EDITORIAL. Alexandria, D. C. February 1, 1840. (Bebe)

EDITORIAL.

Alexandria, D. C. February 1, 1840.

REMARKS ON 2 PETER II. 1.—Our views on this scripture are called for by sister “E. B.” as will be seen in the postscript of her letter on page 21 of this number. The principal difficulty complained of in understanding the subject is involved in the words, The Lord that bought them, applied to those who in verse 3rd, are subjects of judgment and damnation. By reference to our remarks on the 6th verse of this chapter, in our last number, the reader will discover that we held those characters to be the angels which kept not their first estate. The text on which we are now to remark reads thus—“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”

This epistle was addressed to the Hebrew brethren, such as had been scattered abroad by the persecution; this will appear by reference to the introduction of the first epistle; as also from his allusion to their having been addressed on the same subject, of the second coming of Christ, by our beloved Brother Paul. See Chap. iii. 15. We will now proceed to notice the text.—But there were false prophets also among the people, viz: among the people of Israel, to which, national or according to the flesh, these brethren, as well as the false teachers, belonged. This fact requiring, for its confirmation, nothing more than a reference to the Old Testament history of Israel, in almost every page of which these sinking angels, false prophets, sons of Belial, &c. were detected. Hence, from this palpable fact, that in all ages of Israel, the people were infested with false prophets, so now, while Jesus was ascended, and before he should be revealed in the utter destruction of Jerusalem, these Jewish converts to the Christian faith, might, with certainty expect to be troubled with false teachers from the same quarter, viz: from among the Jews. In confirmation of our view of this subject, we refer the reader to the solemn admonition of our Lord to his disciples, before he ascended. He told them He was going away; but would shortly return to them with power and great glory, and that some of them should live to witness the fulfilment of this promise; but they begged him to tell them when these things should be, and what should be the sign of his coming and of the end of the world? (i. e. that world.) To which enquiries, Jesus answered, and said.—“Take heed that no man deceive you; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;—and shall deceive many.” Matt. xxiv. 3—5.—Again in same Chap. ver. 11th. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many,” and again verses 23—27. “Then if any shall say unto you, lo here is Christ, or lo there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch, that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold I have told you:—For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” The testimony of our Lord, in the concluding part of the xxiv. Chap. of Matt. and the instructions contained in the parables in the xxv. Chap., settles the point in regard to who these false prophets and false teachers were, and from whence they were. He calls them his own servants, wicked servants, slothful servants, &c. Also, by the parable of the virgins, they are clearly represented as being of the stock of Abraham after the flesh, and were then, and soon should be found among his nominal disciples. Our readers will perceive that Peter, was now addressing the scattered saints, under these very circumstances, and impressing on them these admonitions of his, and of our Lord. There shall be false teachers among you, among you who are now waiting the fulfilment of your Lord’s predictions; you who are not to see death until all these things are fulfilled; until your Lord shall be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance on the Jews, in the destruction of Jerusalem, and its attendant by all who love his appearing. These false teachers should bring in damnable heresies; saying, I am Christ, and lo here is Christ, and lo there; and “Since the fathers have fallen asleep, all things remain as they were; and where is the promise of his coming?” These were damnable heresies; and even amounted to denying the Lord that bought them. For they could not set themselves or anything else up as Christ, without denying the true Christ; and such heresy is damnable; because if Christ be rejected or denied, in his absence there is nothing that can save from damnation. Hence could they, or could our modern false christs who set themselves up as intercessors, revival makers, &c. establish their doctrines, it would make the damnation of all who trust in Christ alone, inevitable. But the main question with our sister is:—“How can it be said that the Lord bought those false teachers, whose judgment now, of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not?” We have shown that these false teachers alluded to by Peter were members of the national family of Israel, and on this account were called servants, foolish virgins; wicked and slothful servants, &c., it therefore remains for us to show how the Lord bought them. And first, we take the ground, that it was not in that redemption purchase, by which his elect are redeemed from damnation, or their damnation would slumber: nor are they redeemed from all iniquity, see Titus ii. 14, or they would not continue in the iniquitous course of promulgating damnable heresies, nor from wrath and the curse of the law; or their judgment, which dooms them to flaming fire, and utter destruction, would, at least linger. But the question returns, How then were they bought? We answer, in that redemption purchase, by which the whole family of national Israel was delivered from the house of bondage, in Egypt, and elevated to a distinction above all other nations then under heaven. Their redemption from Egypt is often referred to as being highly figurative of the redemption purchase which Christ has, with his own blood, made of his church, from sin, death and hell, from the demands, wrath and curse of the law of God; and which secures to them all the benefits of Christ’s mediatorial office. But while they in their distinct character as a nation were typical of the true and heavenly Jerusalem, they were only the Jerusalem which then was, and which was in bondage with her children; and brought upon themselves swift destruction. That judgment that lingered not, and that damnation that slumbered not, may well be called swift destruction; and this, as far as related to a temporal display of their judgment, &c., was most dreadfully realized by those false prophets, when the sign was described of the Son of man, coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Their destruction was swift, like the vivid flash that leaping from the east shineth even unto the remote west, without allowing time for those who were upon the housetop to come down, to take any thing out of the house, nor such as were in the field to return to their houses. Behold, said Jesus, I have told you before! “As the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of man be: for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” In this awful calamity, those false teachers might consider this distress as brought by themselves; abundant warning had been given unto one and all to watch; yet setting aside all these admonitions of Christ and his Apostles, they were swept away by these overflowing judgments. Under the influence of the Spirit of God the Apostle Peter very well knew, that while these vile perverters of the truth of God were drawing away many from their steadfastness, that these impending judgments were gathering thick; and although they may count it pleasure to riot in the daytime; in the full light of all those admonitions which began to be spoken by Christ, and were confirmed and reiterated by those that heard him; and although they may be willingly, and criminally ignorant of God’s manner of coming (Chap. iii. 5) and say, Where is the promise of his coming? nevertheless, still the Apostle knew, and testified, The day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night; in the which those old Jewish heavens should pass away with a great noise, &c. Nevertheless the Apostle and many of the primitive saints, according to his promise, looked for (and finally realized) a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness; or wherein Christ should dwell.

