The Bible Family Magazine
MARCH • 1938
Fifteen cents a copy, $1.50 a year in U. S.
As the blooming of spring blossoms can be confined to no one day of the year, so believers* meditation upon the death and resurrection of Christ cannot be restricted to Easter day alone. In two issues, this one and the April number to follow, THE ICING’S BUSINESS gives prominence to this foundational theme.
Two Vital Messages to Needy Groups Offered With THE KING’S BUSINESS For $1.00 This special offer can be in force for a short time only. For all-year-round advantages, see back cover.
r
Deadly Poison Gas in Tax-Supported Schools
By DAN GILBERT San Diego California
Valuable Leaflets Available
Comments by eminent physicians, Howard A. Kelly, M.D., LL.D., Marion McH. Hull, M.D., Arthur I. Brown, M.D., and L. Edwin Barnes, M.D., add to the appeal of this booklet. We ask you to select persons o f your acquaintance to whom these pointed, personal, effective messages would best apply. Perhaps one of them is the young teacher you saw in church last Sunday. Another may be the prin cipal of the school to which your son or daughter goes. Still others may be the teachers in your Sunday-school. Those are the persons who should have the Dan Gilbert article. Then there is the family doctor, who is so popular in your circle, so care ful in his ministrations, so valued by his patients, and so frequently absent from his church. Send him Dr. Wilson’s article in pamphlet form. Reach these needy souls; pray for them. We will hand you a barbed shaft, a swift and polished arrow, feathered by prayer, to shoot straight to the mark—the heart of your pros pect. Our Plan for Distribution We will mail 5 copies of the pam phlet, “ An Interview with the Doctor,” by Walter Lewis Wilson, OR as many as 10 copies of the leaflet, “Deadly Poi son Gas in Tax-Supported Schools,” by Dan Gilbert, together with one an nual subscription to T H E K IN G’S BUSINESS for $1.00, available only with this offer. The regular price of THE KING’S BUSINESS alone is $1.50 (25 cents additional for Cana dian or foreign subscription). The leaf lets alone may be had at 5c a copy for Dr. Wilson’s article, and lc a copy for Dr. Gilbert’s article. If desired, we will mail the material direct from this office, with or without your name. THE KING'S BUSINESS 558 South Hope Street Los Angeles, California Gentlemen: □ Please send me 10 copies of Dr. Gilbert's message (or) □ Please send me 5 copies of Dr. Wilson's mes sage together with a year's subscription to THE KING'S BUSINESS, for which I enclose $1.00. Or you may bill me for a year's subscription at $1.00. Name........................................................ Street......................................................... City................................. State................ □ I would like to form a KING'S BUSINESS club. Please send particulars and sample copies.
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Concerning Dr. Gilbert’s Article . . . "I heartily agree with Dan Gilbert's pro posal and urge all patriotic citizens to sign and support the petition to safeguard the welfare of children in our schools. No man in public life can fail to recognize the menace of Communism, especially to our youth. THE KING’S BUSINESS maga zine deserves credit for fearlessly bringing this sub|ecl to light." HUGH OSBORNE "I have read your article in THE KING'S BUSINESS under the head, 'Deadly Poison Gas in Tax-Supported Schools,1 and I real ize not alone the truth of what you there set forth, but also know something of the terrible disaster that has come the way of multitudes of our young people who have thus been contaminated and destroyed. I assure you that I should sympathetically and whole-heartedly cooperate in any move ment launched in California or the nation to drive from the schoolroom every type of teaching that is antichristian and anti- American." JOHN E. BROWN President, Brown Military Academy. • "Dr. Gilbert's article is good, and your proposed campaign against antichristian and immoral teaching is only too necessary, as I, being a college graduate, know." E. J. Cloverdale, Calif. • "I will be glad to receive ten copies of Dr. Gilbert's article. We are much con cerned about what is taught in’ our schools and printed in their textbooks." Mrs. C. E. Spencer, Iowa Chairman, Board of Super visors, Imperial County, Calif. •
R IGHT here in America—in fact next door to almost every reader of this magazine—are men and women and boys and girls without Christ. Others, though professing sal vation, are inactive and blind to the spiritual peril abroad in the land. K ING ’S BU S I NE S S subscribers have appealed to this magazine to do something about this appalling situa tion which would enable awakened Christians to act effectively. And the editors, assured that the request is a call of God to service in Christ’s name, have been eager to respond. Last month, a preprint of Dan Gil bert’s expose of victimized school chil dren in America was prepared in leaf let form for early mailing to subscrib ers. Ten thousand copies were sent out in this form! Read the comments which are found on this page. This month, at the request of many readers, the masterly message of Wal ter Lewis Wilson, M. D., “ An Inter view with the Doctor,” which appeared first in the October KING’S BUSI NESS, is being reprinted as an at tractive pamphlet (3 % " x 6").
