B.C. and the time of the fullness of the Gentiles begun at Pentecost. It is also the time of the formation of the church of God of both Jew and Gentile. In this age God is calling out a people for His name. An ex amination of these three lines of rev elation will unfold a marvelous move ment of God in our day. The evi dence points to the conclusion that the present age is fast running its course. The State of the Church The Scriptures speak not only of the church as the body of Christ but also as a sphere of profession includ ing many who are not actually saved. In this sphere of profession the Scrip tures predict a fearful apostasy and turning away from the truth during the present age. According to First Timothy 4:1, “Some shall depart from the faith,” and the characteristics of these as defined in this passage are easily found in the world. Peter pre dicts the coming of false prophets “who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them” (2 Pet. 2:1). One of rthe most obvious heresies of our day within the professing church is the denial that the sacrifice and: shed blood of Christ “bought” us and con stituted an actual redemption. Lib erals object to such hymns as “Jesus Paid It All,” as outmoded theology and contrary to their doctrine that God loves everybody. No point will bring withering scorn among liberals like the Biblical teaching on the blood of Christ. These prophecies of false teachers have all been fulfilled in our day. Peter concludes his extended sec tion (2 Pet. 2:1-3:18) on apostasy with a prediction that unbelievers will scoff at the doctrine of the sec ond coming: “Knowing this first, that there shall- come in the last days scof fers, walking after their own lusts. And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell F E B R U A R Y 1 9 5 4
asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the crea tion” (2 Pet. 3:3, 4). One of the most obvious facts of modern Christianity is that liberals do not preach the second coming of Christ. The great mass ■of church going, professing Christians are igno rant of the simple elements of the doctrine of the second coming because they have been robbed of it by an unbelieving leadership. The doctrine of the second coming of Christ and its accompanying teaching of judg ment upon sin is not palatable to modern rejectors of the truth of God. The precise form of opposition an ticipated in the Bible nineteen hun dred years ago is found in contempo rary theology as never before in the history of the age. An examination of these and many other prophecies concerning the course of the church in the world will impress one with the fact that every prophecy concerning the church in the world has been fulfilled except the resurrection and translation of the true church, which closes the age, and the divine judgment on the apos tate church which occurs later in the great tribulation. As far as the church is concerned, the trends of prophecy point to the imminency of the con summation, the glad moment when Christ will come for His own, the dead being raised and the living translated into His glorious presence. The State of the World The state of thé world like the state of the church' is in the climactic stage. The frantic scramble to find a solution to the problem of the atomic bomb, the obvious disaster which faces much of civilization in the event of another world war, the dis integration of moral standards among nations, the impending clash of races and ideologies, and the growth of crime and cruelty combine to pose a problem of formidable proportions. These factors in their general char
acter foreshadow unmistakably the apocalyptic events predicted for the tribulation. In the world at large the rise of Russia as a great military power is a pointed fact. The prophecy of Ezek iel 38-39 has long been associated with Russia and the passage states expressly that the military invasion which sweeps upon Palestine comes from the north (Ezek. 38:15, 16). While, this event is not dated in Scrip ture it seems to be related to the events which close the age and it may well be that the Lord will come for His church before the invasion takes place. In our day as never before in history such an invasion is a prob ability. The strategic position of Pal estine astride the route from Europe to Asia, the tremendous oil reserves in that portion of the world, and the astronomical value of mineral depos its in Palestine make it a unique prize. The rise of Russia certainly fits into the larger picture of the close of the age with amazing precision. Coupled with Russia in our time is the incompatible military strength of the Orient. According to the Scrip tures one of the major elements in the final great battle which culminates in the return of the Lord to establish His kingdom on earth is the invasion from the East. A great army of two hundred million are pictured in Rev elation 9:16 as related to the release of the angels bound in the River Euphrates to the east. According to Revelation 16:12 the way of the kings of the east, the leaders of the great Oriental army, is prepared by the drying up of that river. The converg ence of this tremendous army upon Palestine is a preparation for Arma geddon. The kings of the whole earth are “gathered” for “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14). Never before in the history of the world has such an invasion been a greater probability. The prob- continued on page 35 9
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker