
In the first of His seven letters to ''the churches"
— the one to ''the church of Ephesus" — He men-
tions this evil thing.

That church had ' ' left her first love, ' ' the ' ' fall-
ing away" had begun; but this one thing she yet
had for which He heartily commended her : ''This
thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nico-
laitanes, which I also hate.'' Rev. 2: 6.

The word "Nicolaitanes" comes from the two
words nikao and laos : nikao means ' ' to conquer, ' '

Anti-pa-pas 255

to get ^Hhe upper hand/^ to have ^Hhe ascen-
dency, in all relations;'^ and laos — ^'the people
at large ^* as distinguished from ^'the clergy.'*

The word then signifies that conquering or
conquest of ^'the people '* of the churches by that
mischievous insect of the kleros or ^^ clergy *' in
the Christian bee- hive: that persistent spirit of
the princedom of the Gentiles that must exercise
among Christians dominion and authority.

In the Ephesus period of the churches where
this thing was first manifested it was hated. But
when we come only to the third period, that of
Pergamos, it was actually held, ^'So hast thou
also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolai-
tanes, which thing I hate.'''* Rev. 2:15.

The Pergamos period of the churches cen-
tred ** where Satan's seat is," *^ where Satan
dwelleth,'' and where ^^Antipas" was Christ's
' ' faithful martyr. ' ' Rev. 2 : 13.

The word ^'Antipas," like the word ^^Nicolai-
tanes," is a symbolical word. It comes from the
two words anti and pas : anti signifying '^against"
or ^^ opposed to," and pas the plural of ^'pa,"
which is the abbreviation of pa-pa, from which
come the words '^pa-pa-cy" and ^^pope."

The Pergamos period of the churches, then,
was the time of the rise and formation of the sys-
tem of the pa-pa-cy. Those who opposed it are
symbolized in the word ^'Antipas." And to op-

256 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

pose it meant martydom then, as it did also in
The Eeformation, and as it always does.

These two statements made by the Lord Jesus
show the growth of the clerical spirit and power
in its conquest of the people. In the first period,
it was hated in the churches. But in only the third
period that pernicious '^doctrine'' was held.

Yet in the first period, in the third period, and
in all periods, the divine Christ sets forever His
holy word, ''which thing I hate.'' And let all
people forever say. Amen.

Serving God in ministering all His other gifts
that we have received, in addition to and along
with the ministry of the Word of reconciliation,
makes the Christian the free and loving servant
of all: as it is written, ^^ Brethren, ye have been
called unto liberty; only use not liberty as an oc-
casion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. ''
Gal. 5 : 13.

Christian liberty is loving service. And loving
service is Christian liberty.

Therefore, Jesus said: '^Whosoever will be
great among you, let him be your minister. And
whosoever will be chief among you, let him be
your servant" — "servant of all," "at every-
body 's call. ' ' Matt. 20 : 26, 27 ; Mark 10 : 43, 44.

He who can best serve the most people is the
greatest. And in the nature of things, just by
virtue of that grace, he is chief.

The Greatest of All 257

The reason that Jesus is the supremely greatest
of all is that He was and ever is able to do most
for most people. And whoever is nearest like
Him, most nearly does most for most people.

The grace willingly to serve most people, the
grace to be most cheerfully at everybody's call,
is the badge of greatness, the certificate of chief-
tancy. And this is the primary and highest quali-
fication for the '^office'' of elder or deacon.

An official ^' elder," one who had obtained the
''dignity" by ecclesiastical politics, when brought
into the presence of this truth of Christian service
at everybody's call being the chief qualification for
the responsibility of elder or deacon, exclaimed:
"Why, if that were so, nobody would ever want
the office!"

It is true. It is not a dignity to excite human
ambition or political rivalry. It is not an office
to be gained by political method.

It is the opportunity for greater service to
more people ; and is the result of the grace of God
already upon the Christian, qualifying him for the
place of larger opportunity for the enjoyment of
the Christian liberty of loving service.

It is found only in the fellowship of Christ.
For, when He had said, "AVliosoever will be chief
among you let him be servant of all," "at every-
body's call," He continued: '^Even as the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minis-
is

258 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

ter, and to give His life a ransom for many;"
and ^ ' I am among you as he that serveth. ' ' Matt.
20:28; Luke 22:27.

The Church is not in the world to reign, but to
be subject : not to reign over anybody in anything,
but to be ''subject unto Christ in everything.''
Eph. 5 : 24.

The Church is not in the world to rule, but only
to minister. The Church is not here to command
anybody, but only to obey her Lord and to serve
everybody.

And this Christian liberty of the ministry of
salvation and of loving service to men, is The
Reformation principle as to the place and work of
The Church as in the world.

Wicklif ''took special pains to get the hearts
of Christians interested in works of charity, and to
look after such as were neglected as to their spirit-
ual wants and provide for the welfare of their
souls.''

He said: ''Men who love not the souls, have
little love for the bodies, of their neighbors. Hence
the work of Christian instruction is the best ser-
vice that man may do for his brother.''

And with this ministry to the souls of men,
Christians are told to "visit those who are sick,
or who are in trouble, especially those whom God
hath made needy by age or by other sickness, as the
feeble, the blind, and the lame, who are in poverty.

''The Form of a Servant'' 259

These thou shalt relieve with thy goods, after
thy power, and after their need ; for thus biddeth
the Gospel.''

The service of Militz to the poor and the af-
flicted, in their temporal needs as well as spiritual,
was boundless.

Huss said: '^In the last times The Church is to
go about only in the form of a servant. She is
to be tried by patience.

^ ' The Church of Christ must appear in greater
lowliness, and the righteous venerate her on ac-
count of the hope of heavenly good: not on ac-
count of visible signs.

'^This servant-form of the true Church, in
which the invisible godlike is all that attracts, as
contrasted with the abundance of lying wonders
in the worldly church of Antichrist, appearing in
glory, serves as a means of separating the elect
from the reprobate.''

Not in vain was Christianity in its heavenly
integrity put into the world. Not in vain was it
revived in The Reformation.

It was hidden by the first falling away in a
false Catholicism. It has been hidden by the
second falling away in a false Protestantism.

But the divine and heavenly life is in it, and
again revived in its native integrity and rid for-
ever of the mischievous insect of the spiritual
Clerus apiarius, the original, revived, and ulti-

260 The Reformation Christian Brotherliness

mate, Christianity will sliine forth in her native
glory and beauty, and will go on gloriously unto
the perfect finishing of the Mystery of God in the
day and fact of the glorious Presentation. Isa.
60:1, 2; Eev. 18:1.

All Christians again one; the whole Body of
believers again all brethren ; all working together
with the one God; all fellow-workers in and unto
the one kingdom of God; all having but the one
Lord and Master; all moved by the will of their
one Head; all receiving the word from the ^'one
Shepherd ;'' all actuated and guided by the one
Spirit; all again will be busy as bees, each and
together honoring God and blessing men in the
joyous fulfillment of the whole Law in the ^^one
word;'^ and God ^'will finish the tvork and cut it
short in righteousness, because a short ivork will
the Lord make upon the earth. ^' Gal. 5: 13, 14;
Rom. 9 : 28.

Please read Judges 9 : 7-20.

CHAPTER XIV.

The Reformation Religious Liberty.

The Reformation proclaimed Religious Lib-
erty.

The Reformers cared more for Religious Lib-
erty than they cared for life. To them Religious
Liberty was the only life.

All the Religious Liberty known today either
by individuals, or by States, or yet by the churches,
is due to The Reformation.

Yet the real Reformation Religious Liberty is
little understood.

Most of the denominations think that Religious
Liberty is freedom of their religion or faith from
prohibition or interference hy the State.

Some denominations extend the thought to the
point of insisting that Religious Liberty is the
freedom of every individual from any interference
or notice in things religious by the State.

But not one of the denominations thinks, or
will allow, that Religious Liberty is the perfect
freedom of the individual believer from prohi-
bition, or interference, or jurisdiction^ in the mat-
ter of religion or faith, by the church.

And so the denominations all exercise as
churches the very power and jurisdiction that they
deny to the State.

261

262 The Reformation Religious Liberty

They deny to the individual as a member of
the church the very Eeligious Liberty which they
advocate for him as a member of the State,

Thus they present the interesting situation
that the Christian has more Eeligious Liberty as
a member of the State than he can have as a mem-
ber of the church.

For the individual as only a member of the
State they demand as a natural right, a Religious
Liberty that they will not allow to him as a mem-
ber of the church under the grace of God !

And in this, by their own practice and even by
their own arguments, the implication is that the
State must be more Christian than should be the
church!

That is, that the kingdoms of this tvorld must
be more liberal, must recognize a larger and truer
freedom — must he more Christian — than the
Tiingdom of God.

Does anybody but a confirmed denomination-
alist — a papist — need to be told that Refor-
mation and Christian Religious Liberty is no such
thing as that? that no Reformer was ever so blind
and confused as that, in his thinking?

The Reformation had nothing to do with any
such situation as now exists in the separation of
Church and State, or of religion and the State.
No such distinction was then existent even in idea.
The Reformation had to create it.

The Holy Empire Church 263

When The Eeformation was begun in the four-
teenth century, and when it was revived in the
sixteenth century, there was no such thing as the
State proper, as now is so well understood by all.

Then all was the church only. Principalities,
kingdoms, the empire, were all only the ''secular
arm'^ of the one all-pervading church.

Princes, kings, and the emperor, with all their
power, were the secular or lay ''estate,'' while
the clergy and monks were the spiritual or cleri-
cal "estate,'' — the two estates of the one realm
of the one church: just as today the "clergy" and
the "laity" are the two estates of the one and
same denomination.

Eecall the words of Bryce : ' ' The Holy Roman
Church and the Holy Roman Empire are one and
the same thing, seen from different sides;" and
"The Holy Empire is but another name for the
Visible Church."

The relation of the soul and body of the one
man, is the favorite illustration used by the papacy
to convey her idea of the relation of the secular
and spiritual estates of the one church.

"It is under the emblem of soul and body that
the relation of the papal and imperial power is
presented to us throughout the Middle Ages.

"The Pope as God's vicar in matters spiritual,
is to lead men to eternal life; the Emperor, as
vicar in matters temporal, must so control them

264 The Reformation Religious Liberty

in their dealings with one another that they may be
able to pursue undisturbed the spiritual life, and
thereby attain the supreme and common end of
everlasting happiness.

''In the view of this object his chief duty is to
maintain peace in the world, while towards the
church his position is that of Advocate or Patron :
a title borrowed from the practice adopted by
churches and monasteries of choosing some power-
ful baron to protect their lands and lead their
tenants to war.

''The functions of Advocacy are two-fold: at
home to make the Christian people obedient to
the priesthood, and to execute priestly decrees
upon heretics and sinners; abroad to projDagate
the faith among the heathen, not sparing to use
carnal weapons.

' ' Thus does the Emj^eror answer in every point
to his antitype the Pope: his power being yet of
a lower rank, created on the analogy of the papal
as the papal had been modelled after the Elder
Empire.

"The parallel holds good even in its details.
For just as we have seen the churchman assuming
the crown and robes of the secular prince, so now
did he array the Emperor in his own ecclesiastical
vestments, the stole and the dalmatic ; gave him a
clerical as well as a sacred character; removed
his office from all narrowing associations of birth

spiritual Emperor : Secular Pope 265

or country ; inaugurated him by rites every one of
which was meant to symbolize and enjoin duties
in their essence religious.

* ' Thus the Holy Roman Church and the Holy
Roman Empire are one and the same thing, seen
from different sides; and Catholicism, the prin-
ciple of the universal Christian society, is also
Romanism : that is, rests upon Rome as the origin
and type of its universality ; manifesting itself in
a mystic dualism which corresponds to the two
natures of its Founder.

^^As divine and eternal, its head is the Pope,
to whom souls have been entrusted ; as human and
temporal, the Emperor, commissioned to rule
men's bodies and acts.

^'In nature and compass the government of
these two potentates is the same, differing only
in the sphere of its working. And it matters little
whether we call the Pope a spiritual Emperor,
or the Emperor a secular Pope.

*'As God in the midst of the celestial hier-
archy, rules blessed spirits in Paradise, so the
Pope, His vicar, raised above priests, bishops,
metropolitans, reigns over the souls of mortal
men below.

*'But as God is Lord of earth as well as of
heaven, so must He be represented by a second
earthly viceroy, the Emperor, whose authority
shall be of and for this present life.

266 The Reformation Religious Liberty

^^Botli alike claimed obedience on the ground
that Truth is One, and that where there is One
faith there must be One government. ' '

In the ceremony of the coronation of the Em-
peror in Rome, ^Hhe rites prescribed are rites of
consecration to a religious office.

^'The Emperor, besides the sword, globe, and
sceptre of temporal power, receives a ring as the
symbol of his faith, is ordained a sub-deacon, as-
sists the Pope in celebrating mass, partakes as a
clerical person of the communion in both kinds, is
admitted a canon of St. Peter and St. John Lat-
eran.

'^The Emperor swears to cherish and defend
the Holy Roman Church and her bishop.

* * The Pope prays after the reading of the Gos-
pel,

** 'Deus qui ad praedicandum aeterni regni evan-
gelium Imperium Romanum praeparasti; praetendi fam-
ulo tuo Imperatori nostro arma coelestia' — God, who
hast prepared the Roman Empire for the preaching of
the gospel of the eternal kingdom, throw around thy
servant, our Emperor, the armies of Heaven."

When The Reformation began, that practice
had been held before the eyes of all Europe for
more than five hundred years; and that theory
had been diligently inculcated upon the minds of
all in Europe, generation after generation, for
more than a thousand years.

The Sole Point of Issue 267

When these facts are considered, some idea
may be obtained as to how utterly foreign to the
world in that age was any conception of the State
as now known. It can be seen how completely
everything was only the church.

And in it all stands the evidence complete that
the contention of the Reformers was against the
church only, and the prerogative, jurisdiction,
power, authority, in matters of religion, faith, and
conscience which they denied was that of the
church.

This for the simple reason that as things then
stood, nothing hut the church was interfering with
the rights of men in these things ; and there was
nothing there but the church to do it.

However, the Reformers clearly saw the dis-
tinction and the separation that should be made be-
tween the ecclesiastical and the civil power, and
between religion and the State. They clearly made
and proclaimed this distinction and separation,
and steadily maintained it as one of the essential
principles of The Reformation.

And this is how it is that ^*the people of the
United States,** making this the fundamental prin-
ciple of their government, were truest of all people
to The Reformation and to Christianity, and so
' ' changed the face of the world. ' '

But this blessed result of The Reformation
never can be made the ground of The Reformation.

268 The Reformation Religious Liberty

Ecclesiastics can not be allowed to shift to the
State as the point of issue, the Kef ormers ' denial
of the exercise of authority in the things of re-
ligion, faith, and conscience, which pertained solely
to the church because there was nothing else than
the church involved in the issue.

And that which was the sole point of issue then,
is the primary and only true point of issue forever
in The Eef ormation.

That point of issue is that The Eeformation
principle, The Eeformation itself, denies all exer-
cise of authority by the church — any church — in
the things of religion, faith, and conscience.

John Huss wrote a book on ^*The Church" em-
bodying the splendid and Christian principles of
the Bohemian Eeformers as presented on pages
134-136 of this book. Yet it was charged that 'Hie
preached disrespect to the church and disregard
to her power of punishing."

And in the Council of Constance, against that
book on *^The Church" it was charged that
*^ through an endless multitude of arguments it
attacked the papal authority and the plenitude
of the papal power, as much as the Koran did the
Catholic Faith."

What the Eeformers did was to set the Word
of God above the church, and require that in every-
thing the church should be subject to that Word
and follow it implicitly. Eph. 5 : 24.

The Church off The Throne 269

Then they maintained the right of the private
judgment of each individual, in the reading and
following of that Word under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit.

They therefore required that whenever and in
all things whatsoever the church would correct
them, she must do it by the plain Word of God
and nothing else.

This at once stripped the church as of herself
of all authority. It took her off the throne and set
her in her native Christian place as subject to
everybody's call in loving service and kindly help-
fulness.

It was directly charged against Huss that he
and his ''party'' ''admitted no other authority
than the sacred Scriptures, explained in their otvn
sense and in contrariety with the doctrine of the
church and of entire Christendom."

On tlie other hand it was held that those who
stood for the church "were alone in possession
of the truth, inasmuch as they agreed with the
doctrine of the Roman church and of entire Chris-
tendom."

Therefore there was required of Huss "uncon-
ditional submission to the Roman Church."

This was carried to the point where, during
the Council of Constance, it was actually said to
Hubs by a "doctor" of the Roman church: —

270 The Reformation Religious Liberty

*'If the Council declared that thou hadst but one
eye, when thou hast two eyes, thou wouldst still be
bound to submit to their decision."

Oct. 31, 1517, Luther nailed up his theses. In
August, 1518, the Pope commissioned his legate
to examine into this affair in Germany. The leg-
ate called Luther to appear before him at Augs-
burg. October 7 Luther arrived there.

But the only terms offered or allowed were,
^^ Submit unreservedly to the church, '^ ^'Eetract.^'
The legate's chief agent confidently assured Lu-
ther of the easy settlement of ' ' the whole matter, ' '
saying : —

"The whole matter may be summed up in six let-
ters : Re-vo-ca" — Retract.

And when Luther stood before the legate him-
self the ultimatum laid down at the very first was
the following : —

''First, You must retract your errors, propositions
and discourses.

"Secondly, You must promise to abstain in future
from circulating your opinions.

"Thirdly, You must engage to avoid everything that
might grieve or upset the church. ' '

Luther replied: ^'I protest solemnly against
the course which is sought to be given to this aif air,
and against the strange pretension of constraining
me to retract tvithout having refuted me."

And in the Diet of Worms the word still was
only, ''Will you, or will you not, retract?"

Submission Only to the Word 271

Luther's Answer — The Reformation Answer
— was not that he could not submit to the Emperor
or the State because the State had no authority in
religion ; but that Answer then and forever is —

^^I can not submit my faith either to the Pope
or to Councils ^^ — the church.

And ^'If I am not disproved by the very pas-
sages which I have quoted, and so bound in con-
science to submit to the Word of God, I neither
can nor will retract anything/^

That is The Reformation. That is The Refor-
mation Religious Liberty, It is subjection, it is
submission, to the authority of the Word of God
only.

And this without any obtrusion, insinuation,
administration, or dictation, of Pope or Councils :
that is, of 'the church — any church.

Thus, for any one notv to protest against the
State having any jurisdiction in matters of re-
ligion and faith, while allowing and practicing
the same thing in the church, is utterly wide of the
mark and shows complete ignorance of what it is
to be Protestant, and of what The Reformation
ever meant.

And so says the Scripture in behalf of The
Church, ^'Not for that we have dominion over your
faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye
stand.'' 2 Cor. 1:24.

Not only is this stated in the Scripture, but

272 The Reformation Religious Liberty

in addition the full story of its actual working out
is set down there for the instruction of all people
forever.

The disciples and apostles in Jerusalem were
all members of the church that had come down in
direct descent from ''the church in the wilder-
ness/' From the Lord they had learned truth
which the officialdom of the church did not know.

Knowing this truth and the joy and power
of it, these private members of the church spoke
the truth which they knew.

Two of them were arrested by the church-
officials, and they were brought before the church-
council. There they were questioned ''as to the
power or authority by which men like them had
done what they had.''

Peter, "filled with the Holy Ghost," answered:
"Leaders of the people and Councillors, ... let
me tell you all and all the people of Israel, that it
is by the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
whom ye crucified and whom God raised from the
dead."

The Council "commanded them not to speak
at all nor teach in the name of Jesus."

To this Peter, still filled with the Holy Ghost,
replied: "Whether it be right in the sight of God
to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have
seen and heard. ' '

''Lord, Thou Art God'' 273

The Council repeated the command with
threats, and let them go. They went to the com-
pany of the rest of the disciples, and told all that
the Council had said to them.

Not one of the whole company was willing for
a moment to obey; nor to pause or parley as if
there was a question involved. With them there
was no question in the matter.

They simply all "with one accord'* "lifted up
their voice to God*' and said, "Lord, thou art
God'' — this church-council is not God. "Thou
art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and
the sea, and all that in them is."

"And now Lord, behold their threatenings ;
and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness
they may speak thy Word. ' '

Lord, thou art God. This church-council is
not God. And since they have put themselves in
Thy place, we trust Thee to attend to them while
ive go straight on speaking Thy truth.

And the place where they were ' ' was shaken, ' '
and "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and
they spake the Word of God with boldness."

Next, they were all arrested and were put in
prison to be kept over night and to be brought
next day again before the Council to answer for
their disregard of the authority of the church.

But, behold, "The angel of the Lord came by
night and opened the prison doors and brought

19

274 The Reformation Religious Liberty

them forth and said : * Go, stand and speak in the
temple to the people all the words of this life.'
And they entered into the temple early in the morn-
ing, and taught/'

Yet they were again arrested and brought be-
fore the Council of ^ ' all the senate of the children
of Israel. ' ' All the officialdom of the church was
there.

The high priest demanded of them, **Did not
we straitly command you that ye should not
teach in this name? and behold, ye have filled
Jerusalem with your doctrine ! ' '

The disciples calmly replied, ^^We ought to
obey God rather than men."

The Council caused them to be beaten with the
^^ forty stripes save one," commanded that they
should not ^* speak in the name of Jesus," and let
them go. **And in the temple and in every house
they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus
Christ."

That story was written and set at the very
threshold of the entrance of Christianity into the
world, to teach to all churches and church-coun-
cils forever that no church has any right or author-
ity to decide what any member of the church shall
or shall not teach or preach.

And when any church or church-council even
of *'all the senate" of the church assumes any
such authority, it usurps the prerogative of God

Christian Religious Liberty 275

and puts itself in His place. And men, even
churchmen, in the place of God never act like God.

The very existence of Christianity as a living
religion in the world, turns upon the utter and
careless disregard of the commands and *^ author-
ity'' of the official church-council of the day, by the
original Christians: with God by miracles and
angelic ministration and gifts of the Holy Ghost
endorsing and encouraging the ^^ recusancy."

God had done the same thing in sustaining the
three young men in their refusal to recognize any
fiuthority in religion, of the autocracy of King
Nebuchadnezzar; and in sustaining Daniel in his
refusal to recognize any authority in the realm
of religion, of the government of the supremacy
of the law of Medo-Persia.

And in this double lesson at the very beginning
of Christianity there is made plain to all people
forever that no command or prohibition of church
or church-council touching religion or faith, is of
any more weight or authority than the command
of Nebuchadnezzar or the law of the Medes and
Persians. God put them all on the same level, and
set them all aside as the proud and empty and vain
things which they all alike are.

Yet this essential truth of The Eeformation
and of Christianity, plain as it is from both, will
be resented by the denominations today exactly slf
it was by the Jewish church at the beginning of

276 The Reformation Religious Liberty

Christianity, and as it was by the Koman church at
the time of The Reformation and as it is always.

These today will cry out as did Rome, *'That
would destroy all ecclesiastical order and organi-
zation!" and all the rest of the list on pages 245
and 246.

Thank the Lord it does destroy all of that kind
of ^^ecclesiastical order and organization '^ — the
human, the sinful, the papal, the antichristian.
And it ought to be destroyed; for in truth it is
nothing but (disorder and (disorganization, as to
all that is the truly spiritual and divine.

That hind of ^^ecclesiastical order and organi-
zation'* — only an outward, formal, and human,
^^ unity" without the inward piety and purity of
the divine life — is a curse to the world, and not a
blessing. It has always proved itself so.

It is said that without that kind of ^^ecclesiasti-
cal order and organization, ' ' the churches. Christ-
ians, and even Christianity, itself, as to effective-
ness in the world, would be only ^^a rope of sand.'-

The answer is that without Christ and the Holy
Spirit dwelling supremely in the hearts of the
church members and inhabiting the churches, they
ought to be only a rope of sand.

God forbid that through denomination, federa-
tion, and confederation, they become a rope of
Manila hemp or American steel, to bind and fetter
liberty of thought and conscience after the same

Religious Liberty Itself 277

old example of ecclesiastical ^' order and organi-
zation^' from which The Eeformation freed us.

But in The Reformation order — the Christian
and divine order — wherein the Holy Spirit and the
living Christ and the loving Father dwell in the
heart and rule the life of each individual believer
and inhabit the churches of these individuals, by
the divine fervor the separate particles of clean
and sparkling sand are molten into a sea of glass
mingled with fire upon which stand the ransomed
of the Lord having the harps of God, singing the
song of eternal redemption.

Beyond all question this Religious Liberty that
is freedom from the exercise of any authority by
the church in religion or faith, is the Religious
Liberty of The Reformation.

Equally beyond question, it is the Religious
Liberty of original Christianity.

It is also beyond question that it is the Relig-
ious Liberty that is in the very two words that
express it.

Religion is ^^the duty which we owe to our Cre-
ator, and the manner of discharging it.''

Liberty is ''the state of being exempt from the
domination of others, or from restricting circum-
stances : the power in any rational agent to make
his choices and decide his conduct for himself,
spontaneously and voluntarily, in accordance with
reasons or motives."

278 The Reforjnation Religious Liberty

Religious Liberty, therefore, is man's being
exempt from the domination of others, and from
restricting circumstances: man's freedom to make
his choices and decide his conduct for himself,
spontaneously and voluntarily, in accordance with
reasons or motives : in the duty which he owes to
the Creator, and in the manner of discharging that
duty.

The Eeformation and Christian principle of
the total separation of religion and the State,
established by ''the people of the United States"
as the fundamental principle of their supreme law.
''changed the face of the world."

Let The Eeformation and Christian principle
of Eeligious Liberty be established by Christians
as the fundamental principle of church order, and
it will change the face of The Church as in the
world.

And this, in turn, and from America will again
and in infinitely grander measure change the face
of the world.

CHAPTER XV.
The Refokmation and the Papacy.

Every one of the men by whom The Reforma-
tion came, said that the papacy is iVntichrist.

They said that the Pope is Antichrist, even the
''chief Antichrist/'

Yet he is not this only as a man, nor only as
a hisliopj nor even as Pope of himself; but because
of his being the center and head of that body, that
system — that hierarchical thmg — that is com-
posed of the many antichrists, which is more than
the Pope, and by which even the Pope is more than
only himself, and more than otherwise even he
would be.

They said that there are many antichrists. Yet
these are not allowed singly and of themselves to
work their opposition to Christ. But under the
moving of the great spirit of the original and ulti-
mate Antichrist who is Satan, these many anti-
christs are manipulated, bound together, and
centralized, so that the more readily they all can
be swung by the one master-spirit against all that
is of Christ.

And all of this in the name of Christ! all these
passing as Christians ! So that Antichrist is not
composed of all the wicked as such — Pagans,
Jews, Mohammedans — but is composed of all

279

280 The Reformation and the Papacy

possible of the wicked who, without change of
heart, without the Spirit of Christ, can be brought
under the 7iame of Christian.

Therefore, this organized Antichrist is Satan's
crowning work in the world against Christ.

This brief digest will enable the reader more
readily to catch the thought of the words of the
Eeformers now to be given.

Wicklif said of the Pojje: ^^He is ever taking
money out of our land, and sends nothing back
but God's curse for his simony, and some accursed
clerk of Antichrist to rob the land still more for
wrongful privileges.''

Of the double-headed papacy, he said : ^ ^ Trust
we in the help of Christ on this point ; for He hath
begun already to help us graciously, in that He
hath clove the head of Antichrist and made the
two parts fight one against the other.

'^Let the rival pontiffs continue to launch
their anathemas against each other, or should one
of them prevail, in either case a severe wound has
been inflicted.

^^And so God would no longer suffer the fiend
to reign in only one such priest, but for the sin
which they had done made division among two; so
that men, in Christ's name, may the more easily
overcome them both:

^^The Pope is not on Christ's side, who put His
soul for the sheep; but on the side of Antichrist,

''The Chief Antichrist" 281

who putteth many souls for his pride. This man
feedeth not the sheep of Christ, as Christ thrice
commanded Peter; but spoileth them and slayeth
them and leadeth them many wrong ways.

' ' Why is not the proud priest in Rome willing
to grant full pardon to all men when they live in
peace, charity, and patience, as he grants it to all
who will engage in the work of destroying Chris-
tians r^

The Pope cited him to Rome to answer the
charge of heresy. He replied: '^So far as it de-
pends on myself, I am ready to go to Rome : but
Christ has bid me do the contrary, and taught me
to obey God rather than man. And I hope of our
Pope, that he will be no Antichrist nor act in direct
contradiction to the will of Christ ; for if he cites
me against reason, and this unreasonable citation
is followed up, then he is an open Antichrist.

^Therefore we pray God in behalf of our Pope
Urban VI, that His holy purpose of old may not
be hindered and frustrated by the fiend.'*

^*The Pope is the chief Antichrist, for he him-
self pretends that he is the most immediate vicar
of Christ and most resembling Him in life; and,
consequently, the most humble pilgrim, the poorest
man, and the farthest removed from worldly men
and worldly things : when, however, the fact gen-
erally is that he stands first in the opposite sins.'*

Militz surveyed the realm of the papacy, in

282 The Reformation and the Papacy

which ^' every description of vice and oppression*'
abounded. Then he said: ''When I considered
all this, I said to the Spirit, which spake within me,
Who is Antichrist!

' ' And he answered. There are many antichrists.
He who denies Christ, and the authority of Christ,
is an antichrist. And as many who say they know
Him, deny Him by their works ; while others deny
Him by keeping still and not daring to confess
Him and the truth of His cause before men; con-
clude from this who is Antichrist.''

All of this was so plain to Militz, and the way
of the truth of God that delivers from it all, was
also so plain and so good, that he thought that the
Eoman church, and especially the Pope, would be
glad to know it and to take the way of deliverance.

Therefore He went all the way from Prague
to the City of Rome ''to testify first of all in the
ancient seat of the papacy and the chief city of
Christendom concerning the revelation of Anti-
christ and the preparation for Christ's second
coming."

When he had waited in Rome a month for the
Pope to come from Avignon, and still he did not
come, Militz "caused a notification to be posted
up at the entrance of St. Peter's church, that on
a certain day he would there make his public ap-
pearance and address the assembled multitude
and announce the coming of Antichrist."

Militz Preaches in St. Peter's 283

He was waylaid and captured by the Inquisi-
tion, and so was prevented from delivering his ad-
dress at the time announced. Loaded with chains
he was delivered to the Order of the Franciscans
to be kept in close confinement.

His Christian demeanor in the prison so soft-
ened his keepers that after he had been there a
long time he was asked what it was that he was
going to speak that day in St. Peter's. He asked
that paper, pen, and ink, be given him, and he
would write it all out.

This was done, and his fetters were removed.
Then he wrote down what he had intended to say.
And strangest of all he was actually allowed to
speak it all publicly in the great church of St.
Peter's. There, ^^ before a large assembly of prel-
ates and learned men he delivered a discourse in
Latin, which produced a great impression.''

Then he was taken back to the prison. And
there, in his own words, ^^a prisoner in chains,
troubled in spirit, longing for the freedom of
Christ's Church," he wrote a work *^0n the Anti-
christ."

By some miracle of God's care he was released
from prison by the Inquisition! He returned
safely to Prague. Several bulls were issued
against him by the Pope from Avignon. In 1374
he went to Avignon, and died there while his case
was pending.

284 The Reformation and the Papacy

Matthias wrote: ^^The Lord Jesus instructed
me how to write all this which relates to the pres-
ent condition of priests, that is, the carnal ones,
and which throws light on the character of these
times. But what the end is in which all this is to
result, He only knows who set me to work.

