JUNE • 1940
The Bible Family Magazine
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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
LOUIS T. TALBOT, E ditor-In-C hief MILDRED M. COOK, Managing Editor W. F. KEMPF, Advertising and Circulation Manager
Official Organ of The Bible Institute' of Los Angeles, Incorporated
“ N e x t F a ll M a y B e T o o L a te ” • In the welter of a world gone mad, of nation rising against na tion, of the terror that stalks in the night, of the arrow that flieth by day, of pestilence, of destruc tion, of the elements in commotion, is there not a warning in the stark realism of these few sentences taken from a letter recently sent us: “ I was going to send the money this fall; but the Lord said, Send it now; next fall may be too late. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if He came this Feast of the Trumpets, the ingathering of the Harvest! God does all things in order.” • And here Is something for the earnest child of God to think about. What and if He’ should come at the time of the blowing of the trumpets on the first day of the Month Tishri? What and if you were then suddenly caught up to be with Him ? Do you not think it would please Him wonderfully that you should now have your part in a testimony that warns Israel of the wrath to come? And do you know a better way to please Him than to snatch a few brands from the burning, a few Jewish souls that will be your trophies when at last you lay your burden down and meet Him face to face? • The time is short. That is why we keep reminding you of the privilege of sharing with Him in His yearning over the lost sheep of the House of Israel; and that is why so many of the Lord’s choicest saints are counting it a joy to fellowship with us in our God-given task of these last days. Perhaps if you will make it a mat ter of earnest prayer, He will lead you also to become a burden bear er with us; and from experience we can assure you it will be a happy day for you. AMERICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS TO THE JEWS, INC. 31 Throop Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. Dear F riends: . Gladly do I enclose ,$.......................... m y g ift fo r Israel’s salvation, “ be fore it is too late.”
SheSifcle Tamil# S itatine Motto: “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” — Rev. 1 :5.
Volume XXXI
June, 1940
Number 6
TABLE OF CONTENTS • Ransom D. Marvin, Staff Artist
The photograph on the cover was made by Howard A. Smith, a member of the Extension Department of the Bible Institute of. Los Angeles Around the King’s Table — Editorial .........................................................202 Views and Reviews of Current News — Dan Gilbert .......... ................... 203 “ The Finger of God”— R. S. Beal. ............... ......... ................................ ,„204 A Mother’s Letters to Her Children — Grace Pike Roberts ...................206 Prophetic Clouds— Silver Lined !— Louis S. Bauman .............. ...............207 Whose Prisoner Are Y ou ?— Robert A. Laidlaw .....................................209 The Preacher’s Study —Herbert Lockyer ............................................ .....210 Evangelizing among University Students............ ....................................211 Girls’ Query Corner —Myrtle E. Scott ........................................................212 Bible Institute Family Circle.......... .................. ..................... ......................214 Junior King’s Business —Martha S. Hooker. .......... .'.......’..................... ....215 International Lesson Commentary ........................ .......... ......................217 Notes on Christian Endeavor —Lyman A . Wendt. ......................... .........229 Daily Devotional Readings..................................................................... ........234 Our Literature Table............... .............................................................. .......238 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 THE KING’S BUSINESS is pub- lished monthly at the rates below, payable in advance, for either old or new subscribers, in the United States or its possessions. These rates include postage.
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Around the King s Table E D I T O R I A L By Members of the Faculty of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles
mark, Dutch East Indies, England, Francé, Germany, Greece, Greenland (Danish Colony), Holland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Rpssia, Sweden, and Turkey. The page, heavily freighted with news of the Asiatic and European holocaust, covers America in eight items: Presi- •dential primary in California, Red Prop aganda in Hollywood films,. the Presi dent’s billion dollar W. P. A. fund, ill ness of the San Francisco mayor, in crease of the - United States Navy, a blizzjjifad in Colorado, rain in Chicago, and sr hew lemon scent perfume in th e. printer’s ink giving a novel advertising appeal. What a contrast! Bill Henry, columnist and commenta-- tor on the Los Angeles Times staff, closed a recent luncheon address before one hundred.men with these significant words, “I would not bet fifteen cents that America •will not be in the war before the year is over.” The fulfill ment of this suggestion-is certainly not in keeping with the wishes of those who are Christian. Every right-thinking man views with dread the prospect of the suffering that war entails. Arid American participation in war would rapidly change the tenor of America’s news items. We are not yet out of the days the Son of Man had in mind when He said, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see (hat ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and k i n g d o m against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earth quakes, in divers places.” —Kenneth M. Monroe.
