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The King's Business A publication of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Louis T. Talbot, Chancellor S. H. Sutherland, President * Ray A. Myers, Chairman of the Board SEPTEMBER, in the year of our Saviour Vol. 53, No. 9 Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-two Established 1910 Dedicated to the spiritual development of the Christian home MY HUSBAND WAS UNFAITHFUL — Jeannette Aerea ................. 8 THE GOSPEL OF WRATH — Ronald A. Ward ............................... 10 THE TWO-FOLD COMING OF CHRIST — I. M. Haldeman .......... 11 DEMON WORSHIP IN AMERICA — Gordon H. Fraser ................. 12 PERHAPS TODAY — J. Danson Smith ............................................. 13 THE U.N. CONFLICT WITH CHRISTIANITY — Albert J. Lindsey 14 THE UNFINISHED TASK: Japan — Don McAlpine ........................... 15 A DOCTOR'S SEARCH FOR GOD — Carol Terry ............................. 16 DEFINITIONS FOR HOME BUYERS ...................................................... 18 THE CHRISTIAN'S ORBIT — G. Christian Weiss ............................... 20 CHRISTIAN DENTIST USES MAGAZINE ........................................... 25 A BIRD IN THE BUSH — Carolyn L. Canfield .................................... 36 LIGHT AMID JUNGLE DARKNESS ...................................................... 40 A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR — Samuel H. Sutherland ............. 4 DR. TALBOT'S QUESTION BOX — Louis T. Talbot ........................... 22 TALKING IT OVER — Clyde M. Narramore .................................... 26 PERSONAL EVANGELISM — Benjamin Weiss .................................... 27 BOOK REVIEWS — Arnold Ehlert ...................................................... 28 CULTS CRITIQUE — Betty Bruechert ............................................. 30 THE CHRISTIAN SENTINEL — Nelson Dilworth ........ .................... 31 WORLD NEWSGRAMS — James O. Henry ...................................... 32 SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE — Bolton Davidheiser ............................. 33 THE CHRISTIAN HOME — Paul Bayles ............................................. 34 UNDER THE PARSONAGE ROOF — Althea S. Miller .................... 35 ALUMNI NEWS — Inez McGahey ......................................................... 39 C e l u i K i u READER REACTION ................................................................................ 6 VOX POP .................................................................................................... 6 HOMILETICAL HELPS .............................................................................. 23 TOWN AND CAMPUS ........................................................................... 38 PEOPLE IN THE NEWS ........................................................................... 42
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SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION — "The King's Business" is published monthly. U.S., its possessions, and Canada, $3.00 one year; $ 1.50 six months, 30 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. W rite for details. Foreign subscription 75 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCES — Should be made by bank draft, express, or post office money order payable to "The King's Business/'
ADVERTISING — for information address the Advertising Manager, The King's Business, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, California. MANUSCRIPTS — "The King's Business" cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Second-class postage paid at Los An geles, California. Printed in U.S.A. by Church Press, Glendale, California. ADDRESS: The King's Business, 55B So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, California.
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The time o f reaping is at hand. For the last fifty years, ministers of the Gospel who took solemn ordination vows to preach the eternal truths of God’s Word have been sowing the winds o f doubt in regard to the infallibility of the Bible and that for which it stands. N ow they, and all Christendom, and indeed our entire coun try, are reaping a wild whirlwind of cynical unbelief and total skepticism. Consider what has taken place within the last few months. A deci sion rendered by the Supreme Court o f the United States reveals utter disregard— and it ap pears to be contempt— for the principles of the Word o f God upon which this country was not only founded, but which were incorporated into the moral fiber o f our people from earliest days. This monstrous ruling of the highest court o f our land is that prayer o f any kind may not be offered in public schools. By this decision, the Court has taken one more step doumward in making the United States a completely godless nation. Certainly the immediate effect o f this judgment will be to impress upon our children that their belief in God is o f no practical sig nificance — indeed, that God is not worthy of acknowledgment and that appeal to Him is un availing. Regardless of how this decision may be ex plained or interpreted, the appalling net result is that it fits to perfection the communistic, atheistic Russian program for the exploitation and infiltration o f the United States. I doubt if anything we have ever done — our excursions into space or our explosions o f hydrogen bombs — have impresed them so much. Surely nothing at this stage of Russian-American relationships could please Russia more. One wonders if our Supreme Court will also declare unconstitution al the national motto which appears on our coins, "In God W e Trust,” or the phrase, "Under God,” which is included in our official pledge to the
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FO R C O M P L E T E IN F O R M A T IO N A N D 1962 ILLU S T R A T ED CATALOG W RITE TO YO UR N EA R ES T W ORLD W IDE PIC TURES LIB R A R Y OR T O :
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
flag. Will there come a time when all invocations at the opening sessions of Congress, and state legislatures, will be eliminated, as well as any prayer, asking for divine wisdom and guidance, at all public and semi-public gatherings, regardless o f size and signifi cance? Certainly this decision of our Supreme Court is a far cry from the intention o f our founding fathers when they gave us our Con stitution and decreed that always there should be separation of church and state. The early settlers had come from various European countries where religious ideologies had a stranglehold on the con sciences o f men. Neither private individuals nor government offi cials were free to worship God according to the dictates o f their hearts. They fled to this country in order to enjoy religious liberty and when the First Amendment to the Constitution was formulated, the one purpose in mind above all others was to protect the citizens from the tyranny over conscience which had existed in Europe so many centuries. But in doing so, there was no intention, either expressed or implied, to attempt to eliminate God from the thinking of the United States o f America. This has always been the inter pretation o f this Amendment by the federal government, state gov ernments, and legislative judicial bodies, including our Supreme Court. Always we have considered the Supreme Court the final word in interpretation o f our Constitution. W e have felt secure in its wisdom and dedication to the welfare of our land. For over one hundred and seventy-five years, the members of this august Court, regardless of their own personal convictions, have given us their interpretation of the First Amendment to coincide With what all o f our people believed to be the evident meaning of the framers o f the Constitution. N ow here is a generation o f justices who are arrogantly flaunting nearly two hundred years o f history and sacred custom by declaring that it is unconstitutional to mention God in public schools. Is then atheism to be declared constitutional and Christianity unconstitutional? T he Lord says, " . . . T hem that honour me I unll honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” (I Sam. 2 : 30 ) However, I dare to suggest that not all of the blame for this shameful decision should be borne by the justices who rendered the majority report. Their action is but a symptom o f the dreadful spiritual decadence that characterizes these times. I f universally ministers o f the Gospel had been fearless in the proclamation of the Word o f God throughout this century; if there had thundered forth from our pulpits the^ phrase, " Thus saith the Lord” ; if the Bible had been regarded as the only infallible rule of faith and prac tice; if there had been a consistent call for this nation as a people to repent and turn to God; if the moral and spiritual disintegration in so many of our Frotestant churches as well as in governmental circles had not been allowed to attain such tragic proportions; if the righteousness of God, instead of a sentimental, watered-down concept, had been presented; if ministers as a whole had ceased (continued on page 37)
