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Upon T |iy word I rest So strong, so sure;» So full of comfort blest, So sweet, so pure. Tny> word that changeth not That failetk never M y G o d I rest upon T h y word forever. —Ha\>ergal
ay. 1919 “BACK TO THE BIBLE” NUMBER—Mi
Bible Institute ofLosAngeles (INCORPORATED) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A. Free Training School for Christian. Workers
DIRECTORS
Lyman Stewart, president J. M. Irvine, secretary T. C. Horton, superintendent H. A. Getz
R. A. Torrey, vice-president Leon V. Shaw, treasurer William Evans J. O. Smith
Nathan Newby
DOCTRINAL We hold to the Historic Faith of the of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead. The Deity of the Christ. The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary authority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, the Body and^Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement.
STATEMENT Church as expressed in the Common Creed The Necessity of the New Birth. The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Impenitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan.
SCOPE OF THE WORK
PURPOSE: The Institute trains, free of cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. DEPARTMENTS: O) The Institute Classes held daily except on Saturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and conferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. i (4) Spanish Work. Personal work among Spanish speaking people. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews and mission for Jews. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and distribution of selected books and tracts. (10) Harbor Work. For seamen at San Francisco harbor. (11) , The Biola Hall. Daily noon meetings for men in the down-town district, with free reading-room privileges. Evangelistic service every evening. (12) Print Shop. For printing^ Testaments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establish ment, profits going to free distribution of religious literature.
T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S MOTTO: “l, the Lord, do keep it, I will water it every moment, lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. ....- v ■ ■ ■ ~ Isa. 27:3 ■ r:r: , PUBLISHED MONTHLY *BY THE BIBLE IN ST ITU T E OF LOS ANGELES Entered as Second-Glass Matter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, Galifornia t under the Act of March 3, 1879 Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917 MH 'authorized October 1, 1918. Volume X Maÿ, 1919 Number 5
LEADING ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials: Noah Robbed of'His Ark (394), Cleveland Moffett’s Crazy Quilt (394) The Real Pebble in the Critic’s Shoe (396) The Bible Vindicated Again (397) A Remarkable Court Pro cedure (398) Raffling Off Souls (398) A Padlock to the Scriptures (399) Christ First (399)
The League of Nations: Dr. A. C. Dixon (402) Scripture Numerics: Rev. Ivan Panin (407) Bible Institute Happenings (411) Evangelistic Stories (414)
Daniel Webster’s Bible Confession (423) The Filing of Bible Material, K. L. B. (424) International Sunday School Lessons (438) Daily Devotional Readings: Dr. F. "W. Farr (472) Tbe Christian Life Overflowing: Rev. W. P. Nicholson (468) The Bible: Dr. 0. P. Gifford (437) Heart to Heart Talks with the Unsaved (432) The Far Horizon, Missionary (434) Homiletical Helps (435) Light on Puzzling Passages (436)
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T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S T . C. H O R TO N , Editor KEITH L. BROOKS, Managing Editor R. A .TORRET, D. D. FREDERIC .W. FARR, D.D. J. H.‘ HUNTER W . H. PIKE Contributing Editors
E D I T O R I A L
N oah robbed ofHiSArk The “ Very Rev.” (God save the mark!) Thomas Charles Fry, Dean of Lincoln, has a controversy with the Son of God. At the Canterbury Con vocation, the most serious religious convention in all England/he said he did not believe the Old Testament story of Noah, or of the Garden of Eden. The Dean says the time has come when the clergy of the Church of England can no longer stand in the pulpit and profess belief in things which they know their parishioners do not believe, especially when they also know that the parishioners know that the preachers do not believe these things themselves. Of course, a Dean would not want to preach anything that his parish ioners did not believe, so he goes around, we suppose, to find out what they believe and preaches their unbelief, hut he certainly gives himself away when he confesses that he had been preaching something that he did not believe himself. Of course, such a fellow could not stand in the pulpit; he couldn’t stand anywhere. He ought to get down and pull out. He is not a preacher of the Gospel of God anyway. He has another Gospel. The position of such a man only confirms our belief in the Garden story, and the poor little Dean need not worry about the Ark.—T. C. H. The following clipping from a semi-religious paper tells its own pathetic story, and we quote it because it gives evidence ■ of a trend of desire upon the part of many who have a very limited knowledge of the Bible, and of the place and part of the church in God’s plan. Cleveland Moffet says I I feel strongly th a t th e churches of America are not rendering th e national and p atrio tic service th a t they should rend er and m ight easily render, if they would b etter a d ju st themselves to th e public needs. In cases where no parish houses are available, th e churches themselves, when not requ ired for religious services, should be used for popular lectures, concerts, motion pictu re en tertainm en ts and evening classes. Let it be remembered th a t th e church buildings of America, over two-hundred thousands of them , are precious gath ering places th a t belong absolutely to the people of th is country. They were bu ilt by th e people’s contributions. They are free from taxation (w ith a to tal estim ated value of over th ree billion dollars) by th e people’s favor. Therefore any activities calculated to benefit the people and give them reasonable pleasures are legitim ate w ithin th e ir walls; p articu larly any activities, like physical cu ltu re work, th a t will make us more efficient as defenders of th e nation. By all means le t American churches go on w ith th e ir efforts to save men’s SsS 1» C leveland M offett ’ s Cm Z$ Quilt
THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 395 souls, b u t le t them do something tow ards saving th e ir bodies, especially in these trag ic tim es when civilization stands in jeopardy for the w ant of soldiers. Remem ber th a t one-third of our young men under th irty , according to d ra ft statistics, have been declared unable to fight th e P ru ssian world-menace because they are physically unfit. T hink of th a t! A, recent exam ination of the F reshm an class a t H arvard University revealed th e fact th a t fifty per cent, of these stud en ts were physically unfit! And our children are growing up physically unfit, not only poor children, b u t well-to-do children. Why is th is? , 'a It is partly because our American churches, schools, and colleges have failed in th e ir duty, they have failed to insist upon universal physical training. Why should no t our m inisters preach physical cu ltu re in th e ir pulpits and practice it in th e ir lives? Then why not let them dance in decent surroundings under conditions favor able (no t unfavorable) to th e ir civic and social development? Why no t make th e parish houses of our churches community centers where the universal craving for th is pleasant relaxation can be gratified and where young people, otherw ise lonely and discontented, can make desirable acquaintances? There are some churches of which we know that might as well be' turned into gymnasiums and dance houses during the week, inasmuch as they are now used as amusement centers on Sundays. If a church is used on the Lord’s Day for the delivery of secular lectures or scientific discourses on the origin of man, for the recitation of poems, or the cracking of stale jokes, it would make but little difference to what purpose it was put during the week. If the preacher is to be a physical director and dancing master during the week, it brooks but little whether he stood on his head or his feet during the Sunday performance. But if the church building is to be' used for the worship of God and the teaching of Holy Writ; if it is to be a gathering place for praise and prayer and fellowship with the Redeemer of sou ls,then , for His sake in whose name we gather; for the sake of our children and for the sake of lost souls, let us strive to keep one place free from the unholy entanglements suggested. Let us keep them open day and night as life-saving stations to which may come the storm- tossed mariners on life’s sea. It is not true that the churches were built with the people’s money and therefore they belong to the people, any more than the secret lodge belongs to the people. The churches for the most part were built by sacrificial money tithes and offerings saved from slender salaries and hard- earned wages, by devoted Christian men and women. They belong to the church, not to the people, and when honestly used, are the saving factor for the perpetuity of o.ur country. They were founded on the Bible and should he preserved as the centers of religious life and activities of. the communities. The churches belong to the people of God, who are the salt of the earth, and who save the earth from the oncoming wrath of God. If the suggestions of Mr. Moffett were carried out it would not he long before the buildings would become the house of the harlot and the gate to hell. We are surprised that a man could be so ignorant of the cause that produced the unfitness of a third of our young men for war, and fifty per cent of the Harvard freshmen class for a man’s job. Let him find out how many cigarettes they smoke, what they drink and where they spend their evenings. Any man of experience in the game of life can tell him how to correct the evil. It cannot be done by turning the churches into pleasure resorts and dance houses, hut by turning out of the pulpits the men who are dishonoring the calling of men of God, and making of the
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CLEVELAND MOFFETT'S IDEAL CHU RCH
churches what God designed them to be,—places where He could record His name and where the holy fire could he kept burning for saint and sinner.—T. C. H.
T H E REAL PEBBLE in the Critic’s Shoe Dr. W. B. Riley of Minneapolis says:
“The Bible schools of America are rapidly tak ing places of utm ost im po rt ance. Their grow th in numbers and size has been nothing sho rt of phenomenal. In less th a n fo rty years, th e Bible school of New York, th e school a t Nyack, the th ree schools of Philadelphia, th e Moody In stitu te, th e Los Angeles In stitu te and th e N orthw estern T raining School of M inneapolis and a num ber of others, have come into being and grown to large proportions. Like every tru e movement of th e Holy Ghost they were held up to scorn by in tellectual highbrows. Charles
THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 397 Spurgeon, H. G rattan Guinness, A. J. Gordon and Dw ight L. Moody, each in tu rn contended w ith m ighty pen ag ain st a m u ltitud e of self-appointed and self-esteem ing critic’s attack s upon Bible schools— a criticism th a t has no t ceased, b u t the fallusade has been reduced to an occasional explosion of noxious gases, which, if th ey be no t harm less, are a t least impotent to impede Bible School progress.” Just at this present time, we are hearing a good many of the.se explo sions. Some are charging that Bible Institutes, “ by a certain queer doc trine of the millfennium” are seeking to split the churches by making it appear that their view of the millennium is the test of orthodoxy. One Baptist editor charges that Dr. Gray, Dr. Riley, Dr. Torrey and others, perceiving the advertising value of their view* of the millennium at this time, are diligently propagating it to divide the churches. The fact of the matter is that none of these men are engaged in any such propaganda, do not make their view of the millennium the test of orthodoxy, and are far too busy in the preaching and teaching of the fundamental truths of Chris tianity and the winning of souls, to give themselves to any propaganda to divide the churches. Nevertheless, it is a fact .that churches are being divided and that we may look for a drawing of lines all over the country. The split will not be over the question of the manner in which the millennium is to come, but it will be between those who repudiate the Bible as the Word of God and want social service and German Kultur in its place—and those who believe (as Bible Schools are teaching) that the Bible is the very Word of God and that its program is to be followed. One recently said) ‘f It will be nothing surprising in a few summers if over the door of one Baptist church we will read, “ Orthodox Baptist Church” and over another, “ Unitarian Baptist Church.” We have seen this very thing taking place in the Congregational church and the line is sure to be drawn in all denominations as we approach the end of the present age. That Bible Institutes have done something to bring people back to the Bible, cannot be denied, and there is no greater work to be done in these days of turmoil,, The real question is between vital Christianity and paganism, and it is certain that if the seminaries that are disseminating unbelief do not have a house-cleaning, the people of means who believe in the Word of God, will cease contributing money to them and increasingly invest in the Bible Insti tutes as the only means of “contending for the faith once delivered,” in these last days.