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November 1929
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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should not exhaust her powers fighting the battles of democracy at the polls or engaging in crusades in the vain hope of bringing world peace. Her marching orders still are, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Get folk born again and help them oh the way of Christian service and living.
the Roman Empire are again becoming clearly defined. The return of the Jews to Palestine also points to the fulfillment of Antichrist’s plans. The land will never be long to Israel until the Lord Jesus Christ gives it to them under His own dominion. The final question, then, is, Shall Christ or Antichrist have the kingdom ? For the Church the issue is clear. She
•s B Pj ' p isk
Unfinished Business B y A. E. W endt
? HE book of Revelation fittingly closes the Bible. It is a prophecy occupied with the execution and the consummation of the coming ministra tions of Christ. It deals with a program of judgment given in exchange for opposition and contempt. It discloses the details of the hour when He shall triumph over that vile creature who injures the inhabitants of the earth by offering false security when he poses as a great saviour. But this bruiser shall be bruised, and although the world shall esteem him as a powerful and magnetic character, yet, according to the prophecy of John, by virtue of his inward nature, he shall be exposed before them, and they shall be compelled to acknowledge him as an imposing constitu tional beast. This program, “The Revelation o f Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things •which must shortly come to pass,” and which were dis played before John in terms of signs and symbols by an angel, is too full of reality for words, and consequently is divulged by means of imagery. As in good fiction, the story is not “told,” it is “shown.” The events themselves are set in motion and pictured before the prophet. S ymbols A symbol is a sign by which one knows a thing. It stands for or represents something else, and this method of imparting information is frequently used in the Scrip tures. It is an essential element in the fine art of lan guage, for thereby hidden truths are readily communicated. The burning bush, the blood, the tabernacle, and the miracles of our Lord are all highly significant and full of hidden meaning. The names, Sodom, Egypt, Jerusalem and Babylon, are also potential. Colors, too, are sym bolical. Blue stands for the heavenly'or holiness. Purple stands for royalty and majesty, while scarlet represents sacrifice. White pictures purity and righteousness. Black sets forth just the opposite, standing for evil, for mourn ing, pestilence and famine; while red is indicative of bloodshed and war. The seething pot, a pot blown up by a fire, that Jeremiah sees in a vision, illustrates the furious fire which is to come upon Jerusalem and all Judah. It stands for scalding water whose very touch is death. The good and bad figs which the prophet Amos sees, represent fruit ripe for the Judgment of Jehovah. John sees One like unto the Son of man, on a cloud, hav ing a sharp sickle, and he hears a voice; “Thrust in thy pickle, and reap,; for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest o f the earth is ripe.”
S trokes of W rath “For the day o f his wrath is come, and who shall be able to standf” Christ in the midst of the seven candlesticks, as in the midst of the cross, is there to judge as well as to save. On the cross one rejected Him and the other received Him. In the midst of the candlesticks, His eyes that were once filled with tears now flash as a flame of fire. His feet, which once trod the Palestinian hills, are now prepared to trample the winepress of destruction. They are like unto fine brass as if they “burned in a furnace,” says the apostle. Brass speaks of judgment. Judgment is also symbolized by the destruction of the cedars and the oaks of Lebanon and Bashan. A tree stands for man in his dignity. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, saw a tree in the midst of the earth which reached unto heaven, “and the sight thereof to the end o f all the earth.” This tree, which reflected his proud and haughty disposition, was cut down by “a holy one coming down from heaven,” and was not restored until the king blessed and honored the Most High. So, in the day of judgment, puffed-up and super cilious men will be hewn down and unable to stand. “Who is this King o f Glory?” inquired the Psalmist. “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle,” was the answer. Many stars of first magnitude will fail, in that day, from the political, educational and religious heavens. “The heavens will depart as-a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island shall be moved out o f its place,” explains John. This will mean the end of the boasted civilization of our day, and will bring to naught man’s greatest attempt to pull things together for a mock millennium. The sin-stained play ground of rebellious man will thus be purified and re deemed, and will be delivered from the charm of the devil’s cunning schemes. Jude characterizes the day in the following words: . “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands o f his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed, and o f all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” B loodshed Wrath will run red. It will be the day of wrath pointed out by the Spirit as a “day o f vengeance,” and as the “great and terrible day o f the Lord.” It will be a day of battle and of bloodshed, prepared, not for the godly, but for the ungodly. It is prepared, even as hell is pre-
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