From all the above named considerations, Peter warned the saints, seeing they looked for such things, to improve from the circumstances in which they were placed; and we at this late age may also derive from these examples instruction in righteousness.—Beware of false teachers—to watch and be sober; for we who have been by divine grace admitted into that heaven, wherein Jesus dwelleth, which the Apostle looked for, how much more does it become us to consider what manner of persons we ought to be, in all holy conversation and godliness.

“Of the progress of infidel principles, under the name of Socialism, we see some melancholy notices in our late English papers. In one it is said:

There are now upwards of sixty Branch Societies in the principal towns in the kingdom, in which there are places of meeting for lecturers on Infidelity and Socialism. The Sabbath is occupied in the delivery of seditious and blasphemous addresses. In practice, profane singing, music, &c., &c. In some places, Sunday and Infant-schools have been established for inculcating of Infidel principles. A Tract Society has been formed, and six tracts issued—these are frequently distributed under the Wesleyan and church tract covers. A most blasphemous periodical is circulated, at the rate of 20,000 per week. There is a regular organized Central Board, with President, Vice-President and Secretary, and a great number of salaried emissaries, whose whole time is devoted to the advancement of Socialism. Additional impetus has been given to their proceedings by the disgraceful presentation of their founder, Robert Owen, to the Queen.

At a late meeting in Cheltenham, a clergyman of Manchester called the attention of the meeting to the increase and the baneful influence of publications devoted to the dissemination of Infidelity and atheism, in their darkest forms. Perhaps some of them had heard of a paper called the “Star in the East.” In the north they had also a paper called the “Northern Star,” which had a very wide circulation, and which, though apparently broaching the principles of Infidelity, endeavored to foist on the people principles which, if carried out, would quickly put an end to the monarchy, the constitution, the church, our liberties, comforts, and lives. That paper had a circulation so great that it could not be conveyed to Manchester except by means of a vehicle for that purpose. The paper was published on Saturday, and on the day of publication the shop-keeper had at his shop a greater number of applications for infidel and atheistical trash than all the booksellers in the town had for books containing what sound and wholesome food for the mind and the spirit was.—The reverend gentleman then adverted to another ominous sign of the times. At Manchester, the week before last, with great pomp and ceremony, and amid an assembly of thousands, many of whom afterwards had their dinners at a public hotel, the stone had been laid for the erection of a vast hall, consecrated to infidelity, in one of its direct forms, under the misapplied name of Socialism. Four men—for we could not call them gentlemen, though we regretted to say they were Englishmen—four men of sufficient property were found to become guarantee for the builder of the edifice for £5,000. Similar halls are now in the course of erection at Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, and Sheffield. Amidst all outbreak and irregularities, we never had before, in this country, temples dedicated to atheism, rising over the face of the land. To the foregoing he would add another dark feature.—He alluded to the circumstance of a member of parliament and a minister of the crown having introduced the high priest of Socialism at the COURT.—S. Journal.”

REMARKS—Is this the dawn of that millennial glory which the advocates of the new religious inventions of our day have been so long engaged in ushering in? Is this the progress by which we are gravely told heaven has stamped her approbation on the modern system of religious mendicancy? Has it been for the birth of such a day that millions on millions have been heaped for the diffusion of light, and for the dissemination of the gospel? Alas! what better fruit could reasonably have been expected from such a deadly tree? How frequently are we greeted with phrenzied pictures of the progress of the new order in converting the heathen and evangelizing the world! How often are we told of the thousands converted to Christianity by the modern machinery of the age! And so much credit is given to those flying statements, that the new inventions in religion are lauded to the skies, and the ancient platform of our faith and practice is considered quite below the spirit of the age. But with the above statement before the reader’s eye, we would ask, Has not infidelity in its transcendent form kept no even pace with human improvements on the divine plan of saving sinners? We do not accuse the modern misguided missionaries of being directly confederate with Owen, Fanny Wright, & Co.; but we do say, and most firmly believe, that the very elements of which deism and socialism are composed are furnished by the New School Baptists and their extensive Ishmaelitish brotherhood of other denominations. In confirmation of this position, mark the following particulars as developed in both systems:—1st. The New School reject the scriptures as their only rule of practice and standard of doctrine—Infidels also reject the bible. 2d. The New School appeal to the light of science, theological schools, &c., to point out the way of happiness and glory—Infidels derive their strongest arguments from the same source. 3d. The N. School depend on tracts, temples and direct appeals to the mental faculties of the human family, for the dissemination of their doctrines—these are also the strongholds of infidelity. 4th. The New School require large funds to carry on their inventions—so do the Infidels. 5th. Both systems alike require the efforts of men (not the grace of God) to sustain them. Besides all this, when we consider, the bearing which the numerous tricks, and projects for amassing money, popularity and power; their persecuting disposition; men of good natural intellects, but destitute of grace, are led to conclude that all the corruptions of New Schoolism among professors, and all the bloodshed of Catholics is justly attributable to christianity; they are therefore led to renounce a name which, by its abuse, is rendered odious to them. We are circumscribed as to limits, but will resume this subject again soon.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES.