crossword puzzles we could use them as synonyms. Yet there is still a dif ference between them. The word “sign” is used as a signal or a code. For example, when I broadcast from my desk, the engineer in the control room signals me with a light or a sign. One light means I have two minutes to go. Another light indicates I have one minute to go. When he gives me two lights at once, it means to stop. This is the code for the pre-arranged sign between us. The word “wonder” is interesting because this has to do with omens or foretastes. The Greeks of old took ad vantage of the ignorance of people. They used that which was mystical. This is the manner in which deception will be forced upon the people in the day of which our Lord speaks. People are always impressed with the mirac ulous, instead of with the Word of God. What was true in that day is unfortunately true in our day as well. Men have a tendency to ignore the Word of God. They never look to the authority, “Thus saith the Lord.” Satan is at work. The devil seeks to transform himself into an angel of light. Paul says that since this is true, we ought not to be surprised if he should transform his ministers similarly. Why did Israel suffer this judg ment? Because they ignored the Word of God. Jeremiah declares, “Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart” (Jeremiah 14:14). But not only in Jeremiah is this wa r n i ng given. Look at Ezekiel, Isaiah, the minor p r oph e t s , and thoughout Scripture. The authority is not to be our experience but only the Word of God. May I ask in what you are trusting? Do you rely on your feelings? Do you look back to some great experience? Or is every avenue of life tested with, “Thus said the Lord.”
Myers Hall, key structureof the TalbotTheo logical Seminary, is thefirstbuilding onesees when entering the Blola Campus. It houses clasroms, faculty and administrative offices, and otherfacilities for the rapidly growing Seminary. PRESCRIPTION FOR JOY
I t was Charles Haddon Spurgeon who wrote, “The first thing for our soul’s health, the first thing for His glory, the first thing for our own use fulness, is to keep ourselves in per petual (constant, unbroken) commun ion with the Lord Jesus, and to see that the vital spirituality is main tained over and above everything else in the world.” This is truly the secret of joy in the Christian life. Although our Biola students are in an atmos phere of Christian environment, yet that in itself is not a guarantee of spiritual maturity and growth. Fre quently, a professor in a class may completely set aside his prescribed course presentation in order that he may deal with some spiritual truth. It may be a timely thought or that which the Holy Spirit may be suggest ing to him. Biola has two text books for each course, the prescribed volume for the subject being taught, and the all-important Word of God. This is the type of training in which we be lieve you are interested. This is the way you would want to see your own children or grandchildren prepared for the Lord’s service. That is why we invite you to invest in these minis tries so that we may thrust forth others to the whitened harvest fields of the world. 4
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