3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Now the repentance which results from believing the gospel of the kingdom is not "sorrow for sin;" nor does it contain the least bitterness or remorse of feeling in it. The scripture word translated repentance is METANOIA, and signifies, a change of mind and purpose (Acts 5:31; 11:18).

When such a change takes place from believing the truth, it is a disposition and mode of thinking such as characterized Abraham; who is the model of the faith and temper, which precedes justification in the name of the Lord. But a change of mind and purpose however "evangelical," is only granted for repentance in the name of Jesus Christ. That is to say, though a believer of the gospel of the kingdom might possess this state of mind and child-like disposition, he would not be regarded as in repentance any more than in Jesus, until the name of Christ was named upon him according to "the law of faith."

It imports not how much a woman loves a man, she is not his wife, and therefore entitled to none of the benefits he is able to confer, until she puts on his name according to law. The name of Christ consummates everything. "Complete in him;" but out of him every thing is imperfect. Faith is unfinished, and the change of mind and disposition is incomplete, until the believer of the gospel of the kingdom puts on the name of Christ. In the act of doing this, his faith is counted to him for righteousness, or remission of sins that are past; and his change of mind and disposition is granted to him for repentance.

But a right to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God is also imparted to the believer through the name of Christ. The life-giving efficacy of his name is derived from his resurrection as the first-fruits of them that sleep. Had Jesus not risen from the dead, men could not have obtained a right to eternal life through his name. This is the doctrine of the apostles and the prophets. An unrisen sacrifice is only a temporary propitiation for sin. This was the nature of the sacrifices under the Mosaic law. Hence the law had no vitality in it;

"For if there had been a law given that could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law" (Gal. 3:21).

But this was impossible. Moses was the mediatorial testator of the covenant from Sinai. He died, and the Lord buried him; but there was no testimony added of his resurrection: and though he lives (for he appeared to Jesus on the Mount) it was after the law came into force.

The Mosaic law is therefore, a minister only of death and cursing. But Jesus died and rose again, and lives for evermore. Hence, the gospel in his name, and the new code hereafter to be promulgated from Zion, are efficacious to the bestowal of a right to eternal life upon all who believe through his name.

Elpis Israel ii.5.

7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

Is it Lawful to bear Arms?

Our conviction is that Christians should leave the devil to fight his own battles; and that if he sought to compel them to serve in his ranks, they ought to refuse to do so. He may fine them or put them in prison; but in these times, and in a Protestant and "free country," will hardly venture to put them to death.

The devil cast some of the Smyrneans into prison for disobeying him, which was allowed of God that they might be tried-Rev. 2:10; and the like may be permitted again. But it is better to pay his fines, or to be imprisoned by him, than to serve him in his wars. Let the potsherds of the earth strive together, and Christians stand aloof.

Shall the devil draft me into his United States armies, and brother Lithgow into his British force, and we, brethren in Christ, meet in deadly conflict to slay one another in the devil's interest? Perish the thought! Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Campbellites, Papists, and such like, can slaughter one another for their country's good; but Christians? No, never!

We have no "patriotism" and are "loyal" to no Gentile government under the sun. Patriotism is love and zeal for one's native or adopted country right or wrong; and loyalty is firm and faithful adhesion to a king or sovereignty. Our love, zeal, and loyalty for the British daughter of the Italian Jezebel found expression some twenty-five years ago in a solemn renunciation of her authority; and in obeying the gospel of the kingdom in 1847, we gave in all the love, zeal, and loyalty we had at command, to Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

As Christians, therefore, we are his slaves; for he has bought us and all we possess, with his life-blood. We have no love, zeal, and loyalty for any other country and government than his. We only temporarily sojourn under Gentile governments as necessary evils for the time being; desiring no honors, or emoluments at their disposal; willing to render to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's; and living peaceably under his supremacy until King Yahweh Tzidkainu appears in power and great glory, when we shall heartily unite with him in grinding them to powder, and sweeping them as chaff before the tempest.

Yahweh's kings and priests ought not to be marshalled with the sinners of the world, whose "dearest interests" for the which they fight, are the things which perish. Their dearest interests may be worth their fighting for; but they are too inconsiderable for Christians to regard.

If ever there was an occasion when the patriotism and loyalty of Christians might seem to be in demand, it was when the Romans invaded Judea and besieged Jerusalem. Did Jesus in predicting this event, exhort Christianized Jews to be patriotic and loyal to the State, and defend with their lives and fortunes, on the Gentile principle dulce et decus pro patria mori? Nay. On the contrary he said, "Let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; let him who is upon the housetop, not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him who is in the field return to take his clothes." Thus they were exhorted to abandon all in their houses, property and kin, and flee for their own lives, which, being Christ's, were much more precious than the unbelievers they left behind.

