Vol 19 Issue 09

The doctrine of Adventism as we know it, found its origin in Wm. Miller, of Low Hampton, N. Y. His first occupation was that of a farmer, but later he devoted his life to clerical work and became a fanatical student of prophecy. He began his studies of the prophecies in the year 1818 but did not enter upon the work of the ministry until 1831. He soon satisfied himself that the advent of Christ was to be personal and premillennial, and that it was near at hand. The year 1843 was the date agreed upon in which Christ would...

During the early stages of the history of our Prot. Ref. Churches, all our churches were very much acquainted with “Sermon Reading.” This was due to a lack of students, or because of the distance of our vacant congregations from our School in Grand Rapids. Then one of the Elders in the church took a sermon, for which he sought sometimes all the week through, because of the lack of good ones, and he would read that sermon to the congregation on the Sabbath. He would do this of course upon the authority of the consistory. However, this was usually...

The subject of the present essay has been a matter of interest through the ages of the church. That it would be so might be expected from the emphasis which the Scriptures place upon the virtues of love, humility and meekness, and also on the other-worldliness of the Kingdom of God. And that the Scriptural doctrines would be carried beyond their meaning might also be expected. Thus, in the 15th Century we have the Bohemian Brethren who took “the law of Christ” (Matt. 22:37-39; Gal. 6:2) as their ideal of Christian life and rejected as irreconcilable with it, such things...

After the plague in which 24,000 perished on account of Israel’s whoredoms and idolatry with Moab, (Nu. 25.), Moses and Eleazar, the high priest, received from the Lord the command to number the people from 20 years old and upward “throughout their fathers’ house” (Nu. 26). This was to be the second numbering, the first having taken place some 39 years previous in the beginning of the second year of Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. In treating this subject I arrange my materials under the two points: 1)  The numbering as such; 2)  Its purpose. The method of numbering to...

In the Christian School of old Holland, where I received my early education, we used to sing a hymn about the object of Christian hope, and the longing of the believer for that object, that ran as follows: “O, daar te zijn, Waar nimmer tranen vloeien, Waar’t hart geen angst, geen kommer kent noch pijn, Waar doom noch distel groeien, O daar te zijn! O daar te zijn!” and which, translated into English, would run somewhat like this: “O, were I there! Where never tears do flow, Where knows the heart no fear, distress, or pain, Where thorn nor thistle...

We have been speaking of the object of the Christian hope. We tried to answer the question: What is it that the Christian in this world hopes for? Scripture exhorts us that we shall always be ready “to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” I Pet. 3:15. And to this answer belongs, no doubt, that we shall be able to give some account of that for which we hope. We expect that our death shall be a translation into immediate glory, a passing out of our earthly house...

Before we pass to the discussion of other elements of the philosophy of Dr. Van Til, we must still make one remark concerning his conception of what he calls the Moment. We have a question here. Van Til speaks of Moment A. and Moment B., and of a certain commonness, in Moment B., both with respect to the attitude of God to the believers and non-believers, or rather, to elect and reprobate, and with respect to the relation between these in the world. But as far as I have been able to find out, he does not express himself at...