March, 1938
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PAUL W. ROOD, Editor M ildred M . C ook , Managing Edito H. S. R isley , Circulation Manager
Official Organ of The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Incorporated
What Every Jew
Should Know • Here is a fresh Gospel ap proach to the Jew. It is de signed to enable you to reach the Jew personally. There are now nine separate leaflets in our new series, “ What Every Jew Should Know.” They are brief, mostly four pages; they are attractively printed, with a tten tion -g e ttin g titles, and written with a God-given na tive understanding of the Jew ish mind. • The su b je c ts will in terest you :— 1* What is a Christian? 2. Was Abraham a Jew? 3. Don’t Go to Jerusalem. 4. Son, Remember. 5. How Many Times Have You Been Born? 6. A Modern Jew Looks at Jesus. 7. The Riddle of the Changed Calendar. 8. An Open Letter to a Rabbi. 9. Thirty-three Prophecies Ful filled in One Day. • Already, reports come of the Lord’s rich blessings upon these tracts. Over 150,000 have so far been printed. • They are yours for the ask- ing, in the Lord. Just say how many o f each. You will of course p rom ise the Lord to give them out faithfully. All are to be had in English, or in Yiddish as you wish. • If you wish to pay cost, or postage, or both, you may fig ure about $2.00 the hundred, assorted. Or, if you feel led of the Lord to help us in the larger printing and circulation of these economical and effec tive tracts, your gift will be put to work immediately, and will be received as of His provision. AMERICAN BOARD OP MISSIONS TO THE JEWS, Inc. 31 Throop Are., Brooklyn, New York Dear Friends: ■ Yant to kelp in your great Gospel literature program for the Jews. Here is ........ May the Lord bless your testimony. Name.
SheSîble Tamii#Sitatine Motto: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood .’’— R ev . 1:5.
Volume X X IX
March, 1938
Number 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Around the King’s Table— Paul IV. Rood . . . . Glory Today for Conquest Tomorrow (Part 1)— Robert G.
90 92 95 96 98
Lee
Fellowship of Resurrection Life— Douglas Adam The Final Conflicts of the End-Time Powers— Alva Hidden Lure— Mildred M . Cook The Messianic Psalms— William L. Pettingill Girls’ Query Corner— Myrtle E. Scott . . Evangelistic N otices............................................. Junior King’s Business— Martha S. Hooker . International Lesson Commentary Christian Endeavor Notes— Mary G. Goodner Winning with the W o r d .............................. Daily Devotional Readings . . . World’s Christian Fundamentals Association .
McClai.
101 102 102 103 106 118 123 124 130 131 133
The Bible Institute Family Circle Our Literature Table . . . .
I N F O R M A T I O N
F O R
S U B S C R I B E R S
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Canadian and foreign addresses for all single and annual club subscrip tions require 25 cents extra postage for each subscription. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCE: Should be made by Bank Draft, Ex press or P. O. Money Order, payable to “ The King's Business. Receipts will not be sent for regular subscriptions, but date of expiration will show plainly each month, on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. APV_ER,TI S!NG:. For information with reference to address the MANAGER. 558 SOUTH HOPE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIF., or our eastern representative. Religious Press Association, 1108-10 Colonial Bldg., 18th and Market Streets, Philadel- £ a- El?tered M Second Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage pro vided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3. 1917 authorized October 1, 1918. MANUSCRIPTS: THE KING'S BUSINESS cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts 1 sent to it for consideration. I
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March, 1938
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Around the King's Table
By PAUL W . ROOD
Chicago, made us think of Paul in his pro found and yet simple expositions of the Word of God. The Lord has given our brother an unusual insight into the Word of God and has imparted to him unique power in teaching and preaching the Truth of God. J. Oliver Buswell, Jr., President of Wheaton College, Wheaton, 111., brought remarkable morning discussions of “Modern Problems in the Light of Scripture.” All of thè conference leaders gave us strong messages, but space does not permit a reference to every speaker and address. Suffice it to say that every speaker had a vital message and delivered it in power. Missionary work and soul-winning received constant emphasis. The evangelization of the Jews, Greeks, and American Indians was brought before us through various rep resentatives of work among these groups. Child evangelism was stressed, also. Plans for reaching a city and a whole state with the gospel were presented by Henry E. Burke and Carl C. Harwood. One hour was devoted to a discussion of practical, spiritual methods of tract distribution. Evangelist Tom Olson, who has distributed personally over a million tracts in the forty-eight states of the Union as well as in foreign countries and who is engaged in the ministry of writing and circulating tracts, gave the message. A ll in all, the conference was a course in theology as well as a course in practically every phase of evangelism. The work of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, was represented in various ways. One of the outstanding features of the con ference was the Institute Bible Women’s Hour. Mrs. Lyman Stewart, the director of the group, presided and asked several of these workers to discuss different aspects of their service in hospitals and among high- school and college girls, business women, and mothers. It was a thrilling hour. This band of women have obeyed the injunction that came to a group of women after the resurrection— “ Go quickly, and tell.” They are telling the story of our blessed Lord who died for our sins and rose for our justification. The Alumni Hour when Martin Luther Long presided brought to our attention the various activities in which our graduates are engaged and revealed how effectively our alumni are functioning for Christ. Elmer L. W ilder who held us spellbound by his demonstration of how to use object lessons, and Mrs. Berlyn H. Stokely who stirred us with her searching message on “ Evangelizing the Navajos,” are both graduates of Biola. Mr. and Mrs. Stokely represented the Navajo Indian Evangelization Movement in their ad dresses.