If an enemy come against Halifax, Edinburgh, London, or New York, no doubt God will have sent him for the well-deserved punishment of the devils they contain. Shall we Christians assist said devils, al as "rowdies," "dead rabbits," "plug uglies," "owls," "hungry and trading politicians," papists, and all the adherents and supporters of all the names and denominations of Protestant blasphemy-shall we assist them with pike and gun to resist the hand of God that smites them so deservedly? Nay, verily. Let us leave them to their deserts and flee. We might lose our property, but no matter. We save our more precious lives, and are not punished with such a base and ignoble multitude.

When the King comes we will be patriotic for the land covenanted to the fathers. The Holy land is ours, and for that we shall fight; and in the conflict "tread the wicked as ashes under the soles of our feet"-Mal. 4:3. Until then, we shall give Cæsar, or the devil, his due; but not our patriotism and loyalty, which are God's, to defend his perishable goods, chattels, and effects.

But then, says one, they will call us cowards? Who? The blind subjects of Satan's kingdom? What enlightened and independent Christian would care a straw what such poor miserables say? Any dog of a Gentile, whether a street or congressional rowdy, has brutality enough to bark and bite for the gratification of his malignity; but few, very few, of mankind have the moral courage to face authority, and refuse to fight because God for a time forbids it, either for the avenging of ourselves, or the defence of property against the public enemy. There is neither glory nor profit in dying for Satan; therefore our sentence is, refuse all soldiering in the devil's ranks, and leave the consequences to God. -Editor.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, March 1860

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Let the reader, then, be persuaded to search the Scriptures as for hid treasure. The Bereans did so, although they were instructed by an apostle himself. If, then, they received nothing without first searching the Scriptures, to see if Paul, though inspired, spoke in accordance with them; how much more necessary that, in this cloudy and dark day, the reader should prove all things by Scripture before he accept anything, from whatever source, as good.

...Go, reader, and do thou likewise!

- Col. 3:10; 1:27; Eph. 3:17; James 2:27.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, July, 1855

12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Reflections.

Because we have been enlightened by "The Truth" we have, therefore, a definite purpose in

life and a definite object in view. We strive to serve God and hope to be rewarded for our endeavours.

In our quiet moments we contemplate with delight the time when the Master shall be in the

earth, and his chosen ones will have the unspeakable pleasure of his and each others' company for ever-and "one sweet commonwealth of peace from countless hearts shall be born."

We all desire to share in this "Peace," but is not the great problem of our life the HOW?

What a great mistake to neglect the Book that tells us "How."

What a responsibility on our speaking brethren! How many realise it? There is every necessity for being given a clear lead by the brethren we appoint.

"If a man ask for bread shall he give him a stone?" How it seems, sometimes, that brethren "miss the mark" and we come away from a meeting with nothing definite to carry with us because the brother has "rambled."

No brother should exhort the "Ecclesia" unless he is prepared to clearly tell the brethren and

sisters what is expected of them. This requires adequate forethought and study and every brother aspiring to the office must be prepared to sacrifice his own comfort for the benefit of others. Brethren take to themselves "great boldness" because of the responsibility laid upon them to tell the "Ecclesia" How to encourage, to strengthen, to comfort and to warn.

Brethren!

"Feed the Flock."

We often speak in our lectures of the noble example of the Bereans and appeal to the stranger

to follow their example. We might with equal force turn this appeal to ourselves. Paul preached things quite contrary to their views. Did they manifest anger? Were they prejudiced?

"They searched the Scriptures daily" to see whether Paul was right. How often we are disposed "to kick" when a brother, in plainly telling us truths we must know finds a weak spot. We think he is harsh; we "search" our minds for excuses; we become prejudiced against him, all because he has told us the truth.

The truth will always find the weak spots in our armour. If we are wise we shall strengthen it.

The first step towards doing this is "to see whether the things are so" or not.

"A wise man's eyes are in his head." If we use them we shall see what "nobility" is.

***

The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily.

How many of us do that? Why should we? Well, why should we eat? We do not expect to live if we do not eat, and neither should we. Neither shall we "live" if we neglect our spiritual food. This is "the true bread which cometh down from heaven" of which, if a man eat, he shall live for ever. It is difficult to imagine enlightened men and women turning from this ideal food to the food the world provides for its own-novels and similar rubbish.

