July - August, 1934
256
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Our QUAKING Earth B y L 0U IS S- SAUMAN*
C jtn fT T M t C 'C P ty
Long Beach, California
Christ: “ Thus saith the Lord o f hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the Desire o f all nations shall come.” And the inspired writer o f nearly six hundred years later, commented thus on this passage: “ And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing o f those things that are shaken, as o f things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken
When Men Groan, Nature Groans v ^ T o one who reads the newspapers can fail to be im- JM\| pressed with the terrible seismic catastrophes which nave overtaken the earth during the past fifteen years. Hardly a week passes without a press dispatch from Occi dent or Orient telling o f nature in convulsion, taking a ghastly toll o f life and property. Apparently it is true that
may remain” (Heb. 12:27) ; and then proceeds to inform us that the removal o f things that can be shaken means the coming o f “a kingdom which cannot be moved” (Heb. 12:28). Lord God o f the heavens, let Thy kingdom come! E arthquake A ccompanied P re -A damic J udgment It seems ordained o f God that vast convulsions in nature shall shake men out o f their lethargy (if that shall be possible) and warn them o f the removal o f their worn-out cosmos. Probably most o f those who read these words are familiar with the fact (o f which even the wisest worldlings are woefully ignorant) that God did not create this earth “without form, and void” (Gen. 1 :2 ). “ He created it not in vain” [i.e., not a waste], but “ he formed it to be inhabited” (Isa. 45 :18 ). It was nothing less than a fearful pre- Adamic judgment that sent a pre- Adamic race o f beings to their doom, and called for the Spirit of
in proportion as sin plays havoc in human life, it plays havoc in _.natureT) When our first parents ^ sinned^ not only was there catas- trophe in the moral and spiritual realm, but there was also catastro phe in nature. No sooner did Mother Eve bite into the forbid den fruit, than the animals of the earth began to scowl and growl at each other, and, tearing at each other’s throats, developed their appetite for flesh and their thirst for blood. Immediately, thorns and thistles leaped forth from the ground. And from that day on ward, the whole creation began to groan in travail, and it continues in pain until now (Rom . 8 :22 ). Nature is but a reflex o f the world o f men. Disorder has affected all nature, so that confusion is every where. A careful study o f the passing o f past dispensations can only give to one the conviction that God has ordained that the nightfall o f each dispensation is to be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial convul
9 FIVE hundred boys and girls were assembled in the auditorium of this junior high school in Southern Cali fornia on the afternoon of March 10, 1933. The director of the program, a woman from the East, said she "had a feeling that a storm was coming"— although there was nothing really unusual in the atmosphere. Much against the wishes of the pupils, the instructor dismissed the group slightly earlier than had been planned, feeling that she must start the children homeward. Ten minutes after they had left the building, an earthquake occur red, the seriousness of which may be judged by the ac companying photograph. To some grateful parents, the safety of their children was merely a matter of good fortune. But to others, the shielding of their boys and girls from impending danger was evidence of the mercy and grace of a loving heavenly Father, to whom they offered praise, rejoicing that "his compassions fail not."
God to move upon the face o f the waters (Gen. 1 :2) in re-creation. It was back upon this scene that the seer looked, when he exclaimed: “ I beheld the earth, and, .lo, it was without form,, and vo id ; 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 o f 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 o f the Lord, and by his fierce anger” ( Jer. 4 :23-26). If, as we believe, all this refers to a great pre-Adamic judgment, then that judgment was accompanied by tremen dous convulsions in the heavens and in the earth. The shaking signified the removal o f the dominion o f the pre- Adamites, that the dominion o f the Man — a dominion that “ cannot be moved”—might come. How hard Satan has tried to remove the dominion o f the Man, through,sin and rebellion, but there is a cross in the way, and that cross, thank God, frustrates all his efforts! E arthquake A ccompanied the J udgment of the A ntediluvians The devices o f Satan upon the Adamic race were such that there came a time when again “ God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had cor-
sions. What more effective way can the Almighty have for declaring His anger and causing men to think upon their- ways? “ Then the earth shook and trembled; the founda tions o f heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth” ( 2 Sam. 2 2 :8 ). Aga in : “ Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out o f her place, in the wrath o f the Lord o f hosts, and in the day o f his fierce anger” (Isa. 13:13). I ncreasing T errestrial C onvulsions —A S ign For several years, we have been impressed, not only with the ever-increasing number o f earthquakes, but also with the intensity o f them. Doubtless there are scientific explanations, and we respect them. But, scorn the idea as worldly-wise men may, we still believe that there is a God in the heavens who holds all power in His hands, whose voice can shake the earth (Heb. 12 :26), and who can com mand the time o f its shaking to suit His eternal purposes. fWe doubt not but that the multiplication o f earthquakes is one o f the most outstanding signs o f the end o f Gentile dominion, and the coming o f the unmovable kingdom o f our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christj-Jt was written by the prophet Haggai ( 2 :6-9) over fiW hundred years before
*Pastor. First Brethren Church.
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