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(tI appreciate STONY BROOK’S E x p e r i e n c e d M a s t e r s ” says Victor Chen Rego Park, New York The School has always been noted for its faculty of experienced masters from leading colleges and universities. They represent, among others, Harvard, Princeton, Oxford University (England), Brown, Davidson, Duke, Franklin and Marshall, Pennsylvania, Columbia, New York University, Gordon, Barrington, Shelton, Houghton, Wheaton, Biblical Seminary, and Dallas Theological Seminary. Masters at Stony Brook are expe rienced, yet not so old as to be out of sym pathy with the boys’ point of view. Christian Education at Stony Brook has real meaning. The atmosphere is wholesome without being pious. Boys are urged to live their lives in accordance with the will of God as set forth in Scripture. Bible Study is a major subject and is required of all students throughout the entire course. By maintaining a balance between reli gious, academic, and recreational activities,
“ Vox Pop,” or Voice of the People is a column devoted to opinions of readers on various subjects. Ideas ex pressed should not be construed as necessarily reflecting the opinions of THE KING’S BUSINESS or of The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. I do appreciate the Vox Pop section of the KING'S BUSI NESS. I wish to refer to the letter from a person writing in the Jnauary issue concern ing "What About the United Nations?" Obviously he is not keeping informed as to just what is happening to the U.N. Wnat started out to be a very good instrument has been perverted by such men as Al ger Hiss and others who be lieve as he does. R. S. Fayan, Alpine, California MERCY KILLING I have been concerned about the subject of mercy killing. Recently, this was discussed over a news program, and there were views both pro and con presented. Having seen peo ple linger and suffer with cases of terminal cancer, one wonders what the true Scrip tural stand should be. I don't believe that I have seen this mentioned in any of your pub lications, and thought that perhaps it would be a good subject for your "Vox Pop" column. I believe this is now known as "euthanasia." Also, do you think that it is right for doctors, with the various drugs and pain killers which are at their disposal, to prolong life? It seems that today, illnesses which once were fatal, much sooner are merely prolonged with futile operations and medications. I know the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill." But, doesn't this refer to pre-meditated murder?" Mrs. A. L. , Portland, Oregon THE KING 'S BUSINESS
EDITORIAL APPRECIATED Thank you for your editorial in the June issue of THE K ING ’S BUSINESS. It ought to he distributed far and wide, among fundamentalists and liberals, to pastors and lay people. I rejoice in the strong testimony of m y Alma Mater on the West coast and do pray it w ill con tinue. PRAYER REQUEST I am a young man of 26 and am men tally ill. I have been so for five years and have been hospitalized for four. I hear voices, get confused, and cannot manipu late properly. I have studied for the min istry. I am a graduate of a Bible Insti tute, and attended a college in preparation. Only a miracle from God can cure me of m y illness. Would you pray for me daily for a cure. I have just read this magazine E ditor ’ s N ote : In addition to daily pray er, this reader’s letter has been referred to Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, whose col umn appears monthly in THE KING’S BUSINESS. GRATEFUL FOR KB For some time I have been wanting to write and thank you for the article “ H er bert Armstrong: M r. Confusion.” That ti tle certainly seems to fit the man . . . Is this article in tract form? I would also like to thank you for the column about the cults, and “ Under the Parsonage R o o f’ —- well, in fact, I like all of THE K ING ’S BUSINESS. I look forward to it as often as we get a ship. Recently I got out all the past issues and have been looking them over again. As one of the Alumni, I also enjoy the Alumni News very much. But as it has been so long since I have been in the U.S. and at Biola, I do not know those of the years after 1930, but I enjoy reading about the Biolans in all parts of Peter F. Gunther, Assistant Director, Moody Literature Missioti, Chicago. and enjoyed it very much. A . B., Middletown, Connecticut. E ditor ’ s N ote : The excellent article on Herbert Armstrong is available at five cents per copy as the supply lasts. GIFT SUBSCRIPTION M y husband received a gift subscription to your magazine for his birthday and we enjoy it so much we plan never to let it expire. It is valuable in teaching all ages and has aroused our interest in many sub jects. Mrs. C. E. Inlow, Long Beach, California the world and do pray for them. Mrs. P. J. Visser, St. Helena Island, South A tlantic Ocean.