It is no wonder we have complaints of some being slack and weak. The cause of this is partly due to "wrong diet." Let us, as far as we can, have food which is pure and unadulterated by man and there will be more likelihood of our developing into healthy men and women in Christ Jesus.

The Berean Christadelphian, May 1923

18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

...the sea and the waves [NOW] roaring Lk 21: 25, upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity

we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:...having our hope steadfast as an anchor for the soul - Heb 6: 19

...he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed - Jms 1: 6

... be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive - Eph 4: 14

21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

The "some new thing" speculators have a new pejorative for faithful brethren and sisters who wish to hold fast to the Saving Truth as taught by our pioneers, and preserved for one hundred years by their sound successors. It is "traditionalist Christadelphians."

Watch for it as a danger signal of instability and erraticness. It is cropping up everywhere. It castigates those who want in their simplicity to cling to "outmoded" traditions of belief, and who do not want to "seek new truths."

Bro Growcott

22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

..though the heathen were hopeless of the true hope, and atheists as respected their acknowledgment of the one only living and true God, they had a hope and a godliness of their own imagining.

These are termed by the apostle in 2 Cor. 10:5. logismoi reasonings, which exalt themselves against the knowledge which comes from God; and speaking of them to the Christian disciples at Rome, he says in chapter 1:21, that they were

"vain in their imaginations"

 (dialogismoi, reasonings or dialogues, such as Plato's "Dialogue on Laws") and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be sophoi wise men, they became fools, &c.

They hoped for things relating to souls which were vain dialogisms or speculations. Believing in the inherent immortality of corruptible flesh, because they imagined it to be pervaded by an immaterial soul, they hoped at death to be delivered from present evils by the reabsorption of their immortalities into the divine essence. To them the idea of a resurrection of the mortal body was a monstrous absurdity; hence they laughed Paul to scorn when he announced it on Mars' Hill at Athens.

They deceived their foolish heart by the vain imaginings of the translation of their souls on the wings of demons to the elysian fields in the region of everlasting light. The terms being changed, angels being substituted for demons, and heaven for the elysium, the hope of the present generation of Gentiles is identical with the heathen dialogisms of the apostolic era.

We repeat it. Let the reader examine into this matter and he will find, that the hope of the Catholic, Protestant, Mohammedan, and Pagan communities of the 19th century, is the same, substantially the same, though philologically metamorphosed, as the hope of the heathens of Greece and Rome.

Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Universalists, Baptists, &c., all teach it as the "one hope of their calling;"-the translation of their immortalities at death from earth to heaven on angels' wings-is believed by the people and preached by the clergy, and advocated by partizan editors as the revealed truth of God!

They pray for it in their prayers, eulogise it in their rhapsodies, and sing it in their hymns, as the consummation most devoutly to be wished for.

We shall not pause here to argue against these absurdities; when we show what the true hope is, they will be as conspicuous as the sun at noonday. We shall now content ourselves with affirming simply, that the scriptures do not teach the things we have printed in italics. They belong to the new Platonism of the Egyptian Theology. To sing these things is to pour into the ear of the Deity what is not of the truth, and therefore, as saith the apostle, lies; for what is not of the truth, is a lie.

Nevertheless, these are all items of the hope, both of the pious and undevout of this generation. Suppose we grant that it is the true hope; it must then be the hope of Israel, and if so, it will be found in the covenants of the promise made to the fathers, and confirmed by the oath of God. Will any one be kind enough to show us where any such hope has been promised to Israel? And if this were promised, how comes it that Paul saith the Gentiles had no hope, seeing that they had indulged in these items of expectation almost from time immemorial?

Here then is one of the hopes-the hope of the pious, the hope of the impious, and the hope of the hypocrite as well! A hope which the scriptures aver is no hope, and that all who trust in it are doomed to utter and irretrievable disappointment.

The Christadelphian, Jan 1872

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

Every one having knowledge is aware that in fœtal life, the child's life is the mother's life, ministered by her blood through the umbilical cord; and that the child, so to speak, is by this connection built out of her blood. And as "the life of all flesh is in the blood," a child cannot partake of her blood, without partaking of her life. Consequently, Jesus, though developed from a divine germ, was framed out of his mother's substance, and, consequently, was both Son of man and Son of God.

The Christadelphian, Aug 1870

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

The Father-Spirit is embodied power. Paternal power implies offspring or children, children or SONS OF POWER. Son-power is also embodied power. It is power emanating from the Father, corporealized in one or a multitude, but never separated or detached from the focal centre. The Son-power is, therefore, the Father-power, multitudinously expressed, manifested through many bodies. This is illustrated in the science of arithmetic. Arithmetic is the scence of numbers. The hypostasis or basis of this science is the multitudinous expression of one, a multiplication of number one.

