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Κεφ. ιά. Ὃς ἂν οὖν ἐλθὼν διδάξῃ ὑμᾶς ταῦτα πάντα, τὰ προειρη μένα, δέξασθε αὐτόν· ἐὰν δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ διδάσκων στραφεὶς διδάσκῃ ἄλλην διδαχὴν εἰς τὸ καταλῦσαι, μὴ αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε· εἰς δὲ τὸ προσθεῖναι δικαιοσύνην καὶ γνῶσιν Κυρίου, δέξασθε αὐτὸν ὡς 2 Κύριον. Περὶ δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν κατὰ τὸ δόγμα τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, οὕτω ποιήσατε. Πᾶς δὲ ἀπόστολος ἐρχόμενος πρὸς ὑμᾶς δεχθήτω ὡς Κύριος· οὐ μενεῖ δὲ ἡμέραν μίαν· ἐὰν δὲ ἡ χρεία, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην· τρεῖς δὲ ἐὰν μείνῃ, ψευδοπροφήτης ἐστίν. 4 Εξερχόμενος δὲ ὁ ἀπόστολος μηδὲν λαμβανέτω εἰμὴ ἄρτον ἕως οὗ 5 αὐλισθῇ· ἐὰν δὲ ἀργύριον αὐτῇ, ψευδοπροφήτης ἐστί. Καὶ πάντα προφήτην λαλοῦντα ἐν πνεύματι οὐ πειράσετε οὐδὲ διακρινεῖτε· πᾶσα γὰρ ἁμαρτία ἀφεθήσεται, αὕτη δὲ ἡ ἁμαρτία οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται. 6. Οὐ πᾶς δὲ ὁ λαλῶν ἐν πνεύματι προφήτης ἐστίν, ἀλλ' ἐὰν ἔχε 7 τοὺς τρόπους Κυρίου. ̓Απὸ οὖν τῶν τρόπων γνωσθήσεται ὁ ψευ8 δοπροφήτης καὶ ὁ προφήτης. Καὶ πᾶς προφήτης ορίζων τράπεζαν ἐν πνεύματι, οὐ φάγεται ἀπ' αὐτῆς, εἰδὲ μήγε ψευδοπροφήτης ἐστί· πᾶς δὲ προφήτης διδάσκων τὴν ἀλήθειαν, εἰ ἃ διδάσκει οὐ 9 ποιεῖ, ψευδοπροφήτης ἐστί. Πᾶς δὲ προφήτης δεδοκιμασμένος, ἀληθινός, ποιῶν εἰς μυστήριον κοσμικὸν ἐκκλησίας, μὴ διδάσκων δὲ ποιεῖν ὅσα αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, οὐ κριθήσεται ἐφ' ὑμῶν· μετὰ Θεοῦ γὰρ ἔχει τὴν κρίσιν ὡσαύτως γὰρ ἐποίησαν καὶ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι προφῆται. 10 Ὃς δ ̓ ἂν εἴπῃ ἐν πνεύματι· Δός μοι ἀργύρια ἢ ἕτερά τινα, οὐκ ἀκούσεσθε αὐτοῦ· ἐὰν δὲ περὶ ἄλλων ὑστερούντων εἴπῃ δοῦναι, μηδεὶς αὐτὸν κρινέτω.

Κεφ. ιβ ́. Πᾶς δὲ ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου δεχθήτω, ἔπειτα δὲ δοκιμάσαντες αὐτὸν γνώσεσθε· σύνεσιν γὰρ ἕξετε δεξιὰν καὶ ἀρισ 2 τεράν. Εἰμὲν παρόδιος ἐστιν ὁ ἐρχόμενος, βοηθεῖτε αὐτῷ ὅσον δύνασθε· οὐ μενεῖ δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰ μὴ δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἡμέρας, ἐὰν ἡ 3 ἀνάγκη. Εἰ δὲ θέλει πρὸς ὑμᾶς καθῆσαι, τεχνίτης ὤν, ἐργαζέσθω καὶ φαγέτω· εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἔχει τέχνην, κατὰ τὴν σύνεσιν ὑμῶν προνοή 4 σατε, πῶς μὴ ἀργὸς μεθ' ὑμῶν ζήσεται χριστιανός. Εἰ δ ̓ οὐ θέλει οὕτω ποιεῖν, χριστέμπορός ἐστι· προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν τοιούτων.

