It Is Found Alike with Poor and Rich—Is Responsible for Difficulties in Gospel Finance
By H. C. Hartwell
It would hardly be supposed that there could be such a thing as a respectable sin, and of course from God’s standpoint there is not. But we mortals are all naturally inclined to have a sliding scale of morals, which leads us to look with horror on what we call the grosser sins, and to exclude from church fellowship the poor unfortunate who may be found guilty of them, while pride and hypocrisy go almost unrebuked among us. The principal reason for this is probably that we are all more or less guilty of these sins. Yet these are faults that are especially objectionable in the sight of God.
The Universal Sin
But if you were asked to name the greatest sin that exists in the church, I wonder what you would answer. Its common name, its aristocratic name, its historical name, and its Scriptural name, is covetousness.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Eph. 5: 5, A. R. V. To the Colossians he said on this point, “Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Col. 3: 5.
This text places the covetous man in fully as embarrassing surroundings as the other. Paul wrote to the Romans, “Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; . . . hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents.” Rom. 1: 29.
Given to Covetousness
In the Old Testament, we find the prophet Jeremiah rehearsing the wicked and abominable practices of backsliding Israel and Judah, and in chapter 8: 10, 11 he reaches the climax with this statement: “From the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness ; from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
Covetousness is really almost universal, though we are inclined to think generally that the rich are the only ones guilty of this sin to any extent. Such a conclusion is a mistake, for we frequently see men and women of few possessions and a very limited income who are the embodiment of avarice and covetousness.
Nowhere within the lids of the Bible do we find any sin denounced in stronger language than is applied to this very sin of covetousness. Yet many in the church who are most guilty on this point pass as highly respectable members in good and regular standing.
Made Lucifer Become Satan
Covetousness is the sin that caused Lucifer to become Satan, the adversary and arch-enemy of God; it led Achan to become a thief; it caused Gehazi to contract leprosy; it brought to Ananias the reputation of being the most infamous liar in Bible history; and it was covetousness that led Judas to betray his Lord.
A well-known writer makes these statements, which are to the point: “Man’s judgment is partial, imperfect; but God estimates all things as they really are. The drunkard is despised, and is told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially offensive to God. . . . The greatest sin which now exists in the church is covetousness.”
Unchristian Ways of Securing Funds
This condition in the church leads the great popular Christian world to adopt all sorts of questionable methods to secure funds with which to pay the salaries of ministers and to meet other expenses in connection with the work of God. “If funds are wanted to repair or fresco a church, build a chapel, buy an organ, or even to build a fence around a graveyard, nobody must be called on to give. O, no! Have a fair, tableau, mock trial, antiquarian supper, or something to eat,—anything to amuse the people and to give them an equivalent for their money.”
If the Saviour were here to-day He would enter many a modern temple dedicated to His worship, and say as He did anciently when His house was desecrated by the sordid greed of commercialism, “Take these things hence; make not My Father’s house an house of merchandise.”
It may be of interest to note that in this so-called Christian America, we spend annually for chewing gum $32,000,000, and just half as much, or $16,000,000, for missions.
Church Finance on a Wrong Basis
Evidently there is something radically wrong about the whole financial system of modern Christianity. Certainly it is not based upon the principles laid down in the word of God. It is also evident that the professed followers of Christ do not appreciate what God has done and is constantly doing for them, or they would be more grateful and unselfish. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath He given to the children of men.” Ps. 115: 16. “God that made the world . . . giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” Acts 17: 24, 25. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Rom. 8: 32.
How Repay Him
In the thankfulness of his heart, David exclaimed, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” And to this question which should be raised in all our hearts, the apostle Paul gives the very fitting answer, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
A great price has been paid for us. We are not our own. Jesus has bought us with His own precious blood. We belong to Him, with all that we have; yet He does not demand anything from us, nor take anything by force, but He graciously says to every one, “My son, give Me thine heart.”
