Men to-day are troubled more than ever before over the uncertainties of the future; whereas, if they would only study God's prophetic word, the future would be clearly unfolded before their eyes.
JOHN L. SHULER
SINCE God knows the end from the beginning, it is self-evident that He has a very definite program for our world. What that program is may be clearly seen by a study of the latter-day prophecies of the Bible. The events that are to come, relative to the destiny of our world in accordance with God's purpose, are plainly set forth in the sure word of prophecy.
EVENTS OF DEEP MOMENT
The ancient prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed in holy vision longed to understand their import. They “inquired and searched diligently, . . . searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify. . . . Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you; . . . which things the angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:10-12.
“To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfillment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come,—events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God's children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!”
What a pity that “at this time, before the great final crisis, as before the world's first destruction, men are absorbed in the pleasures and the pursuits of sense. Engrossed with the seen and transitory, they have lost sight of the unseen and eternal. For the things that perish with the using they are sacrificing imperishable riches. Their minds need to be uplifted, their views of life to be broadened. They need to be aroused from the lethargy of worldly dreaming.”
The Bible makes it plain that the moral and spiritual condition of the world in the last days will be the darkest, the most delusive and perilous, of any time in the long, tragic history of humanity. (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13; 1 Timothy 4:1, 2.) But at this very time there will be the fullest and clearest revelation of divine truth and gospel light ever given to any generation of men. (Proverbs 4:18; Daniel 12:4.) The nearer we come to the end, the more Satan's power will be manifested (Revelation 12:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 16:14); also the more God's power will be manifested in His faithful remnant (Acts 2:17-21; 3:19, 20).
GOD'S CLOSING PROGRAM
We shall now present from the Bible fourteen items from God's program of the closing events of earth's history.
1. There will be no lasting world peace during this gospel dispensation. Jesus declares that there will be wars and rumors of wars until the end of this present age. (Matthew 24:6.) “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” through the whole course of human history. (Verse 7.)
Nations the world over are experimenting with new weapons of warfare. This photograph shows clouds of nonpoisonous gas spreading from a portable tank during maneuvers staged at Berlin, Germany. Germany was forbidden to use poisonous gases by the Treaty of Versailles.
2. The closing days of this age will not be days of security and safety, but in “the last days perilous times shall come.” 2 Timothy 3:1. There will be a time of international distress, unrest, and upheaval. Men's hearts will fail them for fear, and for looking after the unusual things that are coming on the earth. In connection with these things Christ will appear in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Luke 21:25-27.)
3. There will be outbursts of anger and dissension among the nations, and then the wrath of God will fall upon them to destroy them. Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He will take into His hands the great power of God, to destroy His enemies, and will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 11:15-18.)
4. In the closing years of the gospel age, just prior to the final conflict, there will be an unprecedented and universal preparation and mobilization for war. (Joel 3:2, 9, 10.)
5. Just before the time when all nations will be gathered to Armageddon for the final struggle, there will be an awakening of the nations of the East (Joel 3:12; Revelation 16:12-16), in preparation for their part in the final clash and crash of nations in the war of the great day of God.
6. Just before the end a great peace movement of world proportion will come to the front on the international stage. There will be general talk of disarmament and of outlawing war. (Isaiah 2:2-4.)
A GREAT CONFEDERATION
7. The nations will turn to the church to save the world from the peril of war, and a great international religio-political federation will be formed in an attempt to establish a man-made millennium of peace and righteousness in the earth. But in our study of11prophecy we find that this world religio-political confederacy will unconsciously set the stage for the personal appearance of Antichrist and the terrible destruction in Armageddon.
8. The great peace movement will seem to be a success, and there will be an apparent lull in strife and war, and the world in general will think at last a way has been found to lasting and universal peace. A great peace and safety cry will sweep over the world. (1 Thessalonians 5:3.) But the dream of peace will turn into a frightful nightmare of war and Armageddon of fatal destruction. Like a furious tornado the great tempest of war and destruction will break suddenly upon a surprised and unprepared world. (Jeremiah 23:19, 20.)