chapter. The second division, “ things which are,” comprises chapters 2 and 3. The third division, “things which shall be hereafter,” extends from chapter 4 to the end of the book. In the fourth place, there is a special promise to those who read, hear, and teach those things that are written in the Apoca lypse. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Rev. 1:3). There is blessing in reading any book of the Bible, but there is a special promise of blessing for the one who studies and obeys the last book of the Bible. In the fifth place, the study of this book will have a sanctifying influence upon the life and ministry o f the student. No one can ponder prayerfully the warnings and the promises of the Apocalypse without be ing weaned away from the things of this world and drawn into closer fellowship with God. This book quickens the Chris tian into spiritual alertness and activity. Surely this practical fruit of the study of the Apocalypse is in itself sufficient reason for devoting most earnest attention to “the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” A Dynamic Conference With “ For Such a Time as This” as its central theme, the third annual Torrey Memorial Bible Conference, held at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles from Janu ary 23 to 30, brought rich blessing to hun dreds of friends in attendance. The entire student body was able to be present at all the morning sessions. As most of the In stitute students are employed part time, they could not attend all of the week-day afternoon and evening sessions. Friends from various parts of the country who winter in Southern California were faith ful in attendance, and some came to Los Angeles from distant places especially for the conference. In fact, it seemed that nearly half of the daily congregations had come from outside Los Angeles. The program was characterized by breadth and variety. Almost every phase of Christian truth and activity was pre sented in the course of the week. Mark A. Matthews, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Seattle, Wash., reminded us of one of the prophets in his keen analysis of present-day conditions and in his vehement denunciation of contemporary evils. He was constantly urging us to be on the firing line for God, and it was always appro priate to sing “ Onward Christian Soldiers” after one of his messages. H. A. Ironside, pastor of the Moody Memorial Church of
“ The Revelation o f Jesus Christ” Do we as Christians long to know and to proclaim “ the whole counsel of God” ? If we do, we shall need to give prayerful attention to the closing message of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. There are five good reasons that every one of us should be a student of the prophetic word and especially of the Revelation. First of all, this book is intended for us because it is a part of the Bible. All of the Word of God is for us, even though all of it is not about us. The very title of the book, “ Apocalypse,” which means “ the un veiling,” suggests that the person and the program of Christ are unveiled before our eyes. The Apocalypse contains information that gives us an adequate philosophy of his tory. It helps us to be optimists, because in reading this book we learn that Christ one day will stand forth as being complete ly victorious in the battle that is now being waged between truth and error, between light and darkness, between righteousness and unrighteousness. In the second place, the Book of Revela tion can be understood. Familiarity with the Old Testament will make it possible for us to understand the last book o f the Bible. In the Book of Revelation there are no less than 240 quotations from the Old Testament. There are more quotations from the Old Testament in the Apocalypse than there are in the four Gospels and the Book of Acts taken together. Tw o principles will help us greatly in the understanding of this book. One is that the simple explanation is the most likely to be the ¡correct one. The Bible is not written primarily for scholars. In fact, the New Testament Greek is not the classical Greek that was used in that ancient day, but the language used by the common people. Any one who tells you that only scholars can understand the Bible is lead ing you astray. The first requisite for un derstanding the Word of God is a spiritual insight given by the Holy Spirit. Scholar ship is valuable, but spiritual insight is much more essential. The other important principle to remember is that everything in the Apocalypse as well as in the Bible as a whole should be taken literally unless the context clearly reveals that figurative lan guage is involved. A third reason that the Book of Revela tion can be studied is that the outline of this book is stated clearly in the nineteenth verse of the first chapter. This verse is the key to the Book of Revelation: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” The first division, “ things which thou hast seen,” is found in the first
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heart of the present writer a great burden for the evangelization of not only the mil lions that dwelt within that great metrop olis, but also of the millions that would visit the Fair. He called together a group of business men for a luncheon, and brought before them the vision and the burden. In this meeting impulses were born that ultimately led to the formation of a committee which is now known as the Christian Business Men’s Committee of Chicago. This group started a noon-hour service in the “Loop” of Chicago, a pro gram of gospel witness which continued throughout the Fair years, 1933 and 1934, and is still being maintained. This service is held in a “Loop” theater and is broad cast throughout the Middle West. Thou sands of souls have been saved in the the ater meetings and in radioland. Formerly the committee held an annual banquet for all interested friends, but :.t became impossible to take care of the crowds that came. In recent years an annual rally has been held instead. This year the rally took place in the Civic Opera House, and more than five thousand people assembled. The two speakers invited for the meeting, were Charles E. Fuller, a Biola graduate, who spoke on “ Gideon, the Model Worker,” and the present writer, who spoke on “ Can the World Be Evan gelized in a Decade?” This laymen’s movement has spread to Seattle and San Francisco here on the Pacific Coast. Preceding the rally referred to above, Christian laymen from various sections of the country held a conference, and as a result, the “ International Chris tian Business Men’s Committee” was formed. This committee includes: C. B. Hedstrom, Chicago, 111., Chairman; R. G. LeTourneau, Peoria, 111., Vice-Chairman; Arnold Grunigen, Jr., San Francisco, Calif., Secretary; N. A. Jepson, Seattle, Wash., Vice-Secretary, and C. E. Grem- mels, New York, N. Y. It would be difficult to conceive of a more representative group of evangelis- tically minded laymen than the men who have formed the international committee. Realizing that there can be no effective or lasting evangelism without an evangelical foundation, the committee has adopted a doctrinal statement covering the major his toric trutlts of evangelical Christianity. May we unitedly pray that this newly formed committee may be used of God to
Laymen and their service were repre sented ably by N. A. Jepson, Chairman of the Christian Business Men’s Committee of Seattle, Wash., and by Arnold Grunigen, Jr., Chairman of the Christian Business Men’s Committee of San Francisco, Calif. Their inspiring addresses caused laymen to recognize their tremendous responsibility for world evangelization and showed what fruit has resulted already where laymen bear witness to Christ’s power to save. The “ Sunshine Hour” on Saturday eve ning of the conference was indeed a unique contribution to the success of the week’s services. The renowned Swedish singer, J. A< Hultman, who has been singing the gospel for sixty-one years, gave the pro gram. He was assisted at the piano by his son, Paul Hultman, who is also a noted musician and is a member of the Institute faculty. Mrs. Edwin B. Young had charge of the Prayer Hour every week-day morning, and the story of her experiences in the realm of faith and prayer made Christ more real and precious to many. She and her hus band, who is an American Sunday School Union missionary and who ably assisted in the prayer sessions, are able to support— through funds given them for distribution — over eighty missionaries in the “ regions beyond.” What a privilege it has been for us here at Biola to have had these humble and prayerful servants of the Lord in our midst! On the anniversary of R. A. Tor- rey’s birth, January 28, a memorial service was held, in which A. B. Prichard, W . R. Hale, and others had part. With such a week as this as a back ground, it is not in the least surprising that many individuals responded to the in vitation to accept Christ at the concluding service and came to the altar where faith ful workers prayed and dealt with these seeking ones. This climax was only to be expected after a week of earnest prayer and intensive Bible study. Who can esti mate the results of the conference in the lives and ministry of the many who have gone back to their respective fields? And who can know the full value of these hours to the hundreds of young people who shortly will be going forth to various parts of the nation and the world? Laymen on the March Some years before the World’s Fair was held in Chicago, the Lord laid upon the
spread around the world the laymen’s re vival that has already begun!