Let there be no numerical power called one, and there could be no five, fifty, or any other combination of one. One is the great power of the arithmetical universe; and all the other powers resulting from the multiplication of one combined, cannot exclude one therefrom, without annihilating themselves, and expunging the system.

This is true of Son-power, individually or multitudinously expressed, in relation to the One Father-power. Hence Jesus was led to remark, "The Son can do nothing of himself," and again, "I can of mine own self do nothing" (John 5:19,30). "The flesh," said he, "profits nothing." As son of Mary, he pretended to no power, wisdom or superiority. Mary's son was "the Vail of the Covering" to be rent. The Vail in which the Father-power was veiled, the Flesh-medium of Power-manifestation.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit?

That which connects the Focal Power of the universe with the embodied sons of power, and indeed with all created things, is also "spirit" -- styled in Scripture "free spirit" (Psalm 51:12). It is free or uncombined in space, and fills immensity as the water fills the basin of the seas. The atoms of all material things are elemental condensations of free spirit, connecting the orbs of heaven and all they contain, with the Great Central Focal power of the Universe.

It is the principle of cohesion, attraction, form; penetrating and pervading everything. To this universality the Psalmist alludes, when he enquires of Yahweh, "Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? And whither from Thy face shall I flee? If I shall ascend the heavens, Thou art there: though I shall spread down in sheol (the grave) behold Thee! I will take the wings of the dawn; I will dwell in the utmost end of the sea --moreover, there Thy hand (or power) shall lead me, and Thy right hand shall take hold of me. And I said, surely darkness shall cover me; but the night was light about me. Moreover, darkness will not conceal from Thee; but the night as the day will shine; as the darkness so is the light" (139:7-12).

All this is equivalent to saying that the Father-Power is omnipresent by His Spirit. Hence, He needs not to be locomotive to see what passes in the sun, moon, earth and stars. His all-pervading spirit places Him in contemporary juxtaposition with them all; so that at one and the same instant, He knows the fall of a sparrow on earth, and any other event, small or great, on the sun. In this way it is that, as Paul told the Athenian idolators: "He is not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27).

We are out of Him, and through Him, and in Him as physical beings. This is equally true of all flesh that breathes. Hence Moses styles the Father-Power Ail Elohai haruchoth l'kol-bashar, power, powers of the spirits, for all flesh (Num. 16:22). Here is power as the cause of life, called Ail; and powers as distributed to each living thing, and therefore styled Elohim. A dozen creatures have life. This life is Ail's spirit in them all. It is not, however, a dozen separate and independent Ailim; but one and the same Ail multiplied by twelve.

Phanerosis - One Deity in Multiplicity

The teaching of Paul is that all things exist in God (Eph. 4:6); that all things have been formed out of him (1 Cor. 8:6); and are therefore but different forms of Eternal Power. This eternal power filling the universe, is Biblically described as "spirit." Scientific men have discovered a spirit in the universe which is everywhere present, and which constitutes the bases of all existence; and they have termed this 'electricity.'

...Surely, the spirit there is in the universe underlying all existence, is of God, seeing that all things are out of Him, and that He maintains all by His power. Does it matter by what name we know this inscrutable element?

Scientific men call it 'electricity' from the substance-amber-in connection with which it was first accidentally discovered. The electricity of their discovery may not be the Spirit of God in its simplest form, but must needs contain it. Power from Him fills all, and by that power he is en rapport with all, filling heaven and earth. The very name of 'spirit' shows this. In all the classical languages, its derivation is from a word signifying to blow, or breathe forth. The Spirit is therefore the principle of invisible power, breathed forth from the seat of Eternal Power, which is the Father dwelling in light, whom no man can approach.

The Spirit breathed forth is the same in nature with its source, only that it exists in a state of diffusion instead of the intense glory existing in the Father's presence. Hence the proposition that the Spirit fills all, and that God, who created all, is Spirit, is only scriptural. Its concurrence with scientific discovery, so far as mortal discovery can rise in such a stupendous matter, ought to be a matter of joy with those who profess to believe‭ ‬in the Bible."

‭The Christadelphian, March 1871

Whither shall I go from thy spirit?

There is no part of the boundless universe where the spirit of the Divine Power is not. It pervades the atoms of all bodies and is everywhere. Hence the inquiry of Christ in prophecy

... in a general sense, all creatures are in the presence of the Creator; that they are so in being contiguous to his spirit: for, as fish live, and move, and have their being in the waters, so all animals and men "live, and move, and have their being" in spirit of God.

Upon this natural principle it is that Paul declared to the heathen philosophers that God is "not far from every one of us"; and that Jesus said, "a sparrow shall not fall on the ground without the Father." Hence, in the natural or physical sense, all creatures have the spirit, and cannot live without it; so that as Job says,

"If He gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust"—34:14.

Spirit develops the organism of all creatures, and preserves it from disorganization. It is what pathologists term the vis medicatrix naturœ; and physiologists, "the vital principle." When the spirit and breath of the Creator are withdrawn from a man or a sparrow, there remain no healing power and vitality in their several bodies; and the immediate tendency in them is to corruption and dust. Hence, all creatures in the air, earth, and seas, are spirit-forms.

The types or patterns, after which they were created were all in the mind of Deity before they were created; and when they were formed, the formation was out of spirit-matter and by spirit according to pattern. Every creature is therefore a spirit in this sense; but not necessarily immortal because a spirit. The immortality of a spirit depends upon the constitution of the matter or substance of the peculiar form. A spirit form of a flesh and blood organization is essentially mortal and corruptible; for death and corruption are peculiar to that material constitution.

The "spirits in prison" Peter speaks of, were flesh and blood organizations turned again into dust, consequent upon the Deity gathering to himself his spirit and breath. His free spirit withdrawn, and the cohesive affinity of their substance departed, and its gaseous elements entered into new combinations, destructive of the forms, termed man, cattle, fowl, and so forth.

Hence the Deity is styled by Moses in Numb. 27:16, "Yahweh, Elohim, of the spirits of all flesh": that is, the spirit self-styled He shall be, is the powers of all flesh-emanations of his power. The spirit-power of the lion is the power of Yahweh; and so of all other creatures. Hence the facility with which he can open and shut their fierce and voracious mouths, as in the case of Daniel and his persecutors. This universal diffusion of spirit places all created things in telegraphic communication with the will of the Deity.

What he wills needs not batteries and wires for transmission. He has but to will and it is instantaneously responded to according to his purpose, though the locality where obedience is required be distant from his throne a hundred millions of miles.

Take these two points, the throne of the universe, and the earth we inhabit, as the two extremities of the line—the Deity at the one end, and we at the other. The intermediate space is filled with his "free spirit," radiant from his substance, and incarnately organic in all his creatures. What we call "time" is unnecessary for the transmission of ideas.

The Deity is not a being of time. He has not to move from where he is to be where he would be; for he is everywhere by spirit, and fills all. Hence his will at the throne is his will at the same instant on earth; for his intelligence and wisdom are as universal as his power and only require his will to be exercised for their manifestation in every part of his wide domain.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, June 1861

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Anything is better than that a man should be in love with himself.

It is, in fact, a principal defect in the population at the present day upon earth, that their interests go in instead of coming out: their minds are filled with feelings and impressions about themselves, instead of being filled with pictures and admirations of the great and wonderful things without number that are outside of themselves.

The Christadelphian, Sept 1888

In so becoming citizens of Israel's Commonwealth, their citizenship is recorded in the Every-Day Book of the Lamb's Life -- their names are borne on his breast, after the type of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel being borne on the breast of Aaron, when he wore the official breastplate on which they were engraved.

In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ, the High Priest after the Order of Melchizedec (Psa. cx. 4; Heb. v. 6; vi. 20: vii. 17, 21; Zech. vi. 13), though personally absent from earth, is, by the Spirit, not far from every one of us (Acts xvii. 27, 28).

He is still as observant and forecasting of the truth as he was in the days of the apostles, although, indeed, he abstains from direct miraculous interposition in its behalf. When one believes and obeys the truth, he becomes "known of God," and therefore of Christ (Gal. iv. 9); for to come in the obedience of faith to the knowledge of God in Christ-manifestation, is to be known and acknowledged of him.

Christ is in his heart by faith (Eph. iii. 17), and he is in Christ's heart, or breast, on the same principle -- Christ in the believer, the believer in Christ, and Christ in God: and therefore, the believer "in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ." This is what "the obedience of faith" accomplishes for a man in the present state.

Eureka 3.1.4.

Jehovah or Yahweh

—There can be no reason why the properly spelt and the properly pronounced memorial name of the Deity—Yahweh—should not be used among the brethren, in preference to the corrupt form of it (Jehovah) with which the Gentiles are everywhere familiar.

