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T h e March 1932 -CDay¿Fulfillment o/PROPHECY . . . B y L ouis S. B auman K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
A Grave Danger, and a Warning
it was February 6, 1932. We opened a long neglected file and there found an old handbill that was scattered some years ago in all the homes of'our city. It reads: THUS SAITH THE LORD Probation zvill close February 6, 1924 Jesus Will Return to the Earth February 6, 1925 Amos 3 :7: Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He re- vealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. 1 Thessalonians 5 :4: But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Now, what are we to con
VJLj orld conditions are so strange and perplexing today that Bible students are being tempted to see a “fulfillment of prophecy” in almost every press dispatch—anything from a pistol shot by a Hun to a pur ple spot on the sun. The tremendous increase of interest in prophecy is certainly justified in the light of the world events; but we need to avoid studiously going beyond the
limit, often badly warping a pas sage of Scripture to make it fit some sensational event of the day. And above all, religious ed itors need to avoid all appearance of commercializing prophetic truth. Otherwise, p r o p h e t i c truth, like some other blessed truths (such as healing and sanc tification), may find its greatest foes within the household of its friends. The Sino-Japanese Conflict Consider the present Sino- Japanese conflict, which is send ing a shudder down the spine of the whole world. Many devout souls, in the intensity of their ex pectancy, are telling us already that “the result will surely be Ar mageddon,” that, “ ‘the kings of the east’ are about to march” ; that the “ ‘tidings out of the east and out of the north’ that are to ‘trouble’ the world are beginning to reach our ears,” and so forth. As a matter of fact, the present strife between China and Japan is not directly the subject of any prophecy, even though it should a s s u m e m a j o r proportions. Prophecy is almost wholly con cerned with the land of Abraham and his seed; and seldom, if ever, does it concern itself with na tions, save as those nations con cern themselves with the land that stretches from “the river of
clude from their own chosen scripture? What can we con clude but that, in the light of Amos 3 :7, those who set this date were and are “false prophets” ? At best, any further testimony of theirs must be taken at a tremen dous discount! They have de stroyed the value of any further testimony on their part. In the light of 1 Thessalonians 5 :4, they must be “in darkness.” Put to them the test of the prophets in the olden times: “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not com manded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:20-22). How grateful a lot of folks should be that the law of God, under Moses, is not in force to day ! However, if the law of Moses were enforced today, there would be a more careful handling of the Scriptures, less
Your Redemption Draweth Nigh I know not in what watch He comes, Or at what hour He may appear, Whether at midnight or at morn, Or in what season of the year; I only know that He is near. I know not what of time remains To run its course in this low sphere, Or what awaits of calm or storm ; Of joy or grief, of hope or fear; I only know that He is near. I cannot tell my future lot, Or that of those than self more dear, Nor guess how much of history Still to the church abideth here; I only know that He is near. The centuries have gone and come, Dark centuries of absence drear; I dare not chide the long delay, Nor ask when I His voice shall hear; I only know that He is near. I do not think it can be long Till in His. glory He appear; And yet I dare not name the day, Nor fix the solemn advent year; I only kncrn that He is near. —H oratius B onar .
Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18). Keep your prophetic eye on the nations that bor der on Palestine! If Japan or China should ally itself with any of those lands and begin to march toward “the navel of the earth” (Ezek. 38:12, margin, R. V.), it will be time enough then to stand on your tiptoes! A Word About Setting the Date nother warning that needs to be uttered over and over again in these perilous times is the warning against setting the date for our Lord’s return. As we sat down to write these notes, the. calendar informed us that
presumptuous setting of dates, and therefore less occa sion given to a sneering world to scoff at the true pro phetic Word of God! The writer of these words believes that “the Lord is at hand.” He believes that the saints will know, as the world cannot, that “the kingdom of God is nigh at hand” (Lk. 21:31). He believes that it may pos sibly be revealed to a few choice saints here and there, as it was revealed to Simeon, that “he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Lk, 2:26): He believes there is good ground for believing that, chrono logically, we may closely approximate the time. But he
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