i ehovah december llght and · christmas could not improve, it grows worse. 'l'o ricle bc...

I EHOVAH I S OUR LlGHT A N D OUR SALVATlON DECEMBER - 1946

HI B E A C O N l . . I G B T S

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- ~ ~ ' L U ~ I E V l l DECEMBER - 1946 XUAIBER 3

I must coilfess of the title of this ro~ving things. One that borrows article, as the man tlid of the axe- is one who has a lack of something, heacl n-l-hich fell into the stream and, being in dire need of the same, (I1 Kings 6 :5) that it was borl-ow- appropriates i t by asking to use it. ed. Pel.haps, I might better say, T~ then, the of the title was suggested by a mem- ~ h ~ i ~ t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ is, that 1 Elcler ber of c~llg?.egati~ll i l l connec- B ~ ~ ~ J , ~ ~ . who possessed all. who is tion with a comparison drawn in rich ill llouses lands and llolds a recent sermon. the \vealth of the n-orlcl in IIis

In this season of Christmas, i t hands, really fro111 the very dawn is especially this. of all years. that of I-lis life to His very cleath, did even the sons ancl daughters of the .nothing but borro\~- again and Church of Jesus Christ llnve money again. The mystery becomes even to spend and to sgal'e Coy Christ- greatel- n-ilen I consicler IIim as mas gifts. I clo not, 01 coul'se, con- being not only the possesso,v of all, clcnxl the tradition of the eschange but the Lord and Sovereign of all, of gifts a t Christmas time. pro- the Creatol- of all this universe. videcl the practice does ]lot take a self-sufficient in lIinlself fol.ever: p r i l ~ a r y , b11t a seco11dni.y place in \llending my \vay to Betll]e)lcm, 1 our lives. The idea is, hourevel', behold Elim, llon.ever. lying ill a that wht?l.eas 11-e in Oul' <la>- easily borron.ed manger-crib. The inn spend molleS since we Possess i t had no room for 1Iim. and the only abundantly, we are inclined to for- alternative for 1Jim ivas that I-Ie get Our tl'ue spil*itllal riches and he brought into the ~ ~ o r l t l , wl1ich the basis upon \$-hich these riches in reality \vas I lis o\m. in the sur- of grace have become our's. roundings of the very beasts of the

One s u ~ - r o ~ u ~ ~ d e d wit11 wealth and field. And. a s 1 follon* Him out of abundance on every hancl, cer- Bethlehem, I see 'I-lim being perse- tainly is unclc~. no necessity, nor is cuted and molested. I witness His expectecl to malre a practice of bor- riding a borro\ved beast in His

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B E A C O N L I G I . l ' I ' S

hurried flight to Egypt. Remain- Hence, \ve read in 11 Col.intl~ians ing with him I observe h o ~ - He 8 :!I: '.. . . .though 11e \{?as rich, feeds five thousand men with but yet for your sakes He became poor, five barley loaves and a few fish, that ye through His I)o\lc~.ty might nrhich too had been bor1.owetl by beconlc i.ich." I-Iim, \IThom, if He so pleased, could It is the sol1 of Gotl in the like- make the very stones near the sea- ness of sinful flesh that became shore become bread. Often I see pool.. Flesh clid not beconle flesh, Him using a borro\vecl ship from nc. the \VORD became flesh. An which to preach, or by ~vhicli to ordinary infant was not born on sail to some yonder shore. 1 hear Chi-istmas Day. it Tyas the SOX O F Him complain that the foses have GOD IVho became flesh. I t was holes ancl that the birds of the air ilot a me]-e nlan that b x a m e sen-- have nests, but that Ilc. my Elcler ant,-it was the Lo]-cl of all, that Brothel., has no place to lay His emptied IIirnself, taking upon Him- head, implying that if someone sell the form of a sel-\.ant and was cloes not lodge Him. He is with- obedient even t o death, the death out shelter. -And, as He nears of the cross. the end of His sojourn on eaistlz, Ditl you notice the \vortl "Cross," rather than that the scene \voulrl dealq reader? Christmas could not improve, it grows worse. 'l'o ricle bc Ch1-istmas if it were not for triumphantly into Jel.usalem, I-Ie Good Friday. The Cross is the borrows an ass upon nrhich to ricle. climax of that which was.begun on He boi.ro\vs an upper room in Chi.istmas Cay ivith Jesus' birth. which to eat the Passover with IIis 011 Christmas Day incleecl my Elder disciples, and when finally IIe does B1-other and your's boi*romed a clic, 1 find IIim lying in a borro\vcd stable for his mangel*-crib, but on tomb-my Elder Brother. Good Friday-He ditl not, He

"I'oor Man!" yo11 escla i~n? Shall COULD not borroxv thc cross, IT \\--e inform the societies of charity UTAS 'TIIS VERY O\ITN. All things concerning His plight? Shall \ve Iie hat1 borroii-ed previously could arrange to ha re Him benefit from be bo~.roive:l also by mere man if the funcls of the Community Chest? need be, but the cross was Iiis o n n

Indeed, to do that, namely, to peciilial. possession. It belonged to t r y to deli\7er'Him out of Ilis plight, [Him exclusively, for Ile alone coulcl would be to destl.oy the very pu1.- accomplish the necessary ~.ighteous- pose for which He came. For He ness for our redemption. By i t came to deliver us. a s members of He could rid IIis people of the pov- His own body, the Chul-ch, out of erty of sin and death, and realize the poverty of sin and hell. f o r them all the riches of the sal-

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B E A C O N L I G H T S

vation \tv1~ich Ile came to accomplish. He is the Soil of God, in the lilieness of sinful flesh.

Bearing these things in ~ i ~ i n d , surely IF-e will be kept from the vain and empty Yule-tide celebration of the n.ol.ltl of n7icked men. For then we linow ourselves to be miserable and blind and llalied and poor, by nature. Cliiigiilg to Jesus the first-born of the clead, the head of I-Iis people, our Elder Brothel.. we will stand in l*evernnce and con- trition of heart a t the crib-side of Jesus a t Eetlilchcm, by faith, and confess : for MY sake, Jesus became poor, that through His poverty I might become rich.

I-Iave you beconle rich spiritual- ly through the poverty of youi. El-

der Brother Jesus? If you have, then you, in the consideration of the fact of Christmas, will, with the saii:ts go to Eethlehem, to see the ~ I J I I : which is come i9 pqss, n-hicl~ the Lord has made 1inon.n unto us. Taking hold of Rim in faith, although the world and Sa- tan, even our o ~ v n flesh despises His poverty, we a re rich indeed. FOY then Itre are like Him, partali- ing of the same resurrection life which He jHin~self no\$- lives ~5-ith the Father in His presence. Pre- sently we shall 1;now IIim as we are kno\t7n, see Him :IS He is, for- ever be partakers of the Divine nature. \\-onderful grace! True Christmas joy!

cstcitbs ta ztll its rcnbcrs

4 jjouoits GI!risti~tas C - - nit h


Ghrist-ntns. . + +

BY REV. \jT. I-IOFMAN - HOLLAND, MICH.

Accent on the f i rs t sylable! Put usurped the clay for its o\vn pur- Christ back into Christmas! poses has escluded the Christ from

The Christmas season is already it all. The world can clo nothing

upon us. In fact, the approaching with the Christ of God. It's ans- holiday is I.ushi,lg at us ~ l . on l all wer is alivays - we will crucify directions. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , ~ h ~ ~ ~ we tuyn I-lim. So too, they have eliminated

,Ve are reminded of it. Do your Ilim on the very day commemorat- Christmas shopping early ! Mail ing His birth. But having dis- early! Order your holiday pou1tl.y posed of the Christ they have no no^^! Gift suggestions! Tllcseallcl Ch"istnlas. The more they shout many mol-e eshortations and slo- "&Iel.l.y Ch1.istmas" the more ap-

gans are sllouted at us from Press, ~ ~ a i ' e n t becomes their folly and dis-

Radio and store ~ ~ i n c l o ~ v s . every- gl-ace. Xll that ~.emains to them is \\-here every day ,vill be. a din and clamor plus a heap of TTith increasing intensity, from thiligs that a re all but forgotten no\T until ~~~~~~b~~ 25. ~~~d ~ l , ~ i ~ ~ tile next day-escept for the head- is not in all this noise! acl~es thej- cause in the way of bills

and "hangovers". Christ is not And if we would make a list of ill i t all!

our own thoughts a t this season \\-hat a contrast it all forms to me would find, to our shame, that of the they a rc conditionecl by the Christ- I ] umble s]lep~lcI.tls, an Allgel song, less Christmas of the wol.ld. Isn't , stable, a virgin lIotller, ~~b~ i t t rue that also our mintls are filled wl.apl,ed bl s,,.aaddlil~g clotlles~ Yet xf-ith shopping. gifts, trees, greet- cllrist is there: the son of coCl being cards, turkey. chicken. cake. c:inle flesh in these snrroounddings ! pie, candy, etc. etc.? And Christ is

$ 1 ~ 7 ~ ~ ~ sou is born this day in not in all our thoughts! city of David a Saviour which is

A11 of i t is evidence of the fact Ch~sist the Lord. And this shall be that the \f-orld has stolen oils a sign unto you: ye shall find the Christmas from us and having babe n-rapped in s~vadclling clothes.