But in speaking to the public you may, to some extent, accommodate yourself to their terms, as you do in using the Anglo-Saxon word God, which means "good," instead of the Hebrew terms Ail and Elohim, which are thus indiscriminately translated in the English version, and which are not expressive of "good," but of Power, and Powers, in the personal sense; or again, as you do in using the name Almighty (which merely speaks of power) instead of the Hebrew Ail-Shaddai, which is a plural term signifying the strength of Almighty Ones; or again, in using the word Lord of the Common Version, instead of the Hebrew name Yahweh, of which it is the improper translation.

When Paul made quotation of the words from the Greek poet Aratus, "for we are also his offspring," he did not trouble about the fact that the poet was speaking of Jove's offspring, and that "Jove is derived from Jehovah" (as saith Biblical Antiquities), and therefore not the proper and original form of the word. It served his purpose sufficiently to call attention to the fact admitted, without making any reflections upon the terms employed to express it.

To speak to the uninitiated about Ail, Elohim, Ail-Shaddai, or Yahweh, would require some explanation every time it was done, seeing these terms do not occur in the English version of the Scriptures (and there is a time when the nature of the subject treated of may suggest the appropriateness of such explanation).

But among the brethren it may be considered permissible, and even desirable to use the right pronunciation of the memorial name, and in other of the Deity's names to use the Hebrew names, where the matter treated of may seem to call for it.

On the other hand, we require to beware of appearing to make a mere show of learning, an impression which too free a use of Greek and Hebrew is apt to create. It is probably better to read the scriptures as they are translated; in a sense this is due to the stranger who may be present, and following the reading by his own Bible. It is only in the Hebrew language in which God revealed himself, that we can expect to find the original names by which he was pleased to make himself known to the Hebrew nation.

In other languages we must for the most part be content with such equivalents as these provide. If we had to go and make known the truth to them, we should be obliged to use their names for "the God of the Hebrews," if we wished to be understood. A rose would be just as sweet called by any other name.

The Christadelphian, Oct 1888

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

The Almighty Deity

... is not ... as one of the imagined deities of the Greeks or Romans. He is spirit --

"immortal, invisible, the only wise God."

We cannot go from His presence. He is everywhere present. He is an indivisible unit, filling heaven and earth, though having His personal nucleus in heaven.

Nothing is hid from His sight. The thoughts of the heart are naked before Him. Consequently, worship can be tendered to Him at any place and at any moment. The essential thing is that it be true worship -- the actual adoration of a man's spirit -- the homage of felt sincerity and truth.

Nazareth Revisited Ch 14

You say the best definition of being under the law is being bound to obey. When were the Israelites bound to obey Moses—before their induction or after?

Answer.—The Israelites in obeying Moses obeyed God. The right way of putting the question, therefore is, when were the Israelites bound to obey God? The answer is, When God spoke to them, as soon as that might be.

They were commanded to sprinkle their door-posts with blood on the exodus, on pain of destruction; and this they did, as they were bound to, "before their induction," if by that is meant their national baptism into Moses in the sea.

The "statutes and commandments," making up the Mosaic system, they were not commanded to obey till they had voluntarily accepted the obligation through the mediation of Moses at Sinai. Had they been commanded to obey before and irrespective of this, they would have been "bound to obey."

When God commands, those who are commanded are bound to obey. If He put it in their choice, it is then optional, of course. This sometimes is and sometimes is not the case. The obligation of the law of Moses was assumed by covenant, ratified with the sprinkling of blood; but now, without qualification,

"God commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:29),

and if they hear that command and knowingly reject it, they will have to answer for it; for "God is not mocked."

The Christadelphian, Aug 1873

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Times of ignorance

Man may corrupt the way of the Lord; but he cannot improve it, and as surely as he attempts to adapt it to circumstances, he converts it into

"the way which leadeth to destruction,"

which is both broad and easy to walk in, being in perfect harmony with the lusts and thinking of the flesh.

The things of the way of life constitute RELIGION. As a word, it is derived from the Latin religio, from religare, which signifies, to bind again: hence, religion is the act of binding again, or, that which heals a breach previously existing between two parties.

This traditional idea the Romans expressed by religio. They believed as the foundation of their mythology, that mankind and the gods were at enmity; but how it originated they had lost the knowledge of. Their impression was that they were angry, but not implacable; nevertheless, so estranged from men that there could be no direct communication with them. Mediatorial converse with the gods was an idea universally prevalent in the world.

The pagans had derived it by tradition from the family of Noah; with whom were deposited the revealed principles of the Way of God instituted in the beginning. The idea of mediate communication for the appeasement of divine wrath was incorporated in all the domestic and temple worship which constituted their religion.