Repentance— A Neglected Truth Except Ye Repent is the title of the most outstanding of the many remarkable books that have come from the mind, heart, and pen of H. A. Ironside, the pastor of the Moody Memorial Church of Chicago, 111, And it treats a subject that greatly needs emphasis in our day. It is not surprising that this volume was the American Tract- Society’s $1,000 prize winner for 1937., Dr. Ironside’s book deals with one o f the most-neglected truths of the Bible. A re- vival comes through the preaching of a forgotten and neglected truth. The' preach ing of the neglected truth of justification by faith brought on the Reformation; the preaching of the righteousness of God brought on the revival in the days of Jona than Edwards; and the preaching o f human responsibility brought on the revival in Finney’s day. In this superficial age in which we live, we need to get back to, a Pauline conception of the exceeding sin fulness of sin and of the necessity of re- pentance, which is “ a change of mind,” or “ a reversal of one’s inward attitude toward’ self, toward sin, toward God, toward Christ,” as Dr. Ironside declares. Has the Lord given this powerful, timely,, and awakening message to arouse ministers* evangelists, missionaries, and other Chris tian leaders to realize their responsibility to preach repentance in this flabby age? Our conviction is in the affirmative. W e urge upon every Christian leader to read and assimilate this tremendous book and to preach with emphasis and zeal the neces sity of repentance. The treatment of the subject is a classic. It is marked by sound exegesis, and it illumines the mind* probes the conscience, stirs the emotions* and moves the will. Stirring News from China From Charles A. Roberts, Treasurer o f the Hunan Bible Institute (the China Department of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles), a letter dated January 13, 1938* and sent from Changsha, Hunan, China, was received in Los Angeles just as this issue o f T he K ing ’ s B usiness was going to press. Because the letter treats of vital matters for praise and prayer, excerpts are shared eagerly with K ing ’ s B usiness readers. “ It has been requested,” Mr. Roberts writes, “ by the Governor of Hunan and by American consular authorities that as many as possible of the women and chil dren, both Chinese and foreign, should evacuate . . . Mrs. Roberts and our chil dren left for Hongkong, as it was felt that they should leave with other missionaries on the last international train specially provided by the Chinese Government from Hankow to Hongkong. However, Dr. and Mrs. Keller have remained. On this last train, the two American Schools for mis sionaries’ children, one at Kuling and one [ Continued on page 134]
Photo by Burke & Koretke
Christian Business Men's Committee Fellowship Supper, January 15, 1938, Great Northern Hotel, Chicago, III. ¿f-
March, 1938
Glory Today
PART I S t u d y o n t h e T r a n s f ig u r a t io n
thousands of cannibals speak in faith the name “Jesus.” Blessed experience if you, if I, could have been alone that day with W illis Hotchkiss when, after two and a half years’ work, he found the word for “ Saviour” in the tongue of an African tribe. Blessed experience if I, if you, had heard the sound of the hammer that became as claps of thunder circling the world as Luther nailed the mighty theses to the church door at Wittenberg. Blessed experience if you, if I, could have been alone with Lee as, refusing the leadership of the North ern armies offered him by Abraham Lin coln, he turned from Arlington and rode away. Blessed experience if you, if I, could have been beside Lincoln as he breathed his last and Seward said significantly, “ Now he belongs to the ages.” Blessed experience if you, if I, had been with the Pilgrims as they landed in New England, or with Bun- yan in jail, or with Paul in Rome. But, oh, to have been “in a high mountain apart” with Jesus as were Peter, James, and John at His transfiguration! But still we* can know the blessedness of aloneness, of apartness, with Christ whose face never lost its light, whose words never weakened in their authority, whose hands never failed in their tenderness, whose fac ulties never knew impoverishment or defeat, whose heart never lost its compassion, be cause He knew how to withdraw into soli tude and to take others into the solitude wTith Him, showing us that one can not set and serve a lavish table from a pantry poorly replenished. W e can have high hours apart with Him in the kitchen, in the office, in the rush of business matters, and even in the crowds— if we have ears
at the raising of the little daughter of Jairus (Mk. 5:37). With Him were these three men, flesh-wearied sleepers, during His agony in the Garden of Gethesmane, when the roots of His divine emotion put forth their crimson tears. With Him were these three men, sore-afraid witnesses of His glory in the mountain, when, by His person “ suddenly changed with enhanced effulgence,” He confirmed His precious ut terances about His diety—utterances which He had allowed them to ponder and medi tate upon for six days. “ Jesus taketh . . . them into a high mountain apart.” What blessednesss for Jesus this was, for solitude had much to do with His earthly life. Keeping Him self fresh by union with unseen and unfail ing springs, He was ever in touch with God. Divinely proficient in the art of isolating the inner life, He kept His outer life pungent and profound. But, I reverently venture to say, the sweetest blessedness of this taking them apart into this high mountain was the high and holy privilege devoutly to be desired and attained—this privilege of having a part in bringing high hours of spiritual experience and joy and instruction to people. However, we emphasize what a high privilege and blessedness was theirs—this opportunity to be alone with Him. It is ever a great experience to bei alone with great men. Blessed experience if you, if I, could have been with Carey when, on the day the French revolutionists tore the cross from Notre Dame, he landed at Calcutta and claimed a continent for Christ. Blessed experience if you, if I, had been alone with Paton the day he heard the first man amid
