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June, 1945
In the nineteenth chapter o f the Gospel o f John. Here we have depicted a pen-picture of that scene in Pilate’s judgment hall, where the Son of God appeared on trial before the arrogant representatives of the Roman gov ernment. “Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at-all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” True, Pilate possessed the power of man, but only be cause the greater power permitted it. There will be a Judgment day, which will not be staged in a Roman court, dominated by a godless despot; but in the Divine Court of Justice, God Almighty will occupy the judgment seat. Before His great white throne, governors, kings, potentates, presidents, yes, even dictators, will appear and be judged and sentenced to eternal condemnation. The greater power of God will be manifested. The Power of Evil Some adherents of the so-called “New Theology,” find considerable difficulty in accepting the doctrine of a per sonal devil. Certainly a sincere and intelligent perusal of the Word of God can leave no doubt in our minds as to the fact that we are confronted with a real, personal enemy of our souls, who goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Likewise, missionaries who have been confronted with the “power of evil” (Hab. 2:9), the “power of darkness” (Lk. 22:53), and the “power of Satan” (Acts 26:18), as it is manifested in the lives of benighted souls, appreciate the fact that there is a strong spiritual power operating against the welfare of men’s souls. This power is wielded by a super-despot, Satan. The problem of the power of evil, which seems to be a stumbling block to the intelligentsia, presents no dif ficulty to the most ignorant heathen. Often he has en gaged in spiritual combat with this power. The mis sionary need waste no time in convincing his audience that they are face to face with a satanic force, because they are ever attempting to appease the wrath of this power. When a heathen Chinese lights a joss-stick, a wax taper, or burns merit paper outside the door of his humble shack, he does it with one end in view. He is bribing that evil power into granting him freedom from hard luck or adversity which he believes is meted out to all those who do not sacrifice to the evil one. Here are some concrete cases of the influence of the power of evil in the lives of Chinese: Mr. X was a young Chinese villager who had accept: ed the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. Re turning to his home, he decided to destroy the heathen idols there. Unfortunately, he was the only believer and hence his proposal was met with opposition. However, in spite of the protests of his relatives, he proceeded to remove the idols from his home. Hardly had he started when his father became ill. A native doctor was summoned and pronounced the patient in a critical condition. In spite of everything that quack could do, the father continued to decline until it became apparent even to the family that his hours were numbered. The mother of the household, realizing that something unusual was wrong with her mate, rushed off to a “devil woman” (Kwai-poh), who advised that the family heathen altars be re-established in the home. So, disregarding the Chinese Christian’s wishes in the mat ter, his superstitious relatives reinstated the gods of their household, and almost immediately—simultaneous with their burning of Incense and worship—the stricken parent showed signs of improvement! ( Continued on Page 209)
On this occasion why was Jesus able to do what the Psalmist describes as making “ the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still” (Psa. 107:29)? For the sim ple reason that He was utilizing a greater power than the power of nature, because He was using the Power of the Creator—“The sea is his, and lie made it” (Psa. 95:5). Furthermore, not only did He create the seas and thus has power over them, but He sustains them with His power. The writer of the Hebrews says, “upholding all things by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3). . The Power of Man At the present time we are living in an, age when the power of man has reached its peak. This is the day of Hitlers and Tojos. Dictators speak and the people jump to do their bidding. Tyrannical oppression is the lot of whole races of people, subjugated by despotic leaders, who make free use of the “iron heel” to enforce their wishes. Perhaps in no other part of the world has the misrule of a conquering nation been more in evidence than in China and Hongkong, and in other regions where the New Order in the Far East has been introduced. Hardly had the Japanese authorities taken over the government of the former British colony until Hongkong became one huge gambling den. Pitiful, indeed, it was to see gam ing tables cropping up in the streets, not hidden behind blinds or tucked away in some secluded alleyway, but openly flaunting their trade before all. Soon cabarets, and their attending vices—opium and prostitutes—were opened along the main thoroughfares. More heart-break ing, however, was the depressing sight of thousands of Chinese patronizing these establishments, thus permit ting their minds to be detoured from the fact that they were a conquered people. Like a bird hypnotized by a snake, unaware of the fate awaiting it, thousands of Chi nese became demoralized. The Japanese also showed their power by reducing the population of Hongkong. Because of the lack of food, tens of thousands of people packed up their few belong ings and fled from the city. Daily notices appeared in the newspapers announcing organized treks-to Shanghai, Amoy, Swatow and other coastal cities. When the exodus was not quick enough, great throngs of folks were cor ralled in the streets, and forced onto boats which trans ported them to an unknown destination. Harrison Forman, in a featured article to the New. York Times, quotes a Chinese official, Li Chung-king, as stating that in the northeastern provinces of China, 13,000,000 have become opium addicts as a result of a de liberate Japanese policy to poison the minds and bodies of the inhabitants of Manchuria since Sept. 18, 1931. “According to Mr. Li, the enemy’s opium policy con sists of a forced planting of the poppy, the openly encour aged smoking of opium and the consumption of other habit-forming narcotics. .. In Shansi province the enemy has instituted a barter system by which cotton cloth, rice, meat, cooking oil, salt and other commodities are ex changed for opium.” The writer of Ecclesiastes, in describing the deplor able conditions prevailing when unscrupulous autocrats hold down the seat of office, said: “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” (Eccl. 8:4). In other words, what a ruler decides is law, and his decrees are not subject to chal lenge, nor is recourse open from their injustices. Does this mean, then, that rulers, no matter how ty rannical, are responsible to no one for their misrule? As far as this world is concerned, men may never have to answer for the use to which they have put their power, but there is a higher power to which all rulers—good and bad—are responsible, and that power is God Himself. No better illustration can be found than that recorded
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