the School aims at a harmony of purpose. B y intelligent applica tion of this Christian program, in both administration and teach ing, Stony Brook is making a dis tinctive contribution to American education. D r . F rank E. G aebelein 9 Headmaster For Catalogue and Information, write Director of Admissions, Dept. 80
T H E S T O N Y B R O O K S C H O O L Stony Brook, Long Island • N ew York
now affiliated with The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Bible Institute Biola College School of Missionary Medicine Talbot Theological Seminary Arizona Bible Institute S58 South Hope Street, Los Angelos 17, California
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“ T T ’ v e m y husband, but I still can’t feel about him the way I once did. I simply can’t. I wish I could. Something is gone from our relation ship.” Thus spoke Anne, a lithe, healthy-looking woman of 45, in talking with her psychologist about her marital problems seven years after she “ found out.” Her husband, Jack, a tall, good-looking man in his late forties, usually attended church and believed in the “ helpfulness of church attendance,” but was not a born-again Christian. He, too, felt that some thing had “ gone out” of their marriage. Both had asked and received forgiveness of one another, for Anne felt that she had been partially responsible, f o r g i v e n
due to her poor handling of her homemaking re sponsibilities. Jack expressed his feelings, “ I don’t know why I did it. I didn’t love the girl. I love m y wife. I feel guilty as all get out, even though I’ve been faithful since. I guess it’s because things have never been quite the same. Or, could it be—•” he paused, and rubbed his chin reflectively. “ Maybe it’s never been the same because o f m y guilt feelings, and knowing m y w ife is unable to respect me as she once did. Then, of course, m y own self-respect has dwindled.” It is seldom possible for a couple to recapture their feeling of oneness and complete confidence in the solidity of the marriage, and of themselves,
8
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Here was a case where faithfulness was absolute ly essential to maintain the mental and emotional health of the mate. Though God forgave Jane, her husband was so insecure that her sin triggered a catastrophic breakdown. Jim couldn’t “ help talking to the children about it.” This, and the quarreling they witnessed, caused loss o f respect for both par ents, bewilderment, and a feeling of “ being lost.” H ow would this react on them in the future? Only the years will tell, but certainly it can have only detrimental effects. Of all the sins enumerated in Scripture, this is the on ly one which (according to many Bible teach ers) is given as ground for divorce. It is the one most detrimental to a marriage, the one which trau matizes the mate the most, and to which he can the least easily adjust. ( “ The sparrow’s w ing may be knitted once broken, but he can never fly so high.” ) W e, as Christians, should be very careful not to allow ourselves even to have the opportunity to yield to such a temptation. What can a Christian do if such a thing happens in his marriage? He should immediately seek help from a pastor or Christian counselor who will help him to confess his sin and receive full forgiveness. A counselor will also help him gain insight into the causes of the problem, and develop appropriate safeguards against any re-occurrences. The “ injured party” should: First, confess his own sins and shortcomings to God and accept God’s forgiveness. Forgive himself. Make a practice of confessing his faults to the mate (without pointing out the mate’s faults), and asking for intercessory prayer (James 5 :16 ). Second, go to a Christian mar riage counselor before discussing the matter with anyone else. Third, try to determine, with the help of the counselor, wherein he or she has contributed to the problem. Fourth, develop understanding of the mate: his or her problems, insecurities, and needs. F ifth, read Christian literature on marital happiness*, and make plans, with the help of the counselor and the mate, to make the marriage a truly happy one. Sixth, grow in Christ. Bead the Bible and pray daily. Put this first in the hierarchy of “ things to do.” Don ’t leave the altar of prayer until true forgiveness and compassion comes through becoming aware of your own sins, receiving forgive ness and cleansing through confession and faith in Christ, and “ abiding in H im .”
once infidelity has reared its ugly head. Anne felt there must he something wrong with her, otherwise her husband would not have strayed. Lacking in self-confidence, this blow even further lowered her self-esteem. Though Anne and Jack tried to continue the marriage “ as though it had never happened,” other problems were cropping up. In working through these problems with their psychologist, they found, to their dismay, that the numerous little and big problems were related to the lack o f faithfulness. Their unhappiness was causing insecurity in their children as well, and they were “ losing control” of them. Another couple, who were Christians, had en joyed complete trust and confidence in one another for a period of twelve years. Jane, the wife, seemed to be fairly well-adjusted, but Jim, the husband, was a very dependent person. His background was one wherein there had been little, if any, love expressed. He felt, previous to his marriage, that he had never accomplished anything of value. A fter marriage, he felt Jane’s love and gained confidence to such an extent that he found he was able to accomplish things he had never before believed possible. Their marriage seemed “ ideal.” Then, one night, Jane went out and failed to return until the wee small hours of the morning. Jim was frightened. When he saw her walking in with no evident injury, his fright turned to anger. He accused her of unfaith fulness, and much to his surprise, she admitted it was true. Again, there was no understanding of “ W h y ? ” It had “ just happened.” Jane felt extremely guilty and repentant. Because of her relationship to Christ, she was able, in time,- to forgive herself; but her husband could not forgive her. He tried, he said, but his self-confidence had received such a devastating blow that his w ife’s unfaithfulness was a re-occurring sub ject and seldom out of his mind. He found himself full of hatred and hostility. A t times he could not restrain himself and would inflict physical injury on his wife. For a time, she was able to “ take it,” admit her fault and blame, and talk quietly with him. A t times, they would be very close, but any little thing would “ set him off” again, until Jane was afraid for her life. Finally she called the psy chologist working with them and said she had reached her limit. She just couldn’t take it any longer even though she loved her husband very much. Jim called a few minutes later, crying, and said, after telling how he had mistreated his wife, “ What shall I do?” It was recommended that he go into a sani tarium for psychiatric treatment.