Κεφ. ιγ ́. Πᾶς δὲ προφήτης ἀληθινός, θέλων καθῆσαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, 2 αξιός ἐστι τῆς τροφῆς αὐτοῦ Ωσαύτως διδάσκαλος ἀληθινός 3 ἐστιν ἄξιος καὶ αὐτός ὥσπερ ὁ ἐργάτης, τῆς τροφῆς αὐτοῦ. Πᾶσαν οὖν ἀπαρχὴν γεννημάτων ληνοῦ καὶ ἅλωνος, βοῶν τε καὶ προβά των λαβὼν δώσεις τοῖς προφήταις· αὐτοὶ γάρ εἰσιν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς 4,5 ὑμῶν. Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἔχητε προφήτην, δότε τοῖς πτωχοῖς. Ἐὰν 6 σιτίαν ποιῇς, τὴν ἀπαρχὴν λαβὼν δὸς κατὰ τὴν ἐντολήν. Ωσαύ

τως κεράμιον οἴνου ἢ ἐλαίου ἀνοίξας, τὴν ἀπαρχὴν λαβὼν δὺς

CHAP. XI. Whoever, then, shall come and teach all these things, the things aforesaid, receive him; but if the teacher himself turn and teach another doctrine to the destruction of this, do not hear him; but if he teacheth to the promotion of righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord.

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And with reference to the apostles and prophets in accordance with the ordinance of the gospel, act thus. And let every apostle that cometh to you be received as the Lord; but he shall remain, not one day, [only,] but, if there be need, the next 4 also; but if he remain three days, he is a false prophet. And let the apostle, when he goeth forth, take nothing except bread to suffice until he lodge; but if he ask money, he is a false prophet. 5 And no prophet that speaketh in the Spirit, shall ye try or judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. Not every one, however, that speaketh in the Spirit, is a prophet, but only if he have the ways of the Lord. 7 From their ways, then, shall the false prophet and the prophet be known. And no prophet that in the Spirit commandeth a meal, will eat of it, else he is a false prophet; and every prophet that teacheth the truth, if he doeth not what he teachi9 eth, is a false prophet. And no prophet, approved, true, acting with a view to the world-mystery of the Church, but not teaching others to do what he himself doeth, shall be judged in your presence; for with God he hath his judgment; 10 for in like manner did the ancient prophets also. But whoever in the Spirit shall say: Give me money, or something else, ye shall not hear him; but if he bid you give for others that are in want, let no one judge him.

CHAP. XII. And let every one that cometh in the name of the Lord be received, and afterward ye shall prove and know him; 2 for ye shall possess understanding right and left. If he that cometh is a traveler, help him as much as you can; however, he shall not remain with you, except for two or three days, if need be. But if he wisheth to reside with you, being an artisan, let him work and eat; but if he hath not a trade, provide, according to your understanding, that, as a Christian, he shall 4 not live with you idle. But if he doth not wish so to do, he is one that maketh a gain of Christ: beware of such.

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CHAP. XIII. But every true prophet'that wisheth to reside with you, is worthy of his food. In like manner a true teacher, himself also is worthy of his food, just as the workman.

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Every first-fruit, then, of the products of wine-press and threshing-floor, of oxen and of sheep, thou shalt take and give to the prophets; for they are your high-priests.

But if ye have not a prophet, give to the poor.