^^And He sent me: His Spirit, who shoots
the fire into my bones and into my heart, leaving
me no rest till I expose the son of iniquity and per-
dition, and lay bare the hidden shame of the
mother of harlots. ' ' Jer. 20 : 9 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 3.

*^It is one of the cunning tricks of the arch-
enemy to persuade men that Antichrist is still to
come: when, in truth, he is now present and so
has been for a long time. But men are less on
their guard against him, when they look for him
as yet to come.

'^Lest the abomination of desolation should be
plainly manifest to men, he has invented the fiction
of another abomination still to come: that the
church, plunged still deeper in error, may pay
homage to the fearful abomination which is pres-
ent, while she pictures to herself another which is
still in the future.

*^It is a common, every-day fact, that anti-
christs go forth in endless numbers, and still
they are looking forward for some other and fu-
ture Antichrist.

^^It is not to be imagined that Antichrist will

The Cunning of Antichrist 285

form a particular sect, or particular disciples and
apostles. Nor will he come upon the church
preaching his own name, in the open and obvious
manner with which Mohammed spread abroad
his doctrines. That would be a tyranny too strik-
ingly apparent: not at all fitted to deceive man-
kind.

*^ Antichrist must be more cunning than all
that. His organs must stand forth in the name of
Christ, and profess to be His ministers. He is
thus to deceive men under the mask of Christian-
ity.

*^The multitude of carnal men, led on by the
most subtle artifices of wicked spirits, have been
brought to think that, in following fables, they
are pursuing the right way ; to believe that in per-
secuting Christ ^s believers, or Christ and His
power, they are persecuting Antichrist and the
false doctrines of his agents.

^^Just as it happened with those Jews and
Pagans who called Christ a deceiver, and put
Him and His apostles to death, supposing that by
so doing they did God service ; thus too the actual
Antichrists will dream of another Antichrist to
come.

**An antichrist is every evil spirit, who in any
way, directly or indirectly, opposes himself to the
Christian faith, and Christian manners among
Christians.

286 The Reformation and the Papacy

** Although. Christ is eternal, and therefore
all opposition to the divine being is in a certain
sense opposition to Christ, still, in the proper
sense, there was no Antichrist before the Incarna-
tion.

' ' Hence the devil, although a liar and murderer
from the beginning, first began to be Christ's
murderer and Antichrist at the beginning of the
Christian Church. Yet then not everywhere, but
only in The Church which is the Body and king-
dom of Christ.

^^ Before the time of Christ's appearance, Sa-
tan did not need many arts to maintain his domin-
ion over men. For he had already brought man-
kind once under his yoke ; and strongly armed, he
kept watch over his palace; his goods were in
peace, and he needed not give himself much trouble
or use much deception. Luke 11 : 21.

^^But when Christ appeared, and the Spirit
was poured out in seven-fold gifts; when every-
thing visible and invisible was made ministrant
to their salvation; the case was altered. Luke
11:22.

*^And as the evil spirit was now disarmed and
laid bare by Christ, Satan must summon to his
aid the collective host of most malignant spirits
and employ their busy and cunning natures in the
work of deceiving and warring against the saints
of God. Eev. 12, 13.

False Miracles and Wonders 287

**And so he has continued to do, down to the
present day. Nothing is more imbecile than Satan
when exposed to the light. He works through
worthless monks, carnal priests, the wise of this
world, great teachers; for these are his most ef-
ficient tools of mischief.

^^In these times also. Antichrist deceives and
draws men to himself by false miracles : wonders
wrought by Satanic agency, thus turning the love
of the miraculous to his own ends. But Satan and
his instruments are allowed to perform miracles
by demoniacal agencies, on account of them that
perish because they would not receive the love of
the truth. Eev. 16: 14; 13: 14; 2 Thess. 2:9, 10.

^ ^ They who are apostles and preachers of Anti-
christ, oppress the apostles, the wise men, and
prophets of Christ: persecuting them in various
ways, and boldly asserting that these ministers of
Christ are heretics, hypocrites, and antichrists.

* * And since many and mighty members of Anti-
christ go forth in a countless variety of ways,
they persecute the members of Christ who are few
and weak, compelling them to go from one city
to another by driving them from the synagogues
and excluding them from the fellowship of the
church.

*^As to the person of Antichrist, he will not be
a Jew, nor a Pagan; neither a Saracen, nor a
worldly tyrant persecuting Christendom. All

288 The Reformation and the Papacy

these have been already; hence they could not so
easily deceive. Satan must invent some new
method of attacking Christianity.

^^He is and will he a man who opposes Chris-
tian truth and the Christian life in the way of de-
ception.

''He is and will be the most wicked Christian:
falsely styling himself by that name;

''assuming the highest station in the church,
and possessing the highest consideration, arro-
gating dominion over all ecclesiastics and laymen ;

"one who, by the working of Satan, knows
how to make subservient to his own ends and to
his own will the corporations of the rich and wise
in the entire church ;

"one who has the preponderance in honors
and in riches, but who especially misappropriates
the goods of Christ — the Holy Scriptures, the
sacraments, and all that belongs to the hopes of
religion, to his own aggrandizement and to the
gratification of his own passions;

* ' deceitfully perverting spiritual things to car-
nal ends, and in a crafty and subtle manner em-
ploying what was designed for the salvation of a
Christian people, as means to lead them astray
from the truth and power of Christ.''

One of the charges that the Roman church
brought against Huss was that he "styled Rome
the seat of Antichrist.'*

Huss on Antichrist 289

When Bethlehem Chapel was closed against
his preaching, Huss said: ^^ Nothing else can be
at the bottom of this but the jealousy of Anti-
christ."

In a list of fifty-one articles drawn up against
Wicklif and Huss — though Wicklif had been dead
more than a quarter of a century — it was de-
clared : —

*'That in these days, to suppose that Great Anti-
christ is present and rules, who, according to the faith
of the church, and according to Holy Scripture, and the
holy teachers, shall appear at the end of the world, is
shown by experience to be a manifest error."

Huss said: *^The goose must flap her wings
against the wings of behemoth, and against the
tail which always conceals the abominations of
Antichrist. The Lord will reduce the tail and his
prophets to nothing: i. e. the Pope and his
prophets, the masters, teachers, and jurists, who
under the hypocritical name of holiness, conceal
the abominations of the beast.

*^The papacy is the abomination of self-deifi-
cation in the holy place. Woe then is me, if I do
not preach of that abomination, if I do not weep
over it, write about it. ' '

In the Council of Constance, composed as it
was of the church and all the States of Europe,
he saw before his own eyes *^ fulfillment of the

20

290 The Reformation and the Papacy

prophecy of Revelation, that the kings of the earth
would commit fornication with the great whore
of Babylon — the corrupt church. For they have
fallen away from Christ's truth, and embraced
the lies of Antichrist ; yielding to seduction, or to
fear, or induced by the hope of an alliance, and of
obtaining the power of this world."

Luther said, ^^The time of silence is past: the
time for speaking has arrived. The mysteries
of Antichrist must at length be unveiled.

^'The Pope should be ready to renounce the
popedom, and all his wealth, and all his honors,
if he could thereby save a single soul. But he
would see the universe go to destruction sooner
than to yield a hairbreadth of his usurped power.

*^The church of Rome, formerly the first in
holiness, has become a den of robbers, a place
of prostitution, a kingdom of death and hell: so
that Antichrist himself, were he to appear, would
be unable to increase the amount of wickedness.
All this is as clear as day.

*^I know that the Pope is Antichrist, and that
his see is that of Satan himself.

**Two years ago I attacked indulgences; but
with so much fear and indecision that I am now
ashamed of it. . . . I denied that the papacy
was of God ; but I granted that it had the author-
ity of man. Now after reading all the subtleties
by which these sparks prop up their idol, I know

Truth That Must be Told 291

that the papacy is only the kingdom of Babylon,
and the tyranny of the great hunter Nimrod.

*^I therefore beg all my friends, and all book-
s 'filers, to burn the books which I wrote on this
subject, and to substitute for them the single prop-
osition: The papacy is a general chase, by com-
mand of the Roman pontiff, for the purpose of
running doivn and destroying soids/^

These statements of the Reformers, strong as
they are, were not uttered as mere blatant epi-
thets, nor in resentment to pile up reproach.

Both from the circumstances and the writings
of all, it is perfectly plain that all of it was spoken
and written, out of an overwhelming conviction of
truth that coidd not be kept back.

Also it was all said and written in genuineness
of Christian solicitude, and in a longing that in-
dividuals and the church should be delivered from
an enormous evil.

Remember Wicklif, praying for the Pope whom
he must denounce.

See Militz, making that long journey to Rome
and patiently enduring unjust and cruel imprison-
ment only for the privilege to tell at the place
where it was most needed what was in his heart.

See Huss, persecuted and pursued to his death
at the stake yet weeping as he tells this truth,
and under the *^Woe is me'' if he does not tell it.

Matthias's every sentence witnesses of the deep

292 The Reformation and the Papacy

conviction that called it forth, and shows that it
was but the setting forth of the truth of the Scrip-
tures under the pressure of the Spirit of God.

Luther's sledge-hammer blows are but the re-
sult of his mighty assurance from the stud}^ of the
Scriptures that ^Hhe reign of Antichrist predicted
and described in the Bible is the papacy.''

What particular Scriptures were these that so
moved upon all alike ? — They were the Scriptures
in Daniel 7 and 8 touching the ^'little horn." 2
Thess. 2:1-10; Eev. 13 and 17.

In Daniel 7 the prophet saw four great beasts
in succession coming up out of the sea — a lion,
with eagle's wings; a bear with three ribs in his
mouth; a leopard with four wings; and the
^ ^fourth beast dreadful and terrible, and strong
exceedingly, having great iron teeth and nails of
brass, devouring and breaking in pieces and stamp-
ing the residue with his feet."

These s>^nbolized in their succession, the
world-empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia,
and Eome.

The fourth beast had ten horns. These repre-
sent the Ten Kingdoms into which the territory of
Eome proper — Western Eome — was divided;
and in which, except England, many of the laws
and much of the spirit of Eome were continued.

While the prophet was considering these ten
horns, he saw come up among them ^^ another Lit-

Against The Most High 293

tie Horn, before whom there were three of the
first horns plncked up by the roots: and behold!
in this Horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and
a month speaking very great things, '' and his
"look was more stout than his fellows." Vs. 8,
19, 20.

This Horn continued through "a time and
times and the dividing of time" — 1260 years —
and even till the judgment was set and the books
were opened and his dominion was taken away to
consume and to destroy it even unto the end. Vs.
9, 10, 25, 26.

And all this time this Horn

"made war with the saints, and
"prevailed against them;
'^ until the Ancient of days came, and
"judgment was given to the saints of the Most

High; and
"the time came that the saints possessed the

Kingdom." Vs. 21, 22.
He spoke "great words against the Most

High," he
wore out the saints of the Most High, and
thought even "to change times and the Laiv^^

of the Most High. Vs. 25.

In view of only the preceding chapters of this
book, can any one fail to see that the "Little
Horn" symbolizes the papacy? Isn't that plain

294 The Reformation and the Papacy

enough? And the fuller the history should be
written or read, the plainer this would be.

In the description of the closing of the career of
the ^^ Little Horn/' there is a remarkable change
of expression. The prophet says: ^'I beheld even
til] the beast was slain and his body destroyed and
given to the burning flame." V. 11.

He was considering only the "Little Horn"
and is telling only what the "Little Horn" did
and of the destruction that finally came to the
"Little Horn." Yet when the doom came, the
word is not that the "Little Horn" was destroyed
and given to the burning flame, hut that "the heast
was slain and his body destroyed and given to the
burning flame."

This tells most forcibly that the "Little Horn"
is only another phase of what is symbolized in the
"great and terrible beast:" that the "Little
Horn" is but a variant form of the manifestation
of the beast: that the beast and the "Little Horn"
are in essence one — so entirely one that the de-
struction of the "Little Horn" is the destruction
of "the beast."

This is confirmed, and the application made
unmistakable, by latter Rome, the papacy, herself.

Leo the Great was Pope A. D. 440 — 461 : in the
very time when former Rome was falling rapidly
to ruin. And this Pope declared in a sermon,
that —

Papacy Confirms the Prophecy 295

The former Eome was but the promise of the
latter Eome: that

the glories of the former Rome were to be re-
produced in the latter Rome; that

Romulus and Remus were but the forerunners
of Peter and Paul : that

the successors of Romulus therefore were the
precursors of the successors of Peter : and

as the former Rome had ruled the world, so
the latter Rome by the see of the holy
blessed Peter must dominate the earth.

This conception of Leo's was never lost from
the papacy. And when, only fifteen years after-
ward, Rome as such had perished, and only the
papacy survived the ruin and firmly held place
and power in Rome, this ambitious conception
was only the more strongly, and with the more
assurance, held and asserted.

That conception was also intentionally and
systematically developed. The Scriptures were
industriously studied and ingeniously perverted
to sustain it.

By a perverse continuance of the Mosaic order,
the authority and eternity of the Roman priest-
hood had already been established. And now by
perverse deductions ''from the New Testament,
the authority and eternity of Rome herself was
established. ''

296 The Reformation and the Papacy

Upon the ground that tlie papacy is the only
true continuation of original Rome, she asserted
that wherever in the New Testament the authority
of original Eome is recognized or referred to,
the Papacy is now meant; because she is the true
continuation of original Rome.

Accordingly, where the New Testament en-
joins submission to ''the higher powers," ''the
powers that be," or obedience to "governors," it
now means the papacy; because the only powers
or governors that then were, were the Roman, and
the papal power is the true continuation of that
power to which all are by the Scriptures com-
manded to "be subject."

"Every passage was seized on where submis-
sion to the powers that be is enjoined; every in-
stance cited where obedience had actually been
rendered to the imperial officials : special emphasis
being laid on the sanction which Christ Himself
had given to the Roman dominion, by pacifying
the world through Augustus, by being bom at tlie
time of the taxing, by paying tribute to Caesar, by
saying to Pilate, 'Thou couldst have no power at
all against Me except it were given thee from
above '. " — Brycef"

And since Christ the Lord had recognized, and
submitted to, the power and authority of Rome,

Holy Eoman Empire," chap, vii, par. 17.

Rome Fastens It upon Herself 297

as represented in Pilate the governor, then who
could dare to deny the power, or disregard the
authority, of the papacy which is the true con-
tinuance of that power and authority to which
had submitted even the Lord from heaven !

It was only the logical extension of this argu-
ment to its culmination of assumption, when Pope
Boniface VIII pronounced ex cathedra : —

''We therefore assert, define, and pronounce, that
it is necessary to salvation to beUeve that every human
being is subject to the Pontiff of Rome."

By this industrious insistence that she is the
continuance of original Rome, the papacy has fas-
tened upon herself beyond all escaping, that in
fultillment she is the power that is symbolized in
the ''Little Horn" of the prophecy of Daniel.

And than this no further proof is needed. All
that remains is to set down the specifications ; for
the application is unmistakably fixed by the Ro-
man church herself.

In Daniel 8 the prophet saw a ram having two
high horns : one of them higher than the other, and
this one coming up last. This, the angel said
plainly, means the kingdoms of Media and Persia.

Next he saw a he-goat coming from the west.
He came so swiftly that ''he touched not the
ground." He came to the ram, brake his two
horns, cast him down to the ground, and stamped
upon him. The goat had a notable horn between

298 The Reformation and the Papacy

his eyes. Presently this horn was broken, and in
place of it came up ^ ^ four notable ones toward the
four winds of heaven. *'

Of this the angel said, **The rough goat is the
king of Grecia; and the great horn between his
eyes is the first king" — Alexander the Great.
''Now that being broken, whereas four stood up
for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the na-
tion, but not in power." Vs. 5-8, 21, 22.

Next the prophet saw that out of one of these
four, there "came forth a Little Horn, which
waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and
toward the east, and toward the pleasant land."
This "Little Horn" too continues till the end, and
is "broken without hand." Vs. 9, 25.

These three chief symbols — the ram, the goat,
and the "Little Horn," correspond to the last
three of the four great beasts of chapter 7 : Baby-
lon having passed away when this vision was
given.

The "Little Horn" in chapter 8 correspond^
to the "Little Horn" and the beast of chapter 7.
And as in chapter 7 the "Little Horn" and the
beast are the manifestation of Eome in its an-
cient and modern phases, so in chapter 8 the "Lit-
tle Horn" includes the manifestation of Eome in
both these phases. For all that Kome was in the
former phase, continues and is intensified in the
latter phase.

Divine Description of Rome 299

And liere is what Eome is always :

''A king of fierce countenance, and
"understanding dark sentences.
''His power mighty, but not by his own power.
''He shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper

and practice.
"He shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
"Through his policy also,
"he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand.
"He shall magnify himself in his heart, and
"By peace shall destroy many.
"He magnified himself even to the Prince of the

host.
"By him the daily [of the Prince of the host] was

taken away, and
"the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
"An host was given him against the daily [of the

Prince of the host],
"by reason of transgression, and
"it cast down the truth to the ground, and
"it practiced and prospered.
"The transgression of desolation,
"to give both the sanctuary and the host to be

trodden under foot."
"He shall also stand up against the Prince of

princes ; but
"he shall be broken without hand." Vs. 23-25,
11-13.

In further explanation the angel calls it *'the

abomination of desolation" and says that ''The

people of the prince that shall come shall destroy

the city and the sanctuary '^ of Jerusalem; that

the ''overspreading of abominations" would be

"even until the consummation;" and that then

that which is determined shall be poured upon

the desolator. ' ' Dan. 9 : 26, 27 ; 11 : 31 ; 12 : 11.

300 The Reformation and the Papacy

It is true that Josephus applies this prophecy
to Antiochus Epiphanes who was king of Syria
and subject to Rome, B. C. 175-164. It is true also
that Josephus was a Jew. But it does not follow
that he understood the Scrijotures. There never
was a people in the world, who had the Scrip-
tures at all, who had less understanding of them
than had the Jews.

Besides, we have the plain word of two Jews
who did understand the Scriptures; and both of
these show that it has no reference whatever to
Antiochus Epiphanes.

The first of these is Jesus the Messiah. In
His discourse on the then soon coming destruction
of Jerusalem, and telling His disciples how to
know when to escape. He said: ^^When ye shall
see the abomination of desolation spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the hoh^ place, then
let them which be in Judea flee into the moun-
tains.'' Matt. 24:15, 16.

And what the abomination of desolation was
He makes plain by saying, ^^When ye shall see
Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that
the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them
which are in Judea flee to the mountains.'' Luke
21 : 20, 21.

The armies that compassed, destroyed, and
desolated, Jerusalem were the armies of Eome.
This therefore makes it certain that Eome was

Paul on This Prophecy 301

then the abomination of desolation spoken of by
Daniel the prophet. And that Rome being contin-
ued and intensified in the papacy, this makes it
certain that in the papacy there is continued and
intensified 'Hhe abomination of desolation spoken
of by Daniel the prophet.'^

The second of these Jews who certainly under-
stood the Scriptures was Paul. At Thessalonica,
in a synagogue of the Jews, ^' three Sabbath days^'
in succession Paul ^ ^ reasoned with them out of the
Scriptures, opening and alleging, that Jesus must
needs have suffered and risen again from the
dead ; and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you
is Christ.

*'And some of them believed, and consorted
with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a
great multitude, and of the chief women not a
few." To these, Paul wrote the first letter to the
Thessalonians.

In this letter he wrote so personally of the
coming of the Lord — ^^ive which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord," ^'we which
are alive and remain^ ^ — that, not well remember-
ing what he had preached when present, they be-
gan to suppose that the coming of the Lord was to
be expected in their very day while they were per-
sonally alive and remaining.

To correct this mistake, Paul wrote the second
letter to the Thessalonians, saying, '^Now we be-

302 The Reformation and the Papacy

seech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto
Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as the day of Christ is at hand.

^'Let no man deceive you by any means: for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth him-
self above all that is called God or that is wor-
shipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple
of God, showing himself that he is God.

^^Eemember ye not that when I was yet with
you I told you these things T^ That is to say, that
all of this Paul had preached to them while he was
at Thessalonica those three Sabbath days. In
that preaching he ' ^ reasoned with them out of the
Scriptures." The only Scriptures that were then
written, were the Old Testament Scriptures.

In the Old Testament Scriptures, then, Paul
found, and from those Scriptures he preached, that
word concerning the falling away and the reveal-
ing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, and tliat
manifestation of self-exaltation above all that is
called God or that is worshipped, so that a man
would pass himself off for God!

Where, then, in the Old Testament Scriptures
did Paul find this? — Just where Jesus found it:
that is, in the book of ^'Daniel the prophet.'' Note

Daniel and Paul 303

the parallels in PauPs words with those in the
book of Daniel.

Daniel: ^^an host was given him by reason of
transgression/' *Hhe transgression of
desolation.''

Paul: ^^that man of sin;'' for sin is transgres-
sion. 1 John 3 : 4.

Daniel: '4ie shall think to change the Laiv" —
of the Most High, thus putting himself
above all law and making himself inde-
pendent of God.

Paul: 'Hhat Wicked" — ''the Laivless one.''

Daniel: ^'he shall destroy wonderfully," ^'he
shall destroy/' ^^by peace shall destroy."

Paul: ^Hhe son of perdition" — because per-
dition is ^' utter destruction.''

Daniel: ''he magnified himself."

Paul: ^'exalteth himself."

Daniel: ''magnified himself even unto the
Prince of the host."

Paul : ' ' exalteth himself above all that is called
God."

Daniel: "he shall stand up" — reign — ''against
the Prince of princes."

Paul: '^opposeth himself above all that is
called God."

Daniel: "understanding dark sentences:"
"through his policy he shall cause craft to
prosper in his hand."

304 The Reformation and the Papacy

Paul: ^' the mystery of iniquity.''

Daniel: '^he shall be broken ivithout hand/^
^' given to the burning flame/'

Paul: '^whom the Lord shall consume with the
Spirit of His mouth, and destroy with the
brightness of His coming,' '

From this series of unquestionable parallels
it is plain beyond all fair question that when Paul
wrote 2 Thess. 2 : 3-8, his mind was on the seventh
and eighth chapters of ''Daniel the prophet;" and
that it was from these chapters that he ' ' told these
things" when he was at Thessalonica.

And from the specifications given, it is equally
plain that the prophecy is fulfilled in Eome alone :
and in Rome in its latter phase, more than in its
former: that latter Rome only intensified all of
the essential characteristics of the former.

This is seen yet more fully in others of the
specifications : for Paul did not by any means ex-
haust the list.

Note in the list, the statement of the dealing
of the Little Horn power with the sanctuary and
ministry of the Prince of the host.

The ''daily" of the Prince of the host" was
taken away and the place of His sanctuary was
cast down;" both "the sanctuary and the host"
of the Prince of the host was by this power
"trodden under foot;" and "it cast down the
truth to the ground."

The Heavenly Things 3Q5

And these heavenly and divine things were all
** taken away/' ^^cast down/' and ^'trodden under
foot/' by that horrible power, in order to ^^ place
the abomination that maketh desolate." Dan.
11:31.

What, then, is the meaning of all this! Here
is the word in which it all centres : ^^We have such
an Highpriest, who is set on the right hand of
the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minis-
ter of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched and not man/^ Heb. 8: 1,
2.

On earth there was a sanctuary which man
made, and which 7nan pitched. This sanctuary
was made and pitched by men under the particu-
lar directions of the word of the Lord, and through
wisdom specially bestowed for the purpose. Ex.
31:2-11.

Nevertheless, that sanctuary was far different
from the sanctuary and true tabernacle '^not
made with hands" and '^ which the Lord pitched,
and not man'^ — as far different as is the work of
man from the work of God.

That ^* worldly sanctuary" was never any-
thing but ^^a figure." And as only a figure, it
was a figure only *^for the time then present."
In it priests and highpriests ministered and of-
fered both gifts and sacrifices.

But all this priesthood, ministry, gift, and sao-

21

306 The Reformation mid the Papacy

rifice, equally ivith the sanctuary, was only ''a
figure for the time then present" till '^Christ
being come an Highpriest of good things to come,
by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say not of this build-
ing; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but
by His own blood He entered in once into the holy
place having obtained eternal redemption for us/^
Heb. 9:9-12.

Thus Christ was the true substance and mean-
ing of all the priesthood and service in the sanc-
tuary on earth. Any part of it that ever passed
without this as its meaning was simply meaning-
less.

And as certainly as Christ is the true High-
priest of Christianity, of whom the Levitical high-
priest was a figure ; so certainly the sanctuary of
which Christ is minister is the sanctuary of Chris-
tianity, of which the earthly sanctuary of the Mo-
saic order was a figure.

And so it is written : *^If He were on earth He
should not be a priest, seeing, that there are priests
that offer gifts according to the law: who serve
unto the example and shadoiv of heavenly things,
as Moses was admonished of God when he was
about to make the tabernacle; for see, said He,
that thou make all things according to the pattern
showed to thee in the Mount.'' Heb. 8 : 4, 5.

*^It was therefore necessary that the patterns

In Heaven Itself 307

of tilings in the heavens should be purified with
these [animal sacrifices] ; but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices than these" —
even the sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ.

^^For Christ is not entered into the holy places
made with hands, which are the figures of the true ;
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the pres-
ence of God for us. Nor yet that He should offer
himself often, as the highpriest entereth into the
holy place every year with the blood of others.

^^ For then he must often have suffered since the
foundation of the world, but now once in the end
of the world hath He appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of Himself.'* Heb. 9:23-26.

And in ^^ heaven itself in all Christian times
there is seen the throne of God, and a golden
altar, and an angel with a golden censer offering
incense with the prayers of all saints. *VAnd the
smoke of the incense, which came ivith the prayers
of the saints ascended up before God out of the
angePs hand.*' Eev. 8: 3, 4.

Also in all Christian times there is seen in
^^ heaven itself *Hhe temple of God," and *4n
His temple the ark of His testament." Also there
is seen there, ** seven lamps of fire burning before
the throne." There too is seen ^^one like unto the
Son of man" clothed in the high-priestly gar-
ment. Eev. 11: 19; 15: 5-8; 4: 5; 1: 13.

Therefore, the earthly sanctuary was not a fig-

308 The Reformation and the Papacy

ure for the time then present, in the sense of a
type of something to come that did not yet exist;
but it was a figure for the time then present, in the
sense of a visible representation of that which
then existed but was invisible, to train them up in
experience and faith to a true spirituality in which
they could see the invisible.

By all this, God was revealing to men forever
that it is by the spiritual Highpriesthood, ministry,
and service, of Christ in the true sanctuary or
temple in heaven, that God dwells with men.

He was revealing that in this faith of Jesus,
forgiveness of sins and atonement is ministered to
men: so that God dwells in them and walks in
them, and thus they be separated from all the
people that are on the face of the earth — separa-
ted unto God as His own true sons and daughters
to be built up unto perfection in the knowledge
and righteousness of God. Ex. 33 : 15, 16 ; 2 Cor.
6:16-18; 7:1.

This true Priesthood, ministry, and sanctuary,
of Christ in heaven is too plain in the New Testa-
ment to be by any possibility denied. Yet it is a
thing very little if at all thought of by professed
Christians; and a thing almost unknown, and
hardly believed, in the Christian world today.

Why is this? how came it about I — It is be-
cause that ^Hhe man of sin,'' the ^^ Little Horn"
power ^^ spoken of by Daniel the prophet," took

The Daily Ministry of Christ 309

away the daily ministration of Christ the Prince
of the host, cast it down, and gave both the sanc-
tuary and the host to be trodden under foot.

In Daniel 8 : 11-13 ; 11 : 31 ; and 12 : 11, it will
be noticed that in both the King James and Ee-
vised versions there is a supplied word after the
word 'Maily." In the King James the supplied
word is ^^ sacrifice,*' in the Revised it is ^'burnt-
offering.'' And in either case, the word is wholly
supplied ; for in that place in the Hebrew there is
no word at all.

In the Hebrew the only word that stands there
is the word "tamid^' that in the King James ver-
sion is translated 'Maily," and in the Revised
is translated '^ continual. "

In these places the word ''daily" or "con-
tinual" does not refer to the daily sacrifice or
hurnt-offering any more than it refers to any
other part of the daily ministry or continual ser-
vice of the sanctuary, of which the sacrifice or
hurnt-offering was only a part.

The word tamid in itself signifies "continuous
or continual," "constant," "stable," "sure,"
"constantly," "evermore." Only such words as
these express the thought of the Hebrew word
that in these places in Daniel is translated
"daily." In Numbers 28 and 29 alone, the word
is used seventeen times in reference to the con-
tinual service in the sanctuary.

310 The Reformation and the Papacy

And it is this daily continual ministration of
Christ the true High Priest ^' who continueth ever''
and '^who is consecrated forevermore" in ''an un-
changeable priesthood" — it is this continual min-
istry of Christ, that the ''man of sin" — the "Lit-
tle Horn" power — has taken away from men.

It is this sanctuary and true tabernacle in
which Christ the only true High Priest exercises
His continual ministry, that has been cast down
by this "transgression of desolation."

It is this ministry and this sanctuary of Christ
that the "man of sin" has taken away from the
knowledge of men and shut away from the world,
and has cast down to the ground and stamped
upon. And in place of it the mystery of iniquity
has set up her own self and her own invention —
"the abomination that maketh desolate."

And thus, what the former Rome did physi-
cally to the visible or earthly sanctuary which was
the "figure of the true" (Dan. 9:26, 27; Matt.
24: 15), that the latter Rome has done spiritually
to the invisible or heavenly sanctuary that is it-
self "the true."

In preceding chapters there has been told how
that the bishops, presbyters and deacons, of the
order of "the clergy" were made to be the continu-
ation of the highpriest, the priests, and the Levites,
of the IMosaic order. In that same connection, and
to fit that perverse invention, the Lord's Supper

The Daily Ministry of the Papacy 311

was made to be a "sacrifice" so that this new
"priesthood" should "have somewhat also to
offer." Heb. 8:3.

Now by every evidence of Scripture it is cer-
tain that in the order of God it is Christ and His
ministry and sanctuary in heaven, and this only,
that in truth was ever the object of the Mosaic
order, and that is truly the Christian succession
to that order.

Therefore when in and by the apostasy the sys-
tem of bishops as highpriests, presbyters as
priests, deacons as Levites, and the Supper as a
sacrifice, was insinuated as the Christian succes-
sion to the Mosaic order, this of itself was noth-
ing else than to put this false system of the apos-
tasy in the place of the order of Christ and of
God, was completely to shut out the true, and,
finally, to cast it down to the ground and stamp
upon it.

And this is how it is that this great Christian
truth of the priesthood, ministry, and sanctuary,
of Christ in heaven is not known to the professed
Christian world today. The ^ ^ Little Horn ' ' power
has taken it away, as Daniel foresaw.

The mystery of iniquity has hid this great
truth from the churches and the world during
all these ages in which the man of sin has held
place in the world and passed itself off as God,
and its iniquitous host as the church of God.

312 The Reformation and the Papacy

And yet even the man of sin, the mystery of
iniquity, itself bears witness to the necessity of
such a ministry in The Church in behalf of men.
For though he has taken away from men the
priesthood, ministry and sanctuary of Christ, and
has hid these all from the eyes of the Christian
world ; yet he did not throw away the idea.

He threw away the true, and cast down the
true to the ground. But, retaining the idea, in the
place of the true he built up in his own realm an
utterly false structure. He did not put away the
true to exclude the idea; but only to put himself
and his falsity in the place of the true.

