123
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
March 1930
period a rapprochement is brought about between the Vatican and the Quirinal. The Pope becomes King of Vatican City, and thus the Papacy dons the royal purple again as well as the ecclesiastical scarlet which it has worn so long. Everything is now in readiness for the Woman to spring into the saddle when the Beast comes up out of the bottomless pit. That is, when the Roman Empire is actually revived by Satanic power. C onditions in T he C hurch of G od And now in closing let me speak of conditions in the Church of God. Thirty-three years ago when the pro phetic Word was first opened up to my own heart and mind, the Briggs trial was occupying the attention of the ecclesiastical world. Men were stirred to the depths of their souls as they realized that this man, a trusted educa tor of youth in a theological seminary, was. infusing infidel notions into the minds of young men under his teaching. His denial of the inspiration of Scripture, while moderate in the extreme compared to the flagrant unbelief so preva lent in the schools and colleges today, was looked upon with horror by sincere believers everywhere. A well- known modernist preacher said to me with a smile, not very long ago, “ Yes, they thought Briggs a great heretic in his day, but if he were living now we would hardly think of him as a Modernist. He had altogether too many old-fashioned ideas.” This shows how rapidly things have been moving on the down grade. The liberal system of theology is permeating all our great denominations and has its seat in most of our seminaries of learning, and the truth for which our fathers died is being unblushingly denied and flagrantly rejected all about us. The apostasy has evidently set in for good ; that apostasy that is to cul minate in the Antichrist; the Man of Sin, of Second Thessalonians 2 ; the deification of humanity. God is being dethroned in order that man may take His seat, but “ he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.” Given another one-half cen tury of such rapid down-grade teaching as we have known for the last thirty-three years, one may well ask the question, “ When the Son o f man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?” But, blessed be God, there is another side to the pic ture, and if iniquity abounds and the love of many waxes cold, there is, on the other hand, increasing devotion on the part of many intelligent believers. The Blessed Hope is burning more brightly than ever in the souls of real Christians, and the Word of God is being carried to the ends of the earth in exact accord with the declaration of the prophetic Word. As the end draws' on we may expect to see greatly increasing missionary activity. And our Lord has declared this Gospel must first be preached in all the world for a witness, then shall the end come. I pur posely omit the words “ o f the kingdom” ; they belong to Matthew and it there refers clearly to the Kingdom proc lamation in the days of the “ great tribulation.” But in Mark’s Gospel the Spirit of God simply says, “ The gospel must first be preached among all nations,” clearly imply ing that this would take place throughout the dispensa tion. And as the end draws on, the messengers of the Cross are pushing out into the most distant regions, so that today nearly every country in the world has been reached with the message. It is a witness testimony, and when the last has heard the Word, we may be sure the end is upon us. No one can tell when that moment may arrive, but even before that the Lord may descend for His Church and the final witness testimony be com pleted by the men of Israel in “ the time o f Jacob’s trouble.”
Out of the World War has come one League of Nations which undoubtedly will soon give place to another. The present League is not the infernal combination of the last days with its utter independence of God. But it is easy to see how the one may almost imperceptibly glide into the other. And then in regard to the revival of the Roman Em pire :—Think of the remarkable things that have trans pired in the Mediterranean countries in the last ten years. Without venturing any prediction as to what part that strange and complex character, Benito Mussolini, may play in the coming days, he is already accomplishing much to suggest that he was providentially permitted to attain his high office in order to pave the way for the very conditions predicted in Scripture. A few years ago he stood before the world as a red socialist seeking to de throne kings and overthrow existing governments. He was an avowed atheist, the son of a blacksmith, who declared himself opposed to all authority of either Church or State. Then came the fall of the Italian premier and, to the amazement of the world, the blacksmith’s son was summoned to the Quirinal and the premiership offered to him. Not only did he accept it but he took about thirty other portfolios also. All the higher offices were headed up in him. Over night he disavowed his socialistic prin ciples and became the advocate and exponent of a new despotism such as would have seemed impossible of execu tion a few years ago. Repudiating his former atheism, he professed himself a devout son of the Catholic Church and astonished his followers by kneeling for hours in prayer before the image of his patron saint. His bom bastic utterances, backed up. by tremendous ability to perform, have astonished the world. He declares himself the man of destiny, chosen to revive the Roman Empire and restore it to its pristine glory. The Mediterranean, he declares, shall yet become a Roman lake surrounded by nations in alliance with Italy. His grandiose plans move on to fulfillment in spite of all opposition. Already at least six powers are in alliance with Italy and -the matter of the remaining ones going into the confederation seems to be just a question of time. If the Church was taken out of this scene‘ tomorrow, how rapidly would events be headed up in exact accordance with the prophetic Word ! The conditions, too, which will prevail at the end- times— I mean the moral and spiritual conditions—are already well advanced. Everywhere the civilized world is throwing off allegiance to the Word of God and repu diating its system of morals and religion. The days- of Noah and thè conditions of Sodom are being duplicated throughout, the world today. Who can doubt but that the next great event which will startle a Godless world and arouse a sleeping Church, will be the summons for His own to meet the Lord in the air? Then consider another recent development in the light of prophecy. According to Revelation 17, the Roman Church has still a large part to play in the events of the nations ; for when the Roman Empire is revived, Babylon the Great, this evil apostate system, is seen clothed in purple and scarlet riding the Beast. That is, the Papacy is yet to be recognized as the state church of the Roman Empire, and this in spite of the fact that nation after nation has cast off her yoke during the last few centuries. For fifty-nine years the Pope has been known as the “ prisoner of the Vatican.” From the days of Garibaldi to those of Mussolini, the Roman Church and the Italian Government have been at enmity. But lo and behold, Mussolini speaks and the Pope listens, and in a very brief
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