SIGNS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Warburton, Victoria, Australia
1925
1. Signs of the Times
2. Is It Armageddon?
3. This War Is Not Armageddon
4. The Battle Of Armageddon
5. Ancient and Modern Sorcery
6. Modern Spiritualism: Its Source And Character
7. The Gathering of Israel
8. The Counterfeit and the Genuine
9. Without Excuse
SIGNS OF THE FIRST ADVENT, THE SECOND ADVENT,
INDICATIONS OF POLITICAL HISTORY, SIGNS IN NATURE,
SIGNS IN THE SOCIAL WORLD
“When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky; but can you not discern the signs of the times?” Matthew 16:2, 3.
THESE words were addressed to the Pharisees and Sadducees at a time when they came to Christ tempting Him for a sign from heaven. They were a reproof to them for their unbelief in the signs mentioned in the Old Testament writings, which they professed to believe, and which were actually being fulfilled before their eyes, yet disregarded by them. They could tell the weather for the morrow; but had no skill in those prophecies that pointed to that time, and to the events then transpiring.
That which constitutes a sign of the times, in a scriptural sense, must be a matter of prophecy. The prophetic pencil sketches the events which shall take place in the future. Time shows the fulfillment. The student of prophecy compares the prophetic sketch with the facts of history, and, finding a perfect agreement, he sees his position on the great highway of time. The prophets of God had spoken of the first advent of Christ; and the fulfillment of their words relative to His birth; His gospel, His miracles, His humiliation and death, were signs to the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, and that the time for His appearance had come.
Signs Of The First Advent
But notwithstanding the fact that these prophecies and many others were fulfilled before the faces of the rulers of the Jews, and that all these signs were actually accomplished in a little more than thirty years, they themselves having to acknowledge that notable miracles had been done by our Lord, yet they believed not. Well may it be said, that the Jews deserved wrath, and God was just in destroying their nation and place. But is this generation less guilty of the sin of unbelief than were the Jews? Do we believe in that Word which we blame the Jews for rejecting?
The Jews were looking for a temporal kingdom. They applied many of the prophecies of Christ’s second appearing in power and great glory, to His coming as a prince to deliver them from the Roman yoke, and exalt them to worldly glory. They were disappointed and grieved with the humility of Jesus of Nazareth, and in their pride rejected the signs of His first advent.
The popular religion of our day teaches us to look for a temporal millennium, and the signs of His second advent, which are much more numerous and forcible than were those of His first advent, are overlooked. Then if the signs of Christ’s second coming are held, in doubt, and are rejected by the professed people of God of this generation, the sin of unbelief will rest upon us more heavily than it did upon the Jews, in proportion as we reject greater light.
Prophecy is history in advance. From the very nature, of the case it is not probable that Daniel understood the details of his own prophecy, because it related to the rise and fall of future kingdoms. He wrote what was given him to write, and it was left with God to substantiate the predictions made by His own Spirit. When the prophet inquires: “O my Lord, what shall be the end Of these things?” Gabriel answers: “Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed, up and sealed till the time of the end.” Daniel 12:8, 9. To this agrees the apostle, who speaks of the prophets, “Unto whom it was revealed; that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister.” 1 Peter 1:12.
Signs Of The Second Advent
We will now consider the subject of the signs of our times in the light of the fulfillment of prophecy. To aid our study it will be well to classify the prophetic indications of approach of Christ’s second coming under three headings: Those to be fulfilled in political affairs; those to be fulfilled in the natural, or physical world, and those which relate to the state of society, morality, and religion.
Indications Of Political History
The first four kingdoms are represented by the several parts of the great metallic image, of gold, silver, brass, and iron mixed with clay. The golden head represents the kingdom of Babylon; the silver breast and arms of the image represent Media and Persia; the brazen sides, Greece; the iron legs, Rome; the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, symbolize the divided; weakened condition of Rome.
The several specifications of this line of prophecy are fulfilled, excepting the last, which is expressed in these words: “Thou saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth:”
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and sha11 stand forever.” Daniel 2: 34, 35, 44.
2. Daniel Chapter Seven. The seventh chapter of this prophecy covers the same ground as the second. The symbols employed are a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a nameless beast with ten horns: The lion, like the golden head of the image, represents Babylon; the bear, like the silver breast and arms, Media and Persia; the leopard, like the brazen sides, Greece; the nondescript beast, the same as the iron legs, Rome. His ten horns, corresponding with the ten toes of the image, represent the condition of the Roman Empire, divided into ten kingdoms.
This line of prophecy, however, is more definite than that of the second chapter, especially that which relates to the fourth kingdom. The Roman beast is given in a second form with three horns plucked up by the little horn. This little horn is a symbol of the Papacy, through whose influence three of the ten kingdoms were plucked up in its march to supremacy, which dates from the year 538 AD, when the decree of Justinian creating the bishop of Rome head of all the churches was carried into effect. The blasphemous character, cruel persecutions, and the period of the civil power of the little horn, are given by the prophet in these words:
“He shall speak great words against the Most High; and shall wear out the, saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 7:25. This period is the same as the forty two months of Revelation 13:5; and the twelve hundred and sixty prophetic days of Revelation 12:6.
From 538, 1,260 years would extend to 1798, when, on February 1, Berthier, a French general, entered the city of Rome and captured it. On the 15th of the same month, the pope was made a prisoner in the Vatican. The papal supremacy which had continued from the time of Justinian, received a deadly wound, and a republican form of government was given to Rome. The pope was carried captive to France, where he died in 1799. Thus he that led into captivity went into captivity he that killed with the sword was killed (subdued) with the sword. Revelation 13:10.
Where are we in this prophetic line, which reaches to the end of all earthly governments? We have passed: the lion, Babylon; the bear, Media and Persia; the leopard, with his four wings and four heads, Greece, has been passed. The history of the terrible beast, Rome, has been written and the Papacy, symbolized by the little horn, has fulfilled its twelve hundred and sixty years of blasphemy and terrible persecutions; and its civil power was broken nearly one hundred years ago.
For what do we wait? The prophet answers in these words: “I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and, given to the burning flame.” Daniel 7:11. “And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” Verse 27.
3. Daniel, Chapters Eight and Eleven. In both these chapters the ground of human history is covered, and a study of these lines of prophecy brings us to the same conclusion to which the two already noticed lead us, that the kingdoms of this world are soon to become, the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. But the limits of this tract will not permit us to delineate them and also notice other signs of the times; which are made prominent by the Word of God. A few words in reference to chapter eleven must suffice.
“This chapter is quite different in its style from those already noticed, in that no symbols of beasts or image occur. It shows upon the face of it that it is history given in advance, and all it lacks to make it a connected and plain recital of events from the days of Daniel to the close of time is the omission of proper names and definite dates. It follows the history of the Ptolemies and Selucidae to the development of Rome, to its supremacy and dismemberment, to the French Revolution and the Eastern Question. It closes with “he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” Daniel 11:45. And then, “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there, was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:1-2.
How near we are to that event no man knows; but we seem in all human probability to be just on the eve of the last act of the drama.
Signs In Nature
From the prophecies of Daniel we turn to other scriptures from the signs in the political world to those of the world of nature. Christ Himself has given us these. In that remarkable discourse of our Savior recorded in Matthew 24, given in answer to the question, “What shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?” Jesus said, among other things, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” Matthew 24: 29.
The Dark Day of May 19, 1780.
The tribulation mentioned above is that which was upon the church of Christ for 1,260 years, during the persecuting career of the little horn of Daniel 7:25. Compare with Revelation 12:6; 13.5. Then, immediately after the tribulation of those days of papal persecution, the sun was to be darkened. Mark this: It does not say after those days; but after the tribulation of those days. The days reached to 1798, but the tribulation of the, days ceased before that time. The days of tribulation were shortened for the elect’s sake. Matthew 24:22. The Reformation under Martin Luther modified this tribulation, and continued to restrain the rage and consume the power of the Papacy until 1700, since which time, according to all church history; there has been general persecution against the church. Matthew 13:24 makes this point very plain: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened.” That is, before the 1260 years should close, but after the tribulation, or martyrdom of the church ceased, the sun was to be darkened. Those who would point to the future, or to the past, prior to the eighteenth-century, for the darkening of the here mentioned, will do well to read again Mark 13:24: “But in those days, after that. tribulation; the sun shall be darkened.”
This prediction of Christ was amply justified by the event of May 19, 1780. On this day at midday the Sun was supernaturally darkened in a manner so mysterious that no satisfactory cause has ever been assigned for it. The moon was at its full, hence it could not be an eclipse of the Sun; for at full moon the sun and-moon are on opposite sides of the earth, and an eclipse of the sun is caused by the moon coming between the sun and the earth: There was no fog or vapor or other apparent obscuring object. Webster’s Dictionary says of this remarkable phenomenon: “Dark Day, The, May 19, 1780; so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day extending all over New England. In some places persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds- sang their evening song, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; and candles were lighted in the houses. The obscuration began ‘about’ ten o’clock in the morning and continued till the middle of next night: The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known.”
“The 19th. day of May, 1780, was a remarkable dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The birds ere silent, and disappeared. The fowls retired to roost. It was the general opinion that the day of judgment was at hand. The Legislature of Connecticut was in session at Hartford; but being unable to transact business, adjourned.” - President Dwight, in Historical Collections.
“On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place all over New England, and extended to Canada. It continued about fourteen hours, or from ten o’clock in the morning till midnight. The darkness was so great that people were unable to read common print, or tell the time of the day by their watches, or to dine, or transact their ordinary business, without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, and some were excessively frightened. The fowls went to roost: Objects could be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance of gloom and night. Similar days have occasionally been known, though inferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the result of eclipses.” - Sears’ Guide.
That great astronomer, Herschel, gives the following testimony concerning the inexplicable nature of this phenomenon: “The dark day in North America was one of those wonderful phenomena of nature which will always be, read of with interest, but which philosophy is at a loss to explain.”
Other testimonies could be produced to the same facts, but are not necessary: As mentioned by one of the writers cited, other similar days have since occurred in other localities, but this great demonstration marks the time that was in the mind of Inspiration when these signs were given.
The Moon Shall Not Give Her Light.
The moon refused to give her light on the following night, though it was, as has been said, at it fullest phase. One writer says: “The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet.”
Dr. Adams, speaking of the dark night, says: “It was a darkness to be felt. The darkness was as uncommon in the night as it was in the day, as the moon had filled the day before.”
The Falling Stars.
“And the stars shall fall from heaven.” Matthew 24:29. The Encyclopedia Britannica says: “While the average number of shooting stars for a single observer at midnight may, be regarded as tolerably constant, there have been special epochs when many more have been seen. In certain instances the sky has been filled with the luminous trains, just as it, is filled by descending snowflakes in a snowstorm, making a veritable shower of fire. One of the best-observed; though by no means the most brilliant, of these showers occurred on the evening of the 27th of November, 1872. Some of the observers of that shower, counting singly, saw at the rate of eight or ten thousand shooting stars in the course of two hours.
“The following quotations show the impression made by star showers in times past:
“'These meteors [November 12, 1799] might be compared to the blazing sheaves shot out from a firework.” “'The phenomenon was grand and awful; the whole heavens appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets.' “November 13, 1833. Thick with streams of rolling fire; scarcely a space in the firmament that was not filled at every instant.”
“Almost infinite number of meteors; they fell like flakes of snow.”
“The extent of the shower of 1833 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth's surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the east, to the Pacific on the west; and from the northern coast of South America to undefined regions among the British possessions on, the north the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance.” Professor Olmstead, of Yale College.
How this phenomenon was regarded is quite well expressed by the following extract from a journal of that time: “We pronounce the raining of fire which we saw on Wednesday morning last, an awful type, a sure forerunner, a merciful sign, of that great and dreadful day which the inhabitants of the earth will witness when thee sixth seal' shall be opened. The time is just at hand, described not only in the New Testament, but in the Old. A more correct picture of a fig-tree casting its leaves when blown by a mighty wind, it is not possible to behold.”
Not by our Savior alone were these very signs foretold. Joel, the prophet, says: “And I will show wonders' in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blond, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.” Joel 2:30, 31. Also under the opening of the sixth. seal of Revelation 6:12, we have the following “And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” The great earthquake here spoken of as marking the commencement of the period of time covered by the sixth seal was that of Lisbon in 1755, where the destruction was very great, 50,000 people being killed. With Lisbon for a centre, the earthquake extended over a great portion of the earth.
After stating that the sun should be darkened, and that the moon should not give her light, and that the stars should fall from heaven, Christ gives the parable of the fig-tree, and makes the most distinct application of it. “Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh. So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Verses 32, 33. No figure should exceed the fact illustrated in a single particular. This being the case in the parable of the fig tree, the point becomes an exceedingly strong one. No language can be more direct. No proof can be more complete. With all that certainty with which we know that summer is nigh when we see the buds and the leaves shoot forth from the trees in spring, and- the earth covered with her carpet of green, may we know that Christ is at the doors. The fact that Christ foretells signs of His coming, and then states the object of those signs, that the church may know when the event is near, even at the doors, is sufficient proof, that it is the design of Heaven that the church should understand the period of the second advent.
The proclamation of the coming and kingdom of Christ is given to the last generation. God did not send Noah to preach to the next to the last generation before the flood, but to the last. The very generation which was destroyed by the waters of the flood saw Noah build the ark, and heard his warning voice. So God has raised up men to give the solemn warning, to the world at the right time to give force to the warning. And the very generation of men that live after the three great signs are fulfilled, and that hear and reject the warning message from heaven, will drink the cup of the unmingled, wrath of God. And those of this very generation who receive the message, suffer disappointments, and endure the trials of the waiting position, will witness the coming of Christ, and exclaim, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.” Isaiah 25:9.
With what emphasis our Lord gave utterance to this sentiment. It is a rebuke upon our unbelief. As we read it, God help us to believe it: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.” And as though this were not enough to lead us to unwavering faith, He adds these forcible words: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”
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Turning our eyes to scan the horizon of the social world, we see signs ominous as those which are presented, “in the world of politics and nature.
The Morals of the Last Days.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection; trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5. It is a sad thought that inspiration must include professors of religion among those who are thus described as “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” It is, if possible, a sadder thought that this is true of many in our day. Christ says of the last days, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” We can only reply, How true.
Again, the Savior likens the last days to those of Sodom and the, antediluvian age. Of that age it was said, “The wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” and “the earth was filled with violence.” And so it is today. Feasting, drinking, gambling, pride, pleasure, and folly; covetousness, violence, oppression, furnish the grand motives of life with a large majority; while darker crimes of every possible form present a startling aspect to him who stops for a moment to observe. - Certainly these things assure us that we have reached the last days.
Amassing Wealth and Oppressing the Poor.
Upon this point we have only to read what the apostle James says of the last days, and draw a parallel with our times, when we shall see the prophetic word again literally fulfilled: “Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. You have heaped treasure together for the last days. Be hold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; you have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient; therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husband man waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be you also patient; establish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draws nigh.” James 5:1-8.
Were there no further evidence than these words, we should have ample grounds-for identifying our days as the last of the dispensation. “You have heaped treasure together for the last days.” The concentration’ of capital, and the springing up off mammoth fortunes within the last two or three decades; form a striking feature of this age of wonders. There are said to be one hundred Englishmen whose incomes average over $90,000 per annum; and the number of men who count their millions instead of thousands is very large. But in no other part of the world perhaps are such colossal fortunes being rapidly put together as in the United States. The wealth of Astor, the wealthiest man in the country fifty years ago, was $1,000,000. The wealth of the family is now estimated at $50,000,000. Thirty-five years ago Vanderbilt was worth $5,000,000, now his grandchildren hold not less than $40,000,000. Over seventy men in that country are worth $5,000,000 each, and six are worth over $20,000,000 each, one, John D. Rockefeller, having a fortune worth $40,000,000; and these fortunes are nearly all of them the work of the last thirty years operations. This heaping of treasures means distress to the poorer classes. As the rich become richer, the poor become poorer. The sweeping condemnation of the apostle shows how God regards these things. The cries of the poor oppressed laborer have entered the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. He speaks to. His people words of counsel. He does not tell them to ”strike,” “boycott,” or use violence, but to be “patient unto the coming of the Lord.” There is our only hope. Never while avarice and covetousness rule the heart - will the crush for wealth cease. We shall not have equity and charity among men until the King of Peace shall come to reign in righteousness. “Be you also patient; establish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draws nigh.”
HAS the great prophetic battle of Armageddon come at last? Is this the meaning of the strife that has suddenly enveloped all Europe and threatens to engulf it in a cataclysm of ruin?
From the expressions used by many writers we might infer that such is really the case. Armageddon seems to come naturally to the mind when contemplating the spectacle of all Europe convulsed with war.
Nor can we be surprised that men should think of Armageddon in view of the spectacle of five of the great world Powers with several lesser nations engaged in spreading death and desolation around them. Not since the days of Napoleon has all Europe been swept with war; but comparing the size of the armies and the implements of war of that day with those of the present, the Napoleonic wars dwindle into insignificance.
Never since time began has there been a war to compare in magnitude with the titanic struggle now staged in Europe. Never before have men been fighting each other under the sea, on the sea, and in the air, as well. as on the earth. Never have weapons so powerful and so deadly been employed before in the business of destruction.
What does it mean? Does civilization contain the germ of its own dissolution, which has now been let loose and is sweeping the nations like a fearful plague? The progress of modern science has been the boast of our civilization; now all the forces of that science are being employed to blot civilization from the earth.
The civilized world was supposed to have reached an era of peace, when nations would settle their disputes by arbitration. Peace conferences at The Hague, and the efforts of numerous peace societies in America and Europe gave promise that war had at last become a thing of the past. From many pulpits had come assurances, that the world was about entering the long expected millennium of peace. Time has now answered the peace predictions by ushering in; the greatest war the world has ever known.
We have been assured that the great armaments of the world Powers were themselves a guarantee of peace, since no nation dare attack another that was well prepared for war. This illusion is now shattered for all time. Instead of being a protection against war, the ever-increasing armaments, it is now evident, have been, leading the nations toward war.
It is well known now that there would have been war in 1908 when Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, if Russia, then weakened by her contest with Japan, had felt strong enough to fight.
Other Causes
But it is not the arming of the nations alone that has brought on this cataclysm of strife. There are other causes, reaching back into the past. For many years the peace of Europe has been in a state of unstable equilibrium, and statesmen, knowing this, have been fearful that some unlooked-for occurrence would upset the balance and bring on a general clash of arms. This is what has now happened.
For a long time there has been maintained in Europe what has been known as “the balance of power.” This has been maintained by two grand divisions of the great Powers-Germany, Austria, and Italy, composing the “Triple Alliance,” and Great Britain, France, and Russia composing the “Triple Entente.” It is this confederacy of the great Powers, formed to preserve the peace, which has drawn the nations into a war begun by one of them and involved the whole of Europe in the struggle.
Little was it thought, when the news of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was flashed to the world, what momentous events lay bound up in the train of that occurrence. That deed, bringing on the break between Austria and Serbia, was the immediate cause of the war. Back of this, however, was the annexation by Austria of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which greatly incensed Serbia and Russia: And still further back, constituting what may most properly be called real cause, is the ambition of Austria and Germany to southward and secure territory and ports on the Aegean Sea.