In the place of the Priesthood of the true and
divine High Priest of God's own appointment in
heaven, he has substituted a human, sinful, and
sinning, priesthood of his own on earth.

In the place of the continual heavenly ministry
of Christ in His true Priesthood upon His true
sacrifice, he has substituted only an interval min-
istry of a human, earthly, sinful, and sinning,
priesthood, in the once-a-day ''daily sacrifice of
the mass.*'

In the place of ''the sanctuary and the true
tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man,''
he has substituted his own meeting places of wood
and stone, to which he applies the term "sanc-
tuary," with its "altar," and "sacrifice," and
incense, and "priestly office."

Can Never Take Aivay Sin 313

Instead of the one continual High Priest, the
one continual ministry, and the 07ie continual sanc-
tuary, of Him who ^'ever liveth to make interces-
sion for us^' in *^an unchangeable Priesthood'^ of
the *'oath of God,'' and which is the only true,
he has devised of his own heart and substituted
for the only true, many ''highpriests," many
ministries, many sacrifices, and many ^' sanctuar-
ies, "oi^ earth, and which in every possible relation
are only human and utterly false.

And it can never take aivay sin. No earthly
priesthood, no earthly sacrifice, no earthly minis-
try or service in any earthly sanctuary, can ever
take away sin.

In the book of Hebrews it is repeatedly de-
clared that even the priesthood, ministry, sacrifice,
and service, in the sanctuary, which the Lord Him-
self ordained and established on earth, never took
away sin. The word of Inspiration is that they
never did take away sin, and that they never could
take away sin. Heb. 9 : 9 ; 10 : 1-4, 11.

It is only the Priesthood and ministry of Christ
in His own Person that can ever take away sin.
And this is a priesthood and a ministry in heaven,
and of a sanctuary that is in heaven. And it is
written that even ^'\i He were on earth. He should
not be a priest."

Thus so certainly, by plain word and abundant
illustration, God has demonstrated that no earthly

314 The Reformation and the Papacy

priesthood, sacrifice, or ministry, can ever take
away sin.

Therefore by the plain word of the Lord it is
certain that the priesthood, the ministry, the ^ ' sac-
rifice,'' and the ^ ^ sanctuary, ' ' that the papacy has
set up and operates on earth can never take away
sin ; but, instead, only perpetuates sin, is a fraud,
an imposture, and the very *' transgression and
abomination of desolation'' in the holy place.

By thinking to ^^ change the Law" of the Most
High, as far as in him lies the man of sin has
taken away that Law from being the Law of God,
and has made it his own law which is just no law
at all. Thus as far as lies in him he has taken away
the Law.

By taking away the sanctuary, the Priesthood,
and the ministration, of Christ, as far as in him
lies he has taken away the Gospel.

By taking away the Laiv, he has taken from
men the means of the knowledge of sin.

By taking away the Gospel, he has taken away
from men the means of salvation from sin.

Taking away from men the means of both the
knowledge of sin and of salvation from sin, this is
desolation.

Putting in the place of the Law of God and the
Gospel of Christ, only the vain and sinful inven-
tion of forms and ceremonies as the way of sal-
vation, this is abomination, Isa. 1 : 13.

The Secret of Rome's Power 315

These two together plainly show the Roman
system to be the fulness of ^'the abomination of
desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. '*

There is one specification of the prophecy that
remains to be more fully noticed. That is, ^'his
power shall be mighty, hut not by his own poiver/'

The power of the papacy is more than only
human or the power of men. Yet it is not divine.
It is the opposite of the divine; for he "o'pposeth
all that is called God.''

The source of this mysterious *^ power'' is
clearly given in Revelation. In the twelfth chapter
there is described ^^a great red dragon" standing
ready to devour Christ the *' man-child" as soon
as He was born.

And when that ^* child was caught up unto God
and to His throne" the dragon persecuted His
Church.

The actual governmental world-power that
thus wrought against Christ at His birth and on-
ward, was the Roman empire as represented first
in Herod the king and Pilate the governor.

Herod's power was as truly the Roman as was
that of Pilate. For, though Herod was an Indu-
mean — a descendent of Esau — it was by a vote
of the Roman senate, upon the special advocacy
of Antony supported by Octavius, that he was
made king : and this most unexpectedly to himself.

And even when thus made king in Rome, he

316 The Reformation and the Papacy

never could have been king in Jerusalem for an
hour except by the power of Rome and the pres-
ence of her legions.

While Rome was the actual working govern-
mental power in this opposition to God and to
Christ, the inspiration of this power is declared
to be ' ' the great dragon, that old serpent which is
called the devil and Satan.'' Rev. 12: 9.

While the actual open working power of the
'^ great red dragon" was Rome, the great dragon
himself is "that old serpent called the devil and
Satan."

Accordingly, at the centre of the Roman power
was "Satan's seat" or throne and where he
"dwelt." Rev. 2:13.

But Rome in that original phase passed away :
the Roman empire was annihilated. When that
occurred, there was no power in all that vast re-
gion that Satan could use in his enmity to Christ.

In this situation, Satan in his anxiety rose up
from his "seat" and ''stood on the sand of the
sea:" "took his stand on the sea shore:" eagerly
lookmg for the appearance of some worldly power
that he might possess for his supreme purpose.
Rev. 13: 1 Revised Version; Twentieth Century.

And lo ! there rises up out of the sea, "a beast
having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his
horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of
blasphemy.

The Throne of Satan 317

^'And the beast was like a leopard, and his feet
as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth
of a lion." Kev. 13:1, 2. This beast is exactly
suited to Satan's longing wish; for there are the
very characteristics of the world-powers that he
had once controlled. Dan. 7 : 4-6.

Joyously he welcomes the new-comer. He in-
vites him into his own dwelling-place : into his very
throne-room. He entertainingly presents his own
throne, and deferentially indicates. Please be
seated.

The new-comer is flattered by this so marked
attention, and readily accepts the gift of ^* Satan's
seat" or throne, with Satan's ^' power" and ^^au-
thority" that ever attaches to the gift of that see.
Luke 4:5-7.

And so it is written: ^^And the dragon [^^that
old serpent called the devil and Satan"] gave him
his power, and his seat, and great authority."
Literally, tan dunamin autou — the poiver of him-
self y kai ton thronon autou — and the throne of
himself.

There is the poiver and the secret of the power
of the Little Horn whose ^^ power is mighty, but
not hy his oivn poiver.'^ His power is more than
only human. Yet it is not divine. It is Satanic.

* ' And all the world wondered after the beast. ' '
Literally, ^ ^followed the beast wonder-
ing:" as if hypnotized.

318 The Reformation and the Papacy

' ' And they worshipped the dragon which gave

power unto the beast : and
'Hhey worshipped the beast, saying,
'^AA^ho is like unto the beast?
*^Who is able to make war with him? And

there was given unto him a mouth
*^ speaking great things and blasphemies; and
^^ power was given unto him to continue forty

and two months. And
*^he opened his mouth in blasphemy against

God,
**to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle.

and them which dwell in heaven'' — ^Hhe

sanctuary and the host" of Dan. 8: 11, 13.

And it was given unto him to
*^make war with the saints, and to overcome

them: and
*^ power was given him over all kindreds, and

tongues, and nations. And
^^all that dwell upon the earth shall worship

him,
'* whose names are 7iot written in the Book of

Life of the Lamb slain from the founda-
tion of the world.
* ^ If any man have an ear, let him hear. ' ' Eev.

13 : 3-9.
And there is the Antichrist of The Reforma-
tion.

The Ultimate Antichrist 319

The manifestation of the whole Spirit and
Truth of Christianity is this: ^'Let this mind be
in you which was also in Christ Jesus ; who, being
in the form of God thought it not robbery — thought
it not a thing to be seized upon, to be ^do-
lently striven for and eagerly retained ; thought it
not a usurpation to be meditated — to be equal
with God ; hut emptied Himself and took upon Him
the form of a servant. ' ' Phil. 2 : 5-7.

The manifestation of the whole spirit and
falsity of the papacy is exactly the working of the
mind which has thought it a thing to be seized
upon, to be violently striven for and eagerly re-
tained: which has thought it a usurpation to be
meditated: which has magnified and exalted him-
self to be equal ivith God.

From the inception of the papacy in the days of
the apostles unto the proclamation of the essential
divinity of the papacy, in the dogma of the infalli-
bility of the Pope in 1870, and the ex cathedra
declaration of Leo XIII, June 21, 1894, ^^to the
princes and peoples of the universe '* that *^It is
We who hold the regency of God on earth,'' every
step of the way has been but the manifestation of
the mind that has thought only of seizing upon
and eagerly retaining equality with God.

And that is nothing else than the manifestation
of the spirit of the original and continuing Anti-
christ. Isa. 14 : 12-14.

320 The Reformation and the Papacy

In the Bible there are two mysteries — the
Mystery of God, and the mystery of iniquity.

The Mystery of God, is ^'God manifest in the
flesh,'' ^^ Christ in you the hope of glory. 1 Tim.
3:16; Col. 1:27.

The mystery of iniquity, is Satan manifest in
the flesh ''as God/^ the papacy in men in the place
of Christ.

The Mystery of God will be finished in the
days of the voice of the seventh angel.

The mystery of iniquity will then also be fin-
ished.

When the Mystery of God shall be finished,
God through Christ will see His own image per-
fectly reflected in all who are His.

"When the mystery of iniquity shall be finished,
Satan through the beast and his image will see
his oivn image completely reflected in all who are
his. Eev. 13 : 11-17 ; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 16 : 14, 16.

The culmination of the Mystery of God will be
in Christ's personal appearing in glory.

The culmination of the mystery of iniquity
will be in Satan's personal appearing in glory as
Christ.

And this is the ultimate Antichrist, of the
Scriptures and of The Reformation.

CHAPTER XVI.

The Eeformation and Federation.

In the preceding chapters — VI - XV — are
seen the principles of The Reformation.

It is impossible ever to be denied that these
are the principles of The Reformation.

A man may dissent from any one of those
principles, he may dissent from them all : he may
hold that whole great movement to have been
a mistake — even such a mistake as that it should
''no longer blind the minds of believers:'' yet
no man can dissent from the fact that the preach
ing and holding fast those principles made The
Reformation.

It is those principles, all and singular, just
those — no more and no less — that made The
Reformation. The Reformation consisted in those.
If one of them had been lacking The Reformation
would not have been what it was : that is to say,
it would not have been at all.

Look again at the splendid list.

1. The Church ''the fulness of Him who filleth

all in all."

2. The Head of The Church, "Head over all

things to The Church.''

22 321

322 The Reformation and Federation

3. The building of The Church: Christ The

Foundation and Christ The Head-Stone,
and ''all the building" built in Him,

4. The Guidance of The Church: "The Spirit

of Truth guiding into all truth," and
"teaching all things whatsoever He has
said."

5. The Unity of The Church: unity with the

Father and the Son, in the Spirit of the
Father and the Son.

6. The Standard of Faith: "The word of God,

the whole Word of God, and nothing but
the Word of God."

7. The Way of Salvation and Eighteousness :

"The Commandments of God and The
Faith of Jesus:" the Law of God and the
Gospel of Christ: the Government and
Eighteousness of God maintained by the
Sacrifice and Ministry of Christ.

8. The Equality of Believers : all true worship-

pers, and all true servants of all in the
liberty of Love and the love of Lib-
erty.

9. Eeligious Liberty : each individual soul free

in God by the Spirit of God, in the Liberty
wherewith Christ and His truth hath made
us free.

10. The Exposure of Antichrist.

Masterpiece of Christian Truth 323

Those principles are a complete round of
Christian truth: in principle be it ever under-
stood, 7iot in detail.

Each one of them is all-comprehending. And
all together are The Masterpiece of Christian
truth since original Christian times.

And that masterpiece is not a creed, it is not
a new form of ^ ' systematic theology" nor of ' ^ dog-
matic theology" nor of ^'theology" at all: it is
The Reformation.

Not one of the Reformers ever thought of
"theology." All that they cared for was the
truth of God as expressed in His Word and made
plain by His Spirit. In The Reformation these
principles were held and preached simply as the
truths of Christianity.

It was the one single aim and the one longing
hope of all the Reformers, each one in his time
and place, to restore the apostolic pattern and
renew all things according to that.

And it can not be denied that they succeeded in
restoring the original Christian pattern. For as
it can not be denied that these are the principles
of The Reformation, just so it can not be denied
that they are the principles of Christianity as in
the Bible.

But to restore the apostolic pattern, to re-es-
tablish the original Christian principles, to renew
the primitive order, is all that the Reformers them-

324 The Reformation and Federation

selves could actually do. They could not live long
enough to insure the loyal perpetuation of it. That
must remain for those who should come after.

And it must not be forgotten that Christianity
revived in The Reformation was in the same world
as had been Christianity at the first.

There were still here the same sort of natural-
minded men who would pass off formalism and
ceremonialism for Christianity, in the place of the
spiritual power of an endless life.

Christianity revived had to run the same gaunt-
let of human selfishness and ambition, as had
Christianity in its beginning in the world.

And through and above all the formalism,
ceremonialism, selfishness, and ambition, of nat-
ural-minded men, there was still that same or-
iginal spirit of Antichrist to manipulate, central-
ize, and swing, all against Christ; but still under
the name of Christian and Protestant.

The result was the same as before. There came
again ^'a falling away.'^ Again there entered
human machinery in the place of the divine Spirit,
and the rule of men in the place of the rule of
Christ as Head of '^His own house' ^ and Father
in His own ^^ family/'

Also as before there continued the longing and
struggle for the liberty that belongs to Christians
and that inheres in the idea of Protestant, For
everywhere men crowded themselves in among

Men Instead of Word and Spirit 325

Christians in the churches, and wherever possible
seized control of the civil power, and Christian
liberty could be had only at the expense of ex-
communication, persecution, and deprivation.
Every one must ^^come under or get out."

This is illustrated by the course of the Inde-
pendents or Congregationalists in the latter days
of Cromwell. They presented a written formal
petition to Cromwell ^'for liberty to hold a synod
in order to prepare and publish to the world a
uniform confession of their faith." And this —
they actually wrote it — because the churches were
'^ under no other conduct than the Word and
Spirit!"

For churches to be under no other conduct
than the Word and Spirit of God, was not enough.
There must be a general ^'assembly," formal ^^as-
sociation," of men. There must be ''synod,"
"council," ^'delegation," official "election," and
human domination.

For churches to be under no other conduct
than the Word and Spirit of God, would never
do; for then only Christ and God would have a
chance to occupy their own place in and over the
churches. Therefore the churches must be under
the conduct of men in mere human "administra-
tion" and "organization."

Those in England were "urged" to this step
by the Congregationalists in New England. These

326 The Reformation and Federation

had already taken that step, and had folloived it
to its straight conclusion in the banishment of
Roger Williams, and the hanging of Quakers who
would not be banished.

They followed it even to its logical culmination
in the federation of the four colonies — Massachu-
setts, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut —
that fairly repeated the papacy itself in the theoc-
racy of New England.

And after having banished Roger Williams out
of their '^jurisdiction,'' they actually tried to com-
pel him and the colony of Rhode Island to come
under their jurisdiction in their confederated the-
ocracy, so as to complete their endeavor to save
New England from the Quakers.

In this strait, in behalf of Rhode Island Roger
Williams appealed to Cromwell : pleading, ^^ What-
ever fortune may befall^ let us not he compelled to
exercise any civil poiver over men's consciences,' '

In all respects the Congregationalist theocracy
of New England justified the indignant sentence
of Bancroft the historian of the United States,
that ''The creation of a national and uncompro-
mising church led the Congregational ists of Mas-
sachusetts to the indulgence of the passions which
disgraced their English persecutors; and Laud
was justified by the men whom he had wronged."

And all of that rather than that the churches
should be "under no other conduct than the Word

Extension of The Reformation 327

and Spirit'' of God! ! Could anything more
plainly sliow that every such venture is of Satan,
and is directly of his scheme to put himself always
and everywhere in the place of Christ?

The most notable advance of The Reformation
was in the Methodist movement, that was begun
by Whitefield and the Wesleys.

This was not only an advance, it was actually
an extension, of The Eeformation. For it was by
the Moravian remnant of the original Reforma-
tion in Bohemia that the Wesleys were led into
the knowledge of the converting power and deep
experience of the Holy Spirit.

The Christian missions and the ** societies''
of this remnant in London and other places were
the greatest encouragement to AMiitefield and the
Wesleys at the beginning of their work.

Both of the Wesleys met Zinzendorf, and in
only a little more than two months after his con-
•version John Wesley visited Tlerrnhut, the home
of the Moravian Brotherhood, in Upper Lusatia
close to the border of Bohemia, and stayed with
them about a month.

In fundamental principles as well as in descent
the movement called ''Methodist" was an exten-
sion of The Reformation.

Of The Church Wesley said: *^As 'where two
or three are met together in His name' there is
Christ; so (to speak with St. Cyprian), 'where

328 The Beformation and Federation

two or three believers are met together, there is
a church.' Thus it is that St. Paul, writing to
Philemon, mentions *the church which is in his
house:' plainly signifying that even a Christian
family may be termed a church.

*^ Several of those whom God hath called out
(so the original word properly signifies), uniting
together in one congregation, formed a larger
church: as the church at Jerusalem. That is, all
those in Jerusalem whom God had so called.

^'He [Paul] frequently uses the word in the
plural number. So, Gal. 1 : 2, Paul an apostle,
. . . unto the churches of Galatia:" that is,
the Christian congregations dispersed through-
out that country.

*' There is one God and Father of all 'that have
the Spirit of adoption which crieth in their hearts,
Abba Father,' which 'witnesseth' continually
'with their spirits' that they are the children of
God 'who is above all' — the Most High, the Cre-
ator, the Sustainer, the Governor of the whole
universe : 'and through alP — pervading all space,
filling heaven and earth; 'and in you all' — in a
peculiar manner living in you that are one body
by one Spirit :

"Making: your souls His loved abode
The tempies of indwelling God."
"Here, then, is a clear unexceptionable answer
to that question, What is The Church? — The

Wesley on The Papacy 329

catholic or universal Church is all the persons in
the universe whom God hath so called out of the
world as to entitle them to the preceding charac-
ter: as to be *one body/ united by *one Spirit,'
having ^ one faith, one hope, one baptism, one God
and Father of all, who is above all, and through
all, and in them all. ' '

** Certainly if these things are so, the church of
Rome is not so much as a part of the catholic
Church. ' ' — Sermon Ixxix.

Of the mystery of iniquity, he said: *^ Perse-
cution never did and never could give any lasting
wound to genuine Christianity. But the greatest
it ever received, the grand blow that was struck
at the very root of that humble, gentle, patient,
love which is the fulfilling of the Christian law,
the whole essence of true religion, was struck in
the fourth century by Constantine the Great when
he called himself a Christian and poured in a
flood of riches, honors, and power, upon the Chris-
tians, especially the clergy.

^^When the fear of persecution was removed,
and wealth and honor attended the Christian pro-
fession, the Christians did not gradually sink,
but rushed headlong, into all manner of vices.

^^Then the ^mystery of iniquity' was no longer
hid, but stalked abroad in the face of the sun.

' ^ Then, not the golden, but the iron, age of the
church commenced.

330 The Reformation and Federation

^^Then one might truly say,

"At once in that unhappy age broke in
All wickedness, and every deadly sin ;
Truth, modesty, and love, fled far away.
And force, and thirst for gold, claimed
universal sway.

**And this is the event which most Christian
expositors mention with such triumph! Yea,
which some of them supposed to be typified in the
Eevelation by ^the New Jerusalem coming down
from heaven ! '

^^Eather say, it was the coming of Satan and
all his legions from the bottomless pit: seeing
from that very time he hath set up his throne over
the face of the whole earth, and reigned over the
Christian as well as the pagan world with hardly
any control. ' '

*^ Historians, indeed, tell us, very gravely, of
nations, in every century, who were by such and
such (saints no doubt!) converted to Christianity.
But still these converts practiced all kinds of
abominations exactly as they did before: no way
differing either in their tempers or their lives,
from the nations that were still called heathens.

^^Such has been the deplorable state of the
Christian church from the time of Constantine till
The Eeformation. A Christian nation, a Christian
city (according to the Scriptural model), was no-
where to be seen. But every city and country, a

Wesley on the False Christian 331

few individuals excepted, was plunged in all man-
ner of wickedness.

^^Has the case been altered since The Eeforma-
tionl Does the 'mystery of iniquity' no longer
work in the church! . . . Let any one sur-
vey the state of Christianity in the reformed parts
of Switzerland; in Germany, or France; in Swe-
den, Denmark, Holland ; in Great Britain and Ire-
land.

*'How little are any of these reformed Chris-
tians better than heathen nations! Have they
more (I will not say, communion with God, al-
though there is no Christianity without it), but
have they more justice, mercy, or truth, than the
inhabitants of China or Indostan? Oh no! we
must acknowledge with sorrow and shame, that
we are far beneath them.

^'From the preceding considerations we may
learn the full answer to one of the grand objec-
tions of infidels against Christianity: namely.
The lives of Christians.

''Of Christians, do you say? I doubt whether
you ever knew a Christian in your life. When
Tomo Chachi, the Indian cliief, keenly replied to
those who spoke to him of being a Christian, 'Why
there are Christians at Savannah! There are
Christians at Frederica,' the proper answer
was, 'No, they are not. They are no more Chris-
tians than you and Sinauky.'

332 The Reformation and Federation

^'But are not these Christians in Canterbury,
in London, in Westminster? No, no more than
they are angels. None are Christians but they
that have the mind which was in Christ, and walk
as He walked.

^< ^Why, if these only are Christians,' said an
eminent wit, ^I never saw a Christian yet.' I be-
lieve it: you never did; and, perhaps, you never
will ; for you will never find them in the grand or
the gay world. The few Christians that are upon
the earth, are only to be found where you never
look for them.

^^ Never, therefore, urge this objection more.
Never object to Christianity the lives or tempers
of heathens. Though they are called Christians,
the name does not imply the thing: they are as
far from this as hell from heaven.'' — Id.^ Ixvi.

Like all the other Reformers, Whitefield and
the Wesleys never thought of forming any new
sect or denomination; but only to preach the
Gospel, to bring men to Christ to receive the Holy
Spirit, and to live in righteousness unto holiness.

Wesley declared ' ' the first principle of Metho-
dism" to be ^'wholly and solely to preach the
Gospel." ''Ye are a new phenomenon in the
earth — a body of people who, being of no sect
or party, are friends to all parties, and endeavor
to forward all in heart-religion, in the knowledge
and love of God and man. ' ' — Sermon cxxxix.

Purpose of The Reformation 333

In that marvellous awakening God in Christ
by the Holy Spirit took again His own place in
His own Church as in the world. The manifesta-
tions of the personal presence of God through the
Spirit were constantly such as had never been sur-
passed since the times of the book of Acts.

The movement was utterly beyond men. It
was beyond even the men by whom God most
wonderfully wrought. All that they could do was
to follow.

And sad to relate, even the Wesleys were most
slow to follow. And deplorable to contemplate,
they did not fully follow. With God working be-
fore their eyes and all around them in such a
marvellous way as had never been transcended
since the original Pentecostal days, even John
Wesley called a meeting of preachers in London
for them to give him ^Hheir advice respecting the
best method of carrying on the work of God!'^

And that was the beginning of, it opened the
way for, that coming in and building up of human
machinery and the rule of men that is so fullymani-
fested in that ^^ method of carrying on the work
of God" by the Methodist denomination of today;
and which, exactly in the measure of its growth,
marks the loss of that power from on high which
made and ivas the original movement called
^^ Methodist."

There were ten persons, including himself, at

334 The Reformation and Federation

that meeting called by Wesley for that purpose.
But there was no one to give the simple Christian
^^ advice" that he be content to let the Lord Him-
self carry on His own work as already from the
beginning He had been so grandly doing : that he
and they all preach the Gospel^ get souls acquainted
with God and bound up with Christ in a bundle
of the love of God, led and taught by the Holy
Spirit whose place it is so to do. Isa. 48 : 17 ; John
6:45; 14 : 26 ; IJohn 2 : 27.

Oh ! that it could have been so. Oh ! that God
could have been allowed fully His place in His
own work which there He Himself had begun : that
only God in Christ by the Holy Spirit should have
been allowed to be seen! Then the movement
called ^^Methodisf would have accomplished the
wonderful purpose of God in making it so mark-
edly the extension of The Eeformation.

Then that movement so grandly begun by God
would have been ^^ carried on" by Him, and there
would have been seen fulfilled that which, by the
prophetic Spirit, was seen in The Eeformation at
its beginning by the meek and patient Militz, the
devout Matthias, and the martyred Huss.

This is what those holy men saw as the mean-
ing of The Reformation: **A renovation of The
Church, by which it is to be prepared for the
second advent of Christ ; and for the divine judg-
ment on the corrupt church."

The Advent Movement 335

For, they said, ^^All Holy Scripture predicts
that before the end of the world The Church of
Christ shall be reformed, renovated, and more
widely extended : that she shall be restored to her
pristine dignity; and that still, in her old age,
her f ruitfulness shall be increased.

''This new illumination of The Church is to
prepare it for the last personal appearance of
Christ.''

That was God's purpose in beginning The
Reformation.

That was His purpose in reviving The Refor-
mation a hundred years later.

And that was His purpose in again reviving
The Reformation two hundred years after that,
in the time of Whitefield and the Wesleys.

This divine illumination and renovation of
The Church is to fit her for her glorious Presen-
tation in that day.

Through the Spirit and the Word He is to
sanctify and cleanse The Church from every spot
or wrinkle or any such thing, that she shall be
holy and without blemish, reflecting only and in
perfection the glorious image of her divine Lord.

Just as the finishing of the Mystery of God
in each individual who will be of The Church in
that great day, is the perfect and undimmed re-
flection of Christ Himself only, so also the finish-
ing of the Mystery of God in The Church is the

336 The Reformation and Federation

perfect and undimmed reflection of Christ Him-
self onli^.

As in the individual there is to be no mani-
festation of the hnman self, but only the divine
Christ — not man, hut God; so in The Church
which is composed only of such individuals there
is to be no manifestation of the human self — not
man, but only God.

There is to be no manifestation of either the
machinery or the rule of men; but only the ex-
clusive rule of God through the pure reign of the
Holy Spirit. ^^Not by might nor by power, but by
My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts." Zech. 4:6;
1 Cor. 15:24.

Then in another hundred years God again
made manifest His way: This time in the procla-
mation of the soon coming of the Lord in glory.

In this great movement His working was no
less remarkable, and it was much more widely
extended, than in the Methodist or any other of
the former periods of The Keformation.

Within fifteen years the message of God was
sounded literally throughout the whole world:
''to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people, saying with a loud voice. Fear God and
give glory to Him ; for the hour of His judgment
is come." Rev. 14:6, 7.

In connection with that movement there were
mistakes made, as with every other ; but the move-

Culmination of The Reformation 337

ment itself was no mistake. It put into tlie world
and before the minds of men, nevermore to be
forgotten nor obscured, the divine truth of the
Christian's ^^blessed hope" — *Hhe glorious ap-
pearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ.'' Titus 2:13.

While William Miller was the leading preacher
of this message in America, he was only one of ^yq
hundred who were doing the same thing in this
land, and of fifteen hundred who were doing the
same in all parts of the world.

Later, William Miller saw that the message of
the soon coming of the Lord and the hour of
God's judgment which he and the others had
preached, was not the final message; but that there
was to follow it, the proclamation of the message
of 'Hhe third angel" of Eevelation 14.

This message of ^Hhe third angel" is also to
be proclaimed ^'with a loud voice" and just as
widely as the first, saying, '^If any man worship
the beast and his image, and receive his mark in
his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured
out without mixture into the cup of His indigna-
tion. . . . Here is the patience of the saints;
here are they that keep The Commandments of
God and The Faith of Jesus." Eev. 14: 9-12.

These two loud-voiced messages hlend. They
proclaim the soon coming of the Lord in glory

23

338 The Reformation and Federation

and the hour of God's judgment. They warn all
men against the crowning evil that sinks the world,
and call all people to the *^ worship of Him who
made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters,'' in the ^'keeping of The Com-
mandments of God and The Faith of Jesus.''

This is the culmination of The Eeformation,
as it is the culmination of the everlasting Gospel.
For the next thing is the coming of the Lord on
the '* white cloud," with the '^ sharp sickle" in
His hand to reap ^^the harvest of the earth" which
is ^Hhe end of the world." Eev. 14: 14-16; Matt.
13:39.

This is exactly what the first Eeformers
preached as the one great aim of The Reforma-
tion.

That was the one great thing in view when
The Reformation began; and when in the prog-
ress of The Reformation that is reached, with
that and in that The Reformation will be finished.

Thus the finishing of The Reformation is also
the time of the finishing of the Mystery of God.
For The Reformation was put into the world ex-
pressly to show the way of deliverance from the
mystery of iniquity, and to prepare the way for
the finishing of the Mystery of God.

But sadder yet to relate, and most deplorable
of all to contemplate, those who were called out
by the Lord through these glorious messages went

Wm. Miller on The Church 339

the way of all before. They refused to God the
place that belongs to Him in His own *^ house,"
in His own ' ' family, ' ' and in His own work ; and,
as all before, set themselves up in separate
** bodies" and exclusive ^ * denominations " under
the machinery and rule of men.

And this as always before, in defiance of every
principle and every manifestation of The Eefor-
mation and of Christianity at the first, and against
the plain word of those who preached The Eef-
ormation and Christian truth to which they owe
their very existence and distinction as ^^Adven-
tists" — believers in the imminent advent of our
glorious Lord!

One *^body" of these stands as ^Hhe Advent
Christian Church;" the other ^^body" as ^Hhe
Seventh-Day Adventist Church." Both of these
recognize and advertise William Miller and the
great Advent movement as the beginning of their
existence as Adventists.

And yet William Miller consistently held and
plainly set down in writing the unquestionable
Eeformation and Christian principle and practice
that repudiates denominationalism and the rule
of men in The Church.

William Miller said: ^^I should oppose our
being called, in an associated capacity, a church
with any name*

* The italics are Ms own, fhrougbout.

340 The Eeformation and Federation

*^To call any denomination the Advent Church,
the Church of God, or any other name, I regard as
contrary to the usage of the apostles.

"All true churches are 'churches of God,' 1
Thess. 2: 14; 'churches of Christ,' Eom. 16: 16;
'churches of the saints,' 1 Cor. 14: 33. They are
thus called in the Scriptures; but they are not
thus called as distinctive appellations; neither
have we the right to choose either of those as a
specific term.

"And if we wished to select either of those
terms, by which to be designated, which should we
select! The Winebrennarians of Pennsylvania
call themselves 'The Church of God,' as a de-
nominational term. If we were also to be known
as such, we should be confounded with them.

"But we have no right to take a name that be-
longs generally to the whole family, and apply it
exclusively to a branch of the family. If a branch
of the family wish for a distinctive appellation,
they must apply to themselves a term significant
of what they are. But I contend that no name
should be applied to the churches as such.

^'A church, according to the Scriptures, is a
religious assembly, selected and called out of the
world, by the doctrine of the Gospel, to worship
the true God according to His Word.

''The Church must include all the elect of God,
of what nation soever, from the beginning to the

The Name of '' Adventists" 341

end of the world, who make but one body, whereof
Jesus Christ is the Head. Col. 1 : 18.

"' 'The church' in any certain place must in-
clude all the faithful who are wont to assemble in
such place for worship.