“ And was transfigured, before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his rai ment was white as the light” (Matt. 17:2). I N THE Bible, Book above and beyond all books as a river is beyond a rill in reach, there are three accounts of the transfiguration event in the life of our Lord Jesus. Matthew, with the care of one who plants precious seed, tells of His transfiguration when the inner light of Christ’s deity suddenly burst through His flesh and put an awe-inspiring radiance upon His brow. Mark, with the enthusi asm of one who has known of hidden glories revealed, writes of the wonder of that transcendent hour when Jesus was “ metamorphosed before three.” Luke, with the earnestness of one who puts a silver trumpet to his lips to summon people to worship, writes of that beautiful scene in the holy mount— a scene which was a pattern of the kingdom yet to come in power, even as the tabernacle was a pat tern of heavenly things (cf. 2 Pet. 1:16,17). And of this event when, as Jesus prayed, His manhood bloomed with deity, we now speak. I. The Taking “Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John . . . into a high mountain apart” (Matt. 17:1). Always was Jesus taking these men— these three of the inner circle— somewhere. Always He had these three mighties whom He allowed to accompany Him in some of the most sacred, intimate, and epochal hours of His ministry. With Him were these three men, witnesses of His power,
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for Conquest Tomorrow
Memphis, Tennessee
keenly sensitized to hear His voice. Still we can, following His beckoning, yielding to His leadership, which is both leadership and comradeship, find high mountains apart in our homes and the closets thereof. God said to Elijah: “ Hide thyself.” And then, after the hiding, He said: “ Show thy self.” God would have us go into the silence — to fill up, to receive and store power be fore we try to impart power, to suspend life for a while, to sit and wait the disclosure of God’s plans and purposes. This means, too, that we ought to see the face of God before we see the face of man. W e ought to enter into the closet with God before we enter the conflict for God. W e should go into the private place with God before we enter the public place for God. How true it is that “ If chosen men had never been alone, In deep mid silence, open-doored to God, No greatness ever had been dreamed or done.” II. The Transfiguration “And he was transfigured before them" (Mk. 9:2). Matthew says: “ His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light” (Matt. 17:2). Mark says:-“ And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them” (Mk. 9:3). Nothing less than the sun, the most glori ous and the brightest of all objects within * Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church. Illus trations by Ransom D. Marvin.
human knowledge, could express-the radiant glories of Jesus’ face, when His heavenly nature shone through the veil o f His flesh — lightening forth from the inward radiance. And that transfiguration radiance was not the reflection of a great light shining upon Him, but the manifestation of such a condition of purity and deity and glory within as to be seen breaking through the very flesh and form of His body. The suf fusing splendor of that inner light had always been in Jesus incarnate, even as the potentialities of transfiguring glory were ever present to Christ’s spirit. Jesus, during the days of His flesh on earth, was “ God’s great lamp shining in this dark world, but with the wick of His essential deity turned low, even though the flame of Godhood, though suppressed, flowed there all the while within the white crystal of His enveloping humanity, steadily mani festing a glory”— a “glory as of the only be gotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “ But in that epochal and transcendent hour His person, suddenly charged with the intensified effulgence of deity, burst forth in full flame”— flashing forth in radiancy unrestrained, the temple of His body blazing with the dazzling and awe-inspiring splendors of spiritual incan descence. All the glory which He had with the Father before the world was, which glory the veil of the flesh completely hid, burst forth in its shining fullness. Here, in this glorious transfiguring hour, the disciples saw Him revealed as perfect manhood and holy Godhood in one glorious Personality. John D. Freeman says that if there had been the slightest flaw in the life of Jesus,
He could not have endured the sudden volt age which surcharged Him there on the mountain peak. And he goes on to show, as we all need to be told, that though a cracked crystal might stand the lighter test of a low-burning wick, the cracked crystal cannot bear the shock of sudden and as saulting heat, for the full-forced flame would find the flaw and shatter the glass. And then he climaxes with these words: “ Had Christ been less than God’s perfect man, He would have died upon the mount. The shock of the sudden glory would have slain Him. It would have. been to Him a consuming fire. The transfiguration means that that deity blazing up in Jesus, in instan taneous and full effulgence, found His manhood a flawless crystal. So per fectly had His human life been molded to the Father’s will that He was able to receive, without strain, the full flame of Godhood. So purely had He lived, so completely had He been the truth, that even the flashing through Him of that light ineffable before which the Seraphim veil their faces, disclosed in Him no speck or stain. The experience on the mount marked the consummation of His per sonal human perfection. There and then His perfect manhood burst into brilliant flower. Had He not been in the world for redemptive purposes, God would have plucked the flower then and laid it in His bosom.” That transfiguration night of solitude and companionship, in which, as never before, they saw Him as perfect man and holy God
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bj> .manifestation, was to them a sun all their lives— and that spiritual incandes cence of His deity caused them ever to know Him as perfect manhood and holy Godhood. III. The Talking "And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:30, 31). There appeared unto the disciples two men—human beings—Moses and Elijah. They appeared in glory— in their glorified bodies— something like that of the trans figured Jesus, but with less radiance. Moses was the man of Sinai. Elijah was the man of Carmel: Moses, impressing a- world with the loftiness of his early leader ship, was the founder of the nation. Elijah was the reformer of the nation. Moses gave the nation— under God— a charter. Elijah— under God— called the nation back to allegiance. The waters of the Red Sea divided themselves at the raising of the rod of Moses. The waters of the Jordan were divided at the touch of the folded mantle of Elijah. Both Moses and Elijah had fasted forty days. So had Jesus fasted forty days. Both of these men were marvel ous in their