The Eastern Question
This ambition is bound up with the settlement of the “Eastern Question,” which is the question of the distributing among the European Powers of the territory now or formerly occupied by Turkey, and in particular the possession of Constantinople, which, from its situation is of great strategic importance: For it is recognized by the Powers of Europe, and by the Turks themselves, that it is their destiny to depart ere long from Europe to the Asiatic territory from which many centuries ago, they came out.
For many years the empire of Turkey has been shrinking in size, and particularly so in Europe. It has been a, unique spectacle, not paralleled in the history of any other nation. Piece by piece all the territory comprising the Balkan States has slipped from Turkey’s grasp, together with Egypt and Tripoli, This Balkan territory after passing out from Turkish sovereignty, however, was not absorbed by the great Powers of Europe, but remained broken up into small kingdoms, for the reason that the great Powers could not agree among themselves regarding the share which each of them should receive. The population of these small kingdoms is predominantly Slav, which, makes them allied in race and religion with, Russia, the great Slav nation of Europe.
Now it has long been the ambition of Russia to secure an ice-free seaport, and in pursuance of this ambition she has been pushing southward toward the ‘waters’ of the Mediterranean. Naturally, her way lies through the Balkan States, which are friendly to her by similarity of race and religion.
Russia thus has great interests at stake in the fate, of the Balkan Powers. Russia has set up, in fact, a sort of Monroe Doctrine with reference to these Powers, and constituted herself their special guardian and protector.
When therefore Austria made war on Serbia, Russia felt bound to come to the rescue of her Balkan protege. To have left Serbia to be overpowered by her larger adversary, would have been to lose all her, prestige with the Balkan nations and all prospect of advancing southward through Balkan territory to the sea.
The Chief Cause of European Armaments
It is the Eastern Question, therefore, which underlies the situation in Europe to-day. It is the Eastern Question which has prevented an alliance between Germany and Russia. Allied with Russia, Germany would have been, secure against attack, and the present general war could not have happened. But. Germany’s interests in the Balkans clash with those of Russia, making such an alliance impossible.
And for this reason-because of this aspect of the Eastern Question, forcing Germany to remain in comparative isolation between two hostile military Powers, Russia and France-Germany has taken the lead in military development and has drawn all Europe after her in ever-increasing military expenditure, so that the nations have long staggered under a crushing burden of military taxation. The present great war represents a new stage in the solution of the Eastern Question, the final settlement of which will see the Turk driven from Europe, and his territory apportioned among the European Powers. The present conflict was precipitated because Austria deemed the hour an opportune one for an advance move, Great Britain being occupied with the Ulster crisis, and Russia being menaced with a great strike and a possible revolution.
What is to be the outcome? Will the titanic struggle continue until the nations of Europe are exhausted and Europe is desolated? Is this the last great conflict preceding the coming of an era of world peace?
God’s Word Has Foretold the Struggle
Fortunately, we have access to a higher source of information than human speculation and guess work on this great subject. The God whose kingdom rules in the affairs of earth, and whose Word has so accurately foretold human history in the past, has not left us in ignorance concerning a situation so momentous as that which the world has now reached. Why this situation has been reached, and what is to follow, His Word plainly reveals to the student of its pages.
In the light of that Word, the war spirit of the present age which has converted all Europe into an armed camp, and finally has plunged that camp into a terrible conflict, is not the precursor of peace and safety to mankind, but a development characteristic of the closing days of human history, when the restraining influence of the Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth.
The irruption of the Mohammedan into Europe, and his final departure from European soil, are subjects of Bible prophecy. In the vision of coming events, given to the Apostle John on Patmos, the invasion of Europe by the followers of Mohammed was shown by the symbol of a swarm of locusts coming out of the “bottomless pit,” having power to sting like scorpions, and being commissioned to torment men five months.” Revelation 9: 1-11.
The Mohammedan invasion came as one of a series of scourges which God sent upon the nations to chastise them ° for their wickedness. Preceding the Mohammedan, Alaric the Goth, Genseric the Vandal, and Attilla the Hun, had devastated Europe with fire and sword, these invasions being described in the symbols of Revelation 8. But the Mohammedan invasion filled Europe with greater terror than any previous visitation, and was to cover a period of five months (prophetic time), or one hundred and fifty years (literal-time; a day in symbolic prophecy standing for a year). Historians date this period as beginning in A.D. 1299 and reaching to 1449.
In the latter year Constantinople, the capital of the eastern empire of Rome, fell into the hands of the Saracens led by Mohammed II. This event marks the beginning of the period of invasion and conquest allotted to the Ottoman Turks, described in Revelation 9:14-19 by the figure of the loosing of the “four angels” which were “bound in the great river Euphrates.” These were “prepared for an., hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” Verse 15.
Turkish History Shows the Hand of Providence
Strange and eventful has been the history of the Mohammedan power in Europe, plainly manifesting the fulfillment of inspired prophecy. They came into Europe a strange and alien people, from an unknown country, as a visitation sent from God upon the nations for their wickedness.
Had this chastisement not been necessary the modern history of Europe would have been entirely different from what is recorded, and there would have been no question to embroil the nations in a general war. It is sin that lies at the bottom of all the woes, political and by which mankind is made to suffer.
While the Reformation of the sixteenth century was in progress, God made use of the Ottoman armies to save the reformers and their work from destruction at the hands of the papal monarchs. When the latter had unsheathed their swords and were ready to strike, news would be received that the Ottoman forces were invading the realm, and the blow intended for, the Reformation would fall upon the Turks.
Again, it was due to the irruption of the Mohammedans northward from Arabia that the route from Europe to India was closed to travel and trade; and an effort was made to discover a new route to the Indies. The ever memorable voyage of Columbus westward across the untraversed seas was the result.
Still another remarkable thing about Ottoman history in Europe is the steady shrinking of the empire already mentioned in this treatise. Mention is made of the Ottoman’s Power in the outline of political history given in the eleventh chapter of the book of Daniel, and it is there declared that this power, designated as the king of the north “shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” Verse 45: Turkey has been helped at various times by certain of the European Powers, notably in the Crimean war and in the Russo-Turkish wax of 1877-1878. But when the Balkan war broke out in 1912 and the Balkan armies swept the Turkish forces before them and threatened to drive them across the Bosphorus, Turkey looked in vain for European aid. Great Britain, the friend who saved her from Russia in 1878, had deserted her and it was only due to the quarrel of the Balkan allies among themselves that Turkey was left in possession of more than the environs of Constantinople. And it is nowhere expected that even this small foothold in Europe will be retained by the Ottoman Power.
But the ending of the Ottoman Empire, now foreshadowed in the near future, brings the world to an even of the most momentous and solemn character. This is described in Daniel 12 in the words:
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of thy, people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall found written in the book.” Verse l. It can be shown from the Scripture that Michael, her spoken of, is none other than Christ that his “standing up” refers to the beginning of His reign over the kingdoms of earth, and that the “book” in this description is the book of life. See Revelation 20:15.
The momentous events of this prophecy are now, according to the testimony of Scripture and of history, in the immediate future. The great European war now raging is a prelude to the “time of trouble such as never was,” which is coming upon all countries because of the proximity of the end.
God’s Restraining Hand Over the Nations
For many years a restraining power has been over the nations and threatening war clouds have been dissipated when it was expected that they would burst in a tempest of strife. This is described in prophecy by the figure of “four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth,” that the winds of strife should not be loosed until a sealing work which God was doing in the earth should be finished. Revelation 7:1-3.
Many Bible students believe that the sudden and mysterious revolution of 1848 which swept over Europe, and then as suddenly and mysteriously subsided, was the beginning as the loosing of the “four winds” of this prophecy, which were restrained again at the behest of the angel having a commission from God to stay the strife and .confusion un the servants of God should have His seal placed in their foreheads. Such a work, having reference to the seal of God’s law-the Sabbath of Jehovah-has been going forward among all nations since that time, and is in progress today.
What will happen when the “four winds“ which undoubtedly symbolize strife and confusion-are loosed and allowed to blow upon the earth? There is every reason to believe that this dread period will be marked by war and strife of every kind; that the restraints which have held evil forces in check will then be removed, and society will be engulfed in general confusion and disorder. The spirit of revolution and of casting off the restraints of law, both human and divine, will have full sway upon the earth.
“It is the restraining influence, of the Spirit of God upon the hearts and minds of men, far more than laws, standing armies, policemen, and courts of justice, that preserves peace and order in society: Men obey the law and respect the rights of others not because they are commanded to do so, but because the disposition thus to do is implanted in their hearts. Let this restraining influence be removed, and all the barriers civil government has erected against crime would be swept aside like straws.
And this restraining influence, there is every reason to believe, is beginning to be withdrawn from the earth. “My Spirit shall not always strive with man,” said God in the days of Noah, and Noah’s day affords. a parallel with our own time. Matthew 24:37-39: When all have received the seal of God who will accept it, God will withdraw His Spirit from the earth and the powers of evil will be left in full possession.
We Are in the Time of the End
That we are indeed now living in the time of the end there is abundant evidence. The prophecies of Scripture have been fulfilled. History shows that all the great lines of Bible prophecy have met their fulfillment in human events until hardly more than the last specification of each remains, which is the second coming of Christ. Earthquake and fire, storm and, flood, and sudden calamity in various forms proclaim that the judgments of God are in the land. Let the reader pause and think how numerous such visitations have become within the past few years.
We are not emerging into an era of peace. Peace will not come until the coming of the Prince of Peace. He it is that “makes wars to cease unto the ends of the earth.” Psalm 46:9. Peace societies and Hague conferences cannot accomplish such a work. Failure is written in large characters upon their efforts in Europe today.
“From whence come wars and fighting among you?“ inquires the Apostle James, and he answers the query by saying, “Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” James 4:1. It is the lust for power and for territorial aggrandizement that has caused the war that is desolating Europe today: If the monarchs and statesmen of Europe were controlled by the spirit of Christianity, wars could never break out. And while they are not controlled by this spirit it will be in vain to look for peace.
The Powers of the earth to-day are largely under the control of evil agencies. While the nations profess to be Christian, the wholesale murder in which they are now engaged presents them in a very different light. It is Satan, not Christ, whose will is being done in such work.
Evil Influences to Prevail
We are plainly told in God’s Word that Christian influences will not prevail in the earth in the last days. Here is the statement, found in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Not only is there wicked ness in the world, but even the church, says this text will be filled with those “having a form of godliness,” but destitute of the power.
That pride, covetousness, and formality without piety abound in the churches of this day, is only too sadly evident from all sides. The Christian church is the salt of the earth, it is like the ten righteous persons in Sodom that could have saved the city from destruction by the wrath of God. But if the salt has lost its savor, if the righteousness of the church is in appearance only, there will be nothing to stay the judgments of God from the earth. The Spirit of God, which holds in check the agencies of evil, will, be withdrawn, and the prince of, evil will take possession, and work his will in the earth. And even so do we find it to-day. This is what is filling the earth with war, revolution, industrial strife, anarchy, and general commotion at this time.
The Battle of Armageddon Yet Future
It is by the agency of evil spirits that the nations will be gathered to the battle of Armageddon. The Scripture statement is: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Revelation 16: 13-16.
This is not the day of peace, but of war. Be not deceived by the cry of peace and safety; “for when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them and they shall not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:3. The Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth, and strife and commotion must be the result. But these things are the precursors of the coming of the Prince of Peace, who “makes wars to cease unto the ends of the earth.” Therefore let His followers not despair, but look up and lift up their heads, for their redemption draws nigh. Luke 21:28.
BY A. W. ANDERSON
Unless care be taken to notice the exact wording of the Scriptures one is liable to form erroneous conclusions from a mere superficial reading of the Sacred Word. This is probably the reason why so many people err by alluding to the present war as “Armageddon.” There are several reasons why this war cannot be Armageddon, to which we desire to call the attention of the reader:
These very conditions were foretold by the Hebrew prophets more than twenty-five centuries ago. Isaiah says:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Isaiah 2:2-5.
This is what Inspiration tells us “many people will say,” and even amid the turmoil of the greatest war in history, there are many people saying these very words. Now listen to what God says about these ploughshares and pruning-hooks:
“Proclaim you this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all you nations, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Joel 3:9-13.
These two prophecies set before us two conflicting ideas. Isaiah tells us what the people in the last days will be saying, while Joel tells us what they will be doing. They will be talking about beating their swords into plough shares, while they are actually beating their ploughshares into swords. And the very time when they will be saying “Peace and safety,” the Apostle Paul has singled out as the time “when sudden destruction cometh upon them.” All these things point to the proximity of Armageddon.
Recent Developments in Europe, Turkey, and the Far East in the Light of Prophecy.
THE Eastern Question for many decades has disturbed the minds of European rulers, and has taxed to the utmost the diplomatic skill of statesmen who have been entrusted with the difficult task of keeping adjusted the finely balanced equilibrium of power in Europe, and, incidentally, in almost all the other continents. That the seriousness of the difficulties involved in the Eastern Question is increasing, not only in intensity, but also in extent, is evident even to the most casual observer of European political conditions; and these conditions are felt more or less acutely almost all over the world.
That man is more than ordinarily unobservant who cannot see that an international crisis of tremendous magnitude is imminent. A crisis which, if judged by the feverish and unparalleled preparations that are being made for it, will eclipse all others to about the same extent as modern methods of warfare compare with those of the Middle Ages. Men and nations are being called upon to make absolutely unprecedented sacrifices in order to supply ever-increasing demands for money with which to build ships of gigantic proportions, each one more costly than a whole fleet in the days of our grandfathers; and to manufacture appliances of war of the most extraordinary, and hitherto unknown, capacity for destruction; and to drill, not armies as in former days, but whole nations, whose populations are armed and trained to fight. “Never before were the destructive forces of warfare marshaled in such impressive array as we see them to-day; never before did the earth shake under the measured tread of so many men armed, and prepared to be armed; never in history were weapons so lethal, missiles so mighty, and explosives so terrific and powerful, or in hands so carefully drilled and instructed in their--employment; never were the preparations for war on land and sea comparable in scale and efficiency to those of the present day.”
Contemplating all these deadly forces, there is no thoughtful man who is not anxiously questioning, What do all these preparations portend? With this question in mind, we can turn with confidence for an answer to the Word of’ God, for that is declared to be - a light which shines in a dark place, that illuminates the future, until the rising of the morning star and the dawning of the eternal day. We can be assured that if these alarming conditions which now obtain are preliminaries of momentous events, fraught with eternal issues for the human race, somewhere in the Scriptures these portentous preparations will be described, and their significance will be made evident. For it is written, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He reveals His secrets unto His servants the prophets.”
The Arming of Europe
Chapters eight and nine of the book of Revelation contain a prophecy couched under the symbol of seven trumpets, which traces the outline of events in the downfall of the Roman Empire from early in the Christian era to the establishment of the kingdom of Christ at the end of the world.
When the prophecy was given and the book written (about A.D. 90), Rome was in the height of her power, and she bore lordly sway over all the known world. Although man could see no indications of its forthcoming dismemberment, yet predictions were given through the Apostle John by Him in whose hands the nations are but as a drop in the bucket, telling of a time when this mighty empire would be invaded by tribes of barbarians then dwelling on its borders, and that by them it would be disrupted, as had been foretold by the prophet Daniel, while as yet the empire was non-existent.
That the prophecy of the seven trumpets is largely of political significance is seen from the words of the sixth trumpet (Revelation 9: 16, 17), for under it armies are represented as going forth to battle. The trumpet has ever, and especially in ancient times, been used as a symbol of- war. Jeremiah 4:19. The first political conquests of note, after this revelation was made to John on the Isle of Patmos, were those by the northern barbarians, by which Western Rome was divided into ten kingdoms. Those parts of Gibbon’s history which deal directly upon these invasions need, as one writer says, “but a text prefixed, and a few unholy words blotted out, to form a series of expository lectures on the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation. Little or nothing is left for the professed interpreter to do but to point to the pages of Gibbon.”
The result of the sounding of the first trumpet is a storm of hail and fire and blood that is cast to the earth, which destroys the trees and the grass. Revelation 8:7. The first sore judgment that fell upon Western Rome in its-downward course was the war with the Goths under Alaric, during the latter part of the fourth century. Speaking of their ravages, Gibbon says:
“The Gothic nation was in arms. The fertile fields of Boeotea and Phocis were instantly covered by a deluge of barbarians who massacred the males, and drove away the beautiful females, with the spoil and the cattle of the flaming villages.”
The second trumpet calls attention to an invasion from the sea. Revelation 8:8. The sounding of this trumpet evidently relates to the invasion and conquest of Africa, and afterward of Italy, by the terrible Genseric, about the middle of the fifth century. After the Vandals, in conjunction with other tribes, had devastated Gaul and had overrun the whole Spanish Peninsula, they passed over from Spain into Africa. In ten, years they had subdued the Mediterranean coast to Carthage, which they possessed and made their capital. From now Genseric’s enterprises were crowned with success in the conquest of Sicily, and of the sack of Palermo, and in frequent descents on the coasts of Lucania. Rome itself was subjected to a pillage that lasted fourteen days and nights; and all that remained of public or private wealth, or sacred or profane treasure, was diligently transported to the vessels of Genseric, and many thousands of the citizens of Rome were taken into slavery.
“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood.” Revelation 8:10.
This prophecy has obvious reference to the tormenting and harrowing conquests of Attila the Hun (AD 441-451). His invasions were conducted by fire and pillage along the Rhine and its tributary streams, closing at the Alps, the fountain or source of the rivers. He styled himself the “Scourge of God,” and boasted that grass never grew where his horse’s hoofs had trod. His career was short, like a burning lamp suddenly extinguished.
One more invasion is required, and the division of Western Rome is complete. The fourth trumpet (Revelation 8:12) symbolizes the career of Odoacer, the barbarian monarch who extinguished the separate line of Western emperors, and established the first German kingdom, AD 476. Western Rome was conquered and divided, and the throne of the Caesars was no more. In its place were established the ten kingdoms of Europe, which now bear the names of England, Germany, Italy, France, etc.
Three more trumpets are yet to sound, and, as if to prepare the mind for still greater calamities, an angel proclaims a woe to the inhabitants of the earth in connection with each one of them. Verse 13.
After the extinction of the Roman Empire in the west, there still remained the eastern division to be harassed and finally subjugated. At the sound of the fifth trumpet, to which was attached the first woe, a swarm of locusts was announced as coming out of the bottomless pit. This symbol fittingly represents the hoards of Saracens that poured out of the arid regions of Arabia at the call of Mahomet and his successors, for the invasion of Syria and Egypt. For many centuries the Mohammedans were divided into several factions, with no general government extending over them all, until they were united into one empire by Othman at the close of the thirteenth century. According to the voice of the fifth trumpet:
“To them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented live months.” Revelation 9:5.
A month in Bible chronology had thirty days. Five months would be one hundred and fifty days. In prophetic symbols, a day represents a literal year. Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. One hundred and fifty years would, therefore, be the period of time covered by this trumpet. According to Gibbon, Othman first entered Greek territory (the eastern division of Rome) on the twenty-seventh of July, 1299 AD; and for one hundred and fifty years the Turks engaged in constant war with that part of the Roman Empire, yet without completely conquering it. But in 1449 (the end of the one hundred and fifty years) a remarkable change occurred.
“One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded.” Verse 12.
In the year 1449 the Eastern emperor died, and his brother, Constantine XIII, fell heir to the throne. But before assuming the crown, he sought permission from the Turkish Sultan, without whose consent he dared not exercise his imperial authority. Thus, in the very year marked by prophecy, the power was voluntarily surrendered to the Turks, Grecian independence was gone, and shortly afterwards, the eastern dominion of the Caesars passed entirely into the hands of a new race, with whom it was to continue for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year.” Verse 15.