''We thus have in the Scriptures not only
'churches of God,' 'churches of Christ,' 'churches
of the saints ; ' but we have ' the church at Jerusa-
lem, ' Acts 8 ; 1 ; ' the church which is in Nym-
phas's house,' Col. 4:15; 'the church that is at
Babylon,' 1 Pet. 5: 13; 'the church in the wilder-
ness,' Acts 7: 38; 'the church at Antioch,' Acts
13: 1; 'the church of Laodicea,' Col. 4: 16; 'the
church of Ephesus,' Rev. 2:1; 'the church that
is in their house,' 'churches of Galatia,' 'of Asia,'
1 Cor. 16: 1, 19; 'churches of Judea,' Gal. 1: 22;
'churches of the Gentiles,' Rom. 16: 4; &c., &c.

"The above are sufficient, to my mind, to estab-
lish the position that a church should be simply
called a 'church,' so described that its character-
istics may be understood. You, therefore, in Bos-
ton, have considered yourselves as 'the church at
the Tabernacle.'

"Is it asked. Do you repudiate the name of
' Adventists ? ' In reply, I do, when it is applied
to the church ; but not when it is applied to those
who compose the church.

"Words are the symbols of ideas. All bodies
have their peculiarities and characteristics. It is,

342 The Reformation and Federation

therefore, necessary to distinguish them as
such.

"Thus God has divided mankind into peojDles,
kindred, tribes, nations, and tongues. Those of
the same peculiarities have an affinity for each
other, and naturally associate together. All these
branches of the race are known by their distinctive
names, and all acknowledge the convenience of
their being thus known. It enables us to desig-
nate those we wish by an intelligible term.

"Thus the Israelites of old were known as be-
longing to the tribes of Judah, of Joseph, of Dan,
&c., as the case might be. To call men sons of
Jacob was sufficient to show that they belonged
to the nation ; but even then it was found necessary
to know their tribe, their family, and their house-
hold. And even the different members of the same
household must have different names to distin-
guish one from the other.

"While all Christians in the days of the apos-
tles were known as Christians, yet if they had had
no other distinctive appellations there would have
been as much confusion as there would be in a
city, if all its inhabitants were known by the
names of John and Mary or as there would be in
a family, if there should be twelve children with
no individual names, — call one and all would run ;
or as it is at the present time, none would regard
the call. They would not know which was meant.

Sectarianism^'

^ ^ Therefore, we find the apostles writing, now
to the Hebrews, then to the Eomans, and again to
the Ephesians, and Galatians, &c., &c. If, there-
fore, it was right for Paul to speak of Hhe churches
of the Gentiles,' it may not be so very wrong for
us to speak of the churches of the Adventists, or
the churches of the Congregationalists, &c. ; while
at the same time, it would be unscriptural to call
an association of churches the Advent church, the
Methodist church, &c., &c.'' — Bliss's ^^ Memoirs
of William Miller/' pp. 315-317.

^'Sectarianism is always produced by some
private opinion of man, rather than by the plain
declaration of God's Word. For years after I
began to proclaim this blessed truth of Christ at
the door, I never, if possible, to avoid it, even al-
luded to sectarian principles. And the first ob-
jection my Baptist brethren brought against me
was that I mixed with, and preached unto, all
denominations ; even to Unitarians, &c.

''But we have recently, my brethren, been
guilty of raising up a sect of our own. The very
things which our fathers did when they became
sects, we have been doing. We have, like them,
cried Babylon! Babylon! Babylon! against all but
Adventists,"— Pp, 282-3.

"0, how much injury is done in church disci-
pline! The hypocrite uses it as a tool to make
others think he is very pious. The envious use

344 The Reforfnation and Federation

it as a weapon to bring down those they imagine
are getting above them. The bigot uses it to
bring others to his faith; and the sectarian to
bring others to his creed, &c/' — P. 107.

^^You must preach Bible. You must prove all
things by Bible, You must talk Bible. You must
exhort Bible. You must pray Bible, and love
Bible-, and do all in your power to make others
love Bible too.' '—P. 101.

Christianity is not national. It is not denomi-
national. It is universal : as is its divine Author.

Christianity, sought to be made national, is
robbed and spoiled of its native character.

Christianity, sought to be made denomi-
national, is equally robbed and spoiled of its native
character.

The Lord Jesus did not come to this world to
establish denominations nor a denomination. He
came to establish the divine life in individual be-
lieving souls: *^to bring us to God" that God may
be ^'manifest in the flesh" as in Him the divine
example and Way.

Christianity kept forever individual is per-
fectly and permanently universal : as it was in its
beginning in the world, as it was in its revival in
The Eeformation, as it has been in each step in the
progress of The Eeformation, and as it will he in
its finishing in the world.

Denominationalism is not of Christ, nor is it

Denommationalism 345

of The Reformation. It is essentially of that
Nicolaitanism which the Lord Jesus hates.

It not only enables, but persuades, and even
actually induces, people to take the Christian name
and profess to be Christians, and to be deceived
into thinking that they are Christians, when, as
Wesley said, they are no more Christians than
they are angels, and no nearer to real Chris-
tianity than hell is to heaven : and thus it promotes
the kingdom of Antichrist more than the kingdom
of Christ.

To sanction this confusion the Scripture is per-
verted. Then to escape the worse confusion the
same Scripture is mangled. Against the plain
word of Jesus who said, ^'The field is the tvorld/'
the field is made to be ^'the church of Christ in
the world.'' This of course sanctions that ^Hhe
children of the tvicked one'' shall be in the church!

Then, instead of being consistent under their
own perversion and letting ^^both grow together''
in the church ^^ until the harvest" as the Lord com-
mands, the word of Christ is again defied and by
the exercise of human ^'church-discipline" they
go about to ''root up the tares" and "cast them
out of the church'' which by their own perversion
has been made "the field." Matt. 13: 28-30, 37-
39.

The whole perverse tangle is only a continua-
tion of the papal confusion, and it can not do

346 The Reformation and Federation

anything else than promote the kingdom of Anti-
christ more than the kingdom of Christ.

Denominationalism has opposed every step of
the advancing truth of God in the progress of The
Eeformation; and it will continue so to do unto
the very hour of Christ's glorious appearing.

The full papacy is only the sum of denomina-
tionalism.

And whether standing as a single denomina-
tion, or as summed up in the federation of denomi-
nations in the Federal Council, or in the full
papacy itself, the thing is ever the same as far as it
goes.

In the form of the full papacy or of the Federal
Council of denominations, the thing has more
power and can do more; but to the extent of its
power the single denomination is the same as is the
sum of them.

The Federal Council as the federation of de-
nominations that it is, is only the logical conse-
quence of the federation of congregations in the
respective denominations.

The ^* organized" denomination is as certainly
a federation of congregations, as the Federal
Council is a federation of denominations.

This truth has been so clearly worked out be-
fore the eyes of all in the story of the Baptist
churches and the Federal Council, that this alone
is sufficient to justify the writing of the geometri-

The Baptists and Federation 347

cal ''Q. E. D/' under the proposition just now
under consideration.

It is well known that throughout their histor^^
the church-order of the Baptists has been that of
the New Testament churches. Each congrega-
tion stood alone under Christ, with no ecclesiastical
organization between the congregation and Him.
AA^hen, in 1905, the conference was called to
meet in New York City to consider the federation
of the denominations, some of the Baptist
churches sent representatives.

When there was read in that conference the
list of denominations that were represented there,
the Baptists were read in as ^'The Baptist Church
of the United States." This then misnomer was
immediately corrected from the floor, in the state-
ment, ''There is no such thing as 'the Baptist
Church of the United States;' but only 'the Bap-
tist churches of the United States '.''

But by many influential members of the Bap-
tist churches it was considered that only as the
Baptist churches, their place in the Federation of
denominations would be of uncertain value as com-
pared with what it could be if they were them-
selves an effective denomination.

Therefore, in the Monday meeting of the Bap-
tist ministers of Boston and vicinity, against all
opposition of Christian and Baptist principles,
there was adopted in April, 1907, the "Revised Ee-

348 The Reformation and Federation

port of Committee of Five" recommending a ^'fed-
eration" and ''strong confederation" of tlie Bap-
tist churches, in order "to attain the highest de-
nominational effectiveness."

That same year, at the "anniversaries" of the
Baptists held in Washington City in May there
was adopted a provisional "organization" of the
"Northern Baptist Convention," which should be
acted upon finally at the anniversaries to be held
in May, 1908.

It will not be out of place to give a glimpse of
the spirit that ruled in that meeting of the Bap-
tists in Washington City, May, 1907, where that
"strong confederation" of the Baptist churches
established the "organized" Baptist denomina-
tion or church.

In a perfectly friendly and sympathetic report
of the proceedings, published in ''The Watchman,
a Baptist journal" of Boston, Mass., May 23, 1907,
it was said : —

"It was the stormiest, noisiest, and most disorderly
meeting probably which the Baptists of the North ever
held. But the denominational consciousness asserted
itself in having its way. . . .

"Professor Shailer Matthews spoke on the func-
tions of the new society. He said in substance : . . .
The power of public opinion in the Baptist church is
mighty, and woe to the man who opposes it. We don't
want a pope ; we are all popes. ' '

And in an editorial The Watchman of the same
date says : —

Object of the Federal Council 349

''The minds of the people were made up in advance.
There was no discussion in a proper sense. As well
try to stop a cyclone,

"At times the audience raged like a wild beast in
a pen, Avith wild, inarticulate cries, when some obstacle
arose which seemed to bar their way. For five or ten
minutes they would be utterly beyond control. ' '

It should be remarked that where all are popes
to begin with, it is only a question of time when
there will certainly be a pope of all.

And in a strong pen or cage is the only fit
place for a wild beast. And when he rages there
it is infinitely better to let him exhaust his fury
in imj^otent plunges against the strong bars of the
cage than to relieve his rage by letting him loose
among innocent and defenseless people.

In 1908 the Baptist ^^anniversaries'' were held
at Oklahoma City. That provisional ^^organiza-
tion'' was made permanent, with, then, Governor
Hughes of New York as president.

Later, Prof. Shailer Matthews of Chicago Uni-
versity was president of it. And at the Chicago
meeting of the national federation of denomina-
tions Dec. 4-9, 1912, Professor Matthews was elec-
ted president of the Federal Council of the de-
nominations for the quadrennial term 1912-1916.

Ajid interesting to relate, one of the very first
things that the Federal Council did under the ad-
ministration of President Matthews was that re-
pudiation of the word '' Protestant;" and Presi-

350 The Reformation and Federation

dent Matthews was in tlie chair when it was done.
This little piece of history certainly demon-
strates that the federation of congregations in a
denomination, is identical in character with the
federation of denominations in the Federal Coun-
cil, or in the full papacy.

And that the Federal Council is identical in
character with the full papacy, is just as certain ;
and is as easily demonstrated.

When the Federal Council of Churches was
formed at the conference in New York City, 1905,
the necessity for a national federation and the pur-
pose of it when secured, was indicated in the fol-
lowing forcible words of one of the principal
speakers : —

"It is our province, in the name of our supreme
King and seeking the good of mankind to ask rulers
to respect the code of our kingdom. Rulers may ig-
nore sects, but they will respect the church. This Fed-
eration will compel an audience, and it will speak with
power, if it will put aside its differences and make its
agreement its argument."

How this respect of rulers for 'Hhe church*'
is to be compelled by the Federal Council is made
plain in the plan and operation of its practical
workings: m>

that county federation of local federations was
found to be *^ essential in order to bring pressure
to hear upon the county officials for the suppres-
sion of the evils aimed at'' by the church:

The Ecclesiastical Power 351

that State federation was found to be essential
in order ^'to bring to bear the pressure of the
united influence of the churches of the State,"
upon State officials :

and national federation was now essential in
order to bring to bear this pressure of the united
influence of the churches of the nation, upon the
national officials.

And it was declared by the whole conference in
its ^^Plan of Federation'' that these practical
workings of the Federation are to be made ap-
plicable ^4n every relation of life!^*

Plainly, therefore, the Federal Council of the
churches was formed directly to the intent that hy
it the ecclesiastical will, through the ^'pressure"
of *^the combined influence" of the denominations,
shall control the civil power ^^in every relation of
life."

It was publicly declared that, on a number of
public questions that are civil only, as well as on
questions that are religious or ecclesiastical only,
and on these ditferent classes of questions indis-
criminately mixed, ^Hhe voice of the churches
should be heard," and that the ^* united and con-
certed action" of the church *4s to lead effec-
tively. ' '

That is specifically one of the principal things
that the Federal Council was created to do. But
such declarations, such purpose, and such proce-

352 The Reformation and Federation

dure, are directly the opposite of original and fun-
damental Protestant and Eeformation principle.

The next year after the Protest^ there was as-
sembled the Diet of Augsburg. The Emperor
Charles V was present. He asked The Protestants
to submit ^^a moderate and concise exposition''
of what they must stand for, in order that if pos-
sible an accommodation might be arrived at."

In response, June 25, 1530, The Protestants
presented by a public reading what has ever since
stood as the Augsburg Confession. It is the com-
plement of The Protest in the making of The Eef-
ormation.

Article XXVIII of that Confession says —

^'The ecclesiastical jDower bestows things eter-
nal, and is exercised only by the ministry of the
Word.

'^The civil administration is occupied about
other things than is the Gospel.

^*The ecclesiastical and civil power are not to
be confounded.

^^The ecclesiastical has its own command to
preach the Gospel and to administer the sacra-
ments.

*^Let it not by force enter into the office of an-
other.

^^Let it not transfer worldly kingdoms.

^'Let it not prescril)e laws to the magistrate
touching the form of the State.

"Say Ye Not 'A Confederacy' '' 353

^'As Christ says, ^My kingdom is not of this
world.' John 18:36. Again, ^Who made Me a
judge or a divider over you!' Luke 12: 14."

When the professed Protestant churches have
entered into city, county. State, and National fed-
eration in order effectually to bring ^^ pressure to
bear" upon public civil officials for the execution
of the will of the combined church, this is nothing
else than for the ecclesiastical power to ^' enter
by force into the office of another."

And that is not Protestant, but papal.

When the Federation, wielding the ^^ combined
influence" of the churches, or when any professed
Protestant church, by votes in an election trans-
fers the government — whether city, county. State
or National — from one party to another, or from
one person to another, it does in principle and in
effect ^ transfer worldly kingdoms."

And that is not Protestant, but papal.

When the Federation of churches frames bills,
presents them to the legislative power, and swings
the *^ combined influence" of the churches in lobby-
ing and ^^ pressure" to cause the will of the church
to be enacted into law, it does in principle, in ef-
fect, and in fact, ** prescribe laws to the magis-
trate."

And that is not Protestant, but papal.

All these things the Federation has done, is
doing, and was created to do. In all these things

24

354 The Reformation and Federation

the ecclesiastical and the civil powers are ^'con-
founded. ' '

And that is not Protestant, but papal.

In every professed Protestant denomination,
ecclesiastical power is exercised otherwise than
^' only by the ministry of the Word."

And that is not Protestant, but papal.

Thus all denomination and federation and con-
federation is all one, and is all equally anti-Prot-
estant, anti-Eeformation, and anti-Christian.

It is all of that spirit of combine and human
contrivance that is so emphatically set at nought
by the Word of God.

^^ Associate yourselves, 0 ye people, and ye

shall be broken in pieces.
''Give ear, all ye of far countries:
''Gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in

pieces,
''Gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in

pieces.
''Take counsel together, and it shall come to

nought,
"Speak the word, and it shall not stand,^' Isa.

8:9, 10.

Accordingly William Miller said: ''I believe
that before Christ comes in his glory, all sectarian
principles will be shaken and the votaries of the
several sects scattered to the four winds ; and that

Individuality and Salvation 355

none shall be able to stand but those who are built
on the Word of God. ' ' Heb. 12 : 26, 27.

Also the ringing words of the Protest: ^^This
Word is the only truth; it is the sure rule of all
doctrine, and of all life, and can never fail or de-
ceive us. He who builds on this foundation shall
stand against all the powers of hell, whilst all the
human vanities that are set up against it shall fall
before the face of God.

^'The Lord spake thus to me with a strong
hand'' — He brought down his hand hard, for em-
phasis — ^^and instructed me, saying, —

''Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to
whom this people shall say, ^^A confederacy;

^'Neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

' ' Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself.

^ ^ And let Him be your fear, and let Him be your
dread.

* ' And He shall be for a sanctuary. ' ' Isa. 8 : 11-
13.

The only way in which I can sanctify the Lord
of hosts Himself, is to sanctify Him myself.

And this is Individuality.

IndividuaKi?/, always be it remembered : never
individualism. For it is eternally an ity. never
an ism.

Individuality is Christianity, and Christianity
is Individuality.

This is The Eeformation.

356 The Reformation and Federation

And The Eeformation instead of the papacy,
means Individuality and Salvation instead of the
combine of denomination, federation, confedera-
tion, domination, and annihilation.

It was precisely through the combine of denomi-
nation, federation, and confederation, that in the
fourth century was established the full-fledged
papacy, which is never anything else than domina-
tion ; and which, ivith its new federation likeness,
ends only in annihilation. Rev. 17 : 8, 11, 15, 16 ;
18:21; 19:20.

CHAPTER XVII.

The Federal Council and The Eeformation.

At the time of the formation of the Federal
Council of Churches the statement was made that
its practical workings were to be made applicable
"in every relation of human life/'

At the Philadelphia meeting of the Council
itself this was more fully stated thus : —

"The time has come when the churches may and
must know every individual in the entire community
as accurately as they now know their own membership.

' * The churches have as great an opportunity as ever
today, if they will combine to meet the real needs of
each conmiunity, from building roads and organizing
industry • • • to swinging the thought of a whole great
metropolis to religious things by concerted evangelism
• • • and make possible what we have never had before,
a systematic campaign to Christianize every phase of
the life of the entire commonwealth.

* * It thus becomes possible, as in two States already,
to announce the watchword : ' Some church responsible
for each square mile.' Responsible, i. e., to know and
seek in some way every individual therein.

''The Federation should emphasize the importance
of the 'responsibility districts' which it establishes.
When these cover the State, and the churches so ap-
preciate their opportunity and responsibility that each
church will know the position of every voter on moral
issues and tirelessly work to place every one upon the
right side, moral reforms will come swiftly and per-
manently.

"Knowledge of men alone gives power over men."

357

358 The Federal Council and The Reformatio7i

How now is this '^ power over men" to be used,
that is obtained through such intimate knowledge
of ** every individual' ' and ^^ every voter T'
Answer : —

''The enforcement and improvement of law often
becomes the imperative duty of Local and State Fed-
erations."

"Civic action on the part of the churches, i.e., in
law enforcement must proceed on lines of township."

"There has already been worked out a practical pro-
gram of activities as definite and comprehensive as
has ever been proposed for any religious or civic cam-
paign.

' ' We have planned the work ; let us work the plan. ' '

Now note in that plan wliich is thus to be
''worked," just what is embraced in the jurisdic-
tion and included in the activities of this "com-
bine" of the churches:

1. All of the territory: ''each square mile,"
and in the discussion it was expressed as "each
square foot."

2. All of the people: "every voter" and
"every individual in the entire community."

3. All of these individuals and voters to be
known "as accurately" as is the very church-
membership itself; and every voter to be "tire-
lessly" worked for "the right side."

4. "All the moral issues of the community."

5. "All the real needs of each community,
from building roads to evangelizing the metropo-
lis."

The State Supplanted 359

6. ''Every phase of the life of the entire
community. ' '

7. ''Power over men.'' And this power ex-
ercised in

8. "Law-enactment," which is included in

9. ' ' Law-improvement. ' '
10. "Law-enforcement."

That most certainly is a very "definite and
comprehensive" program.

And upon that the question arises, When that
plan and program shall be actually in operation,
and just so far as it shall be operated, where will
be the State? Where indeed will be any room for
the State?

Under that program as in their own very words
where will there be any real difference between
this order of things, and that against which The
Reformation was raised up in Protest?

Under that program, the State as a body dis-
tinct from the church will be gone. As a distinct
system and order of things in law and government
the State will have been utterly supplanted by the
church, and its machinery will exist only as the
tool of the church to accomplish by force her arbi-
trary will and to make effective the ecclesiastical
decrees.

In principle and in practice that will be only
the order of things of '^the Holy Roman Empire"
over again.

360 The Federal Council and The Reformation

When the whole ^^ combine'' of the Federal
Council of the denominations in its exercise of
^^ power over men" shall be actively engaged over
every '' square foot" of the territory of the United
States, inquiring into *^ every relation of life" of
*^ every individual" to know how he stands on *^all
moral issues;" to ^^know the position of every
voter" and ^'tirelessly working to have every
one to vote on 'the right side' on all questions"
of this assumed ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; to pry
into and to dominate ''every phase of the life
of the entire commonwealth;" what will that he
but simply a federated system of universal eccle-
siastical meddling that will differ from the very
Inquisition itself only in degree, and not at all in
spirit nor in kind.

Then the central head of this Federation can
say of this Nation as Pope Boniface VIII said of
the King of France, ' ' I know all the secrets of his
kingdom. ' '

Note that the Federation's purpose is to "know
and seek in some way every individual." In the
winter of 1911-12 the Men and Religion Move-
ment made plain one way in which this will be
done: divide a designated territory into so many
districts that every individual can be found and
recorded within tliree hours on a certain Sunday
afternoon by agents with such printed instructions
as the following: —

The Neiv Inquisition 361

"Do not miss a single house. If the people are
absent call again.

"Remind them that every house in the community
is being visited today.

"If they will not receive you take their name and
number, and write across the card 'Refused informa-
tion.'

"Nevertheless get all the information you can con-
cerning them next door."

That is, people's record as to religion will be
taken, and that record will be used and those peo-
ple counted, used, or dealt with, on information
given by somebody else; and the persons them-
selves know nothing about it.

Did the Inquisition ever surpass that, except
in using more forcible means to get the informa-
tion! Yet even then all that the Inquisition did
was to ^'know and seek in some ivay every in-
dividual'' and the desired ^^information.''

All that the Inquisition ever was, was a lot of
ecclesiastics circulating everywhere as agents of
the church asking questions as to people's attitude
toward religion and the church; and making it
uncomfortable for those who were not '^on the
right side."

And the Federal Council of Churches co-oper-
ated with the Men and Religion Movement. And
when that ^^ Movement" went out of existence as
a distinct body, all of its "information," statistics,
etc., was turned over to the Federal Council.

362 The Federal Council and The Reformation

Of the Federation of churches in the fourth
century, that developed the papacy in all that it
ever was, it has been written : —

*'As the acknowledged teachers and guardians of
Christianity the clergy continued to draw within their
sphere every part of human life in which man is ac-
tuated by moral or religious motives.

"The moral authority, therefore, of the religion,
and consequently of the clergy, might appear legiti-
mately to extend over every transaction of life: from
the legislation of the sovereign, which ought, in a
Christian king, to be guided by Christian motive, to
the domestic duties of the peasant which ought to be
fulfilled on the principle of Christian love."

Those words were written by Dean Milman
more than seventy years ago with sole reference
to that church-combine and its clergy of the fourth
century, in their assumption, encroachment, usur-
pation, and domination. Yet it is as closely de-
scriptive of this present combine of the churches
in the Federal Council as if it had been written
only today and with sole reference to this.

Indeed there never was a closer resemblance to
the papacy than is in every feature of this Federa-
tion of churches today. The ^' program^' herewith
given in their own words, and the *'plan'' that is
to be so universally, so intricately, and so ^tire-
lessly worked'^ is in its very details, as well as in
its spirit and purpose, identical with that of the
Federation of churches in the fourth century in
the Roman empire.

Religious Legislation 363

And when this one of today in its beginnings
is so altogether like that one, how can it be any
less like the former one as it proceeds and grows?

With direct reference to snch a combine, the
Congress of the United States in 1829 and 1881
said: ^^ Extensive religious combinations to effect
a political purpose are always dangerous." That
is the truth. And here is now the most extensive
religious combination that could be in this Nation,
and for political purposes. How much further
will it have to go before the people of the United
States will awake to the danger!

Already the Federal Council is following to the
letter the former one in urging National legisla-
tion that is both religious and ecclesiastical, and
nothing else.

Against the National Constitution, against
vital American principle, against every Reforma-
tion principle, and against every Christian prin-
ciple, the Federal Council urges upon Congress
and everywhere in the United States legislation
in recognition of ^*the Christian Sabbath" ^'the
Lord's Day" as the Day of rest and worship, and
enforcing upon all its observance as the Day of
rest for worship.

Whatever is Christian is religious ; for Chris-
tianity is nothing but a religion. Therefore legis-
lation in behalf of ''the Christian Sabbath" is
nothing but religious legislation. And legislation

364 The Federal Council and The Reformation

in recognition of ''the Christian Sabbath" is noth-
ing but recognition of the Christian religion. And
that means the "Christian" religion by force;
which is not Christian at all, nor is it of The
Eeformation at all, but is only papal.

Whatever i^ertains or belongs to the Lord is
religious ; for religion is ' ' the duty which we owe
to the Lord." Therefore legislation recognizing
and establishing "the Lord^s Day" is nothing but
religious legislation; because it distinctly recog-
nizes and establishes a religious institution.

And that means the "Christian" religion by
force: which is not Christian nor The Reforma-
tion at all, but is only papal.

No person who is of the Federal Council can
deny that the "Sabbath" legislation intended is
religious; because —

By the terms "Christian Sabbath" and
"Lord's Day" the Federal Council means Sunday.

The very first of all things named in the grand
scheme of the Federal Council for "law-enact-
ment," "law-improvement," and "law-enforce-
ment," as "the imperative duty of Local or State
Federations," is "especially in regard to Sun-
day-rest. ' '

The Council urges the passage of the chief Sun-
day bill that for the past five years has been and is
now before Congress.

That bill is openly based on ' ' the Fourth Com-

The Fourth Commandment 365

mandment of an all- wise God;'* and the Fourth
Commandment is nothing but religious and
wholly spiritual.

In the United States Senate, Senator Johnson
of Alabama is the author and promoter of the
bill. It is a ^^Bill for the Observance of Sunday
in the District of Columbia. ' ' And in ^ ^ Senate Ee-
port No. 33, Sixty-Second Congress, first session,
from the Committee on the District of Columbia,
Senator Johnson referred to this bill as —

"an attempt to enact into law the injiinctioji of
the Fourth Commandment of an all-wise God and Lov-
ing Father."

In his Haverford lectures on ^^The United
States, a Christian nation, *' the late Justice
Brewer, of the national Supreme Court, said that
"through a large majority" of the court decisions
on Sunday laws ^ ^ there runs the thought of its be-
ing a religious day, consecrated by the command-
ment . . . ^The seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord thy God.' "

Thus by Congress and courts Sunday legisla-
tion is positively based on the Fourth Command-
ment.

And thus by Congress and courts and the Fed-
eral Council of Churches there is definitely raised
and openly forced upon the people of the United
States the religious issue of the enforced observ-

366 The Federal Council and The Reformation

ance of ^ ' the Fourth Commandment of an all- wise
God and Loving Father. ' '

This being so, it is incumbent on every person
who has any respect for ^'the Fourth Command-
ment" or for ^'an all-wise God and Loving Father,
the author of the commandment," just as openly
and just as distinctly, to meet the issue thus raised
and forced upon us.

First of all, let there be made perfectly clear
and plain just what the issue is not and just what
it is.

The issue is not whether or not God is *^an
all-wise God and Loving Father." The issue is
only whether God has committed to the Congress
and the courts of the United States the work of
making His wisdom and love effective upon all
the people by governmental force.

The issue is not whether or not the ^* all-wise
God and Loving Father" is ^^the author of the
Fourth Commandment." The issue is only whether
He has commissioned the Congress and courts of
the United States to be to the people of the United
States the authoritative and infallible interpreters
and expositors of His commandments.

The issue is not whether or not the people of
the United States shall be religious. The issue is
whether we shall be compelled to be religious, or,
at least, to act as if we were.

The issue is not whether or not there shall be

Enforced Sabbath Observance 367

religion. The issue is solely whether there shall
be 671 forced religion.

The issue is not whether or not there shall be
Sabbath observance. The issue is solely whether
there shall be enforced Sabbath observance.

In meeting the issue thus forced upon us, of
the enforced observance or recognition of ^Hhe
Fourth Commandment'' of ^'an all-wise God,"
the very first thing that arrests the attention is :

How is it that in enforcing ^ ' the Fourth Com-
mandment" Congress and the courts and the Fed-
eral Council would enforce the observance of
Sunday as the Sabbath of that commandment!

The Fourth Commandment, as the ^^ all- wise
God and Loving Father ' ' spoke it and twice wrote
it, says '^the seventh day is the Sabbath." But
Congress and the courts and the Federal Council
propose to enforce that commandment by compel-
ling the recognition of ^'the first day."

This very Sunday bill that is proposed by its
author as the expression in law of ^'the Fourth
Commandment," plainly designates ^Hhe first day
of the week, commonly called Sunday."

How is it, then, that Congress and the courts
and the Federal Council will secure the observance
or recognition of the commandment of God that
requires rest on the seventh day of the week, by
compelling the people to obey a law of man that
requires rest on ^'the first day of the week?"

368 The Federal Council and The Reformation

In short, how did Sunday, the first day of the
week, become the Sabbath of the Fourth Com-
mandment, which is the seventh day of the week?
This is the pivot of this whole issue.

It is the purpose here to answer that pivotal
question so fully and so plainly that there shall be
no room for any misunderstanding of the question
or the issue, either by Congress or courts, or even
by the plain citizen.

From the beginning to the end of the Bible,
the first day of the week and the Sabbath of the
Fourth Commandment are as distinct as are any
other two things anywhere.

On The Eeformation principle of ^^ nothing but
the Word of God," there is no evidence at all that
the Lord's Day is Sunday. The expression is
used in the Bible just the one single time of Eev.
1:10.

Therefore unless the Bible in some other place
tells what day is the Lord's, nobody ever can cer-
tainly know what day of the week it is.

But there is an obligation implied. The phrase
is possessive — the Lord's Day. And Jesus has
told us to ''render to God the things which are
God's."

The Word of God then must tell us what day
is the Lord's Day, or else in this we never can
render to God that which is His. Then the Bible
would not be a complete guide. The guide would

Two Separate Things 369

have to be the Bible and something else. And
that would be no guide at all; we should be all at
sea, subject to every wind.

And the Bible does tell, in the word of God,
what day is His, thus: "If thou turn away thy
foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
My holy day.'' Isa. 58: 13.

There is the day that is the Lord's. And it is
the Sabbath : the seventh day of the Fourth Com-
mandment.

And no man can find the Lord's Day to be any-
thing else than the Sabbath of the Lord, the sev-
enth day, without abandoning The Reformation
and Christian ground of ''nothing but the Word
of God, ' ' and standing on the papal ground of the
Bible and tradition.

As in the Bible the Sabbath and the first day
of the week are two separate and distinct things,
so it continued for nearly fifteen hundred years
this side of the Bible time.

The first use of the term Lord's Day as ap-
plied to the first day of the week is by Ignatius, who
lived not long after the death of John the apostle.
And these are the words : —

''Let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a
spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law,
not in relaxation of the body, admiring the workman-
ship of God.

' ' And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every

25

370 The Federal Council and The Reformation

friend of Christ keep the Lord's day as a festival, the
resurrection day, the queen and chief of all the days."*

Thus when Sunday came in as tlie Lord's Day
it was not with any suggestion of its being the
Sabbath, nor even a sabbath ; but only as ' ' a f esti-
va!'' in addition to the Sabbath, and to be cele-
brated ^^ after the observance of the Sabbath.''