The spirit of giving originated with God. He did not give something inferior, or that He did not need; He gave the very best gift that heaven afforded, even His only-begotten Son. He did not give grudgingly, or because He felt compelled to do so, but because of His great love for His children. He “so loved . . . that He gave.”
It is this spirit of unselfish love prompting us to give that He longs to see in us. This is illustrated by the following: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take My offering.” The heart is used to represent the affections. The Scripture says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”; and to reverse this and say, “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also,” is equally true. No gift or service for God is acceptable to Him unless prompted by love.
As a constant reminder to man in his sinless state that everything he possessed, both263time and property, was a gift from God, he was required to devote one seventh of his time, the Sabbath, as a day of worship to his Creator. The tree of knowledge of good and evil, he was told, also belonged to God, and he was forbidden to eat of it or even to touch it. This restriction was given to test his loyalty, and to see whether he really appreciated the goodness of God in giving him his beautiful Eden home.
God has instituted a system among men which gives them an opportunity to choose whether they will recognize His divine ownership, or whether they will follow in the sin of our first parents, and appropriate to themselves that which He has set apart for Himself.
“Will a Man Rob God?”
“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” Mal. 3: 8, 9. In Lev. 27: 30 we are told, “The tithe . . . is the Lord’s.” And He does not leave us in uncertainty as to what He desires to have done with it. He says, “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Num. 18: 21.
The plan of tithe paying was in vogue long before the Levitical priesthood. In fact, we find it first mentioned in connection with the Melchizedek priesthood: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” Gen. 14: 18-20.
“And as I may so say, Levi also, who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him.” “For this Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, . . . made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.” Heb. 7: 9, 10, 1-3.
Converted and Paid Tithe
It will be of interest to note that Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, at the time of his conversion, adopted the practice of tithe paying. “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s-house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: . . . and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.” Gen. 28: 20-22.
We have seen that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. But Christ was made a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. We should bear in mind in this connection that “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Gal. 3: 29, 7. “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” John 8: 39.
There is no hint, in the New Testament, that Jesus ever repealed the law of tithe paying. Instead, He tells us that every one —and it would seem, judging of the class to whom He was talking, even hypocrites—ought to pay tithes. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Matt. 23: 23.
Anciently God used the people of Israel as an object lesson. When the land of Canaan was to be divided up by lot, “the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them. . . . But the tithes of the children of Israel . . . I have given to the Levites to inherit.” Num. 18: 20, 24. This arrangement was made to provide for the temporal needs of the priesthood, who were to give themselves exclusively to spiritual matters and the work of God.
Can it be that down here in the full blaze of the light of the gospel, God has forgotten to provide for the temporal needs of those whom He has called to be leaders in spiritual things and to minister His sacred word to men? Listen: “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” 1 Cor. 9: 13, 14.
Gospel Prosperity and Tithing
Great evils resulted anciently when the people of God neglected to pay their tithes, and there is probably nothing that will stop the progress of the work of God or destroy spirituality more quickly than to fail to return to the Lord His own. “And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.” Neh. 13: 10-12.
If all Christians would faithfully observe the plan set forth in the word of God for the support of His work, there would be an abundance in His treasury, and there would be no need to resort to the unscriptural methods so often employed in the church for raising money. “And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps. In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord, and His people Israel. Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed His people; and that which is left is this great store.” 2 Chron. 31: 5-10.
Where to Pay Tithe
There is a diversity of opinion among professed Christians as to how and where the tithe is to be used. Often it is laid aside to be given to the poor or used for other philanthropic purposes, or to be placed in the offering box at church as a donation. Now these are all worthy objects, but the Lord has never authorized us to use the tithe in these ways.
He tells us: “The tithe . . . is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.” In fact, He is so desirous that we shall recognize its sacred character, that He asks a high rate of interest if it is used even temporarily for any other than the object for which it is intended. “And if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes [that is, pay back what he has borrowed], he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.” Lev. 27: 31.
