For eighteen centuries the people of this world have been groping in
spiritual darkness. They have had the Bible, it is true, but what have
they learned from it? In letter, many things. In the true spirit of
divine inspiration, they have learned little. "The letter killeth, but
the spirit giveth life." (II Cor. iii:6.) They are "ever learning,
and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (II Tim.
iii:7.) These statements of Holy Writ are fully corroborated by human
experience in religious matters. The world is divided and sub-divided
into many contending factions, professing Christianity, yet not having
a unity of faith. Many ideas of the Lord, many faiths in baptism. "One
Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Eph. iv:5), was the doctrine of Paul.
"Straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it." (Matthew vii:14.)
What is the cause of all this uncertainty respecting the glorious plan
of eternal life? If one was or is right, all opposing methods must be
wrong. We answer that the lack of unity, the ignorance in relation
to the Gospel, and finally skepticism and infidelity, are due to
substituting the wisdom of men for the revelation of God, using human
learning instead of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
We desire to show in this article that without direct and continuous
revelation from God, the Gospel cannot be understood and properly
applied for the salvation of mankind, nor can the purposes of God
be accomplished on the earth. First, we take direct statements of
Scripture: "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that
keepeth the law, happy is he." (Prov. xxix:18.) The law of God has
never been kept without the Spirit of God to enlighten those who
sought to keep it. The history of the human family, from Adam to Noah,
from Noah to Moses, from Moses to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in all
subsequent ages, proves beyond cavil that where there was no vision
from heaven, no inspired voice, no revelation, the people utterly
perished in darkness and unbelief. The combined wisdom and learning of
men could not save them from spiritual darkness.
That there may be an authorized channel of communication between the
heavens and the earth, the Lord has, whenever His Church has existed
on the earth, appointed men to receive His will and make it known to
the people. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His
secrets unto His servants, the prophets." (Amos iii:7.) This literally
might be understood as equivalent to saying that where no prophet was,
there the Lord was doing nothing that would result in man's salvation.
Without being technical respecting the language of Amos, the history
of the world from Adam down proves his statements true. When there
has been no prophet there has been no revelation from God. When there
has been no revelation or vision the people have wandered to and fro,
have tossed upon the billows of clashing opinion, perished in darkness
and have been buried in the great ocean of doubt and uncertainty. On
the other hand, when authorized prophets have existed among men we
may exclaim with the ancient Scriptures: "I have also spoken by the
prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the
ministry of the prophets. And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out
of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved." (Hosea xii:10, 13.) And we
affirm that without prophets Israel never was preserved and never will
be.
In looking over the field of mysterious sayings contained in the Bible,
as well as the mystery which enshrouds many phases of human history,
we are consoled by the promise of the Savior: "For there is nothing
covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be
known." (Luke xii:2; Matthew x:26; Mark iv:22.) In this connection we
may cite the fact that men by learning do not see the truth alike, they
do not harmonize on the fundamental principles of the Gospel. As an
example, they cannot, unaided by revelation, tell the origin, history
and destiny of the American Indians.
Isaiah, over 200 years before the advent of the Messiah, foresaw the
spiritual ignorance of the last days and how that condition would
be overcome by the light of revelation. He prophesied as follows:
"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with
their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their
heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept
of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among
this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of
their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men
shall be hid." (Isa. xxix:13, 14.) By reading the context it is evident
that the prophecy refers to a time later than the first coming of the
Savior, and that the prediction never could be verified without direct
revelation from heaven.
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, calls attention to the great truth that
the method of the Lord in leading His people from the beginning has
been by revelation. He says: "God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in
these last days spoken unto us by His Son." (Heb. i:1, 2.) Jesus said in
St. John xvii:3: "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." Paul says in
I Cor. xii:3. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy
Ghost."
When Peter received a knowledge of the divinity and mission of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior said unto him: "Blessed art thou, Simon
Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but
my Father, which is in heaven." It required a revelation for Peter
to receive that testimony. How could any one receive that knowledge
without revelation from God? The Jews saw Jesus, witnessed His wondrous
miracles of healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, unstopping
the ears of the deaf and even raising the dead, but all that was not
sufficient. They read the ancient prophecies, pointing to the birth and
nativity, the birthplace, life, ministry and martyrdom of the Messiah.