The period from the time of Ignatius to the
fourth century is covered in what is called the
^'Apostolic Constitutions," which for the use of
the clergy is a collection representing usages in
the churches.

In these ^'Constitutions" throughout there is
plain distinction made, both as to fact and to prin-
ciple, between the Sabbath of the Fourth Com-
mandment and the first day of the week. Thus :

''Keep the Sabbath and the Lord's day festival,
because the former is the memorial of creation and
the latter of the resurrection. ' '

There are not less than a dozen other state-
ments on the same subject, all equally explicit, and
all keeping up the same distinction.

* The authorities for the facts, dates, and quotations in
this chapter are: the '' Ante-Nicene Library;" the '^Nicene
and Post-Nicene Kathers;" Neander's "History of the Christian
Eeligion and Church," Vol. II, sections 2, 3; a law book, the
*'Ijaw of Sunday" — Appendix; Hallam's ''Constitutional
History of England," Chapter vii; Neal 's "History of the
Puritans;" Brooks's "History of Eeligious Liberty;" Mof-
fatt's "Church in Scotland;"' Encyc. Brit., Ninth Ed., under
"Scotland," and "St. Margaret;" Holtzman's "Kanon und
Tradition. ' '

A Sacerdotal State 371

Thus the Sunday was set up along with the
Sabbath without any Sabbatic character at all,
but only as a day of festivity.

The first suggestion of the idea of any abstain-
ing from work on Sunday was by the Bishop of
Orleans, in A. I). 305, when, in a dissertation on
the term, '^Lord's day," applied to Sunday, he set
forth that ^^ Christians should abstain from work''
on that day, since ''the apostles wished this day
to be no less honored than the Jewish Sabbath."

Such was the view and the practice in the
church before there ever was any Sunday law.
And all the records of that time demonstrate that
the setting up of Sunday as a festival day was
wholly of the church, and all the directions for the
celebration of it were wholly from the same source.
It was a church institution absolutely.

That period also marks the exaltation of the
bishops into an episcopal dominating hierarchy,
"only anxious," says Eusebius, ''to assert the
government as a kind of sovereignty for them-
selves."

It is not necessary to inquire on this whether
it was "the government" of the church or the gov-
ernment of the State that they were anxious to
assert, for it was both.

For, says Neander, "There had, in fact, arisen
in the church a false theocratical theory . . . which
might easily result in the formation of a sacer-

372 The Federal Council and The Reformation

dotal State, subordinating the secular to itself in
a false and outward way. ' '

**This theocratical theory was already the pre-
vailing one in the time of Constantine, and . . .
the bishops voluntarily made themselves depend-
ent on him by their disputes and by their de-
termination to make use of the power of the State
for the furtherance of their aims.''

And the Sunday laws were the means by which
those bishops made effectual ^Hheir determination
to make use of the power of the State" for the
furtherance of their theocratical aims.

This can be verified by any one who will but
trace the facts in Neander's history of the time.
He first tells of that ^^determination'' of the
falsely theocratical bishops, as above stated. Then
he tells the story of the Sunday laws from the first
one by Constantine in 314 down to the one by
Theodosius the Younger in 425. And then, with-
out a break, and with direct reference to these
Sunday laws, he says: '^In this way the church
received help from the State for the furtherance
of her ends."

She started out with the ^'determination" to
do it; she did it; and *4n this way" she did it.

Just what that way was will now be traced.
The first Sunday law in the world was in an edict
of Constantine, about the year 314, which, accord-
ing to Neander's paraphrase, provided and or-

Sunday Laivs Religious Only 373

dered that on Friday and on Sunday ^ ^ there should
be a suspension of business at the courts and in
other civil offices, so that the day might be de-
voted with less interruption to the purposes of de-
votion. * '

And Sozomen says that Constantine —

''Commanded that no judicial or other business
should be transacted on these days, but that God should
be served with prayers and supplications."

That puts it beyond all question that the ex-
press intent of the first legislation in behalf of
Sunday as a day of cessation from common occu-
pation was religious only. And the intent of the
lawgiver being the law, that first Sunday law was
religious only.

The second step in Sunday legislation was in
the edict of Constantine, A. D. 321. The scope of
the law was now extended to include not only the
courts and other State offices, but also ''the people
residing in cities," and "such as work at trades."

And still the intent was unqualifiedly the same,
for Eusebius, the historian of the time, and one
of the bishops who had most to do with the legisla-
tion, says of it that Constantine —

"Commanded, too, that one day should be regarded
as a special occasion for religious worship. ' '

In positive expression of the continued re-
ligious intent in the law, Constantine, as the inter-

374 The Federal Council and The Reformation

preter of his own law, caused to be drawn up a
prayer to be repeated in concert every Sunday
by the imperial troops at a given signal, as they
were paraded for the purpose.

It is, therefore, impossible fairly to deny or
to ignore that this law was definitely religious.
And in addition to this, there is the evidence that
it was exclusively religious.

This evidence is again in the words of Bishop
Eusebius, saying that Constantino —

"Commanded the nations inhabiting the continents
and islands of this mighty globe to assemble weekly on
the Lord's day and to observe it as a festival, not in-
deed, for the pampering of the bod}^, but for the com-
fort and invigoration of the soul by instruction in di-
vine truth."

That statement not only shows that Sunday
law to be religious, but it shows that it was relig-
ious to the exclusion of every temporal, civil, or
physical consideration.

In confirmation of all this, there is the further
fact that it was by his office and authority as Pon-
tifex Maximus — the head of religion, and not as
Emperor — the head of the State, that Constantine
issued his Sunday edicts.

For, says Duruy —

"In determining what days should be regarded as
holy, and in the composition of a prayer for national
use, Constantine exercised one of the rights belonging
to him as Pontifex Maximus, and it caused no surprise
that he should do this."

Union of Church and State 375

Yet, beyond all tliis is the fact that it was the
church federation of the time that was the secret
spring, the inspiration and the initiative, by which
it was all brought about. It was all only in the
furtherance of the grand scheme of the bishops
and their church-combine to establish the State
as ^^the Kingdom of God/'

And when they had accomplished their design,
they proclaimed that "The kingdom of God had
come," that "the saints of the Most High had
taken the kingdom,'' and that the enforcement of
these and kindred laws made the people "fit sub-
jects of the kingdom."

That is the true story, as it is the only story,
of the origin of Sunday legislation. That is the
sole and exclusive character of Sunday legislation
in its origin. That character is solely and exclu-
sively religious. It has no hint nor savor of any
other character than religious. And to the end
of the world that character never can be separated
from Sunday legislation.

The Sunday institution and all that was at-
tached to it was wholly of the church. And when
from the federated church the State accepted and
embodied in the law this exclusively church insti-
tution, this, in the very fact of the doing of it, was
the union of the church and the State.

Yet, though the Sunday was now embodied in
the imperial law and enforced upon all the people,

376 The Federal Council and The Reformation

it was neither held by the church nor adopted nor
enforced by the State as the Sabbath of the Fourth
Comroandment; but still only as another day of
rest along with the Sabbath. And both days were
still observed, and in most instances by the same
persons, in that church-and-State system.

The status of both days as rest days at that
time is indicated by Bishop Eusebius thus: —

''All things whatsoever it was duty to do on the
Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord's day."
— Comment on Ps. 92.

The first definite step that was ever taken to
establish Sunday observance to the exclusion of
the Sabbath was by the Council of Laodicea, about
A. D. 364. In canon 29 of that council Christians
were forbidden to ''be idle'' and were commanded
to ''work on the Sabbath" and, "if possible, do
no work ' ' on the Sunday.

That council being not a general council, this
canon was an index of what was wanted, more than
an act of real force. This is shown by the fact
that the council itself adopted three other canons
recognizing the observance of the Sabbath.*

* ''Canon 16. On Saturday, the Gospels and other portions
of the Scripture shall be read aloud.

''Canon 49, During Lent the bread shall not be offered,
except on Saturday and Sunday.

"Canon 51. During Lent no feasts of the martyrs shall
be celebrated, but the holy martyrs shall be commemorated on
the Saturdays and Sundays of Lent. Hefele's "History of the
Church Councils." His translation of the canons gives "Sat-
urday" every time, but the original is "Sabbath."

Both Days Observed 377

In A. D. 416 Pope Innocent I recognized the
fact of the Sabbath still being observed in the
church equally with the Sunday. In a letter he
commanded that ' ' the Sabbath should be observed
as a fast day/' because "it shares the sadness and
the joy of Sunday, and the apostles were in great
affliction on that day;'' and that Sunday ought
to be observed as "a most festive day" on ac-
count of the joy that it brought to the disciples.

Socrates, whose ecclesiastical history reaches
down to A. D. 439, says : —

** Almost all churches throughout the world cele-
brate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbatli of every
week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome
have ceased to do this."

And he specifies what he calls '^the festal
days" of his time : —

*'I mean Saturday and Lord's day in each week,
on which assemblies are usually held in the churches."
— Book V, chap, xxii ; Book VI, chap. viii.

Sozomen, whose ecclesiastical history is carried
down to A. D. 460, says : —

**The people of Constantinople and almost every-
where assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as
on the first day of the week, which custom is never ob-
served at Rome or at Alexandria." — Book VII, chap,
xix.

In A. D. 538 a council at Orleans declared that
what should be lawful or unlawful on Sunday was

378 The Federal Council and The Reformation

a question ''exclusively of ecclesiastical juris-
diction. ' '

In A. D. 585, in a council at Macon, in Gaul,
another step was taken to make Sunday a Sabbath
in the place of the Sabbath. This council declared
that Sunday is ''the day of perpetual rest''
(referred to in Hebrews 4), of which "the
seventh day in the law and the prophets is the
type." And any disregarding it would incur the
cumulative penalty of, first, "the wrath of God;"
and secondly, "the unappeasable anger of the
clergy. ' '

In A. D. 596 Augustine wrote to Pope Gregory
"the Great" from Britain that the Briton
Christians were "given to Judaizing" and "were
ignorant of the holy sacraments and festivals of
the church."

That is to say, they observed the Sabbath and
were ignorant of Sunday observance.

In A. D. 602 Pope Gregory took another step
toward making Sunday a Sabbath to the exclusion
of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment. In
a letter he said : —

"It has come to my ears that certain men of per-
verse spirit have sown among" you some things that are
wrong and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid
any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else
can I call these but preachers of anti-Christ, who when
he comes, will cause the Sabbath day as well as the
Lord's day to be kept free from all work."

The Council of Friuli 379

He said that sucli teaching ^' would Judaize the
people;'' that '^ Christ is our Sabbath," and that
we ought to abstain from worldly labor and be
diligent in prayer on Sunday, ^Hhat we may ex-
piate the shortcomings of the other six days."

In A. D. 664 Oswald, King of Northumberland,
ordered Sunday observance. And the Sabbath
keepers, '^rather than to submit to it," withdrew
to the Isle of lona and to Ireland.

In the time between A. D. 732 and 769 another
step was taken in the making of Sunday a Sabbath
to the exclusion of the Sabbath. The Archbishop
of York made a compilation of ^'Selections from
the Canons," in which it is taught that 'Hlie
Sabbath was sanctified because of its reference
to the suffering of Christ and His rest in the
grave;" and that ''we should keep a spiritual
Sabbath on Sunday, which has been sanctified by
His resurrection."

Still, however, the Sabbath was observed by
some in the church. For in A. D. 791 the Council
of Friuli, in Italy, spoke of "the Sabbath" as the
day ' ' observed by the Jews and our rustics. ' ' Not
simply rustics, nor the rustics, but ''our rustics:"
which shows that the Sabbath was still observed
even in the Eoman church.

This same council took the widest stride yet
made toward the exaltation of Sunday as the
Sabbath. The council commanded that "the ob-

380 The Federal Council and The Reformation

servance of Sunday should begin at the hour of
the Sabbath evening office: not for the honor of
the Sabbath, but for that of the Lord's day," and
declared that Sunday is ^'the Sabbath of the
Lord, ' ' to which reference is made in Exodus 35 : 2,
in the words, ^'Whosoever doeth work therein
shall be put to death. ' '

That is the first place and time in all the history
of the world where Sunday is called 'Hhe Sabbath
of the Lord," or even ''the Sabbath" at all.

And yet, even then Sunday was not held as the
Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment, but as ''the
Sabbath of the Lord," to the exclusion of the
Sabbath of the Lord.

Twenty-two years afterward, however, nearer
approach was made to having Sunday to be the
Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment ; but not yet
quite in positive assertion. In A. D. 813 the Council
of Eheims decreed that, "according to the Lord's
commandment," no one should "do any servile
work" on Sunday.

In A. D. 829 the sixth Council of Paris set forth
that "the jiagans set apart certain days for the
honor of their gods;" that "the Jews, whose man-
ners were of a worldly sort, kept the Sabbath
in a worldly fashion," and that —

"a custom had grown up among Christians, as a
matter of religious observance, based upon an accred-
ited apostolic tradition, and certainly on the authority

The Council of Trent 381

of the church, to honor Sunday: (1) in memory of the
Lord's resurrection; (2) it was in that day that God
gave light to the world; (3) the Holy Spirit descended
upon the apostles ; (4) * as some doctors hold, ' the manna
fell from heaven;" that these and other things of simi-
lar character plainly show that "this day is more to
be respected than others."

Pope Nicholas I, A. D. 858 to 867, declared
that Sabbath rest '4s the doctrine of anti-Christ ;' '
but that Sunday rest '4s obligatory.''

In 1069 the Christians of Scotland were still
keeping the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment
' ' literally upon the seventh day of the week. ' '

In that year Princess Margaret of England be-
came the wife of the King of Scotland. ''Her
religion was of the newest Roman type." She
wrought changes in the Church of Scotland from
' ' the primitive type which down to her time it had
exhibited. ' '

And among these changes was "the abolition
of the old practice of observing Saturday (Sab-
bath), not Sunday, as the day of rest from labor, '*
and "the prohibition of labor on the Lord's day."

In the sixteenth century The Reformation pre-
vailed so mightily that the General Council of
Trent had to be called by the Church of Rome to
consider her situation.

The strongest ground of the Protestants was
their insistence that "the Bible, and the Bible
alone, is the only true standard of faith and

382 The Federal Council and TJie Reformation

morals," as against Kome's claim of ''the
Bible and tradition" as such standard.

When the council assembled it was found that
in the council itself, as the Pope's legates wrote
to him, there was ''a strong tendency to set aside
tradition altogether and to make Scripture the
sole standard of appeal."

This was dangerous to Eome, for with her
''tradition" means not merely antiquity, but "con-
tinuing inspiration, ' ' which is but another form of
ef^pressing "infallibility." Something must be
done to save the day for Eome.

And this is what was done: At the opening
of the last session, Jan. 18, 1562, "the Arch-
bishop of Kheggio made a speech, in which he
openly declared that tradition stood higher than
the Bible."

And the proof of it is thus given by him : —

"This very authority of the church is most of all
glorified by the Holy Scriptures. ... By the same au-
thority, the church, the legal precepts of the Lord
contained in the Holy Scriptures have ceased. The
Sabbath, the most glorious day in the law, has been
merged in the Lord's day. . . . This daj^ and similar
institutions have not ceased in conseciuence of the
preaching of Christ (for He says that He did not come
to destroy the law, but to fulfill it), but yet they have
been changed, and that solely by the authority of the
(^urch. ' '

There was no escape from this by the Protes-
tants. For their own confession of faith — the

The Change Accomplished 383

Augsburg Confession, 1530 — had clearly admitted
that ''the observation of the Lord^s day" had been
appointed by ' ' the church ' ' only. And in this the
Protestants plainly held, not ''the Bible, and the
Bible alone," but "the Bible and tradition," with
the tradition above the Bible. And this was but
Eome's own ground — and so Eome's cause was
saved.

Note that in the council the archbishop said:
"The Sabbath . . . has been merged in the
Lord's day."

Then the catechism of the Council of Trent,
A. D. 1567, completes the story thus: —

"When the ceremonies of the law were removed,
the Sabbath also, as a ceremonial, was removed. The
sanctification of the Sabbath is cessation from bodily
labor and business. The Sabbath we observe fully and
perfectly when we afford to God the duties of piety and
religion. The proper meaning of the Fourth Command-
ment tends to this: That a man give himself up at
some fixed time, so that, disengaged from bodily labor
and business, he may piously worship and adore God."

And as the church has made Sunda;)^ that
"fixed time" for worship, and has rjade that "the
proper meaning of the Fourth Commandment,"
there you have it.

And thus Sunday was made "the Sabbath of
the Fourth Commandment,"

All of the foregoing system of decrees of coun-
cils and popes, of papal kings and emperors, in be-

384 The Federal Council and The Reformation

half of Sunday, pervaded England. Indeed no
small part of it was directly of England ; because
England was a part of the papacy.

And after England was separated from the
Pope, the same thing was continued; because,
though England was divorced from the Pope, in
more ways than one she was not divorced from the
essential papacy.

In 1533 Henry VIII cut loose England from
the dominion of the Pope, and himself became
^'supreme head on earth of the church of Eng-
land:'^ and so all his successors to this day. With
the exception of the king as a pope in the place of
the Pope, nothing was changed.

In 1554 and onward was the rise and reign of
the Puritans. They maintained that the church of
England ''retained many human inventions and
popish superstitions," and insisted that all these
should be abandoned and ''the Word of God
alone" be followed.

Their special contention was against the
"habits, ceremonies, and discipline of the church"
of England : whether the clergy should wear vest-
ments ; whether the church should be governed by
bishops; whether there should be cathedrals, with
their arch-deacons, deans, canons, and other offi-
cials ; whether there should be church festivals and
holy-days, the sign of the cross, god-fathers, god-
mothers, etc.

Rise of the Puritans 385

The church of England held that : —

*' Though the Holy Scriptures are a perfect standard
of doctrine, they are not a rule of discipline and gov-
ernment : nor is the practice of the apostles an invari-
able rule or law to the church in succeeding ages; be-
cause they acted according to the circumstances of the
church in its infant and persecuted state. Neither are
the Scriptures a rule of human actions so far as that
whatsoever we do in matters of religion without their
express direction is sin; but many things are left in-
different."

Summarized, the respective positions were —

Church of England: Whatever the Scriptures
do not plainly forbid in matters of church disci-
pline, order, and government, may be commanded
by the church and practiced by believers, without
sin.

The Puritans: In all church discipline, order,
and government, as well as doctrine, the Scrip-
tures are the perfect and only rule of human
actions. Therefore in all things pertaining to re-
ligion, whatever is not commanded is vanity and
cannot be practiced without sin.

Accordingly the Puritans denounced as popery
all church festivals, holy-days, habits, and cere-
monies; and charged the Episcopalians with ''po-
pish leaven and superstition, and subjection to the
ordinances of men" in their practice of such
things.

As evidence that ought to convince the Puri-
tans that the church has liberty and authority in

26

386 The Federal Council and The Reformation

things not commanded, the Episcopalians held up
the fact that the observance of Sunday is only an
ordinance of the church and rests only upon the
authority of the church.

They urged that the Puritans were inconsist-
ent, self-contradictory, and arbitrary, in continu-
ing the observance of Sunday while denouncing
the authority of the church, the only authority
ujDon which rests that day and its observance as a
religious day.

This put the Puritans in a box. They were
keeping Sunday as the Sabbath. The only author-
ity that they could produce for it from all the
ages, was church authority: and the papal church
at that.

What could they do!!

Any authority of the church they would not
allow : for that would be to recognize popery.

Scripture command or authority for Sunday
observance they could not find : for there the only
command or authority for a day of weekly rest or
worship is the Fourth Commandment, which spe-
cifically designates the seventh day and not the
first day of the week.

Obey the plain and simple command of God
they would not : for that would be confession that
they had been wrong, and this would be to confess
that they were not infallible, did not know every-
thing, and could actually learn something.

The Puritan ''SahhaW 387

To continue to observe the Sunday only on the
authority which they most of all denounced, while
pressing upon the Episcopalians that there must
be a plain command of God for everything that
should be done in religion, was to take the whole
ground from under their own feet and leave them-
selves no standing at all.

There was great perplexity. There were great
searchings — not of heart, but for something, any-
thing, to save them in palpable error, not frofu it.

At last in 1594 ^^Eev. Nicholas Bownde (or
Bound), D. D., of Norton in the county of Suf-
folk,'' England, found their way out. He wrote a
book setting forth the following curious inven
tion : —

It is not the definite seventh day, but "a seventh
part of time" that is required by the Fourth Command-
ment to be kept as the Sabbath.

It is ''not the seventh day from creation; but the
dav of Christ's resurrection, and the seventh day from
that."

' ' The seventh day is genus ' ' in the Fourth Command-
ment, so that "the seventh day from creation, and the
day of Christ's resurrection and the seventh day from
that" are "both of them comprehended in the Com-
mandment even as genus comprehendeth both his
species."

Thus the Fourth Commandment was made to
require the observance of the seventh day from
creation until the resurrection of Christ, and the
first day from that time onward !

388 The Federal Council and The Refor^nation

That book of Dr. Bownde^s '^had a wonderful
spread among the people. All the Puritans fell
in with this doctrine, and distinguished them-
selves'' in their devotion to Sunday observance.

And thus the papal Sunday as the Sabbath of
the Fourth Commandment, became the Puritan
Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment. For the
use of the word '^Sabbath'' as applying to Sun-
day '^became in that age a distinctive mark of the
Puritan. ' '

In 1584 the Puritan influence in Parliament
caused the passage of ^'a bill for the better and
more reverent observation of the Sabbath'' —
Sunday. But Queen Elizabeth ^^ refused to pass
if because she would not consent that Parliament
should '^meddle with matters of religion, which
was her prerogative" as head of the church.

In 1603 King James VI of Scotland became
James I of England. In his progress through
England he saw the people restricted to narrow
and listless limits by the Sunday laws pressed
upon them by the narrower clergy.

Upon complaint of the peo])le of Lancashire,
King James as ^'supreme head on earth of the
church of England," with the advice of his prel-
ates, issued May 24, 1618, ''The King's Majesties
Declaration to his Subjects concerning Lawful
Sports to be used" on Sundays after evening
prayers.

The Book of Sports 389

This ''Declaration'' was called the ''Book of
Sports. ' ' The provisions of it were drawn up by
Bishop Morton, and it was issued, not by Parlia-
ment, but solely by James as "head of the
church/' It allowed dancing, archery, leap-
ing, vaulting, may-games, church-ales,* morrice
dances, setting up of may-poles, and ' ' other sports
therewith used. ' '

James was not particularly notable for kind-
ness of heart. The "Book of Sports" was issued
to rasp the Puritans. For at his very council-table
James had declared that "his mother and he from
their cradles had been haunted with a Puritan
devil which he feared would not leave him to his
grave. ' '

The Puritan opposition to the "Book of
Sports" was intense. A great controversy arose.
On all sides the Puritan application of the word
"Sabbath" to Sunday was disputed and ridiculed.

For instance : A bill having been introduced in
Parliament ' ' for the better observance of the Sab-
bath, usually called Sunday." One of the mem-
bers, a Mr. Shepherd, remarked upon it, "As Sat-
urday is dies Sabbati, this might be entitled 'A Bill

* Church-ale itself is ''A strong ale of good quality brewed
especially for a church-festival, and broached only on t^e day
of the feast in question. ' '

Celebration of church-ale is ''A convivial meeting on the
occasion of a church-festival, at which the ale specially brewed
was served."

390 The Federal Council and The Reformation

for the observance of Saturday, commonly called
Sunday.' "

Mr. Shepherd's remark was so pointedly perti-
nent that it was held to be contemptuously imper-
tinent, and ^'He was reprimanded on his knees and
expelled from the House of Commons."

In the House of Lords the words ^Hhe Lord's
day'' were substituted for the word ^'Sabbath,"
and the bill was sent down with the remark that
'^People do now much incline to the words of
Judaism."

However James asked Parliament not to pass
the bill, because ''it was so directly against" his
''Declaration," and the matter as in the Parlia-
ment stopped there for the time.

In the reign of Charles I, ' ' at the request of the
justices of the peace," the lord chief justice and
another judge jointly issued an order for the sup-
pression of the excesses indulged in the "sports."
But they were reproved by the archbishop who
was sustained by the king, and were required to
revoke their order; because of their "invading
and usurping the episcopal jurisdiction."

Oct. 18, 1633, at the instance of the arch-
bishop, Charles I reissued the "Book of Sports."
"The court had its balls, masquerades, and
plays," on Sunday evenings, "while the people in
the country enjoyed their morrice-dances, may-
games, church-ales, and other diversions."

The Sunday Law of Charles II 391

All this time there went steadily on the contro-
versy over the Puritan application of the word
''Sabbath'' to Sunday. In 1628 Theophilus Brad-
bourne, a clergyman, published a book pleading
for the acceptance and observance of the Lord's
Sabbath as it is given in the Commandment — ' ' the
seventh day ' ' — as ' ' the Christian Sabbath. ' ' But
all who recognized the real Sabbath of the Lord
and of the Fourth Commandment ' ' suffered great
persecution" from all sides.

April 6, 1644, the Long Parliament enacted
that ''all persons should apply themselves to the
sanctification of the Lord's day by exercising
themselves in the duties of piety and true religion,
publicly and privately ; and that no person should
publicly cry, show forth or expose to sale, any
wares or merchandise, etc. ; or, without reasonable
cause, travel, carry burdens, or do any worldly
labor or work;" the provisions of the "Book of
Sports" were abolished, the "Book" itself was
commanded to be burnt by the common hangman ;
also that there should be burnt "all other books
and pamphlets against the morality of the Fourth
Commandment or of the Lord's day."

In the reign of Charles II the church of Eng-
land again came into power. And the bishops
used their power to the fullest.

By the "Act of Uniformity," 1662, "the
crowning measure of ecclesiastical polity" —

392 The Federal Council and The Reformation

Knight; by the ^^Conventicle Act/' 1664, '^ devised
for the extirpation of all public worship not within
the walls of a church/' — Brooks; the ^^ Oxford
Five-Mile Act," 1666, intensified in 1670; ail relig-
ious preaching and teaching, and all worship and
assembly for worship, was confined only to that
' ^ allowed by the liturgy and practice of the church
of England."

And this was in order '^that every person
within this realm may certainly know the rule to
which he is to conform in public worship."

The effect of that legislation was to exclude all
dissenters in the realm from all places or assem-
blies of worship: for they would not go to the
places of worship of those who were making such
laws as these.

But that was not what those acts were for.
The one purpose of them all was to make the wor-
ship of the church of England the only worship in
the realm, and this worship to be attended by every
person in the realm.

Then and therefore, in 1676 there was enacted
the Sunday law of Charles II requiring every-
body to ** repair to the church" on Sunday. This
statute commands: —

''For the better observation and keeping holy the
Lord's day, commonly called Sunday: be it enacted
• • • that all the laws enacted and in force concerning:
the o])servation of the day, and repairing to the church
thereon, be carefully put in execution; and that all and

The Model Sunday Law 393

every person and persons whatsoever shall upon every
Lord's day apply themselves to the observation of the
same, by exercising themselves in the duties of piety
and true religion, publicly and privately; and that no
tradesman, artificer, workman, or other person what-
soever, shall do or exercise any worldly labor or busi-
ness or work of their ordinary callings upon the Lord 's
day, or any part thereof (works of necessity and charity
only excepted)," &c.

In England that statute compelled everybody
to go to the places of worship of the church of Eng-
land. The clause ' ' repairing to the church ' ' meant
only the church of England; for all other places
had been prohibited by the preceding acts.

In the colonies in America it was used to com-
pel the people to go to their respective places of
worship. And as it embodied the principal pro-
visions word for word of the Puritan statute of
1644 in England and enforced them all, the Puri-
tans in America came into their own again.

That Statute of Charles II is the original and
the model of all the Sunday laws in all the States
of the United States since the original thirteen.
And it is confessedly ''the modeP' of the Senate
Sunday bill that is now before Congress, and that
is urged by the Federal Council of churches.

Here then is the genealogy of all the Sunday
laws in all the States of the United States : The
Sunday laws of the later States are only the ex-
tension or repetition of the Sunday laws of the
original States, which were the identical Sunday

394 The Federal Council and The Reformation

laws of the colonies, which were the Sunday laws
of England, which were the Sunday laws of papal
Rome.

And from their original in Rome to their final
in these latest States, in every generation they
have been nothing else than exclusively religious
and ecclesiastical both in origin and intent.

And in completion of the story the Federal
Council of churches in its Philadelphia meeting,
Dec. 2-8, 1908, officially repeated and confirmed the
action of both the Puritan and the papal theocra-
cies in making Sunday the Sabbath of the Fourth
Commandment.

In that meeting of the Federal Council the
Committee on ^'Sunday Observance'^ said: —

''We have no objection to reading the Command-
ment : ' Remember that you keep holy one day in seven.
Consecrate this day unto the Lord as the Lord's. Let
it be unlike other days. Sanctify it. ' '

When the report was under discussion a mem-
ber of the Council offered this resolution : —

*'It is not our intention that anything shall be done
to interfere with the convictions of those brethren rep-
resented with us in this Council who conscientiously
observe the seventh instead of the first day of the week
as a day of rest and worship."

That resolution was overwhelmingly rejected
with loud and prolonged ' ' No-o-o-o ! ! "

That shows unmistakably that the statement of

The Federal Council Follows 395

the Council that they have no objection to their
own proposed reading of the Commandment ''that
you keep holy one day in seven" is not true — ex-
cept as that "one day in seven" is and shall be
Sunday.

Also it is thus demonstrated that they will not
allow anybody but themselves to read the Com-
mandment the way that they have said : and that
they themselves will read it in that way, only with
reference strictly and specifically to Sunday.

And that is how by the Federal Council Sun-
day, the first day of the week, became the Sabbath
of the Fourth Commandment which says that it is
the seventh day of the week.

There, then, by the indisputable evidence of
history, fact, and law, is the true story of just how
Sunday, the first day of the week, became, to the
Congress and courts of the United States, the
Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment of "an all-
wise God, ' ' who Himself said that it is the seventh
day of the week.

And from the beginning to the end of it the
conception, the invention, the process, and the
whole procedure were absolutely of the church, by
the church, and for the church.

However, let no one think for a moment that
what has here been presented is all the evidence
that there is in the case. Not at all. This narra-
tive has been purposely limited to the one pivotal

396 The Federal Council and Tlie Reformation

feature of the subject — the Sunday and the Sab-
bath of the Fourth Commandment.

Around, between, and along with, the facts
herein set forth there were scores upon scores of
acts and decrees promoting the observance of Sun-
day itself as such — fretting, fretting, fretting, for
more than sixteen hundred years, like the single
but continual dropping of water that melts stone,
wearing down both mind and spirit to dull and
enslaved submission or conformity to the eccle-
siastical tyranny that was the inspiration and
impetus of it all.

And such a thing as that — a thing composed
only of such stuff and nonsense and iniquity as
all that — is seriously proposed by a Senator of the
United States as the thought of the Fourth Com-
mandment of "an all- wise God,^' and to be en-
acted into law under the Constitution that de-
clares that Congress shall make ''no law'' on any
such subject!

And in the present insistent and persistent ec-
clesiastical pressure of federation, confederation,
and "forward movement'' backward, in an ever-
increasing tide upon Congress and all this land,
perpetually demanding Sunday legislation, and
ever more Sunday legislation — in all this what ob-
servant person can fail to see that history is being
repeated unto the very living likeness of the
original f

The Reformation Principle 397

To see how on principle The Eeformation
stands toward all this, read again the first para-
graph on page 28 of this book.