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L Z E A C O N L I G H T S

lying in a manger". No tinscl, no gifts, no trees, but-the glory of Cocl, the silent night, the hun~ble homage-this - because Christ is there !

On that first Christmas too He was forgotten ; rejected, pushed to the edge of the \vorlcl-there as no room for Him in the Inn-and IIe has been evei* since. Finally, pusllecl out of the wo1.1~1 altogether; suspended between hcnvci~ and earth on the tree of the Cross where no one o\vncd IIim. Yet through it all He came, sent of God, made His own 1-00111. prcparecl His 0 ~ 1 1 celebration, establishecl IIimself \vithin the hearts of His own and gave them CFIl'LlSTmas.

Contact. . . . At a recent meeting of our Young

People's Society a letter was read \\71~icl~ had been received from the Board of the Young Peoplc's Fecler- ation. The letter explained that a t the last Convention the Young People's Society of hlanhattan. Alontana, had coille wit11 a request to advance the date of oul* annual conventions from the latter part of August to the f i ~ ~ s t week of the same month. I t was furthei. stated, in the letter, that the Board was asking the various member-societies to express themselves on this request. Since their conception, our conventions have been held during the last week in August of each

- 6

Let's keep titat day. Learn the lesson from the contrast: Even as the f irst stands in glaring anti- thesis with the celebration that is upon us, so should our o~vn keep- ing of the day stand opposed to all n-e hear ancl see round about us. If Christ has put 1Iilnself into our hearts He must and will be in our Christnlas day. (;o to Bethlehem wit11 the shepherds and worship the Christ .Child. Let the Angel Song-Glory to God-be the heart and center of a Christian Christ- mas.

\ITishing you all a blessed Christ- mas.-with the accent on the first sylable !

year. I t is usually during this time that the rich grain harvests arc gathered in. around the Galatin valley and the Alanhattanites find it difficult to get away, hence. the request. This request r a s not treated by the Delegate Board but referred to the Executive Board. This procedure was quite proper since Article 1 of the By-laws of the P.R.Y.P.F. Colistitution reacls : "An Annual Convention shall be held a t a time stipulated by the Executive Board."

Quite a lively discussion follon-ed the reading of the letter before a decision was taken. Many reasons both pro and con were offered why -

- B E - 4 C O K

and why not the date should or should not be changed. The gen- eral sentiment was rather well espressed in the statement that since it does not make a great deal of difference to us, we should certainly cooperate and espress burselves as fax-onng an earlier date for the sake of one of our member societies. \\'hen the Society rotc was taken, upon a motion to espress ourselves in favor of I~olding 0111.

Con\-entions early in August, it passed almost unanimously.

If there are other Societies which have not yet considered the mattel- we n*ould urge them to concur with this expression. Manhattan is a distant and somewhat isolated corn- munity ancl shoulc1 be favored in their reasonable i.equest. They have always cooperated most beautifully in the affairs of the Federation and should receive kind consideration in return. \\:e believe this is true even to the extent of denying ourselves, if need be. Most of our other Societies have much more opportunity and occasion for f el- 101~-ship and contact with onc another than Manhattan cloes. They deserve a "bi.eak".

But all of what is written above is not yet the point itre had in mind. besides the discussion on the mat- t e r itself, many espressions of surprise were raised that our Societies were conferred with a t all in this

matte].. In fact, they \$-ere espressions of pleasant surprise. The' feeling is all too prevalent that our Federation is run by the Esecuti\.e Board and about the only thing the Societies a r e asked for is to pay the espenses. \Ye appreciate this action of t h e ' ~ o a r d . therefore, and believe it is a step in the direction of p~'omoting greater unity and co- operation among the member-societies of the Federation.

The thought struck us that, perhaps. this procedure of ',taking us in" on \vhat goes on could be developed \\-it11 profit to all. Undoubted- ly. the Esecutive Boarcl meets per- iodically to discuss things of gener-

al interest and welfare to the Feder- ation. IVouldn't it be a good idea to Ileal' of these meetings by way of I-eports to the Societies and to ask the Societies more often for an expression of opinion? Among such items of interest that could be brought to our attention a re "Bea- con Lights" and its contents, mass meetings. projects for after-recess programs, afiliation with the \Irest- e1.n I-eague. etc. Let the Boarcl tli.a\v up proposals and present them to the Societies for discussion. \Ire arc a snlall group and anythin,rr to pi'omote a strengthening of the ties that bind is worthy effort. I11 this way we will not only be a Fed- eration in name but in action and feel o u ~ . unity. 117. H.

IS T O U R S U U S C K I P T 1 0 N 0 V E H I ) U E ? PLEASE KE3IIT:

1 : I I A C O S L I G I I T S

Christmas, 1946. Already in No- gifts to our friends and relatives, rember the streets and stores were I see no reason why we should re- filled with early shoppers scurrying frain from doing this. Only, let through croxr-ded aisles, pausing to us give in a cheerful and generous inquire about this article or that, spirit. not a s a soit of eschange. exhausting the patience of harried But our C211.istmas must not con- clerlts. puslling their ~ v n y into a sist of giving and receiving gifts, conipartinent of a e evolving door, nor even of giving gifts plus going ancl elbowing a. path clo~vn the side- to church 011 Christmas Day ancl walk. The stolses nclvel,tise that perhaps to a few Christmas pro- Christmas is nearer than you think, grams during the holidays. Let us and ren~incl you of that fact by not be deceived by the maierialistic their decorations, which Christmas of the world. Their may be anything from clo~vns ancl apparent merriment is ollly a very Christmas trees to a ~*epi'esentation thin crust that covers hearts that of the visit of the Magi. Especially are fearful and con~fortless because this year Chi*istmas is being made of the perilous situation of this rnercenarj.. Business is booming : world of 1946. Our Christmas goes the b11yei. has money, ant1 plenty deepel-. I t is the celebration of the of it. burning holes in his poclietsi birth of the Son of Cocl. ancl there- and many of the articles one would fore it is really a matter of the like to buy cannot be bought a t all. heart. And so people are stretching the This So11 of Cod. \\'hose birth 11-e Christmas season farthel. back than celebrate on Christmas Day is the ever, following the advice to "do basis of all our hope ancl cheer. your Chiristmas shopping early" Because of Him we are not gloon~y until it looks as if we alee to have or despairing. even though the Christmas all the scar i~ouncl. Thus ~vorld of today seems to have a ter- the worlcl cele111.ates C111.istmas. rifying futu1.e. For ire look beyond

And thus we must not celebl-ate the manger to the cross, ancl be- Christmas. Oh, I Irnow. we too. rontl the cl.oss to the resurrection joir? the macl rush a t C'hristnias and the ascension. Inio\~ing that our time. There is no objection to this. Lord is preparing a place for us. The custonl of giving. although a Having Ch1-istmas in our hearts custom. is pleasant and likeable then. we, too. stretch the Christ- enough. Nobody loves a "tight- mas season. not just a month 01-

wad". -411~1 if we wish to use the t ~ c . but until it extends aII the holiday season as a time for g i ~ i n g year round. - - 1 -

By REV. 11. VELDJl-Ll - Grand Rapids, Jlich.

Sever does the difference be- tire lives and of all things! "Little tween the church ant1 the ~ ~ o r l d , chiid~.en, it is the last houi.." the Chl.istian and the unbelievei*, 1 1 0 ~ ~ fitting that for us this day reveal itself more strikingly than should conle in the dead ol winter! i t does on N e ~ v Years Eve, the Gonc is the springtime with its night of December 31. In its vain promise of life and gronrth,-gone ancl foolish attempt to banish from the summer with its brightness i t s mind all thoughts of thc entl and warmth and wezlth of outdoor ancl in its anticipation of a new activities,-gone the crisp and yea]. wherein i t can pursue the colorful autumn. It is Ilecember things of this present ti111c, tlic ancl \vinte~.,--and all is coltl. still, 1%-orld laughs and sings, clrinlts and dead. So appropriate, it sccms! dances. riots and revels as it does lloiv a1.e \\-e re1nintled of the a t no other time. The Chl-istian. simple but lllost sigllificallt \\-ords on the other hand. desires to see of t]le authol- of psalm 90, i d ~ t is things as they are, and, e ' re the so011 cut off, and \ve fly away." tolling bells and striking clocks all * * <: over the morlcl announce the pass- ing of another year. he pauses a That tiquer words Ililve never

moment to reflect. to meditate, and been sl~olicn is certainly the testi-

to ask himself: \\71ere am I going? mony of all expzrience, is it not? Anel it is the message of Sciqipture

Another gear of our brief lives tlll.oughout. ..As a sleep.. is the has with amazillg s'vift life of m:,,n. '.Like the tendcr grass ness. No~v that i t is past, where which toclay flourishes and tomor- clicl it go.-all those months and ~,o\v is no more." Spent a1.e our wcelrs ant1 days and houl.s? I t seal's "as a tale that is told." seems but such a short time ago that it was still 1915. I lo~v we "Sfan soon vields Itis flect- are reminded of the end of our ell- ing breath.