Yet were they blind, with eyes to see; deaf, with ears to hear, and
without understanding. No reason can be assigned for the ignorance of
the masses and the enlightenment of the humble fishermen other than
that the former depended upon the learning of men; the latter had
received a revelation from God.
To place the necessity of revelation beyond question as to obtaining
a knowledge of God, we quote the statement of Jesus to His disciples:
"All things are delivered to me of my Father; and no man knoweth who
the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and
he to whom the Son will reveal Him." (Luke x:22.) Compare this plain,
unmistakable testimony of Jesus with the assertions of modern divines,
who claim that the canon of Scripture is full and that we do not need
divine revelation as it was given to men in ancient days. The position
of the latter simply contradicts the plainest teachings of Holy Writ.
If it required revelation 2,000 years ago to know that Jesus was the
Christ, nothing short of revelation from heaven will secure that
knowledge now. Notice, too, the remarkable fact that notwithstanding
all the personal experience of the apostles through their association
with the Savior, He commanded them to "tarry ye at Jerusalem until ye
be endued with power from on high." (Luke, chapter 24.)
Another phase of the subject is this, that men claim that which is
written in the Scriptures is sufficient. This view simply makes
uninspired men the judge of what is and what is not essential as to all
the writings of the apostles and prophets of the Lord Jesus. This is an
unwarrantable assumption, condemned by the Scripture; for John says,
concerning that which he had written in the Book of Revelation: "For I
testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him
the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man shall take
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away
his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from
the things which are written in this book." (Rev. xxii:18, 19.)
This does not deny God the privilege of adding more revelation, as it
is an undisputed fact that the Gospel according to St. John was written
subsequent to the Apocalypse; but it is a decree of divine displeasure
upon any man who shall add to or take from the revelations of the
Almighty. In the face of this decree, history informs us that councils
of the Roman Church sat in judgment upon the writings of the apostles,
and received only that which, in the light of their human wisdom, was
acceptable to them. Notwithstanding this fact, the various factions of
Christendom are essaying to build upon the foundation of what has come
down to them through the channel of unauthorized councils of men. May
we not ask with perfect propriety, is not that which was rejected or
lost just as valuable as much of that which has been handed down to us?
As proof that writings of the disciples of Jesus have been lost to
the world, I would call special attention to several passages of
the Scripture. The writings of the New Testament are from eight
authors--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, James and Jude. Luke
says: "Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a
declaration of these things which are most surely believed among us."
(Luke i:1.) While there is no definite proof in this statement as to
how many had written their testimonies concerning the Messiah, it is
evident they were not few, but many. That there was opportunity and
material upon which to write respecting this glorious subject, the life
and ministry of Jesus, is very apparent from the last verse of the
twenty-first chapter of St. John, as follows: "And there are also many
other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written,
every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written." With such a statement, it is to be
wondered at that the world who believed in the Redeemer should rest
contented with the narrow view that we have all that is important.
We have in the New Testament what is called I Cor. and II Cor., written
to the Saints in Corinth by the apostle Paul. In I Cor. chapter v:9,
we have this: "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with
fornicators." This must have been previous to the one in which this
occurs, and yet such an epistle is not found in our New Testament.
In Col. iv:16, Paul says: "And when this epistle is read among you,
cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that
ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." This refers to an epistle
from Paul to the Colossians, written from Laodicea, but which is not
found in the canon of Scripture as we have it. In II Tim., chapter
iv:13, Paul requests Timothy to bring him certain parchments; what
they contained we know not. Jude says: "And Enoch also, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied of these things, saying: 'Behold the Lord cometh
with ten thousand of His saints.'" How delightful it would be to read
the predictions and teachings of that great prophet Enoch, the man
who walked and talked with God 365 years, "and was not, for God took
him." Only a few verses in the Old and New Testament are all we have in
the canon of Scripture respecting Enoch and his city. What a glorious
flood of light will dawn upon the world when the writings of Enoch are
revealed! In the Old Testament may be found references to about thirty
books written by the Jewish scribes and prophets, but which have been
lost to the world, rejected and cast aside by uninspired, unauthorized
councils of men.