lives, and both were removed from the earth in a strange manner. Moses had no sooner tasted of death than he was withdrawn from under the dominion of death and of him that had the power of death (cf. Deut. 34:6; Jude 9). Elijah had not died. He was taken up by a whirlwind when the chariot of fire appeared, during which flaming flight his natural body was changed into a spiritual body (cf. 2 Ki. 2:11; 1 Cor. 15:51). Thus these two were peculiarly fitted to appear on this occasion as examples of the com plete redemption of man, for which Jesus came to earth. Both these men on a mountain had seen visions of God. They were the two most remarkable characters in the whole of the Mosaic economy. Moses, standing now act ually in the Promised Land for the first time, was the one whose presence signified that, in Jesus, “ the shadows of the law were all fulfilled and now withdrawn.” Elijah’s presence testified that in this trans figured Christ, all the hope of heaven be gins and ends, and that, in Him, “ every prophecy of the past is fulfilled.” Moses was the representative of the law. Through him the law was given, and the kingdom founded, and the sacrifices instituted which prefigured the sacrifice of Christ. Elijah was the representative of the prophets, who foretold the coming of the Messiah, His sufferings, and His kingly glory, while he was himself the type of the forerunner. Jesus Christ in His own person brought the gospel, the fulfillment and completion of the other two, “so I shall not remain in the law and the prophets, but through the law and the prophets I shall come to Christ.” There was a conference of these three. ■“ And they were talking with Jesus” (Mk. 9 :4 ). Moses, with the flash of God’s throne in his eye and the life of eternity in his voice, was talking with Jesus. Elijah, feel-
ing the security of a yearning past in the grandeur of the present, reading in the shining face of Jesus the unwritten har mony of the song of Moses and that of the Lamb, was talking with Jesus. They “ spake of his decease which he was about to ac complish at Jerusalem” (R. V .). The word here translated “ decease” is the Greek word “ exodus,” . similar to our Eng lish word “ decease,” and it means “ a going away.” It is used in only two other places in the New Testament. In Hebrews 11:22, it refers to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, in which, of course, Moses was the great leader. In 2 Peter 1:15, the apostle applies it- to his own approaching death. The three on the mount were talking not merely of the crucifixion and the bloody cross down the road a distance. They were talking of His exodus, His departure, from this earth by a threefold way—by the cross, by the resurrection, and by the ascension. This departure was not the end of Jesus’ existence, but an episode in His life. For His life on earth was an episode between two eternities, one reaching back before all worlds, one forward forever. The cross with all its bloody horrors; STUDYING THE TRANSFIGURATION [Recognized as being never a subject for dogmatism, the transfiguration is so pro found in its teaching that a study of vary ing interpretations is valuable. The Editors have kept this fact in mind in preparing this March issue.] Sunday-school teachers who will be dealing with the subject of the transfiguration in connection with the International lesson on April 2 4 will find Dr. Lee’s com plete outline helpful. The con clusion o f his article will follow next month. I. THE TAKING 66Jesus taheth Peter, James, and John . . . into a high mountain apart,99 II. THE TRANSFIGURA TION “ And he was transfigured before them.99 III. THE TALKING “ And • • • there talked with him two men.99 IV . THE TABERNACLES
the resurrection with all its joy and tri umphs and glories; the ascension, when, with the cloud as His chariot and the winds as His steeds, He went back to the Father’s right hand— of these were they talking. They were not talking of Christ’s irre proachable life, not talking of Christ’s matchless teachings, not talking of Christ’s astonishing miracles, not talking of Christ’s marvelous example. Incidental and collat eral all these to the one purpose for which He came—to die, that man born once and born dead might be born again and born alive. Talking they were of His exodus—His departure from this world by the cross, where Jesus became for us all that God must judge; by the resurrection, the cer tificate of our Lord’s mission from heaven; and by the ascension, when “ a cloud re ceived him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). God’s great redemptive plan in Christ was epitomized in that manifestation and that conversation on the mount. And in the events immediately following the revela tion can be found our Lord’s will for us, His people, in this present age of grace. [T o be continued ] Day o f Prayer for the Jews As a result of observing anti-Semitic trends in America and after consultation with many leading pastors throughout the country, Ella Mae Canney (Biola ’26) of Los Angeles, a Gentile friend of the Jews and worker for the Jewish cause, was led to promote the idea of a special day of prayer for them on Sunday, March 27, 1938, just preceding the Passover season. Miss Canney recently made an automobile tour across the continent for the purpose of studying the situation among the Jews in all kinds of communities. Everywhere she found the Jews expressing fear of po groms in America, .as in other countries. She was amazed to find Jew-hate so wide spread in some of the Eastern states, even some pastors being outspokenly anti-Semitic. Out of these experiences she has received a burden of conviction that the only way of saving the Christian testimony to Israel and of warding off serious bloodshed lies in the stimulation of Christians to definite prayer concerning these matters. In the appeal for a day of prayer on March 27, it is suggested that pastors ar range if possible to give on the same Sun day special messages dealing with the sub ject of prayer for Israel.. Among themes for prayer are the following: 1. That the rising tide of Jew-hate in America may be stemmed and that God will show any Christians, who may have helped to promote anti-Semitism, the dangers of such a course in view of the definite warnings of the Word of God (Jer. 30:16). 2. That Christians everywhere may come to share something of Christ’s own love for His brethren, and to feel some thing of Paul’s longing for their salvation (Rom. 9:2, 3; 10:1, 2). 3. “ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psa. 122:6). Jerusalem lies at the heart of the Jewish problem of the world today.