An ordinary Jewish year of twelve months contained three hundred and sixty days. To these days are added a month of thirty days, one day, and an hour, or one-twenty-fourth part of a day. Together they total three hundred and ninety-one and one twenty-fourth days, which, according to the symbolical significance of a day, represent three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days. The fifth trumpet began to sound on July 27, 1299. That was the date on which the Mohammedan power, under the command of Othman, first entered Nicomedia; and Gibbon remarks on the singular accuracy of the date; as that which marked the beginning of the rapid and destructive growth of the Turkish Monster. From that date, the five months of symbolic time, or the one hundred and fifty literal years, during which the fifth trumpet was to sound, continued until 1449 In 1449 the sixth trumpet began its long blast of three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days; or until the 21 of August, 1840.
The fifth trumpet began to sound 1299 AD
The fifth trumpet continued to sound 150 years
The fifth trumpet ended and 6th began 1449 AD
The sixth trumpet continued to sound 391 years and 15 days
The sixth trumpet ended 1840, August 11
What occurred on August 11, 1840, to mark the close of the sounding of the sixth trumpet? It could be nothing less than a voluntary surrender of Turkish independence, similar, in some respects, to the manner in which Greece had surrendered its independence to Turkey nearly four hundred years before. Two years prior to the expiration of the time, the light of this prophecy was seen. In 1838 it was announced to the world that on August II, 1840, the independence of the Turkish power would cease. When that year came, the Sultan found himself wasted beyond’ the hope of recovery in a war with Mehemit Ali, Pasha of Egypt. Oh July 15 the great Powers in conference in London declared in a collective note that their governments were unanimously agreed upon taking measures to arrange the said differences. The Sublime Porte willingly accepted this intervention, and on August 11 he actually consented to the presentation of the ultimatum of the four great Powers of Europe, England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, to the opposing ruler, the Pasha of Egypt, thus surrendering in a large measure the independence of the Ottoman Empire. Since that time Turkey has continued in Europe only on the sufferance of these great Powers.
The accuracy of’ the predictions contained in the six trumpets establishes beyond the reach of doubt the certainty of the consummation of the events foretold in the next trumpet.
The last symbol of the series, the seventh trumpet, is recorded in the latter part of the eleventh chapter of Revelation, beginning with the fourteenth verse: “The second woe is past; . . . and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.”
That this event is now imminent is very evident, for in connection with it the prophecy says in verse 18:
“And the Nations Were Angry.”
Beginning with that spontaneous outburst of violence among the nations in 1848, jealousy and anger have been continually increasing, until at this present time they have reached a fearful degree of intensity, and scarcely a day passes in which the daily papers do not contain some references to strained relationships among the nations and descriptions of still greater preparations for war, until the burden and strain have become almost unbearable.
That there may be no room for doubt, nor reason for unbelief the causes for this international mistrust, jealousy, and anger are plainly foretold in a prophecy found in the eleventh chapter of the book of Daniel, to which we shall refer on the next page. Immediately connected with these manifestations of anger are events which occur at the close of probation.
“And the time of the dead [is come] that they should be judged, and that Thou should give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18.
The first four trumpets mark the downfall of the western empire of Rome; and the fifth and sixth trumpets mark the destruction of the eastern division of the same empire. The seventh trumpet encompasses the subversion of all kingdoms and nations, and proclaims the establishment of the kingdom of our Lord, which shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms. Daniel 2:44. The woe of the fifth trumpet was called by Gibbon the “shipwreck of nations;“ but the woe of the seventh trumpet will, be not only the shipwreck of nations, but of the world, itself.
“And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come and who shall be able to stand?” Revelation 6: 14-17.
The Fall of Turkey
That the most skeptical may be convinced in regard to the serious import of the present international conditions, and that the most cautious may be assured, the Lord has graciously given to us a prophecy which not only predicts these great preparations for war, but also tells what will be the cause of them.
The eleventh chapter of the book of Daniel contains a prophetic sketch of history from the beginning of the reign of Darius the Mede (B.C. 538) until the time of the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, as is shown by the words of the last verses of the eleventh chapter, and the first few verses of the twelfth. The prophecy begins with the first verse of chapter eleven, by referring to Persian dominion under the first four kings; and then, in the last part of the second verse it mentions the invasion by Xerxes of the realm of Greece. Having introduced Greece, the prophecy continues:
“And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up even for others beside those.” Verses 3, 4.
This mighty king, which was to arise and do according to his will, has reference to no other than to Alexander the Great. After his death, which occurred in BC 323, the realm of Greece was divided into four parts. One of his generals seized the western provinces-Greece and Macedon. Another took the northern-Thrace and Asia Minor. Another the eastern division, from the Mediterranean. Sea to the border of India. The fourth took Egypt, Arabia, and Cyprus, in the south. Thus the kingdom was divided into four parts, toward the four points of the compass.
Not many years passed until those generals fell into dissensions among themselves, and finally the power was merged into the hands of two only-the king of the north and the king of the south. The king of the north occupied all the northern parts, from the Adriatic Sea to the River Indus; and the king of the south had Egypt, Arabia and some islands in the Mediterranean. From here the prophecy continues to speak about the king of the north and the king of the south until the sixteenth verse, after which they are not again mentioned until the fortieth verse, where they are spoken of in connection with the “time of the end.”
In the latter part of the prophecy (verse 36), another power is introduced, which is connected with the king of the north and the king of the south. And in order that this power may be readily recognized, several things concerning it are specified that enable us to determine to which kingdom the prophecy refers. Three peculiar features must be apparent in .the power that fulfils this prophecy:
These three specifications fix beyond a doubt the nation that is here introduced into prophecy. It can be no other than France, for that is the only nation in the world concerning which the authentic record survives, that as a nation she lifted her hand -in open rebellion against the Author of the universe.
“Plenty of blasphemers, plenty of infidels, there have been, and still continue to be in England, Germany, Spain, and elsewhere; but France stands apart in the world’s history as the single State which by the decree of her legislative assembly, pronounced that there was no God, and of which the entire population of the capital, and a vast majority elsewhere, women as well as men, danced and sang with joy in accepting the announcement.”-Blackwoods’ Magazine.
“The world for the first time heard an assembly of men, born and educated in civilization, and assuming the right to govern one of the finest of the European nations, uplift their united voice to deny the most solemn truth which man’s soul receives, and renounce unanimously the belief and worship of Deity.”-Scott’s Napoleon.
Before long it was found that the attempt to make France a godless nation produced nothing but anarchy, and the rulers feared that the power would pass entirely out of their hands. As a political necessity some sort of a religion must be found, so they originated the insane worship of Liberty, Equality, a Virtue, and Morality, and then in 1794 the worship of the Goddess of Reason. In this manner he worshipped “a god whom his fathers knew not.” Verse 38.
And France is the only civilized nation which answers the second description. For, says the historian, ”Immediately connected with these laws affecting religion was that which reduced the union of marriage-the most sacred engagements which human beings can form, and the permanence of which leads most strongly to the consolidation of society-to the state of a mere civil contract of a transitory character, which any two persons might engage in, and cast loose at pleasure, when their taste was changed or their appetite gratified.”
The third descriptive statement is true also of France. Prior to the Revolution, the landed property was owned by a few landlords in immense estates, the laws being such that these estates could not be divided or sold. During that frightful period of revolution when no law was recognized, these estates were confiscated, divided up, and sold for the benefit of the public exchequer.
“The confiscation of two-thirds of the landed property of the kingdom, which arose from the decrees of the convention against the emigrants, clergy, and persons convicted at the Revolutionary Tribunals, placed funds worth above $700,000,000 sterling at the disposal of the government.”-Allison.
Following the prophetic record of Daniel we read: “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him [the power just described-France]: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind.”
The application of this prophecy calls for a war in the time of the end in which France will be engaged with the governments occupying the territory formerly ruled over by Alexander the Great. For many years the northern division of Alexander’s empire has been in the hands of the Turks; and Egypt, with its adjacent countries, still constitutes southern division. We inquire, Did such a triangular war occur about the time when those conditions described in the prophecy prevailed in France? History answers, Yes. The beginning of the year 1798 found France indulging in immense -projects against England. But the season not being propitious, Napoleon determined to occupy his soldiers, and get glory-for himself, in the romantic land of the, Ptolemies. On the 3rd of May he, in charge of a numerous fleet, sailed for Alexandria, and in a few months lower Egypt was entirely under his control. On September 2 of the same year, the Sultan of Turkey, under feelings of jealousy against France, artfully fostered by England, and exasperated that Egypt, so long a semi-dependency of the Ottoman empire, should be transferred into a French province, declared war against France. The king of the north, with the aid of his allies, gained the day in this contest; the French were prevented from extending their conquests, and ultimately (I8oI) they found it necessary to evacuate Egypt entirely.
Having re-introduced the king of the north (Turkey) as a victorious Power, the prophecy continues to speak of him, and says: “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” Verse 44.
The Powers north and east of Turkey are Russia and Persia respectively. Here evident allusion is made to the Crimean war of 1853-1856. Russia, being the aggressor, was the object of attack by Turkey. The world looked on in amazement to see a government, which had long been called “the sick man of the east,” rush with such impetuosity into the conflict. Once again, with the help of her allies, England, France, and Sardinia, Turkey was victorious.
The last verse of this eleventh chapter, still speaking of the king of the north, Turkey which has its seat in Constantinople, says: “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
Since August 11, 1840, the integrity of the Ottoman Empire has been a matter of European treaty. She retains her position in Europe by means of help received from the great powers, especially from England.
For many centuries past Russia has made unremitting efforts to obtain Constantinople. Once she practically had it, but she was prevented by Great Britain, with the help of other European Powers, from keeping it. This desire on the part of Russia has been cherished from the days of Peter the Great. All Russia’s ports, with the exception of those on the Black Sea, lie in the very coldest regions, and some of them lie in the Arctic circle. She can never be great maritime power until she has open ports in warm water. For this reason she wants Constantinople, the best strategic point in all Europe. As a step toward gaining this, Peter went to Holland to learn the art of shipbuilding. In his celebrated last will and testament he says:
“Take every possible means of gaining Constantinople and Indies, for he who rules there will be the true sovereign world.”
For this reason Turkey has been a special’ object of attack, and only that he has received help Russia would have been established in Constantinople many years ago. The expression, none shall help him (verse 45), implies that Turkey would receive just such help for a time, but that the help would be ultimately withdrawn. In the war with France (1798-1801) England and Russia helped the Sultan. In the war between Turkey and Egypt (1838-1840), England, Russia, Austria; and Prussia intervened on behalf of Turkey. In the Crimean war (1853-1856), England, France, and Sardinia supported the Turk. In the Russia-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the great Powers of Europe interfered to arrest the progress of Russia.
It has been Great Britain’s policy for many years past to help the Turkish Government to retain its European capital, through a fear that if any other Power seized it, England’s sea route to India by the Suez Canal would be endangered in time of war. Until the present time the Eastern Question has been term applied to a struggle, primarily between Russia and- England-the attempts of the former to possess Constantinople and the balance of power in Europe, and the efforts of the latter to prevent her from doing so. Thus far England has been fairly successful. Not only has she frustrated Russia’s’ designs in Europe, but she has also confronted her in every move that she has made to reach the sea, from Kamchatka on the Pacific to Norway on the Atlantic.
We invite the reader to glance at the map on the second page, and note particularly Britain’s points of vantage-the English Channel, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus; the mouths of the Nile, the Suez Canal, the Straits of Bab-el-mandeb, within the Straits of Omuz, all India, Tibet, Hong-Kong, the heart of China to Shanghai, and Wei-hai-wei. Then by her alliance with Japan-Formosa and the isles of, Japan to the point of Kamchatka; and all Japan’s influence in Korea and Manchuria. Let anybody do this, and then say, if he can, that British diplomacy and statesmanship have not magnificently triumphed over Russia in the contest of the Eastern Question. “It has been well said that in all the history of the world, there has never been a longer-headed problem, nor ; one more wisely worked out, than this one so splendidly perfected by the statesmen o£ Britain.”
The Predicted Departure of the Turk from Europe
Continuing his prophecy Daniel says: “He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain.” Verse 45.
In other words, Turkey shall remove his capital from Constantinople to Jerusalem, which is situated on Mount Zion, between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. What are the prospects for such a move? Despite Britain’s efforts and her success in frustrating the designs of Russia, the Turkish dominion s Europe has been greatly reduced, until its present extent is but a fraction of its former dimensions. Some of its States and dependencies have been granted their freedom, or partial freedom, and others have been absorbed by the Powers to the north and to the west. This gradual and hitherto comparatively peaceful contraction of territory makes the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the final withdrawal of Turkey from Europe more simple and easy of accomplishment.
If anything should occur that would lead England to change her mind respecting the danger of permitting Russia to occupy Constantinople, and she should withdraw her objection to the Muscovite possessing that historic and highly strategic position, then but a little time would elapse before the Turk would have to return to his Asiatic dominions, of which Jerusalem is the chief city; and the way would be opened for the final act in the world’s drama, which is predicted in the first verse of the last chapter of Daniel.
Are there any prospects of such a change in Britain’s policy? Ever since the atrocious Armenian massacres of 1895, British public sentiment and opinion have been undergoing a revolution such as usually foreshadows just such a change of policy as is here required. Subsequent events favor this inclination. When the treaty between France and Great Britain was signed, and all the old causes of friction between the two countries were eliminated, a way was opened for a readjustment of English opinion regarding Russia, the close ally of France. The tendency of things in this direction was accelerated than checked by the offensive and defensive alliance concluded between Britain and Japan a few years ago, which ensures British possessions in the far East, and which is now further strengthened by an Australasian army and navy subsidized by the British Government. For the present, Russia’s aspirations have received a check in the far East, and she will naturally turn her attention nearer home, to the Near East. Nor is it any longer a matter of vital concern to England, now that her possession of Egypt and the Suez Canal is assured, to shut Russia out of the Bosphorus. For these reasons, British public opinion with reference to Russian expansion in southeastern Europe is rapidly undergoing a remarkable change. The Porte can rely on British protection no longer, and the way is plainly opening for his compulsory removal to Asia.
Perhaps another reason for this startling change in England’s near Eastern policy is the fear of a strong alliance between Russia and Germany. Teutonic ambitions and aspirations are causing as much anxiety to British statesmen at this present time as was ever caused by similar tendencies in the Slavic German influence is predominant in Constantinople, and much German money is invested in Asia Minor. The Kaiser has come, to regard that country as the place for his next colonial venture, and he much desires to control it in the same way as England controls Egypt. If England withdraws her objection to the Russian flag flying over Constantinople, the only obstacle to Russia’s slow march on Turkey would be German ambition. To check that is now the great object of Britain’s efforts. Seeing that Russia must have access to warm-water ports within the next few years, and that recent developments have made England’s dependencies in the far East fairly secure, it is thought by many that England can now afford, to good advantage to herself, to permit Russia to obtain the “object of her existence,” Constantinople. And by that means retard Germany’s expansion.
Turkey herself expects to have to move; and, in anticipation of the event, it is said that for many years devout Mohammedans have not buried their dead in Europe, where their graves might sometime be defiled by the unhallowed feet of the infidel, but have taken them across the Hellespont into Asia. During the late Russia-Japanese war, when it was thought that Russia was sure to obtain an easy victory, the Sultan, thinking that Russia’s anticipated success in the far East would be but the prelude-to a bold stroke in the near East by the same Power, took the precaution to remove his treasures from Constantinople to Boursa, in Asia; and when the Russians made a peremptory demand for large sums of money which the Sultan’s government still owes to Russia, the Sultan concluded that his days in Europe were surely numbered, and he prepared to go. A tradition that their capital will sometime be established in Jerusalem is firmly believed by Mohammedans, and that the Christians will still come to fight against them there; and that when they do, then Messiah and Mahomet will come: Certainly the prophecy says he will remove, after which “he shall come to his end;” and when that event does occur, the prophet continues:
”At that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that, same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1.
That the standing up of Michael is imminent; there is no room for reasonable doubt. Signs which are to immediately precede the event are now engaging the attention of all the world. Preparations are being made by Turkey to remove into Asia. He is gradually being dispossessed of his European domain; and that Power which has for many years been instrumental in retaining him in Europe, is quickly changing her mind in regard to the necessity of keeping him there any longer; and the same Power is forming a fast friendship with his inveterate enemy. Other political conditions which are rapidly developing in Europe indicate that before, long, the fatal move will be made-that move which will be followed in a short time by his complete dissolution. Immediately connected with that event will be the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. It will be nothing less than an international catastrophe-a catastrophe for which the nations are even now preparing.
Bosnia and Herzegovina have been annexed by Austria. Bulgaria has declared its independence. Recent political reforms in Turkey cannot stay the hand of destiny. Reforms of government are only superficial and deceptive, unless they come as the result of reforms in the individual character of those who exercise the governing powers. That Turkey was corrupt there can be no doubt and that she still remains so is just as true. “Marvelous as the turnabout of young Turkey has been, one must still ask himself if it is not like a beautiful flower, blooming suddenly upon a heap of corruption but destined to lose its brilliant colors in a few days. Indeed, the most sober-minded observers consider the enterprise of the Ottoman revolutionists not only as an extraordinary one, but also, from a human standpoint, as an impossible one. How can a bond of unity sufficiently strong and elastic be established between nationalities, Turks, Bulgarians, Romanians, Serbians, Albanians, who until recently hated each other with a hatred which could be satisfied with nothing less than murder, slaughter and torture?” No form of government more faithfully reflects the character of its people than does representative government. There can be no hope for a permanent reform for Turkey.
The East Awakening
The signs which immediately precede the great event of the ages, the second coming of Christ, are most conclusive in their evidence. Not only does the Bible say in one prophecy, “that the nations will be angry,” and then in another prophecy tell exactly what will be the cause of that anger; but it also, in still another prophecy, particularizes the extent of that anger, as it will be manifest in preparations for’;; war amongst the nations.. Also it calls attention to an anomaly which will exist during these stirring and, portentous times; a conflict, as it were, between the actions of men and nations, and their most solemn promises; or their most sincere beliefs.
There is in the first epistle of the Thessalonians and the fifth chapter, a statement to the effect that the coming of Christ will occur at a time when people will be saying; “Peace and safety.” To say such when those conditions are prevalent would not be remarkable, but to persist in saying it when conditions are obviously otherwise would be significant.
In fulfillment of this prediction there is at the present time a large class of professed Christian people who, despite innumerable evidences to the contrary, will persist in preaching that the world is gradually improving, that war will soon cease, and that even now we are entering the millennium-a period of time in which it will be easier to do good than to do evil. Their hopes are centered in peace congresses and courts of arbitration, with the expectation that sometime, not far in the future, the nations “shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Micah 4:3. But those people are unmindful of the fact that the Lord does not say the nations will actually do that. He does say, however, that many nations (verse 2) will make loud boasts of religion, and peaceful intentions; and magnanimity (verse 5) predictions which the nations are even now fulfilling by their professionals, while at the same time, by their conduct, they are fulfilling another prophecy which describes the actions of the nations in the last days in terms of exactly opposite import:
“Proclaim you this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your ploughshares into swords; and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong.” Joel 3:9, 10.