What more Satanic thing could ever be in-
vented, what thing more suicidal to the State or
more demoralizing to societj^, than the making of
idleness compulsory and universal, and honest in-
dustry a crime to be punished by fine and imprison-
ment?

Industry y not idleness, is the life of the State
and the stay of Society. Gen. 2 : 15 ; 3 : 17-19 ; John
5: 17; Rom. 12:11.

And now will Congress and the courts allow
the people of the District of Columbia and of
the United States to deal with their human law in
the like manner as they themselves thus deal with
the divine law?

When this very Sunday bill now before Con-
gress shall become law, expressing their thought
of ^^the Fourth Commandment,'' will they allow
you and me to observe the seventh day of the week
in fulfillment of their latv enjoining the first day
of the week, as they offer to ''an all-wise God'' the
observance of the first day of the week in fulfill-
ment of the divine law that enjoins the seventh day
of the week?

If not, why not? Upon what ground can they
refuse such action on the part of the people here?

What ground, indeed, other than the implica-

398 The Federal Council and The Reformation

tion that they and their human laiv are superior
to ^^an all-wise God" and His divine law!

Wouldn't it be interesting to know just what
**an all-wise God" and infinitely just Judge really
does think of all this ecclesiastical, legislative, and
judicial, fantastic fiddling with His law!

Finally, when the Congress and the courts of
the United States, and the Federal Council, shall
enforce upon the people any law requiring the ob-
servance or recognition of Sunday as the Sabbath
of the Fourth Commandment, then that will be,
not the Fourth Commandment as God gave it, but
only that commandment as the Church of Borne
has changed it.

And that will be the enforcement, not of the
will of God, hut of the will of the Church of Rome.

Sabbath observance, according to the Fourth
Commandment, as God gave it, means worship —
the worship of God.

''Sabbath" observance of the ''Fourth Com-
mandment," as Rome has changed it, just as cer-
tainly means worship — the worship of Rome : and
the worship of Rome as God in the place of God.

And when Congress and the courts of the
United States, or of any State, enforce the observ-
ance or recognition of the "Fourth Command-
ment" as Rome has changed it, that is nothing else
than the enforcement of the worship of Rome as
God in the place of God.

The Sign of Rome 399

In this connection recall from page 16 of this
book, The Reformation principle that '^ Subjec-
tion in the spiritual world constitutes worship."

There are just three specific characteristics
that distinguish the papacy :

1. A human theocracy: a false kingdom of
God.

2. The ^* Christian" religion by force: by law
and governmental power of both State and church.

3. Infallibility in the humanly constructed
church : which is but human infallibility.

The institution of Sunday as a day or the day
of assembly, or of worship, or of rest, or of re-
fraining from labor, for anybody, is the pivot upon
which turns each of these three specific character-
istics of the papacy.

The papacy is man in the place of God, and
above God in doing as God what God could not do.

Of His purpose and in His wisdom God occu-
pied six days in creating, and chose the seventh
day to be the Sabbath. By resting, blessing, hal-
lowing, and sanctifying, this day. He made it the
Sabbath of the Lord ''for the man."

It is not too much to say that He could have
created all things in five days, if in His wisdom He
had so chosen ; and could have rested, blessed, hal-
lowed and sanctified, the sixth day, and so made it
the Sabbath.

Or He could have occupied four days in crea-

400 The Federal Council and The Reformation

ting, and made the fifth day the Sabbath; or three
days in creating, and made the fourth day the Sab-
bath ; or two days in creating, and made the third
day the Sabbath ; or one day in creating, and made
the second day the Sabbath.

But that is as far as even God could go. For
He could not have occupied the first day in crea-
ting, and also have occupied it in resting. He could
not call that His rest day in which He had worked;
for ^^it is impossible for God to lie.'' Therefore
the Creator Himself could not make the first day
the Sabbath.

And by the same token it is demonstrated that
the men who have set up Sunday, the first day of
the week, as the Sabbath of the Fourth Command-
ment, in so doing have gone beyond ivhat God
Himself could do: and so have not only put them-
selves in the place of God, but above God.

And it would be impossible for men so effec-
tually to do this in any other way. Therefore,
Sunday as the Sabbath of the Fourth Command-
ment, or as the rest day to God, is transcendently
the sign of man in the place of God and above God
which is the specific distinguishing thing that
marks the papacy — ^Hhe beast'' of Revelation 13.

And thus it stands plain and certain that the
Sunday institution as the Sabbath of the Fourth
Commandment is 'Hhe mark of the beast" desig-
nated and denounced in Revelation 13 and 14.

All Denominations 401

And now all of the Roman federations, special
and general, are urging Sunday observance and
ever more Sunday observance hy laiv.

The Pagan governments of China and Japan
are definitely committed to it, hy law.

And all of the federations, denominational and
Federal, of false Protestants are committed to
Sunday observance hy law.

All of these are being combined in every pos-
sible way and by any possible means to bring about
the enforced observance of Sunday as the one day
for worship of all the world.

It is only the truth to say all. For there is not
a single denomination that is not committed to
Sunday observance hy law. Even the denomina-
tions that profess to keep the true Sabbath — the
Seventh-Day Baptists and the Seventh-Day Ad-
ventists — are committed to it.

The Seventh-Day Baptist denomination is
definitely and actively a working part of the Fed-
eral Council of Churches which is pre-eminently
devoted to universal Sunday observance hy law.
And beyond all question this commits that denomi-
nation to it.

But in addition to that, one of the delegates of
that denomination is actually a consenting mem-
ber of the Council's ^^ Commission on Sunday Ob-
servance!"*

*See '^ Sabbath Recorder/' April 21, 1913, page 487.
27

402 The Federal Council and The Reformation

By their supremely authoritative word the Sev-
enth-Day Adventists are committed to it. That
word to that denomination gives the following
specific and full instructions as to ^ ' Sunday observ-
ance'' when it is '^enforced'' by law: —

' ' The light given me by the Lord . . . was that when
the people were moved by a power from beneath to
enforce Sunday observance, Seventh-Day Adventists
were to show their wisdom by —

"refraining from their ordinary work on that day,

*' devoting it to missionary effort."

"House to house work can be done."

"Whenever it is possible, let religious services be
held on Sunday."

"On that day open-air meetings and cottage meet-
ings can be held.

"Make these meetings intensely interesting.

"Sing revival hymns and speak with power and as-
surance of the Saviour's love.

"Speak on temperance and on true religious ex-
perience."

"Make no demonstration on Sunday in defiance of
law."

"Give them no occasion to call you law-breakers."
— "Testimonies for the Church," No. 37, pp.
232-3.

And now in order that the situation shall be
accommodated to both of these denominations of
professed Sabbath-keepers, and to make it per-
fectly easy for them to occupy their false position
all the way, the arrangement is being made to
have both Sabbath and Sunday to be rest-days by
law.

The Federal Council actually proposes, advo-

Rome's Reign Enforced 403

cates, and works for, not merely a Saturday half-
holiday, hut the Saturday i^/^oZe-holiday : in the
^^hope'' that —

"the time may come when hand and brain toilers
shall have for their own use both Saturday and Sunday,
one being a day of social recreation and the other a
da}^ of worship."

At the Chicago meeting of the Council it was
said in a report that this scheme "gives to the
workingman a privilege that he never had before
— a day for worship, and a half-day or a whole-daj
for preparation:'' that the Saturday whole-holi-
day should be spent in "rest and recreation and
in sports and games, as a preparation for Sunday
as the day of worship.'^

Both in committee and on the floor of the Coun-
cil this arrangement as to the two days was agreed
to by the delegates of the Seventh-Day Baptist de-
nomination; and it fits exactly the already ar-
ranged procedure of the Seventh-Day Adventist
denomination. So certain it is that denomination-
alism wherever found is essentially papal.

Read again the words of Pope Gregory "the
Great" on page 378, that "Antichrist, when he
comes, will cause the Sabbath day as well as the
Lord's day to be kept free from all work."

If it can be supposed that Antichrist knows his
own mind and purpose, then this arrangement of
all denominations for both these days "to be kept

404 The Federal Council and The Reformation

free from all work" is unquestionable evidence
that the time of the ultimate Antichrist is now
upon the world ; and that through denominational,
national, and international, federation and con-
federation he is already carrying things his own
way in that aim and purpose.

^'And all that dwell upon the earth shall wor-
ship him, ivhose names are not ivritten in the Book
of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear."

Thus by the Federal Council, by Congress, and
by Courts ;

by Federation and Confederation, denomina-
tional, national, international, and world;

by the combine of all worldly power, false
Protestant, pagan, and papal ;

there is forced upon every soul the reign of
Eome against The Eeformation.

CHAPTER XVIII.
The Refokmation and The Sabbath.

No fault can ever be found with any of the Re-
formers because they did not see the true Sabbath
of the Fourth Commandment.

No one of the Reformers can even be charged
with inconsistency in this. It would be inconsist-
ent for anybody to require or to expect that in
their circumstances they should see everything.

They were awakened in the deep darkness of
the papal night. They were awakened by a great
light, it is true : and that light was the true Light.

Yet even then they could not be expected to
see everything. They could not see everything at
once, and could not live long enough to see all.

But they did see the fundamental truths. They
did see the principles in which everything is em-
braced; in which lies all that should ever follow.

And they were perfectly consistent in those
principles. Indeed it is marvellous how clearly
and fully they distinguished the divine principles,
and with what perfect precision in these principles
they held the straight course.

Those wonderful men never can be too highly
honored for what they did. It is not too much
to say that without The Reformation the world
could not have lived till now.

405

406 The Reformation and The Sahhath

But it is not true honor to the Reformers for
those ivho have come after to see only what they
saw and as they saw it, and to hold only what
they held and as they held it.

For people to dwell in, and have the full benefit
of, all the light that broke upon the world by the
Eeformers, and not see more than they saw is to
see less than they saw : is to be less than they were :
and is to dishonor instead of to honor them.

The light of God ever shines '^more and more"
onward ^^unto the perfect day." And those who
come after must stand in all the light that shone
before, and also in the '^more^' that shines because
of that which has shone before.

The Reformers are not in any wise to be held at
fault for not seeing the true Sabbath. But when
their successors came in as heirs of The Reforma-
tion, and Rome picked up that very truth of the
Sabbath and brought it home to them, and spread
it out before their eyes, and laid it down at their
feet, then these were decidedly and guiltily in-
consistent not to follow up the fundamental prin-
ciples of The Reformation in the acceptance of
that truth.

And when that has ever been continued by
Rome, and in the progress of The Reformation has
been repeated by others over and over, these to-
day are still more inconsistent with the Spirit of
Truth, they still more dishonor the Reformers

The Reformation Demands It 407

and deny The Reformation, when they refuse to
accept God's Sabbath and honor Him and The
Reformation by the observance of it.

Every principle of The Reformation demands
the recognition and observance of the Sabbath of
the Lord.

The Sabbath of the Lord is the complement of
each principle of The Reformation and of all of
them together. Whereas by each and every prin-
ciple of The Reformation the Sunday is excluded.

Take for instance the principle of ^'The Word
of God.'' There is the Word of God for the Sab-
bath. There is no word of God for the Sunday.

Take the principle of ^^The whole Word of
God. ' ' The whole Word of God from beginning to
end is for the Sabbath. From beginning to end
there is no word of God for the Sunday.

Take the principle of ^^ Nothing but the Word
of God." With nothing but the Word of God the
Sabbath stands in its full glory and majesty. With
nothing but the word of God the Sunday has no
standing at all.

Take the principle of Righteousness hy faith :
*^By the obedience of One shall many be made
righteous." It is only by the obedience of Christ
that any soul can ever be made righteous with the
righteousness of God.

There is obedience of Christ His whole life-
time in Sabbath observance, to make every soul

408 The Reformation and The Sabbath

righteous in that. And so Sabbath-keeping can
be, and it is, altogether of the works of Grod and
of the righteousness of God which is by faith.

There is no obedience of Christ in Sunday ob-
servance, ever to make any soul righteous in that.
And so Sunday observance has to be, and it is,
altogether of man's own works and never can be
of faith.

Therefore Sunday observance never can be
of The Reformation nor of Christianity; while
on every principle Sabbath observance is required
by The Reformation and Christianity.

Take the principle that All duty is commanded :
and no man can do more than duty.

Sunday observance is nowhere commanded. To
do it is to do more than duty.

To be able to do more than duty in what is
not commanded would enable a man to balance up
on his failures to do in all things what is com-
manded, and so to save himself.

And this is precisely the doctrine of Sunday
observance. Read again the words of Pope
Gregory on page 379. And thej^e is exactly where
Sunday observance belongs, and not with The Ref-
ormation nor v/ith Christianity.

Take the principle of the exposure of Anti-
christ. The Word of God in the prophecy rela-
ting to that power gives as one of its chief features
that ^4ie should think to change the Law*' of the

What Is The Sabbath 409

Most High. And the whole career of the develop-
ment and reign of the papacy presents as one of its
chief features the change of that precept of the
Law touching the Sabbath : changing it from God's
thought to man's: putting the day of the man of
sin, in the place of the day of the God of righteous-
ness.

The plain record is that for more than sixteen
hundred years there was carried on continuously
and persistently by the great antagonist of God
the set purpose to put away from the knowledge
of men the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment.
That itself is evidence that in the Sabbath of the
Lord there is truth that is of the greatest value.

What then is the Sabbath of the Lord? what
does it mean to men? what is its meaning to the
universe ?

The word ^'Sabbath" is Hebrew, and signifies
rest. As ''the Sabbath of the Lord thy God" it is
rest of the Lord thy God.

Therefore the Sabbath is God's rest, not man's.
It is God's rest for man: not man's rest for him-
self. To keep the Sabbath is to find and to keep
God's rest.

God is only Spirit. His rest is only spiritual.
To keep the Sabbath is to find and to keep spiritual
rest on the Sabbath day,

God is only ''the eternal God." His rest is
only eternal rest. In the Sabbath day for man,

410 The Reformation and The Sabhath

God has put His own rest which is eternal to be to
man in tmie the foretaste and earnest of God's
rest in eternity that waits for man, and to revive
and cheer man on the way through this world to
^'the world to come/'

Jesus said, ^ ' The Sabbath was made for man. ' '
Mark 2 : 27.

Strictly and literally what Jesus said is this :
*'The Sabbath was made for the man."

The phrase ^^the man" is the exact translation
in Greek and English of the Hebrew word
^^Adam."

This is confirmed beyond all possibility of
question by a comparison of the Septuagint, the
King James, and the Revised, versions of Genesis
1 : 27 to 5 : 2.

In the Hebrew there the word Adam is used
twenty-five times. The Septuagint continues the
word Adam eighteen times, translates it '^the
man" six times, and ^^man" once.

The King James version continues the word
^'Adam" thirteen times, translates it *'the man"
eight times, and ^^man" four times: with margin,
^^Adam" once, and ^^the man" once.

The Revised version continues the word
*^ Adam" only three times, translates it '^the man"
eighteen times, and ^^man" four times: with mar-
gin, ^^Adam" once, and '^man" once.

This makes it plain that the phrase **the man"

It Was Made for Adam 411

is strictly and preferably the translation of the
word ^'Adam."

Therefore, what Jesus said in Mark 2: 27 is,
*'The Sabbath was made for Adam/'

And it was made for **Adam — the man" —
while he was yet God's man: ^^the man" of God's
'' eternal purpose" concerning mankind and the
world.

This ^^ eternal purpose" was *' purposed in
Christ Jesus our Lord." Eph. 3: 11. And thus
Christ was the Surety of that purpose, that it
should be accomplished.

Therefore when the first Adam failed and
threw all away, it was only the effecting of the
original purpose when Christ took that Adam's
place, and Himself, as ^^the last Adam," carried
through the eternal purpose that was invested in
the first Adam.

When the first Adam failed, he ceased to be
^^the man" of the eternal purpose. He was no
more the true Adam, and never will be.

When Christ as ^^the last Adam" took the place
that had been vacated by the first Adam, He then
became 'Hhe man" of the eternal purpose. And
thus He became the only true Adam that is or ever
will be.

The Sabbath was made for the Adam of God's
eternal purpose. It was made for that Adam while
he was yet in God's eternal purpose. Therefore

412 The Reformation and The Sahhath

the Sabbath is inseparably of God's eternal pur-
pose, and so is an eternal institution.

The Sabbath was made for the Adam of God's
eternal purpose. Both in the surety and in the
fact, Christ is that Adam. Therefore the Sabbath
was made for Christ, and is as eternal as is He in
the effecting of that purpose.

The Adam for whom as God's man the Sab-
bath was made was the head and fountain of the
mankind who in God's eternal purpose should be
the inhabitants of this earth.

Christ only, as ^'the last Adam," is the One
who as God's man is in surety and in fact the Head
and Fountain of the mankind who in God's pur-
pose shall inhabit this earth.

Therefore the Sabbath was made for Christ,
and in Him for all who in that eternal purpose will
be His : that is, for all Christians.

Accordingly, in Christ, and in Him only, is to
be found the Sabbath of the Lord as it is in the
truth of God's thought and purpose.

The life of Jesus is the Way for all mankind,
and the Way of all Christians.

It is the life of Jesus that saves sinners. Kom.
5 :10. It is the life of Jesus that is to be manifested
in Christians: even *4n our mortal flesh" while
we are in this body. 2 Cor. 4 :10, 11 ; Gal. 2 :20 ; Col.
1:27; Kom. 5:19.

The Sabbath of the Lord, in the very truth of

The Divine Sign 413

it, and in the perfect truth of the keeping of it, is
essentially a part of the life of Jesns. For Jesus
kept the Sabbath during His whole life on earth.

Therefore the Sabbath and the keeping of it
belongs essentially in the life of every Christian.
The life of Jesus in the Christian never can be
perfected without the Sabbath in the keeping of it.

Without this, the life of the believer is unlike
the life of Jesus. And wherein any life is unlike
the life of Jesus, just to that extent it comes short
of being the true Christian life.

This forever fixes it that the Sabbath of the
Lord is the only true day of rest, or of worship,
or of refraining from labor for Christians.

It is written: ^'Hallow my Sabbaths, and they
shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may
know that I am the Lord your God." Eze. 20: 20.

It is a sign by which "ye may knoiu/' It is
therefore a way to knowledge. It is a means of
finding knowledge from God: and thus it is a
means of revelation, from God and of God.

That one thing alone, even if that were all there
were of the Sabbath, would be enough to make it
of infinite worth and eternal standing.

But that is not all. For note :

It is not a sign between me and you, only that
I am, hut "that ye may knoiv that I am."

It is not a sign only that I am the Lord, hut
"that ye may know that I am the Lord."

414 The Reformation and The Sahhath

It is not a sign only that I am the Lord your
God, but ''that ye may know that I am the Lord
your God."

The Sabhath, therefore, to him tvho halloivs it,
is a sign by which he knows God hy personal ac-
quaintance.

But ^'no man knoweth . . . the Father, sa^^e
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal
Him.'' Matt. 11:27.

When no one knows God except as He is re-
vealed in Christ ; and when the Sabbath is a sign
by which he who hallows it may know that the
Lord is his God; then it follows that the certain
truth of that Scripture is just this: ^'Hallow my
Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me
and you, that ye may know that I, as I am revealed
in Christ Jesus the Lord, am the Lord your God."

*'And this is life eternal that they might know
Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom
Thou hast sent." And so the Sabbath of the Lord
is the God-given sign by which may be found the
knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He
hath sent, that is the very certainty of life eternal.

For when the Sabbath is ''a sign" that he tvho
hallows it may know that the Lord as revealed in
Christ is his God, then it is certain that in the Sab-
bath He has put the reflection, the impress, of Him-
self as He is revealed in Christ to the believer in
Him.

God as Revealed in the Sabbath 415

What then is the Lord thy God, and what the
manifestation of Him, to man, in the Sabbath of
the Lord as made for and given to the man, as a
sign by which he may know that the Lord is his
God I

First of all He is Creator: for if there had been
no creation there never could have been any Sab-
bath. The Creator manifested in creation is the
first and fundamental essential to there being the
Sabbath — the rest — of the Lord thy God. And so
the Sabbath is the reminder, the memorial, of the
Creator in His Creation.

Next, in the Sabbath He is Rest : for, **God did
rest the seventh day from all His works;'' and
'Hhe seventh day is the rest of the Lord thy God."
Heb. 4:4.

Next, in the Sabbath, He is Blessing : for ^'God
blessed the seventh day," ^^for the man/'

Next, in the Sabbath He is Holiness: for ''the
Lord hallowed'' — made holy — the Sabbath day."
'^Call the Sabbath ... the holy of the Lord." Isa.
58: 13.

Next, in the Sabbath He is Sanctification : for
He '^sanctified" — set apart to Himself for pur-
poses of holiness — the seventh day, which is the
Sabbath. And it is "a sign . . . that they might
knotv that I am the Lord that sanctify them." —
Eze. 20: 12.

All of that from God, and God as all of that, is

416 The Reformation and The Sabbath

in the Sabbath as made for the man. And it took
all of that to make it the Sabbath for man.

Therefore, in the Sabbath of the Lord thy God
there is the impress^ the revelation, of Himself to
man as

his Creator,

his Eest,

his Blessing,

his Holiness,

his Sanctification.

And all of that is exactly what He is in Christ
to the believer in Him : and in exactly that order.

The first of all things that God is in Christ to
anybody or anything is Creator: for '' without
Him was not anything made that was made."

But sin undid all of that. And now what is
God in Christ first of all to the sinner who believes
in Him?

First of all in Christ to the sinner who believes
in Him, as in the Sabbath to him who hallows it,
God is Creator: for *'We are His workmanship,
CEEATED in Christ Jesus unto good works which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in
them." Eph. 2:10.

Next, in Christ to the believer as in the Sab-
bath to him who hallows it, God is Rest: for ''We
which have believed do enter into rest;" and ''he
that is entered into His best, hath ceased from his
own works, as God did from His." Heb. 4: 3, 10.

God as Revealed in Christ 417

The sinner, longing to cease from the short-
coming— the sin — of his own works and to ^'do
better," has labored hard and long to do the good
that he knows, and so to find rest of heart, soul,
and spirit, in good works accomplished : but all in
vain. And in discouragement he cries out, ^'0!
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me
from this body of death?" Eom. 7 : 14-24.

To every such soul the divine answer is: ^'I
thank God there is deliverance through Jesus
Christ our Lord," who says to all, ''Come unto
Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden j and /
will give you rest.''

The sinner accepts the heavenly invitation, and
believes on Him. Instantly the divine power of the
creative Spirit creates him anew in Christ Jesus
nnto the very works of God — the righteousness of
God which is by faith of Jesus Christ — which He
hath before ordained that we should walk in, but
which we all missed and turned to our own way and
works of our own righteousness which are only the
filthy rags of sin.

And through entering into the works of God in
Christ, the believer enters into the rest of God in
Christ.

And thus the first and fundamental essential to
God's rest in Christ, is God's work of the new crea-
tion in Christ.

If there be no new creation in Christ, there

28

418 The Reformation and The Sabbath

can be no rest in Christ. But thank the Lord there
is ever God's new creation for every soul; for He
is the same yesterday and today and forever.

And the believer hath ceased from his own
works, by entering, through God's new creation in
Christ, into God's good works of the righteous-
ness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto
all and upon all them that believe: for there is
no difference : for all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God.

And so, to the believer in Jesus, the Sabbath —
the rest — of the Lord thy God is the reminder, the
memorial, of the Creator in His creation of us in
Christ Jesus unto God's good tvorks through
which alone we have God's blessed rest.

Next, in Christ to the believer, as in the Sab-
bath to him who hallows it, God is Blessing : for
he ^'hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ." And ''God, having
raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you,
in turning away every one of you from his iniqui-
ties." Eph. 1:3; Acts 3: 26.

The blessing of God in Christ to the believer,
is not only in saving him from the sins that he has
committed; but in turning him away from com-
mitting sin : turning his back upon it : turning him
aivay so that he goes now in the opposite direc-
tion— in the way of righteousness instead of in the
way of sin.

The Sabbath Blessing 419

And this has been always the purpose and the
po^er of God's blessing, as manifested in Christ
in His blessed day. This is made plain and cer-
tain in His word concerning the Sanctuary and its
ministration : for He says that His purpose in that,
is, ' ' to finish transgression, to make an end of sins,
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
EVERLASTING righteousucss. ' ' Dan 9 : 24.

^'God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent
Him to bless you in turning atvay every one of you
from his iniquities" to just that glorious extent:

that in your life transgression is finished, so
that there is no more of it there :

that in your life an end of sins is made, so that
you are done with it :

that in your life reconciliation — atonement —
for iniquity is accomplished, so that you are free
from it all :

And that, in your life, "everlasting righteous-
ness'' is brought in, to abide and reign there.

That is the blessing that God is in Christ to the
believer in Jesus; and that is just the meaning of
the blessing that God is in the Sabbath, to him
who, through the faith of Christ and in the Spirit
of God, hallows the Sabbath.

Next, in Christ to the believer, as in the Sab-
bath to him who hallows it, God is Holiness: for
when in His blessing to us by His Son Jesus, He
has finished transgression, and made an end of

420 The Refor^nation and The Sabbath

sins, and made reconciliation for iniquity, in onr
lives, and has brought in everlasting righteousness
to abide and reign there, this is "unto holiness/^

Next^ in Christ to the believer, as in the Sab-
bath to him who hallows it, God is Sanctification:
for to the preacher of the gospel, he says : ''I send
thee to open their eyes to turn them from darkness
to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,
that they may obtain forgiveness of sins, and in-
heritance among them that are sanctifip:d by faith
that is in Me/'

And so, in the revelation of God in the Sab-
bath to man, and in the revelation of God in Christ
to man, there stands this perfect parallel :

In the Sabbath He is — In Christ He is —
Creator, Creator,

Rest, Rest,

Blessing, Blessing,

Holiness, Holiness,

Sanctification. Sanctification.

And in perfect demonstration this certifies —
that, in the Sabbath of the Lord, God has put

the very reflection and impress of Himself as He

is revealed in Christ ;

that, only in the faith of Christ is the Sabbath

of the Lord truly and fully found, and only in the

Sabbath of the Lord as it is in Spirit and in truth

is Christ truly and fully found ;

Tlie Bread of The Presence 421

mid that, thus each is the complement of the
other for evermore, in the faith of Christians and
in their hnoivledge and service and ivorship of the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath
sent.

The ^*shew-bread'' in the sanctuary was liter-
ally the ' ' bread of the presence ' ' and signified the
^'Presence/' with God's people, of that true
^' Bread of God'' which cometh down from heaven
and giveth life unto the world. John 6 :33-35, 48-51.

That bread of the Presence in the sanctuary
was renewed fresh-haked at the beginning of each
succeeding Sabbath day. This was the revelation
of the mighty truth that at the beginning of each
succeeding Sabbath day the Presence of Christ the
true Bread is renewed in fresh and living experi-
ence to every true worshipper who hallows the
Sabbath. Ex. 33 : 14.

^'Keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My Sanc-
tuary: I am the Lord." Levit. 19 : 30.

That is what the Sabbath is, and that is what
the keeping of the Sabbath is, and what it means.

And ^^ there remaineth'^ this *^ keeping of a
Sabbath to the people of God/^

For it stands written : ^ ' There remaineth there-
fore a rest — keeping of a Sabbath [margin], a
Sabbath rest [Rev. Ver.] — to the people of God."
Heb. 4:9.

This keeping of Sabbath that remaineth, this

422 The Reformation and The Sabbath

Sabbath that remaineth to be kept, is the Sabbath
of ^ ^ the seventh day. " V. 4.

It is the same day in which God rested when He
finished His works at the foundation of the world ;
and that has remained ever since for mankind to
enter into. Vs. 3-6.

It was there for the first Adam to enter into,
but he failed to enter into it.

It remained for Israel to enter into, when they
were brought out of Egypt in God's purpose to
fulfill His oath to Abraham. Heb. 3 : 7-11, 16-19 ;
Ex. 6: 3-8; 15: 13, 17; Ps. 81: 13-15; Gen. 50: 24,
25; Ex. 13:19.

Israel failed to enter into it then, and it re-
mained for them to enter into in the days of
Solomon when God would fulfill His oath to David.
Heb. 4 : 6, 7 ; Ps. 95 : 7-11 ; 72 : 1-17 ; 1 Kings 10:1,
24; Ps. 89: 19-37.

Again Israel failed to enter into it, even
Solomon himself taking the lead away from God.
1 Kings 10: 26; 11: 1-13; Deut. 17: 16, 17. But
still that rest of God, that keeping of a Sabbath,
*^ remained to the people of God.''

Then came the Lord Jesus, ^Hhe man" of
God's eternal purpose, ^Hhe last Adam," ^'the
Seed of Abraham," and 'Hhe Son of David." And
He did not fail.

He entered into God's rest in the keeping of
the Sabbath, which from the foundation of the

Christ Is The Way 423

world had remained for that purpose, mid he
entered into God's rest in ^Hhe world to come/' of
which God's rest in the Sabbath is the beginning
and foretaste.

And He showed the way, He consecrated the
way. He is the Way, into God's rest in this world,
and through God's rest in this world into God's
rest in ^'the world to come."

And that is the established and the consecrated
and the unfailing Way into and in God's rest here
and hereafter forevermore.

And that blessed rest — that holy, that conse-
crated, '^keeping of a Sabbath" — still ^'remaineth
to the people of God."

And all the time from the foundation of the
world to the end of the world, it is first God's
rest in the Sahhath of the Lord into which men
are to enter through faith on Christ and in which
we are to abide as the foretaste and earnest of
God's rest in the land of promise — ^Hhe world to
come."

For, the way that men will use God's rest given
to them through Christ in the Sabbath, is the test
and proof of just how they would use God's rest
that is promised to them in the world to come, if
that were now given to them.

In entering into this rest we cease from our
own works '^as God did from His." In ceasing
from His own works ^^God did rest the sev-

424 The Reformation and The Sahhath

entli day." In ceasing from our own works
we can not do it '^as God did'' without doing it
as He did and ^^rest the seventh day.''

Not to cease from our works on the seventh day
^'as God did from His," but to cease some other
day, is not to do ''as God did;" but is to do as
somebody else did. And that is to enter neither
God's works nor God's rest; but is to enter into
both the works and the rest of some one who is
neither God nor of God ; but who would put him-
self in the place of God and pass himself off for
God.

By the plain Word of God, therefore, ''there
remaineth the keeping of a Sabbath to the people
of God;" and this Sabbath is "the seventh day"
on which "God did rest from all His works."

What then is the keeping of the Sabbath? The
life of Jesus is the answer to this question.

"His custom was" to go to the place of as-
sembly of the worshippers of God. "Custom"
is "the frequent repetition of the same act or
thing." The Sabbath is the day of the worship
of God. Isa. 66:23.

He declared the true principle of Sabbath-
keeping to be "mercy, and not sacrifice." Matt.
12: 7. Whatever contravenes mercy, whether to
man or to beast, and makes the Sabbath a bur-
densome or sacrificial thing, is Sabbath-breaking
and not Sabbath-keeping.

What Sahhath Keeping Is 425

Whatever is done on the Sabbath day in mercy
and kindness to man or beast that is in need, or
that is done in the worship and service of God
according to His word, is Sabbath-keeping. Matt.
12 : 3-13.

Accordingly, to the scandal and indignation of
the Pharisees, Jesus made the Sabbath especially
a day of healing and blessing. Luke 6: 6-10;
13 : 10-17 ; 14 : 1-6 ; John 5 : 5-16 ; 7 : 23, 24 ; 9 : 13-16 ;
34-38.