WITH STARTLING RAPIDITY
9. When the stage of the world is being set for the final conflict, things will move with a startling rapidity. In the closing years of the age there will come a distinct rush in worldly affairs, in direct contrast to other centuries in the past. (Daniel 12:4; Nahum 2:4.)
Thus the prophet Joel outlines the program of the muster call for the last conflict: “Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together.”Joel 3:11, A. R. V.
The final movements will be rapid ones. The nations will rush into war like the rushing of mighty waters. (Isaiah 17:13.) The onslaughts of war and military drives will come with the sweep of a mighty tidal wave, or as the rush of a swirling flood when a great dam gives way.
Preparedness is the watchword among the great nations of the earth to-day. Every one realizes that it can be but a short time until another great war will be staged, compared with which the past World War will seem but child's play. God's clock of time is rapidly approaching the zero hour.
The prophet Jeremiah compares this final conflict of the nations to a great whirlwind. We all know that destructive winds travel fast, in fact their destructive power is usually determined by their velocity. Evil will go forth from nation to nation with the rush of a great whirlwind, which will draw all powers into its destructive vortex. And in connection with this final struggle the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth to the other. (Jeremiah 25:31-33.)
CHRIST'S INTERCESSION CEASES
10. Some day—the date of which no man knows—suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, unmarked by any special event on earth, the intercession of Christ as our advocate and priest will be finished, human probation will close, the day of salvation will terminate, and the day of wrath will begin. Man's day (1 Corinthians 4:3, margin) will close, and the great day of God will be ushered in (Acts 2:20).
The work of the investigative judgment (Daniel 7:9, 10; Luke 20:35), which has been in session in heaven since 1844 (Revelation 14:6, 7; Daniel 8:14), will be finished. The priestly mediation of Christ on the throne of grace for the salvation of sinful men will cease. (Revelation 22:11, 12.) The gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14) will have finished its work of witnessing to every tongue and nation, and of preparing a people in all the world to meet Christ at His appearing. Thus the way will be prepared for Christ to come to reap the harvest of the gospel. (Revelation 14:6-14.)
Christ will not come, and He cannot come, till the threefold message of Revelation 14 has finished its work in thus preparing the way of the Lord. Hence we shall find, in our study of Revelation 7:1-3, that the day of Armageddon, with its universal war and strife, cannot come till the gospel work is finished and the sealing of God's servants is accomplished.
11. Seven terrible plagues, similar to those ten plagues that fell on Egypt just prior to the deliverance of God's ancient people, will then sweep over the world. See Revelation 16. These plagues will be the wrath of God without mercy, and forgiveness of sin will never be granted any more after these plagues begin. (Revelation 15:5-8; 22:11.)
12. During these plagues there will be a time of trouble such as never was since the nations first came into existence. (Daniel 12:1.) These great international complications and troubles will culminate under the sixth plague, in the gathering of all nations to Armageddon for the war of the great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:12-16.) There will be a time of bloody strife that will far exceed any previous conflict of the nations. This war will involve not merely the nations of one or two continents, but those 'of the whole world,' both civilized and uncivilized. When the armies of the nations are gathered to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, then Jesus will come upon them as a thief. (Revelation 16:15.)
ACCOMPANYING ARMAGEDDON
13. In connection with this great conflict at Armageddon there will come the final events of this present age, which will usher in the descent of Christ from heaven. Among these we will mention:
a. The greatest earthquake ever known (Revelation 16:18-20), which will shake heaven and earth (Hebrews 12:26). Under this mighty convulsion the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Matthew 24:29.)
c. The fall of great hailstones (the seventh plague) (Revelation 16:21) that will utterly crush every structure of false teaching (Ezekiel 13:10-14).
d. A rift in the sky. “The heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.” Revelation 6:14. The sky will open, and through the parted heavens Jesus will come forth as the all-conquering King of kings, and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19:11-16.)
