The history which forms the substance of this book closes with a reference to the many different religious sects and denominations, the existence of which characterizes the present day. On account of this, some sense of bewilderment may arise in the mind of an exercised reader and a desire to know in which direction he should turn. It is in order to indicate any light or guidance which God Himself may have given prophetically through the Holy Scriptures on the subject that this additional section is given. In the light of the Lord's own words, " If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God " (John 7:1717If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17)), we may rest assured that God will never have an honest enquirer remain in uncertainty as to the truth and light which should govern any position at any time. In appealing to the Word of God, it is assumed that its inspiration and authority are accepted unequivocally by the reader and that there is a readiness to allow the word to have its full effect upon the conscience and subsequently to control the actions. In the spirit of dependent and earnest inquiry, we may therefore ask, "What saith the Scripture "?
In the first place, we are left in no doubt that, however deep may be the darkness of the last days, what is of God remains and is never subject to any failure or decline. In recording the sorrowful ruin of the church and the breakdown of what is public, it is of all importance to recognize this. Divine standards are invariable' and the Holy Spirit of God (spoken of by the Lord as "the Spirit of truth," John 15:2626But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (John 15:26)) is here to maintain all that is of God, until the coming of the Lord and the completion of the church's history on earth.
Paul, John, Peter and Jude all refer to the conditions of the last days and all, in their own way, cling to the unfading light of divine truth in the face of apostate darkness. Peter, for example, in the second chapter of his second epistle, describes the time of apostasy in the most solemn words and yet in that very chapter he speaks of " the way of truth " (v. 2), " the right way " (v. 15) and " the way of righteousness " (v. 21) as though to stress the fact that there is a way even amidst such conditions. Then Paul, in his second epistle to Timothy, refers to the last and perilous days, but brings in, at the same time, the word " Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure " and " The Lord knoweth them that are His " (2 Tim. 2:1919Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)).
Now these words of the Apostle Paul, which must bring comfort to the heart of every lover of the Lord Jesus, are immediately followed by this word to the conscience. " And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Professing Christendom is likened, in that passage, to " A great house " in which are vessels both to honor and to dishonor and if any one is to be serviceable to the Master, the passage indicates that it can only be as purifying himself, by separating from vessels to dishonor. What then are meant by " departing from iniquity " and " separating from vessels to dishonor "?
It is clear from scriptures such as Lev. 5:1515If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering: (Leviticus 5:15) that iniquity "in the holy things of the Lord " is as solemn as the violation of moral principles between men, and it is the former whose true character has to be discerned before a right understanding of iniquity according to God can be known or a judgment upon it formed. When the Lord is presented in His judicial glory in the Revelation, His eyes are said to be "as a flame of fire." It is thus that He observes what is transpiring in the church and seven times over He says " I know thy works." We need ever to bear this in mind if we are to be preserved from falling into the error of judging according to the degraded standards of fallen man.
The intrusion of the hand of man into the holy things of God, with all its widespread implications within the Christian profession, has been justly designated as iniquity and the call now is " Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord " (2 Cor. 6:1717Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, (2 Corinthians 6:17)) In the words of J. N. Darby " God
is working in the midst of evil to produce a unity of which He is the center and the spring and which owns dependently His authority. He does not do it yet by the judicial clearing away of the wicked: He cannot unite with the wicked or have a union which serves them. How can it be then, this union? He separates the called from the evil, ' Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.' This is God's way of gathering. Since evil exists there cannot be union, of which the holy God is the center and power, but by separation from it. Separation is the first element of unity and union.... Separation from evil is the necessary consequence of the presence of the Spirit of God under all circumstances as to conduct and fellowship."