—K. L. B. The Pathfinder published in Washington, asks the question, “ What is the matter with the Churches? In forty-seven Protestant Churches in the capitol city were found only 15,000 people on Sunday Evening, but in thirty-five theaters on the same evening were found 38,000 people. Why do not people go to Church?” The Pathfinder goes on to conclude that the Church is not doing the work in the world for which it was founded. Again it admits that while Christianity is the greatest religion that the world has ever known, Jesus’ teachings are too lofty for humanity to attain unto. In other words the teachings of Jesus are not practical for mien living in the flesh. But here the charge of the Pathfinder proves the Word of God to be true. “ For the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: T H E BIBLE Vindicated Again
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398 THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S for they are foolishness unto Him.” The natural man cannot know the things of God, much less practice them. But it is not' God’s fault or the Bible’s fault. The difficulty is in man himself. Men will not obey the first requirement of God to “ Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and give God a chance to put a new life in them, that would enable them to live ofit (not up to) the teaching of Jesus. Just let the church come back to simple faith in God and faith in Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures; and these charges about empty pews will not he brought against the Church. Let the Church begin to win men to God as did the early Christians. Let them worship in simplicity as did the church of the first century. Then and not till then will the world take notice and say to the Christians “ You have something we have not. We want it.”—W. H. P. •A. REMARKABLE Court Proceedure In a recent edition of The Los Angeles Herald, the following item appeared: As his la st official act. before retirin g from the bench, Superior Judge H. T. Dewhirst of San B ernardino read to persons in his court w hat he described as a “ pronunciam iento,” consisting of quotations from th e prophecies contained in the Bible. Judge Dewhirst declared th a t th is la st reading from his bench was “ the saddest duty of my career.” He said th e document he had prepared contained “ fragm ents of th e prophecies,” and th a t it was “ not a creed, nor criticism , nor a p ro test— b u t prophecy.” The judge explained th a t th e significance of his “ pronunciam iento” was “ p retty deep, very deep, in fact, and I would ra th e r it would speak for itself w ith out comment from me.” In 12 sections th e document quoted many passages of th e Bible predicting wars, fam ine, earthqu akes and th e fall of nations. This is a remarkable incident and suggests that there is a widespread and growing interest in prophetic truth all over the so-called Christian world. Men are turning to the Bible for the answer to the question, What next? We could heartily wish that there were a multitude of teachers in the pulpit and among the laity' competent to give to the hungry-hearted people an exposition of the sure word of prophecy. God has a simple plan of the ages that His people are entitled to know.—T. C. H. off Souls The following notice is said to have been tacked up in a Catholic Church in Mexico: Baffle For Souls A t th e la st raffle for souls th e following numbers obtained the prizes, and th e lucky holders may be assured th a t th e ir loved ones are forever released from th e flames of pu rgato ry and ushered into heavenly joys. T icket 41. The soul of Madame Calderon is made happy forever. T icket 762. The soul of the aged widow, Francesca de Parsons, is forever released from th e flames of purgatory. Another raffle for souls will be held a t th is same blessed church of the Redeemer on Ja n u ary 1, a t which four bleeding and to rtu red souls will be released from pu rgato ry to heaven according to th e four highest tickets in th is most holy R a f f l i n g ^¡¿ i, sfe aá» sfc
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lottery. T ickets $1, to be had of th e fath e r in charge. Will you for th e poor sum of $1 leave your loved ones to bu rn in pu rg ato ry for ages? We do not see such notices in this country, hut the reason is clear. We have an open Bible so that he that runs may read.^—T. C. H. -w Sfe» “S ana H ”, A Padlock to the Scriptures It is impossible to “ contend for the faith once delivered” without “ rebuking” (Titus 1:13) those who seek to pervert the Gospel truth and without “ warning” (Rom. 16:17) those who are being blindly led away. Hundreds of intelligent people are in these days chasing after a teaching which according to Jesus Christ is not “ Christian” and which according to the highest scientific authorities is far from being “ science.” The popularity of “ Eddyism” as a system of religion has its cause, beyond question, in the fact that it offers to mjake the way to heaven broad, smooth, and exceedingly easy on the flesh. It requires no confession of sin, which is the first fundamental of Christianity (Rom. 3:23)' and it professes to give personal victory without any conquest, for by merely thinking so, it turns sins into virtues and transgressions of all the laws of nature into immunity from retributive justice. It has no need of the redemptive work that cost infinite suffering to Jesus Christ and no need of the purifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life. The mission of suffering, without which there never would have been a real religion—suffering, which as one has said, ‘‘ is the pruning of the orchard of the heart ’’—is denied and its lessons therefore wholly lost. The consistent Christian Scientist cannot be “his brother’s keeper” and cannot logically extend the hand of mercy to those who are troubled and ill, for to do so would be a recognition of the realities they seek to deny. No system either of ethics or religion practices so little charity as the followers of Mrs. Eddy. What it leads to as a system of science is suggested by the drawing entitled “ Nobody Home” appearing in this issue. A Los Angeles physician who publishes a pamphlet entitled “ A Study of the REAL Christian Science ’’ says: “The u tte r disregard of Christian Scientists for hygienic and san itary meas ures in m a tte r of health— an a ttitu d e which simply am ounts to a defiance of n a tu ra l and evolutionary laws— would, if carried ou t to its logical consequence, bring back th e san itation of our hospitals and public in stitu tion s to a level corre sponding to conditions th a t prevailed a t th e tim e when th e deadly contagion of th e black pest, bubonic plague, cholera morbus, smallpox, etc., swept over the hygienically defenseless commonwealths of th e old world. And yet in th e face of th e most common and irrefu tab le facts as to the immanence to health of general sanitation, the Christian Scientist on th e basis of an u tte rly un sub stan tial “ text book” continues to m ake claims th a t m a tte r Is u n rea l and physical condiions power less to affect, In one way o r o th er, th e sta te of Individual health . Paradoxical as It may appear, yet it is evident, th a t it is th e very failu re of C hristian Science to practice its principles which makes its seem ing success a possibility.” Christian Science is neither religious religion nor sensible science.— K. L. B. . C H R IS T FIRST For months the world has been full of talk about the dawning of the millennium. While the war was in progress, it was the war that was said
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THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S to be the prelude to the millennium and it was expected in many quarters that when the last gun was fired, the world’s problems would be solved. Now that Kaiserism is no more, and Bolshevism and anarchy have taken its place,r it is the Peace league and “ reconstruction” that is the prelude ta the millennium. While politicians are explaining exactly how this new age of brotherliness is to fie. dragged in, preachers and church members by the thousands are following meekly in the wake of the world’s procession, utterly ignoring God’s plan as revealed in His Word. Thinking that thé new age is to be set up by the Peace Powers instead of the Peace Prince, and by culture instead of Christ, they have abandoned God’s defined purpose for this age, which is the completion of the Body of Christ (Acts 15:14) and are pouring out their means and energies in everything but the one divine plan by which that Day may be hastened. Is it not strange that even history and experience cannot teach men who have Bibles in their hands, that not until Christ returns to take into His nailpierced hands the reins of power, can the days of mourning be ended and earth’s new Day dawn? (Jas. 5:7, 8). God demands that FIRST THINGS MUST BE PUT FIRST. His order is that day will not dawn until the sun rises. It is not the dawn of day that causes the sun to rise, ¡but it is the rising of the sun that causes the dawn. Christ is “the Sun of Righteousness” (Mai. 4:2) and not until He comes in the clouds of heaven, will that new Day dawn. But again, FIRST THINGS MUST BE FIRST, and the sun will not rise until God’s elect have been brought in—and that is the work that confronts the church in this very hour. Says tiie editor of “The Life of F a ith “ (London) : “While the w ar is over, we seem fa rth e r away from the m illennium th a n ever. Instead of th e larger sympathy and kindlier feelings, and th e deeper earnestness predicted as th e outcome of th e fiery tria ls of the last four years; instead of th e b eau tifu l harmony between all classes as^ th e resu lt of a common sacrifice and sôrrow , we have plunged into a sta te of in d u strial an archy and social un rest such as the country has never known. The agreem ent of today is to rn into shreds tomorrow ; suspicion and d istru st prevail everywhere, and he would be eith er a very wise or a very daring man who would v en tu re to say where all th is restlessness will end. And w hat is th e condition of th e churches? Are they ready to lead the nation into quieter and soberer paths, or are they, too, affected w ith th e same sp irit? The voice of th e church will only be heard as it speaks in th e accents of its Lord and w ith th e note of au th o rity th a t comes only from Him. No leagues or alliances, or combinations of forces will ever get to th e seat of th e trouble, for it goes deeper th a n can 1)6 reached by hum an instrum ents. Even now God is asking us to lift our h earts, fo r our redemption draw eth nigh. By signs and wonders in the earth , by th e fulfillm ent of prophecy, He is tu rn in g our eyes and our h earts to the coming again of His dear Son in whom is our hope, and He is asking His church to proclaim H is appearing, not only as an encouragem ent for these dark days, but also as an incentive to holy living and definite service.”— K. L. B.
FORM OF BEQUEST To Bible Institute of Los 'Angeles
F give and bequeath to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, incorporated under the laws of the State of California ........ ..... ....... dollars, and I direct that the release of the President of the Board of Directors of said Bible Institute of Los Angeles shall be sufficient discharge to my executors in the premises.
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THE DELIVERANCES AT MONS The editor of th e “Life of F a ith ,” (London) received th e following com munication: “S ir:— The re tre a t from Mons was an incident of the w ar a t its commence ment; a t Mons the w ar term inated. The first phase was a calam ity, th e la st a trium ph. We heard of th e reported intercep tion Of Divine agencies in the peril of the first b attle of Mons: and th e w it nesses were no t a few to th e vision of angels holding back the oncoming Ger mans. But th e reports, lacked definite ness. It was almost impossible to ob ta in first-hand testimony. There was a general acceptance of m iraculous in terference; b u t anything fu rth e r seemed hard to obtain. It is for th is reason th a t I now w rite to say th a t a few days ago a soldier named Fitzgib- bon, who came to me in a tim e of need, related his experience o t th e incident. He said th a t in the Mons onslaught of the Germans his u n it would have been “wiped o u t” b u t for th e strange hap penings a t th e moment. He was con scious of a b rig h t ligh t above him , and movement in th e atmosphere, th e Ger mans being distinctly held back and prevented from moving fu rth e r fo r ward. He stated fu rth e r th a t a chap lain n ear him (a clergyman from K ent) was gazing in ten tly a t th e vision, amazed a t the proceedings, and was stru ck on the arm by shrapnel while looking up. The m an’s testim ony was u nh esitat ingly given, and, as he was plainly a Christian man, I felt his word cannot be doubted. .The coincidence of th is place, Mons, being th e locality of the Divine deliver ance, and th e scene of th e final phase of th e fighting on th e p a rt of th e B rit ish, seems to confirm our conclusion th a t God did, indeed, “ fight for u s” in a very wonderful manner. To Him, therefore, be all th e glory.”— Jam es Holroyde.
