King's Business - 1917-09

THE KING’S BUSINESS

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dom in the Holy Land with Jerusalem as capital; then persecution of the Jews, their own turning to God in their appaling extremity, as expounded by Paul in Romans; and, in their zeal and fidelity to God, preaching to the nations, multitudes of whom shall then believe. By such pro­ cesses of judgment upon sin shall the earth be prepared for Christ’s reign of a thousand years, as expounded in Revelation 20, with the loosing for a time of Satan to lead his deceived ones to war futilely against God; followed by the condemnation of the impenitent dead and the final punishment of Satan and those who belong to him. Yes, in view of this attitude regarding the Scripture, I can now understand why one ought to be more than ever possessed with zeal for the preaching of the Word, and that there can be no prevailing uni­ versal righteousness till Christ comes again. His reign alone can end the present ine­ quality and injustice and regime of force, with its interminable national j ealousies and enmities. This viewpoint strengthens me more than ever in the eager desire to proclaim the Gospel while we may; during the present witnessing time, for nobody knows when the end of the present dispensation, repre­ sented by the ten divisions of the fourth world empire (The Roman), as prophe­ sied by Daniel and John in Revelation, may come to an end. Therefore let us give tes­ timony to those out of Christ while we may. Another element in my change of view­ point was the fact that I could not ignore, namely, many of my most spiritually- minded friends in the homeland, as well as many other men whom I revered as Chris­ tian leaders, no less than some of the most zealous soul-winning missionaries, were pre- millennialists, having gradually changed from the post-millennial view which they had been taught.

would be forced, out of the unvarying experience of that history (which history is the apotheosis of ambition, fraud and force) to believe that there is no hope that this age will prepare itself for the coming of Christ, though that doctrine of general preparation for Him previous to His appearing is so Commonly preached. Its feasibility is as a man trying to lift- him­ self by his boot straps. The fainting in faith of a number of dear friends over the outbreak of this war while I was home on furlo,ugh started me on the study of the prophecies as to “the course of the world;” and then it began to dawn on me that the only key that could unlock Scripture and Scripture prophecy—at least the key that presented the least difficulties to my mind and that made plainer than. any other the manner of the fulfillment of the prophecies which God will not allow to fail—was through the view point and attitude toward Scripture which is implied in the word “premillennar- ian.” As I now see it, the only plan whereby this world can become a “good world,” the only way for a just rule on the earth and for righteousness to prevail, is for Christ to come and reign as the prophecies assert. Thessalonians makes plain that before that reign can take place this “age of the gentiles” must come to an end: “as a thief,” as “lightening” (Matt. 24th)—in catastrophe cataclysmically. Then, as in Thessalonians, Christ shall come for His faithful living ones; and they, with the faithful dead in Him, shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. Then shall come “The Great Tribula­ tion,” with the “beast” (also called “The man of Sfn”) reigning in power, rampant and destroying, and supporting the False Christ who demands worship; also the establishment of the literal Jewish king­

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