Nine Tenths for Us
Nine tenths of our income we may use for our own temporal needs, or to help the poor, or to present as an offering to the Lord. But the other tenth is not ours, and we do not give it as an offering; we pay it as a sacred obligation that we owe to God. It is no more proper to talk of giving our tithe than to say that we give our house rent or our grocery bill; and those who receive money from us for these items, accept it not as a gift, but as a payment of that which belongs to them.
“Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house.” Mal. 3: 10. God would have the same principle observed to-day that was carried out anciently. There was a central treasury into which the people paid their tithes, and from this the priests were paid for their services in the sanctuary. “But the tithes of the children of Israel . . . I have given to the Levites.” Num. 18: 24.
A Whole Denomination Pays Tithe
For about fifty years, Seventh-day Adventists have practiced the Bible plan of paying tithes into a general treasury; and during2641913, over one and three fourths million dollars of tithe was paid by the denomination. This was used for the support of about three thousand ministers and licensed missionaries, not one of whom was paid by any local church, all receiving their salary from central treasuries. This has proved to be a splendid system for financing the work of God, as His plans always are.
Not only was there nearly two million dollars of tithe paid in 1913, but also more than a million dollars of offerings, making the average amount paid in tithes and offerings by each member of the denomination for the year about $23.42. This is not stated with any thought of self-praise, but merely to illustrate the truth of God, and to demonstrate that it is impossible to improve on this method for the carrying on of His work.
Will Pour You Out a Blessing
The most glorious promise is given to those who overcome their natural inclination to covetousness, and who are liberal with God in paying their tithes and offerings. We frequently hear even professed Christians say that they cannot afford to pay tithe, and that they are too poor to give much to the Lord. But the fact is that no one can afford not to be faithful in these matters; for God has said: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 3: 10, 11.
I CANNOT know the way to go,
Except my Shepherd lead me.
I go astray from out the way,
And perish, lest He feed me.
But He doth lead, and every need
Of mine is e’er supplying.
He fills my soul with self-control,
And soothes in love my sighing.
He leadeth still by fount and rill,
When I for thirst am panting;
And through His grace and tenderness,
I am in nothing wanting.
Though courage fail in death’s dark vale,
And though the shadows lengthen,
The staff and rod and hand of God
My faltering footsteps strengthen.
In Him I hide, in Him abide.
No ill nor foe surrounding
Will, as I rove, drown out His love
And blessings so abounding.
If aught befall, on Him I call,
And He remains beside me.
I need not fear when He is near;
No harm can then betide me.
So through the strife of mortal life,
God’s goodness faileth never;
And thus e’er blest, in Him I rest
Forever and forever.
Brotherly Love
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.”
Within That Wounded Hand
By T. E. Bowen
By T. E. BOWEN
PEOPLE desire places of safety. Cyclone cellars in the West, aeroplane bomb pits in the war zones, are but the outgrowth of the desire in every human breast for a place of safety.
All this is well enough for protection from common storms and antagonistic war craft of the air; but another storm is coming, of which the Scriptures speak, against which no human safety devisings can protect. There is but one place of refuge that shall avail anything in that awful day just ahead. That place is within the nail-pierced hand of Calvary.
As the hate of the foe pressed in upon the Son of man, near the close of His life, He said to the Jews thirsting for His life: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”
And as though this were not enough, His assurance is strengthened by: “My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” This is as much as to say to His trusting child, “You are in My hand, and My hand is inclosed within My Father’s hand, who is greater than us all.”
The questions for us to settle are: “Am I a sheep of His flock, of His pasture, of His fold? Am I following Him? Am I in His hand?” These points made sure, the rest is cared for by the omnipotent arm, by the blessed hand, that framed the universe, that “hung the earth upon nothing,” but for our sakes was wounded upon Calvary. “Fear thou not.”
Christ’s Yoke and Rest
TAKE My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.—Jesus.
Thinking of Others
“THE biggest brain is the one that can think most of others.”
DESPISE NOT PROPHESYINGS
By J. O. C.