14. The visible, literal, personal descent of Christ from heaven attended by all the holy angels (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 25:31; 24:30, 31) to wind up the great controversy between good and evil. The coming of Jesus Christ, as the divinely appointed ruler of earth, to take the government upon His shoulder, to rule and reign in righteousness, will bring a lasting cure for the present degradation and sin-cursed condition of this world.
NOT HUMAN VAGARIES
These items are not the vagaries of human theories, but the truth of the living God. Line upon line they are traced out in the very words of Inspiration. The statement of each item is simply the logical results of the facts set forth in the Scriptures, and every one is in perfect harmony with the Bible.
Such is God's outline of the closing conditions, developments, and events of this present age, as they relate to our theme. The important question is, How and where does our day stand in relation to this prophetic outline? In order to ascertain this we must study current conditions and happenings in the light of this divine blue print.
(To be continued)
BIBLE SILENT ON THIS QUESTION
There is no idea more common among religious persons than that those who during their lives have accepted Christ and have joined themselves to the spiritual world shall at their death become angels. Such religious persons believe that in ways which they confess they cannot wholly understand the soul at death is carried away to heaven; that there its nature and being are changed; that it ceases to be a human soul, and becomes an angelic soul; and that in this beatified state it continues forever. In connection with this theory many absurd notions have grown up, as that the chief occupation of the heavenly world is traveling upon clouds or playing upon harps. But here we need not address ourselves to the refutation of sentiments that may not be seriously entertained. We shall simply consider the plain proposition as to whether the Scriptures ever or in any place teach that human beings, in any way or in any form whatever, shall at any time become angels.
BIBLE SILENT ON THIS QUESTION
At the outset of this discussion we come to great difficulty, for the reason that the Bible has nothing whatever to say about men's becoming angels. On this matter it is silent, offering no such promise, and making no such statement. As far as Scriptural authority is concerned, the idea is as baseless as the notion that the forbidden fruit that Eve ate in the Garden of Eden was an apple, rather than a pear or a persimmon or a mango. That to become angels is the highest goal of human existence is no more taught in the Scriptures than the common legend that the three wise men who came to worship the infant Saviour were named Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, and that one of them was a negro! All such views and statements are merely traditional; and concerning them we, as Protestants who hold to the Bible and the Bible only, must consider that they are not proved and not provable.
The Scriptures say that man was made a little lower than the angels. (Hebrews 2:7.) They do not state that man will always remain lower than the angels. Christ Himself reveals that there are greater heights for those who seek the heavenly kingdom. When the Sadducees, the skeptics of the Jewish nation, came to Him with a problem that they deemed insoluble, concerning the validity in the future world of consecutive marriages lawfully contracted in this, our Saviour answered their question; and, going further, declared of those who are “accounted worthy to obtain that world, . . . neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” See Luke 20:27-38.
In the world to come we shall not be angels, but we shall become equal unto them. Although created “a little lower than the angels,” the redeemed will enjoy a knowledge of salvation that the angels will never know.
BECOME EQUAL TO ANGELS
And it is indeed strange that in all the places where the Scriptures mention angels, their work, their being, their nature, their deeds, no word is ever dropped that men may one day be among their number; and that among all the multitude of promises given to those who are faithful, there is no promise given to them that they shall ever become angels. They shall indeed, says our Lord, become “equal unto the angels;” they shall no longer be inferior, no longer be “a little lower than the angels;” but that they shall become angels, shall in nature and essence be transformed into angels,—this He does not say.
What then does the Bible reveal as to the future state of the redeemed? It is not silent on this topic.
Every prophet of the Scriptures to whom these matters have ever been revealed in vision, declares that there is to come a better world than this. Isaiah glances forward to the time when “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” In that day, he tells us, “the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.” “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, 7, 10.
BETTER AND ETERNAL EMPIRE
The prophet Daniel sees the end of this world, when “the God of heaven [shall] 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.” Daniel 2:44.
Jeremiah, living in the decline and weakness of an earthly kingdom, is encouraged by the vision of a better and eternal empire, where “a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jeremiah 23:5, 6.
