The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-01-24

tor. All enslavers oppose the truth,
knowing it's power on the minds OF
their victims The taskmasters or To-
day would fain hide the truth from
wage-slaves. but find it impossible
great is the power of the press-and
there are publishers who have not SOLD
their moral sense for sord1d gam.
When chattel slavery prevailed, the
master found it advantageous to edu-
cate his slaves and thus increase their
value, but Instantaneous to instruct
them along the lines of human rights.
The feudatory lords were very willing
that the common people consider them
demigods, not subject to law as others.
The same principle apparently
prompted the emperOrs to proclaim
themselves, ''pontifer n,arimus. and to
encourage their people to worship
them. The natural selfishness of man
ever prompts him to take advantage
of others; and ignorance has been the
chain which has bound the masses.
The Bible has been the great Eman-
cipator of slaves-mental. moral and
physical 1t is the Torch Of Liberty.
lighted by Divine Providence. The
Bible alone tells us that all humanity
are of one blood, creatures of the same
God. amenable to Him. While the BIZ
BILE instructs that kings and all in au-
thority should be recognized. it also
tells that the king is amenable to ex-
actly the same laws as his most mental
slave. and that if he violates these
laws he is as sure to be punished.
Moreover. the Bible points out that
the present is related to the future life
as cause to effect. 1t shows that every
act. word and thought bears upon
character-dev elopment. and prepares us
for higher things in the life to come or
gives us more difficulty in reaching per-
lection and everlasting life.
"Hope Thou In God"
Looking into the past. we see Israel,
sodden with fear Of their Egyptian
taskmasters. not daring to take steps
for liberty. But after the Exodus, after
Gods Covenant with them at Sinai,
they were changed people. The hopes
inspired by the Scriptures preserved
them as nation when contemporaries
GUS civilization persisted.
The Jews undoubtedly destroyed
their own nationality. The Romans
merely performed the funeral rites in
destroying Jerusalem, A. D. 70. The
Emperor evidently claimed that the
Jewish religion must necessarily be at
the foundation of their ungovernable
character. Their liberty, used contrary
to Divine instruction, led to discomfort
and anarchy.
Christ's Followers Set Free.
The Message of Jesus and the Apos-
ties attracted some "Israelites indeed"
anxious to serve God. The early
Christians coura geously suffered perse-
cution and carried the Gospel every
where. The Roman emperors. Nero
and Diocletian. perceived that Chris
tians had courage which they feared
would be infectious. and prosecuted
them horribly. But the Master had
freed them from fear of death.
l ACA S0AC q lOA6 pCAAOO VI udI kuOSS,
when the Scriptures were forgotten,
and only the words Of bishops were
heard-wOrds misunderstood to be Of
Divine authority through Apostolic Sue
cession. Next came centuries under
control Of creeds and church councils.
Darkness. ignorance and superstition
prevailed. although God had His wit
nesses throughout that long period.
Finally the Bible again emerged. when
printing came into use. Gods time
had come for the Bible again to be the
Torch Of Liberty. and independence
proportionately came forward. Today
Britain. Germany. Scandinavia and
America lead the world, because Of the
light from the Word Of God.
Danger Now, a. to the Jews.
The danger that the Jews encoun-
tered In the end of their Age confronts
US. Not all receive the Truth in the
love Of 1t. Not all. therefore, are sane
tilted by It Few have turned to the
Lord. to become followers Of Jesus.
Hence we are on the threshold of
great 01Slntegrat10n. Liberty Is about
to turn to license-anarchy; our civili-
cation is about to be ruined, as was the
Jewish polity. by liberty unrestrained
by the Spirit Of the Lord.
st. Paul declared that the Gospel had
set him free from all other bondapes:
but that he surrendered his liberty to
Christ. to do, not his own will, but the
will OF his Redeemer. Forcefully he
states that In so doing he became a
bond-slave to Christ.
Blessed is the condition Of those who
gladly surrender all to become follow
ers OF the Lord. Such can rejoice, be-
cause they know that all things work
together for their good. to prepare them
for the Heavenly glories.