They poured out abundantly the blood of victims; and, from the tradition of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac in obedience to the divine mandate, the Carthaginians, who migrated from Palestine, probably concluded that the most acceptable offering for sin was that of human life.

Be this as it may, the principle that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission", which is an axiom of God's truth, took deep root among all the descendants of the sons of Noah. Their system was a corruption of God's Way. They were without faith, and erred, not knowing "His thoughts".

Elpis Israel 1.4.

God is not a hard master,‭ ‬reaping where He does not sow. He "winks at" "times of ignorance." He does not hold men responsible where there is no knowledge.

The principle extends to those who are without,‭ ‬as well as those who are within, as Paul expressly says: "Them that are without, God judgeth" (1 Cor. v. 13.) "God shall judge the world" (Rom. iii. 6.) We have only to ask, "When will this be?" Paul's answer is: "He hath appointed a day" for the work (Acts xvii. 30), which he also refers to as "The day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Christ Jesus" (Rom. ii. 16.) "God will bring every work into judgment whether it be good or whether it be evil" (Ecc. xii. 14.)

Accountability

The moral faculties, I say, are the basis of man's accountability. The mere fact, however, of their possession would not have made him responsible to the Deity. The possession of them gave the man no advantage over the serpent. The serpent was "very good," and the man was "very good;" for it is written,

"Elohim saw everything that he made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31).

As mere material creatures, then, the capacity of one of them for the reception of moral, or spiritual ideas, did not destroy the analogy, or rather the identity, of the serpent nature and the man nature.

The truth of this is apparent in mankind at this day. The Fejees, Japanese, New Hollanders, and such-like,have the same number of cerebral organs as Adam when pronounced "very Good." Among those are organs capable of high moral developments.

But, what better are they for the possession of them under existing circumstances? Manifestly none. They are as thoroughly serpent in nature as though they had but the intellectual and animal faculties of the serpent, and no more.

Morally, then, the serpent could not respond to the thoughts, principles, and the institutions of the Deity; but man could, because of his organic capacity for the reception of them. The serpent could not, and the man would not; so that in relation to the way and principles of the Deity, both man and the serpent were reprobate; and of the two the man who could but would not believe and do, was unquestionably the worse.

Man was the only creature of the Deity's "very good" animal creation, whose action was restrained by a law.

Eureka 12.14.

31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

"Whoremongers and adulterers" that are such in spite of knowledge will be among the number to be judged. When‭?-‬Then. He does not judge them now. On the contrary, "they are not in trouble as other men" (Psa. lxxiii. 5.) They prosper (Jer xii.1): "They that work wickedness are set up" (Malachi iii.15.) God is "angry with them every day" as testified, but the manifestation of his anger is "reserved to the appointed time," as both Job and Peter testify: "The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction: they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath" (Job xxi.30.) "The Lord knoweth how to . . . reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Pet. ii. 9. - 

‭The Christadelphian, July 1894. p273

If some not in Christ will rise, what does Paul mean when he says "As in Adam all die so in Christ will all be made alive?"

Answer.—Paul is speaking of "the life in Christ" belonging to believers as contrasted with the death they die in Adam. That life is immortal life, and it is certainly true that none will attain to eternal life except they be in Christ; but a man requires not to be in Christ to have mortal life renewed.

It is the same in principle with restoring a sick man who is at the point of death, or indeed raising the dead, as Jesus did in the days of his flesh, irrespective of the connection of the dead with him.

Rejectors have present mortal life without Christ, and they only awake to what they had before.

The Christadelphian, Aug 1873

Question 28.-The reasons given by way of excuse for the failure of Christadelphian calculations, are trivial. One of them is not founded on fact, for "thus saith the Lord," "at the time appointed the end shall be:" can you give anything more satisfactory?

There has been no "failure;" no "excuses" have been given; the explanations of the non-occurrence of the advent in 1866 are not trivial; all of them are "founded on fact." A.D. 1866, marked a great collapse in the Papal power, and put an end to the saint-persecuting authority exercised in the previous 1260 years.

The Pope has now no such power in the kingdom of the ten-horned beast. Surely this is a great fact. Had the Pope been the European master of men's consciences in 1870, backed by the civil power, as he was in former times, there might be some reason to speak of "failure," but there he is-the mere ghost of the power that was-the mere false prophet shouting, with his myrmidons assembled around him, in spite of the portentous omens gathering about his head, "peace and safety," when "sudden destruction" is at the door.