So Paul tells us concerning Abraham that as the patriarch wandered through Mesopotamia13and Egypt and Canaan, from city to city, and from kingdom to kingdom, he was looking, not for some metropolis that the monarchs of that age had built, but rather “for a city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.” Hebrews 11:10.
MADE HEIRS OF A BETTER KINGDOM
It has never been the purpose of God that this world should, under present conditions, endure forever. Its sin, its suffering, its wretchedness; its diseases, physical and moral; its griefs and agonies; its swarms of evils so sickening that it is not wholesome for the mind even to think on them; its vices and crimes; its very joys and pleasures, which must be soon extinguished by unrelenting death,—all this order is not in the purpose of a God of love and life. A better world is offered to us through Jesus Christ. “I am the resurrection, and the life,” He declares; “he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” John 11:25. Although of ourselves we are not fit for that heavenly kingdom, although in our fallen nature we would be blots and blemishes to it, and although we can no more change our disposition and traits than snakes can transform themselves into doves, yet in Christ there is power to make us heirs of that better world. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12. For the sins and errors of the past His blood can atone,—“though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18); and for the weaknesses of our present nature He is able to provide a way of escape when He by His Spirit will put His laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts; and will be to them a God, and they shall be to Him a people. (Hebrews 8:10.) This is redemption, this is salvation,—the forgiveness of sins that are past, the writing of God’s law, His will and character, within our hearts, so that by nature we are made ready for that better world, where righteousness shall reign.
REDEEMED MEN AND WOMEN
We shall not be angels, but redeemed men and women in that world which is to come. Concerning this it is written that “since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him.” Isaiah 64:4. And, indeed, we do not mean to say or imply that we can fully understand that eternal kingdom. Yet in that land which shall blossom like a rose, where sandy wastes shall bring forth springs of water, and where the very deserts shall be gardens, we are told that the people of God “shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.” “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 65:21, 25.
In vision the apostle John is shown the glories of that heavenly city, which he calls the New Jerusalem,—“the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. . . . And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.” Revelation 21:10-19.
We are aware that atheistical persons may declare such descriptions fantastic and absurd. Yet such doubts primarily arise, not from a doubt of the description, but from a doubt of the power of God. Let us not, because of the meagerness of our experience, disbelieve what God has declared to us in His word. Let us not scoff at a city of gold, or at walls of jasper. We would build walls of jasper—if we had the jasper! We would make cities of pure gold—if we had the gold!
Shall we doubt that the eternal God, who made iron and lead, can make gold also? Is it too hard for God, who made clay and rock and land and sea and air from nothing, to make jasper from nothing? When men refuse to believe, it is because they err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. (Mark 12:24.)
In that new world “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.” Revelation 21:3, 4. In that perfect world, that perfect city, shall be the throne of God; its light shall be the glory of God, and Christ Himself shall lighten it. Through it shall flow a river whose waters are called the “water of life, clear as crystal.” In its territory grows that tree of life, whose leaves are “for the healing of the nations.” “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” See Revelation 21, 22.
ALL QUESTIONS SHALL BE MADE CLEAR
There, in that better world, we have no doubt but that we shall know more about the nature and existence of angelic beings than it is possible for us to know here. “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. As anciently men, looking into their mirrors of polished bronze, could see but dimly, so in this present world we can behold only with faint and distorted vision many things which in that world we shall see and know face to face. Yet even now, on the authority of God’s word, we may understand that we shall have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We may understand that we shall be equal unto the angels, having powers and abilities that we do not now possess. We may understand that the difficulties and mysterious things,—
“The things which our weak judgments here
have spurned,
The things o’er which we grieved with lashes
wet,”
the seeming contradictions that now obscure so much of our knowledge of God and of His providences,—in that day shall be dispelled, for “we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2. In that more perfect world, with more perfect knowledge, things that are dark to us now shall doubtless be made clear.
It is through Christ, the Son of God, that these promises are laid before us. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15. Better than any prospect of earthly preferment, more priceless than any gift of human bestowal, more true than any enlightenment of carnal wisdom, is the assurance of eternal salvation in that eternal world, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!