Ckurch of The LivingGod ■AST thou heard t h e voice which spoke from iheaven, “ Surely I come quickly?” A n d hast ' thou responded to it gladly, “ Even so, come , L o r d Jesus?” Does His absence lay heavily upon thy spirit? Does the promise of His re turn cheer thee? And is the thought of His speedy com ing a most welcome hope in t h e s e days, when men’s hearts are failing them for fear? Then how is the pros pect operating? Is it full of quickening, animating, stim ulating power? Is it kindling up your love into greater warmth? Is it increasing the intensity of your earnest ness ? Is it making the sep aration between you and the world a more decided thing ? Is it imparting a deeper solemnity to your, deport ment, and attaching an un utterable importance to ev ery word and action? Is it rebuking idleness, and sloth, and vanity, and frivolity, and levity, and selfishness? Has it uprooted and de stroyed in you covetousness and worldliness, those two master-sins of this evil age? And has it made you liberal and generous, enlarging your heart to give,—to give with no sparing hand so long as time remaineth?—H. Bonar.
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Tne League of Nations A Study of Federations of Bible times, and tke Light of Scripture on the Question of the Permanency of anÿ Movement for World Democracy)
Bÿ DR. A. C. D IXON , of London who soon joins Bihle Institute Faculty
The trend of modern times is toward federation. Labour has federated into “Unions” and capital into “Corpora tions,” “T ru sts” and “ Syndicates.” There are federations of farm ers, me chanics, and housemaids. Even th e beggars of New York, it was found a few years ago, had a federation. The Churches have been caught in th is uni versal trend, and it is the am bition of some to form a fellowship of all Churches regardless of creed. But the federation which ju st now occupies the largest place in th e world’s though t is an in tern ation al federation to be known as “The League of Nations.” The devout Bible stud en t tu rn s to th e Book which to him is th e highest au tho rity , and finds several national leagues which present-day statesm en will find it profitable to study. In Jo shua 9:6-16 is a league secured by lying diplomacy. The Gibeonites de ceived Joshua by representing, and act ing it out, th a t they came from a far country. Joshua was deceived because he tru sted his own judgm ent and did not ask the guidance of God. If he had spent fifteen m inutes in prayer, God would have saved him from his blunder. This suggests to us th e g rea t need of men a t the head of n ational affairs who persistently tak e God into th e ir coun sels and seek guidance from Him. Happy th e nation whose ru lers, sta te s men, generals and adm irals are men of prayer. The league which David made w ith the E lders of Israel gives us a govern m ent w ith a democratic basis. David does no t proclaim him self king un til
he has secured the consent of th e rep re sentatives of the people. “So all the elders of Israel came to Hebron and King David made a league w ith them before th e Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.” (2 Tim. 5 :3 ). The signing of th is league was a very religious act. I t was done “ before the Lord,” a holy covenant between David and th e elders- of Israel. He accepted th e crown th a t was offered him by the people and reigned fo rty years over this kingdom democracy. On th e other hand, th e league be tween Solomon and H iram was auto cratic. It was a compact only between two kings. The people had nothing to do w ith it. They simply rendered obedi ence and paid th e taxes. “There was peace between H iram and Solomon and they two made a league tog eth er” (1 Kings, v. 12). Such was th e “Holy Alli ance” o»f 1815, in which, a fte r th e Napoleonic wars, Alexander I. of Russia, F rancis I. of A ustria, and F rederick W illiam III. of P ru ssia pledged th em selves to govern th e ir peoples according to th e principles of th e Bible and the “will of our Divine Saviour.” This league was evidently suggested by a woman, Baroness von K rudner, to Alex and er of Russia, who prevailed upon F ran cis of A ustria and F rederick W il liam of P ru ssia to sign it. They did so reluctantly, F rederick W illiam , as he w rote his name, saying, “ if it is a ques tion of politics, I m ust refer it to my Chancellor; if of religion, to my Con fessor.” A lexander, th e Tzar of Russia, was w illing th a t th is “Holy A lliance” should be in terp reted as giving to th e
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as I have seen, because modern tenden cies are democratic and these feet and toes must refer to modern tim es; th e re fore, th e iron and clay m ust mean democracy. But we demur. May not the kingdom be divided into autocracies ra th e r th an democracies? The ten toes seem to mean ten kingdoms and the incongruous elements in them may be the au to cratic more th a n the democra tic tendencies. Or may not the streng th of th e iron rep resen t democ racy, while th e weakness of th e m iry clay represents autocracy? Certainly th e democracies of today are the strong iron-like governments, while the autoc racies are crumbling like clay. Is it not tru e th a t a democracy w ith an in tel ligent, righteous people has in it more elements of enduring stren g th th a n any kind of autocracy?? Nevertheless, a League of Nations w ith a democratic basis has its perils. If nations elect to join it, they may, of course, elect to leave it. And it is possible th a t a League of Nations may cause w ar ra th e r th an prevent it. The United States is a League of Nations w ith a Supreme Court before which cases between States are tried as are cases between individuals in other courts. And yet th is League of Nations w ith its in tern ation al tribun al did not escape war. Indeed, th e fact of the League did much to precipitate th e w ar and then to continue it. The Southern States declared th a t they were not fight ing so much for the perpetuation of slavery, which they would have gladly been rid of, as for w hat they called “S tates’ R ights,” th a t is, th e rig h t of each S tate to leave th e League or Union when it saw fit to do so; and Abraham Lincoln insisted th a t th e N orthern States were fighting more for th e preser vation of the Union of States th a n for th e abolition of slavery, much as he h ated the institu tion . If th e re had been no League of Nations and each S tate had been perm itted to pursue its own course, th ere m ight have been no