Why didn't Christ come in 1866-8? This was answered last month. The expectation that he would come then was founded on the fact, that in that epoch expired the term of offensive power allotted to the little horn of Daniel's fourth beast.

It was assumed that the manifestation of the Ancient of Days would coincide with the termination of that period, because of the saying that

"the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them until the Ancient of Days came."-(Dan. 7:21.)

This assumption has proved to be "not founded in fact," and an inspection of the prophecy will shew that it was not a necessary conclusion, though a natural inference.

The power of the little horn for offensive purposes has come to an end with the termination of "time, times, and a half;" nevertheless, the saints are in the "prevailed-against" state, in so far as the dead saints are in their graves, and the living excluded from the power and prestige of the kingdoms of the world.

This prevailed-against state will last till the Ancient of Days comes: an event which we know to be near from

-(1), the nearness of the world to the close of the millenary sixth day;

(2), from our proximity to the close of the seven times of the Babylonish tree;

(3), from the termination of the 2,400 evening-morning period of Dan. 8.; (4),

from the termination of the little-horn period under consideration; and

5thly, from the intimation of Jesus in Rev. 16:15, that he comes in connection with the war-developing events of the sixth vial, which have been in full operation in Europe for the last forty years.

We are in the epoch of the advent. It is true that "at the time appointed, the end shall be," but there is such a thing as "the time of the end," and that is the time we are now living in. The end is reached in so far as the leading prophetic periods are expired, but that "end" has a margin comprising an interval described as "the time of" it. That interval is crowded with tendencies characteristic of the approaching finale.

The Harlot-Mother and her daughters are at a discount, and the world is agitated with new and independent thoughts, from the midst of which, the truth is slowly struggling into vigorous existence, and a people being prepared to welcome the Lord. This principle of epochal development, which our correspondent inadvertently declares to be unfounded in fact, has been characteristic of all past dispensational procedure, illustrated in the fact that Israel left Egypt 30 years after the time mentioned to Abraham, and left Babylon several years after the time mentioned to Jeremiah.

It may be said that the crucifixion of Jesus at the exact end of the seventy weeks is against it, but this was necessitated by the prediction that the event would transpire in the seventieth week. This left no room for epochal margin, nor did the nature of the event require it. It was a personal incident, not dependent upon widespread conditions in the world, and which could not be spread over a period of time.

The case stands differently where the period specified relates to a state of things to prevail, and not to an event to occur. The state of things must last the time specified, as with the bondage of Israel in Egypt and Babylon; but it does not follow that an instantaneous and complete change will occur at the termination of the time. All that follows is, that at the close of the time, events will take a turn leading out of the state. This was exemplified in both the cases referred to, and is now illustrated in the state of the Little horn Power.

The Christadelphian July 1870

'The problem of human management is too intricate, too subtle, too difficult, for human power. It needs God who made man to successfully manage him, and God has purposed to do it at the right and the ripe time which is now near'...

Human life is not what it ought to be, and cannot be what it ought to be, under the conditions that prevail. Who will alter those conditions? Who can give us the conditions that are needed? What are they? We need God to take the world in charge. We need the bungling incapacities of man to be put on one side, and all power and authority vested in one government of His direct appointment - a government that cannot err, and that cannot be resisted, and that cannot be removed.

Give us such a government, and you give us the sun, at whose bright presence, darkness will soon fly away. The reign of such a government will change the life of the world in a single generation.

Such a government is coming...

They were no empty words of poetical flourish that Jesus uttered when he said '1 am the light of the world'. He spoke the truth - absolute and unmixed. There is no light apart from him, in either individual or national relations. It is the individual bearing that most concerns us at present.

What is life without him? A fevered dream, a bootless activity, having promise and incentive at its beginning, but gradually settling to a doleful vacuity at its end - a paleful gloom, as with spent power, we draw near to the grave in the clear perception that, without God, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Introduce Christ and see how changed the scene. The love of Christ constrains; the obedience of Christ subdues and ennobles; the hope of Christ brightens, and imparts an interest to life we never knew before. We live no longer to ourselves; we yield no longer to ourselves; we surrender no longer to the gloom of a headless universe and an uncertain future. We open our hearts to God in faith and reconciliation, through Christ who died for us; we confide in his direction though unseen; we walk through the darkness in joyful trust and anticipation of the promised day when God will wipe away every tear and remove every curse.

Letting Christ dwell in our hearts by faith, our darkness is dispelled, our coldness ended, our waywardness corrected, our loves purified, our whole life cleansed and redeemed from the ultimate corruption and abortiveness of mere natural power.

Bro Roberts - Without God, All is Vanity and Vexation of Spirit