-8-


Before the szoelliny tide of mourned by a circle ever so small. d e a t h ; Then the vacancy is filled in, as

L i l i~ t~nns ien t sleep his sea- the shifting sands on the beach

sons pnss, speedily fill in the holes our cliild- ren love to make, and presently

His l i f e is like the tencler our memory has faded from g ~ a s s , the earth. The shifting sands of

Lzixlc,*ictnt 'neath the 11201'11- time ].emove every trace of our ing sun. ever having lived on this earth.

tcitherecl the d a y is That is life. Don't dare to forget it! "As a dream. . . . , done."

Yet, life is no dream, but; ter- Young ~ l e o ~ l e , don't let the fact, rible reality. Remember that too.

that you are still youthful and full I t is not thus, that lt-e live our life of hope and anticipation and plans on this ear.th, having reaclled for the future, blind YOU for this its ]lave notllillg more to do realit]. I'salnl 103 puts i t Very tvith it. This life, brief bluntly : and transient, has its purpose. I t

is a preparation for eternity. Con- "So nzun is q z l i ~ l i l ~ swept azcav SeqUelltly, Inonlent has its

Bpfo1.p flrc Ohst of clenth." value with a view to that etci.nity. The Lord causes us to be born;

" b e fly au-ay." "-4s a dream gives us our place in the world; when one awaketh." Suddenly, just endows us with gifts and talents, when is determined by Gocl alone, money and goods, wife ancl child- we appear upon the stage of this ren, faculties and time ancl oppor- life. For a few brief years, 70 if tunities; all in order that with all nVe be strong, 80 a t most, we play this we should serve and glorify our part in the drama of life. Then our Maker. IITherefore, the stu- just a s s~iclclenly we disappear from pendous fact is, that we have life's stage,-only a memory to never livecl one moment in vain. them who remain. \!Thatever be From a cei-tain point of view we men's espel-iences in life, and all may say: we take nothing along are clifferent,-the encl for all is with us, but leave everything be- the same. And ah, having reached hind. In another may, however, that end, ancl looking back. i t was we leave nothing behind, but take not long,-as a shadow that de- everything along. Life is real! clineth. And then,-then it is cut I t may seem vain. but i t isn't! off. For n brief momcnt our place Eyery moment adcls to the load is vacant and we are missed and I carry with me into eternity.

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B E A C O N L I G H T S . -

"\Ye fly away.'' \\'here to? ,\I- ~ l -ays into the future, my i'rieuds, dark and mysterious to us, but kno~vn to Gocl, because He tlete1.- mined it for us f ~ o m all etel.nity. Where to? To death an(\ the grave. Precisely when \re shall meet these face to face God only knows. It may be today. But this is certain: alivays the way leads to the grave. Somewhere on this earth is that sgot, \vherc one day our remains *.\ ill be lowered into the .ground, ant1 with incredible speecl we are hastening to keep our renclez~~ous -sit11 that grave. Where to? To the judgment seat of Christ. There the final separation \\-ill take glace

time nor eternity. Eut the ~~-iclietl, saitll my God, have no. peace.

Cluistian friends, in tlic light of all this, "\$.hat manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conrer- sation and gotlliness!"

Sllall Itre now live as the ungodly 1001, who seeks only thc present? 'His inotto is: let us eat and drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. He thinks of no eternity ant1 considers no God,-not toclay,- to- n~ol.ron- perhaps. Life for him is nothing else than the satisfaction of' the l'lesh.

beh-een the sheep and the goats. ~~d fol.bidl L~~ us be \vise and Where to? To our eternal clestin- eal.efLll. ..buy t ~ l c tinle, ation. That will be the end 0 1 the (lass are L~~ road. Either-or: eternal gloi-y 01' live belo,\- as in tlla nlidst eternal desolation. of things that mean nothing as fill.

-

Where to? In last analysis t]lat as this life is concei-netl, but tha:

depends on our relation to the mean everything \i?ith a view to

Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else the life to come. And let us heed

matters. Character, o r ~ ~ - o r l ~ s , 01. thc es11or:ations of Scripture.

kno~vledge, or education. or pre- "Therefore be ye also ready : for in

eminence in nat~ural matters, will such an hour as ye tl~inlr not the

not determine our place in etey- Son of man cometh." Matt. 2-1 :4.1.

nity. Those \\rho perish are lost "\lTatch ye therefore: for ye kno\v

because they stand outsicle of not when the master of the house

Christ. Those xvho are saved in- cometh." Mark 3 :35. "But the

herit eternal life because they have end of all things is a t hand: be ye

C h i s t for their Saviour~and Lord. therefore sober. and watch unto

And possessing that Christ, by prayer." I Peter -1:'i. "!IIe which

faith, there is nothing to fear. testifieth these things saith, Surely

neither life nor death, neither the 1 come quickly. Amen.

present nor the future, neither "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." - 1 0 -

B E A C O N L I G H . T S

By RE\'. J. A. IIETS - G r d Rapids, 3lich.

Last month we called your at- finishecl product of the devil's in- tention to the false doctrine of genuity and man's folly is Gnostic- Ebionism which troubled the early ism. New Testa~nent Church. It was a Gnosticism was not really somc- misture OF soille of the truths of thing new. Eve11 a s Ebionism \\.as Scripture together with the lies a mistlire of the truth and the of Judaism, and it was an a l t c~npt wrong ideas of the Jews in regarcl on the part of the clevil to tlestroy to Chi-ist. Flis kingdom and their the Church f1.on1 within by manu- saivation, so too Gllosticism is a facturing a tloctrine \ ~ ~ l ~ i c l i M-ould mixture of the truth 1vit11 Pagan clestroy the faith of the Jcn-ish or heathen mythology. mysteri- converts. The elements of the ology and philosophy. I ts appeal truth n-ere there to set thc minds was directed especially towa1.d the of the believers a t ease, while the Gentiles, a s wc said above. It lies Ityere there to clestroy their gathered much of its heathen philo- faith in Chiqist. sopher Plato for whom the Centile

The clevil had moi-e evil "up his world had very much respect. sleeve" in orcler to destroy if it Gnosticism \\.as dualistic. that is. were possible the fai th of the Gen- i t believed in a power outside and tile cor1ve1.t~. He lnovecl inen to nest to God. It was also rational- manufacture a false doctrine that istic in that it presented Cod as would also befuddle the minds of the unknon-able one. This is a de- thc Gentile conve~-ts, i l it were nial of Gocl's revelation. God would possible. I t is the same old story be the unknowable one were it not of Paradise and man's fall. There for the fact that He revealed IIim- the devil sought to confuse Eve self to us in I-Iis \jTord. We could by making her question God's nevel. know God were it not for this \lTord. Here again in the early revelation. Tle is indeed the In- New Testanlent Chul.ch, the devil, comprehensible One, that is, we as it were, showers philosophies cannot fathom Him, but because and carnal ideas about the truth, He reveals 'Himself to us in His mixing a little of the truth with a \ITord, we may not call ,Him the host of lies and appealing to man's unknowable one. Gnosticism in its emotions and reason in orcler to deceptiveness does claim to believe cause him to reject God's Word in the Scriptures wherein God 1.e- ancl embrace man's lie. Such a vealed Himself, but it places Scrip-

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tu re on the same level with the writings of heathen philosophers. Thus it makes Scriptuile nothing more than the ideas of certain men about God, rather than God's o~vn self revelation.

Further, i t taught that the world and all mattel. is evil in itself. God did not create mattel* and the world. I t was formed by another god, and mind you, this god, according to some Gnostics was Je- hovah, the God of the Old Testa- ment. From the most po~vei.ful God flon-s forth certain attributes and powers of His 11atul.e which Gnostics called aeons. The most perfect of these aeons was Christ. The lveakest and least of these aeons ~wis sent to redeem nlan from evil. Tliis ~vealiest aeon is called the Demiurge and is identi- fied by the Gnostics as Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. He created the wol.ld as the first step in man's redemption. He failed to

word "Gnosticism") . Professor I<ui.tz in his church history book correctly states that i.edemption according to the Gnostic is a chem- ical rather than a n ethical process.

Perhaps you think within your- self that this doctrine is so mysti- cal and n~ythological that i t could Ilardly be considered as a serious threat to the truth. I ts folly is so obvious that one who confesses faith in Christ surely is not tempt- ed by such a heathen philosophy. But do not forget that this heresy was taught in the early New Testa- ~ n e n t Church ancl not il l the h e n - tieth century. It has no appeal to us, but to the Gentiles who had been brought up and steeped in pagan mythology, mysticism, and worldly philosophy there was a very strong appeal for the carnal nature. The devil knows how to adapt his tactics to the time and place wherein God's people live in oi.der to t ry to seduce them.

realize redemption however. There- The Church was sorely pressed fore now the most perfect aeon, on every side by an increase of Christ, must come ancl save us. these heresies, and as we wrote be-

Salvation is the delivel.ance from fore, i t was this Gnosticism \vhiclr matter, which, a s we said, is evil Tel-tullian fought with all that was in itself. Redemption consists in in him. The devil is cunning and the conquering and exclusion of sly. But Christ now had dominion matter. This is accomplished th1.u over all tllings, the devil included, himo~vledge and asceticism. (Cmos- and He saved the church in that ticism gets i ts name from the fact day and preserved the truth for that it believes in salvation thru us in this day and age. The gates knowledge. The Greek word for of hell cannot prevail against knowledge is "gnosis'", hence the Christ's kingdom.