“ For we realize that our life in this world is actually His life lived in us” (I John 4:17 Phillips). Ask yourself “ What would Christ do?” Then allow H im to do it through you. *See D r. Clyde N arram ore’s small book, “ H appiness in M a rria ge.” my husband was unfaithful by Jeannette Acrea Psychologist and Marriage Counsellor
SEPTEMBER, 1962
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by Ronald A . Ward , Ph .D . Editor, The Evangelical Christian
I t is n o t o f t e n that we find the Gospel in an exclama tion mark! Still less often do we find it when the only thing before our eyes is an abbreviation and a few figures! But so it happened the other day. I was reading a comment on Luke’s story of John the Baptist. John was preaching a baptism of repentance with a view to the forgiveness of sin, but for him the sky was dark and threatening. He asked the pointed question, “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” He called them “ the offspring of vipers” — you brood of snakes — which does not at first seem to be the most tactful way of addressing a crowd. There is perhaps an allusion to the way in which snakes creep out of the piled bundles of brushwood when they are set alight, as happened in Malta when Paul was there. The warmth of the coming fire is being felt. But there is a deeper reference. Vipers means ser pents, and “ that old serpent” of the Book of the Revela tion is the original serpent of Genesis — a liar from the beginning. John means that the devil has warned some men to flee from the coming wrath by receiving his baptism. Their father has given them the word, and they are of their father, the devil. But their father’s word was a lie. Baptism would not save them: “produce fruits worthy of repentance.” Ancestry and privilege would not save them: “ do not say ‘we have Abraham as our father’ .” John then draws a fearful picture. The axe is already poised at the root of the trees, and every tree which does not produce good fruits will be cut down and burnt. The fire is near! There follows another picture, with the same mean ing. The Coming One has His winnow-fan in His hand. He will gather together His wheat and store it in His barn, but the chaff He will bum up with a fire which cannot be put out. This is vigorous, thrustful preaching, but it cannot be denied that it seems to offer little hope. Then in the heavy theological book which I was reading there shone a brilliant light of hope. It just said “ Luke 3:18!” The exclamation mark caught my eye. Swiftly I turned to the Bible to look up the passage. “And with many other ex pressions he was urging the people and preaching good news to them.” Good news! After all those threats? With the prospect of coming wrath? “Good news” means “ Gos pel” . Can it be that the Gospel has some connection with the wrath? I ought to have remembered that Luke quotes Isaiah 40, which tells us that all flesh will see the salvation of God. In spite of John’s dark message his words and his deeds bear a shining light which is the first ray of the very Light of the world. We should notice that though John spoke of the com ing wrath, it is delayed. The Epistle of James tells us that every man ought to be quick to hear, but slow to speak and slow to wrath. “ Slow to wrath” implies that
we should think before we let ourselves become angry. Wrath, then, is not a blind and sudden passion. It in volves consciousness and reflection. It means turning over the subject in your mind. And as you turn it over, keep down the anger. Now God Himself fulfils His own com- mnadment to men. He is slow to wrath. And as wrath, when roused, leads to action, it means that God is slow to inflict punishment. Many events in history can be regarded as God’s wrath, but the chiefest woe- is when God inflicts His great wrath: He turns away from men. “Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide M y face from them . . .” “ How long Lord? will Thou hide Thyself for ever? shall Thy wrath bum like fire?” “Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger.” “ In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a momen; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” To be forsaken by God means to stand under His wrath. But this final wrath is not yet. Paul is eloquent here. What if God wanted to demonstrate His wrath, he asks, and to make known His power, and so bore with much longsuffering vessels of wrath ripe for destruction, and bore them in order to make known the wealth of His glory towards vessels of mercy which He had prepared beforehand for glory. God acts from a position of strength, and is slow to wrath. “Vessels destined for wrath” are not yet filled up to the brim, but “ vessels ready for mer cy” have His loving-kindness poured into them to the full. The same apostle asks his heckler if he thinks he will escape from the judgment of God, or whether he despises the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering without realizing that God’s kindness is leading him towards repentance. God endures men’s sins; He waits long for their amendment; He is kind towards His enemies and gently pushes them in the direction of repentance. Elsewhere Paul tells his readers not to take matters into their own hands and seek revenge or to vindicate the right. Leave room in your thinking for the action of the wrath which will come. Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Wrath will come; I will repay. But in the meantime it is delayed. The same message is given by our Lord in the same parables of the tares and of the fig-tree in the vineyard. Wrath is delayed in order that meanwhile the righteous may be preserved and that the unrighteous may repent. The logical order in all this is the commandment, the breaking of the commandment and the wrath — delayed. And for some the wrath is delayed for ever. Among those on the bank of the River Jordan came Jesus to be baptized by John. He had no need of a baptism of re pentance but He found it fitting. “ Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” How can this be?”