ed much, and rightly so, have failed; and because of this fact, some have turned aside from allegience to their Lord. In this connection we do well to remind ourselves of such Scriptures as 2 Timothy 2:13, R.V.: “If we are faith less, he abideth faithful,” and Jeremiah 2:5: “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me?” and again, Micah 6:3: “O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.” We can tes tify against others, but never against Him, and He is the One we are to follow, not others. Doubtless many people would have great burdens lifted from their souls, many would be living lives of joy and usefulness if, in spite of the faithless ness and failures of others, they would constantly heed this word of our Lord, “What is that to.thee? follow thou me.” —John A. Hubbard. A Shrinking World This old world is certainly shrinking! The significant events of every nation are published in the larger cities of the civilized world the same day on which they transpire. Almost before the smoke of battle clears in the Trond heim region in Norway, the newsboy is shouting, “Extra! Extra!” at the corner of Seventh and Broadway in Los An geles. On the front page of a recent Los Angeles paper, comments were made in volving diplomatic conflict or actual war in the following nations and colo nial possessions: Belgium, Canada, Den-
The Believer’s Chief Concern "If 1 will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me” (John 21:22). The Lord Jesus had just revealed the fact that Peter would suffer martyr dom. At that point, Peter saw John and asked the Lord, "Wha&dfejhall this man do?” In reply Jesus' spoke the words used above: “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” Of course, this instruction does not mean;,that we are to be indifferent to the course and fate of others, but the thing <>f supreme importance is that at all costs we are to obediently follow Him, regardless of what others may be called upon to do or may choose to do themselves. We are to follow Him in the line of service to which Hé calls, regardless of what others may be called to do. Believers are members of the body of Christ and h a v e différent functions, just as members of the human body havël Thé service of one may be’ seem ingly easy, ours very hard. The min istry of others may seemingly be large and fruitful, ours small and apparently barren, but the word of our Lord comes to us, “What is that to thee ? follow thou me,” and, obediently following in His service, we may find that what He accomplishes through us is far more fruitful than was apparent at first. This fact is illustrated by the more or less familiar story of a company of church officers who were waiting on their pastor and in the spirit of com plaint were calling his attention to the fact that during the whole year only one person was converted in the Church, “and that only a boy,” The dear old pastor was almost broken-hearted as he confessed, “Yes, only one saved, and that only a boy.” But that boy was none other than Robert Moffatt, whom God wonderfully used in later years as a missionary in Africa, and 'whose in fluence for missions is still going on. We are called upon to follow Christ faithfully in the circumstances In which He places us, regardless of the circum stances of others. Other people may be rich and have much; we may be poor and have little. They may be popular and we little known, but again we hear Him saying to us, “What is that to thee? follow thou me.” We are to follow Him faithfully re gardless of the failures of others. In this respect many have been caused to stumble. Those of whom they expect
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“Your hoar is come!” A dictator may road his men with this Drospect of conquest. He may ride reck lessly o v e r t h e right* of others. But “THY hour is come,” will before long be the Father's word to His beloved S o u , whose right it is to r e i g n . come. Lord. Jesus.’ 9
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Views and Reviews of Current News By DÂN GILBERT Washington, D. C , and San Diego, California
COMFORT FOR THESE TRYING DAYS • “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee’’ (Psa. 56:3). • “ In the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, and his children shall have a place of refuge” (Prov. 14:26). “ Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he alio is become my salvation” (Isa. 12:2). “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or fam ine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Bom. 8:35, 37). Blackout— and the Cross A reader of THE KING’S BUSINESS, writing from Oakland, Calif., sends this significant word: “That is indeed a dark picture which Dr. McComb presented in the May KING’S BUSINESS [ “Europe—and the Bible,” p. 167]. Any way we look at it, the picture in Europe is dark., It is a terrible blackout. VThe .following Is a part of a para graph taken from an article describing the war in England, in The New Wit ness of January 24 of this year. It seems tp me a very apt illustration: “ ‘A t night a great blackness reigns over the whole country. There is not a glimmer of light anywhere except for the traffic lights in tl^e town, and these are blackened out as well, except for two slits in the form of a cross. The cross is the only light that shows our way.’ “In spite of the darkness in Europe and in our own country, the cross is still before us, and God Tbtill holds the universe in His hand. “And, in view of all this sad condi tion, does it not behoove us to search our own hearts and find out whether we are failing Him? Do we really be lieve all the Bible ? We think we do, but do we? 'Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it’ . (Mai. 3:10). “If we are really doing that, why is evangelism paralyzed? Surely if only two of us do it, that is enough to claim tv,« nromise.”
WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINALS: Edwin H. Sutherland, well-known expert in criminology, recently has brought to light a mass of information that com pletely upsets the “conventional ex planations of the cause and nature of crime.” In the first place, he shows that the “crime wave” permeates all classes. Usually only lower-class criminals— thugs, hold-up men, forgers, etc.—are sent to jail. In the “upper brackets,” the stealing is customarily done “within the law.” But the crime wave has swept everywhere. Big business and large-scale politics are scenes of as widespread criminality as are the slum districts of the. large cities. Dr. Sutherland contends: “White-collar criminality in busi ness is expressed most frequently in the form of misrepresentation in financial statements of corporations, manipulation in the stock ex changes, commercial bribery, bri bery Of public officials directly or indirectly in order to secure favor able contracts and legislation, mis representation in advertising and salesmanship, embezzlement and misapplication o f f u n d s , short weights and measures and misgrad- ing of. commodities, tax frauds, mis application of funds in receiverships and bankruptcies.” Corruption in political circles is so notorious that Dr. Sutherland devotes little attention to it. In high commer cial and political circles, softer terms may be used to describe these activities, but it is undeniable tnat there is as much lying and defrauding, as on the lowest levels of economic existence. Behind the white-collar criminals are found the crooked criminal lawyers without whose counsel and ingenuity few "stealings within the law” could be successfully carried but. Thèse lawless lawyers are highly educated, nearly al ways prosperous, and brilliant to an un usual degree. Certàinly their criminality cannot be attributed to lack of brains of economic opportunity. They are not the “underprivileged,” either according to nature or to society. Dr. Sutherland holds that it can be clearly shown that “the theory that criminal behavior is due either to pov erty or to conditions associated with poverty is invalid.” Grime is not caused by poverty or by “feeble-mindedness,” as .s generally supposed.
With the old theories exploded, crim inality must remain somewhat of a mystery to the criminologists. But it is no mystery t o . those who accept the Bible as revealed Truth. The Word ,of God teaches that crime is due to a per verse will. Crime comes out of the foul ness of the heart of unregenerate man. All men—rich and poor, cultured and uncultured, intelligent and stupid—are born with a depraved nature. Education, breeding, wealth, culture will not cure the lawlessness of the will of man. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, by the miracle of regeneration, can give to men a, new heart, a new will, a new mind. “Ye must be bom again” (John 3:7). That truth applies to the rich and to the poor, to the white-collared and to the slum-dwelle.s. Unregenerate men will behave the same, whether attired in tuxedoes or in rags, whether equipped with college degrees or left in illiteracy. Criminology, like all other sciences, will never arrive at truth until it builds upon Biblical principles. EYES EAST: This commentator has previously expressed the opinion that the danger of military involvement to America lies in the Orient rather than in Europe, at the present time at least. Developments seem to confirm this position. In testifying before the Senate Naval Committee, Rear Admiral Joseph K. Taussig frankly declared: “I don’t see now we can escape being forced into an eventual war by the present trend of develop ments in the Far East.. . . It should be a naval war. We can’t invade Japan, and Japan can’t invade the United States.”