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Current Comments

By IIO3IEK G . ICUIPEH

Iiiiinmazoo, hlichlgan

farce. \Ire desi1.e to point o~zt how- UNITED NATIONS ever to the readers of Beacon

The series o i meetings allcl con- Lights that there is an unclerlying ferences non. being held a t Lake current of unity whose principle Success on Long Island ill the state is utterly incompatible n-ith the of New York ullder the of Christian religion and our Reform- the United Na'iions Organization ed heritage. is an interesting spectacle. Aside The unity of the United Nations from the cosmopolitan nt~nospllere revealed itself f irst of all in a createcl by the presence oC clelega- negative manner by the fact that tions from most of the p1.omincnt i t rejected the conventional ac- nations of the earth, ant1 asicle knon-lcdgcment of the rule of Gocl from thefa r reaclling consequences over the affairs of men. Altllo it of some of the decisions being macle is the practice to open our national by this conference of powers, we and state assemblies with prayer see the spectacle of nations any- offered by a duly appointed chap- thing but united. On every issue, lain yet a t the opening of the UNO minor o r n ~ a j o ~ , , we see a deep- assembly. the host nation, the U. rootecl cleavage making itself ap- S. -4., made no arrangements to parent. The readers of this column continue this practice. I n spite of are no doubt aware that it has been the fact that in most cases the a comnlon thing for certain dele- prayers in question are mere lip gates, particula1.1y thosc o l the service to Christianity and are Soviet Union, to leave the confer- usually perfunctory petitions for ences in a dramatic walkout a t carnal desires, we feel that the some crucial point during the cle- omissions a t the opening of the liberations. \I?~atever the merit UNO have great significance. We or lack of merit these actions have. are of the opinion that i t was a con- we do not wish to say escept that cession to the ungodly character of generally speaking the name "Unit- the delegations. \\re feel that i t ed Nations" is fast becoming a was omitted for political consider-

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eratioils a s a coiicessioii to those delegates ~~-1io have made atheism their creed. for example, Soviet Russia and her satellites. We believe that, in view of the fact that therc was not a single voice of 111-o- test, that they have revealed tl~em- selves as truly united nations. unitecl in their ungodliness.

The unity of tlie United Nations, in the second place, was ~.evealed in the sponsorship of tlie Uniled Nations Educational. Scientific aild Cultural Organization. UNESCO, in which a highly organizecl program of eclucation, scientiiic and cultural attainment was proposed fo r the peoples of the Unitecl Na- tions. Careful analysis of the baslc principles of UNESCO sliorvs that i t is devoted to the development ol' a n-orld and life view coinnlitted t o the dignity of man ancl the glory of "one m-orlcl" of humanity. I -N- ESCO has lost no time in asserting its principles and you I\-ill find its propagancla and literature in all the public scl~ools and colleges of our nation.

Concerning this UNESCO philo-

sophy, we believe that i t bears a 1-eisy close resemblance to what Sci.ipture calls the number of man, li(i6, of nlan in all his aclzierenlents but witliout Gocl in his thoughts. Over against this vie\\- of life. the acll~erents of the Reformed faith Ilold, ancl by the grace of Cod shall continue to hold. that nlan is the servant of God and that in all things we are obligated to serve Ilim. that God is the sovereign Creator of the universe and that all thillgs a re in s~tb.iection unto l!im. that "I11 Him we live and nlove ancl have our being", that IIe has revealed Himself to His church as the God of all grace. mercy ancl compassion i11 Jcsus . Cl11.ist our Lord.

\\'e believe that the clay is close a t hand nrl1en we shall be called upon to make a life or cleat11 decision concerning the hope that is in us. We do well to prepare ourselves by a tliorougll mastery of the teachings of Scriptu1.e and the doctrinal formulations of tlie Re- formed faith.

The Avian Parade By R11t. C . IIE HOEK - Iialnnii~zoo, Rlich.

IIave you ever obserl-ecl a large in the marsh. \\.it11 tho result tha t number of sn-allo\:-s or grackles obse~.vers assumed they were pre- congl-egate and prepare for the paring tlleii \~ in te i . d\velling in the "take-off"? Ditl you ever listen to n*eed:i marsh to protect theinselves the tvie1.d l~onl i i~ig of geesc u s they from the cold of wintei. Less than joul.neyec1 southwa1.d thru a coltl, 30 years ago one author in reriew- bleak, sno\v-laclen sky? \Yhere ing the literature on migration do you suppose they were going? found no less than 17.5 books and \\'lly ? articles on the hibernation of swal-

Occasionally, onc: still 11ca1.s the lows. tvl~ich strange to say. is a cluei'y, "Do bi1.tl.s migrate?" This migra~it . is not so strange, fol- centuries ago ?.cco~.ding to the Tartars. the

A1.istotle taught that certain species lai-gel birds transpolrtecl the small- :IS the European 1:obin changed to el ones. a s for example, the Crane an other species as the Rcdstart carried the Corncralce on its back. with the a p p ~ ~ o i l ~ h of wiiitc~.. IJntil This, ol coursc, was melac legend. thc last century the hibel.iiation The highly imaginative speculators theor:: was quite gen~ra l ly accept- uf the 13th century maintai~ied' ed. It was based upon the annual that the b i d s migrated to the fincling of many birds in the mud moon. I Ience, we ~.ea:lily realize :~ncl marsl~es du~.ing migration. that there was little scientific Ttie poor c r e a l u ~ ~ e s cli'opped I'rom knowletlge concerning the season;~l exhaustion 01. were unable to re- mo\-ements of the birds of the sume the flight after a sho13t rest temperate and arctic I-egions-

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E E X C O N L I G H T S

Today, charts have beell con- of foraging is greatly tmeduced. structed indicating the impel-tant I-Ience, birds instinctively seelr an- highways thru the sky. Banding other home during the inclement of the \vinged creatures has been season. the most impoi-tant single factor MT1lere do they migrate? Many in determining their pathways. have the mistaken notion that they 1101vevel.. the airplane and the simply journey to a warmer sec- camera have been ex%remely help- tion as our own southern states o r f ul. Central America where food is

\l'hy do birds migrate? When more plerltiful and the temperature the cold of winter approaches and more favorable. However, the mi- the supply of food for most birds g e t o i y maps indicate that birds diminshes (since insects and worms of the Arctic as the Tern travel to disappear) the very existence of the Anarctic-a distance of 11.000 the featlieretl creature is jeopar- miles-and those of the northern dized. Undoubtedly, you recall United States go to southel'n South from a PI-evious article on birds, Anlerica. Naturally they seek their that they sulyass all other aililnals o x ~ ~ n climate alternating bet\{-een in appetite because their active na- Arctic ancl Anarctic Zones, and turc! necessitates such a great ex- North and South Tcmpel*alc Zones penditui'c of energy ancl their tcm- itccorcling to season. perature ( 1 10 degrees) requires Many species pursue tlifferent thc production of consiclerable more ~ ~ o u t e s in autumn than they do in heat than most creatures. A con- spl-ing, for esample, many follow stant consumption of food is re- the Atlantic Coast route in autumn quired as they,do not store it. I11 and rctuln by the 3lississippi Val- one instance a 'House \17ren \:.as re- ley. The impulse to migrate is so corded feeding its young 1217 times strong that birds will leave their during a single day: a Scarlet Tan- brood behind them to starve when ager cle\youred 630 gypsy moth the urge seizes them. caterpillars in 18 minutes: and a Numerous experime:lts have been Maryland Yello~v-throat ate plant performed in an attempt to deter- lice a t the rate of orer 5,000 an mine what directs a bird on its hour. In fact the greatest value of course. Although they found that birds lies in their ability to destroy the bird's vision and sense of bal- insect enemies. ance are unusually acute (in most

Also to be considered is the fact cases) neve~theless. they are in- that the hours of daylight are sufficient to dii-ect them a t night, greatly shortened with approach- thru fog, and over sea. I11 fact, illg winter, consequently their time they concluded, the arisival a t the

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ultimate destination we can only attribute to a deep-seated sense of direction combinecl with a topo- graphical memory clevelopecl in birds. Many attempts have been made to isolate the scat of this sense of direction. It cannot be truthfully said that to date any have been successful. None of the known senses seem to offer great possibilities." I-Iorneve~., this does not explain the action of the yo~ung Golden Plovcrs who, while their parents follow the Atlantic Coastal route, make their f irst flight south by follo\ving the llississippi Valley. arriving a t tlie same destin a t' 1011.

Certainly this cannot be ascribed to acquired cleep-seated sense of direction ancl topogral~l~ical memory.

Evolution minded natui-alists. being unable to explain i t scientific-

ally, finally ended up in an attempt to interpret migration by the in- heritancc of acquired character- istics. that is, thru the process of trial and error they have estab- lished definite routes for their spring and autumnal flights. These acquired esperiences are transmit- ted en mass to the young.

We cannot agree with their interpretation for it is instinct which not only gives then1 the urge but also guides them every foot of the Kay. Instinct is a n irresistible, God-given directive force. I t is instinct that directs the Tern foi. 11,000 miles to a similar climate in the Antarctic that i t has left in the Arctic: i t is instinct that guides the young Golden Plover for 3000 miles unescorted by adults on its first flight to the x in te r quairtcrs in the south.