Will All Be Angels in Heaven?
A belief commonly held by many religious persons to-day alleges that in heaven all will be angels; this is false and without Biblical foundation.
The Master
By Eugene Rowell
EUGENE ROWELL
The novice with a harsh-toned violin,
Whereon his tuneless fingers could but make
Crude noise, said to the master, “Take,
And make sweet music where I rouse such din.”
The master smiled, and took the instrument,
With power and sweetness touched it as he played,
And that dull wood his every wish obeyed,
And gave forth music as if heaven had sent.
Just so this all-imperfect life of mine,
On which I make but discord, yielded still
Unto my Lord and Saviour’s loving will,
Shall answer with sweet sound His touch divine.
The Only Cure for Crime
By George E. Crawford
Regeneration through the power of God is the only effective cure for crime.
Is there a scientific cure for criminals? This is a question that is much discussed of late, and considerable investigation is being conducted in that field with some evident success. A recent magazine article, dealing with the treatment of certain glands in criminals for the cure of criminal tendencies, said:
GLAND IRREGULARITIES
“Every murderer and potential murderer exhibits oversecretion of the thyroid gland. Every robber exhibits undersecretion of the pituitary gland. Every social misfit displays malsecretion of some gland.”
These conclusions have been reached by Dr. Ralph A. Reynolds and Dr. Leo L. Stanley, who have been experimenting on criminals in San Quentin prison in California. It is said that they have treated successfully about sixty criminals. No doubt much valuable information has been obtained from a scientific study of criminology, and much credit is due such men as the above-named doctors for the untiring efforts put forth to find the cause and the cure for crime.
What is crime? It is the transgression of social laws. This, however, is only the fruit of a tree that strikes its roots still deeper. That tree is sin. What is sin? It is the transgression of God’s law. (1 John 3:4; Romans 7:7.) It would be a source of astonishment to many to-day could they know how many there are in civilized lands who do not know of the great moral law, the ten precepts. Perhaps a still larger number could not repeat those precepts or tell where they are found. By this latter class they are regarded with indifference, although they form the basis of all right law and government. Sadder still it is when professed Christians regard them lightly. But why shouldn’t they when the pulpit orators confuse them with the Mosaic ceremonial law and declare that they have no binding force, or else relegate them bodily to the scrap heap of antiquities as having served their time.
George E. Crawford
Playing fast and loose with law will work havoc in any system of government. A poor law well executed is far better than the best of laws held in light esteem, and obeyed or disobeyed according to the changing whim of the subjects. The early history of our country demonstrated the fallacy of thinking that the fundamental law of the land could be lightly regarded by individual units. The question was finally settled in blood, but it was settled that the Constitution should stand. There must be a fundamental law.
GOD’S LAW FLOUTED
In recent years there has been a growing disregard for law; and if the cause could be traced to its source, it would probably be found in the careless regard of the precepts of Jehovah, by professors and nonprofessors. There has developed a feeling that a thing is all right to do if one can only “get by” with it. A high regard for the principles of God’s law will foster a high regard for civil law, for the principles of right law are in the heart. These principles are forever true: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” It is a lack of respect for constituted authority and others’ rights that finally sends a man to the prison or to the gallows.
The only real reformation that can be brought into the life of a man is through the work of the Holy Spirit, not in accordance with natural laws, but contrary to them. Christ said, “Ye must be born again,” and, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:7, 5. The Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 11:19.
THE GOSPEL ANTIDOTE
Then instead of the mind’s being at enmity with the law of God (Romans 8:7), the person will say with the psalmist, “O how love I Thy law!” and with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8. Then God will perform the work promised in the new covenant: “I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.” Hebrews 8:10. When that is done, the individual is willingly obedient and can be said to be fully reformed. An operation performed by a surgeon on the glands may give some assistance to the mind; but until God performs the operation on the heart, there is not much hope of reforming the man. The only way to offset and control the criminal nature is to use the antidote for sin, the gospel, “the power of God unto salvation.”