- It was an indiscreet admission, and of courst, Secretary Of. the Navy Edison was prompt to point out that the Ad miral “was expressing his own views, not the views of the Navy.’ ' But the significance of the statement cannot be explained away. It represents what is on the rn.nd of certain Naval authorities at the present time. There is a disposition» to feel that, at the opportune time, Japan will strike in Asia, in unison with the German war effort in Europe. Whether or not Ger many can hold The Netherlands, Japan is counted upon eventually to try to [Continued on Page 227]
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W HAT did the Lord Jesus mean when He spoke of “the fin ger of God” ? He had just cast tongue which had been tied was loosed. Questions arose in the minds of the curious crowd as to the power by which the Saviour had wrought this miracle. He, knowing their thought, replied by saying, “If I with the finger of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you” (Lk. 11:20, R.V.). What was the meaning of the expres sion, “the finger of God” ? Matthew supplies the answer: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you” (12:28; cf. R.V.). The finger of God is the Spirit of God. It is an interesting [This message, which was delivered at a commencement service at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, comes from one whose ministry of twenty-two years in a single pastorate (First Baptist Church, Tucson, Ariz.) has been marked by the Holy Spirit's working. A t least fifteen young people froyt Dr. Beal’s church have come to Biola for training. " When these young people have come to me saying they felt led of God to enter the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in preparation for their life work," the speaker said, “ I have felt in my soul a sense of real satisfac tion, and 1 have thanked1God that there was such a training venter as this on the Pacific Coast. . . . You now are to be congratulated not only upon the completion of a required course of study in spiritual things, but also because of the deeply spiritual school from which you are being graduated." — E ditor .]
the living God. What may be said of God and of Christ may be spoken of the Holy Spirit. He is a living part of a living whole. The attributes and' characters of the Godhead are one. Personality may be ascribed to the Spirit even, as we ascribe it to the other members of the Holy Trinity. To think of this One in any other way is to dishonor and to disown Him. It amounts to a denial of the Trinity and an accep tance of Unitarianism. Such disbelief as this has far-reaching consequences in the experience of men. If the Holy Spirit is naught but an influence or some impersonal power, can He take the things of Christ and show them to us? Can He guide us into the truth? He could not, since He would not exist to do so, if He were not the glorious Person the Word claims Him to be. Power to create is to be thought of in relation to the Spirit. It is a pre rogative of God. I invite your attention to the exactness of Scripture in this re spect. In Psalm 8:3, 4 we read: "When I consider thj^heavens, the work of thy fingers, the paoon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him ?” And again, Job 25:13, “By his Spirit he hath gar nished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.’ Then we face the direct statement concerning Him in Psalm 104:30, which reads, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” It is not hard to see that every at tribute we ascribe to God may be rightly and Scripturally ascribed to the Holy Spirit. In all instances He is referred to in the Bible as a personality, is defi nitely called God, and is so recognized by our Lord in His earthly ministry.