The Gentile nations here mentioned are, undoubtedly, the nations of Western Europe. No word is required to convince the unprejudiced reader that this prediction is now being fulfilled to an extent never before contemplated in the history of the world. But the next two verses introduce another phase which is still more significant. It is a call to the heathen to awaken and assemble, and prepare to participate in the final struggle of the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat, that ancient battle-ground of empires.
No sooner are the heathen mentioned than the mind immediately reverts to the great nations of the East, and that those are the nations to which the prophecy refers is clearly stated in the sixteenth chapter of the book of Revelation. Describing the events that are to occur under the sixth plague, which immediately precedes the coming of Christ, the prophet says:
“And the sixth angel poured out his vial on the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared.” Verse 12.
The Euphrates is an historic river which flows through the Asiatic portion of the Ottoman Empire. The drying up” of the river, which is to prepare the way of the kings of the East, cannot be taken in a literal sense; for mighty armies have crossed and re-crossed it at all seasons of the year, from the days of Chedorlaomer until the present time. It certainly must be taken figuratively as a symbol of the empire through which it flows. In favor of this interpretation we have a Bible precedent (Isaiah 8:7), where it is used as a symbol of Assyria when that empire occupied the territory now held by Turkey.
The drying up of Turkey in Asia, which is the same event as that spoken of in Daniel 11:45 says, “He shall come to his end,” will prepare the way, or afford the pretext for a mighty invasion from the East (Revelation 16:12), and will precipitate a war in which “the kings of the earth, and of the whole world,” will participate. Verse 14. It will be the time of international trouble spoken of in Daniel 12:1; the battle of Armageddon of Revelation 16:16. Europe and Asia have suffered from several other invasions from the East in ages past; and now, according to this prophecy, once more, after the Turk is driven out of Europe and finally despoiled of his Asiatic possessions, the civilized nations are to be called upon to fight for their existence, in Palestine, that historic roads between three continents. The climax cross- this great battle will be the standing up the establishing of the kingdom of our Lord and of, His Christ.
But what, we may reasonably ask, are the Eastern nations doing to prepare for the part they will act in the coming struggle? Our minds, when contemplating serious national affairs, have been so long accustomed to omitting Eastern governments that it with a degree of strangeness we tardily consent to destined to participate in acknowledge that they are, the forthcoming universal struggles with which the history of this world will close.
“The awakening of the East“ is a phrase already made familiar to us by the frequency of its occurrence in the daily papers, when they discuss the unprecedented revolutions now taking place in the great heathen nation of China, and which have already been accomplished in her little neighbor across the Yellow Sea. The fact that a small hermit nation like Japan-not so long ago classed as semi-civilized-has sprung to political manhood; has revolution suddenly her Methods of government; has firmly established her finance, trade, and commerce, and has collected a fleet of modern war vessels; has disciplined an army of scientific fighting men; has defeated the strongest-military power in Europe, under no specially favorable conditions; all within three or our decades, shows that the West has entirely under rated the potentialities of the East and the terrible power which the yellow races possess. In Japan, with its forty millions of inhabitants, we see what an awakening means. What will it mean when China, with its four hundred millions of inhabitants, awakens to her possibilities and determines to become a world power, and to compete on equal terms with other nations for the world’s wealth, and to maintain her dignity and that of her citizens in countries where they are now despised?
For many centuries China has been asleep. But that she is now awakening is plainly evident. Every phase of her national and social life bears, indisputable evidence to the fact. The oldest and most conservative nation in the world is slowly realizing that she must bestir herself if she would escape from the rapacity of the Western nations, all of which have their covetous eyes turned towards her vast stores of wealth and her unlimited population, amongst which there is an ever-increasing demand for the manufactured products of Europe.
How is this awakening manifest among the Chinese themselves? Improvements in the facilities for traveling are amongst the chief civilizing factors of the age. Thirty years ago the prejudice of the Chinese people against railways was so great that the government bought a little road running out of Shanghai from its foreign builders and owners, sold the rolling-stock, and tore up the rails. Now government placards may be seen in the towns and villages of the interior, calling attention to projected railways setting forth their advantages to the people, and asking for subscriptions to the stock. Railways from the coast to the great coal field of China, the largest and richest in the world, are among the avowed designs of the government, and they will probably be built in the near future.
But this is not all. In Japan, India, and to some extent in China, mills and factories, equipped with, the best modern machinery, have been established within a few years; and there is little doubt that in the near future there will be a large increase in these industries, especially in the manufacture of cotton and silk goods.
Important as are the indications of advance in material production, the mental awakening seems likely to exert an influence of far greater moment to the world. Most of us have too low an estimate of the present conditions of the Asiatic mind. The principal sign of this mental awakening is the educational movement. In Japan, education on Western lines is compulsory, and steps have been taken in China in the same direction. An imperial decree has been issued directing the opening of preparatory schools in every city, town, and village, which every boy over eight years of age must attend on pain of punishment to his parents. The system of higher education has been revolutionized by the introduction of Western learning and methods. Many text-books on leading subjects by French, German, and English scholars are being translated into Chinese.
Another significant indication is the activity of the printing press and the introduction of the newspaper and magazine. In Shanghai alone there are twelve Chinese newspapers, and the translations of Western books on all subjects are numerous and widely read.
The most evident signs, however, of the awakening are the political agitations. These are partly owing to the extraordinary advance of Japan, which within a few years has risen from comparative insignificance to an equal rank with the great Powers in all matters concerning the far East. The popular demand for governmental reform in China has been answered by the promise of a constitution in 1916.
Another indication of what is being accomplished is the gradual change in the position of the woman and in the establishment of the Christian home. This is to be seen in the decree abolishing foot-binding in China, and in several women’s newspapers edited and published by women only.
The change of sentiment in China in regard to warfare is another feature of great import and of especial significance in the light of prophecy. From time immemorial the profession of a soldier has been considered most dishonorable, and one in which the educated and the noble would not engage. Now, by decree of the emperor, every high official has not only to encourage the art of war, but he is also called upon to devote at least one of his own sons to it; or, if he have none, some other near relative. A recent traveler in China, who has spent several years in studying the most primitive races upon earth, states that in China he found in two thousand cities, and in nearly one thousand and two hundred towns, that the natives are being instructed in the use of modern military arms; and he also heard while in that country that China would’ before many years be able to muster an army of between two and three millions of men.
The Chinese possess many qualities which are necessary to military success. They are stolidly indifferent to death, and are capable of inexhaustible endurance. Ten of them can live on what it costs to maintain one European soldier. And the vast population will provide an unlimited supply. Recent years have proved that they are capable of being drilled and instructed in all the branches of modern warfare, and that their ability to maneuver compares favorably with that of the best drilled corps of the West. A prominent English missionary who has been laboring in China, writing on the subject of the Yellow Peril, says:
“There is, undoubtedly, growing up amongst the leading men of China one purpose-China for the Chinese.. China is arming. Her arsenals are full of modern machinery, and she has not paid Germans and Japanese for nothing. Smokeless powder, up-to-date rifles and big guns are made in her own workshops.
“Can we contemplate unmoved the spectacle of a vast heathen nation-frugal, hard-working, clever artisans, capable men of business, and able to live on little-trained in all the science of modern warfare, and armed with modern weapons, intoxicated with the possibilities of its high developing resources, and prepared, as the nations of the West have been, to contest the commercial supremacy of the world.”
Every competent observer testifies that the spirit and conception of an Asiatic league are growing. It is not merely a Sino-Japanese movement, but it is a movement that is spreading from Manchuria to India. There is not an Oriental nation that does not feel that a new day has dawned, that the injustice and oppression of ages are about to be destroyed at last. The triumph of Japan over Russia has marked the beginning of a new era in world affairs.
The Eastern nations are, surely, with the nations of the West, preparing for the coming crisis. That which was shown to the prophet Jeremiah in vision, we can now see in actual fact. A glimpse, down through the ages, of the awful preparations now being made by the nations for the destruction of each other, moved him to the depths of his heart:
“My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou has heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” Jeremiah 4: 19-22.
The prophet laments, in this forceful language, the foolishness and the greediness of these nations that profess to be Christian. They profess to be God’s people, but they do not know Him. If they would exercise the same degree of energy in promulgating the gospel of Jesus Christ, as they do in preparing for war, then the earth would present a different scene from that which it now does, and the Lord would exercise the same leniency to it as He did to Nineveh of old. Instead of being an armed camp, the world would be preparing to receive Him whose, coming is nigh at hand. In the next view which the prophet obtains of the earth its conditions are entirely changed. The activities of man are ceased, and he is gone. The earth is reduced to chaos, and there is no light. The cities, the mighty works of man, lie crumbling in the dust, and all his engines of war are useless. Jeremiah 4:23-27. The Lord has come in fierce anger, and has destroyed the inhabitants of the earth.
“And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from “one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:33.
Nevertheless, He has promised that He will not make a full end, but will deliver the righteous, and restore to them the earth made new, radiant with celestial glory.
The Kingdom of Christ
There is no subject mentioned in the Bible more frequently than that of the second coming of Christ, and, than it, there is no event of greater moment to the human race. The Christian can look forward to the advent of his Savior with glad hopes, and in its anticipation he can obtain comfort in all his sorrows. At that time the righteous dead will be raised, and they, with the righteous living, “shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the. Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4: 16, 17.
The coming of Christ will be a personal, visible one. While the disciples were watching Him go away at His ascension, Luke says,
“Two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11.
At the time of His coming Christ will fulfill the promises made to His disciples in the fourteenth chapter of John, when they were sorrowing because of His expressed intention of shortly leaving them:
“Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3.
The event that brings to the righteous their reward will also bring to the wicked their retribution. “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10.
When Christ comes the earth will, for a time, be reduced to its former chaotic condition, as foreseen by the prophet Jeremiah, and revealed to the Apostle Peter:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:9, 10.
This condition; however, is not. to be final. The Creator of the universe will yet accomplish His original designs regarding the earth, and He will make it the blest abode of a holy and happy people.
“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” 2 Peter 3: 13.
The righteous are to spend a thousand years in the courts of heaven with their Savior (Revelation 20:4), and then descend to the earth in the New Jerusalem:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven, and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Revelation 21:1-3.
At that time the Lord will fulfill His promises to Abraham and to His spiritual seed through Jesus Christ. Then the meek shall inherit the earth, and the righteous shall dwell in the land, and the saints shall possess the kingdom forever.
“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellence of our God.” Isaiah 35:1, 2.
Conclusion
There have been times when the world has been subjected to visitations of divine wrath, and also occasions when other special events have occurred of vital interest to the human race.
There was no need for any of these things to have taken the people then living unawares. Nothing has ever happened in this world of eternal import to the inhabitants but what the Lord has caused a warning to be given, which, if it had been heeded, would have enabled the people to have escaped the calamities, or to have prepared for the events.
The antediluvians were warned by Noah for over one hundred years; but they disregarded his words and perished in the flood. The wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah scoffed at the preaching of Lot, and were consumed in the fires that devoured their cities. The Ninevites escaped their impending doom by diligently confessing their sins and repenting when warned by Jonah. The Jews rejected their Messiah because they failed to recognize the evidences concerning Him, which were contained in the law and the prophets, the Scriptures in which they trusted.
Are we going to make a similar mistake, and be unprepared for the great event of the ages because we do not discern the signs of the times which are so faithfully foretold in the Bible? Marvelous things are happening on every -hand, things which in themselves are big with gloomy import; but when they are seen in the light of prophetic predictions, they assume a seriousness that may well cause the most careless to consider whither his feet are tending.
The intense earnestness of the nations in their titanic efforts to excel in their preparations for the immolation of each other, is an evidence that they have almost run their race. The sketch history contained in the prophecy of the seven trumpets accurately traces events down to our own day; and then, in a few short words, describes the present state of the nations, and announces the establishment of the kingdom of Christ.
That no mistake need be made respecting the particular time to which these conditions apply, a special prophecy is given in the book of Daniel. This prophecy also accurately traces history down to our own day, and then describes conditions and events as we now see them; and we recognize them to be the cause of the present international mistrust, with its attendant evils.
Still other predictions speak of these international troubles and tell of nations taking part in them, which, until recent years, were thought to be, and indeed were, utterly unable to operate offensively in any serious international troubles. Then we are told that while all these preparations are being made and the madness of the nations is intensifying, there will be a class of people who will trust in theories of their own inventing, and who will, despite every evidence to the contrary, persist in lulling the inhabitants of the world to sleep by proclaiming, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.
This day are these things being fulfilled before our eyes. The kingdom of God is at hand. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.” Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
GEORGE TEASDALE.
“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? For the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8: 19, 20.
1. At what time does this warning have its proper application?
THIS admonition is found in a prophecy that pertains to the gospel dispensation. For the preceding verse, which reads, “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts which dwells in Mount Zion,” is quoted in Hebrews 2:13, and applied to “For and the New Testament church. Thus we read, For both He that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee. And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again, Behold, I and the children which God hath given Me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Verses 11-14.
And it is worthy of notice that in verse 16, which reads, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples,” the term disciples is used, which is the common designation in the New Testament of a follower of Jesus, though it is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament. The force of this expression, as pointing us to New Testament times, is seen in the fact that He who uses this term, “My disciples,” is evidently our Lord Jesus Christ.
A further proof that this passage relates to the New Testament dispensation is found in the fact that the “stone of stumbling” and the “rock of offence” of verse 14, which reads, “ And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence,” is our divine Redeemer. For thus the New Testament applies this verse, which it blends in quotation with Isaiah 28: 16, giving the language of both in one. Thus: “As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offence, and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” Romans 9: 33.
“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious ; but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed.” 1 Peter 2:7, 8.
Another evidence that this prophecy of Isaiah pertains to the gospel dispensation is found in the fact that the next verse, which says that many shall “stumble and fall and be broken,” is applied in the texts last quoted, or in their connection, to those who reject Christ. Thus, Paul says of those who stumble at Christ crucified (Romans 9: 32), “They stumbled at that stumbling-stone.”
It thus appears that the admonition of Isaiah 8: 19, 20, belongs to the New Testament dispensation. A further study of the connection will establish the fact that it was designed especially for the last days of this dispensation, when the disciples of Christ are waiting upon the Lord and looking for Him. For the prophet, who personates in this chapter, sometimes the Lord and sometimes His people, says, in verse 17, “I will wait upon the Lord [Douay Bible, ‘for the Lord’] that hides His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.” The New Testament church, was commanded not to look for that event till the Roman Antichrist should have his predicted period of exaltation. 2 Thessalonians 2. But when the tribulation of those days should expire, the Savior promised that the signs o1 His second advent should begin to be seen, and the saints were then to look and wait for their returning Lord.
Thus we are instructed: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh; so likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24: 32, 33.
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, Then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh. And He spoke to them a parable: Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise you, when you see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” Luke 21:25-31.
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and you yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocks, they may open unto Him immediately.” Luke 12:35-36.
“Therefore wait you upon me said the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with, the fire of My jealousy.” Zephaniah 3:8.
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28.
“And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” Isaiah 25:9.
The prophecy of Isaiah 8:17-22, in which the waiting position of the church is designated, has reference, therefore, to that period immediately preceding the advent of the Savior. He has proved a stone of stumbling to worldly professors, whether His first or second advent be considered. And it is from this class that He hides His face.
Another clue to the time of the fulfillment of this prophecy is found in the work which it assigns the church: “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.” Verse 16. We know that the man of sin was to oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God, and to think to change times and laws. Daniel 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2. And we know that the law of God and the precepts of Christ have been wickedly mangled by the great anti-Christian power. We know also that it is the work of the third angel of Revelation 14, in the period of the saints’ patience, to raise up a people that shall keep all the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And we know also that the remnant of the church in the end of this dispensation is to be warred upon by the dragon because they keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17. This work of binding up the testimony and sealing the law among the disciples of Christ is the very work of the third angel. This law and testimony thus restored to the people of God is that to which they are to appeal in their final conflict with the familiar spirits. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according in this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.
We cannot doubt, therefore, that the admonition of Isaiah respecting the familiar spirits, pertains to the time in which we now live, when the unclean spirits are making preparation for the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Revelation 16:13.
And when the prophet says of them that seek to familiar spirits, “They shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward” (Isaiah 8:21), he fitly describes the famine predicted in the following passage: “Behold, the days come, said the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord; and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” Amos 8: 11, 12.
And when Isaiah adds, “And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness “ (verse 22), he speaks of their dreadful anguish in the battle of the great day, and of their final destruction in the outer darkness. Jude 1:13.
2. What is the meaning of the terms used in the text?
The law and the testimony by which their teachings are to be tested is thus spoken of in the Scriptures: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 19:7-8.
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31.
“But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, lie is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak you, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:9-12.
“Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4.
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.
“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31.
“A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20: 27.
“When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nation. There shall not be found among you anyone that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord; and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” Deuteronomy 18:9-12.
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” 1 Samuel 15:23.
“And he caused his children to puss through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; also he, observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards; he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.” 2 Chronicles 33:6.
2. The New Testament bears quite as pointed a testimony against witchcraft or sorcery:
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, WITCHCRAFT, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21.
“But there was a certain man called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used SORCERY and BEWITCHED the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one ; to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had BEWITCHED THEM WITH SORCERIES.” Acts 8:9-11.
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and SORCERERS, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8.
“For without are dogs, and SORCERERS, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.” Revelation 22:15.
These scriptures are sufficient to show that dealing with familiar spirits, otherwise called sorcery, or witchcraft, is a sin of fearful magnitude in the sight of God. Nor can it be said that this is an Old Testament sin, of which the New Testament knows nothing. For Paul, Luke, and John, or rather the Spirit of God speaking through them, class this with the vilest of sins; and exclude those who are guilty of it from any part in the kingdom.
4. What, then, is the sin of witchcraft, or of dealing with familiar spirits?
The testimony of the Bible furnishes the answer to this important question. It is the holding of direct intercourse with Satan or his evil angels, under the name of conversing with the spirits of the dead. That dealing with familiar spirits purported to be dealing with the dead, is evident from the words of Isaiah “When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, should not a people seek unto their God? For the living to the dead?” But we have a case of this very sin recorded at considerable length in the Bible, and to this let us refer. It is the case of Saul and the witch of Endor.
“Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knows what Saul has done, how he has cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land; wherefore then lays thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul swear to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives, there shall no punishment happen to you for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul saying, Why has thou deceived me? For thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Bo not afraid; for what saw thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? Aid she said, An old man cometh up; and is covered with a mantle.
And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why has thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou may make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become your enemy? And the Lord hath done to him, as he spoke by me; for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of the hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David; because thou obeyed not the voice of the Lord, nor executed His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines; and to-morrow shall thou and thy, sons be with me; the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.” 1 Samuel 28: 3-20.
We have in this scripture a particular account of the sin of witchcraft as practiced in the days of ancient Israel. Dealing with familiar spirits in those days was precisely the same as the present work of consulting the dead through the spirit mediums, known as modern Spiritualism. Let us consider the facts in this case.
1. Saul, the king of Israel, had lived in rebellion against God for many years. Because of this, the Lord had left him to himself, and refused to communicate with him either by dreams, or by prophets, or in any other manner. The army of the Philistines had come up against him, and in his distress he sought to one having a familiar spirit.
