Second advent library

'»192 axeruu xm.»But, thanks be to God, he has not left us without a witness. There is a better testimony than all Christendom,which is written; and it is this which I hold in my hand:it is the word of God. It tells the truth; "for not onejotor tittle of this word shall fail." It tells the whole truth," that the man of God may be perfectl furnished toevery good work." It tells nothing the but truth; for itis the truth inditied by him who cannot lie.You are well aware, my friends, that written testimonyis considered in all courts, under all laws, to be strongerthanany oral testimony whatever. For instance, take thelast wil and testament of any man; if it was written orindited by himself; signed by his own hand, sealed withhis own seal, in presence of witnesses chosen by himself;and ratified by his death, no oral testimony can be broughtagainst it; unless the instrument itself shows some contradictionordiscrepancy, it cannot be destroyed. So itis with these two testaments, revealed, indited, confirmed,witnessed, and ratified, by the death of the testator, theLord Jesus Christ, And although wicked men and devilshave endeavored to show some contradiction or discrepancy in its testimony, it has stood the shock ofages, the wreck of kingdoms, and will stand when theseheavens and this earth shall s away with a great noiseand the elements melt withaaervent heat; or by thisword we must all be judged; by these witnesses we shallbe orjustifiedcondemned. Christ "says, Search' theScriptures; for in them ye think ye have etemal life; andthey are they which oftestifyme." The angel tells John,in the next versefollowing our text, that the two witnesses"are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticksstanding before the God of the earth." The angel, in hisallusion to the two olive trees, quotes the prophet Zechariah,iv. 3, " And two olive trees by it, one upon the rightside of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereo£"Here the olive trees are used in a figurative sense, andproperly denote the " sons of oil," or the two cherubimawhich stood over the ark, and spread their wingsover themercy seat. The wings of the cherubims stretched fromeither side of the house to the centre over the mercy seat,and their faces turned inwards down upon the mercy seat,