a demon out of a poor fellow, and the
figure of speech which the Lord uses concerning the Third Person of the Trin ity. It is the figure of condescension. God condescended to liken Himself to His creation to the end that His crea tures might be able to understand and comprehend Him. The Finger of God: ,His Deity Sometimes in using the figure of the human body, the Scriptures set forth God as being the heart, the fountain of life. Christ is likened to the head which rules and governs the body. Then the Spirit is represented by' the hand or finger as in'the case- of iny text. The power of the body is executed by the finger, hand, or arm. It is the hand that ministers to all of the body and performs the work of the body. This explains the reason that the Lord Jesus speaks of casting out demons by the finger of God. Let us notice as we begin this anal ogy that the finger is an integral part of the hand. What may be said of the hand may be uttered of the finger be cause the life of one is the life of the other. The blood, the bone, the flesh, and the life of the hand is that of the finger. Both are of the same nature and substance. Thus it Is with the Spirit of
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unyieldedness and worldliness. It has been said that a living argument is in vincible. That is what God wants. The only Bible that most folk read is your life and mine, but if we mar that mes sage, what a vitiated ygospel the world gets! How essential it is that we as Christian workers going forth to our God-appointed tasks shall give forth a message of crystal clarity, not only by word of mouth but by manner of life as well! Nothing is so sad to witness as a faltering or fallen servant of God, a minister of the gospel who fails. Oh, if we could only learn to practice what we preach, we would not be ashamed to preach what we practice! Above all things as you go forth, give the world a clean-cut demonstration of the power of the message you proclaim. Be as ear nest and effective out of your pulpit as you are in it. - The finger is used when we eat, and it is an exceedingly useful member in this respect. Jesus is the Bread of Life. He becomes a living reality to us and a satisfying portion as the finger of God applies Him to our hearts and lives. No one can get hold of Jesus apart from the Spirit. Spiritual things are spiritu ally discerned, and not until the Spirit of God does His office work within our hearts do we come to know, love, and appreciate the Saviour. The more we have of the Spirit, the more we will possess and manifest the presence of the Master, for His supreme task is to take the things of Christ and show them to us and to manifest the presence of Christ through us. Other Functions Continuing the analogy of the finger, we observe that we use the finger in taking hold of an object. By this means we can bring things into close contact with ourselves. And this is the way God gets hold of the sinner. It is by means of His finger—His Holy Spirit— that God touches men to convict and to convince them. His Spirit working through His redeemed children is as the finger of God Himself taking hold of souls and drawing them into contact with Himself. The finger points out, and thus we see another striking point parlson. Jesus said of the Spirit, “How- beit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; . . . and he will show you things to come.” He has come to point out Christ Jesus the Lord and to show us the way to go. I am sure He will guide every one of you into the path that God has chosen for you to follow. You can depend upon Him. His directing is unfailing. Paul knew this. I feel that the greatest day in the history of foreign missions was the one when Paul had the dream where in he saw the man of Macedonia with beckoning finger and heard him cry, “ Come over . . . and help us.” That was indeed the finger of God. In your missionary work or in the pastorate you will be confronted with difficult situations and with most baffling cir cumstances. When these come to-you, do not move until the finger of God has pointed out the way, and as you wait upon God in faith and confidence, you will ascertain the dlvu.e mind. Wounding the Finger of God Finally, I want you to note that the finger may be injured. Sinners injure God’s finger by resisting Him and by turning a deaf ear to the Word of God. And how painful must be the injury if men persist until the heart is hardened! Christians, though indwelt by the Spirit, may likewise injure Him tnrough their careless and indifferent ways. In Ephe sians 4:30 there is the warning, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” We can not grieve Him away since He has taken up a permanent abode within these bodies of ours. We grieve Him by worldliness and by prayerlessness. Again there is a word of warning which says, “Quench not the Spirit.” It is by our unyieldedness that He is quenched and stifled and unable to work through us the purposes of God. God forbid that we should injure His blessed finger, but rather let us allow Him to bless us, to heal us, and to use us. We recall how plague after plague came upon the Egyptians in the days of Moses and Aaron, but each time Pha raoh hardened his heart and would not permit the release of the people of God. Then came the miracle whereby the dust was turned to lice and the magi cians found themselves powerless and utterly unable to reproduce it. Seeing such a manifestation of power, they were compelled to cry out, “This is the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19). As you go forth, dear young people, let it be with the blessed realization that God wants you to so live and con duct yourselves that the world will be compelled to take knowledge of you, that you have something, and better yet, Someone that the world has not, whose power is ever present in your ministry and in your manners. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is ex cess; but be filled with the Spirit.” Miraculous Revelations by the Finger of God The finger makes a specific mark or imprint; so also the finger of God. No two finger prints are exactly alike— hence, the immense value of the finger print in identifying persons. The Spirit of God makes a mark that is differ ent. Nothing is like it in all the uni verse. Everything around us is marked with the skull and crossbones because death reigns. The finger of God im parts a life-giving touch, for “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). To be touched by God’s finger means to be made a néw creature in Him; it means to have the image of Christ imprinted upon the soul. The touch of God’s finger marks and distinguishes the religions of the world. It puts Christianity in a class by itself and lifts it beyond the realm of com parative religions. Christianity is not a system of works or ethics or charac ter building. It is a life—the divine life imparted in His glorious touch. The finger has still another function; it is used in writing. Referring to the Ten Commandments and how God gave them to him, Moses declared in Deuter onomy. 9:10, “And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God.” The Scriptures were written by the finger of God. There is no escaping this. Peter made it plain when he said that “holy men of God spake as they were moved [liter ally, ‘borne along’] by the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit of God took hold of human personalities as we take hold of a pen cil, and He controlled every movement in giving forth a revelation of His will. Nothing was left to human devising and to human phraseology. Personali ties differ just as crayons and pencils may differ in color and are noticeable upon the page. So the varying features of personality and vocabulary are to be seen, yet all employed and controlled by the finger of God which gripped them and swayed them hither and yon in giv ing forth the Word of truth. This fact gives authority to the Book, makes its message vital and eternal and makes it more than any other book. And this is the Book you are called to preach and the Book which gives you your distinc tive message. But the Spirit has not confined His writing to tables of stone and to an cient parchments. He writes upon the hearts of the people of God. Thus we read in 2 Corinthians 3:3, “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, writ ten not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.” The great tragedy among many who name His name is that the message becomes illegible to the world because of human June, 1940 T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 206 A Mothers Letters to Her Children By GRACE PIKE ROBERTS Changsha, Hunan, China this lonely house, with never a com plaint. It took us twenty-one days to go from Wuchow to Kweilin and two days from Kweilin to Changsha. Dad didn’t expect us so soon. We got almost to the. gate before he saw us. And was he ever surprised! As we rode through the compound to the house, the foreigners were just coming out of the church, and they gave us a royal welcome. Monday we had visitors all day and evening. Tea was served from break fast on—-such a festive time! Dad spoke at the opening of the primary school to 300 children and seven teachers from the government school. [Mr. Roberts has \been granted the privilege of giv ing religious instruction to this group.] Dad is in charge of eight such schools here ' in the city, under International Relief. He also has some thirty men here this month for intensive Bible ini struction, and they are going out next month in evangelistic work. Then, too, he has a fine Bible class at the Presbyterian Mission every Wed nesday night, including the head of the post office and other influential men. On Sundays he preaches in various churches in the city. He also has charge of food kitchens where the poor are fed daily. I have just come from speaking to a great crowd of women, sixty blind girls and others besides. They have prayed for me all along the way, so I told them how you girls had helped me to decide about coming (giving me the ■verses, Exodus 33:14: “And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I Will give thee rest,” and 32:34: “Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: be hold, mine Angel shall go before thee” ) and about that last morning when Janet reminded me of th_ text on the wall, Isaiah 55:12, “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace." These are experiences I never shall forget. The blind girls want me to teach them music, and English to the teach ers. Heaps of love to all, MOTHER. [A later letter from Mrs. Roberts tells of the sudden Home-going of Mr. Cheng Chi Kuei, a teacher in the Hunan Institute for many years, and one of the outstanding spiritual leaders in China. Prayer Is urgently requested for his widow and six children, the old est of whom is twelve years of age.] Somewhere In the middle of Kwangsi Friday, February 16, 1940. “Proclaiming the Gospel Message” My dearest children: .It is four weeKS this morning since I left Hongkong and you, my three dear little girlies, in bed. It is so diffi cult to wait and wonder what you are doing! I wish you could see us [probably a party of Chinese Christians and a few missionaries] in this little boat. Here we