Samuel, the prophet of God, was now dead. He had faithfully warned Saul against disobeying the Lord, and in the last warning that he gave him, he told him that rebellion was as the sin of witchcraft. Now that Samuel is dead, Saul, who had despised his word for many years, and who had lived during this time without any intercourse with God through His prophets, now determined, by the means of witchcraft, which Samuel had warned him against, to have an interview with Samuel.
The first act of the woman was to ascertain whether Saul really wished to converse with the dead, or whether he feigned this in order to detect her in the practice of witchcraft, and put her to death. But when Saul had sworn to her by a solemn oath that she should not be punished for divining unto him by the familiar spirit, the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up unto thee?” It was her business to bring up any of the dead that might be called for. Her question was precisely that of a spirit medium of the present day, except, indeed, that in these days the dead are brought down from the third heaven, or from the higher spheres; whereas in those days they were called up from a region below.
Saul said to the woman, “Bring me up Samuel.” And thus we have the very words used in seeking unto those who had familiar spirits. The diviner, sorcerer, enchanter, necromancer, wizard, or witch, for these names are all given to those who in some form do this work, asks of the one who seeks knowledge from the dead, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And the inquirer names the dead person with whom he would converse. This shows the exactness of Isaiah’s language when he represents the consulting with familiar spirits as seeking “for the living to the dead.” Modern Spiritualism has furnished the counter part of this very conversation in innumerable instances.
“Divine unto me by the familiar spirit,” said Saul, and “bring me up Samuel.” And now the familiar spirit at the bidding of this wicked woman must show what his powers are capable of accomplishing. He must produce Samuel in truth and verity; or if this is beyond his power he must imitate him so perfectly that Saul should be made to believe that it was Samuel himself.
The woman invokes her familiar spirit, and the divination proves eminently successful. “And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why has thou deceived me? For thou art Saul.” It is evident that the woman herself was surprised at something; for she cried out in her terror. And from this fact many have concluded that, contrary to the expectation of the woman, Samuel actually came but it should be observed that if Samuel were indeed present on that occasion, it must have been, 1. Because the familiar spirit had power to bring him up; or, (2) because the Lord saw fit to send him to meet Saul. But both these views are false and absurd. For (1) It would be absurd to believe that the familiar spirit had power to control at pleasure not merely the dead in general, but the righteous dead in particular. Who dare assert that the familiar spirits are able, at the bidding of wicked men or women, to bring up from the dead the most eminent servants of God? And (2) it would be not only absurd, but almost wicked to represent the Lord as sending Samuel to meet Saul on this forbidden ground when He had refused to answer him at all by any prophet, though Saul anxiously sought such answer in a lawful manner before he ventured on the dreadful expedient of consulting a familiar spirit; and (3) as it was a wicked thing in Saul to invoke the incantations of this servant of Satan, how can it be shown to be consistent for holy Samuel to come when thus invoked by Satanic power?
It is said that the woman was terrified by the actual presence of Samuel. Those who say this do not read time record with proper attention. For it is to be observed that the woman did not cry out in her terror, “Samuel himself has come indeed!” She was not astonished at the sight of the old man with his mantle; for it was the business of her familiar spirit to present a perfect representation of any dead person. Indeed, it does not appear that responses were expected until the person invoked had been raised up. But there was a fact that the woman learned the moment -this reputed Samuel appeared, and that fact filled her with terror. The first act of this so-called Samuel was to make known to this woman that her guest was no other than Saul, the king of Israel, the man who had destroyed every such person as herself that he could discover. It was this fact that alarmed her; for in her terror she cries out, “Why has thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.” She was not alarmed that Samuel had come; her only terror was that she found herself in the hands of Saul. This circumstance itself furnishes a convincing proof that this reputed Samuel was no other than her familiar spirit personating him; for the first act of this professed servant of the Most High was to put this wicked woman on her guard by a private hint that he who was her guest was no other than Saul himself. Let us read further in this wonderful record:
“And the king said unto her, Be not afraid; for what saw thou? And time woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth, And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man comes up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.”
It is to be observed (1) That all the wonderful things seen on this occasion, Saul saw nothing. Witness the expressions, and it will be seen that it was the woman, and not Saul, who saw what was seen. Thus, “the woman saw Samuel;” the king said, “What saw thou?” The woman said, “I saw gods ascending out of the earth.”
Saul inquires, “What form is he of?” The woman answers, “An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived [from the woman’s description] that it was Samuel.”
It is to be observed (2) that lest any should say that Saul might have seen all that the woman saw had he not been prostrate upon the ground, the sacred writer tells us that it was after Saul had asked the woman these questions that “he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed him self.”
It is to be observed (3) that this wonderful manifestation of either divine or Satanic power arose out of the earth. Thus the woman said to Saul, “I saw gods ascending out of the earth;” or as Gesenius gives it in his Hebrew Lexicon, “I see a godlike form ascending out of the earth.” And when Saul asked, “What form is he of?” she said, “An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle.”
It is to be observed (4) that there are several facts here brought to view hard to be explained if this was the real Samuel, but very easy to understand if this was the familiar spirit personating or counterfeiting him. The first is, that holy Samuel should come in answer to her wicked incantations. The second is, that he should arise out of the earth. The third is, that the woman should see him while Saul could not see him. The fourth is, that this holy man should first of all communicate private information to this abandoned woman, putting her on her guard against Saul. The fifth is, that the woman was not alarmed at the presence of this old man with his mantle, but only alarmed when he told her that she had Saul in the house.
But let us further consider the question of Samuel’s presence. If he were actually present, and this manifestation was not a Satanic representation of him, he must have come (1) as an immortal spirit from glory; or (2) he must have been raised from the dead, and therefore been present with his own flesh and bones.
But the first of these views must be abandoned, for (1) an immortal spirit from the realms of glory could not come up out of the earth. (2) Nor would such an one begin his work by a private communication to the witch. (3) It is moreover incredible that the incantations of her Satanic craft should enable her to see such a holy being while Saul could see nothing.
Let us see if the second view is any less open to objection. The fact that this reputed Samuel arose out of the earth before this woman, as an old man covered with a mantle, may be supposed to substantiate the idea that Samuel was present with his own flesh and bones. Before disproving this view of the case, several questions concerning it may well be asked: (1) Samuel was buried in distant Ramah. See verse 3. How could he come out of the ground in Endor? (2) Can it be believed that he was raised by God to talk with Saul upon the devil’s own ground? (3) Would such a man as Samuel, who held witchcraft as a heinous sin (1 Samuel 15:23), before beginning his message to Saul, first hold private converse with this wicked woman in the midst of her incantations? (4) And what became of this old man thus raised from the dead? Did he go through the pains of a second dissolution? He might in such case well complain of being disquieted and brought up by Saul. Verse 15.
But there is one important fact that settles this question of Samuel’s resurrection. Had Samuel been present in his own flesh and bones, and not as a matter of enchantment or sorcery, Saul would have seen him as well as the woman. That Saul could not see hint is convincing proof that Samuel was not raised from the dead. He must have been raised-if raised at all----by God or by Satan. But the devil cannot raise the dead; and it is certain that the God of heaven would not raise His servant in answer to Satanic incantations.
We are therefore brought to the conclusion that Samuel was not present either as in immortal spirit from the third heaven, or as resurrected from the dead. And therefore the conclusion is inevitable that this Samuel is no other than the familiar spirit personating the man of God. Saul had asked the God of heaven to speak to him by His prophets; but for his wickedness this was refused. This time he asks Satan to send him Samuel; and Satan was not slow to answer the prayer by sending such a Samuel as he could produce. And now let us hear what this Samuel, produced by Satan, had to say:
“And Samuel said to Saul, Why has thou disquieted me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou may make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing that the Lord is departed from thee, and is become your enemy? And the Lord hath done to him, as He spoke by me; for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David; because thou obeyed not the voice of the Lord, nor executed His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow shall thou and thy sons be with me; the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.”
The first words of this so-called Samuel are remarkable. He does not wait to hear Saul’s request, but asks Saul in a petulant manner what he has disturbed him for, to bring him up.
This is an acknowledgment on the part of this reputed Samuel that he had come through Saul’s act of seeking Satan. It is not holy Samuel sent by God; but is that kind of Samuel that Satan could send. And observe, he does not represent himself as coming down from the courts of glory, but as coming up from the regions below. Those who think that Samuel was actually present from the heavenly Jerusalem, may explain how wicked Saul could be present with him the next day. Verse 19.
Saul relates to Samuel his sore distress. And now behold the result of serving Satan, and then calling upon him for help in the day of dire extremity. Satan flatters men during all the time in which they can repent, telling them the path in which they are walking is the path of the righteous; or, if it is not, it is just as good as that of the righteous, and will end at last in heaven; or, if it be not just right, there is plenty of time for repentance, and that they may safely neglect it for many years. But when the last hours of their probation are expiring, he comes upon his victims with overwhelming power, telling them that it is now too late, and drives them to despair by repeating the history of their sins, until, perhaps, they take their lives with their own hands. Such was the case with Saul. Satan led him to despise the warnings of the prophets, and to presume upon the mercy of God, till the very hour of his extremity was upon him, and then, by rehearsing his sins, and provoking him, with David’s certain triumph over him, and extinguishing every hope, both of this world and the next, he drives him to utter despair and immediate suicide. He tells him:
1. The Lord is departed from thee, and is become your enemy; i.e., there is absolutely no hope in your case.
And now let us follow Saul to the battle. We cannot, indeed, say whether it came on the following day, but it was not delayed long. His army was defeated with a terrible slaughter, his sons were slain, and Saul, in utter despair, kills himself with his own sword. See 1 Samuel 31.
Such was the result of his seeking to one that had a familiar spirit. But before we take leave of this extraordinary case, let us hear what is said of it by that sacred writer who makes the only other mention of it.
“So Saul died for his transgression which lie committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the Lord. Therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” 1 Chronicles 10: 13, 14.
It is worthy of observation that this passage names the familiar spirit as the one that Saul conversed with, and says not one word about Samuel, in whose form and dress he came, and under whose name he completed the ruin of Saul. It was the familiar spirit that he inquired of, and that held discourse with him. This is made very manifest by quoting this text without the supplied words: “For asking of a familiar spirit to inquire. And inquired not of the Lord.” It was the familiar spirit, therefore, and not the Lord through Samuel, with whom Saul conversed.
The sin of witchcraft, or the dealing with familiar spirits, consists, therefore, in holding intercourse with Satan under the name of conversing with the dead. And observe how completely, under such circumstances, men put themselves under the power of Satan.
With hearts wounded and bleeding under some great bereavement, they call up their dear departed. And when their peculiarities are exactly reproduced, and when little tokens of friendship, which were known only to the inquirer and to the departed, are brought out, and matters best calculated to awaken all the fond remembrances of the past are called up, so that the inquirer becomes satisfied that he is conversing with his dearest friend, who now knows a thousand times more than himself, he is not only thrown off his guard, but captivated by Satan, and caused to believe the doctrine of devils; for certainly, as he thinks, his dearest friend cannot deceive him.
6. That in death there is no remembrance of God. Psalm 6:5.
That in the day of death the thoughts perish. Psalm 146:4.
11. That the righteous are not to be with Christ till He comes back after them. John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:32; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.
12. That men are neither rewarded nor punished till they have first been judged. 2 Peter 2: 9; Revelation 22:12; Matthew 16: 27.
13. That the dead, both righteous and wicked, are now asleep. Daniel 12:2; Job 14:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 1 Corinthians 15: 6, 18, 20.
14. That the keys of death and hades are not in the hands of familiar spirits, but in those of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:18.
These facts are certainly sufficient to show that the familiar spirits do not come from the dead themselves, and that they do not, and cannot, bring up any of the dead. Who, then, are the familiar spirits? We need not deny their existence, nor can we without denying the Bible. Nor should we pronounce it an inexplicable mystery that our dead friends, whose very thoughts have perished, and who sleep quietly in the silent dust, are by them apparently made to speak in so wonderful a manner. There is an agency competent to do this work. That the familiar spirits are the fallen angels will appear from the following facts:
We cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion that the familiar spirits of the Old Testament are the fallen angels of the New. And hence it is that the “seducing spirits” of Paul, and the “unclean spirits” of John, are called devils, or spirits of devils. 1 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 16:13. We need not, therefore, think it strange that the Scriptures warn us so faithfully against seeking knowledge at their hands.
6. From what cause did witchcraft become universal among the ancient heathen?
That witchcraft was universal with the nations that God drove out before Israel, we learn from Deuteronomy 18. These nations, therefore, in their heathenish darkness and abominable licentiousness (see Leviticus 18:24-30) were grounded in the doctrine of the soul’s consciousness in death; for it was upon this doctrine as a basis that witchcraft rested, as manifested in necromancy; i.e., divining by means of the dead; enchantment; i.e., making things which have no existence seem real; and dealing with familiar spirits, which is a pretended communion with the dead.
But how came these people by this doctrine? They belong to that class that Paul says “did not like to retain God in their knowledge,” and “who changed the truth of God into a lie.” Romans 1:21-28. Demon worship, i.e., the worship of dead heroes as conducted through witchcraft, was their religion. And the first principle of this religion is the consciousness of the soul in death. Nor is this doctrine the foundation of heathenism only, with its worship of deified dead men; it is equally the foundation of Romanism with its purgatory, prayers for the dead, worship of the saints, and deification of Mary as queen of heaven; and of Mohammedanism, with its promise to the bloody men who fight its battles that if killed in battle they shall sup that night in paradise; and of Spiritualism, of which the whole stock in trade is the sayings and doings of dead men; and of MODERN ORTHODOXY which makes death the gate to endless joy, and bestows rewards and punishments upon the dead without waiting for the resurrection and the Judgment.
Who gave the heathen this first principle of their religion-a principle, by the way, absolutely indispensable to almost every system of false religion? When Paul says of these ancient heathen that they “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather [margin] than the Creator” (Romans 1:25), he tells us a startling truth. For, instead of worshipping the living God, they worshipped the supposed immortal souls of dead heroes that they believed had now become gods. Thus we read: “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-poer; and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.” Numbers 25:1-3.
Let us read again, and we shall learn what kind of gods these were whose sacrifices the Israelites ate at Baal-peor. “They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.” Psalm 106:28.
The gods, then, to which they sacrifices were offered, were deified dead men. And they were confirmed in worshipping these dead heroes because they received such wonderful responses, so perfectly characteristic of the men. But they supposed themselves receiving lying responses from the souls of these dead warriors to whom they thus sacrificed as gods.
Paul tells us who really received this worship, and, of course, who returned tie responses. Thus he says: “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to DEVILS, and not to God; and I would not that you should have fellowship with devils.” 1 Corinthians 10:20.
They worshipped dead men in name, and devils in reality. They had no doubt that these departed warriors and kings still lived; for they had manifest and characteristic responses. But who cannot see where these responses come from, or what being it is that has an interest that men should believe in their own present immortality?
But who taught the heathen this doctrine that the soul of man did not die, or that men became as gods by dying? If we go back to Satan’s first great lie, we shall find this doctrine stated in express terms: “You shall not surely die; But you shall be as gods.” Genesis 3:4, 5. Here is the fountain-head of heathen philosophy, and of almost every false system of religion. With this idea established in the minds of men, Satan has been able, by means of witchcraft, to control the world to an unlimited extent. He sends his evil angels in the name of their dear departed friends, and, imitating the peculiarities of those friends most perfectly, he throws them off their guard, and, instilling into their minds the doctrines of devils, leads them captive at his will. To see what kind of morals attend the practice of witchcraft, read and compare Deuteronomy 18:9-14 with Leviticus 18:24-30.
Witchcraft, or the dealing with familiar spirits, is Satan’s system of spiritual gifts; for he holds communion with men through his evil angels as God does through the holy angels. But as they cannot deceive us if they come in their own name, they have chosen effectual disguise, and so come to us in the very form and manner of our dearest departed friends.
We can understand why Satan made so great an effort to draw men into the sin of witchcraft; for it gives him control of their minds, and makes their ruin almost certain. And we can see the mercy of God in closing up this pretended avenue to the most wonderful knowledge. The whole thing is a deception and fraud; and God has fenced up the road with His prohibition, that we may understand it to be a dangerous and fatal thing to travel that way. God is equally merciful in what He commands and in what He prohibits.
It was Satan, therefore, with his first great falsehood, that originated the principles and established the practice of witchcraft among mankind.
7. What are we to expect from this great Satanic manifestation in the closing scenes of this dispensation?
That modern Spiritualism is not slandered when represented as a continuation of ancient witchcraft is shown by two facts: (1) The Old Testament shows that the practice of witchcraft in the days of ancient Israel was precisely the same as the work of modern Spiritualism. (2) Spiritualists do not deny, but frankly acknowledge, the identity of modern spirit mediums and ancient dealers with familiar spirits. Before we ask what Satan is to do in the final display of his utmost power, let us consider what lie has done already in the revival of this mystery of iniquity. From an obscure beginning in Western New York, some twenty years since, Spiritualism has extended itself over the whole earth, and gained a foothold in every district of which we have any knowledge. It is already the religion of many millions of the human family. Its success has been the result of two things. (1) Its wonders; (2) its doctrines. Its wonders are the wonders of ancient witchcraft in enabling men to converse with the dead. Its doctrines deserve notice. Among the most important are these.
These principles are not always openly avowed in plain terms, but are dealt out as the hearer can bear them. but when men have become established in this system, the spirits do not hesitate to avow the “doctrines of devils” in the plainest terms. It is probable that, like Mormonism, a large share of the success that attends this wonderful Satanic manifestation is due to its teachings and practices in regard to the seventh commandment. The morals of ancient witchcraft may be seen by comparing Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Leviticus 18: 24-30. Perhaps modern Spiritualism cannot be worse; but it is certainly not one degree purer.
There are thousands of people now standing in the outer courts of this infernal diabolism, who are comparatively unaware of what exists in its sanctuary. Would to God that they could be warned before they drink deeper of this strong delusion.The future of this system of ruinous delusion and mighty Satanic wonders is given in the prophetic Scriptures. Of the period immediately preceding the second advent of Jesus Christ, Paul speaks thus: “Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.
A short space of time in the close of this dispensation bears the dread appellation of the hour of temptation: “Because thou has kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” Revelation 3:10.
These spirits have an important part to act preparatory to the battle of the great day of God Almighty: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16: 13, 14.
The false prophet, out of whose mouth one of the unclean spirits goes forth, is the same as the two-horned beast. Revelation 13:11. This fact gives us a clue to the agency by which the two-horned beast is to perform its astonishing miracles in the coming hour of temptation.
“And he doeth great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and did live.” Revelation 13: 13, l4.
At a period of time not very far distant in the future, this mighty Satanic delusion will have, absolute control of those who have not made Christ their portion and His truth their shield and buckler.
8. What is furnished us as a safeguard against this deception?
The prophet points us to this in the words of the text: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Our safeguard from Satanic delusion is the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Those who heed, this warning will be able to escape the tempter’s power; those who do not heed it shall be carried away by it. This certainly indicates that when the grand struggle shall arrive, men will be found gathered into just two classes: (1) Commandment-keepers; (2) Spiritualists.
If we treat the law of God as Isaiah bids us, we shall not only acknowledge its authority, but we shall have its holy principles written in our hearts. Then we shall be able to appreciate the vileness of this Satanic doctrine, and ever be on our guard against it. And if we regard the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19: 10), we shall understand how great a difference there is between the teachings of the Holy Spirit and the doctrines of devils.
J. N. A.
AND the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it; for in the day that thou eats thereof thou shall surely die. Genesis 2:16, 17.