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THE KINO'S BUSINESS
The Return o f Christ by I. M. Haldeman
For Jesus, baptism points to death, to His own death. “ Can ye be baptized with the baptism that I am bap tized with?” “ I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” At His baptism He was accomplished!” At His baptism He was encouraged by the Father’s “ good pleasure” : “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” At His death the encouragement was gone. True, in the decisive battle in Gethsemane He was strengthened by the angel, that celestial being whose presence suggested the near ness of God in the threatening abandonment. Hence His cry on the cross, “My God, My God, why hast Thou for saken Me?” , was the anguish of being forsaken by God — all in accordance with the Father’s will, but with the Father’s fellowship broken, and broken on the Father’s side. Jesus died, in His essential deity eternally united with the Father, for the Godhead cannot be divided; but with His communion with the Father ended. Jesus died: forsaken by God; Jesus died: under the wrath. Paul can speak of being crucified with Christ, and we understand his meaning. He does not mean that we died for ourselves! Indeed, in a real sense he would say that we did not die with Christ: by the mercy of God we were not there. Jesus was forsaken by God — that we might never be. He died — that we might have life everlasting. He stood under the wrath — that we mightt be free from it for ever. It is not only delayed; not only delayed for ever; it is exhausted — THE SECOND COMING of our Lord Jesus, while spoken of as one great event, has two separate parts. It is of the utmost importance to distinguish and never to confound théwi. In the first part He comes as a jB i|jKRev , 16:15). In the second part He comes as lightning (Luke 17:24). In the first, the Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)^ In the second, Sun of Righteousness (Mai 4:1, 2) ‘K v i l H In the first, as a Bridegroom (Matthew 6 ). In the second, as a King (Matthew 34). In the the 2 5 : 10 ). ; m m In ihe second, to the Throne of Hfê^SSJôrv (Matt. 25:31),. ' ; jj ’W f - ' ‘ ' In the first, to the Virgins (Matthew In the second, to the Nations (Mâf$ièw|| .25 :32 ).' . . ( ? l M | In the first, before the Marriage (Matthew Z In the second, after the Mperiage (Luke 12 36) I m m SSaSÊm j § t In the first, for His Bride (John 14:3). In the second, with His Bride (Col 3:4),I;;^ | In the first, into the air (1 Thess. 4:17). In the second, He descends to the’ Mount In the to take His Bride inft|B heavenly e ityfjohn 1 4 : Eçrh, In the second, He comes to enter as King ! into the earthly Jerusalem (Matthew 25:31; i Jer. 3:17; Zech. 8:3;.Luke The first stage is called "Oyi* Gathering to gether unto Him" (2 Thess, 2^0T.' f The second stage is called | ,ïThe Revelation of Jesus Christ from Heaven1' (2 Thess. 1:7). The first stage, "Blessed Hope ' (Titus r 2:13). W jg j f f l | | Ì | | g ■ The second Glorious A pp e a l? ing" (Tifus 2 : “v, "’ jjPPP The first sta'g^^^^PçWcMied ing" from the Greek word Parousia, anglais nifies presence. The second stage is called the f'Brightr of His Coming," and is from the GiffMKySl Epiphaneia, meaning brightness the Epiphaneia of His Parousia is fMpflHHlH words, when He fir descends into the air to receive His Chuffch, He will be invisible ip the world; after an in- terval during which the kingdi^.of’Antichrist-, 1 is tunning its course on earth. He will mar»*,. fast Himself to the gaze or*W"fnl* ’^ fPPEred at JerdStrfep, and descend in visible glory and power to overthrow them. 11 SEPTEMBER, 1962 Hopis throughout the reservations. Usually the snake dance is held on the third week-end of August in the plaza of one of several villages perched high on the mesas of the Hopi Reservation. It is attended by many morbid and curious tourists, who are tolerated by the priests but are not welcomed or invited. Several weeks before the dance, the Indians start gathering up snakes from the desert, usually rattlers and king snakes. There are placed in one of the underground kivas in the pueblo where the dance is to be performed that year. The snakes are fondled