The controversy of 192-1 was the 14th Street Christian Reformed cause of much agitation in the fa i r Church in that city. At the time city ol' T-Iollantl, Michigan. Many that he was cast out, therefore, were dissatisfied with the action of many appeared eager and ~ ~ e a d y to the Synod of the Christian Re- organize a Protestant Refoimed formed Chu~.ch. This was to be Church in Holland. I t soon be- espected for several of these indi- came evident, however. that much viduals had heard the Biblical Re- of this enthusiasm was not of the formed preaching of the Rev. I-I. proper kind. Gatherings were held Hoeksema for over four years, a t the home of some of these breth- ~vhile he was their pastor in the ren but they clid not result in the

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organizing of a congregation. Shortly after the cleposition of

Rev. I loelisenla a very interesting event occurecl in Holland. IIc had been asked to speak on the "Three Points" and came to I io l l a~~d to comply. So great was the intcrest that it was necessary for him to repeat his lecture to accomodate the crowd. On one evening, capac- ity autliences filled the \Vomen's Litel.alSy Club auclitoriunl twice, to hear the topic of the hou~.. But sad to say. this enthusiasm soon waned and by the year 1989 it n--as alnlost gone. There remainetl, how- e\-el-. a few who continuetl to be dissatisfied ~v i th the teachings of the Christian Reformed Church. "comnlon grace" in particula~. They were convinced lliat tlie teaching of the Protestant Iteform- ecl Churches was the true. Biblical teaching of God's \\'orcl.

In the early part of 1989, Mr. Henry Kamps, who a t this time attended the Protestant Reformed Chu~.ch a t Hudson\-ille. tooli steps to attempt the organization of a Protestant Eeformecl Chu~*ch in Holland. This attempt, by Cod's grace. was successful and on the evening of July 3, 1929. the First Pi-otestant Reformed C h u l ~ h of Holland \ras organized in tlie i?Tomcn's Literary Club 1:ooms. On that occasion the Rev. TI. Hoek- sema spoke from I1 Timothy 2:19 and led the 01-ganizationnl procedure. There were 11 families as

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charter members. X Protestant Reformed Church ill IIolland had 11ccome R reality!

1;ronl that date on regular ser- \.ices. society meetings, catechisms and a Sunday School nourished the new daughter. Oul. first place of worship was a sinall builcling which had been used as a bakery. The dough had to be scl-aped from the floor before it was tit to use. It served its purpose, however. ancl wc experienced the joy of the Word of God: "\irhere tn-o or three a re gathered together in my name, tlicre am 1 in the midst of them." OUI* sel-vices Itrere faith l'nlly conducted by our students.

In September of 1932, Candidate RI. (iritters became our first pas- toi*. I l e served us with blessing until April of 1938. 11 was during this time that a young lnan from 0111. midst felt the call and desire lo stucly for the Ministry in our churches. This son oj our congregation serves the church a t South Ilolland a t present. the Rev. 11. Scllipper. It \tras also tlu~.ing this ~~et-iod that the congregation moved ii.0111 its first place of worship to a basement Baptist church across f on^ our present parsonage. Steps ne1.c li!iewise talien to procure a place of \vo~.ship that we might call our own. Two lots were purchased on the coinel. of 20th and Maple A\.enue where oul- churcl~ building now stands.

F1.om the basement church the


congregation moved to North River Avenue. For about a year ancl a half we worshippeel in a (;ospel Hall the1.e. The flock a t this time was shephercled by the Rev. P. De Boer. His pastorate extendeel from June, 1938 to December 19-13. It was c l~~r ing his pastolSate that the newr church builtlillg was corn- pletecl. Tlle Lord had pro\-ided us n place of our own \\?here xvc still continue to worship 'Him from weel; to week. To this n-e 11acl looked fortvarcl and consunlated wit11 joy.

All things in this life have an cncl, as also the 1aboi.s of Rev. De Boer. tvho, \t?llen callecl to another portion of God's vineyare1 in 1913, felt it to be the Lo1.d'~ will to leave I-Iollantl for s u m ~ y California.

The congregation was not long without a pastor. Our present pastor, the Eev. \V. T3ofman. svho was then a Cancliclate, ncceptecl our call ancl became our third uncler- shep- herd.

The congregzition a t Holland can and must say "Ebenezer, hitl~el. l ~ a t h the Lord llel~ccl us'". To I I i ~ l be the pi*aise alone! I-Ie has abuntl- nnt1:- provided I\-ith 1:laterial go-)dn but above all \vith spiisitual bless- ings. \\'e are blcssecl to be in- structecl in the Ecforn~ecl Tl.uth wlzich is the Word of God.

The Scl-ipture teaches us. that in the n1easul.e we recci~~ct these bless- ings, so also, our responsibility in- creases. \\'e are only sten-ards and

must give account to Him \\Those are all things and \Tho alone is ~vor thy of all p~.aise anel acloibalion. I-Ie calls His own out of ctarlnless into Iris mai.velous light that we nlay be pilgrims and sojoulSners in the earth, manifesting that we are of I-lis Party.

The T1.uth of the Sovereign Grace of God is not popular in our day and 1.eal1)- inever has been. As me loo]< back a t our history that is also evident. \Vc elid not gl.our by leaps and bounds but Gocl gave the increase in His own time and way. Ey His S1:irit and Truth, thi.ough the yea1.s of our existe~lce. we have po tvn in grace and numbers. The organization that began with 11 families no\^- r-lumbers 1.5.

May the Lol,ei continue t o bless us. a s a congregation, ancl as chu~.chcs. May tve have faith ever to be vigilant. sobel-. and to continue in the T1.uth ; once cleli\lei*etl ilnto the Saints !

H. E. \\:inclemullcr.


G:and Rapids, Rlich. Xorzmber 194fi

Dear fello~x-s:

3fy las t letter I \\-ro;e to you from I'latte, South Daksta. Cut, as I wrote then, I could not s tay there much 1:nger because of the army of hunters that in- vaded tha i par t of our country, and I cculd not find a suitable place to lodge. After all, I was sorry, a5 f a r a s the 1s-o. k u.a5 concerned. that I could not s tay long- er. For although, a t thz time I \\-rote niy last letter to you. things d:d not appear very bright, towards the end I felt ra ther encouraged, and began to have hope tha t the Lord might open the \\'aJr there to organize a Protestant Keformed Church. The audiences improved. Es- pecially on the last Sunday evening in I'latte, we had a very gocd audieno:. And there is a group of people there in whose hear t the Lord instilled true intcr- es t in the truth of His sovereign grace.

But I had to leare, and na\v I am writ- ing again from my own study in Grand Rapids.

When you receive this letter, the mid-

winter holidays are near. Sn:n the Christmas bells ~ v i l l be ringing, inviting us t o go up to the house of the Lord, arld

with His people to commemorate tha t greatest of all \venders, the conii~ig of

the Son of God in the flesh. And soon after, another year will have sped away, and we will stand upon the threshold of

a new year. fell on*^, i t is my prayer and sincere wish tha t you may spend

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these hol:days \t7ith true joy and glad- ness, and I wish you a happy New Year.

This is possible, of coursl?, no matter where you a r e on those days, and what Inns be y:ur way. S o z ~ e of you, perhaps, will have ihe privilege of coming home: others \\.ill be f a r an-ny from home, in

more than one zense of the word. Yet, I may wish you happy hdidays. and a

blessed New Year. F o r the Christian's happinws is not of this world, neither is i t dependent upon the things of this world. I t f a r transcends then1 all. I t is f-und in the blessed truth that God is our God through Jesus Christ, Who came in the urorld. died f o r our sins. arose for our justification, is exalted a t

tllc r:ght hand of God, and has all power in heaven and on earth. That God i s f o r us. He luves us. He prepared salvation, even eternal H e , f - r us. He \\-ill guide us by His c o r n e l . He will streng- then us unto the \ray we must travel. Ile mill p resene us in the miclz of a world of darkness. He \\-ill enahle us to fight the good f ight of faith, and to orer- come. H e nil1 cause all t h i n p to work together fo r good t3 them that love Him.

He i s our God! And they that t rust in Him shall never

be put to shame. 'I'o know this, to believe this with all

our heart, to experience this in all our \vay,-that is true happiness.

God bless you!

-4s ever your friend. Rev. H. Hoeksema.

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B E A C O N L I G I I T S

A Reply . . . Concerning Movies

A writer is yl.eatly delighted when he finds out that his articles are read ancl even discussed. So 1 was delighted when I received various letters from those ~ v h o had an interest in urllat I wrote concerning our latest Young People's convention, ancl that I had but one criticism to offer, 11.1., "Personally I disapprove of movies a t dur conventions". 1 ans~verecl those who wrote me that I woulcl give my reasons for my disapproval of movies a t our conventions in our December issue of the "Beacon Lights". Ant1 IlIiss A. Reitsma asked me in our last issue to do this. So with thalllis to those who wrote me, I hope to malie my position clear.