The Mistake at the Time of the First Advent—The Danger of a Repetition at the Second
The words “Despise not prophesyings,” form an important part of the counsel given the church at Thessalonica. They were considered quite necessary to the welfare of that church, for the reason that some of the events predicted by the apostle, which were to influence the course of Christian experience, were soon to stand out prominently upon the horizon of church history. It was therefore needful to keep in mind the warnings inculcated, in order to know how to meet emergencies arising from the fulfillment of divine prophecy.
But that which was so necessary in the apostolic age, must be considered doubly so at this remote period, when the concluding and crucial portions of the far-reaching foreknowledge of God are under complete demonstration. So it is at least safe to let the apostle’s admonition apply at the present day. Let us then learn the scope of the warning, that we may decide its requirements upon the individual life.
As used in this text, the word “despise” carries a broad meaning. The thought of contempt or scorn is foreign to its use in this case. The foundation word from which it comes implies, “to think nothing of, or set at naught.” The plain English of the text would then run, Do not consider prophesyings as unworthy of thought, and so pass them by as needless.
It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that many religious teachers now ignore the prophetic utterances of the Bible, especially those of the book of Revelation. The excuse for doing so is probably not the same in all instances. Some do so because they do not share public sympathy in an attempt to apply them to social developments of their time. Others confess that they have not studied them closely, because of a lack of inclination.
But the question might fittingly be asked of these various classes. Why has inspiration left the prophecies on record, if they are not to fill a need for heavenly instruction? Do not such know that a special blessing is promised to those who read and obey the things written in the book of Revelation? Rev. 1:3.
It Is the Revelation
With such a statement in hand, it would seem the height of folly to declare the contents of that book anomalous, and of uncertain authority, especially in view of the fact that its very preface declares it to be the “revelation of Jesus Christ” of things that are to occur during the gospel dispensation.
Then again, after having told all these things in their order, so particular was the prophet to have all his words preserved to succeeding generations just as they had been delivered, drastic penalties were prescribed for any who should either add to the sentiment expressed, or take away any of the words employed therein. Rev. 22:18, 19.
It must therefore be conceded that the book of Revelation is not only important as a guide in tracing the history of the church through its various phases, but when the events predicted by it are being enacted, a duty rests on the people of that generation to study what relation they should sustain to those events. Should such duty be neglected, the omission is sure to bring disaster to all the guilty. This has been abundantly demonstrated throughout past ages. One reference will be sufficient to illustrate the point.
The Prophets Had Foretold It
Old-time prophets testified beforehand of the coming of Christ, and the sufferings He would endure for the fallen race. 1 Peter 1:10-12. But when He came to His own people, those who for centuries had been taught to anticipate the Messiah’s advent, they refused to acknowledge Him (John 1:10, 11), but maltreated Him in every way in their power. They even said, when condemning Him to the death of the cross, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Matt. 27:25.
Their imprecation of the results began at once to bear fruit. But even before this fatal leap, they were clearly warned by the Saviour’s words to this effect: “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” Luke 19:42. That people might have known, had they studied the prophecies that so accurately predicted His coming and mission; but their neglect of this duty brought them sad results.
The beginning of these calamities was divinely laid before them in these words: “For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another.” Terribly sad, if really fulfilled! But the Saviour faithfully gave the reason for such fearful visitation. Said He, “Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” Verses 43, 44.
Pointed Out; but They Saw It Not
The prophecies had pointed with precision to the time then present; but the Jews of that day had no knowledge of what the events of that time meant, evidently because they had not studied the application of them to that particular time. But as to the consequences: Less than forty years after the death of Christ, the city of Jerusalem was laid low by fire and sword, and that nation was scattered over the face of the earth, to become the butt of satire and religious hostility. Would that it were not so! But the prediction in their case was their final warning, which, if heeded, would have placed that people on the platform of respect with all other nations.
The case of that nation has not been mentioned here because of any bias against them, but simply as an illustration of what is involved in the neglect of those prophecies which point to the present generation. Let every one, therefore, heed the evangelistic exhortation, “Despise not prophesyings.”