Therefore, according to the Scriptures and the
Life and Spirit of Jesus, the keeping of the Sabbath
that '^remaineth to the people of God,^' and that
can be kept only by the people of God, and no other,
means this:

To cease from our own works and all that is
our own.

To hallow the Sabbath.

To meet God in Christ anew by faith. To meet
Him in His

Creative power and His

Eenewing grace, in His

Eest, in His

Blessing of turning us from sin to His

Everlasting righteousness, unto

Holiness, and

Sanctification.

To worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

To go to the assembly of worshippers.

426 The Reformation and The Sahhath

In mercy to do good to the needy, to the dis-
tressed, to the sick and the helpless, of man
or beast.

The consequence of the life and teaching of
Jesus as to the Sabbath and the keeping of it, is
manifest in the lives of Christians all through the
New Testament after His death and resurrection
and ascension.

The first thing that occurred in the life of be-
lievers in Him, after His death, was the keeping
of ^^the Sabbath day according to the Command-
menf Luke 23 : 55, 56.

Thus the first thing that occurred after the
finishing of Creation, was God's resting on the
seventh day ; and the first thing that occurred after
Jesus declared *^It is finished'' in Redemption,
was the resting on the seventh day of the truest
believers in Him: the blessed women *'who were
last at the cross and first at the tomb."

That was in A. D. 33. Then in A. D. 45 it was
the Sabbath day when Paul and Barnabas
preached to the Gentiles at Antioch in Pisidia.
Acts 13: 42-49.

In A. D. 53 it was the Sabbath day when Paul
and Silas and their company at Philippi went to
the place of worship outside the city. Acts
16:12-15.

In A. D. 53 again it was the Sabbath day when
Paul preached at Thessalonica as his custom was :

To the End of the Bible 427

that is, the frequent repetition of the same act or
thing. Acts 17 : 1-4.

In A. D. 54 it was the Sabbath day when Paul
preached at Corinth, still, like his divine Master,
in the frequent repetition of the same act or thing.
Acts 18 : 4, 9-11.

In A. D. 64 it was the Sabbath day— God's
rest of the seventh day — that Paul set down in the
plain Word of Inspiration as the Sabbath the
keeping of which *^remaineth to the people of
God." Heb. 4:4, 5, 9.

And since this Sabbath day was the only regu-
lar day of assembly ever known to the Hebrews,
it would again be impressed upon them in the
instruction ^^not to forsake the assembling of
themselves together. ' ' Heb. 10 : 25.

In A. D. 67 it was the Sabbath day which Jesus
required His disciples to keep in remembrance
when should come the time of their flight from
Judea. Matt. 24:20.

In A. D. 96 it was the Sabbath day — the Lord's
holy day — when John was **in the Spirit'' on the
Isle of Patmos and received the Revelation of
Jesus Christ for all time. Rev. 1 : 10 ; Isa. 58 : 13.

In A. D. 100-120 it was the Sabbath day when
the epistle of Ignatius said, ^^Let every one of
you keep the Sabbath." *'And after the observ-
ance of the Sabbath let every friend of Christ
keep the Lord's day."

428 The Reformation and The Sabhath

It is true that by many eminent scholars tliis
writing of the supposed Ignatius is held to be a
forgery. But as evidence on this question it
matters not whether it be a forgery or not. Its
value and weight as evidence rests in the record
as such, and not upon who might be the person
who wrote it.

It was written by some one who was interested
in exalting Sunday as "the queen and chief of all
the days.''

If it be genuinely of the real Ignatius it proves
that the Sabbath was being observed by those
whom he would have to receive the Sunday as this
"queen and chief;" and that the observance of
the Sabbath was so fixed in their Christian life
that he did not so much as even hint at any such
thing as their accepting the Sunday in place of the
Sabbath, but actually directed that "every one
of you keep the Sabbath," and ^^ after the observ-
ance of the Sabbath" then keep the Sunday "as
a festival," etc.

If it be a forgery, then it certifies that "the
observance of the Sabbath" was so universal and
so fixed in the Christian life of the time, that
even a rascal in the very practice of his chicanery
could not dare to question it or to offer Sunday
as a substitute for it ; but only to offer the Sunday
as an additional day.

And than this there could not be stroncrer evi-

To the Eleventh Century 429

clence that ''the observance of the Sabbath'' was
a settled and universal practice in the Christian
life: even among those who had ''lost their first
love,'' and who to some extent had fallen away
from the pure trnth of the Gospel.

In the two hundred years of the "Apostolic
Constitutions," to 326, it was the Sabbath in the
authoritative "discipline" of the rising false
Catholic church.

In the time of Athanasius, to 373, it was the
Sabbath; for he said, "We assemble on Saturday,
not that we are affected with Judaism, but only
to worship Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath."

It was the Sabbath in 364 when the Council of
Laodicea put a curse on those who would keep
it, and yet had still to recognize the fact of its ob-
servance.

It was the Sabbath in 416 when Pope Leo ' ' the
Great" likewise must recognize the fact of its
observance, but would turn it to "a fast day"
while Sunday was made to be "a most festive
day."

It was "the Sabbath of every week" in 439
when Socrates must bear witness that "almost all
churches throughout the world" observed it, but
that "Alexandria and Eome have ceased to do
this."

Note that these had '^ceased to do this." They
could not have "ceased to do" what they had

430 The Reformation and The Sahhath

never done. This shows that even in those cities
they had formerly done "this'' as in the time of
Leo, 416; but since then they had "ceased'' to
do it.

It was the Sabbath in 460 when Sozomen must
record that "The people of Constantinople and
everywhere assemble together on the Sabbath
. . . which custom is never observed at Rome or
at Alexandria."

It was "the Sabbath day" in 602 when Pope
Gregory "the Great" denounced as "preachers
of Antichrist" those who taught its observance.

It was the Sabbath among the Briton
Christians 596-664, and then was still so with those
who withdrew to the Isle of lona and to Ireland
rather than to submit to the laws commanding
and enforcing Sunday observance.

It was the Sabbath in 791 when the Council
of Friuli witnessed to its observance still, even
though only by "our rustics."

It was the Sabbath in 858-867 when it was still
observed to such an extent that Pope Nicholas I
found it necessary to denounce its observance as
"the doctrine of Antichrist."

In 1069 it was still "the Sabbath of the Fourth
Commandment" in Scotland when Queen Mar-
garet's "newest Eoman type" of religion must
crush it out.

Thus it is the Sabbath from the beginning to

To the End 431

the end of the Bible ; from the finishing of Crea-
tion to the finishing of the written Eevelation;
and was still so among Christians for more than
a thousand years after the Bible was closed.

It was the Sabbath in the life of Jesus; in
the lives of Christians throughout the New Testa-
ment ; in the lives of those who to the best of their
ability would be Christians against the power
of Rome, for nearly eight hundred years; and
in the lives of Christians who were outside the
jurisdiction of Rome and beyond her power, for
more than a thousand years.

For more than a thousand years after the as-
cension of Christ, everywhere the Sabbath was
originally observed by the Christians in all coun-
tries, and even in the cities of Alexandria and
Rome.

In Rome and Alexandria, spiritual Babylon and
Egypt, the observance of the Sabbath first
^^ ceased" among Christians, and then from there
this cessation was gradually spread as the power
of Rome grew. Wherever that power came, and to
the extent that it could be exerted, the observ-
ance of the Sabbath was caused to cease and
to be crushed out.

But it never was completely obliterated. Al-
ways there have been faithful and true witnesses
for God against Rome. And there always will be.

All the power of federation and confederation

432 The Reformation and The Sahhath

of both Koine and Puritanism could not stop it;
and now all the power of federation of Eome and
the Federal Council combined, and with all the
power of all the nations in their hands, cannot
cause it to cease

By the whole record on this question it is cer-
tain that both the papacy and the Federal Council
of Churches have assumed prerogative and have
exercised authority to cliange the Laiv of the Most
High, from His thought and word to their own.
x\nd they both deny the right of any one to observe
that Law as the Most High Himself has spoken it
and written it.

And than in this it were impossible for even
them more fully to manifest the spirit of inde-
pendence of God and of exaltation above Him.

It is a principle in governmental procedure,
recognized in law, and regarded in history, that
for a subordinate community to re-enact, espe-
cially with changes, a law made by the supreme
authority for the government of the subordinate
community, is ^ ' tantamount to a declaration of in-
dependence."

In illustration, a fact from history may help to
appreciate the infinite principle here involved. In
1698, as now, Ireland was a possession of Brit-
ain. The English colonists in Ireland were the
ruling power there, and had a parliament — Lords
and Commons — of their own : a sort of home rule.

The Sign of Loyalty to God 433

This local parliament, ^^tlie Irish Lords and
Commons, had presumed not only to re-enact an
English act passed expressly for the purpose of
binding them, but to re-enact it tvith alterations.
The alterations were indeed small ; but the altera-
tion even of a letter was tantamount to a declara-
tion of independence.

'*The colou}^ in Ireland was emphatically a de-
pendency : a dependency, not merely by the com-
mon law of the realm, but by the nature of things.
It was absurd to claim independence for a com-
munity which could not cease to be dependent
without ceasing to exist.''*

It is in view of this very principle that the
word of God in Matt. 5: 17-19 and Dan. 7: 25 was
spoken and stands written.

Therefore, on this question of Sabbath or Sun-
day as the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment
of the Law of the Most High, the real issue is the
simple but mighty one of

Loyalty to God,

or

Independence of God.

And in this time of the finishing of all, accord-
ing to God's eternal purpose, in the finishing of
the Mystery of God, His own divine sign of His
finished work, the Holy Sabbath, will arise and
live, and will he known and worn as the distin-

*Macaiilay's ''History of England," chap, xxiii, par. 62.
29

434 The Reformation and The Sahhath

guisliing badge of all those who, against all the
power and deception of the ultimate Antichrist,
will be loyal and true to God alone in His Crea-
tive power and in His Redeeming grace as revived
for the world in The Reformation preparatory to
the great day of the glorious Presentation at the
finishing of the Mystery of God.

NoWy in this final time of entering into God's
rest in eternity, there remaineth the keeping of
the Sabbath to the people of God.

And now it will live as in the beginning when it
^^was made for the man;" as it lived in the re-
deeming when it was kept by ^*the Man;" and as
it ivill live in the eternity of ^Hhe world to come"
where it belongs: when ^^from one Sabbath to
another shall all flesh come to worship before Me
saith the Lord." Isa. 66: 23.

And thus by the loving kindness of the Gracious

God,
by the High-priestly intercession of the Divine

Christ,
by the gentle pleading and persuasion of the

Holy Spirit, and
by the pure principles of the Word of God,
there is brought to the conscience and laid upon

the conviction of every soul the ever

blessed choice of

The Reformation against Rome.

CHAPTEE XIX.
That Woman Jezebel.

The Ten Tribes of Israel had fallen away from
the true way and pure worship of God.

The original Jezebel was a heathen sun-wor-
shipping woman who through marrying King
Ahab came into the kingdom of Israel.

She soon dominated the king and ruled in the
kingdom. And when the evil that she would do
was more than the king could have the heart to
compass, she would do it herself in the king's
name and by the power of the kingdom and would
be merry in it all. 1 Kings 21 : 5-16.

She would make her religion to be the religion
of the kingdom and of every soul in the kingdom.
She brought with her eight hundred and fifty
^^ prophets'' of her religion. She was the per-
sonal patron of them all. They all *^ate at Jeze-
bel's table." 1 Kings 18: 19.

She deliberately set herself to abolish all the
religion and all the worship of God, and to es-
tablish solely her own in all the kingdom. She
systematically broke down all the altars of the
worship of God in the land. She compelled all to
conform to her form of sun-worship. 1 Kings
19 : 10, 14.

435

436 That Woman Jezebel

And whosoever would not do this in some way
— by sacrificing, by bowing the knee in a genu-
flexion, or by kissing the hand to throw a kiss to
Baal — ^was outlawed and had to find refuge in
dens and holes and caves of the earth. 1 Kings
18:4,13.

So thorough-going was she in this that
though there were seven thousand persons who
would worship God only and serve Him alone,
they were so scattered and hunted that each one
thought that he was the only one left.

Even Elijah was sure that he only was left.
And they sought his life to take it away. And
he was delivered from the wrath of Jezebel by
being translated from the world. ^ ' There appeared
horses of fire and chariots of fire, and Elijah went
up by a whirlwind into heaven.'^ 1 Kings 16: 30
to 19 : 21 ; 2 Kings 2 : 1-11.

In the Scriptures there is another Jezebel.
She is described in the Book of Revelation. Her
career is in Christian times. Eev. 2 : 20-29.

Among the people of Christ who had left their
first love and had fallen away from the true Way
and pure worship of God, there came in heathen
sun-worshippers bringing with them all their na-
tive characters and dispositions and ways.

There were so many of these that they be-
came a heathen sun-worshipping church profes-
sing the Christian name. This sun-worshipping

JezeheVs Reign 437

church secured an alliance with the imperial
Eoman State.

She dominated the imperial power and ruled
in the empire and all the kingdoms of Europe. To
please her all emperors and kings had to be worse
than they otherwise would have been.

She would make her heathen naturalistic re-
ligion to be the religion of every kingdom and of
everybody in all the kingdoms. She set herself
against all the true worship of God. She compelled
all to conform to her worship, which was but a
form of heathen sun-worship with the Sun day
the grand token as '^ queen and chief of all the
days.''

Whosoever would not conform to this worship
in some way was outlawed and hunted and perse-
cuted, and had to iind refuge in dens and holes
and caves of the earth.

In The Reformation and its splendid fruit in
the establishing of the American Nation with
perfect Religious Liberty, God sent to mankind
deliverance from this Jezebel.

Yet the world is not done with ''that woman
Jezebel.'' She still lived, and with the same de-
termination to rule mankind. Since The Refor-
mation by this New Nation had delivered the
world from her rule, she would defeat The Ref-
ormation and regain a wider influence and rule
by drawing into Tier toils the New Nation.

438 That Woman Jezebel

To her aid in this, more than all else in the
world, has come the Federal Council of Churches
embodying her vital principles and repudiating
The Eeformation. Thus will the power and work-
ing of 'Hhat woman JezebeP' be restored.

National, international, and world, federation
of papal and false Protestant will elevate her
again to the place and position where she can
congratulate herself, "I sit a cjueen, and am no
widow, and shall see no sorrow.'' Eev. 18: 7.

And again she will reign and rage, only more
widelj^ and more fiercely. Again all must conform
to the worship dictated by her. Under the alter-
native of a general and universal boycott, and at
last even death, as in the time of Elijah, all must
worship as she dictates. Eev : 13 : 14-17.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall so wor-
ship, whose names are not written in the Book
of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. Eev. 13: 8; 17: 12, 13, 17.

And here, by ^Hhat woman Jezebel," ^^the
beast," the ultimate Antichrist accomplishes the
crowning work of iniquity. This is brought about
in the following way :

It is ^Ho the people of God" that there remains
the ''keeping of a Sabbath." It was made for
''the man" of God's eternal purpose. And none
but those who are "the people of God" in this
purpose can possibly keep the Sabbath.

The Croivning Evil 439

One who is not of the people of God could not
keep the Sabbath, even if he were to try. Such
persons may do no work on the seventh day of
the week, or on the first day of the week, or on
both of them together; they may find their own
or somebody else's rest on either or both of these
days, they may do this all their lives, and yet
never keep the Sabbath.

To keep the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath,
is to keep and celebrate God's rest, not our own
nor that of somebody else. This rest is the gift
of God in Christ. And it is received and kept
and enjoyed only by the individual upon his own
personal choice in personal faith. Rom. 14: 5.

And the inevitable consequences and rewards
of personal faith and true worship prevent its
being in any sense a day of idleness, and cause
it to be only a day of blessing and delight.

This truth exposes the awful iniquity of all
church-rules and all State legislation compelling
men to observe a day of rest. It forces irreligious
and unchristian men into the form of a religion
and of a rest that cannot possibly be had without
personal faith in Christ and God ; and thus forces
them into only a day of idleness with its conse-
quent mischiefs and iniquities.

And now in this time of the ultimate Anti-
christ he doubles up on his abominations by mak-
ing both Sabbath and Sunday to be days of en-

440 That Woman Jezebel

forced idleness and of consequent mischief and
iniquity.

In this course of abomination there is yet
another step to finish the mystery of iniquity. And
it will be taken.

God can consistently and righteously require
a day of rest from all temporal occupations; be-
cause, with the rest, He can supply the religion
and the iv or ship which alone can prevent its being
a day of idleness and mischief. And only He
can possibly do this. 2 Cor. 3 : 18.

That woman Jezebel undertakes to require her
Sun day as a day of rest of all from all work and
from every honest occupation, for iv or ship.
Through the power of the State she makes this
compulsory upon all. But the State cannot supply
the religion and the worship which alone can pre-
vent this day of enforced idleness from being
a day of mischief and iniquity.

Then and therefore the church which has caused
the State to enforce that day of idleness, must
also cause the State to enforce the religion and the
worship which the church shall prescribe as the
preventive of that day of idleness being only a day
of iniquity.

But true religion and true worship cannot be
enforced. This never can be a matter of law. So
the church never can prescribe to the State, or in
any connection with force or law, any religion or

Mystery of Iniquity Finished 441

worship that is true. It is only false religion and
false worship, it is only the form which is abomi-
nation, that can possibly be so prescribed or en-
forced.

Therefore the only religion and worship that
can possibly be supplied and enforced to prevent
this day of enforced idleness from being only a
day of iniquity, is a religion and worship that is
utterly false — an abomination — and so only
deepens unto perfection the scheme of iniquity in
the false worship of the beast and his image.

Thus by means of denominational, national,
international, and world federation, with its
''pressure" upon city, county. State and National
authorities, enforcing a day of universal idleness
as the means and necessity of enforcing the uni-
versal false religion and worship of the beast and
his image, the ultimate Antichrist is enabled to
bring all to the full reflection of his own image, and
so to finish the mystery of iniquity.

For it is the sober truth, deliberately stated
upon an analysis of more than a thousand
cases, that *' Nearly every prosecution under our
Sunday laws is the result of petty spite, meanness
and malice."

To save all from this crowning evil the Lord
in mercy sends to every nation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people. His solemn warning against
it all, and His gracious call away from it all unto

442 That Woman Jezebel

the true ivorship of Him only, in the keeping of
the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.

Here is the warning: ^^If any man worship
the beast and his image, and receive his mark in
his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of Grod, which is poured
out without mixture into the cup of His indigna-
tion; . . . and they have no rest day nor night,
who worship the beast and his image, and who-
soever receiveth the mark of his name." Eev.
14: 9-11.

Here is the call, by ^'the everlasting Gospel:''
"Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour
of His judgment is come : and worship Him that
made Heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters. . . . Here is the patience of
the saints. Here are they that keep the Com-
mandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.'' Vs.
7, 12.

And in this is the finishing of God's work in
effecting His eternal purpose in Creation, in Re-
demption, and in The Reformation, all summed
uj) in the finishing of the Mystery of God accord-
ing to the eternal purpose which He purposed in
Jesus Christ our Lord.

And of all this the Sabbath of the Lord in
Spirit and in truth is the crown and seal as God's
own divinely ordained sign of His own finished
work.

The True Ones Delivered 443

In this final and finishing conflict again
all who will be true to Grod, all who will
worship Him only in the keeping of the Command-
ments of God and the Faith of Jesus, will be out-
lawed, hunted, and persecuted, and will have to
find refuge where they may.

At first there will be ^'as the shaking of an
olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the
vintage is done : ' ^ ^ ' two or three berries in the top
of the uppermost bough, four or ^ve in the out-
most fruitful branches thereof." *' These shall
lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty
of the Lord. ' ' Isa. 24 : 13, 14 ; 17 : 6.

But the pressure will be so persistent that at
last there will not be even two or three here or
four or five there. But again just as in Elijah's
time these will be so scattered that one will not
know that there is another. Again each one will
think that he only is left. And he will knotv that
they seek his life to take it away. Eev. 12: 17;
Micah4: 6,7.

Yet each one where he is will be a true wor-
shipper of God, and will have it settled that so
long as he is in the world God shall have a wor-
shipper who will worship Him only, and will serve
Him alone; Jezebel or no Jezebel. Isa. 41: 17;
33:16,17.

And while these stand thus true and faithful
to God, with *^that woman Jezebel' ' venting all

444 That Woman Jezebel

her wrath, "the great trumpet shall be blown/ ^
and ' 'ye shall be gathered 07ie by 07ie^ 0 ye children
of Israel/' Isa. 27: 12, 13.

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-
angel, and with the trump of God; and the dead
in Christ shall rise first ; then we which are alive
and remain, [as Elijah] shall be caught up to-
gether with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ' '
1 Thess. 4: 16, 17.

"And I saw a sea of glass mingled with fire;
and them that had gotten the victory over the
beast, and over his image, and over his mark,
and over the number of his name, stand on the
sea of glass having the harps of God.''

CHAPTEE XX.

The Two Women of Eevelation.

In the Book of Eevelation there are two re-
markable women.

The one, the heavenly woman, so pure and true
that only heaven is worthy of her, and even there
only the verj' galaxy of the heavens worthy to be
her adorning. She is clothed with the sun; the
moon is under her feet; and she is crowned with
the stars. Eev. 12 : 1.

Through pain and travail she brings into the
world the Son of God, the Saviour of men. Her
child is caught up unto God, and to His throne.
Vs. 2, 5.

Through deadly peril and persistent persecu-
tion unto the end of the world this heavenly woman
holds in the world the true and pure worship of
God in the preaching of tlie Gospel of Salvation
and the keeping of the Commandments of God
and the Faith of Jesus. Rev. 12 : 11-17.

And by this she incurs the perpetual enmity
of "that old serpent called the Devil and Satan,'*
who uses against her in succession all the power
of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet
or image of the beast.

The other, the earthly woman, is so vicious and
degraded that her worthy place is to sit only on

445

446 The Two Women of Revelation

'^a scarlet colored beast full of names of blas-
phemy : ' ' she herself an ugly drunken harlot, ' ' ar-
rayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls, and having in
her hand a golden cup full of abominations and
filthiness of her fornication.'' Eev. 17: 3, 4.

She invites all the nations to her drunken, las-
civious banquet ; and the kings and inhabitants of
the earth are made drunk with the wine of her
fornication; and she herself is drunken with the
blood of the saints and with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus. And on her forehead is a name
written :

''Mystery.

''Babylon the Great.

"The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the

Earth.'' Eev. 17: 2, 5, 6.

This woman is so admired by "that old serpent
called the Devil and Satan" that he welcomes her
into his palace, seats her on his own throne, and
gives her his own power and great authority. Rev.
13: 2, 4.

The heavenly woman has just one Son.
The earthly woman has just one son.

The heavenly woman has just the one Son,

the Son of God.
The earthly woman lias just tlie one son, the

son of Perdition.

No Daughter: Many Daughters 447

The heavenly woman has the one Son, the Son

of God and Saviour of men and the world.

The earthly woman has the one son, the son of

Perdition and destroyer of men and the

world.

The heavenly woman has just the one Son, and

no daughter at all.
The earthly woman has just the one son, but

manify many daughters.

The heavenly woman has the one Son, and no
daughter at all : yet she has a great multi-
tude of children : but they are all born of
God, and are hers only by adoption.

The earthly woman has the one son, and many,
many, daughters; and these are all her
very own by natural birth.

The heavenly woman has the one Son, and no
daughter at all ; yet a great multitude of
children, all born of God, and hers by adop-
tion ; and all of these are partakers of the
divine nature, and have God's character
and Christ's disposition.

The earthly woman has the one son, and many,
many, daughters, all her very own by
natural birth; and all of these are par-
takers of their mother's nature, and of
her harlot character and Jezebel disposi-
tion.

448 The Two Women of Revelation

The heavenly woman has just the one Son,
the Son of God and Saviour of men and
the world; no daughter at all, yet a great
multitude of children, all born of God and
hers by adoption ; are all partakers of the
divine nature, and of God's character and
Christ's disposition; and these ^'are not
defiled with women." Rev. 14: 4.

The earthly woman has just the one son, the
son of Perdition and the destroyer of men
and the world ; has many, many, daughters,
all her very own by natural birth ; all par-
takers of their mother's nature, and of her
harlot character and Jezebel disposition;
and all of Tier children are defiled with
these ivomen.

In which company are you f

In this time of the finishing of all mysteries,
this awful woman ^ ' Mystery, Babylon the Great, ' '
rises again to place and ^' power over men" and
nations. Rev. 17 : 12, 13, 17.

To her all prospects then seem so pleasing
that she proudly congratulates herself, ^^I sit a
queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sor-
row." ^^I shall be a lady forevjr." Rev. 18: 7;
Isa.47:7,8.

Again her alluring banquet is spread. The
kings of the earth are invited to the feast, and live

The Children of Zion 449

deliciously with her. But in the midst of the
re veilings, even while the golden cup is in her
hand, her peace is disturbed. Isa. 47 : 11 ; Rev.
18:9.

^'Suddenly," ^4n one hour,^' her judgment
falls. Desolation overtakes her. ^^With vio-
lence" she is ''thrown down, and shall be found
no more at alV Rev. 17 : 8, 16 ; 18 : 10, 17, 19, 21.

Before this comes, as in the broad and busy
street of ancient Babylon, in the busy streets of
this final Babylon the word of God will be read
proclaiming her doom and warning all to ^^Flee
out of the midst of Babylon'' and ''Let Jerusalem
come into your mind." Jer : 50 : 1- ; 51 : 58, 61-64 ;
Rev. 18 : 1-23.

^' And I heard a voice from heaven saying,
"Come Out of Her My People."

And ''ye are come unto

^ ' Mount Zion, and unto

"The City of the Living God,

"The heavenly Jerusalem, and to

"An innumerable company of angels, to

"The General Assembly and Church of the

Firstborn, which are written in heaven,

and to
"God the Judge of all, and to
"The spirits of just men made perfect, and to

30

450 The Tivo Women of Revelation

'^ Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant,

and to
^^The Blood of Sprinkling, that speaketh better

things than that of Abel. ' '

^^Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice
in the Lord your God ; for He hath given you the
former rain moderately, and He will cause to come
down for you the rain — the former rain and the
latter rain/' Joel 2: 23.

''When I have bent Judah for me, and tilled
the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, 0
Zion, AGAINST thy sons, 0 Greece, and made thee
as the sword of a mighty man. [Pp. 190, 253.]

^^And the Lord shall be seen over them, and
His arrow shall go forth as the lightning ; and the
Lord God shall hloiv the trumpet, and shall go with
whirlwinds of the south.

''The Lord of Hosts shall defend them; and
they shall devour and subdue with slingstones ; and
they shall drink, and make a noise as through
wine, and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the
corners of the altar. Eph. 5 : 18 ; Acts 2 : 13, 16, 17.

^^And the Lord their God shall save them in
that day as the flock of His people ; for they shall
be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign
upon the land. '^ Zech. 9 : 13-16.

CHAPTER XXI.

The Christta:n^ and Reformation

Religious Liberty of

The Fourteenth Amendment.

[The matter that composes this chapter was originally a
speech that was delivered by the author of this book, in Wash-
ington, D, C, Jan. 6, 1912, and was published in the daily Wash-
ington Herald, Jan. 7, 1912. There was no thought then that
this book should ever be written. Yet no more fitting close of
the book could be made than is already supplied in the speech.
It is therefore inserted exactly as it was made.]

In preceding speeches I have made perfectly
clear the church origin, the religious and eccle-
siastical character, and the un-American and un-
constitutional standing, of all Sunday laws in the
United States.

In this speech I shall make just as clear the
truth that by the National Constitution, and par-
ticularly by the Fourteenth Amendment, in its cer-
tain intent and plain provisions, every citizen of
the United States is entirely free from every Sun-
day law in every State in the United States.

The particular provisions of the Fourteenth
Amendment that I shall discuss are contained in
the first two sentences of Section 1 : —

''All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and sub.ject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citi-
zens of the United States, and of the State in which
they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States. ' '

"Before this amendment was adopted, pri-

451

452 The Fourteenth Amendment

marily there was no such thing as citizenship of the
United States. Men were first citizens of their
respective States ; and as a consequence, or by in-
ference, were citizens of the United States.

This was because of the fact that the thirteen
original States were all here as independent States
before the National government was formed. In
the then situation, citizenship of the United States
was both indefinite and precarious.

The Fourteenth Amendment completely re-
versed that order of things. It makes citizenship
of the United States both primary and paramount.
It also makes this citizenship definite, and certain,
and secure, everywhere in the Nation, by prohibit-
ing every State from ever making any law, or en-
forcing any law already made, that abridges the
privileges or immunities that pertain to this now
and forever primary and paramount citizenship
of the United States.

Before, all that any man could be certain of,
as to his citizenship, was that he was a State man.
Since, in his citizenship every man knows that he
is absolutely and irrevocably a National man.

There has been gained the impression that the
Fourteenth Amendment was framed with particu-
lar reference to the race that lately had been
emancipated. However that may be as to the
other sections of this Amendment, it is not in any
sense true as to the first section.

Its Intent 453

Nothing can be more certain than that the first
section was designed as an original measure, and
on original ground, to remedy the long-existent
defect as to citizenship of the United States ; and
to make effective to ^'the whole people of the
United States'' the full intent of the Declaration
of Independence and the Constitution.

This was expressly declared by Thaddeus
Stevens, John A. Bingham, James G. Blaine, and
others, to be the intent of the first section.

Thaddeus Stevens, as Chairman of the Com-
mittee, had charge of the Eesolution in the House,
where it originated. Speaking directly of the
First Section, he said: '^Our fathers had been
compelled to postpone the principles of the Declar-
ation [of Independence], and wait for their full es-
tablishment till a more propitious time. ... I can
hardly believe that any person can be found who
will not admit that every one of these provisions is
just. They are all asserted in some form or other
in our Declaration or organic law. But the Con-
stitution limits only the action of Congress, and is
not a limitation on the States. This Amendment
supplies that defect.'' ^'The public mind has been
educated in error for a century. How difficult, in a
day to unlearn iV—Cong. Globe, May 8, 1866, P.
2459.

Mr. Miller said: The First Section ^'is so
clearly within the spirit of the Declaration of In-

454 The Fourteenth Amendment

dependence of tlie 4tli of July, 1776, that no mem-
ber of this House can seriously object to it/' —
Id., May 9, P. 2510.

John A. Bingham closed the debate on the
Eesolution in the House. He said: ''There was a
want, hitherto, and there remains a want now, in
the Constitution of our country, which the pro-
posed Amendment will supply. What is that? It
is the power of the people, the whole people of the
United States, by express authority of the Consti-
tution, to do that by Congressional enactment
which hitherto they have not had the power to do,
and have never attempted to do : that is, to protect
by national law the privileges and immunities of
all the citizens of the Eepublic, and the inborn
rights of every person within its jurisdiction,
whenever the same shall be abridged or denied by
the unconstitutional acts of any State.''

He said that no State ever had the right to do
these things, yet thaf many of them have assumed
and exercised the poiver, and that without
remedy. " ^ ' Many instances of State injustice and
oppression have already occurred in the State
legislation of this Union, of flagrant violations of
the guarantied privileges of citizens of the United
States, for which the National Government fur-
nished and could furnish no remedy whatever. . . .
That great want of the citizen and the stranger,
protection by National law from unconstitutional

A New Charter of Liberty 455

enactments, is supplied by the First Section of
this Amendment.''—/^., May 10, Pp. 2542, 3.