First of all 1 ~ v a n t to make my- self clear on this, that I do not believe the movie camera as such an evil thing. h4any of us otvn one and such a movie camera is no more evil than any other camera. These are all good gifts of God. IVe hare no ai.gnmcnt with anyone on this score, even though the in- stitution that has developed from this. has been and remains a great evil.

Secondly, we believe that the argument that movies are of great educational value, is greatly ex- aggerated, and is not in its place

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in this connection. Eclucational standards certainly have not been raised in recent pears since the introduction of movies in our education institutions. The educational stantlards were higher years ago than they are today with the movie. Besides the movies were not shown a t our con\-ention with a view to education but to entertainment, even though the beauty of nature, such a s the t r ip to the Northland and Yosemite National Park, were shoivn us. I once attended a father- son banquet at the Chicago Chris- tian IIigh Scl~ool and there too the program included some so-called educational movies. There was one entitled : "Wheels of Progress" which might be classified as such, but when finally, "Xlickey Mouse" nras sho\vn, the folks present surely re\?ealetl that the latter picture entertained them the most, by their applause. We believe that entertainment by movies is wrong and will lead to such kind of entertainment as indulged in a t Chicago Christian High School.

Thirdly, we do not believe that the revelation of God in nature, as those movies of our convention were supposed to depict, may be divorced from the revelation of God in the face of Jesus C h ~ i s t OUT

Lord and Saviozw. (See Cor. 2 4 :6) . 1 -

-. B E A C O S

Even the heathen peoples see beauty and po~t~cl. and wisdon~ in Gocl's creation but they see not the beauty and power and \visdom of God "in the face of Jesus Christ". 111 old Isi-ael the cllildren of God were instl-ucted to destroy even the pictures of the heathen peoples thzy conquered in Canaan. See Num. 33 :62. And our fathers said in Lord's Day 35: "Cod neither can, nor may be presented by any means but a s to creatures. though they may be representecl, pet God for- bids to make or to have any rc- sembl(tnce of t h ~ n z . either in o~.tler to \vorship them or to swrc them . . . . . for we must not pretend to be wiser than God, \Vho will have IIis people tcizighf not by duinb images, but by the lively p1.eaching of Ilis \\:orcl". ( I italicize, L. V.) Certainly we all believe that Gocl ige\yeals 11-limself in both nature and the \ITorcl, but ce1it1*ally always in Christ Jesus. And outside of the Word we have no revelation of God, not even In creation. See o h 1 : l - Noit* this revelation of God in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour certainly was not given us in the movies a t our latest convention.

Fourthly, I believe that movies a t our convention are an offense to many of our good, christian people. I t breathes a spirit of worldliness, which certainly must be fought instead of encouraged. The movies,

even those that appear so innocent, - 22

L I G I - I T S

instill in our youth a clesiive to see more and mol.e and lcatl to the nlovie house of the wo~.ld. -4 truly God-cente~sed instruction is the goal of all those who love the Pisotestant Reformed tl-uth. That is why there is such strenuous effort made to have our own Protestant Reformed Schocls in distinction from the so- called Christian Reformed Schools. And t ~ c did not see such a God- c~n te red movie a t our convention.

E'inally, I \vould remind our readers to read and 1-e-read an article that was written way back in Apiqil 15, 1927, in our Stantlard Bearer. 111 that article the author attacks the movie as positively ancl princil~ally wrong, even as the dl-an~a is wvong, for they a1.c I-eally oiic and the same. Thc Chi.istian Reformed Church as eai-ly as 1928 clefended the principle 01' movies and claimed there are good and evil movies. But there is no such thing as a Christian movie, for no man can nor may cict out either good or evil. for God requii~es truth in the inward parts. Ps. 51 :6. "There is no good movie. A cliris- t ian theatre and a christian movie are a contradiction in terms", see The Standcird Bearer, vol. 3, p. 320. IT7ith this we are in heal-ty agree- ment, though a t one time we had a sonlewhat different idea of this. I repeat: Personally, I disapprove of movies a t our conventions.

Thanlr you. Rev. L. Vermeer.

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THE BLACK ROSE . . . . ancl bring back to England know- B y TI~o))i(i.s C. Costain. ledge of it. \\'alter is given a map

to guide him. \Irould you lilie to go to China

\\:it11 us in this story? The t r ip They find it easy to f o l 1 0 ~ the may be long ancl arduous, but there broacl \vake of the Crusades to mill be 110 lack of ad\yentul.e. The Palestine, F1.011~ there, their trav- first paragraph will launch becolne illcl.easillgly unsafe. from your starting' point, Englancl. Tllrougll a tyra~lnica] nlerc]lallt of

It is miecle~al England. Edward ,htiocll, \Valtel. bal*teys places fol. the First and Roger Cacoll a1.e ttlenlselves i l l a cal.avan conducted names of the day. O S ~ ~ I ' C ~ , h o ~ - by the famous &follgoliall Tvar lol.cl, ever. finds humall nature the Same Bayan of ',,he llundrecl Eyes. They as alnVaJ-S. .A Couple of her Sons discol-er incidentally \.hat the mer- get themselves into trouble lead- chant is by the same cars- ing an uprising. 130th sons fillcl i t van llillc times nine beautiful \yo- expedient to join f9rccs :Is their men to I<ub]a IChall, a gift of predicament of being expelled from slaves. To prove his bestiality, ~Ch00l gives thclll C9nlln9ll footillg. the merchant includes his o\vll half

IValter 01 Curnie has blue blood sister among the eighty-one slaves. that boils a t menti011 ol' his ignoble The young Englishmen witness a birth. His Si*iencl sl~l'ings from spirited attempt on her part to the common people, but his loyalty pleacl mercy from her heartless is as f irm as his frame is large and brother. To their surprise, Walter sturdy. Left urithout a place to go. and Tristram observe that this the two take the suggestion of their beautiful Greek woman has blue great teacher, Roger Bacon. to eyes, English eyes. The color travel to Cathay, there to study the speaks to them of the great C1.u- advanced civilization of the East sade of a generation before.

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The Westerners are hated ancl back to Europe. Believing their scorned by the hIongols. Their little black rose, a s they called her lives are lightly esteemed ancl conle when she was disguised as a Negro into constant danger after Maryam servant, to be lost, the two return flees her captivity and asks pro- to England. tection from then1 in the guise of a The jel\rels the tales of acl- black servant boy. AIaryam is venture gain a position for eager to learn about the country of jjralter, but ~~i~~~~~ becomes an her father and life in a Christian because of his land. IIer presence is revealed at of the commoners agaillst feudal length by a spring Mf,Wolian be- oppression. ~h~ two, though loyal fore they reach China. To avoid to olle another, are widely separ- suspicion of complicity Walter con- ated by circumstances. At length t i m e s with the caravan while the Trist,.am,s life becomes the price others escape. of his steadfastness.

China has many wonders f o r jf:alter. 1 1 ~ sees callnoll alld lleanwhile, Ilaryam's son. Little

der used in a new kind of warfare: JZTaltel-, is born. Clrith persever-

he is taugIlt tile making of paper ; all", courage, and just two Englisll

lie studies process of prilltillg, words a t her command. she travels chinese law pllilosoplly al,d inexho~.ably toward her husband's

society al.e as fascinating as they cou11t1.y. IVeelts between sh i l~s she are to hirn. ~i~ yellow passes allri ring on the waterfronts hail. is interpreted as a onlell calling "England" and i'Walter" by the E ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , allcl his favor until she is picked u p and brought with the court ellables him to ex- farther on her way. 1-Ia~*dship and

perience luxury and ~vealth beyond illness cannot make he]' give up.

his \vildest imagination. At Icst, al'ter four years of strug-

~i~ friends appear again but ill gle, Naryam reaches England and

dire straits. T o rescue 3laryam Walter. \

who is about to be sold into slavery. A sketch of the plot can give \\'alter marries her. Tristram, only a hint of the charm the story after being treated like a caged holds. I ts running recital doesn't tiger on eshibition, is restored to let our interest flag. Its pictures health after many weeks. War of life in early England are vivid, interrupts and terminates their but history is given us in pleasing visit in China. Treachery separ- doses by being secondary to the ates Maryam from her husband plot. Among the welter of recent and his friend. Walter and Tris- books which are noticeable (not t ram are forcibly conveyed by ship notable) fo r their ugliness and sor-

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didness, this one printed in 1945 appears as a refreshing change.

I t is honestly a seculal. book. Its ethics are limited to a sin~ple code of morals without aspiring to re- ligiosity or philosophy. Caul-age, loyalty, and honesty a re the char- acteristics llcld to be worthwhile in the intlivicluals. Tlle oilly apparent pu~.pose of the story may be noticed from the restlessness among the tlo~vntrodclen peasantry in England and the yearnings after science anlong a few leaders of English thought. \Ire are maclc to realize that the high walls of the Dark Ages are beginlling to cl.iln1-

ble and that the Renaissance cannot be long delayed. The author IT-ants us to know that men \vish to be recognized as nlen aftel* centuries of being co~~siclerecl little better than aninlals.

Certainly we do not call this a great booli. I t s style is casy but not remai.liable. A second glance a t the language sho~vs a fair a- mount of preparation and research on the part of the writer. Alto- gether Tl-IE BLACK ROSE can be recommencled for pleasure to your rcaders who wish to be entertained for an haul. or two by a legend of the long ago.