If thou make a baking of bread, take and give the first6 fruit according to the commandment. In like manner, on opening a jar of wine or oil, take and give the first-fruit to

τοῖς προφήταις· ἀργυρίου δὲ καὶ ἱματισμοῦ καὶ παντὸς κτήματος λαβὼν τὴν ἀπαρχὴν ὡς ἄν σοι δόξῃ, δὸς κατὰ τὴν ἐντολήν. Κεφ. ιδ'. Κατὰ κυριακὴν δὲ Κυρίου συναχθέντες κλάσατε ἄρτον καὶ εὐχαριστήσατε προσεξομολογησάμενοι τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν, ὅπως 2 καθαρὰ ἡ θυσία ὑμῶν ᾖ. Πᾶς δὲ ἔχων τὴν ἀμφιβολίαν μετὰ τοῦ ἑταίρου αὐτοῦ μὴ συνελθέτω ὑμῖν, ἕως οὗ διαλλαγῶσιν, ἵνα μὴ κοινωθῇ ἡ θυσία ὑμῶν· αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ῥηθεῖσα ὑπὸ Κυρίου Ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ καὶ χρόνῳ προσφέρειν μοι θυσίαν καθαράν· ὅτι βασιλεὺς μέγας εἰμί, λέγει Κύριος, καὶ τὸ ὄνομά μου θαυμαστὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι.

Κεφ. ιέ. Χειροτονήσατε οὖν ἑαυτοῖς ἐπισκόπους καὶ διακόνους ἀξίους τοῦ Κυρίου, ἀνδρας πραεῖς καὶ ἀφιλαργύρους καὶ ἀληθεῖς καὶ δεδοκιμασμένους· ὑμῖν γὰρ λειτουργοῦσι καὶ αὐτοὶ τὴν λειτουρ 2 γίαν τῶν προφητῶν καὶ διδασκάλων. Μὴ οὖν ὑπερίδητε αὐτούς· αὐτοὶ γὰρ εἰσιν οἱ τετιμημένοι ὑμῶν μετὰ τῶν προφητῶν καὶ διδασ

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κάλων.

Ἐλέγχετε δὲ ἀλλήλους μὴ ἐν ὀργῇ, ἀλλ' ἐν εἰρήνῃ, ὡς ἔχετε ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ· καὶ παντὶ ἀστοχοῦντι κατὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου μηδεὶς 4 λαλείτω μηδὲ παρ ̓ ὑμῶν ἀκουέτω, ἕως οὗ μετανοήσῃ. Τὰς δὲ εὐχὰς ὑμῶν καὶ τὰς ἐλεημοσύνας καὶ πάσας τὰς πράξεις οὕτω ποιήσατε, ὡς ἔχετε ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν.

Κεφ. ις'. Γρηγορεῖτε ὑπὲρ τῆς ζωῆς ὑμῶν· οἱ λυχνοι ὑμῶν μὴ σβεσ θήτωσαν, καὶ αἱ ὀσφύες ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκλυέσθωσαν, ἀλλὰ γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι· οὐ γὰρ οἴδατε τὴν ὥραν, ἐν ᾗ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἔρχεται. 2 Πυκνῶς δὲ συναχθήσεσθε ζητοῦντες τὰ ἀνήκοντα ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν· οὐ γὰρ ὠφελήσει ὑμᾶς ὁ πᾶς χρόνος τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, ἐὰν 3 μὴ ἐν τῷ ἐσχάτῳ καιρῷ τελειωθῆτε. Ἐν γὰρ ταῖς ἐσχάταις ημέραις πληθυνθήσονται οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται καὶ οἱ φθορεῖς καὶ στραφήσονται τὰ πρόβατα εἰς λύκους καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη στραφήσεται εἰς μῖσος· αὐξανούσης γὰρ τῆς ἀνομίας, μισήσουσιν ἀλλήλους καὶ διώξουσι καὶ παραδώσουσι, καὶ τότε φανήσεται ὁ κοσμοπλάνος ὡς υἱὸς Θεοῦ καὶ ποιήσει σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα, καὶ ἡ γῆ παραδοθήσεται εἰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ποιήσει ἀθέμιτα, ἃ οὐδέποτε γέγονεν ἐξ 4 αἰῶνος. Τότε ἥξει ἡ κτίσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς τὴν πύρωσιν τῆς δοκιμασίας καὶ σκανδαλισθήσονται πολλοὶ καὶ ἀπολοῦνται, οἱ δὲ ὑπομείναντες ἐν τῇ πίστει αὐτῶν σωθήσονται ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κατα5 θέματος. Καὶ τότε φανήσεται τὰ σημεῖα τῆς ἀληθείας· πρῶτον, σημεῖον ἐκπετάσεως ἐν οὐρανῷ, εἶτα σημεῖον φωνῆς σάλπιγγος καὶ τὸ τρίτον ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν· οὐ πάντων δέ, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐρρέθη 6 Ἤξει ὁ Κύριος καὶ πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι μετ' αὐτοῦ. Τότε δψεται ὁ κόσμος τὸν Κύριον ἐρχόμενον ἐπάνω τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.