people constitutional government, but th e others did not agree. Every ru ler on earth , except the Pope and th e Sul tan of Turkey, was invited to join this “Holy A lliance,” and every one did join it except the P rince Regent of England, who expressed him self by le tte r as in perfect sympathy w ith its principles, bu t declared th at, not he, bu t the Prim e M inister, should sign it. It seems th a t th e Prim e M inister declined to dp so, and very properly, because he rep re sented the people, and the “Holy Alli ance” was not a league of peoples, but of sovereigns. This “Holy A lliance” is helieved to have served a very useful purpose, but it began to be regarded by some as a conspiracy again st popular liberties and th e rising wave of democracy did much tow ard sweeping it away. It may have done something tow ard preventing wars, bu t its influence in Europe was thoroughly overcome by the grow th of th e m ilitary spirit, which finally under B ismarck consolidated th e German Empire and began to prepare for world conquest. And yet some stud en ts of histo ry th in k they can trace a very in tim ate connection between the “Holy A lliance” and th e calling of the first in tern ation al peace conference a t the H ague in 1899. Now it is very evident th a t P resident Wilson, E arl Grey, and others in te r ested in form ing a League of Nations are agreed th a t it shall be organized on a democratic basis afte r th e pattern of David and the elders of Israel rath e r th a n of Solomon and H iram . It is not to be a League of Kings, Emperors or Presidents, b u t of peoples. This, we believe, m eans for it more permanence and usefulness th an the “Holy Alli ance.” Yet th ere is a strong consensus of opinion among many Bible students th a t th e feet and toes of Daniel’s image, made of th e incongruous elements of clay and iron, rep resen t democracy. This seems to be tak en for gran ted w ith o u t a particle of Biblical proof, so far
THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S tog eth er again st th e Lord, and against His anointed, saying, L et us b reak th e ir bands asunder and cast away th e ir cords from us. H e th a t sitte th in the heavens shall laugh: th e Lord shall have them in derision. . . . Thou sh alt b reak them in pieces like a p o tte r’s vessel.” And is no t th is th e tim e for all th e ru lers of earth to h ear and heed th e words: “Now, therefore, be wise, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth . Serve th e Lord w ith fear, and rejoice w ith trem bling. Kiss th e Son lest he be angry and ye perish in th e way, for His w rath will soon, be kindled.” And le t all th e world h ear th e words: “Blessed are all they th a t p u t th e ir tru s t in H im .” If th is League of Nations is to have a democratic basis and make democracy safe in th e world, th e people who sup po rt it m ust be righteous and in telli gent. W ith a righteous and in tellig en t people a democracy is th e ideal govern ment, w hether it be kingdom or repub lic; b u t w ith unrighteous and igno ran t people a democracy is th e w orst govern m ent on ea rth and is a menace to every th ing th a t is good. If, therefore, th is world is to be made safe for democracy, th ere m u st be some way of m aking th e people righteous and intelligent. A failu re to do th a t will be th e failu re of democracy. B u t let th e re be no illusion, for the League of Nations will not bring the Millennium. “F rom whence come wars and fighting among you?” asks th e Apostle James. “Come they no t hence even of your lu sts th a t w ar in your m em bers?” I t is th e lu st for power, w ealth and fame th a t cause wars, and a League of Nations which simply organizes the lu sts of men and women will no t remove th e causes of war. The mission of th e Church of Christ is to remove th e cause of w ar by displacing th e lu st for power, w ealth and fame by th e holy desire to min-
404 war, though th e resu lt would have been many little independent nations in dan ger of going to w ar w ith each other a t any time. The victory of Abraham Lin coln th rough th e N orthern arm ies was no t only th e death of slavery b u t th e death also of “ S tates’ R igh ts” in th e sense th a t any S tate has th e rig h t to secede from th e Union. “The Union, one and inseparable for ever” is now th e political creed of every S tate in America. I f the League of Nations is organized on th e principle th a t no nation will have th e rig h t under any circum stances to w ithdraw from it, it will, of course, be perm anent. B u t if any nation, displeased w ith its .actions, shall have the privilege of w ithdraw ing, th e League of Nations will be a rope of sand, and may promote w ar ra th e r th a n prevent it. If a League of Nations is to be per m anent and useful, it m u st tak e God into its counsels, seek His guidance and recognize His au tho rity . T h at au th o r ity is expressed in th e Bible, and the Bible, therefore, ought to be recognized. The g reat cen tral personality of th e Bible is revealed as King of kings, and all ru lers should acknowledge Him as th e ir Ruler. If such an ideal League of Nations could be formed, w ith the Word of God for its au th o rity and th e Son of God as its acknowledged head, it would be a good prep aration for the setting up of th e M illennium Kingdom when Christ shall re tu rn for His peo ple; b u t if, as I fear will be the case, a League of Nations is to be organized which ignores th e Bible and Christ, it will be left on earth when th e Church is caught away and may become the nucleus of the Kingdom of Anti-Christ w ith “ the Man of Sin” a t its head, to be destroyed w ith his arm ies by th e rider of th e white horse (Rev. 19 :11 ) a t the battle of Armageddon. Then will be fulfilled th e prophecy of th e second P salm : “The kings of th e earth set themselves and the ru lers ta k e counsel
THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S ' ister to others ra th e r th a n compel others to m inister to us. Self is a t h e a rt of all wars. Men and nations desire to promote th e ir own in terests a t the expense of others. Now w hat is th e security for all this? P au l was a tru ly Christian statesm an when he w rote to th e Corinthians, “ I determ ined no t to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” “Christ and Him crucified” is th e remedy for th e lu sts which make war. When “Christ and H im crucified” enters the soul, th e sp irit th a t would die for others takes the place of the sp irit th a t would k ill others. Self begins to be crucified. When th e sp irit of th e cross thoroughly possesses us, the lu st for power, w ealth and fame for th e ir own sakes gives place to a bu rn ing desire to help th e weak, m inister' to the poor, uplift th e fallen, cleanse th e polluted, save th e sinful, and re sto re th e wrecked. There is in w ar a heroism of courage and sacrifice which all noble n atu res must adm ire, and th e cross of Christ impels Christians to such courage and sacrifice along th e line of saving life and ennobling character ra th e r th a n tak ing life and b ru talising character. No w arrio r was ever braver and more self- sacrificing th a n David B rain ard in his his work among th e American Indians, David L ivingston in Africa, and hun dreds of m issionaries, who have en dured hardships and sufferings for C h rist’s sake, th a t they m ight save the people from th e degradations of sin. Calvary ’displaces w ar for th e purpose of killing our fellow men-w ith w ar upon th e evils th a t destroy them . If it be tru e, as some contend, th a t man is a fighting anim al and m ust th erefo re be in some so rt of war, let him go to Cal vary and th ere d rink in th e sp irit th a t im parts courage and love to make war upon th e evils a t home and abroad which destroy th e people in soul and body. If a League of Nations is to be per-
405 m anent and useful, it m ust not work into its organism any in stitu tion th a t will make for its destruction. The g reat Civil W ar in America came because th e re was in its League çf Nations th e in stitu tion of slavery, which outraged th e consciences of good men and women. And th ere is danger th a t the world League of Nations may have, as a p a rt of its organism , ano th er in stitu tion which today outrages th e con sciences of m illions; and th a t is the D rink Traffic. Its doom is already w ritten. The enlightened conscience of th e world is ag ain st it. The good men and women who to lerate it now do so on th e ground, no t th a t it is a good in stitu tion , bu t they fear th a t its sud den destruction may do more h arm than good, and they are w illing to patiently aw ait a slower process. Now if th ere is a nation on ea rth today th a t thinks the D rink Traffic is a good in stitu tion and ought to be preserved, and intends to stand for its preservation, th a t nation will come into th e League of Nations a force which w ill make for its dissolution. An in stitu tion which, like th e D rink Traffic, controls governments, and owns P rim e M inisters, and em bar rasses nations by consuming its food stuffs and app rop riating its tran sp o rt service during war, may have th e power to make w ar in defense of its existence; and I m ust confess th a t I would be more hopeful for th e permanence and use fulness of th e League of Nations, if it should organize w ith democratic con stituencies th a t had banished th eir worst enemy, th e D rink Traffic, from th e ir m idst. Contributions of $5 or over to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, entitle givers to a year’s subscription to “The King’s Business.”
W ill you pray daily for the work of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles?
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THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S
W itkin tkese walls (?) dwells no sin, sickness, sorrow, danger, deatk. Tkere are no doctors, surgeons, dent* ists, Hospitals, fune.al directors, asylums for tke blind, benevolent institutions, sanitariums. N o sanitation, severs, scavengers. There are no lame, bait, poor, tbieVes, Harlots, undesirables, rats, mice, vermin. N o practitioners. Tbis is tbe logical outcome of Eddyism,
upon he ordered ten copies of Mr. Poling’s book for distribu tion among his an ti-cigarette friends. “Mr. Poling had justified to his m ind th e work of Christian men in th u s handling to bacco.” The Bible Institute of Los Angeles is depending upon the prayers and gifts of those who believe the Word of God.
COFFIN-NAIL APOLOGISTS “Association. Men” th e Y. M. C. A. magazine, tells of “ a gentlem an prom i n en t in religious and social reform cir cles who has fought cigarettes all his life and h ated them like poison for th e h arm they have done to growing boys” as having read th e Christian Endeavor o rator, Mr. Poling's defense of cigarette distribu tion among th e troops. W here
Scripture Numerics A n Unansrweaable Proof of the Divine Authority) of the Bible. Challenge grOen to a Skeptic through the Newspaper by Rev. Ivan Panin, and which no Critic has ever dared to answer.