And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:4,5. Here we have the first deception brought to bear upon the human race by Satan. If we note particularly the character of this fatal delusion, we have the key to all others. (1) It was a direct contradiction of the word of God; (2) it-was an assertion that man would not die; (3) and, therefore, he was himself a god, and by a single act of independence or disobedience would become equal in knowledge with God-the very foundation of the religion of self. Notwithstanding the fact that God’s word was literally fulfilled in the case of the first man and woman, and has been continually fulfilled from their day to the present time, Satan has continued to practice the same old deception upon the human race, with disastrous effect. After Adam and Eve had yielded to the tempter’s delusive assurance and eating of the forbidden tree, God told them plainly what the death sentence meant In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it was thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return.” Genesis 3:19.
Satan’s delusive falsehood continued to be imposed upon the race through the medium ship of “familiar spirits,” “wizards,” “necromancers,” etc., against which the word of God especially inveighs, as follows: “There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.” Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
“Regard not them that have familiar -spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31.
The modern phase of this delusion is seen in what is known as Spiritualism, and is manifested through its mediums by means of “rapping,” “slate writing,” “mind reading,” “materializing,” etc., etc. Spiritualists admit that their mesmerizing, magnetizing, calling on the dead, etc., are what is called in the Bible “charming,” “enchantment,” “sorcery,” “witchcraft,” “necromancy,” “divination,” “consulting with familiar spirits,” etc.
Webster defines necromancy as “pretended communication with the dead.” And Spiritualists everywhere claim that their spiritual communications are from those who have died, whom they contend are not dead, but have merely passed to another sphere of existence.
Gesenius says, “Sorcerers are those who profess to call up the dead.” Webster says, “A familiar spirit is a demon, or evil spirit, supposed to attend at a call.”
That the spirits consulted by mediums are not the spirits of persons who have died is very clearly taught in the Bible, as it explicitly states that they have no knowledge of what is going on in the world. Of the dead we read: “His sons come to honor, and he knows it not; and they are brought low, but he perceives it not of them.” Job 14:21. “His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4. For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6
Samuel and the Witch of Endor
As the circumstance of Saul’s visit to the witch of Endor, and her pretended intercourse with the dead prophet Samuel, is supposed by many to teach the possibility of communication with the dead, a brief consideration of this scripture is pertinent in this connection. Read carefully 1 Samuel 28:3-20, and note the facts in the case.
1. Saul, the king of Israel, had lived in rebellion against God for many years. Because of this, the Lord had left him to himself, and refused to communicate with him either by dreams, or by prophets, or in. any other manner. The army of the Philistines had come up against him, and in his distress he sought to one having a familiar spirit.
The first act of the woman was to ascertain whether Saul really wished to converse with the dead, or whether he feigned this in order to detect her in the practice of witchcraft, and put her to death. But when Saul had sworn to her by a solemn oath that she should not be punished for divining unto him by the familiar spirit, the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up unto thee?” It was her business to bring up any of the dead that might be called for. Her question was precisely that of a spirit medium of the present day, except, indeed, that in these days the dead are brought down from heaven, or from the higher spheres, whereas in those days they were called up from a region below.
Saul said to the woman, “Bring me up Samuel.” And thus we have the very words used in seeking unto those who had familiar spirits. The diviner, sorcerer, enchanter, necromancer, wizard, or witch, for these names are all given to those who in some form do this work, asks of the one who seeks knowledge from the dead, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And the inquirer names the dead person with whom he would converse. This shows the exactness of Isaiah’s language when he represents the consulting with familiar spirits “as seeking for the living to the dead.” See Isaiah 8:20. Modern Spiritualism has furnished the counterpart of this very conversation in innumerable instances.
“Divine unto me by the familiar spirit,” said Saul, and “bring me up Samuel.” And now the familiar spirit, at the bidding of this wicked woman, must show what his powers are capable of accomplishing. He must produce Samuel in truth and verity; or, if this is beyond his power, he must imitate him so perfectly that Saul should be made to believe that it was Samuel himself.
The woman invokes her familiar spirit, and the divination proves eminently successful. “And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why has thou deceived me? For thou art Saul.” It is evident that the woman herself was surprised at something, for she cried out in her terror. And from this fact many have concluded that, contrary to the expectation of the woman, Samuel actually came. But it should be observed that if Samuel were indeed present on that occasion, it must have been (1) because the familiar spirit had power to bring him up, or (2) because the Lord saw fit to send him to meet Saul. But both these views are false and absurd, for (1) it would be absurd to believe that the familiar spirit had power to control at pleasure not merely the dead in general, but the righteous dead in particular. Who dare assert that the familiar spirits are able, at the bidding of wicked men or women, to bring up from the dead the most eminent servants of God? And (2) it would be absurd to represent the Lord as sending Samuel to meet Saul on this forbidden ground, when He had refused to answer him at all by any prophet, though Saul anxiously sought such answer in a lawful manner before he ventured on the dreadful expedient of consulting a familiar spirit. And (3) as it was a wicked thing in Saul to invoke the incantations of this servant of Satan, how can it be shown to be consistent for holy Samuel to come when thus invoked by satanic power?
It is said that the woman was terrified by the actual presence of Samuel. Those who say this do not read the record with proper attention. For it is to be observed that the woman did not cry out in her terror, “Samuel himself has come indeed!” She was not astonished at the sight of the old man with his mantle; for it was the business of her familiar spirit to present a perfect representation of any dead person. Indeed, it does not appear that responses were expected until the person invoked had been raised up. But by some means the woman discovered that her interrogator was none other than King Saul, the man who had destroyed every such person as herself that he could find. It was this fact that alarmed her; for in her terror she cries out, “Why has thou deceived me? For thou art Saul.” She was not alarmed that Samuel had come; her only terror was that she found herself in the hands of Saul. This circumstance itself furnishes a convincing proof that this reputed Samuel was no other than her familiar spirit personating him; for the first act of this professed servant of the Most High was to put this wicked woman on her guard by some private hint that he who was her guest was no other than Saul himself. Let us read further in this wonderful record.
“And the king said unto her, Be not afraid; for what saw thou; And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up: and he is covered with a mantle, And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with the face to the ground, and bowed himself.”
It is to be observed (1) that of all the wonderful things seen on this occasion, Saul saw nothing. Witness the expressions, and it will be seen that it was the woman, and not Saul, who saw what was seen. Thus, “The woman saw Samuel;” the king said, “What saw thou?” The woman said, “I saw gods ascending out of the earth.” Saul inquires, “What form is he of?” The woman answers, “An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived [from the woman’s description] that it was Samuel.”
But let us further consider the question of Samuel’s presence. If he were actually present, and this manifestation was not a satanic representation of him, he must have come as an immortal spirit from glory, or he must have been raised from the dead, and therefore been present with his own flesh and bones.
But the first of these views must be abandoned, for (1) an immortal spirit from the realms of glory could not come up out of the earth; (2) nor would such an one begin his work by a private communication to the witch; (3) it is moreover incredible that the incantations of her satanic craft should enable her to see such a holy being, while Saul could see nothing.
Let us see if the second view is any less open to objection. The fact that this reputed Samuel arose out of the earth before this woman, as an old man covered with a mantle, may be supposed to substantiate the idea that Samuel was present with his own flesh and bones. Before disproving this view of the case, several questions concerning it may well be asked: (1) Samuel was buried in distant Ramah. See verse 3. How could he come out of the ground in Endor? (2) Can it be believed that he was raised by God to talk with Saul upon the devil’s own ground? (3) Would such a man as Samuel, who “held witchcraft as a heinous sin (1 Samuel 15:23), before beginning his message to Saul, first hold private converse with this wicked woman in the midst of her incantations? (4) And what became of this old man thus raised from the dead?
Did he go through the pains of a second dissolution? He might in such case well complain of being disquieted and brought up by Saul. Verse 15.
But there is one important fact that settles this question of Samuel’s resurrection. Had Samuel been present in his own flesh and bones, and not as a matter of enchantment or sorcery, Saul would have seen him as well as the woman. That Saul could not see him is convincing proof that Samuel was not raised from the dead. He must have been raised-if raised at all-by God or by Satan. But the devil cannot raise the dead; and it is certain that the God of heaven would not raise His servant in answer to satanic incantations.
We are therefore brought to the conclusion that Samuel was not present either as an immortal spirit from heaven, or as resurrected from the dead. And, therefore, the conclusion is inevitable that this Samuel is no other than the familiar spirit personating the man of God. Saul had asked the God of heaven to speak to him by His prophets; for his wickedness this was refused. This time he asks Satan to send him Samuel; and Satan was not slow to answer the prayer by sending such a Samuel as he could produce. And now let us hear what this Samuel, produced by Satan, had to say me up Samuel said to Saul, Why has thou disquieted me to bring. And Saul answered. I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou may make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become your enemy? And the Lord has done to him, as He spoke by me; for the Lord has rent the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David; because thou obeyed not the-voice of the Lord, nor executed His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore has the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hands of the Philistines; and to-morrow shall thou and thy sons be with me; the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
The first words of this so-called Samuel are remarkable. He, does not wait to hear Saul’s request, but asks Saul in a petulant manner what he has disturbed him for, to bring him up. This is an acknowledgment on the part of this reputed Samuel that he had come through Saul’s act of seeking Satan. It is not holy Samuel sent by God, but is that kind of Samuel that Satan could send. And, observe, he does not represent himself as coming down from the courts of glory, but as coming up from the regions below. Those who think that Samuel was actually present from the heavenly Jerusalem, may explain how wicked Saul could be present with him the next day. Verse 19.
Saul relates to Samuel his sore distress. And now behold the result of serving Satan, and then calling upon him for help in the day of dire extremity. Satan flatters men during all the time in which they can repent, telling them the path in which they are walking is the path of the righteous, or, if it is not, it is just as good as that of the righteous, and will end at last in heaven, or, if it be not just right, there is plenty of time for repentance, and that they may safely neglect it for many years. But when the last hours of their probation are expiring, he comes upon his victims with overwhelming power, telling them that it is now too late, and drives them to despair by repeating the history of their sins, until, perhaps, they take their lives with their own hands. Such was the case with Saul. Satan led him to despise the warnings of the prophets, and to presume upon the mercy of God, till the very hour of his extremity was upon him, and then by rehearsing his sins, and provoking him with David’s certain triumph over him, and extinguishing every hope both of this world and the next, he drives him to utter despair and suicide. But before we take leave of this extraordinary case, let us hear what is said of it by the word of God.
So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking [counsel] of [one that had] a familiar spirit, to inquire [of it]; and inquired not of the Lord; therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14.
It is worthy of observation that this passage names the familiar spirit as the one that Saul conversed with, and says not one word about Samuel, in whose form and dress he came, and under whose name he completed the ruin of Saul. It was the familiar spirit that he inquired of, and that held discourse with him.
This is made very manifest by quoting this text without the supplied words: “For asking of a familiar spirit to inquire. And inquired not of the Lord.” It was the familiar spirit, therefore, and not the Lord through Samuel, with whom Saul conversed.
Modern Phases and Teaching.
This delusive work of Satan in the last days is plainly foretold in the New Testament: “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 1 Timothy 4:1. In the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians we read of “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the lave of the truth, that they might be saved.”
That Spiritualism is a doctrine of the devil is admitted by some of its own advocates. In the Banner of Light, November 4, 1865, are the following question and answer, the answer being given by a controlling spirit through a Mrs. Conanty at that time a well-known medium:
Question. Do you know of any such spirit as a person we call the devil? Answer. We certainly do. And yet this same devil is our god, our father.
Dr. A. B. Childs, in a work entitled “Christ and the People,” says that “what is called the devil is the Spirit of God in nature.” And in another work, entitled “Better Views of Living,” the same author says, “It is the mission of the devil, yet un thought of by men, to carry them through the hell of earth, and prepare them for the heaven of the spiritual world.” That the spirits who speak through modern mediums are deceptive is also admitted by leading authorities. Thus Dr. Childs, in the Banner of Light, October 26, 1864, said:
“Nor can we doubt, I think, that there are a diverse host of badly misdirected spirits. The lower spirits seek to undo the good work of the higher, and to harass-and to annoy and subject to suffering, medium and sitter. They will deceive us for their amusement. Where is the medium but what has either seen or felt this? I have both. But wise spirits, who are to us the revelators and executors of the divine will, designedly deceive its for our good.”
In the above they have divided their spirits into two classes-the first deceive for their own amusement, and the second “deceive us for our good.” So they are all deceivers, by their own admission. The following is part of a list of predictions made at Chagrin Falls, Ohio, September 20, 186o, by the spirits, and published by A. J. Davis. The reader will see that it must have come from the father of lies:
Spiritualists have “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.” Romans 1:25. They belittle God and deity man, just as Satan did in Eden when he told the woman, “You shall be as gods.” Andrew Jackson Davis, a leading Spiritualist, in a work entitled “The Educator,” says:-
“This being called God exists, organically, in the form of the being called man. Man is God’s embodiment-his highest, divinest outer elaboration. God, then, is man, and man is God.”
In a National Convention of Spiritualists held at Chicago, a leading speaker named Pope used the following language, which not only exalts man to an equality with God, but endorses the great lie which Satan uttered in Eden:
“I am further convinced by my inspiration that whereas the devil in the Garden of Eden declared if man, in his compound condition of Adam and Eve, would disobey the prohibition against eating of the tree which was adapted to his tastes and his conditions, he should become as God, knowing good from evil, that voice has gone on until, in the latter days, we hear it repeating, “You are gods.” We know that this divinity is in humanity, that this God is manifest in the flesh. When we know that we are gods, and that we have the power, we shall advance to that position in which we shall become judges.”
Another leading light in this “mystery of iniquity,” one, Judge Edmonds, says “the soul is a god, of itself.” Enough has already been presented to prove that Spiritualism is antichrist in every phase, but its delusive, deceptive character is all the more manifest in the fact that many of its adherents claim to be Christians. It works “with all deceivableness of unrighteousness” in the fullest sense, and would, if possible, “deceive the very elect.”
In a leading Spiritualist paper, the Progressive Thinker, of date October 7, 1893, we find a variety of shades of opinion whose adherents all unite under the banner of the great delusion. One writer holds up Christ as “a magnificent character and worthy of imitation,” while another takes issue with the sentiment, and seems almost unable to find terms sufficiently blasphemous to express his hatred of the “mythical falsehood” and his “anarchistic teachings.” Still another draws comparison between Christianity and a number of heathen religions, in which the former is represented as making “a comparatively sorry showing” by the side of the latter. A fourth correspondent advocates beginning meetings with prayer, and insists that there should be an “ordained ministry.”
Now what holds all these otherwise conflicting elements within the grasp of the arch deceiver? It is their belief in his one great enchantment, the most fascinating of all his delusions, “You shall not surely die;” “you shall be as gods;” all of which is comprehended in the popular doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Spiritualism is none the less antichrist because of its being imbedded in a doctrine held by the masses of professed Christians. The theory of man’s inherent immortality is itself antichristian. It presupposes that man, being immortal, cannot die, hence has immortality in himself. Such an assumption ignores Christ as the only source of eternal life for mortal man, and contradicts the word of God, which says that “the wages of sin is death; but the gilt of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. All heathen religions teach conscious existence in death, and therefore are susceptible to the influences of Spiritualism. In fact, idolatry is but a form of Spiritualism. Thus the almost universal belief in this delusion makes possible the extensive deception foretold in Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 13, and other scriptures.
It is not necessary in these days to describe the various modes of operation adopted in the manifestations of the phenomena of Spiritualism. These are so common as to be quite generally known. But that which so far has been the crowning deception of all is the so-called materialization of spirits. This does, and is destined to deceive many who resist the more ordinary manifestations.
One J. M. Peebles, in an address in San Francisco, described a three days experience with the noted Eddy Brothers in Vermont. He said that “eight spirits materialized and walked the stage.” One of the spirits was weighed on a Fairbanks’ scale. “The first time she tipped the beam at eighty-eight pounds, and the second at sixty-five pounds, proving that she could change her material weight at will. The spirits affirmed that within a year or two they would be able to appear as public lecturers, and after the delivery of an oration to vanish from the stage in full view of the audience.”
Madame Blavatsky, a Russian lady of high rank, recently deceased, noted as the leading light of the Theosophists, witnessed the materialization at these Eddy performances, and claimed that in fourteen nights she saw one hundred and nineteen spirit forms, recognized seven of them, and talked with them in Georgian, Persian, Russian, Tartar, German, and English.
A gentleman who was for several years editor of a leading California newspaper, sought communication with a deceased daughter through certain mediums in San Francisco. After a number of interviews, which were highly satisfactory, he was permitted to see the materialized spirit of his daughter. She died when a little girl, but was now presented as a grown woman, as she would have been if living. So complete was the delusion that when; some time afterward, one of the mediums acknowledged to him that the materialization was a fraud, and she herself had been the pretended daughter, he refused to believe her.
Such is the power, of this deception over men of even extraordinary intelligence, when once grounded in the belief of Satan’s great falsehood, “You shall not surely die.” If departed friends are really conscious, who can give a reason why they cannot visit us and make themselves known? No one can; it is a natural conclusion. Those who believe in the immortality of the soul are becoming more and more drawn into the belief of spirit communication; and the nominal profession of Christianity is no protection against the delusion. An apt illustration of this fact is found in a sermon of Revelation Dr. Sutherland, of the Second Presbyterian Church, Pittsburg, Pa., which has found a prominent place in the Progressive Thinker. Here is a specimen extract:
“I cannot believe that we are completely cut oft from those whose memory we so fondly cherish. I cannot think we have lost all touch with them, and that there is no point of contact between them and us. I do not believe, and no species of human reasoning could make me believe, that my own sainted parents have entirely forgotten me or lost all interest in my welfare. I do not believe, and cannot believe, that it would be impossible for them to send a thrill of influence to help me in the hour of distress or in the time of sorrow. Nor do I think that a belief in their ability or disposition to do so is out of harmony with the teachings of God’s word. The whole tenor of Scripture goes to show that the departed spirits of the redeemed are unbound and unfettered. We know little of the possibilities of a spirit free from the limitations of the flesh.”
Another instance of this logical conclusion is found in the opening address of Dr. John Henry Barrows, at the Parliament of Religions held, in connection with the Chicago World’s Fair. In the course of his remarks the speaker said:
“It seems to me that the spirits of just and good men hover over this assembly. I believe the spirit of Paul is here, the zealous missionary of Christ, whose courtesy, wisdom, and unbounded tact were manifest when he preached Jesus and the resurrection beneath the shadows of the Parthenon. I believe the spirit of the wise and humane Buddha is here, and of Socrates, the searcher after truth, and of Jeremy Taylor, and John Milton, and Roger Williams, and Lessing, the great apostle of toleration. I believe that the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, who sought for a church founded on love to God and man, is not far from us, and the spirits of Tennyson and Whittier and Phillips Brooks, who looked forward to this parliament as the realization of a noble idea.”
That this spirit-communication delusion is spreading among all classes of people who hold to the immortal soul theory, not only in America but in other countries, the following, from a correspondent, is significant evidence:
“There are in the churches in Melbourne thousands who are seeking unto those who have “familiar spirits,” and “unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; for the living to the dead.” Spiritualism, and the doctrines that accompany it, are making rapid inroads into every phase of society here, and from personal converse with those initiated into its mysteries, it would seem that it is putting on a bolder front, though decking itself with a more angel-like robe than in America. The carriages of people in the upper classes stand for hours at the doors of mediums, clairvoyants, and magnetic healers.”