J. O. C.
A. False Peace
By Milton C. Wilcox
A Confederacy for Peace—Based on False Principles—A World Doomed to Disappointment
The only peace of worth to the individual soul is the peace that comes by righteousness; and the righteousness of this peace is that of God by faith of Jesus Christ “unto all and upon all them that believe.” See Rom. 3:21, 22; 5:1. That is the peace that God longs to give to the many restless hearts of earth. “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.” Isa. 57:19. This is God’s peace of righteousness to the soul that surrenders. “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Verses 20, 21.
The preaching of that message of peace will gather out a people surrendered to God, loyal to the great eternal principles of His government, of whom it is said, “Here are they that266keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.
The False Peace Movement
Over against this gospel of God, will be preached the gospel of men, which is not a gospel. It is based on confederation, not life union with God. It will seemingly be successful. The great states of the world will come to one mind. They have met the great foes of nominal Christianity, and either subjugated or destroyed them. They have become confederate. They will agree among themselves that the papacy shall again be exalted as the head of Christianity, and a world peace shall be proclaimed. Of the proclamation of this false peace in the last days, the prophet speaks:
“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
“And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
“But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”
“For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.” Micah 4:2-5.
What Men Will Say
That is Micah’s prophecy for “the last days.” Verse 1. It is not God’s message of a true peace to come. Rather, it is God’s prophecy of what men will say, of what nations will say, in their great representative assemblies. The nations declare that God is behind them in all this. They declare that He will teach them; that His word shall go forth from Jerusalem; that He will bring peace—presumably by His representative the papacy; that in all the world shall be peace and quiet. The nations will say all this, the prophet states. They will preach a peace that will allow the mixed worship of the last part of the passage, so as to accommodate all Babylon.
But this is a false message of peace without God, and Jesus the Christ, and His salvation. It is peace politically, peace among those of whom another prophet said, “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isa. 57:21.
In a directly parallel prophecy in Isa. 2:1-6, the prophet declares of this professed people of God who proclaim the false peace, “Thou [God] hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.” God will not tolerate the duplicity of this, its self-salvation, its destructive theories of evolution. “The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, . . . and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.” Verse 11.
Not a Converted World
Micah continues his prophecy in the same strain. It is not a converted world that is to be seen. It is not a peace that will last forever. It will endure for a little time politically; and the little season will give those bearing God’s true message, time to sound a world-wide warning against the false peace, and present another heart-touching appeal to the world to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. And then, “in that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even forever. And 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 4:6-8.
That is the result of God’s gathering message. His remnant people will be saved, and the kingdom shall come to Christ Himself. The Jerusalem named is the Jerusalem that is above. Gal. 4:26; Rev. 21:2.
Sudden Destruction
But when the harlot Babylon feels that the peace is assured, and there shall arise over the whole world the cry of “peace and safety” accomplished, “then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.” 1 Thess. 5:3.
Her Plagues Shall Come
And when, also, the harlot Babylon feels that her everlasting triumph and establishment have come, and “she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning”—at that very time, and because of her self-exaltation, “Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judged her.” Rev. 18:7, 8.
These plagues are set forth in detail in Revelation 16. The “one day” is the prophetic time for one year. “It is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” Isa. 34:8.
See a parallel prophecy to Revelation 18 in Isaiah 47. Of her whom the whole world enthroned and worshiped, it is said, “There shall be none to save thee.” The people of apostasy have made their appeal to the world, based on tradition, on human expediency, on compromise. The messengers of God have made theirs based on His holy word.
The multitudes upon multitudes that the prophet saw “in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14), will decide either for or against God; and the harvest, the end, will come. God’s message will do its work, and “the words of God” will be accomplished.” Rev. 17:17.
From the above, it seems clear that the probation of man will not close till the nations of earth have exalted apostasy and rejected the message of God. Then destruction comes. Then begins the falling of the last plagues of wrath. Then, too, “the ambassadors of [the false] peace shall weep bitterly.” Isa. 33:7.
M. C. W.
The next article of this series will be on the time of the plagues and the work God gives us to do now.