and fed by the priests, and are washed carefully and dusted with sacred pol len or commeal. They are not de- fanged. The author, M r. Gordon H. Fraser, is president o f the Southwestern School of M issions, a Bible Institute for In dians of all tribes, and a school for the preparation of missionary candi dates who expect to serve in Indian country. M r. Fraser is a qualified anthro pologist and has made a life-tim e study of philosophies of religion, as well as having spent many years in mission fields in the western states,___________ T he H o p i I ndians profess a close affiliation with the nether world and the spirits that inhabit it. Their worship centers in the below-ground kivas that are accessible only through an opening in the roof. Only the to tem-clan priests and the initiates may enter and observe the worship. Occasionally anthropologists have been permitted below ground, but, of course, these are not permitted to see the actual rites being performed. A few Hopis who have become Chris tians have hesitated to reveal what they had learned as pagans, largely through fear of physical harm, and when secrets are revealed, they are emphatically denied by the pagan priests. The ceremonies, usually dances, that are performed in public give a definite clue to the belief in the de mon spirits and the powers of the disembodied spirits that visit the vil lages on certain ceremonial feast days. Anyone who thinks that we are naive to believe that ceremonial dancers are possessed of malign powers, should consider the power that enables the masked dancers to perform physical feats that are quite extraordinary, when these dancers, unmasked, turn out to be feeble old men who have difficulty in walking any great dis tance. The Hopis would be the last to deny that they do become possessed of a supernatural power. There is nothing of adoration in the Hopi worship; it is all appeasement of powers that can work them harm. The endless drumming and tuneless chants that accompany their dances increase in frenzy as they approach the climaxes of the ceremony. Most spectacular of the seasonal dances is the annual snake dance held each summer to appease the rain gods so that sufficient rain will fall to as sure a good corn crop. The pagan gods get all the credit when the crops are successful. The Hopis are of Uto-Aztecan stock and there is no doubt but that the snake dance is a survival of the old Aztecan cultism of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. Quetzalcoatl is rep resented in the art and architecture of Mexico as a serpent with a tuft of feathers at its neck, sometimes erect, sometimes coiled around some object and constantly appearing as a motif in the old temple buildings devoted to the cult. Extreme cruelty was a characteristic of the old cult in Mexi co, and cruelty seems to be present in much of the life of the present-day THE KING'S BUSINESS 12 On snake-dance day, which ends the seasonal ceremonies, the priests of the snake clan put on their regalia and daub themselves with colored mud and ashes. These handle the snakes. Members of another totem-clan don their costumes and prepare their drums and gourd rattles to provide the dance rhythms and chants. As the dance begins, each snake priest grasps a snake, places it be tween his lips, and proceeds to dance around the plaza to the throbbing of the drums. An assistant, known as the “hugger” , who is usually a teen- aged initiate, dances beside the priest and strokes the head of the snake with a wand of sacred feathers. After each snake has been “ danced” , it is placed in a circular space in the plaza where a priest known as the “ gatherer” , with the aid of the women and children, keeps the accumulating mass of writh ing reptiles from escaping. Here they are again sprinkled with sacred corn meal. When the dance is finished and all of the snakes have been “ danced” , each of the snake priests dashes into the circle and grasps as many of the writhing snakes as he can in his two hands and runs down the rocky trail to the desert below and releases them in the four directions, where they are instructed to carry their message back to the spirit world. The priests then run back to the mesa