p. 16 | Signs of the Times, December 12, 1916 (12/12/1916)

Earlier text: A State Religion and Its Carnival of Blood

TEN CENTURIES OF SILENCE

By Rufus A. Underwood

“THERE WILL BE NO OPPORTUNITY FOR MAN TO REPENT AFTER CHRIST’S SECOND COMING.”

By RUFUS A. UNDERWOOD

The kingdoms and cities of the world will be utterly destroyed, the mountains removed, and the islands displaced, at the second coming of Christ, by the mightiest earthquake that has ever shaken the 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 it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2: 44. “I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger.” Jer. 4: 26.

“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 free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth 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?” Rev. 6: 14-17.

John the seer gives still another description of Christ’s coming: “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” Rev. 16: 17-20.

Meeting Immortals in the Sky

Christ is accompanied to this world the second time by all the mighty angels of heaven, and a vast number of resurrected immortal saints who arose from the dead at the time of His crucifixion. This mighty host returning with Him form a great white cloud of glorified beings, who will appear in the heavens just above the earth. “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.” 2 Thess. 1: 7.

“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall He send His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” Mark 13: 26, 27. Again, “when the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory.” Matt. 25: 31.

Christ’s coming is after six of the seven last plagues have been poured out upon the ungodly. See Dan. 12: 1; Rev. 16: 1-16. In the midst of the last plague, Christ appears in the heavens. “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake. . . . And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Rev. 16: 17-21.

Furnished Homes for Saints

At the second coming of Christ, all the sleeping saints will be raised from death to immortality; and in the twinkling of an eye, the righteous living will be changed, and caught up with them, to meet the Lord in the air. Then together they will ascend to the mansions above, which Christ has prepared for His people, as He promised in John 14: 2, 3: “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 ye may be also.”

We will now see that the wicked are all slain upon the earth, not a man or a woman being left to mourn or to bury them. “They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. For thus saith the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away My peace from this people, saith the Lord, even loving-kindness and mercies.” Jer. 16: 4, 5.

“The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jer. 25: 30-33.

Ten Centuries of Silence

The earth will be emptied and left a desolate wilderness for a period of one thousand years, or during the millennium beginning at the second coming of Christ. There will be no one to inhabit the earth except Satan and his angels. “Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.” “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger.” Jer. 4: 20, 23-26.

“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.” Isa. 24: 1-3.

From these scriptures, it will be readily seen that there will be no opportunity for man to repent after Christ’s second coming.

MARTIN LUTHER

By C. S. Longacre

on Church and State Union

By C. S. LONGACRE

Editor of “Liberty”

That professed Protestants may see how far they have wandered from the original Protestant platform in regard to church-and-state co-operation in religious matters, I will quote some extracts from Luther’s first sermon delivered after his return to his home church in Wittenberg, from his captivity in the Wartburg. The reason why Luther preached his first sermon on church-and-state separation was not because Rome was united, but because the friends of Protestantism were urging Luther to accept the aid and protection of civil magistrates. Luther protested vigorously against such an unholy union, and told his friends, in no uncertain tone, that such a course would mean the utter defeat of the Reformation.

Luther wrote thus to the elector who offered him aid:

“I have no thought of soliciting the assistance of your highness; so far from desiring your protection, I would rather give you mine. No sword can give any aid to this cause. God alone must do all, without human aid or coöperation. . . . Your electoral highness has already done too much, and ought to do nothing at all.”

These words were sent by Luther to the elector on the very day Luther arrived at Wittenberg from the Wartburg.

The next day, he ascended the old Wittenberg pulpit, and “he stood up like a lion goaded on to battle, and shaking his bushy mane, he said, ‘Now is the time to trample Satan underfoot, and combat the angel of darkness.’” Having gained their attention, he continues his remarkable sermon, which laid the basic platform of the Reformation, thus:

“It is by the Word that we must fight; by the Word overturn and destroy what has been established by violence. I am unwilling to employ force against the superstitious or the unbelieving. None ought to be constrained. Liberty is of the essence of faith.”

Exposing an erroneous practice of the church, he continues:

“But let nobody be driven from it by violence. The affair must be committed to God. His word must act, not we. And why? you will say. Because I do not hold the hearts of men in my hand, as the potter does the clay. We have a right to speak, but not to act. Let us preach; the rest belongs to God. If I employ force, what shall I obtain? — Grimace, appearances, apishness, human ordinances, hypocrisy; . . . but there will be no sincerity of heart, no faith, no charity.” Any work in which these three things are wanting, wants everything, and I would not give a pin for it.”

The Heart — or Nothing

“The first thing to be gained from people is their heart, and for this it is necessary to preach the gospel. Then the Word will descend on one heart to-day, and on another to-morrow, and operate in such a way. God does more by His mere word than you and I and all the world could do by uniting our utmost strength. God takes possession of the heart; and when the heart is taken, everything is taken.

“Paul, having one day arrived at Athens, a great city, found altars erected to false gods. He went from one to another, viewed them all, but touched none. But he quietly repaired to the market place, and declared to the people that all their gods were only idols. His words took possession of their hearts, and the idols fell without being touched by Paul.

“I wish to speak, to preach, to write; but I wish not to constrain any one, for faith is a voluntary matter. See what I have done. I have withstood the pope, indulgences, and the papists; but without tumult and violence. I have put forward the word of God, have preached, have written; but this is all I have done. And while I was asleep, . . . the Word which I had preached overthrew the papacy, assailing it more effectually than was ever done by prince or emperor. I have done nothing — the Word alone has done all. Had I chosen to appeal to force, perhaps Germany might have been bathed in blood. But what would have been the consequence? — Ruin and desolation to soul and body. I therefore remained quiet, and allowed the Word itself to have free course in the world.

Playing Satan’s Game

“Do you know what the devil thinks when he sees recourse had to force in order to speed the gospel among men? — Seated, with his arms across, behind the flames of hell, Satan, with malignant leer and frightful smile, says, ‘Ah, how sagely these fools are playing my game!’ But when he sees the Word running and wrestling alone on the field of battle, then it is he feels uneasy, and his knees tremble, he mutters and swoons with terror.”

If Luther should rise from the dead to-day, and attend a convention of the “Federation of Churches,” and hear Protestant ministers clamoring for the aid and co-operation of the civil government to compel unwilling subjects to obey certain church dogmas, what would be his consternation! He would not know the Protestant churches, and he would repudiate those who would accept the coöperation of the state. What a shame and a travesty upon the Protestant platform is the present cry from Protestant ministers for Sunday laws, for the civil magistrate to whip every opposing element into subjection! The Reformation succeeded gloriously without the coöperation of the state, and without a Sunday law.

Professed Protestantism is digging its own grave in this country by sending petitions to the halls of legislatures instead of to the throne of God, just as verily as did the Catholic Church in France when she formed that unholy union with the state. While the French government is seeking a separation from the church, why should not this government heed the lesson, and keep out of the trouble that is sure to come? “Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”

True Liberty

Do you wish to be free? Then above all things, love God, love your neighbor, love one another, love the common weal, then you will have true liberty.—Savonarola.

GLUTTED with GOLD

ONE of the eleven leaders of the January Signs Magazine. A cleverly written article on the modern speed mania that you will wish to read a second time appears under the heading, “Flipping Life’s Pages.” Others are: “Bowing at the Shrine of Atheism;” “Clinging to Wilted Stems;” “Among ‘Savage Christians;’” “Signing Her Emancipation Papers;” “Belting the Globe with a Message;” “The Hope of All Ages;” “All Six, and the Seventh;” “In the Creator’s Workshop;” “A Substitute for Death.” Every one a masterpiece. These articles, together with the beautiful cover, depicting bursting coffers from a flood of gold, put this January number in a class by itself. You will want some to sell or give away, that’s sure. Prices as usual: five to forty copies, five cents each; fifty or more, four cents each. Tell your secretary how many you can use.

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On the Road to Lost Liberty

By M. M.

“NATIONAL Religion in Our Public Schools,” “Christian Education,” “Religion and the Public School,”—these were the subjects of some of the many sermons preached in response to a request by leaders of the National Reform Movement to devote a day to prayer for the public schools.

At the convention of the National Education Association held in July, 1916, some thirty thousand interested educators gathered; and among the important decisions of the convention, they placed themselves on record as being in favor of having the Bible not only read but studied in the public schools. This shows the widespread sentiment on the subject of the teaching of religion in our public schools. In nine of the leading church conferences and synods of California that held their sessions this year, resolutions were passed indorsing the work of the National Reform Association, and recommending that that association be invited to take charge of the work in this state, with a view of introducing, as soon as possible, the reading and teaching of the Bible in the public schools of California.

All Christian people of America must admit that we are facing a national problem in the proper education of our youth. As it stands to-day, the religious education of our growing boys and girls is sadly neglected. The morals of our youth are contaminated; and this republic is grappling with one of the greatest problems, if not the greatest, of her national life,—the moral education of the rising generation.

But we seriously question the plan by which our well meaning friends are seeking to effect this much needed reform. To teach the Bible in our public schools is a step toward the adopting of a national religion, and this fact is admitted by the champions of the cause.

Let us not be quick to forget the sad story that history tells of those nations which adopted this method of giving religious education to their children and youth. The state cannot rightfully teach religion. To place the eraser in the hand of the president would be as unnatural as to place the scepter of civil power in the hand of some church leader. The first condition made a Nero, and the latter made a pope. And it might well be prophesied that if the leaders of the National Reform Association succeed in gaining their object, America will suffer the fate of our elder sister republic, will go the way of Rome,—the road of lost liberty. M. M.

Erased Oregon’s “Blue Law”

By Editor

ONE of the issues in the political campaign in Oregon was the repeal of the Sunday “blue law” of that state. For years, they have had a Sunday law on their statute books that was drastic in its provisions, but public sentiment was such that it remained a dead letter. A year or more ago, several individuals started some prosecutions for the violation of the Sunday law, and sought to create sentiment that would even give the state a more stringent law than the one already on the statute books. The liberty-loving citizens of the state arose in a strong protest against the measure, and an initiative proposition was put on the ballot to have the law repealed.

A telegram from Pastor H. W. Cottrell, who was one of the most prominent leaders in the campaign of education, informs us that the initiative measure, by a majority of 32,163, carried the old “blue law” off the statutes.

Such campaigns are very educative in their nature. They assist a constantly increasing number of people to see that there is no foundation whatever in the Bible for Sunday sacredness, that it is purely a man-made institution, and that to endeavor to fix its observance upon the people by civil enactment is wrong. Still, while we have this enlightenment upon the subject, we nevertheless know that religion will yet be united with the state as never before, and the Sunday measure will be the great corner stone of the religio-political structure. But the facts must be kept before the world, so that in the impending controversy, men may take their stand intelligently.

The Delirium of Change

By M. M.

“FRANCE makes fashions, Germany makes dyestuffs, Ireland makes linens; but America makes everything—pins and automobiles, toothpicks and air planes, slums and religion. In the production of the last named commodity, America is especially noted; and she has no exclusion laws. . . . Some fifty new religions have appeared in America since the opening of the twentieth century.”

Thus writes Mrs. Howard B. McAfee in the November issue of the Christian Statesman. The writer proceeds to expose what she considers as one of the many new religions that have sprung up in this country. We realize, with Mrs. McAfee, that these growing cults are more and more a menace to the progress of true faith and morals in America. It should be a cause of alarm to all thinking people, that every year, thousands of men and women leave the faith of their fathers, to follow some cunningly devised teaching that may appeal to their whim or fancy.

The delirium of change seems to have maddened men everywhere; and “some people change their religion as easily as they adopt the new mode of dress, and as eagerly.”

But the most striking fact is that, during the first sixteen years of the new century, fifty religions have sprung up in the United States. This is a record unsurpassed by any previous century, and it stands out as one of the most literal fulfillments of Christ’s advent prophecy as recorded in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. He said: “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.”

There is only one door of escape for us, and that is in the word “elect.” From a comparison of other scriptures, it is clear that all who find salvation through the atonement of Christ’s blood, and accept the gift of life through Him, are numbered with the “elect”; and since these favored few base their faith in the word of God alone, they will be impregnable to the army of false Christs and deceiving prophets that are sweeping down upon our modern life. The Bible test is: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8: 20. M. M.

Counting the Cost in Men

WHEN men undertake great industrial enterprises, they sit down first to count the cost in dollars and cents, to determine whether or not the undertaking will pay. But when military strategists are planning some great enterprise, they count the cost not in dollars, but in men. They estimate that if they enter upon such and such a campaign, it will cost so many thousands of men.

In one of the big drives in this European war, the strategists figured that if they could attain their end by the expenditure of three hundred thousand men, the undertaking would be well worth while.

What a commentary is such a horrible fact, upon the so-called civilization of this age! And it is high time that the people of the world were learning that civilization is no protection against the savagery of the human race. Civilization and the veneer of refinement cannot save, but Jesus Christ can.

The civilization of a given period is based upon the human sentiments of that time. Sentiment is ever shifting and changing. To-day the sentiments of men may be our protection, and to-morrow men may have other sentiments, that become our chief source of danger. But he who has his hope built upon the Rock of Ages finds a foundation that will endure every storm and relieve his mind from every perplexing anxiety.

Wearied Because of Murders

WE are constantly reading such headings as, “Five Armed Men Hold Up and Rob Popular Clubroom,” “Chokes and Robs a Girl,” “Juvenile Crime Alarms Europe,” “Two Boy Thieves Murder Man They Rob,” and so on. The list might be continued by mentioning bank robberies, holding up of trains, and many other crimes. These things show the breaking up of society. Without doubt, it was while viewing such signs, that the ancient prophets gave expression to such words as the following:

“I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.” Jer. 4: 31.

THERE may be safety in slighting some of the sayings of men; but when the great Father of us all speaks to us so plainly that we know of a surety that it is He, it is for our eternal good and safety that we attentively listen.

Subscribers, Notice!

By Editor

As previously announced, the “Signs of the Times” will appear in eight-page form after January 1. With this reduced size will be a reduction in price as well, from $1.75 to $1.00 for single yearly subscriptions, and from $1.20 to eighty cents a year each for clubs of five or more to one person.

Time will be extended on all those subscriptions which expire after January 1, in proportion to the amount due them.

With sincere appreciation, we acknowledge receipt of many commendatory letters regarding the proposed change. Practically all entertain the opinion that the reduced rates at a time when prices on nearly every needful thing are going up, will have the desirable effect of greatly increasing the circulation of the journal.

Left to right: Mrs. S. A. Nagel and daughter, Pastor S. A. Nagel, Mrs. Werner, and Mr. Werner.