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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
September 1926
take front rank among scientists, as cribe to Ood, and to God’ alone, the power to originate life. Some helpful books on Evolution: Theistic Evolution Considered (Fair- hurst). Cloth, |1.25. The Other Side of Evolution (Alex ander Patterson). Cloth $1.00. The Collapse of Evolution (Prof. Luther TownBend). Paper, 25 cents. What About Evolution? (W. H. Grifflth-Thomas). Paper 10 cents. The Truth About Evolution (Philip Mauro). Paper, 6 cents. Reconstruction— The Facts Against Evolution (Dr. A. C. Dixon). Paper, 16 cents. If books are to come, by mail add 10 per cent for postage.
(6 ) The testimony o f the best scholars, of archaeologists and biolo gists, is all against evolution. Ac cording to Darwin, over 300,000,000 years were needed to arrive at the present stage of development. Haec kel thought a million years would be needed, while other evolutionists say that only fifteen million years would be sufficient. But according to geolo gists there was no human life on the earth before the ice age, which existed not more than six or eight thousand years ago. Furthermore, archaeolo gists find that a very high state of civilization existed five or six thou sand years ago. Men lived in cities and were versed in the arts and sci ences, and those who were once among the most highly civilized peo ples are today among the most de graded. Such men as Agassiz, Beale, Car penter, Dana, Herschel, Lord Kelvin, Pasteur, and hundreds of others who
be no assurance that another normal human body ever would or could be brought into existence or kept alive a single day. * * * Man, animals, and living things, the most inferior and the most minute, are equally the sub jects of this law. From a wiggler gnat germ comes a wiggler gnat and nothing else, and this is repeated with out deviation over and over again.” (B) Failure to find the missing link. "Every seed after its kind” ap plies with equal force to both animal and plant life. Huxley says, "Between the highest order of beast and the lowest order of man, there lies an enormous gulf; a divergence practi cally infinite.” If evolution be true, then it would be necessary to find not only one, but hundreds and even thou sands of missing links. So far all ex cavation and' research has failed to discover a single connecting link be tween the multitude of different spe cies which exist.
(The suggestions given above are taken from a Correspondence Course on "P er sonal and P ractical Christian W ork ," by T. C. Horton, one o f the many courses offered by the Correspondence School o f The Bible Institute o f L os Angeles. Further information concerning these courses w ill be cheerfully given by the Secretary, Keith L. Brooks, 636 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif.) Outline Studies in the Epistles of John T. O. Horton THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN Outline of the Epistle: (1 ) Introduction (1 :1 -4 ). (2) God is Light: Fellowship with God in light (1:5 to 2:28). (3) God is Love. The sonship of the believer (2:29 to 3:24). (4 ) Source of Sonship: Possessed by the Spirit (4 :1 to 5:12). (5 ) Conclusion. The law of love (5:13-21). Outline of Chapter Four: (1) .The Discernment of the Truth, vs. 1-6. (2 ) The Demonstration of the Truth, vs. 7-14. (3 ) The Development of the Truth, vs. 15-21. the Father. Obedience to His will be gets confidence,— i. e., confidence in light, love and prayer. These opening verses of Chapter Four show that the believer, as long as he is in the fleBh, is engaged in a great battle, with two great powers contending—-Christ and Satan. The battle ground is the world. The devil is the prince of the world and fashions the thought; moulds the mind; creates the atmosphere,— which dominates the world. (John 12 :31 ): «N ow la the Judgment o f thla w orld ! now ahall the prince o f thla w orld be cnat out.” (John 16 :11 ): MO f jud gm en t, because the prince o f thla w orld la judged.” In Adam's Day, we see demonstrated the goodness and the severity of God (Rom. 11 :22 ): "B eh o ld , therefore, the goodness and severity o f Godi on them which fell, severltyi but toward thee, goodness.” Though Adam and Eve were pun ished for their wilful disobedience by banishment from the Garden, and the sentence pronounced upon them (Gen. 3:16-19), God showed His tender love for them in providing a covering (Gen. 3:21). In Cain’s day,— the lesson was that sin deserved punishment, and that blood was essential.- Cain’s bloodless offering of fruits and flowers was not accepted by God, whereas Abel’s blood offering was (Gen. 4:6, 7 ).
The general theme of the fourth chapter of this First Epistle of John is — according to the "Outline of the Epistle” above— “ The Source of Son- ship: Possessed by the Spirit,” the theme being carried over into the fifth chapter. Following the outline of Chapter Four, we have (1 ) THE DISCERNMENT OF THE TRUTH, vs. 1-6. "B elov ed , believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are o f Godi because m any false prophets are gone out Into the w orld. ^ "H e r e b y know ye the Spirit o f Godi E very sp irit that eonfesseth that Jeans Christ Is come In the flesh Is o f Godi "A n d every spirit that eonfesaeth not that Jesna Christ Is come In the flesh Is not o f Godi and this Is that spirit o f an tichrist,. w hereof ye have heard that It should cornel and even now already Is It la the world. • * "Y e are o f God, little children, and have overcome them i becanse greater la he that la In yon, than he that la In the world. "T h e y are o f the w orld ! therefore speak they o f the world, and the world hearcth them . „ _ . "W e are o f Godi he that know eth God heareth usi he that Is not o f God hear- eth not us. Hereby know w e the spirit o f truth, and the sp irit o f e rro r." The closing verses of Chapter Three (vs. 19-24) had to do with the rela tion of the heart life of the believer to
In Christ’s day,— sin is atoned for and covered by the blood of Christ Himself (Heb. 9 :12 ): "N eith er hy the blood o f go ats aad calves, but by his own blood he entered In once Into the holy place, h aving ob tained eternal redemption fo r u s ." The first lie was uttered by Satan in the garden, "Thou shalt not surely die” /(Gen. 3 :4 ). The supreme 11» of the ages is "Jesus is not the Son of God” (1 John 2:22, 23). In this world God has His people— the "children of God.” They are in dwelt by the Spirit and thus they themselves become ministering spirits. The devil, also, has his agents,— demons, evil spirits, etc.,— which bring their power to bear on God’s children, and seek to turn them from the truth. In this he uses men as his instruments. He has a place inside the professing church. Sometimes be even uses godly men, who are out of fellowship with God, and thus are not guided by the Spirit of God (1 John 1:6, 7 ): " I f w e aay that w e have fellow ship w ith him , and w alk In darkness, w e Be, and do not the truth. "B u t If w e w alk In the lig h t, aa h e la la the ligh t, w e have fellow sh ip one w ith
The contending forces are found in the figures given in the fifth of John: Christ Light Life Love Satan Darkness Death Hatred
World Lost Through Sin.
Flesh Error Evil Spirit Demons
Spirit Truth Good Spirit Angel
These forces are called the "Spirit of truth" and the “ Spirit of error.” The conflict centers in Christ, as truth,— the incarnate Son of God. This is the conflict of the ages. It is the old battle between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the ser pent. (Gen. 3 :15 ): "A n d I w ill put enm ity between thee and the w om an, and between th y seed and her seed ! It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his h e e l." Here we have the first prophecy of the coming of Him who was to con quer Satan, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head, and it shall bruise His heel,”— the “ Beed plot” of all prophecy and the key verse of the whole Bible.
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