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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
February, 1938
evidence, England seems to fit the prophetic mosaic of the end-time. Great Military Forces in the Orient The fourth of the great powers is named in Revelation. 16:12 as “ the kings of the east" and may be referred to in Daniel 11:44 where we are told that “ tidings out of the east and out of the north” will trouble the W illful King of the final Roman Empire. Whether or not this latter identifi cation can be established, there can be little doubt but that in the former passage the reference is to some great Oriental power.
DR. BAUMAN’ S COMMENT Modern Italy’s military power was paraded on May 18, 1937, in the pres ence of King Victor Emmanuel and Premier Benito Mussolini in the Piazza Venezia, Rome— as pictured below— to celebrate the first anniversary of the founding of the new Italian “ Empire. Recently, the Italian dictator reiterated the resurrection of the Roman “ Empire.” Students of Bible prophecy cannot fail to be stirred profoundly by such events as these. Too, no one can mistake that Gog,
peoples which are associated with the north ern power in Ezekiel’s prophecy in chapter 38 (Gog, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Togarmah, and Rosh; cf. R.V.), yet we can say with assurance that these names point to peoples stretching north from Pal estine through Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and far into the present territory of mod ern Russia. Fourth, it should be noted that the prophecy of Ezekiel declares that the gigantic military forces of this predicted northern end-time power will come in large part from the “ uttermost parts of the north” (38:6, R. V .). All this description points
And the amazing rise of Japan as one of the primary world powers within recent years, coupled with her bold imperialistic aims in China, and her ingenious method of breaking up the Chinese Re public into puppet states sub servient to the Japanese gov ernment, all points strongly to the emergence of the last of the great end-time powers. (See also the article by H. A. Ironside in the January issue (of T he K ing ’ s B usiness .) A s ; this article is being written, the powerful Japanese mili tary m a ch in e is r o llin g through city after city in un happy China. But whether Japan wins or loses in the end, the argument remains— the millions of the Orient are at last awake, and there will be no going back. Regardless of the ultimate hegemony in
unmistakably to Russia, for there is no other power in the north which is even re motely comparable to the great Soviet colossus. Glancing now at the pres ent political situation as it exists to the north from Pal estine, what do we find? Im mediately to the north there is the small territory of Syria now held and administered as a mandate by France. North from Syria to the Black Sea. is in the hands of Turkey, and beyond that is Russia. Now it is significant that France, who holds the Syrian mandate, is closely bound to Soviet Russia by military treaties. And con sidering the political leanings of modern Turkey, the des perate heed of Russia for an outlet by sea to the south, and the ambitious designs of
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this part of the world, the western powers must henceforth reckon with “the kings of the east.” The Four Powers Related to "The Land" and Its People Now when we compare these four great modern world powers, and at the same time consider certain coexisting conditions which are significant, some rather striking char acteristics appear which tend to confirm the identification of these powers with the four end-time powers set forth in the prophetic picture. In the first place, for the first time in history four great world powers are appear ing contemporaneously in th e p r e cis e quarters of the world as specified by prophecy with the Jew back in his own land , where he must be during the great military conflicts at the close of our present age. This is a fact of tremendous im portance. Second, the reader doubtless has noticed already the rather curious fact that, taking Palestine as the center ( “ navel of the earth” —Ezek. 38:12, R. V. margin), each of these existing world powers holds political supremacy over territory which lies in a different one of the four directions of the compass. T o the north is Russia. On the east is Japan. South is British control. And west on the Mediterranean Sea is Italy, determined to make it once more a Roman lake. [ Continued on page 81]
the King of the North, is putting on his armor to play his part. And the King of the South, whose tremendous political influence sweeps in one vast semicircle south of Jerusalem, all the way from the North Sea to the Yellow Sea, has just declared for the vastest program of mil itary preparation by any one nation in human history. And the kings of the East (need we name them?), dormant for centuries, are astir. In this present article in the Prophetic Symposium, Alva J. McClain, the Presi dent of Grace Theological Seminary, Akron, Ohio, sets forth very clearly four great world powers that are moving into action for the final scenes. Still more important, he shows the political thinking that motivates these powers. Present-day developments were foretold twenty-five centuries ago. Looking behind the headlined events that are reported daily, the Christian observer finds great significance in the underlying philosophies prevalent in human government today. More and more the thinking of leaders of nations, and of masses of their followers, is fall ing into the prophesied error of rebellion against God, of exaltation of man’s wis dom as sufficient to solve human prob lems. The Christian needs to be in formed of what God has warned will occur. We commend President McClain’s message for the consideration of all of the Lord’s people who “ love his appear ing.” — LOUIS S. BAUMAN.
Mussolini on the Mediterranean, it would not be at all surprising to find Turkey marching with the Russian hordes in the final conflict. Thus the great northern power of prophecy seems to be in sight, and the stage is being set for its movement toward Palestine. What Is the Third Great Power? The third of the end-time powers men tioned by Daniel is “ the king of the south” (11:40). Here again it is necessary to start with the historical key of fulfilled prophecy. There is no question at all about the kings “ of the south” whose conflicts are accurately described in the earlier part of Daniel 11 (vs. 5-35). They are the Ptolemies who established their rule over that part of Alexander’s empire that we call Egypt. Whatever the identity of the power, there fore, which qualifies as the final prophetic “ king of the south,” it must in some way exercise control over the land of the Nile. Now theoretically Egypt is today an autono mous government, but, as all informed observers know, it is England who has the last word in her affairs. And, reflecting upon the recent Fascist adventure in Ethiopia, the Egyptians quite sensibly are satisfied to have it so. Moreover, to say nothing of the vast English possessions south of Egypt, it is fairly certain that the British government, in order to safeguard the life line of her empire to the east through the Suez canal, will never voluntarily yield her supremacy south of the Holy Land. Thus, even apart from other corroborating Biblical
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