Bible Study Outlines By Hev. L. DOEZE;.?l;\ - Bellflower, California

Chapter 32

Elihu Enf o-s.

This entrance of Elihu forms another main division in this book. Because of the cliffel-cnce in the language and the tho~~gl l t , sonle have argued that this "Elihu scc- tion" cloes not belong to the origin- al, but that it was addcd by some later scribe. I t is also argued that they a re not arguments a t all a-

gainst its canonicity. For we have no other ~-eference is maclc to Elilzu in the entire book,-neither before the infallible approval of all our

o r afterwards. These arguments Old Testament Bible from Jesus and the apostles.

01% observations cause us to see that there is something extraordinary In verses 145 we have the ilitro- about this "Elihu section", but duction to Elihu's speech and in

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the folloiving verses. 6-22, Elihu is that he feels that he has the makes his introduction. truth. This he has from the X1-

I . The Azcthor's Introrlrrction : mighty. rs. 8. Ancl he malies the 1. It is told us that Elihu begins statement that only when the spirit

after the three friencls had ceased of man is led by the Almighty can speaking. The three friends \vere he possess the truth. I t is not silenced : they could not answer llecessarily age that possesses wis- Job because he was riglzteous in tlom. This is Scriptullal Sol*, "the his own eyes. 2. Elihu speaks be- fcar of the Lord is the beginning cause his n-rat11 is kindled against of \visdom." Ne\-erthcless, Elihu .Job first of all, and also against was courteous. He hacl waited for the three friends. 3. \Pe also have the elders to speak. I le had lis- a description of Elihu. Notice how tened rery carefully to their every that much more is told us of him ivorcl and determined their mean- than of the others. Elihu nleans : ing. vss. 11, 12. ( Here we have an "IIe is my God." He is the son of important example fol. all of us.) Barachel, which means: " ~ ~ i ~ a i s e And his conclusion was that the God." He is a Buzite. \Ve reacl friends of Job had not a t all given of Buz in Genesis 23:21, where it Job an answer. vs. 13. In verse 13 is said that he and his brother I.Iuz, Elihu makes the point that they or Uz, is exactly the samc as the must not thinli that the al*gun~ents name used in the first chapter of of Job are to be answered by God Job where it is said that Job was only and not man. That they had in the land of Uz. This interesting done their human best-they have description of Elihu tells us of his fount1 ~visclom-: but only God can parentage and seems to imply a convince Job. This is somewhat relation to Job not only, that he is clearer in the Revised Yersion, of the same country, but also that which begins. "beware lest". Elihu there is some connection of these intends to defeat theil- implication men to the time of Abraham. F1.om that no nlan call ans\T,rcl- Job for their names \ire also note tllei~. re- that woultl also imply that neithel. latioil to God. They confessed their had Elihu a reason to speak. And real faith in God. we must not misinterpret Elihu to

1 I. Elihtt's Int rorlziction : mean that he of himself will answer 1. First of all he states why he Job , for he has already made the

has not spol:en before. vss. 6-5. point that i t is of the Spirit of the 2. Thereupon he explains \vIlj- he Almighty that he speaks. IIe means must speak, vss. 8-32. T11el.e are to point out their failul-e and theii* two reasons that Elihu givcs for calling as well as his, which is his his speaking. a ) The first iaeason ISeason for speaking. b) !His sec-

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ond reason which follows from the first, is stated in \.erses 17-20. It is, in short, that he cannot keep himself from speaking. This in inti.otluccd in verses 14-1(;. where he admits that he wasn't spoken to by Job. 3. Finally Elillu coilcludes his il~trocluction by emphasizing tlzat he will spealt the truth regard- less of the position of the pel'son to whom he is sl)c.:-tl;i!lg. He will not flatter, -i'oi. Ile Is collscious of his calling before !;od, lrss. 21, 22.

:c d * :b

Chapter 33 Elihzi's First .A~l t l )*~.ss .

The spealter calls Job by name, different than the other spealie1.s. This seems to indicate his sincere interest in Job's welfare. At least he talies pains to esllress his g:)?d intentions in anothel. inti-oduc~ion to his first address. vss. 1-7. 'The situation is indeed serious and tense. which kvill cause us to allow for this sort of an introcluction on the part of Elihu. Some criticize the lengthy speech 3f Elihu ancl say i t is char.acteristic oriental style. Yet theye is eel-tainly very important material in the introtluction. 121 vss. 1-3 Elil~ii again c:ills attention to his readiness to spealc and to his sincerity. In vss. 4-7 he comfor,ts Job wit11 the thought that he himself is of clay, a creature of the Almighty. Job had nothing to Pear fi*om him.

I. A statelnerlt of Job's nro~.cls is made. vss. 8-12. - This is to refute

- 2

Job fairly. The question is. has Elihu statctl the case correctly? It is correct a s f a r a s the sense and even the words a re concenled. However, if we woulci compare chz~te l - 1.1 we find that Job does not deny his depravity. He asks there, 14 :4 "\l.'ho can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" \\'e must, therefore. give the col.iSect interpretation to these worcls of Job. -4s we remarked before, he mas 1.ighteo11s before his God. 1Ic also had the testimony of God that he was perfect and upright. Just this nlakes the problem of tlle book of Job. I t is the suffering of the righteous. The problem was especially tlifricult in these days prior to the c ~ n l i n g of Christ and the New Testament ~Sevelation. Neverthe- less, it is ai\**ays the soul struggle of every child of God. This struggle had caused Job to sill and to question the action of Gocl. This is also the pcint Elihu talies issue n-ith. His point is: God is greater than man, i.e., i t is impossible for man to questioll God's right to tic anything.

TI. Elihu reproves Job for his 11-0rtlr against God. 1. The speak- er reproves by asking a question, 1-s. 13. This follows his point in vs. 12. The point is that God cloes not obey the \i.hims of man. Be- cause of lIis n-isdorn and power Gocl cannot be called to give account of his work to man when man is in doubt of God's wisdom.

7 -

- 1 : E : A C O N 1 , I G H T S

That is equal to denying God. is given to the destroyers, or a s has 2. Xerertheless Elihu makcs the been explained by one comments- beautiful point that God does in- tor, destroying angels, Cf. Ps. 78: form man of IIis way, vs. 14. IIe .19. repeats his revelation, yet man IT'. The Del i~ere~. : Elihu comes cloes not perceive. 3. Different to the conception of the need of a ways are ment io~~cd that Gocl Saviour, ancl His salvation, vss. makes man know Iii; ~~.-a;r. \'3s. 15, 23-23. 1. Notice that his concep- 1 . This must be unclerstood in tion or' a Saviour of man in misery the light of those days when thcre of sin and death is an angel of Gocl. p1-obably was no written woi-tl of 111 the Old Testament, before the God, there was this testimony of clearer revelation of the AIediator God which \\-as given to His people to Israel, there is the 1-evelation of that they might know Iiis tvill. the Saviour in the es~~rcss ion of No\v we have the written word of thc Angel of Jehovah. Jacob spoke God: ancl we believe we have the of the Angel who delivered him: infallible guidance of the 1Ioly r s . :7 speaks of the Angel of Spirit t111-ough the written word, Jehovah wrho "encampel11 round a- as He interprets and assures us bout them that fear him, and de- of God's will. \Ire believe we re- livereth them." There are many ceive Gotl's answel- to our pvayers, such i.efei*ences in the 0. T. 2. This "lle operlcth the ears of men ancl Angel is Inte~.preter to show man sealeth their instruction. God takes "what is right for him", i.e., the care of His own; He never pe~smits way of salvation through right- them to be lost everlastingly. 1 eousness. IIc is unique among the think that that is the meaning of hosts of angels, one among a thou- Elihu in vs. 18:-not as some ex- sand. :3. This, therefore. cannot plain, only temporal salvation. This refer to Elihu as some explain. Al- point of Elihu is very good. God though Elihu certainly is a "fore- saves but not in man's way or time. runner" of the Christ for Job. -1.

111. The reality of severe trial Th1.ough the Angel's \vork. God cle- brought out by Elihu, ws. 19-22. clares Iiis grace to man, vs. 24. This \\.as not in Job's consideration This is the striking contribution a t all. that God nrould instruct his of Elihu, that he shows the need of child in the way of sickness nigh atonement, "I hare found a ran- unto death : "Yea, his soul dl-aweth som.'' 5. Thereupon man rejoices near tinto the pit." I t is even more in that salvation. The Savior causes than physical sickness, it is the marl to be renev-ed, to make confes- sickness of the soul because of sin sion, to pray, to receive the joy of ant1 misery unto death. T l ~ c soul salvation, and to confess i t before

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B E A C O X L I G H T S -- men, vss. 25-28.

V. The challenge. Elihu 'maintains this a s the t ru th and chal- lenges Job to ans\iVer if he can. If he cannot Elihu will proceed to en- lighten him still more. Upon this f irst address of Elihu, Job is silent. This silence is significant of con- viction, vss. 29-33.

* * * * Chapter 31

Second clcldress. Elihu's introduction to his con-

tinuation is very interesting, vss. 1-4. Vs. 4 is comparable to the N. T. adn~onition to the believers. ''P~.ove all things, holtl fast to that which is good." I Thess. 5 :21.