“ Then answered Peter . . . let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.99 “ A voice out o f the cloud, which said . . ." “ And Jesus came and touched them.99 “ M y son . . . he is a luna tic, and sore vexed . . . And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out o f him : and the child mas cured from that very hour.”
V . THE TESTIMONY
VI. THE TOUCH
VII. THE TORMENTS
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Peter would never have been seen again in the streets of Jerusalem if Jesus Christ had not ap peared to him after His resurrection. But in that city, the very place where the hopes of the disciples had been completely wiped out, Jesus appeared.
Fellowship of Resurrection Life
By DOUGLAS ADAM London, England
Keystone View Co.
pened. Before they believe in their hearts, they want their minds satisfied. But God will not submit to such a method. That is not the way that God approaches our human life. God does not say, Under stand— and then see. Understanding does not come first; it may, in fact, never come in this world. A great many of God’s manifestations remain absolutely incompre hensible. There were not only witnesses concerning the resurrection, but there were also certain supreme facts resulting which can be ex plained only by the fact of the resurrection. Jesus appeared after His death to people who were not expecting to see Him, and who had given up all hope of ever seeing Him again. Mary, to whom He appeared, was not only not expecting to see Him, but she was also utterly distressed because she thought His blessed dead body had been stolen away. But after that appearance of the Lord, she declared that she had spoken to Him, and that He had spoken to her. The experience had so changed her entire outlook that she had hurried to her friends with the stupendous message that she had seen the Lord. When she got them together, Jesus appeared to them; He stood in their midst. But Thomas was absent. His re joicing was postponed a whole week because of his unbelief. After eight days, he saw Jesus, and believed. Christ's Resurrection and the New Testament Message It is not only the testimonies of the dis ciples which witness to the resurrection of Jesus. It is the absolute change in their lives and in their outlook; it is the trans figuration of their silence into a living mes sage. If Jesus had not appeared to Peter after the crucifixion and the resurrection, Peter would never have dared to mention [Continued on page 105]
give to the world. Their supreme thought was not to save the world, but rather to save their own skins. They not only had no message, but they also were paralyzed by fear. They dared not open their mouths; they dared not look the world straight in the face. They had failed their Lord. Re member, there was no New Testament then. Who could have had the heart to write a line about the life of Jesus in an atmos phere like that? For them the whole affair was finished. The only thing to do now was to get away back to their old life as quietly as possible; to say. nothing about their dead Master, or their cause. They must get back, to Galilee, back to their fishing-nets, back to individual solitude, regret, and remorse. Such was the back ground of the resurrection of Jesus. G od 's Fact and Man's Faith Consider, secondly, the fact of the resur- rection of Jesus. It was a revelation. God does not explain things; He just does them. The divine method is not to make explana tions, but to make silent manifestations. The world around us is a manifestation. Springtime is a manifestation. God does not say, T ry to understand what I do. He says, See what I do. Open your eyes. Look at it. Behold it. The trouble is that so many will not look till they understand. They will not believe a thing until they have grasped mentally how it has hap-
“ W e have seen the Lord" (John 20:25). O UR subject deals with resurrection life. Let us consider, first of all, the background of the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus died, Christianity had not yet been born. The disciples were pro foundly disappointed at the death of Christ upon the cross; they were utterly perplexed; they were completely discouraged. Besides, they had a deep sense of having behaved shamefully in relation to Christ’s arrest and crucifixion. They had all acted in a most cowardly fashion. Peter, the foremost dis ciple, had completely abandoned the Master. He not only played the coward, but he actu ally denied being a disciple. He said he had never been with Jesus, and he even swore to prove it, as he warmed himself at the enemy’s fire. As for Judas, he had gone to the extreme limit of betrayal. The psychological effect of that disap pointment in the apparent failure of Jesus, and the sense of shame in their own hearts, was such as to destroy completely every vestige of enthusiasm. They had nothing to say to the world; all they could do was to hang their heads in shame, and to slip away back into their original obscurity. If they seemed to cling together, it was not because they were fused by a heroic unity; it was that they were frozen together by a common fear. They held together for better protection against the world’s contempt and fury. They huddled together like sheep against the storm. The enthusiasm of these disciples was dead. They seemed to have no message to [From a ministry in the Orange Presby terian Church, N. J., the author of this article returned to the British Isles many years ago and has served in various Lon don and Scottish pulpits. Dr. Adam is no 96 T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S March, 1938 Exaltation of the prin ciple of physicial and military might is noth ing new under the sun. But the Willful King will actually en throne and w o rsh ip the principle of phy sic a l fo rc e as em bodied in himself and the forces he is able to control by his own word. The Final Conflicts of the End-Time Powers By ALVA J. McCLA IN Akron, Ohio I N A former article entitled “ The Four Great Powers of the