the prophets; and of money and clothing and every possession, take the first-fruit, as it may seem good to thee, and give according to the commandment."

CHAP. XIV. And every Lord's Day gather yourselves together, and break bread and give thanks, after having also confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.

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But let no one that is at variance with his fellow assemble with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned; For this is the one that was commanded by the Lord: In every place and time, offer Me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations.

CHAP. XV. Choose, therefore, for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men meek and free from the love of money, and true and proved; for they, too, render you the service of the prophets and teachers. Do not, then, despise them; for together with the prophets and teachers, they are your honored ones.

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And reprove one another, not in anger, but in peace, as ye have it in the gospel; and to every one that acteth amiss against another, let no one speak, and let him not hear from you until he repent.

But your prayers and alms and all deeds so do, as ye have it in the gospel of our Lord.

CHAP. XVI. Watch for [over] your life; let your lamps not be quenched, and your loins not be loosed, but be ye ready; for ye know not the hour in which our Lord cometh.

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And ye shall often be gathered together seeking the things which become your souls; for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if ye be not made perfect in the last time.

For in the last days the false prophets and the corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for as lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate one another, and persecute and betray, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as the Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never been done since the world began.

Then shall the human creation come into the fire of trial, and many shall be caused to stumble and shall perish; But they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself.

And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an opening in heaven, then the sign of the sound of a trumpet, and third, the resurrection of the dead; not of all, however, but as was said: The Lord shall come, and all the 6 saints with Him. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.

ART. VII. THE CATHOLIC DOGMA OF CHURCH

AUTHORITY.

THERE can be no doubt that the popular mind regards the Roman Catholic Church and religion as both degenerate and dangerous. The common people take short cuts to conclusions, always, of course, at the risk of doing injustice, but not seldom reaching right results. They form judgments of the various denominations, (except their own,) not by careful study of their systems of doctrine and government, but from public information and limited personal observation. Thus they describe Presbyterians as predestinarians, Baptists as immersionists, Methodists as revivalists. They think of the Universalists as holding to the salvation of sinner and saint alike, of the Unitarians as robbing Christ of his divinity and religion of its heart, and of the Roman Catholics as worshiping Mary and the saints, putting the pope in the place of Christ, and lodging the power to forgive sin in the priest. The Episcopal Church is to them a Church of forms and ceremonies, claiming closer kinship to the Roman than to the Protestant faith. None of these loose popular definitions would, of course, be acceptable to the denominations to which they are applied. They are inadequate; but they contain, it will be hardly disputed, a core of truth. We Methodists believe in revivals. We believe that our Church was raised up to offer salvation to the people; but our system is much more to us than a series of camp-meetings or special revival efforts. So the popular judgment of Romanism is, doubtless, an injustice in some respects; but that Catholic teaching seems to involve the errors thus attributed to it is not to be denied. The question as to how far that Church is responsible for wrong impressions as to its doctrine and practice is a question to be settled in full view of its aims and claims as a Christian Church. It claims to be holy, apostolic, universal, and united, and aims to embrace all mankind within its pale, outside of which there is no salvation. It also claims to be infallible as a teacher of divine truth. If, therefore, it so presents and teaches and appropriates the doctrines of salvation that the common people outside