preachers of the gospel, into other folds and other bodies than the body of Christ, and are required to subscribe to faiths and creeds written by men, instead of the faith of the gospel, this is making or causing division contrary to the doctrine of Christ, and we are told to avoid such persons. Let me give an illustration.

Suppose that in a town the pure gospel of salvation is presented and one hundred people are converted to God. Through conversion those one hundred souls are joined to the Lord, and the same love and spirit that in salvation join them to the Lord join them to each other. Thus they are made members of the church of God and constitute a local assembly of the true church. They belong to nothing but Christ. They have no faith but the gospel, no creed but the Word of God. Their names are written in heaven. Their bond of union is the love of God. They love each other, and love binds their hearts together. The Spirit of God draws them together in meeting, and therefore they "forsake not the assembling of themselves together." The Lord calls some to the work of elders, others to the work of deacons. After

such have proved themselves, they are ordained by the imposition of hands to the work to which the Lord has called them. This is the church of God in its local sense.

Now suppose that, for want of better light, a Methodist minister approaches this congregation of believers and persuades twenty to join his sect, and that a Dunkard, a Quaker, a Baptist, and a Wesleyan minister do likewise. Now instead of meeting in one place, the hundred assemble in five different places of worship. Before, one minister could preach to them all; now, it requires five. Before, they had one faith, the simple faith of the gospel; now, they have five different faiths. They are divided on baptism, its designs and its mode; they are divided on the Lord's Supper, on feet-washing, on the manner of obtaining salvation, and on many other things too numerous to mention. Woe be to the pastors that thus destroy and scatter the sheep of God's pasture! These are the very men that make division contrary to the doctrine of the Bible. Some of them have been traditionized to believe that they are doing God's service, but we hope and pray that God will enable them to comprehend his truth and that they may re

nounce all such deception and abide in the one and only true church of the living God.

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." 2 Pet. 2:1-3. "And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?" Hab. 1:14-17. False prophets scatter and divide the people of God by leading them into their sects. With

good words and fair speeches they deceive the people and make merchandise of them. Multitudes of cold professors will not endure sound doctrine, but heap to themselves these teachers who turn away their ears from the truth unto fables. The more people these preachers can gather into their drag, the more they rejoice, "supposing gain is godliness." Many of them sacrifice to their drag-sect-more than they do to their God. Thus they slay the nations. Woe unto you sectarian preachers, blind guides, hypocrites! You compass land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he is made, he is twofold more the child of hell than when you found him. You are the very ones who are making division contrary to the doctrine of Christ, and we are commanded to avoid you. You oppose the truth, not only refusing to obey it yourselves, but also hindering those who would. Thus you are likened unto whitened sepulchers, which appear beautiful outward: within you are full of uncleanness, hypocrisies, and iniquity. For a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. The pulpits of Protestantism are filled with a hireling ministry, a worthless set of preachers, who

love greetings in the market and the highest seats of honor, who love the praise of men more than the praise of God, and who are filled with pride and formality.

Turning again to the eleventh chapter of Revelation, we find mention of two prophetsthe Word and Spirit of God-the true vicars of Christ during the Protestant age. "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them." Verses 7-11.