Paul, we are advised that out of its nine outstanding features, five of them reside within the compass of revelation, viz, wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, tongues and the interpretation. (Numbers 11:25; 2 Kings 2: 15; Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:7-10; Ephesians 4: 8-11.)

Its office work as stated by our Savior is as follows:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.-John 16: 13.

The paramount power of the Spirit thus stated, is to "guide into all truth and show you things to come," and surely none will say that its task has been completed, that the inexhaustible treasuries of truth and the boundless breadths of futurity have been exhausted and spanned. "Ask and it shall be given unto you," said Christ, and "if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally," enjoined James. How is it possible for the Lord to keep these promises save it be through the medium of revelation? (Matthew 7: 7; James 1:5.)

4. REVELATIONS WILL COME.

However much men may oppose this channel of divine communication, or refuse to walk in the highway of heavenly inspiration, God will, nevertheless, reveal himself. He has vowed it generations since, and the word of the Lord is irresistible: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away." Unto us the promise comes as well as unto them: "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The word proceedeth occupies the present tense, not the past. (Matthew 24: 35; 4: 4.)

The latter days shall share of the revelations of God as well as the former, for he is no respecter of persons:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.Acts 2: 17, 18.

An Elijah will be sent with an important message immediately preceding the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; resultant of which the hearts of the children shall be drawn to the teachings of the fathers and so the day of smiting shall be procrastinated. (Malachi 4: 5, 6.)

Two witnesses will again stand in the streets of Jerusalem, and will prophesy three years and a half. Men of exceptional power, they will command the elements that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and will smite the earth with plagues as often as they will. Finishing their work they shall, as have nearly all the prophets, seal their testimony with their blood, their dead bodies lying in the streets three days and a half, and while the populace are making merry, congratulating each other because of the death of those whose word was accompanied by power, suddenly, the spirit of life descending from on high will reanimate those mutilated remains and arising they shall ascend in the sight of men. Then will the Lord make retribution, and fearful his fury! An

earthquake of terrible destructiveness will rock the city, a tenth part of it falling, slaying of men seven thousand. (Revelation

11: 3-13.)

Surely, then, the voice of the prophet in revelation is not to be confined to an unrecallable past.

5. SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

The Christian religion was distinguished above all others for the remarkable gifts it bestowed. The ministry were attended by a "power from on high," "the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following." (Luke 24: 49; Mark 16:20.) Nor were these gifts reserved for a few, laity and clergy shared alike:

How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation.-1 Corinthians 14:26.

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 gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.-1 Corinthians 12: 8-10.

Scarcely a page may we turn to, but what we read of some miracle, vision, angelic ministration, or great outpouring of the Spirit, manifest in a tongue, interpretation, or prophecy. The following will instance:

And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.Luke 9: 2.

And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.-Mark 6: 13.

God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.-Hebrews 2: 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.-Acts 2: 4.

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.-Acts 19: 6.

6. NOT TO BE DONE AWAY.

The great trouble with the people is, that somehow or other they have conceived the idea that these blessings were to be done away. There is nothing in the scripture to warrant such a conclusion. To the contrary, it bespeaks their continuance and exhorts us to contend therefor:

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.-1 Corinthians 14: 1.

I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied.-1 Corinthians 14: 5.

Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. -1 Corinthians 14: 39.

SIGNS TO FOLLOW THE BELIEVER.

Our Lord himself was interested in conferring spiritual gifts upon his people. They were intended as assuring testimonies whereby his followers might know of their acceptance.

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that

believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.-Mark 16: 15-18.

This was the legacy of our Lord to the church, bequeathed in his latest expressed will and testament.

Why, then, ought not his people to inherit it? It is theirs by inheritance and surely the estate is sufficient to apportion to every man according to the promise. "The word of the Lord endureth for ever," proclaimed Peter, and, "My word shall not pass away" contended Christ; which gives us every warrant to expect a fulfillment thereof according to the letter.

It can not be urged that the Master was mentally incapacitated at the time of making this will, nor can it be entertained that his spiritual estate was inadequate to fulfill his bequests. Some other reason then must exist for a nonfulfillment of these promises. It must be that a question as to heirship has arisen. And who are the heirs? "them that believe." Where then are the believers? Who is there that believes these spiritual treasures are for us nowadays? In this way we may discover the heirs. Go in search, if we will, among the great and popular churches for those who are looking for this endowment according to the promise and, oh, how fruitless our mission. Instead of meeting with believers it is the very opposite. We are told that these signs are not for us now, that those who look for them are fanatics. Indeed, it is urged that the learning of man is sufficient, which has taken the place of this wisdom from on high.. Oh, the folly of man! How persistently he arrays himself against the determinate purposes and expressed pleasure of the Lord.

But let us press our inquiry a little closer. Christ has said that these signs shall follow. Now, who has the right to say that they shall not follow? It occurs to us that when a statute is enacted and placed upon the statute books it is at once in force, and remains in force so long as it occupies a place in the record. It becomes inoperative only when the statute is repealed. In this case the statute is still on record, and no repeal has been ordered.