1. The ci.l,oia of Job consiclered : Elihu llatl taltcn up (cl~ap. 3) the idea of Job, l l ~ a t he was I-iglzteous ant1 coultl not see cause f o ~ his misery and thus in~plyiilg unright- eousncss with Gocl, and hacl es- j~lainecl that there was a reason for suffering, namely, instruction in thc way of salvation. He continues in chapter 3-1 to take up the problem of .Job and the three friends anrl to show mare specific- ally ho\v Gocl is righteous in ail His dealings. Job had lookecl a t the prosperity of the wic1;ed and pre- sentecl his problem ho~ir that the ~viclced piSospered and the righteous suffered. The three fl-iemls hacl denied the pi.oblem. I11 rss. 5 and 6 Elihu states it. I t is almost the ralne as staled in chapter :Xi. But no\ir Elihu tnlies uj:, anotller aspect

-

of the problem as i t hat1 appeared in the different speeches.

In vss. 7-9 Elihu states in effect what had been the speech of Job and criticizes him severely.

11. God's righteousness maintain- ed: 1. The righteousness of Cocl implies that He deals ivith every man according to His works, and Elihu maintains that so it is also, rs . 11. 2. Before he enters further upon this truth, Elihu considers the problem in the abstract and sho~r-s ho\ir i t could not be othel.- \vise than that Gocl al\rrays deals righteously. The reason is that God is the sovereign rulei. of the universe. No one gave I 1 in1 cllarge of the earth. i.e., Cod is sub,ject to no one. Besides all things continue to exist in Cocl. If the Alu1ight.y v-oulcl tvithdl*a\v His Spirit they xi-ould not be. From this Elihu meam to inlply that therefo1.e Gocl will deal righteously. But also Trom the fact tha t Gocl is not turned to Himself alone, but to the creature, 1-s. 14. it is sure that Cod mill do t f i ~ right. I t is as -Abraham ex- presses it, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" 3. Also abstractly eonsidered Gorl is just because He is the ruler. It is in- herently a property of a rulel. that He is just. Vs. 17. \\'e, of coillase. understand a real rulel., not a ty- ].ant 01- imbecile. for they cannot rule. 4. Job is charged ~ ~ i t l i a great sin in that he questioned the justice of the All-just One, vss.

29 -


17. 19. For God judges all, both yested 133' Job and also by Eliphaz. rich and poor, not accorcling to 7:20: 21 :2, 3. That is, vss. 6-8, their person but according to strict- that man's righteousness or man's est justice. It cannot be that I-le sin callnot hur t or profit the Lord. 11-oulcl be partial for all creatures hIIo\r-ever, the former spealters had are what they are because of God. drawn other conclusions f ~ ~ o r n this They are the \x-ork of I-:is hancls. important truth. Elihu n~ealls to The Lord Almighty I:no!vs all say God's 1.e~-arc1 of evil and of things and eve~.j%hing receives I l is the good is not bemuse of a change just attention, even in time, in the in God. IIis re\\-arc1 of good is not sight of men. vss. 21-23. This ex- l l is indebtedness, nor is IIis pun- presses that God re\-ea!s Kis \! rath ishment self-defense. According to upon all ungodliness of men. Elihu vs. 8, the reward is in the doing of therefore also proves God's juslice good ant1 in the doing of evil. To from act~lal observation. 5. It p e r f o ~ m the good is its OTT-XI re- seems that in vss. 31, 2'3 Elihu ~varcl. to do evil carries also its teaches that the only thing that own punishment. Accorcling to changes the esecution of justice the principle espressed in Gal. 6 :Ti : upon evil men is their penitance. "\Yl~atsoevel+ a man son-eth, that This is so proposecl to Job. 9 c shall he reap." must clloose. ,411~1 in the final lrerses In vss. 9-13 Elihu points out that he makes the charge of rebellion. the correct way to approach God is

Q .. ... 8 to seeli Him, the Maker, ancl not to Chapter 35 conlplain as is often the case in

Eliirzc's Third Speech. the prayers of men. This is what The next important point of Job's Job had also done. IIe had corn-

speeches Elihu considers. I t is plained, alnlost to the exclusion of that Job had said that it mattered a prayer for salvation from God. not whether one sinned or had clolle But every prayer for help is ans- righteously. for there \{-as no re- werecl, for He gives songs in the u-al-d or punishment from Gocl ac- night, and giveth us all wisdonl cordingly. This is not the ver- above the birds of heaven. batim expression of Job, but is In vss. 15-16 i t is pointed out logical inference from his words, why Job continues to rebel. I t is e.g. 9 122. because the Lord has not dealt with

To answer this Elihu points to Job as He ought to have done. the infinity of Gocl. God is great. In this is a strong plea for peni- And the heavens decla1.e His great- tance and an emphasis upon the ness, vs. 5. From this Elihu maltes reality that all is of grace, not of the same point that had been sug- our merit.

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B E A C O N L I G I - I T S --- - Chapter 36

Exhorfation. I. In vss. 1-16 Elihu explains

once again alld now more in cle::lil the ~ v a y 01' the Lord. IIc maintains that I 1 c is always righteous. )He does not preserve t!le life of the ivicked. Ant1 by this nTe ca:] under- stancl that Elillu means the rcpro- bate. The elect righteous are the objects of the eternal preserv- ‘a t' 1011

of God, vs. 7. When they sin the Lord sets them in fetters, or bond- age, o r afiliction to show t l~cm their sin, that they inay regent before Him. He instructs them in the n-ay of salvation. n l len they return and \iral Irin His way IIc re- ~varcls them. This is always work- ed out in God's 11eoplc. IS they would not turn to Him then it ~vould follow that they \vould be consumed, vs. 12. 14e de1ivcl.s even by affliction, vs. 15.

11. A reprimand is given here to Job after the enlightenment in the preceding verses. He in el'fect con-

demns Job's judging others, vs. 17. Ye was filled with wrath against the chastisenlents of the Lord. In the language of Jesus. "Judge not that yc be not judged" Elihu also sho~vs that lie had listened to every word of Job. He mentions ho~v that Job had cursed his day and had desired death. He now repri- mands him, vs. 20. 1Ye also points out his sin of cursing his day, and his other l.ebellion, 1-s. 21. "Talie heed rcgnrtl not iniquity." IIc ad- monishes him to look upon the affliction as of the Great Teacher, Who does all things righteously.

111. Finally in this speech Elihu exhorts Job to praise God for IIis greatness, vss. 24-33. He does so by sillging the praises of God himself. Gocl is great and incompi*e- hensible and good a re the points of his song. At the same time he speaks of the lightniag and tlian- der of God. There is grace and judgment. For His people grace: for the wicked wrath.

Once again itre meet as a Young bers for l*enewed activity and stim- People's Society. I17e have had a ulate a genuine interest i n the So- long vacation and wc should be ciety.

. eager to begin another season. The Gocl commands us in Ilis law to purpose of a vacation is that by remember the Sabbath Day and taking a rest, our meetings should keep it holy. What could be a bet- be that much more lively and inter- ter way of hallowing the Sabbath esting. I t shoulcl prepare the mem- Day than meeting together on Sun-

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B E A C O N L I G H . T S

day afternoon to study God's Word ?

This Society has a motto "Seal.ch the Scriptures". Let us live up to this motto. The V'ord of God is like a deep mine. The precious truths of God's \ITord are not all lying on the surface but they nlilst be sought after. "Seek ant1 ye shall find."

God also commands us to stucly His Word. \Ve read, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God ancl Elis righteousness," and "If ye the11 be I-isen with Christ, seek those things vrhich are above, where Christ sit- teth on the right hand of God" and "Study to she\\- thyself approved, a \i-orkman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly diricling thc \?TONI of Truth." The comnlaricl is tllcre and we must obey it. -4 tlSue child of God \\-ill by God's grace be eager to hcow more about God an(\ IIis \ITord. If we truly seek the Icing- don1 of Gocl and His righteousness we shall surely find it. For this has God promised in Xis \Vord. Let us learn to sing from our hearts. "To live apart f1.on1 God is death, 'Tis good His face to seek: N y refuge is the living Got1 : His praise 1 long to speak".

\\re do not knon- hon- long we I

\ i l l be privileged to meet as a, Young People's Societj,. Fol- \ve know that the day is soon coming when all the church of Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution. But the Bible tells us not to fear, for Christ

will deliver us. Timothy tells u s that evil men ancl seducers shall beconle worse and wol-se, "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them."

I.et us then meet as a Young IJeople's Society with this in mind, to preach the Scripture. It is our duty but also our privilege as child- ren of the covenant. If \I-e all meet from week to week with this in mind, to learn more about God and Jcsus Christ \Vhom He has sent, then \re --ill have no problems. Evel~.one \$-ill be present as much as possible, every one will conduct himself in an ordesly fashion, all will be interested in Bible cliscus- sion, and members will at a!] times be prepared to give a number on the pt-ogram \\-hen required. Such a society 11-ould be to our edifica- ti011 and to the g101.y of God.

Essrry by (1 nze,?tber of the Z'ouny Y ~ o p l c . ~ ' Society, Redla?zds. Cal i f .

i ehovah december llght and · christmas could not improve, it grows worse. 'l'o ricle bc...

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