In this way, J. N. Darby (readily discerning the great departure of the Christian profession from the truth and humbly owning his part in the responsibility of it) recognized that scripture provided an open door by which to escape from things which are both inconsistent with the truth and with the fellowship to which he, as a believer, was called. He, therefore, separated entirely from all systems characterized by human order or clerical office or where a sectarian bond was recognized, and his reasons for doing so are laid out in the following extracts from one of his own writings. They contain one of the most solemn indictments of the Christian profession that has ever been written and deserve the careful and prayerful study of all who are exercised about the present state of Christendom: —
" After I had been converted six or seven years, I learned by divine teaching what the Lord says in John 14, ' In that day ye shall know... ye (are) in me, and I in you '—that I was one with Christ before God, and I found peace, and I have never, with many shortcomings, lost it since. The same truth brought me out of the Establishment. I saw that the true Church was composed of those who were thus united to Christ.... The presence of the Spirit of God, the promised Comforter, had then become a deep conviction of my soul from Scripture. This soon applied itself to ministry. I said to myself, if Paul came here, he could not preach, he has no letters of orders; if the bitterest opponent of his doctrine came who had, he would according to the system, be entitled. It is not a wicked man slipping in (that may happen anywhere) —it is the system itself. The system is wrong. It substitutes man for God. True ministry is the gift and the power of God's Spirit, not man's appointment.... I believe the Notion of a Clergyman ' to be the sin against the Holy Ghost in this dispensation. I am not talking of individuals willfully committing it, but that the thing itself is such as regards this dispensation and must result in its destruction. The substitution of something else for the power and presence of that holy, blessed, and blessing Spirit, is the sin by which this dispensation is characterized."
Many subsequently have been led to a similar judgment and accepting the authoritative character of the Word of God, they have separated from anything which is not in accordance with it.
This procedure is strikingly set out in type for us in Ex. 32 and 33. The people of God, in that day, had already separated from that which spoke of the world (Egypt) but they had fallen into the sin of idolatry by worshipping a golden calf. God Himself was displaced in the minds and affections of His people, His wrath had waxed hot against them and He had spoken to Moses of consuming them. In the face of all this, Moses (beautiful type of Christ!) stood in the gate of the camp and appealed to any who were on the Lord's side to come unto him. Yet more was needed than the owning of the Lord's authority; for purpose of heart had to be translated into positive movement and Moses proceeded to pitch the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. The door was thus opened for anyone who sought Jehovah to go out unto Him there.
All this typical instruction is carried forward into our own dispensation and is most touchingly linked up with the death of Christ, as it says in Heb. 13:12,1312Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. (Hebrews 13:12‑13), " Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing his reproach." Could any exhortation be more affecting to a sensitive conscience?
The initial move has, therefore, clearly to be in relation to the Lord Himself. Separation must be to Him and a preparedness, if needs be, to walk alone. But the word in Timothy goes on to say " but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart " (2 Tim. 2:2222Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)). In entering a path that is right according to divine principles, the believer is contemplated as immediately finding others calling upon the Lord out of a pure heart. They are thus able to walk in bonds of happy and holy fellowship together, and since this path is clearly open to all believers who are prepared to recognize the scriptural instruction of 2 Timothy, it is possible and correct to say that no sectarian ground has been taken. It is of all importance to recognize this, since the setting up of any fresh sect or system would but add to the confusion and deny the true unity of the church of Christ. Those who move in this way do not claim to be "the church " but they seek to walk in the light of it, recognizing that the firm foundation of God still stands and all that Paul established in a public way (and which he spoke of as " the commandments of the Lord ") is still in existence. Although error and failure have been found among the people of God, every divine principle governing the assembly externally and internally can operate practically to-day in spite of the weakness.
It is in the acceptance of a pathway of separation from all that is inconsistent with the truth of God, or where the liberty of the Holy Spirit is hindered, that Christians to-day may find the divine way out of all the admitted confusion and may consequently know the joy of being available to the Lord Jesus and of having part in the praise and worship of God in the assembly.
Every indication now is that we are in the closing days of Christendom. The church is very near the end of her sojourn here on earth and is about to be caught up to meet her Lord in the air. The holy privilege of ministering joy to His heart in this, still the time of His rejection, is almost over. The days of witnessing to a rejected Christ on earth and an exalted Christ in glory will soon have passed. The public history is nearly completed and professing Christendom—as so obnoxious to the Lord—is about to be spewed out of His mouth. Let every Christian reader search his heart, his position and his associations in the light of these solemn facts, for what should be the position of those who desire to keep the Lord's word and not to deny His name? It is for such that the Lord's gracious provision is made, " Behold, I have set before thee an open door" (Rev. 3:88I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:8)). The instructions of Scripture are clear and explicit; have we the desire and the courage to move in accordance with them?