top and com plete the ceremonial rites in the un derground kiva. The snake cult has persisted in one form or another throughout the his tory of man’s religions, and any in telligent Christian will recognize it as Satan worship, and dating from the Old Serpent, the devil, who visited the Garden of Eden. The hatred of the tribal priests for the missionaries and native believers demonstrates this re lationship. Mennonite missionaries have con tinued their work among the Hopis since the turn of the century. The work has always been discouraging because the tribal priests will not tol erate the presence of witnessing be lievers of the tribe in the native vil lages. Many of those who have been saved have left the reservation and become town dwellers. Wycliffe Bible Translators, Jona than and Molly Ekstrom, are far along towards the completion of the New Testament in Hopi and are do ing valuable linguistic work in the Hopi village of Moenkopie which is a distance removed from the main part of the reservation. Pray for these soldiers of the cross and for Hopi Christians to study to become witnesses in the home villag es. Today? Perhaps! Perhaps today! The Lord may come and catch away H is ransomed Church, H is blood-bought bride T o take her place at H is blest side; When dead and living saints shall share One trumpet summons to the air. Perhaps today! Yes! H e may come A n d call us to our Heavenly Home— That wondrous place beyond compare W hich He, in love, doth now prepare; Our Father's house! How sweet, how blest, To be for evermore at rest. Today? Perhaps! 'T is true! Today! Ere nightfall we may be away; Transported home! How blest, how grand! Transported home to gloryland! One tw inkling moment, then to be W ith H im for all eternity. Perhaps today! Then why the fear? Tomorrow we may not be here! The thing so dreaded may not come T ill we are safely gathered home! The threat'ning storm-cloud may not break T ill, in H is presence, we awake. Perhaps today! Oh, lonely soul, Thy heart shall reach its longed-for goal; The fellowship, the joy, the bliss, W hich now thy heart doth sorely miss, Perchance m^y be thy heart's delight Ere closes in another night. Perhaps today! Then much-tried saint, Look up, nor let thy spirit faint; The stretching road thine eyes may see M ay never be traversed by thee— One moment's space and then above, T o find thyself in cloudless love! Perhaps today, afflicted life, Thou shalt be taken from the strife; From all that hatred to thy word W hich comes as thou dost please thy Lord. A n d then, ah then, how small the pain Compared with all thou then shalt gain. Perhaps today the fight w ill cease, A n d then— eternal, wondrous peace! The evil hosts which rage and roar Shall reach us there? No, nevermore! Oh blessed hope, to then be free For ever through eternity. W e 'll meet again— perhaps today, The dear ones who have passed away, The loved ones who now softly sleep, Whom Jesus now doth safely keep; Oh wondrous joy to meet them there A t that blest union in the air! Perhaps today the chains which bind, W hich fetter feet and hands and mind, Shall all be snapped, and we shall be Like uncaged eagles— boundless free; A n d upward sw iftly shall we soar To be with Christ for evermore. Perhaps today this mortal frame W ith all enfeebled nature's claim Shall be exchanged, and we shall own a 'tem ple' where shall not be known A sense o f weakness or decay, O r strength that surely ebbs away. Perhaps today we all shall stand A t Christ's tribunal— wondrous grand; There gathered through redeeming love; A ll ransomed, yet to have H im prove Life 's service; and to gain reward, Where life or labour pleased the Lord. Perhaps today! H e'll come most sure, This hope He means to keep us pure! To have us watching, ready, free, ntrammelled with iniquity: That we may meet H im w ithout shame, O r conscious sense of g u ilt or blame. Today perhaps! Perhaps today! Yes, He may come! Then watch and pray! T his 'Blessed Hope' keep much in view; N or deem it dead though taught by few. A n d be as urgent as you may In w inning souls, while 'tis 'Today.' — J. Danson Smith SEPTEMBER, 1962 13
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