End-Time,” which appeared in the February issue of T he blasphemous attempts to blot out the ancient Jewish religion with its sacrificial system and completely to paganize the nation, be came in Old Testament history a very fit ting type of the final Antichrist. There fore, we should not be surprised that, at verse 36, the prophetic vision leaps from the type to the antitype, from Antiochus to the Man of Sin. Such a leap across the centuries is a quite common phenomenon of prophecy, and is clearly indicated in verse 35 by the significant phrase, “ even to the time of the end” which is intended to warn the reader of the shift in time. “The king” who does “ according to his w ill” of verse 36 cannot possibly be iden tified with the historic Antiochus Epiphanes for several reasons: First, he is placed by the prophecy very definitely at the “time of the end” (v. 40). Second, while An tiochus was one of the kings of the north, this final king will fight against the “ king of the north” (v. 40). Third, not by any process of interpretation can the descrip tion of verses 36-39 be applied to Antiochus. The details simply do not fit. Fourth, An tiochus could not be called an irreligious man, since he was very careful to honor the various gods of his day, but the final king will not regard “ any god” (v. 37). Fifth, the king of verse 36 will “ prosper till the indignation be accomplished,” and “ the indignation” is a technical Old Testament term used to describe the judgment period of the last days of the age. The aforementioned shift in time at Daniel 11:36 introduces a new person and begins a different subject, both of which belong to the “ time of the end.” The per son is undoubtedly the final Antichrist of Scripture, and also, I believe, the head of the Revived Roman Empire. Whether these two positions will be filled by one person or by two persons (as some hold) is not essential to the main purpose of this article. For, on the supposition of two per sons, they certainly work together as one political •unit. At any rate, in verses 36 to 45 we have recorded the methods and conflicts of this Roman power, whom I shall designate hereafter as the Willful King to distinguish him from the kings of the North and the South. With this by way of introduction, we are now prepared to discuss their conflicts. Worship of Impersonal Physical Forces I. The international stage for these final conflicts will be set by the Willful King through his adoption, as a working phil osophy, of the principle of the absolute su premacy of physical Force. This is made very clear by the description of verses 36 to 39, especially in the “strange god” that he honors. The statements o f the prophet on this point seem almost contradictory. On the one hand, we are told that the W illful K ing speaks against the “ God o f gods,” exalts himself alcove “every god,” and does not regard “ any god.” Yet on the other hand, verses 38 and 39 declare that this king honors the “ god of forces,” a “ strange god,” one “ whom his fathers knew not.” As a solution of this apparent contradic tion, some have suggested that the W illful King only denies all known gods and then sets up a new god of his own, hitherto un known. There is some plausibility to this interpretation, but the important idea seems to be found in the phrase “ god of forces.” The American Revision translates it “the god o f fortresses,” doubtless because the same Hebrew word is used in verses 7, 10 (last clause), and 19, where it unquestion ably refers to military forces. Thus it would seem that the W illful King, while denying all known gods including the true God, will nevertheless himself worship at the shrine of impersonal physical “ forces,” preeminently those of a military nature, which he can control and direct in the in terest of his own evil and limitless am bitions. In the W illful King there will ap pear at last a dreadful figure who will ac tually enthrone and worship the principle of physical force as embodied in himself and the forces he is able to control. Thus he will exalt himself above all known gods, K ing ’ s B usiness , I discussed three general facts: First, that divine prophecy sees in the final days of the present age at least four great political powers which are dis tinguished as the Revived Roman Empire, the King of the North, the K ing of the South, and the Kings of the East. Second, that these predicted powers seem to be emerging in their proper respective geo graphical locations in relation to the land of Palestine—Fascist Italy on the Mediter ranean to the west, Red Russia to the north, British control to the south, and Japanese dominion in the east. Third, that all four of these powers, although differing widely in political theory, are actually moving to gether toward the goal of Collectivism, or Totalitarianism, which is the infallible road to war and its inevitable ruin. The initial purpose of the present article is to outline briefly those final conflicts which, according to Biblical prophecy, will involve the four great powers, and also to discuss some o f the present-day factors and tendencies which seem to be driving the world to the predicted holocaust. Prophecy, as some one has well said, was not given to enable us to prophesy. And undoubted ly there are many details regarding the fu ture which are omitted from the divine record. Nevertheless, in the prophetic Word we may find at least a general out line of coming events, sufficient for us to discern the face of things as they begin to come to pass. The most important Biblical source of information regarding these predicted con flicts is Daniel 11:36-45, which should be read once more as a preface to this discus sion. It should be noticed carefully that verses 5 to 35 describe the conflicts of the now historic kings of the “north” and the “ south,” that is, the Seleucidae of the an cient Syrian Empire and the Ptolemies of Egypt. Antiochus Epiphanes, “ the vile person” of verses 21 to 31, by reason of his
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