Several years ago a correspondent of th e New York Sun challenged any one to bring on conclusive proof of the divine inspiration of th e Scriptures. Rev. Ivan Panin, a thorough stud en t of both Hebrew and Greek, made a reply. L ater some very prom inent ration alists were asked to refu te Mr. P an in ’s article, and not one was able to do so. We publish a p a rt of Mr. P an in ’s argum ent. The Asher Publishing Co. of St. P aul publish th e article, and o ther sim ilar ones, in tra c t form. S ir:— In today’s Sun Mr. W. R. L. calls for a “ champion of orthodoxy” to “ step into th e arena of the Sun and give him some “ facts.” Here' are some facts: 1. The first 17 verses of the New T estam ent contain the genealogy of th e Christ. It consists of two m ain parts: .Verses 1-11 cover the period from Abra ham , the fath e r of th e chosen people, to th e Captivity, when they ceased as an independent people. Verses 12-17 cover th e period from th e Captivity to th e prom ised Deliverer, th e Christ. L et us examine the first p a rt of this genealogy. Its vocabulary has 49 words, or 7X7. This number is itself a multiple of seven (F e atu re 1), and th e sum of its factors is 2 sevens (F e atu re 2 ). Of these 49 words 28, or 4 sevens, begin w ith a vowel; and 21 or 3 sevens, begin w ith a consonant (F e atu re 3 ); seven end w ith a vowel, and 42, or 6 sevens, end w ith a consonant (F e atu re 4 ). Again: these 49 words of th e vocab u lary have 266 letters, or 7X 2X 18 ;
th is number is itself 38 sevens (F eatu re 5 ), and the sum of its factors is 28; or 4 sevens (F e atu re 6). Of these 266 let ters, moreover, 140, or 20 sevens, are vowels, and 126, or 18 sevens, are con sonants (F e atu re 7). T h at is to say: J u st as the number of words in the vocabulary is a m ulti ple of seven, so is th e num ber of its le tte rs a multiple of seven; ju st as th e sum of the factors of the num ber of the words is a multiple of seven, so is th e sum of th e factors of th e num ber of th e ir le tte rs a multiple of seven. And ju st as the number of words is divided between vowel words and consonant words by sevens, so is th e ir number of letters divided between vowels and con sonants by sevens. Again: Of these 49 words 35, or 5 sevens, occur more th an once in the passage; and 14, or 2 sevens, occur but once (F e atu re 8 ); seven, occur in more th an one form , and 42, or 6 sevens, occur in only one form (F e atu re 9). And among the p arts of speech the 49 words are thu s divided: 42, or 6 sev ens, are nouns, seven are no t nouns (F e atu re 10). Of the nouns 35, or 5 sevens, are proper names, seven are common nouns (F e atu re 11). Of the proper names 28 are male ancestors of th e Christ, and seven are not (F e atu re 12 ). This enum eration of th e numeric phenomena of these 11 verses does not begin to be exhaustive, bu t enough has been shown to make it clear th a t this p a rt of th e genealogy is constructed on an elaborate design of sevens.
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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 3. The second chapter of Matthew tells of th e childhood of th e Chri#t. Its vocabulary has 161 words, or 23 sevens, w ith 896 letters, or 128 sevens, and 238 forms, or 34 sevens; th e num eric value of th e vocabulary is 123,529, or 17,647 sevens; of the forms, 166,985, or 23,855 sevens; and so on th rough pages of enum eration. This chapter has a t least four logical divisions ,and each division shows alone the same phenomena found in the chapter as a whole. Thus the first six verses have a vocabulary of 56 words, or 8 sevens, etc. There are some speeches h ere: Herod speaks, th e Magi speak, th e angel speaks. But so pro nounced are th e num eric phenomena here, th a t though th e re are as it were num erous ring s w ithin rings, and wheels w ithin wheels, each is perfect in itself, though form ing all th e while only p a rt of th e rest. 4. There is no t a single paragraph of th e hundreds in Matthew th a t is not constructed on exactly th e same plan. Only w ith each additional parag raph th e difficulty of constructing it increases no t in arithm etical b u t in geometrical progression. F o r he contrives to w rite his p arag raph s so as. to develop con stan tly fixed num eric relation s to w hat goes before and after. Thus in his la st chapter he contrives to use ju s t. 7 words no t used by him before. How long it took Matthew the w riter does no t know. But how he contrived to do it between th e Crucifixion, A. D. 30 (and his Gospel could no t have been w ritten ea rlie r), and th e destruction of Jerusalem , A. D. 70 (and th e Gospel could not have been w ritten la te r), let th e critics explain. Anyhow Matthew; did it, and we th u s have a m irace,— an unheard of literary , m athem atical a rtist, unequalled, hardly even conceivable-. A second fact is yet more im po rtan t: In his very first section, th e genealogy discussed above, th e words found no w here else in th e New Testam ent, occur 42 times, 7X6 ; and have .126 letters,
408 Let us now tu rn to th e genealogy as a whole. I will point out only one fea tu re : The New T estam ent is w ritten in Greek. The Greeks had no separate symbols for expressing numbers, cor responding to our Arabic figures, bu t used instead th e le tte rs of th e ir alpha bet: ju st as th e Hebrews, in- whose tongue th e Old T estam ent is w ritten, made use for th e same purpose of theirs. Accordingly, th e 24 Greek le tte rs stand for th e following num bers: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 10.0 200 300 400 500 600 700 800. Every Greek word is thu s a sum in arithm etic ob tained by adding th e numbers for which its le tte rs stand, or th e ir numeric values. Now th e vocabulary to the en tire genealogy has 72 words. If we w rite its numeric value over each of these 72 words and add them , we get for th e ir sum 42,364, or 6,052 sevens. B u t the numeric value of th e 10 letters used for making these groups is 931, or 7X 7X 19, a m ultiple no t only of seven bu t of seven sevens. And th e same is tru e of th e 90 form s in which these 72 words occur: th e ir 90 numeric values sum up 54,075, or 7,725 sevens, and th is num ber is d istribu ted into ju st seven alphabetical groups of sevens. 2. The second p art of th is chapter, verses 18-25, relates th e b irth of th e Christ. It consists of 161 words, or 23 sevens; occurring in 105 forms, or 15 sevens, w ith a vocabulary of 77 words, or 11 sevens. Joseph is spoken to h ere by th e angel. Accordingly, of th e 77 words th e angel uses 28, or 4 sevens; of th e 105 form s he uses 35, or 5 sevens; th e num eric value of th e vocabulary is 52,605, or 7,515 sevens; of th e forms, 65,429, or 9,347 sevens. This enum eration only begins as it were to barely scratch th e surface of th e num erics of th is passage. B u t what is specially noteworthy here is: the fact th a t the- angel’s speech h as also a scheme of sevens makes it a kind of ring w ithin a ring, a wheel' w ithin a wheel.
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