James G. Blaine also had a material part in it
all. And in his history of it he says that it
^^establishes American citizenship upon a perma-
nent foundation, which gives to the humblest man
in the Kepublic ample protection against any
abridgment of his privileges or immunities by
Slate law, which secures to him and his descend-
ants the equal protection of the law in all that
relates to his life, his liberty, or his property. The
first section of the Constitutional Amendment
which includes these invaluable provisions, is in
fact a new charter of liberty to the citizens of the
United States." — ''Twenty Years of Congress/'
Vol. n, P. 312.

What then are the privileges and immunities
of citizens of the United States, that no State shall
abridge! In the Senate, Senator Howard, of
Michigan, had charge of the Resolution. In
answer to this direct question, he said that they
are *Hhe privileges and immunities of citizens of
the several States" as in Section 2 of Article
IV of the National Constitution; and that now,
'Ho these should be added the personal rights
guarantied and secured by the first eight
Amendments to the Constitution, "—(7ot^^. Globe,
May 23, 1866, P. 2765.

Further authority in answer to this question is,

456 The Fourteenth Amendment

"Whatever one may claim as of right under the
Constitution and laws of the United States by virtue
of his citizenship, is a privilege of a citizen of the
United States. Whatever the Constitution and laws
of the United States entitle him to exemption from, he
may claim an exemption in respect to. And such a
right or privilege is abridged whenever the State law
interferes with any legitimate operation of Federal au-
thority which concerns his interest, whether it be an
authority actively exerted, or resting only in the ex-
press or implied command or assurance of the Federal
Constitution or law." — Cooley, "Principles," P. 247.

The privileges and immunities of citizens of
the United States specifically and by direct state-
ment include ' ' The personal rights guarantied and
secured by the first eight amendments of the Con-
stitution. ' '

The very first privilege assured in the first
eight amendments, is the first one in the First
Amendment: that of absolute individuality in
religion. And the very first immunity is also the
first one in that First Amendment — that of abso-
lute exemption from any and all legislative or
other governmental cognizance in, or connection
with, religion or things religious.

For Madison said : ' ' There is not a shadow of
right in the general government to intermeddle
with religion. Its least interference with it would
be a most flagrant usurpation."

This, then, is the very first and the very certain
privilege and immunity of every citizen of the
United States. And by express intent and explicit

It Means Religious Liberty 457

statement this privilege and immunity of every
citizen of the United States is by the Fourteenth
Amendment extended to, and is made absolute in,
every State in the Union. So that now every citi-
zen of the United States is just as free from re-
ligion or religious things by law, in any and every
State, as he is under national jurisdiction alone.

If there were no States at all, but there were
only the one solid National government every-
where over all the land, then beyond all question
absolute exemption from all governmental cogni-
zance in or of religion or things religious, would be
a privilege and an immunity of every citizen of the
United States everywhere in all the land. Yet
under the Fourteenth Amendment the existence of
all the forty-eight States affects not to a scintilla
the universality of this privilege and immunity of
every person born or naturalized in the United
States.

Whatever pertains to the citizen of the United
States, as a citizen of the United States, is of
itself National, primary, and paramount; and is
secured to him by the guaranty of the national
power.

Absolute exemption from any and all govern-
mental cognizance in or of religion or things re-
ligious, is indisputably an immunity of every citi-
zen of the United States.

Therefore, it follows inevitably that when and

31

458 The Fourteenth Amendment

wherein the Fourteenth Amendment declares that
^^No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citi-
zens of the United States, '^ it specifically and
authoritatively extends this privilege and immu-
nity of every citizen throughout all the several
States, and prohibits any and every State from
making any law, and from enforcing any law
already made, in furtherance of the old order of
things of religion or religious things recognized
and enforced by law.

This is the unescapable logic of the FourteentJi
Amendment itself, and of the plain words of those
who made it expressing its intent. Yet we are not
left to the logic of it, sure as this is. We have the
plain declaration that just that was intended to be
its scope and force.

As already stated, James G. Blaine was one
of those who had a material part in making the
Amendment. He also wrote the history of it.
Whoever is most acquainted with the whole story,
will most readily perceive that Mr. Blaine's his-
tory and exposition of the Amendment is practi-
cally a digest of the debates on the resolution in the
House and the Senate. Of the religious liberty
feature of this Amendment he says : —

*'The laniiunpre of the Fourteenth Amendment is
authoritative and mandatory. No State shall make or
enforce any law abridging the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States. . . . Under the force of

It Includes Sunday Laws 459

these weighty inhibitions, the citizen of foreign birth
cannot be persecuted by discriminating statutes. . . .
Nor can the Catholic, or the Protestant, or the Jew, be
placed under ban or subjected to any deprivation of
personal or religious right. The provision is compre-
hensive and absolute, and sw^eeps away at once every
form of oppression and every denial of justice. It
abolishes caste and enlarges the scope of human free-
dom. It increases the power of the republic to do equal
and exact justice to all its citizens, and curtails the
powers of the States to shelter the wrongdoer, or to
authorize crime bv a statute." — ''Twenty Years of
Congress," Vol. 11,' Pp. 313, 314.

It makes absolutely void and of no effect every
one of those provisions, whether of statute or of
constitution, of the old systems of church and
State or established religion, that are still nursed
in Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Georgia,
the Carolinas, Delaware, Pennsylvania, or any
other of the original States ; and everything of like
nature in any other State.

The privileges and immunities of every citizen
of the United States on the subject of religion in
law or by law are clearly defined and fixed in the
National Constitution. And these privileges and
immunities of the citizen of the United States are
primary and paramount in all the States, all those
lingering, nursed, and coddled provisions of the
decrepit old church and State systems to the con-
trary notwithstanding for a moment. They were
all quenched more than forty years ago.

And this includes every Sunday laiv in every

460 The Fourteenth Amendment

State or municipality tlirougliout the whole nation.
In the preceding speeches I have given the indis-
putable evidence that all Sunday legislation ever
in the world has been and is exclusively religious
and ecclesiastical ; that Sunday, being an institu-
tion and an observance wholly of the church, its
recognition or incorporation in the law of any
State is of itself the union of church and State ;
and that the enforcement of any Sunday law ever,
anywhere, is the enforcement of a rehgious idea,
and of submission to the institution and authority
of the church, and that the church of Eome.

All Sunday legislation, being only religious and
ecclesiastical, is positively excluded from the
cognizance of the government of the United States,
and explicitly from that of Congress: "Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

In truth, in principle, in intent, and in fact,
that provision of the Constitution prohibits every
phase or thought of Sunday legislation as cer-
tainly as if it read, ''Congress shall make no Sun-
day law."

That this inhibition was intended to include
Sunday laws is certain —

First, from the notorious fact that the Sunday
laws of the original States that took part in the
making of the Constitution, were so essentially of
the established religions of those States that it

Washington Against Sunday Laws 461

was impossible to discriminate them from those
establishments of religion.

Secondly, from the fact that then there had not
been evolved the judicial casuistry that without a
twinge or a blush can turn an avowedly religious
statute into a ''mere civil regulation ;'' and

Thirdly, from the fact that in all the States
that had any part in making the Constitution ex-
cept Virginia, there were nothing but established
religions ; and there was neither thought nor room
for thought on the part of anybody, that Sunday
laws were or could be anything else than essen-
tially of those State establishments of religion.

The National Constitution was intended to
cause the National government and the American
people to stand forever free from every vestige of
that old order of things ; of which all those national
men had had experience enough. This is the one
thought of every word of that clause of the first
amendment, ''Congress shall make no law respect-
ing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof."

Those were intentionally pregnant words tell-
ing to all people that none of those old establish-
ments of religion, nor anything pertaining to them,
that had characterized the States and cursed the
people, should ever have any recognition or place
in the National government; and should no more
afflict any citizen of the United States.

462 The Fourteenth Amendment

Yet to make the National government itself
thus free was all that the makers of the Constitu-
tion could just then actually do. The Fourteenth
Amendment, however, does accomplish in all the
States, and for all the people of the United States,
what originally could be done only for those under
the National government: and so completes the
splendid design which the national fathers origi-
nated but could not then perfect — full and complete
Eeligious Liberty throughout all the land to all
the inhabitants thereof.

Finally: That the inhibition of the First
Amendment includes Sunday legislation is certain
from the fact that we know that this Was the direct
intent of the makers of the Constitution in the
making of it.

The famous letter of George Washington,
Aug. 4, 1789, on Religious Liberty, is well
known. But there is not well known the fact that
in this justly famous letter, Sunday laws are
directly involved.

The known facts are these : In Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, and Virginia, there were Sabbath-
keeping Christians, Seventh-Day Baptists. These
were all stanch friends of liberty.

In several ways, and especially by the German
Sabbath keepers of the Community at Ephrata,
Pa., these had come most favorably within the per-
sonal knowledge of Washington. They were sub-

Washington's Letter 463

jected to harass and persecution through the State
Sunday laws that were essentially of the estab-
lished religions of the States.

When the National governinent was formed
some of these people addressed Washington to
inquire whether the Eeligious Liberty of the Con-
stitution would extend to them, or whether this
Constitution also would allow persecution by
statute.

The particular ^^ right" that with these people
was endangered was their right not to observe
Sunday by law. The 'liberty of conscience," of
which they were necessarily solicitous, was the en-
joyment of liberty of conscience unmolested and
unendangered by Sunday laws.

With these fundamental facts in mind, it is
easy to discern the pointed clauses in Washing-
ton's letter, that runs as follows:

"If I had had the least idea of any difficulty result-
ing from the Constitution adopted by the convention of
which I had the honor to be president when it was
formed, so as to endanger the rights of any religious
denomination, then I never should have attached my
name to that instrument. If I had any idea that the
general government was so administered that the lib-
eHy of conscience was endangered, I pray you be
assured that no man would be more willing than myself
to revise and alter that part of it, so as to avoid all re-
ligious persecution. You can, without any doubt, re-
member that I have often, expressed as my opinion that
ev'ery man who conducts himself as a good citizen is
accountable alone to God for his religious faith, and

464 The Fourteenth Amend^nent

should be protected in worshiping God according to
the dictates of his conscience."

And the further fact that this letter tvas used
by courts as a defense against Sunday law prose-
cutions, is full confirmation of the foregoing pres-
entation as to the original intent of the letter.

An instance in point is the fact that in 1798
one of these iDeople in New Jersey was prosecuted
for the violation of the State Sunday law. In the
justice's court he was convicted. He appealed,
and secured a new trial in a higher court.

In the higher court the judge read to the jury
Washington's letter, and the accused was instantly
acquitted.

And now the crowning fact of it all is that
Washington's letter is an exposition of the Consti-
tution as regards the Religious Liberty contem-
plated in the Constitution, hy him who presided
over the making of it, and who was then, the unani-
mously chosen first Executive to administer it.
Than this there could not possibly be any higher
or purer expression of the intent of the Constitu-
tion.

And by that which called forth the letter, by
the letter itself, and by the general and even judi-
cial use of the letter while Washington was yet
alive the demonstration is perfect that the Relig-
ious Liberty intent of the Constitution was and is

Every Sunday Law Void 465

absolute freedom from the force and effect of all
Sunday laws.

Therefore, beyond all question or subterfuge,
by the express intent of the makers of the Consti-
tution, absolute liberty from all Sunday legislation
is a privilege and an immunity of every citizen of
the United States. And in the provision that ' ' No
State shall make or enforce any law abridging the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States,'' the Fourteenth Amendment makes this
liberty absolute in all the States.

Thus by every evidence of language, logic, law,
and intent, the Eeligious Liberty of the Constitu.
tion as a whole, and of the Fourteenth Amendment
in particular, includes Eeligious Liberty from
every vestige of every phase of Sunday legisla-
tion everywhere throughout the United States and
in every State.

And by this complete and unvarying evidence
of the language, the logic, the law, and the intent,
of the Constitution as a whole, and of the Four-
teenth Amendment in particular, every Sunday
law in every State in the United States is made
absolutely void and of no effect.

And that has been true all over this broad
land for more than forty years. And yet all this
time legislatures, executives, and courts. State and
National, have gone steadily along in the same old

466 The Fourteenth Amendment

way, just as if the Fourteenth Amendment had
never been heard of.

In many — in any that chose — of the States, the
highest and most explicit privilege and immunity
of citizens of the United States, have been not only
abridged, but absolutely disregarded. Citizens of
the United States have been deprived of property,
of liberty, and indirectly of life, by the enforce-
ment of State Sunday laws that were openly de-
clared by United States courts to be ^^most cer-
tainly religious,'' and by procedure recognized by
the same courts as ^^persecutions," just as if the
Fourteenth Amendment had never existed.

Is, then, the Fourteenth Amendment, in truth,
'*a new charter of liberty f Does it really "en-
large the scope of human freedom?" Does it make
effective the * ^ full intent of the Declaration and the
Constitution?"

Is that all true, as those who made it said? Or
is the Fourteenth Amendment a tantalizing fig-
ment?

It is all true, eternally true. The Fourteenth
Amendment stands full and true in all its life and
power and majesty to every citizen of the United
States, and in every square foot of every State.
And under it, no State shall make or enforce any
Sunday law.

However, this long lapse of time, and the actual
experiences in so many places painfully felt in this

The Constitution Disregarded 467

time, since the Fourteentli Amendment was or-
dained and established, have conclusively demon-
strated that no legislature, no court, and no execu-
tive. State or National, can ever be expected to
take the initiative in making effective to the citi-
zens of the United States the guaranties of that
Amendment against the abridgment by any State,
of this supreme privilege and immunity of citizens
of the United States.

What then? Shall this constitutional guaranty
go utterly by default! Nay, nay; never! The
people, the people of these United States, ^^We,
the people,'' have ordained and established this
Constitution, and it is ever the original and un-
failing prerogative of ^^We, the people,'' to pro-
clainft and maintain all the provisions and guar-
anties of the Constitution which ^^ We, the people,"
have ordained and established.

As the appointed and sworn agencies of the
people, it is the part and place of legislatures,
courts, and executives, State and National, to do
this. All of these agencies are pledged by oath to
do it. But when these all fail, as in this plain mat-
ter of the Religious Liberty of the Fourteenth
Amendment they all for more than forty years
have most dismally failed, then this prerogative,
right, and power, ^'incapable of annihilation,"
rests by additional tenure with the people.

Here I am on ground, that though not at all

468 The Fourteenth Amendment

uncertain, is to most people unfamiliar. I there-
fore present authority.

James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, from begin-
ning to end, was a master spirit in the making of
the Constitution. He said: ^'The supreme power
resides in the people, and they never part ivith it.
There can be no disorder in the community but
may here receive a radical cure. ... In this Con-
stitution all authority is derived from the people."
—Bancroft, ''Hist, Const,/' II, P. 245.

John Dickinson was another of these. In a
pamphlet on ''The Federal Constitution," in 1788,
he said: "It must be granted that a bad adminis-
tration may take place. What then is to be done!
The answer is instantly found. Let the Fasces be
lowered before the supreme sovereignty of the
people. It is their duty to watch, and their right
to take care, that the Constitution be preserved;
or, in the Roman phrase on perilous occasions, to
provide that the republic receive no damage.

"When one part [of the government] without
being sufficiently checked by the rest abuses its
power to the manifest danger of public happiness,
or when the several parts abuse their respective
powers so as to involve the commonwealth in like
peril, tJie people must restore things to that order
from which their functionaries have departed. If
the people suffer this living principle of watchful-
ness and control to be extinguished among them.

The Right of The People 469

they will assuredly, not long afterward, experience
that of their temple there shall not be left one
stone upon another that shall not be thrown
down."

James Bryce, at present British Ambassador
in this Capital City, discussing this very principle
of our government, says : ' ' There stands above and
behind the legislature, the executive, and the judi-
ciary, another power, that of public opinion. The
President, Congress, and the courts are all, the two
former directly, the latter practically, amenable
to the people." — ^'American Commonwealth/^
chap, xxxiii, pars. 20-22.

And Abraham Lincoln said: **I insist that if
there is anything which it is the duty of the whole
people to never intrust to any hands hut their own,
that thing is the preservation and perpetuity of
their own liberties and institutions."

''The people, the people of these United States,
are the rightful masters of both Congresses and
courts: not to overthrow the Constitution, but to
overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."

There is abundance more, but these are suffi-
cient here. It is, therefore, certain that it is the
undeniable prerogative of the people, at all times,
to proclaim and maintain the Constitution which
they have ordained and established.

And now, because of the complete failure of
their own sworn agencies, legislative, judicial, and

470 The Fourteenth Amendment

executive, State and National, to maintain the Con-
stitution, in its plain language and certain intent
touching the highest privilege and immunity of
citizens of the United States, it is now the bounden
duty, no less than the supreme prerogative, of
the people of the United States, ourselves person-
ally, and each in his place, perpetually to proclaim
and to maintain, this Constitution in all its guar-
anties and its intents, of liberty, religious, as well
as civil. And this, still, in order that *^ govern-
ment of the people, by the people, and for the peo-
ple, shall not perish from the earth."

The situation demands it. The necessity is
upon us. No man can evade it and still be free.
Meet it we must. Then let us meet it as men, as
manly men. Yes, as American, Constitutional,
Christian men !

And the way to do this is all plain before us.
It is plain by virtue of unquestionable principle;
it is plain by the authority of unquestionable and
actual practice.

Originally, in the States there were the twin
despotisms of slavery and enforced religion. The
National Constitution and government were estab-
lished without either; and it was intended to lead
all away from both. Both desj)otisms resisted
this intent of the National power, and aimed both
to become national.

The crisis came first as to the nationalization of

The Twin Despotisms 471

the despotism of body slavery. A decision of the
National Supreme Court was rendered setting
forth principles which, carried to their logical as
well as apparently intended conclusion, accom-
plished the nationalization of the civil despotism of
slavery.

Under God and the splendid leadership of
Abraham Lincoln, that crisis as to civil slavery
issued in the total abolition, by the Thirteenth
Amendment, of slavery even in the States where
it had held sway.

In this issue of that crisis as to that civil des-
potism, the titmi despotism of the soul slavery of
established religion was also abolished by the
Fourteenth Amendment.

In spite of this, however, the despotism of
enforced religion has persisted in its determina-
tion to become National. A decision of the
National Supreme Court has been rendered, de-
claring that ^'This is a Christian nation,'' and that
^Hhe establishment of the Christian religion'' is
within the meaning of the Constitution.

As certainly as that declaration shall be fol-
lowed up, it logically and inevitably will lead to
the nationalization of religious despotism. And
the church federations and other religious com-
bines are all diligently following it up, and press-
ing it to exactly that conclusion.

472 The Fourteenth Amendment

Thus there has now come the crisis as to the
nationalization of religious despotism.

Upon the vantage ground of the Constitution
as a whole, and of the Fourteenth Amendment in
particular, we have the high honor to meet the
crisis of this despotism of soul slavery, as Abra-
ham Lincoln and they with him met that crisis of
body slavery: and with the hope that this crisis
shall issue as did that — in the total abolition of all
religious despotism, even in the States where at
first it held sway.

And the course of Abraham Lincoln and those
who stood with him in that crisis, which carried
them to that glorious issue, has not merely ^^ blazed
the way,'' but has established a solid and a broad
highway over which we with all confidence can
proceed unto an issue as much more glorious as
Religious Liberty surpasses civil liberty.

First, it is ours to say in the very words
of Abraham Lincoln himself, *^We have to fight
this battle upon principle, and upon principle
alone. So I hope those with whom I am sur-
rounded have principle enough to nerve them-
selves for the task, and leave nothing undone that
can fairly be done to bring about the right result.*'

When we shall be charged, as was he, with '^re-
sistance to the decisions of the Supreme Court,''
we can answer in his own words, as truly and as
fitly spoken: *'I do not resist it. All that I am

Lincoln's Work and Ours 473

doing is refusing to obey it as a political [a relig-
ious] rule. But we will try to reverse that deci-
sion. Somebody has to reverse that decision, since
it was made ; and we mean to reverse it, and we
mean to do it peaceably. ' '

When the promoters of despotism shall charge
us, as they did him, with inciting ^'anarchy, vio-
lence, and mob law,'^ we can give his own answer:
^^By resisting it as a political [a religious] rule, I
disturb no right of property, create no disorder,
excite no mobs. It is not resistance; it is not fac-
tious ; it is not even disrespectful ; to treat it as not
having yet quite established a settled doctrine for
the country. ' '

"When we shall be denounced, as was he, only be-
cause of ^Hhe monstrous revolutionary doctrines"
with which we are ^^ identified," and that we are
^'determined to carry out," we can reply as did
he, ''I am fighting upon these original principles
— fighting in the Jeffersonian, Washingtonian,
and Madisonian [and Lincolnian] fashion."

AAHien we shall be flouted, as was he, because of
some of ''the company" in which we may find our-
selves, we can make true and confident reply, as did
he: "Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand
with him while he is right, and part with him when
he goes wrong. To desert such ground because of
any company is to be less than a man, less than an
American" — yea, less than a Christian.

474 The Fourteenth Amendment

And, finally, in Lincoln's noble words, we may
exactly say : ^'Neither let us be slandered from our
duty by false accusations against us, nor fright-
ened from it by menaces of dungeons to ourselves.
Let us have faith that right makes might ; and in
that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as
we understand it."

Thus, then, individually and from free choice
and mastering conviction, standing upon original
ground and original principles ; free in the relig-
ious liberty. Christian, American, and Constitu-
tional, which in fullest meaning of the term is ours
— standing thus free, we possess, and must pro-
claim, and maintain, in the full and certain nature
of it as doubly an 'inborn right," and upon posi-
tive guaranty of the Constitution, this privilege
and immunity of citizens of the United States : this
full and complete Religious Liberty from all Sun-
day laws everytvhere.

It is the very principle of the emancipation
proclamation. By that noble document every slave
was free. Those who were interested in his being
a slave, did all that they could to persuade him that
he was not free. And some were so persuaded, and
so could not enjoy the liberty that was surely
theirs. But all who stood ud free, and proclaimed
it, were free.

It is the very principle of the Gospel. By the
redemption fully provided in Christ, every soul is

The Gospel Principle 475

free. By tlie Author of that redemption and that
freedom, the proclamation has gone forth of ^ lib-
erty to the captives and opening of prison to them
that are bonnd/' The arch-despot of enforced re-
ligion continues to do all that he can to convince
men that they are not free. Many allow themselves
to be so convinced; and so never know the blessed
liberty that has been provided and ordained and es-
tablished, and that is theirs. But all who accept
the provision and the guaranty, and stand up free
and proclaim it, are free.

Here, then, by the National Constitution every
citizen of the United States is absolutely free
from all Sunday laws, as from every other form
of enforced religion. The remnants, relics, and
representatives of the old religious despotisms
still try to persuade free citizens of the United
States that they are not free. Who will any
longer allow himself thus to be hoodooed out of
his assured liberty?

Citizens of the United States are thus assur-
edly free. The people of the United States have
ordained and established it. The Constitution
declares and guarantees it. Let the people of the
United States now and forever stand up and pro-
claim and maintain it, and be free.

Then all will be free. There is no other way.
And there cannot be any other way; for there is

476 The Fourteentli Amendment

no power in the government or the Constitution
above that of the people.

There is yet a deeper sense in which this issue
is the principle of the Gospel. It was '^upon the
principles upon which the Gospel was first prop-
agated" that this American, Constitutional, and
Christian Religious Liberty was founded. Jef-
ferson, Washington, Madison, and their compa-
triots, who made the nation, expressed it thus: —

' ' Religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator
and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only
by reason and conviction, not by force or violence ; and is
nowhere cognizable but at the tribune of the Universal
Judge. Therefore, to judge for ourselves, and to en-
gage in the exercise of religion agreeably to the dictates
of our own consciences, is an unalienable right, which
upon the principles on which the Gospel was first
propagated and the Reformation from popery carried
on, can never be transferred to another."

As related to God and religion, the principle
on which the Gospel was first propagated is:
''Render to Caesar the things that are Ca}sar's,
and unto God the things which are God's." *'If
any man hear my word and believe not, I judge
him not." **So then, every one of us shall give
account of himself to God. * '

In this matter of the observance or regard of
a day, the principle upon which the Gospel was
first propagated is : ' ' One man esteemeth one day
above another, another esteemeth every day alike.

The Two Americayi Principles ^11

Let every man be fully persuaded in his own
mind. He that regardeth the day regardeth it
unto the Lord ; and he that regardeth not the day
to the Lord he doth not regard it.''

*^In his own mind" — mark it. ^^ Fully per-
suaded in his own mind;" not by governmental
force; not by Congressional or legislative enact-
ments; not by judicial decisions; not by police;
not by prosecution, nor by persecution. But only
^'in his own mind," by his own personal choice,
and his own free thinking, upon his own personal
and free faith, and unto God only.

That is the principle of the Gospel as to the
observance or regarding of a day. And that is the
Religious Liberty that is the privilege and immu-
nity of every citizen of the United States, or-
dained and established in the Constitution; and
now to be proclaimed and maintained everywhere
throughout all the land by all the inhabitants
thereof. It is all of God, and is eternally right.

Through its Sunday laws this principle of the
Gospel was repudiated, and this liberty blotted
out in all Europe by the world despotism of the
papacy that sunk the Eoman Empire and carried
the world to the brink of perdition. In the Ref-
ormation God again rescued mankind, and called
men to the principles of Religious Liberty u]3on
which the Gospel was first propagated. But not
till the planting of this Newest Nation did these

478 The Fourteenth. Amendment

principles ever find any place of recognition in
government.

The principles had always been there for rec-
ognition by every government. The principles
were ordained of God for the recognition of gov-
ernments and of men everywhere. But to this
Nation alone in all the world befell the splendid
distinction of taking this divinely ordained way
of genuine Eeligious Liberty as a fundamental
governmental principle.

And this Religious Liberty has assured in this
land civil liberty in higher degree and larger
measure than was ever known before on earth.
And by these two great principles of Eeligious
Liberty and civil liberty this Nation has led the
whole world out of the darkness and into the light.

And here she is, Columbia, Queen of the na-
tions; glorious in her goodly apparel, and ma-
jestic in her beautiful form.

And now who wants to see her with troubled
countenance and tear-stained face, with bowed
head and disheveled hair, and her fair limbs
marred with manacles, at the tail end of a dismal,
mewling procession ecclesiastically led, trailing
along the old and hateful paths of despotism, back
and down into the dark valley of the humiliation
and despair of mankind and the world?

No, no, no ! Let her be devoutly kept and sa-
credly guarded free — body, soul, and spirit, for-

This All Means You 479

ever free. And she with noble head erect, and her
face to the light; her countenance radiant and
eyes sparkling ; her glorious tresses joyously tos-
sing in the bracing breezes of Religious Liberty;
and she herself leading the grand march of man-
kind and the world upward and onward to the sub-
limest heights of the divine destiny.

Wliy not? And if not, then what? Can the
divine call, these divine principles, and this divine
opportunity and destiny, all be disregarded with
impunity?

All that all of this means to any individual, it
means to the Nation. All that it means to the Na-
tion it means to the whole world.

"With before them the open book of the awful
story of the world religious despotism of the pa-
pacy, if the people of these United States allow an
officious, meddling ecclesiastical combine of false
Protestantism to turn this model free Nation into
a religious despotism in the living likeness of, and
even in alliance with, that identical original one,
then what possible language could too severely
reproach that crowning folly of the ages?

Should or could it then be thought strange if
the divine judgment stored up for that great origi-
nal should burst upon both together, in the vials
of unmingled wrath poured out to the very dregs ?
Read Revelation, 13 to 16, inclusive.

But, and if in the blindness of men that awful

480 The Fourteenth Amendment

perversion must be wrought, and tlie supremacy
of spiritual despotism and evil must again seize
sway, then only the more does it devolve upon all
tvho will he free, either now or then, to hold up so
high, so openly, so fully, and so true, all these di-
vine principles that have been committed to this
Nation in trust for the world : so that only in the
very desperation of defiant despotism can that
perversion be made to prevail.

Conclusion.

And now all of this means you; each one of
you, whoever you may be. This appeal is to you.
Will you stand up free, and be free, in this blessed
liberty, wherewith Christ has made us free; and
which, in the providence of the God of nations,
has been made, ordained, and established, as
American and Constitutional!

Standing up thus free and being free, will you
proclaim and maintain this Eeligious Liberty
throughout all the land to all the inhabitants
thereof?

There are already a few so doing. There may
be more. There may be fewer. But whether
there shall be more, fewer, or any other, I person-
ally know one who stands and who purposes
ever to stand precisely in the way and upon the
principles indicated in this speech.

The Croivning Contest 481

Do you personally know one suchf If you
think that you do, then just fairly face yourself
before God and in the light, and see if you can rec-
ognize him. And if you really and confidently can,
then come along. There is plenty of room, and
sore need, for all such. Come along.

Whosoever will, let him come; with fully en-
listed will and energies, body, soul and spirit ;
with all his powers, moral, mental, and spiritual;
and all his influence, religious, social, and financial
— all enlisted and employed in this splendid and
crowning contest of all the ages.

Whosoever will,

Whosoever will,
Send the proclamation

Over vale and hill;
Let this ransomed army,

Like a mighty sea,
Sound aloud this Jubilee.

APPENDIX

It is but fair to all that they should be informed as
to what denominations they are whose "membership
of more than 17,000,000" was professedly represented
in that notable action of the 319 delegates at Chicago.
They are the following : —

Baptists — Northern Convention

Baptists — National (African) Convention

Christian Church

Congregational Churches

Disciples of Christ

Evangelical (German) Synod of N. America

Evangelical Association

Free Baptists

Lutheran (except Swedish Lutheran)

Mennonite Church

Mlethodist Episcopal Church

Methodist Episcopal Church South

African M. E. Church

African M. E. Zion Church

Methodist Protestant Church

Colored M. E. Church in America

Primitive Methodist Church (Have since withdrawn)

Moravian Church

Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.

Presbyterian Church in the U. S.

The Protestant Episcopal Church, U. S. A.

Reformed Church in America

Reformed Church in the U. S.

Reformed Presbyterian Church

Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Seventh-Day Baptist Church

Society of Friends

United Brethren in Christ

United Evangelical Church

United Presbyterian Church of N. America

Welah Presbyterian Church

It now remains to be seen whether the "more than seven-
teen millions" of the membership of these churches were really
represented in that vote repudiating the word "Protestant."

And if any of these were NOT truly represented in that
action of the three hundred and nineteen delegates, then it is
urgent upon each one of them just now to wake up and speak out
and let it be known that there is at least one Protestant yet
alive.

The price of this book — ''THE REFORMA-
TION"—is $2.00 in cloth; in paper, $1.00.

Any reader of this book who may wish to fol-
low further the study of The Priesthood and Sanc-
tuary of Christ, can do so in —

"The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection."

130 pages. Cloth, 50 cts.

Or to follow the study of The Church and Federa-
tion, can do so in —

"The Christian Church and Church Federation."

208 pages. Paper, 35 cts.

Or to follow the study of Individuality, can do so
in —

"The Divine Right of Individuality in Religion."

155 pages. Paper, 25 cts.

Or the Federal Council of Churches, in —

"Church Federation and The Kingdom of God."

192 pages. Paper, 25 cts.

Any who would like to know why Turkey is such
a trouble to the nations, may learn by reading —

"The Turkish Tangle: How It Came: What It
Means." Paper, 25 cts.

Any who would like to have a brief general view
of the wealth of the Bible, can get it in —

"The Place of The Bible in Education."

250 pages. Paper, 40 cts.

Address, Alonzo T. Jones, Battle Creek, Mich.

Date Due

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