Suppose that all that is necessary so far as explanation of doctrine
is concerned is contained in the New Testament, we are then confronted
with man's inability to understand what has been revealed without
the light of revelation to guide the human mind in understanding and
applying the truth. As proof of this I will cite the testimony of Paul:
"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God. * * * But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned." (I Cor. ii:11, 14.) Jesus said
to Nicodemus: "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God." (St. John iii:3.) "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by
the Holy Ghost." (I Cor. xii:3.) The truth of these sacred sayings is
verified by the history of the world, which has languished in darkness
without revelation, as shown by previous quotations.
Another very important feature of this subject consists in the fact,
that there always have been in every gospel dispensation labors to
perform of a practical character, such as the building of temples,
the gathering of Israel out of Egypt, the building of the Ark of
the Covenant, etc., none of which could be accomplished except by
direct revelation from God. We may therefore conclude that while the
ordinances and doctrines of the gospel are eternal and unchangeable,
the circumstances associated with the people in every dispensation of
the gospel are constantly changing. The emergencies of this situation
must be met, not by the dead letter of ancient Scripture, but by
present inspiration and revelation given through living oracles of God.
"By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet
was he preserved." (Hosea xii:13.) The prophecies of the Jewish
prophets in the Old Testament, pointing to the advent of the Messiah,
are clear and explicit. Read the seventh chapter of Isaiah, fourteenth
verse; the ninth chapter and sixth verse; the fifty-third chapter of
the same book; the fifth chapter of Micah, second verse; and many other
passages of the Old Testament. In these we find plain predictions which
were verified in the birth, ministry and crucifixion of the Savior,
which were read by the Jews but not understood by them, because the
light of revelation from God was not the source of their information.
This was rather the wisdom of their own learning, which led them to
reject the Messiah and discard the great message of life which He
brought unto them.
As there were many plain prophecies relating to the first coming of
the Savior and the great work associated with His advent, so there are
pointed predictions referring to His second coming and a work of great
magnitude to precede that great event. I will call attention to a few
as proof that more revelation will be given, and that without it these
prophecies could never be fulfilled: "Behold, I will send my messenger,
and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant,
whom ye delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He
appeareth? for He is like a refiners' fire, and like fuller's sore. *
* * And He shall purify the sons of Levi," etc. (Mal. iii:1-3.) This
prophecy must refer to His second coming. At His first advent He did
not come suddenly; He did not come to His temple. The house of the Lord
had become "a den of thieves." He did not accept it. He did not purify
the sons of Levi. It was a day when they could in their wickedness
abide His coming. "Who shall stand when He appeareth" is clearly a
condition when He shall come in power and glory to take vengeance on
the ungodly.
How could He suddenly come to His temple unless a temple should be
built for Him? One could not be built without a chosen people to build
it; and how can men build the house of the Lord without revelation to
tell them where, when and how to construct such a holy edifice? In
Malachi, chapter iv, we have a very striking prophecy of the judgments
of the Almighty in the last days, before the coming of the Lord. In
the fifth verse the prophet says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the
Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."
The great prophet Elijah, who was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire
without tasting death, was to visit the earth in the last days. The
apostle John, when upon the isle of Patmos, also saw the hour of God's
judgement, and uttered the following prediction: "And I saw another
angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to
preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God and
give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship
Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters." (Rev. xiv:6-7.) From this prophecy we learn that an angel
was to visit the earth at a later period than when John uttered the
above words. His mission was to be to restore the everlasting gospel,
a gospel that does not change; a gospel of apostles, prophets, gifts,
visions, revelations, etc.
"The everlasting gospel." Why should an angel bring the gospel if it
already existed upon the earth? Why should the call be to worship the
God who made the heavens, the earth and the fountains of water, etc.,
if these creations were brought into existence by a God "without body,
parts or passions"? This prophecy of John agrees with Peter's words
recorded in the third chapter of Acts, wherein he says: "And He shall
send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven
must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God
hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world
began." (Acts iii: 20-22.) By this we learn that before the advent of
the Messiah to reign on earth there should be a grand restitution,
bringing back that which was lost; a restoration of revelation,
ministry of angels, prophecies, tongues, healings, miracles, etc.
Who can believe the Scriptures and yet deny the necessity for more
revelation? The quotations here given are only a few compared with many
that can be made bearing upon the subject. They all show that direct
and continuous revelation from God is an absolute necessity to the
welfare, progress and final salvation of the children of men.