Again, these blessings were essential to the believer, whereby they might know of their accceptance with the Master; thus were they called signs, tokens, assurances from the Lord that he had condescended to regard them as his people. Deception then, as now, was abroad in the land, and by it many were ensnared. But the disciples of Christ, living in harmony with gospel teaching and thereby in rapport with the Father, who has always been a God of miracles, were made certain of the faith they had espoused by miraculous gifts of heavenly origin.

"But," says the objector, "these signs are not for our day." That being true, away goes the entire promise, salvation and all. Yes, and the conditions go with it, for all are associated together. They are inseparably connected. That would mean that salvation is not for our day, and belief is not for our day. Christ placed the preaching, the believing, the baptizing, the saving, and the signs all on an

equal footing, one follows the other; where one was limited the others were also, and when one ceased so did the others.

If the language confines the signs to apostolic times it confines belief and salvation to those days also, for one is as confined as the other. Where one is operative the others are, and when one ceases so must the others.

The fact that these signs do not follow the professed believers in other churches, is no evidence that Christ has gone back on his word, that his bank has failed, and the Banker unable to redeem himself.

The trouble exists with the other folks: they have not obeyed that form of doctrine entitling them to rank as believers; consequently with them there is neither sign nor salvation.

John Wesley seems to share this view:

It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were common in the church for more than two or three centuries. . . . The cause was not as has been vulgarly supposed-because there was no more occasion for them by reason of the world becoming Christian, for this idea is a miserable mistake, as not one twentieth part was at that time even nominally Christian. the real cause why the gifts of the Holy Spirit were no longer to be found in the Christian church was because the Christians were turned heathen again and had only a dead form left.-Sermon 94.

THE APOSTASY AND OVERTHROW OF THE

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Having had a view of the church of Christ as it existed in New Testament times we shall now follow its fortunes to the day when it became lost to mankind in a great falling away or apostasy.

Perhaps we startle the uninformed when we say that the church as established by Jesus Christ fell away, but of this the reader may readily inform himself. Let him just look around and compare, if he will, the many churches of to-day with that blessed model as left perfected by Christ. What a difference! How unlike the church of olden days, and how little of the Old Jerusalem Gospel do they preach!

The quenching of the olden prophetic fire, the annihilation of apostles, the cessation of revelations, the signs not following, together with the general ignoring of the ordinances have long since recorded upon the walls of the halls of Christendom, "Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting."

Where do we find an institution established after the ancient order of things?

Where is there a saving structure based upon "the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands"? (Hebrews 6: 1, 2.)

Where is that church pillared by apostles, illuminated by spiritual gifts, upon the altar of which the perpetual fires of revelation for ever burn? Echo answers, Where!

Oh, yes; we may find plenty of churches, such as they are, but how incomparable to that matchless temple built upon the enduring

rock of unadulterated doctrine and whose spiritual spire, penetrating the vaults of celestial blue, reached unto the very throne of God. There she stood, beauteous by day, brilliant by night, and in constant communion with her God.

In imitation of this sacred edifice we have a thousand competing counterfeits erected upon the shifting sands of creedal changes.

Without windows of inspirational light they depend rather upon the flickering flare of human learning.

The Bible student, however, is not surprised to learn of this deplorable state of Christendom. It is all foreshadowed in the Scriptures. The prophets predicted a great and terrible apostasy long, long ago.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves. . . for I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.-Acts 20: 28-30.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.-2 Timothy 4: 3, 4.

Iniquity shall abound and the love of many shall wax cold.-Matthew 24: 12. "They have transgressed the laws."

They have "changed the ordinance."

They have "broken the everlasting covenant."

The earth is defiled.-Isaiah 24: 5, 6.

"They are drunken but not with wine."

"The Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep."

The Lord "hath closed your eyes."-Isaiah 29: 9, 10.

"Darkness covereth the earth."

"Gross darkness" covereth "the people."-Isaiah 60: 2.

"Night shall be unto you.'

"Ye shall not have a vision."

"The sun shall go down over the prophets."

"The day shall be dark."

Zion shall be plowed.-Micah 3:6, 7, 12.

"My sheep wandered through all the mountains."

"My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth."

"None did search or seek after them."

There was no shepherd.-Ezekiel 34: 6, 8.

"I will send a famine in the land."

"A famine of hearing the words of the Lord." "They shall seek the word of the Lord."

They shall not find it.-Amos 8: 11, 12.

In addition to iniquity within, persecution without began to wage its relentless war against the church. It first struck at John the Baptist, the King's herald, whom it beheaded; the next was the King himself, crucified upon Calvary. Following this, history tells us that the twelve apostles suffered most cruelly, nearly all of them being martyred for the faith.

The enemy doubtless thought that if he could put the governing and directing officials out of the way he could very easily overcome the others. And so he did.

The church, however, had every opportunity to maintain the faith. The Spirit of the Lord promised by the Master was ever present to direct in their proceedings whenever they sought unto it. But the trouble was, as we have seen, the church itself forsook "its first love" and so alienated all promises of help.