T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
September, 1937
336
T h e Resurrection of an emp ire
By W. D. HERRSTROM Findlay, Ohio
T HERE is movement in the musty graveclothes of an ancient empire. A resurrection miracle is taking place before our eyes. Our hearts are thrilled as we observe the setting of the stage for the fulfillment of prophecies ut tered more than two millenniums ago by holy men of God. F oreto ld b y t h e P ro ph e ts Looking through God’s prophetic tele scope, Daniel observed the course of em pires. He saw great Babylon stripped of her glory. He saw Medo-Persia arise with the power and ponderosity of the bear. He saw her crushed by the power of Alexander who swept over the world with the light ning swiftness of a leopard. He saw the disintegration and collapse of the Grecian Empire. He saw the Roman Empire arise like a terrible beast crushing all foes with her great iron teeth. He saw “Messiah” being “cut off”— Christ nailed to a Roman cross. He saw the Roman Empire plunge to her death. He saw the nations rush madly on toward the end of the age. He saw dictators arise. He saw “the beast.” He saw the resurrection of the Roman Em pire and its final collapse. He saw Christ coming in glory to establish a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. Hundreds of years later, John, the be loved apostle, corroborated the prophecies of Daniel. The God of heaven swung wide the pearly portals of the celestial city and gave John a glimpse of glory and of the future course of empires. John saw the resurrection of the empire represented by the fourth beast. He saw the rise of an emperor who would be Satan incarnate and who would subdue the earth. He saw this usurper dethroned by the coming King of kings. He saw the establishment of the Lord’s kingdom on the earth. A M a r v e l o u s T r a n sf o r m a t io n in I t a l y Through the grace and goodness and guidance of God, the writer was privileged recently to visit much of the territory for merly occupied by the old Roman Empire. During part of that journey, we traveled the length and breadth of the land of Italy—a country considerably smaller than the state of California—spending much of the time [As a Bible teacher, evangelist, and au thor of the "Bible Blue Books” and other books on Biblical and prophetic subjects, Dr. Herrstrom is well known to many K in g ’ s B u sin ess readers. The present article takes the place of one promised earlier entitled “Heading Toward International Suicide.” — E ditor .]
in the larger cities, Naples, Rome, Venice, Florence, and Milan. We witnessed developments in what, is probably the most rapid and complete transforma tion that ever has been wrought in any nation. The people of Italy have bored through the mountains, ex alted the valleys, and built the best of modern railways and highways. The Ghetto and slum sections of Rome have been razed to the ground. Beautiful boule vards and parkways take the place of streets that formerly were narrow and dark. Dilapidated, ram shackle structures have been
Philip D. Gendreau, N. Y.
A SLOG AN FOR ITALY'S YOUTH "Believe, obey, fight" is the ideal here set for these lads of the tiny mountain town of Capalbio, Italy, as they line up under one of the Mussolini propaganda signs.
replaced with modern business buildings and apartment houses. This transforma tion is found not only in Rome but in all of Italy as well. In Milan, the great manufacturing center of Italy, entire sec tions of the city have been rebuilt. Block after block of modern apartment buildings, some of them ten stories high, are under construction. E f f e c t o n t h e P eople No longer are the people of Italy wor shiping at the shrine of an ancient glory. They have awakened suddenly to build a new nation— a new empire, and to make it exceed the glory of the former empire. Begging has been abolished by law. Un employment is not in evidence. Crime is practically unknown. There is perfect order everywhere. The people are well fed, well clothed, and well housed. They are neat, clean, congenial, courteous, hospitable, ag gressive, and ambitious. They walk erect with the dignity of royalty and with the confident step of an army that is certain of victory. One can easily discern that the people are inspired, stimulated, and electri fied by the mighty force of the personality of their dynamic and resourceful leader, Mussolini. R e g im e n t a t io n Regimentation is always a characteristic of dictatorship. The boys of Italy from six years of age and upward are being trained for war. Saturday afternoon is the principal time set aside for their train ing. In Venice one Saturday afternoon we saw a huge army of small boys marching in uniform. The girls six years of age and older must submit to a course of train ing which consists mainly of calisthenics. The nation is under military discipline,
Secret service men are everywhere. The people dare not criticise Mussolini or his policies. The penalty for such criticism may be permanent banishment from the country, or a penalty even more severe. M u sso lin i Mussolini is a superstrategist, and with out a doubt the world’s most powerful and influential political and military leader. When Mussolini speaks, Europe trembles and the League o f Nations cowers with fear. He not only rules Italy and her pos sessions, but there is a sense in which he rules the Mediterranean and Europe as well. Before making any important move, the nations ask, “What will be Mussolini’s reaction to this?” They recognize that his power is great. C o m m u n is m C r e a te d F ascism When Mussolini marched into Rome with his Black Shirts in 1922, Italy was on the verge of collapse because of the subversive propaganda of the Communists who were successfully arraying the workingmen against their employers. The Communists were flying the Red flag over the Fiat motor works and other great factories in Italy. There was confusion and disorder everywhere. Had not Mussolini taken the reins of power when he did, Italy no doubt would have succumbed to Communism, and probably by this time most of Europe would have been under the dictatorship of “Red” Russia. However, the laws of self-preser vation operated and produced Fascism to stem the tide of radicalism. Naziism in Germany arose in the same manner. The German government was threatened with being overthrown by the [ Continued on page 358]
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