Deeming that sufficient evidence has been presented to prove that Spiritualism had its source in Satan himself, that its character is satanic, and its foundation stone is the delusion that man has eternal life in himself, we ask the reader to heed the injunction of the Scripture: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. A scriptural test as to how they are to be tried is also pertinent: “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. An honest observance-of this rule will be an effectual barrier to all deception.
God’s Unchangeable Purpose to People the Earth with a Holy Race
FRANCIS MC-LELLAN WILCOX
(Certain classes in this world are agitated to-day over the prospect of the return of the Jews to the land of Palestine, believing that when that event takes place, it will mark the most important epoch in the history of religion this side the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The Jews are building great temporal hopes on that event and many Christians believe it will mark the setting up of the kingdom of the Redeemer on earth.
The capture of the capital of ancient Israel-and a large portion of its surrounding territory by the British, coupled with the declaration of the British Foreign Minister that the British Government looked with favor upon the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine, has put new hope into the hearts of both these classes. If Britain’s military successes in Palestine should continue, there is no doubt that we may see an attempted restoration of the literal seed of Israel to the ancient home of the race. But that such an attempt is a part of God’s purpose, even though it may for a time seem to succeed, we cannot believe. It is not over Israel after the flesh that Christ sets up His eternal kingdom, but over spiritual Israel. Promises made to literal Israel previous to the first advent, and which were based upon Israel’s loyalty to God, cannot possibly be fulfilled to them since they rejected the Messiah and demanded and accomplished His death. Nor need spiritual Israel expect the fulfillment to them of the temporal promises made to literal Israel. The true restoration of Israel now is the placing of all the faithful followers of Christ in the purified, re-created earth when the New Jerusalem comes down from God out of heaven to be established here as the capital of the universe, with the throne of God and of the Lamb in it, That restoration is near at hand, and let us not be deceived by any counterfeit restoration. Editor of The Signs of Times.
The Zionist Movement
THUS said the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. Ezekiel 37:21.
On this and similar promises in the Old Testament Scriptures is based the so-called Zionist Movement. This movement, for the past two decades; has been creating a sentiment favoring the setting apart of Palestine as a home for the Jews, And the revival as far as possible of the Jewish State. The work which this movement has accomplished for the Jewish people is expressed by Dr. Max Nordau, in the American Jewish Chronicle for December 7, 1917, in the following words:
“Zionism today firmly established in the mind of the Jewish people and before the world. If at the beginning it seemed chimerical to some, it is! At the present moment generally recognized as one of the serious political movements of our time. The laggards have been unable to gain a foothold. So much the worse for them. They are a negligible quantity. But all the valiant youth of Israel who have-the vitality and the vigor are unconditionally for us. Zionism has filled them with enthusiasm. It has endowed them with its greatest possession: an ideal which gives a meaning and an object to life. It has taught them to be proud of their race and their history, to regard misunderstanding with pity and to scorn the hateful calumnies of our enemies and energetically to assert - their ethnic personality in the face of the world.”
Infusion of New Hope
The recent statement of the British ministry, virtually pledging the British Government to the realization of the Zionist propaganda, has given new impetus to the movement. Of this Mr. Nordau says:
“We are at the turning-point of world history. The gigantic war which is desolating humanity has inflicted more tortures on us than on any other people. We know our losses, our sufferings, and our tears. But we are sustained in the midst of these disasters by the certainty that we are approaching the culmination of our national destiny. In the vast redistribution of territory that will take place, a place will be made for us, exactly the place which we will be capable of occupying to good purpose. All the belligerents are ready to take our claim to Palestine into consideration, and it is for us to convince them that Zionism is not a war of words, but an active force, that we have not only a vague desire, but the serious resolve and the means to realize in the land of Israel a great work of reconstruction.”
The Zionist leaders recognize that it will require more than acquiescence of one of the great Powers to make possible this great national reorganization; that in the final settlement of the present conflict, Jerusalem cannot be made the pawn of war, but that there must be a united sentiment on the part of all the belligerents in making Palestine the home of the Jews. Declares the editor of the Chronicle in the issue for November 16, 1917:
“No British or American statesman believes that the establishment of the Jewish homeland in Palestine is possible, without the consent of all the great Powers, irrespective of their present mutual relations.”
In the same number of the journal Dr. Isaac Straus writes:
“What the near future will be, what political move will follow this first British enunciation, no one knows today. The war is still in full swing, and we must guard against all eventualities. Jewish Palestine cannot become a matter for the great Powers to bargain with in the settlement of their political differences, and every premature step on our part roust therefore be avoided. When the peace conference convenes, there must be unanimity about the settlement of the Jewish question, and no political bargaining about it.”
The Zionist Movement Not Fulfilling Prophecy
In the kaleidoscopic changes of the present age we would not wish to venture the prediction that the hope of the Zionists would never in any measure or for any length, of time be fulfilled. It is barely possible that they may be. We are, however, quite willing to assert this proposition with all emphasis that whatever proportions the Zionist Movement may assume in the future, it will not be in response to the prophecies of the Scriptures, or in the fulfillment of any of the promises made to this greatly persecuted and widely dispersed nation. The Scriptures clearly indicate that these promises were made to the spiritual seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not to their literal descendants. This will be clearly shown as we proceed with this study.
God’s Original Design
We come now to the consideration of God’s original design in the peopling of this earth. This is clearly stated by the prophet Isaiah: “Thus said the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18.
After the creation of the world, it was given to mankind as an everlasting abode. The psalmist declares: “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath He given to the children of men.”
This gift of God to the children of men carried with it both possession of territory, and dominion to rule. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1:27, 28.
As a type of their fuller possession of the earth, God bestowed upon our first parents the Garden of Eden as a home. From this place they were to reach out and multiply and subdue the whole earth. The gift of, God was given on conditions of obedience. These conditions Adam and Eve forfeited, and in consequence they were driven out from their Eden home, and became wanderers upon the face of the earth. Genesis 3. The terrible fruits of their sin were soon manifest, and Adam’s posterity widely departed from God. In consequence, the earth was destroyed by a flood of waters. Another terrible apostasy followed, resulting in the Heaven-defying effort on the plain of Shinar to build a tower which should reach unto heaven. God confounded the speech of the human family, and scattered them abroad on the face of the earth.
God’s Purpose Unchanged
But notwithstanding this expression of His displeasure, His purpose to give the earth to a holy people remained unchanged. He saw among earth’s multitudes a man who possessed in his heart a love for right and truth, so He chose Abraham as the father of a new line, promising that through his seed should all nations of the earth be blessed, and that through this seed Abraham himself should come into possession of the land.
The Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward : for all the land which thou sees, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” Genesis 13:14-17.
This promise included not merely the land of Canaan, but the whole world, and was bestowed upon Abraham, not through the law of’ literal descent, but through the righteousness of faith. The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:13.
Christ, the Promised Seed
While Abraham’s seed through whom the promise was to be fulfilled was to be one of his literal descendants, he was to be one who in his own pre-eminent right, through the grace of his righteousness and the merit of his character, possessed the power to make possible the realization of the promise. This was Jesus Christ. That Christ was the Seed through whom the promise was to be fulfilled the Apostle Paul emphatically declares:
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy Seed, which is Christ.” Galatians 3:16.
This promise to Abraham included all that was embraced in the gift of this earth to our first parents. It included not alone possession of territory; but also authority to rule. Abraham’s seed should possess “the gate of his enemies.”
“By Myself have I sworn, said the Lord, for because thou has done this thing, and has not withheld thy son, your only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou has obeyed My voice.” Genesis 22:16-18.
The Heirs of the Promise
Abraham’s literal descendants were counted as partakers with him only as they entered into the promise through faith in the Seed. In other words, the children of faith in Christ Jesus were counted the children of Abraham, heirs of the divine promise.
“If you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29.
The Meaning of “Israel”
This brings us to the consideration of what is meant by the term “Israel.” The original definition of the term is “a prince that has power to prevail with God and with men.” See Genesis 32:28. It is a designation of spiritual character, rather than of blood relationship or distinctive nationality, and is so used throughout the Bible. The Apostle Paul declares: “He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Romans-2:28, 29.
When about to baptize the Roman centurion, the Apostle Peter declared: “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that fears Him, and works righteousness, is Accepted with Him. Acts 10:34, 35.
Of this work of grace among the Gentiles, James the Apostle bears this record: “Simeon has declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up that the residue of men might seek after the Lord,-and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, said the Lord, who doeth all these things. Acts 15:14-17.
By the beautiful illustration of the olive tree in the eleventh chapter of Romans, the apostle, again, emphasizes this spiritual truth. Referring to the natural branches of the olive tree as the Jewish nation, the apostle says: “Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou stands by faith.” Verse 20. In place of these natural branches which were broken off, the Gentile nations were grafted in, and the apostle declares that those who fell by unbelief, the natural branches, “if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.” We must therefore conclude that the promise to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob was made, not to the Jews after the flesh, but to spiritual Israel; embracing in the plan and purpose of God men and women of righteous character of every nationality in every age.
Literal Canaan Typical of Heavenly Canaan
And throughout the history of Israel’ this purpose on the part of God was maintained and this idea was kept before them. Repeatedly, God promised to bestow not only the land of Canaan but the entire earth upon Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And when David came into possession of literal Palestine, the Lord emphasized anew that this literal possession was only typical of the greater inheritance which He had in store for them in the future in the heavenly Canaan.
The record of David’s reign is, “The Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies.” 2 Samuel 7:1. The throne and kingdom of Israel had been securely established in the land of Canaan, and even in this time of national prosperity God points Israel to another time and another state wherein the fullness of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was to be realized:
“Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime.” 2 Samuel 7:10.
The Promise of Eternal Dominion to David
“At this time the Lord promised to establish David’s house in Israel forever: Your house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.” Verse 16.
The analysis of this promise proves it to be identical with the promise made to Abraham. The maintenance of David’s throne forever was not to come through an unbroken succession of ruler ship from father to son, but was to come through the Lord Jesus Christ as the seed of David, the same as Christ was the seed of Abraham. The angel, in promising a Son to Mary, declares of Him:
“He shall be great, and shall be called the. Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”
Jerusalem Should Stand Forever
Had David remained true to God, it is possible that this promise might have been fulfilled to David in an unbroken succession of literal reign on the part of his sons; for the Lord promised that if His people would walk in His ways and keep His commandments, Jerusalem should stand forever.
“It shall come to pass, if you diligently hearken unto Me, said the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain forever. Jeremiah 17:24, 25.
In just what manner this promise would have been fulfilled if David’s descendants had remained true to God, is not revealed. We may know only the course of events which did occur, not what might have been.
Captivity of the Ten Tribes
But Israel rebelled against God. Solomon, the direct descendant from David, led Israel into apostasy, and though he himself repented at last, his departure from God had prepared the way for the still greater apostasy which followed under his son Rehoboam.
Under Rehoboam’s reign Israel was divided into two kingdoms. This king refused to accede to the demands of ten of the tribes to lessen the laboriousness of the royal service they were required to render. In consequence they revolted and chose Jeroboam as king. Their history throughout was rapidly downward. But few, if any, redeeming traits of character were possessed by any of their kings. Finally their iniquity became so great that God sold them into the hands of the Assyrians. They were carried away captive, and Assyrian colonists were settled in the land of Israel. The Sacred Record declares:
“In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Harbor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.” “And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthalt, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.” 2 Kings 17:6, 24.
The Captivity of Judah
Two tribes remained with Rehoboam. Under his reign and the reign of his successors Judah passed through a complex and chequered history. Again and again God sought through His prophets to bring His people back to the standard of righteousness. Again and again they responded to the appeals sent them. Under Josiah and Hezekiah and other godly kings Judah became a power in the earth, a beacon light for truth and righteousness among the heathen nations of the old world. But finally their downward course became so marked and their apostasy from God so deep seated that divine appeals no longer met with response. At last, in the reign of Zedekiah, the Lord brought against Judah the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, and this remaining kingdom was dispersed among the nations of men. See 2 Chronicles 36:11-21.
“I Will Overturn, Overturn, Overturn”
Zedekiah was the last of David’s literal seed to sit upon the throne of Israel. After this dispersion of the twelve tribes among the nations of the Old World, various efforts were made to gather them again to their own land. Special efforts, headed by Ezra, Nehemiah, and others, were made under the reign of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. And under the last-named king these efforts were successful in the partial revival of the Jewish state. But this existed, not as an independent nationality, but wholly as a Persian colony.
With the capture of Zedekiah, the Lord, through Ezekiel, uttered this solemn prophetic declaration:
“Thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus said the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” Ezekiel 21:25-27.
This scripture indicates that there were to be three overturning of ruler ship in this world. When the diadem was taken from the head of Zedekiah, the kingdom of Israel and world dominion passed to Nebuchadnezzar. All the kingdoms of the earth were subject to his sovereignty. Babylonian rule continued till it was succeeded by Medo-Persia in 538 BC. This constituted the first overturning. Medo-Persian rule continued till it was succeeded by Grecian. This constituted the second overturning. The passing of world dominion to Rome constituted the third overturning.
The Coming of the Seed
The prophecy declares, “It shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” To whom does this refer? It certainly can refer to none other than to the Seed of Abraham, who was to possess “the gate of His enemies”; to the One in David’s line who was to perpetuate to all eternity’ the rule of David upon his throne. This Seed, of Abraham, this Son of David, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and upon Him at His second coming will the kingdom be bestowed.
Isaiah utters this beautiful prophecy concerning the ruler ship and kingdom of Christ:
“Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:6, 7.
Christ, at His first advent, likens Himself to a certain nobleman who “went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” Luke 19:12.
The psalmist describes how Christ, the Seed, shall possess the “gate of His enemies”:
“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shall break them with a rod of iron; Thou shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalm 2:7-9.
Time of the Kingdom
The bestowal of this kingdom takes place in connection with the last great judgment. In describing the scene he witnessed in holy vision the prophet declares:
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7: 9, 10.
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Verses 13,14.
And concerning the future state, after the nations of men have ruled their course and human history is closed, Daniel says in verse 27:
“The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”
Abraham Was Not Disappointed
It is to this time that the Israel of God in every age have looked forward. It is the time to which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob looked for obtaining their possession through the promised Seed. Abraham did not die a disappointed man, although, as Stephen declares, God gave him no inheritance in the land of Canaan, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession.” Acts 7:5.
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him -for righteousness, for he looked beyond this present evil world for the fulfillment of the promise. To this the Apostle Paul bears definite testimony in Hebrews 11:8-10:
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
Nor did the children of faith who counted their descent from Abraham feel that God had been untrue to His promise. The record of them is:
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God : For He hath prepared; for them a city. Heb. 11:13, 16.
David Died in Hope
David also, through faith, grasped the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. Declares the Lord through Israel’s king:
“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever as the, moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.” Psalm 89:34-37.
How is this promise to receive its fulfillment? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have long since passed away. Mi1lions of their literal descendants after the flesh are in their graves. Multitudes of the children of faith, have died in hope. David, to whom the promise was renewed, has died; but God’s word cannot be broken. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.
So far as the carrying out of His promises is concerned, a thousand years are with Him as one day, and one day as a thousand years. Long ages may pass away, but the promises of God are as fresh in His mind as though they were made but yesterday. Those promises will be fulfilled. They can be fulfilled only by God’s bringing to life again those to whom long ages ago the promises were made; The promises can be fulfilled only as God takes this sin-cursed earth and brings it back to its Edenic beauty, giving it to Abraham, and through his Seed to the righteous of every age, as an everlasting possession.
And this hope in the resurrection, and in the fulfillment of the promises of God through the resurrection, has been the hope of the Church in every age. It is the hope expressed by Peter in his memorable sermon on the day of Pentecost:
“Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto on of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses Acts 2:29-32.
The Hope of the Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul sets forth the resurrection as the hope of the Church. It was for this hope that his work was called in question by the opponents of the gospel (Acts 23:6), and in his defense before Agrippa the apostle plainly declares that for his faith in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus was he brought into judgment, “for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers.”
And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: unto which promise our -twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the. Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? Acts 26:6-8.
It is through the resurrection from the dead that the gathering of Israel is to take place. Hear the prophet Isaiah:
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise: Awake and sing, you that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Isaiah 26:19.
The Valley of Dry Bones
This gathering of Israel through the resurrection is graphically portrayed in the thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel. The prophet represents himself as walking through a valley of dry bones:
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley, and, lo, they were very dry. And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, Thou knows. Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus said the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
“So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus said the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Ezekiel 37:1-10.
The Resurrection from the Dead
We do not need to speculate as to the meaning of this scripture. The following verses afford a very full and complete explanation as to the means by which these dry bones are caused to live and show that it is through the power of the resurrection:
“Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts: Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus said the Lord God: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land, then shall you know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, said the Lord. Verses 11-14.
This work of restoration in the last great day, which is wrought through the power of God in bringing from their graves His children from every, age, is represented as the gathering of Israel. He says:
“Thus said the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. Verse 21.
The Throne of David Re-established
And when God gathers His people, Israel shall be one, the tribes shall again be reunited, and the throne of David shall be established, and Christ, the Son of David, the Seed of Abraham, shall sit upon that throne.
“I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.”
“And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in-the land, that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children forever: and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Verses 22-27.
It is worth while to compare the promise in the above scripture, that God’s tabernacle shall be among His people and that He shall dwell with them, with the following words found in the twenty-first chapter of Revelation, verses 3-5:
“I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
The prophet Jeremiah, speaking of this glad gathering time, declares:
“Hear the word of the Lord, O you nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scatters Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Jeremiah 31:10-12.
The Territory of the Kingdom
As the power of God brings up from the dead the children of Israel of every age, transforming them from mortality to immortality, from corruption to incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:51-55), He prepares for them an inheritance, eternal and undefiled. This earth is brought back to the same state of beauty and purity and blessedness that it had when it came forth from the hand of its Creator. Declares the prophet. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellence of our God. Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35: 1-10.
The First Dominion Restored
To the first Adam was given the first dominion. He lost it through sin: Christ, the second Adam, by the sacrifice of Himself, bought back man from the bondage of ‘Satan, and redeemed the lost inheritance.” Romans 8:19-23.
“Thou, O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion: the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:8.
Through Christ, the Tower of the flock, the eternal purpose of God in peopling this world with a holy race will be fulfilled. Through the power of His righteousness and the might of His strong arm, the gathering of Israel will take place.
This is the only gathering to which the Israel of God may look forward to-day. The literal seed of Abraham may still look for the coming of the Messiah. Politicians and statesmen may hold out to them the hope of returning national prosperity, and this hope for a little time may meet with partial realization. But it is not the great consummation set before the Israel of God in the Scriptures of truth that the gathering of the nation will be fulfilled by the return of a few thousand Jews to the land of Canaan. It will be fulfilled only when that great multitude which no man can number, gathered from all the nations of the earth, and from every generation, will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of our God. Matthew 8:11, 12.
The Eternal Rest
Israel after the flesh could not enter into the rest of God because of unbelief. Hebrews 4. Into the eternal rest spiritual Israel will enter, when they are gathered from all lands at the second coming of Christ.
“In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 11: 10-12.
For that eternal rest and for that glad day of gathering let us look forward in hope.
THE “Scriptures of Truth” abundantly predict that the last days will be times of especial peril, and numerous deceptions in spiritual and religious matters. The words of our Savior will be sufficient proof of the above statement: And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:11-13, Revised Version.
This evidence is abundantly confirmed by the times in which we live. There is deception everywhere, and many, fearful of being deceived, reject all religion, and oftentimes the very truth which would save them. There is a special fear and prejudice against what is called new do6trine, that is, that which is not generally taught by the old “orthodox” churches, while many times it is the very message of the Lord.
There are few texts of Holy Writ more frequently misapplied than Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” It has been applied by a backslidden and corrupt church to true reformers all through the Christian age.
No sooner has advanced light been proclaimed to the world than the above sentiment has been hurled at those who heeded the message sent of God. But all this does not detract a jot or tittle from the warning of our Savior. It has been a needful warning all through the ages past; it is even more to be kept before the people of the world in the last days.
From the time that Satan gained a foothold on the earth, he has counterfeited the work of God. He “beguiled” our primal mother (2 Corinthians 11:3); he has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9); he has been a liar and murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). In order to effectually deceive, the counterfeit in its inception must be made as much like the truth as possible, and yet contain within it elements which will lead to sin and destruction. It is like the way spoken of by the wise man, which to man seemed to be right, but which in reality was the way to death. Proverbs 14:12.
Of course the beginning of a path of deception does not appear as it does at its close. The apostasy in the church in the early centuries of the Christian era was but the slightest departure from truth and righteousness. It was so near like the genuine that many were deceived thereby, and gave it their influence, and thus made it more powerful for evil. In those first small plants of departure from God was the baleful tree of the Dark Ages yet undeveloped. God saw it, and gave warning. Men heeded not the warning; they could not, in their human blindness, see much difference between the false and the true, and were therefore deceived.
It is only natural that there should be great deceptions in the last days. The great deceiver of all, who has practiced upon human souls for six thousand years, who has used every device which his hellish ingenuity could invent, has grown wise in his craft. He knows how different minds and characters can be deceived, to what temptations people and nations and generations are susceptible. He can use the same old deceptions; he can clothe them in new garbs to suit the selfish heart; he can combine old and invent new. Every successful device of the past, every new one which can be devised, will be used to deceive the world and prevent souls from being saved. Satan would naturally work in this way. He knows his time is short; therefore he is come down in great wrath. Revelation 12:12. This does not mean that his principal manifestation is rage. He is the deceiver still; he beguiles unwary souls.
Let us notice further some of the solemn warnings which God has given to us of this work of deception on the part of Satan. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8 the coming of Christ is brought to view. Just before He comes, there will be a great deception by Satan. Against this we are warned as follows:
Whose [Satan’s] coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Verses 9, 10. The words here translated wonders and signs are the same words from which signs and wonders are translated when wrought by Christ and his apostles. They were, to a certain extent, attestations to the power of God manifested through Jesus and the disciples; they were manifestations of God’s approval, an indication of the truth of the mission of Jesus. But the wonders wrought by Satan are “lying” wonders, to make men believe that error is truth. The former were designed to confirm the truth, the latter to deceive.
Again, Satan will work with all “deceivableness of unrighteousness;” that is, he will make unrighteousness appear what it is not. It will profess to be righteousness; it will profess to come from God; it will be wrought in the name of Christ; it will have much of truth, or, rather, of the form of truth; but there will be connected with all the profession and form enough error to vitiate all, enough departure from a right way to lead the poor soul who follows the counterfeit to destruction at last.
This is in harmony with another declaration by the same apostle. In speaking of false teachers he says (2 Corinthians 11:13-15): “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
Outwardly they are the apostles of Christ, professing the same things, claiming to be sent of God; they are outwardly ministers of righteousness, while the heart is “desperately wicked.” It is the deceivableness of unrighteousness. It is in harmony with the father of all deception, who is transformed, or who outwardly appears as an angel of light.
Our Savior, in speaking of our own times, says: “There shall arise false christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Matthew 24:24. Mark says, “To seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.” Under the deceptions of Satan a sinful world willingly falls, as it ever has in the past. But in the last days these deceptions will be so great, to all human sense and knowledge, the false christ will be so much like the true, the false prophets so much like the genuine, that, were it not for God’s keeping, even his own would be deceived. The words of Mark indicate that Satan works wonders in order to seduce God’s chosen. Mark 13: 22. To be forewarned and heed the warning, is to be forearmed, and the ‘°ele6l” will heed the warning.
If men say, “I will believe if I can see signs and wonders, such as the sick healed, extraordinary feats performed, fire brought from heaven,” Satan will do all these to ensnare the soul. “What, will he heal the sick?” is asked. He will seem to, at least. Diseases are organic and fun6tional. A serious organic disease, in which wasting and destruction of the parts are involved, could not be healed by Satan; for such healing involves creation. But where the disease is purely functional, where some mere obstruction has caused the disease, where the disease is chiefly nervous or imaginary, we do not know why Satan may not be able to do, in a comparatively brief period, because of his superior wisdom, what man might be able to do in a longer time. It is certain that there have been some marvelous cures by Spiritualists, or clairvoyant physicians, who claimed no miraculous powers through faith in Christ. And may it not be true that some of those whom Satan has bound, lo, these many months and years, he himself may be able to unbind? See Luke 13:11-16.
No worldly wisdom, or power, or knowledge will save men from Satan’s final deceptions. He will take the wise in their own craftiness, he will deceive all but the elect. No evidence of the senses alone can be depended upon; it will surely deceive. Satan knows much more than fallen man; besides, the knowledge of the fallen angel has been augmented by the practice of six thousand years. From the arch-enemy to his lowest agent, from the false christ to the lowest devotee, there will be the profession, the appearance, the overpowering deception. Truly our Lord well said,” Beware of false prophets.”
The above are a few of the warnings which God has mercifully given us against the deceptions of the enemy which are to come upon the world, which will surely come to every responsible soul. So varied will be these deceptions, that they will reach, and be adapted to, all classes and conditions; so powerful will they be, that they will deceive all but the “very elect.” Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22. How may we escape them?
How May We Distinguish The False From the True?
There are some characteristics which are always present to a greater or less extent, in the various manifestations of error and evil. Let us notice a few of them.
1.
When God forewarns men of judgments to come, false prophets will generally cry, Peace, and predict success to earthly enterprises. It was so in the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Elijah and Micah. See Jeremiah 6:13-15; I Kings 22, and other passages. The sure word of prophecy points out that thus it will be when the faithful servants of God are preaching that the Lord’s coming is near. “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; see also Isaiah 2:1-5. God warns men against the judgments to come, and entreats them to turn to Him before the day of probation closes and the day of the Lord’s wrath begins. Zephaniah 2:1-3; Ezekiel 33:111; Revelation 14:6-11. But false prophets preach peace for the world, that the day of the Lord is a day of mercy and not of wrath, a time when greater opportunities will be offered for man’s salvation. They look to the day of the Lord as a time of salvation to all, and thus lead men to selfishly desire it. Truly did the prophet say of such: “Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and [with false hopes] strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life.” Ezekiel 13:22. And of those who desire the day of the Lord as a time of mercy, the Lord says:
Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord 1 to what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear [more cruel and tenacious still] met him; or went into the house [for rest and shelter], and leaned his hand on the wall [for support], and a serpent bit him. Amos 5:18, I9.
And the same class here addressed had their holy feast-days and solemn assemblies, made many offerings and sang many songs. Verses 21-23. They had set up their own standard instead of God’s.
2.
Works of deception lead away from God’s Word, away from God, away from Christ, but lead to self, selfish honor, and selfish interests. We do not say it will be claimed that this is their purpose; they will profess the very opposite; but “you shall know them by their fruits,” are the words of Christ. Matthew 7:16.
Mohammed claimed to be a prophet of God; he believed in the great prophets of God, and in Christ as One greater than himself, and wrought some miracles; but he erected his own standard, and turned men’s thoughts and honors to himself.
It has been truly said that Mohammedanism was composed of a great truth and a great lie. The great truth was that there is but one God; the great lie was that Mohammed was his prophet. Mohammed taught a religion which was claimed as far in advance of the religions of the idolatrous world in which he propagated his dogmas; and as regards the great truth of his religion, this is so; but the error which he held with the truth fastened in chains of adamant those who embraced this faith. Mohammed even wrought miracles to confirm his mission. But John the Baptist, with one of the most honored and important missions that mortal ever knew, wrought no miracle, and died when all his influence had been merged in the great glory of Christ.
The tendency of the papal system is to exalt man. So is that of modern Spiritualism, and every other false ism. They have turned men from the worship of God; they have brought honor and exaltation to man. The devotees of the false religion may claim to be humble, may boast of it, in fact may enter the slums of society, and even, like the pope, wash the feet of twelve beggars; but Christ is lost sight of in the glory taken to themselves.
How many such reformations there are at the present time, the majority of the converts of which exist only in the presence of the one who led the work!
Some parts of the Word of God may be exalted; but connected with that is some great and delusive error which changes the truth of God into a lie, and, in consequence, the creature is honored, the Creator dishonored, and souls are irretrievably ruined. Romans 1:25. Even so the truth of Christ’s coming, of the power of God in healing the sick, of what He has revealed concerning the gifts of his Spirit, each and all have been made convenient pack-horses to introduce damning error into the church of Christ, by perverting and misapplying them. Witness some of the fanaticism which has been manifested among some classes who are looking for the second coming of Christ; witness “Christian science” and many faith cults; Jehovah’s Witness and Mormonism. The more important the doctrine, the worse will be the delusion of its perversion.
All error perverts, and turns men from the practical truth of the Word of God, especially the law of God. The law of Jehovah is the great standard of right, holy, pure, and perfect in every respect. Everything contrary to that is a false, man-made standard, which, of course, dishonors the law, hence the Giver of the law. “You shall know them by their fruits,” says our Lord. But what is the standard of these fruits? It is the rule of God’s righteousness. So our Savior continues: “Not every one that said unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. God’s will is his holy law. Psalm 40: 8.
Jesus goes farther; He includes not mere profession alone in his condemnation, but He includes those who wrought mighty wonders in his name. “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name 2 and in thy name have coot out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you that work iniquity [lawlessness, violation of law].” Matthew 7:22, 23.
Isaiah bears testimony of the same import. In speaking of the manifestations of wickedness in the last days, he says: “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.
The very truth which such may have held has been changed into a lie, and it thereby becomes as powerful for evil in deceiving souls as it is powerful for good when used in the right way, the way which leads to more light and more truth, to a better acquaintance with God. Truth exists, not only in the theory expressed in the words through which it is revealed, but in its object as well. The truth, therefore, perverted from its original design, becomes error; light becomes darkness. Said our Lord to the Jews: “If your eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness! If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:23. Truth perverted is error; light perverted is darkness. Therefore those who are led by a wrong spirit, whose object is to build up self, whose teachings turn men from God and his truth, have no light in them.
Neither can those be said to preach Christ, however much their words may laud the Redeemer of the world, who willingly ignore or reject the Word or law of God. That Word came through Christ. He is the incarnate Word, the incarnate law, the incarnate Gospel, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. A rejection of the Word of God is a rejection of the Christ of God, for all the Word centers in Him. As the power of God was manifested through Christ in the weakness of human flesh, so the power of Christ is manifested through the Word of God to all believers. The mission of Christ was and is to bring men into harmony with the law of God, or, what is the same thing, into harmony with Himself. He gave Himself to redeem mankind from all lawlessness, to save men from all sin (Titus 2:14; Matthew 1:21); whatever, therefore, degrades the law of God, degrades Christ and his work. Whatever miracles or wonders may be wrought in the name of Christ are nothing, if those who do the work are practicing lawlessness, or working iniquity. The wonders wrought professedly in Christ’s name only make more potent for evil the influence against the law of God and the work of Christ. Therefore, be not deceived.
3.
Another deception of these last days, akin to those already mentioned, is to exalt feeling at the expense of faith, and conscience at the expense of the Word of God. Because God sometimes gives joy and happiness in answer to true faith, Satan leads the uninstructed to confound the faith and the feeling, till feeling seems faith. Feeling may be induced by excitement; emotions may be taught to respond almost at call; but true faith is based on the faithful Word of God, feeling or no feeling (Romans 10:17; John 20:31); and true hope is built upon God’s immutable promises (Hebrews 6:17, 18; Acts 26:6). He who trusts in feeling for faith is trusting in a delusion, which, if followed, will prove fatal. Our only basis of faith and hope is God’s holy Word.
It is also equally a delusion to substitute conscience for the Word of God. Feeling has its place. God gives his people joy; but joy is not faith. Conscience has its place; God has given it as an inward monitor, to admonish of danger, to approve of good, but not to act as an absolute standard of right. A true conscience regards the law of God as its standard. It is the mentor of the man, not to call his attention to itself, but to bring to his mind the law of God. A conscience which does not do this is an “evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22), and the conscience of him who denies God by his works of disobedience, whatever the man may profess, is a defiled conscience. Titus 1:15, 16. But he who has that charity, or love, which counts not grievous the keeping of God’s commandments (I John 5: 3), and has unfeigned faith in God’s Word, has a good conscience.” 1 Timothy 1:5, 19, 3, 9.
4.
The great evidence whereby we may know the work of God in these days is his holy Word. Miracles have been a sign in the past when God’s Word was not so prevalent, and Satan was not permitted to work with such power. The great evidence of Christ’s divine mission was not his mighty works, only as those works were in harmony with the Scriptures, which testified of Him. John 5: 39. Hence the appeals of the apostles were not to the evidence of the senses or to miracles primarily, especially when preaching to the people who had the Scriptures, but to the “more sure word of prophecy.” 2 Peter 1:16-19.
Those who live in the last days have all the evidences which have ever been given before in all the centuries of the past. The Word of God shines out upon the moral darkness of a sinful world as never before. The people of God will not win their greatest triumph through mighty works, but through the simple truth of God treasured in hearts made pure by the blood of Christ. Not the theory of the truth, not the love of the theory of the truth, but the love of the truth in all its purifying power, will preserve men from “all the deceivableness of unrighteousness” by which the great adversary will destroy unwary souls. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. Such a faith in the Word of God, such a love of the truth, will unite them to God, the Author of the truth, and will enable them, though all around them fail, to stand alone with God. And while others, who have rejected the truth of God to follow the self-exalting delusions, the cries of peace, and the man-made religions, are suffering under the plagues of the just wrath of God, it is said to the lover of the truth:
“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shall thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day; nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee Only with your eyes shall thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou has made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Psalm 91.
Thus will the righteous be kept by the power of God, through faith in his Holy Word, from sin and deception (1 Peter 1:5); and they will also be preserved from destruction through the same truth.
And when the conflict is over, and the trials are all past; when the “King in his beauty” shall come to gather his own and lead them up to the waiting, yearning city of God, it will be said at its pearly portals, “Open you the gates, that the righteous nation, which keeps the truth, may enter in.” But before that time shall come, even now, amid the trials and triumphs, the joys and sorrows, the light and darkness of life, the righteous can look up with unwavering faith, and sing with the psalmist: “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth; for thou has magnified thy Word above all thy name.” M. C. WILCOX.
URIAH SMITH
WE are drawing near to the day of God. The decisions of eternity are upon us. The Master stands at the door. The day of the Lord is not an uncertain object in the dim and distant future; but it is to him who reads aright the page of prophecy and history, a vivid reality, even now throwing the beams of its approaching glory and the light of its consuming fires upon a slumbering world. It comes not without a .numerous array of precursors and heralds; yet it will come to many suddenly and unexpectedly. With what real and unfeigned surprise will multitudes awake to their condition, as the terrible realities of this coming day burst upon them. So different from what they expected! So contrary to all their plans! So fatal to all that they had hoped for or believed! What astonishment, what amazement, what terror, will seize them! At once they find themselves in the un relaxing grasp of eternity, its irrevocable decisions upon them, and they among the lost l And how many, in the agony of their despair, will put the question to their own souls, Why should I be found in this condition? And what would be their reply to such a question? Should the judge of all meet them with the solemn inquiry why they had not made preparation for that day, what answer would they return? What excuse would they render?
Would they say, Lord, this day of all days, this day which forever concludes all human history, this decisive day for all the human race, should have been clearly set forth in Thy holy word? The answer would be, It was thus set forth. From Genesis to Revelation, that word was full of it. That solemn moment which should close probation and bring its terrible retribution to the ungodly, and its glorious reward to the righteous, was everywhere kept in view, with warnings and exhortations to all the race to prepare for its solemn scenes. Bibles were in their hands, and they could have read them for themselves. Would they not thus stand speechless and condemned?
Would they say that signs should have been given of so momentous an event, some strange phenomena in nature to mark the approach of the end? The answer would be, Such signs were given. The sun was to be darkened, the moon to withdraw her shining, the stars to fall from heaven, and strange sights to appear above, and strange convulsions to be felt below. And ere probation closed, while yet they could have escaped the coming wrath, the land was full of Bibles containing these predictions, and full of histories recording their fulfillment. Did they care to trouble themselves to compare the two? And again they would stand speechless and condemned.
Would they say that the state of the world, moral and political, which was to mark the last days, should have been clearly described? The answer would come, It was so described. It was declared in the word of God that iniquity would abound, that evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse, that the nations would be angry, that there would be wars and rumors of wars, and that there would be distress of nations, with perplexity. And in their own days every paper groaned with a record of these things, and all the land was startled at the fearful spectacle which the world presented. Did they not see it, and wonder? And why did they not read its import aright? Would they not again stand speechless and condemned?
Would they say again that the history of nations and the course of empire, in consecutive order, down to the end, should have been given, that the world might know when the last nations were on the stage of action, at the end of whose history the kingdom of God should be set up? Again the answer would be, Such information was given in the prophetic word. Beginning six hundred years before Christ, step by step, kingdom by kingdom, event by event, the student of prophecy is brought down even to the closing scenes of trouble, the dashing of all the nations to pieces, and the standing up of Michael for the deliverance of His people. And they saw the last kingdoms of earth in such a condition that even human foresight scarcely failed to discern the very day of their dissolution. Did they take the trouble to inquire what was to follow? And again they would stand without answer and without excuse.
And, reader, so far as the evidences of the soon coming of Christ are concerned, they stand to-day just as set forth above. The declarations of God’s word, the signs in the natural world, the state of the nations, the moral condition of mankind, and the proclamation of the coming of the day of wrath, the last message of mercy, are all before us.
And to the thoughtful reader we put the questions, What more evidence could God have given of these things than He has given? What other kinds of evidence could be given, or in what respect could that which is given be more full? And if these things are so, and you come to the judgment unconcerned and unprepared, will you not be without excuse?
Some Features of Our Times
This is an age of brilliant pretensions, but sad realities. Its professions and practices, its facts and theories, present a climax of contradictions. There never was so much of the form of Godliness, and never so little of the power.
Never were there so many professors of religion, and never so little of religion itself. Never so many assurances of peace, and never so extensive and urgent preparations for war. Never so many tokens of coming danger and calamity, and never such a feeling of security, expressed and implied, on the part of the people. There never was a time when the doctrine of the immediate opening of the temporal millennium was more universally cherished and talked of, and never a time when every feature of society, social, moral, and political, rendered such an idea more preposterous.
There never was a time when there was so much money in the world, and never a time when there was more widespread and distressing poverty. Nor will this state of things improve till He whose right it is, the Prince of the House of David, takes the throne. We rejoice that this event is at the door. Hasten, O King of kings, the glad day.