have been for two weeks, and dear knows how much longer we shall be here. We were delayed in Wuchow more than five days, trying to get a house boat to make this trip, then there were air-raid alarms severa. times each day which delayed us still longer. As soon as we got on the boat, another alarm was sounded, and our boat sped across the river to wait. At last we were on our way, just crawling along. Shall I describe the boat ? In the mid dle compartment, we six sleep [proba bly Chinese Christians and Mrs. Rob erts], lying crossways of the boat. There are no partitions. The crew of .eight coolies sleeps in the front portion, and the boatman s family of five at the back. We sit on our bedding all day after we roll it up to the side of the boat. We cannot stand up at all, we have to kneel to undress. For our meals we use a suitcase for a table. Dear little Janet—I did think of you so very, much oft your birthday [her tenth birthday] and the day before, won dering if you had a party and who you had, etc. Bless your heart! I was homesick for you—indeed for all of you. There is a shrine here on board, where the boat people come to worship and to bum incense. We have had some opportunities for witnessing to them of the Lord Jesus Christ. One lady in our party has given out many tracts. I also have had opportunities to tell the gospel message and give tracts. With ever and ever so much love, Affectionately, 1 MOTHER. Changsha, Hunan, Central China. February 29, 1940. Dearest children: Here I am at last with dear Dad, and how good it is! It is almost three years since he left the U.S.A. for China, and we have only “visited” since. I marvel that he has been so patient in [Missionary-hearted readers — particu larly those who have an interest in the Hunan Bible Institute ,, the China D e partment of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, and in the Institute’s represen tatives there, M r. and Mrs. Charles A. Roberts— are eager to know how the conflict in China has affected these faith ful servants of Christ. The accompanying excerpts from two intimate personal letters of Mrs. Rob erts, not written originally for publica tion, will illustrate the difficulties of life in China and will show the prob lem of even sending news to the home land. The letters reveal likewise the unparalleled opportunity for service that has come to M r. and Mrs. Roberts in these very emergencies. M r. Roberts is the Superintendent of the Hunan Bible Institute, Changsha, Hunan, China. The three eldest Roberts children — Charles, Jr., Faith, and Miriam— are in school in America, while the three younger ones, Janet, Jean, and Joyce ( the latter two are twins) have been in school at Hongkong, South China. War conditions with frequent threats of air raids have made it unsafe for Mrs. Roberts and the children to be at Changsha, and for most of the last two years the family has been separated. For several months, M r. Roberts has been the only foreign representative in the Institute’s work at Changsha, though missionaries from other boards, driven from their premises by the dis astrous Changsha fire of last fall, are using some of the school’s buildings. Condition r being somewhat improved, in January of this year, Mrs. Roberts made the dangerous journey from Hong kong to Changsha, to be with her hus band and continue the work which had to be interrupted many months earlier. The letters, though they bear February dates, reached Los Angeles only re cently. — E ditor .] “ Trusting in the Lord’s Protection’' June, 1940 T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 207 Prophetic Clouds- Lined! By LOUIS S. BAUMAN* Long Beach, California Columbia University, at the same time, on this side of the Atlantic, awoke •to remark: “If the moral principle is to be overcome by economic aspiration, then our children and grandchildren will not have long to wait for the collapse of what we have been ac customed to call western civiliza tion, now some three thousand years old.” Who does not know that “economic aspiration” has utterly crushed to earth all the “moral principles” for which thé world of men a few years ago still had some respect? The dictators that ride the saddles in Europe are moral bankrupts. Question: Was Dr. Butler right ? Then what of the morrow ? What are the little children of today facing? Sir Aukland Geddes broke into the chorus of gloom to remark: “In Europe we know that an age is dying.” And, perhaps—yes, probably, Sir Auk land was right—“an age is dying” ! And, possibly, it is an “age” at whose death bed we need not mourn! General Liggett, of World War fame, did not detract from the gloom of the prophets of five and ten years ago. He confessed his pessimism in saying: “The next war, I think, may see the end of our civilization, for we are only half-civilized, if that much. The World War just about wrecked this old world. The next war may do it completely—send ns into another dark age.” May we not agree with General Lig gett—the “next war” now on will “send us into another age”—but will it be “dark” ? The Englishmen above quoted might have derived a bit of cheer had they turned to their famous Poet Laureate, M ORE than five years ago, Lord Viscount Cecil said to his fel low Britons: “It is not exaggeration to say with Mr. Baldwin that the next war will mean the destruction of our civilization. Yet to that catastrophe we are steadily moving.” “To that catastrophe” we seem to nave come! Still longer ago, ex-premier David Lloyd-George was considered as an old man talking in his dotage, when he said: “I cannot say what is going to happen to the world. I am alarmed. I will go so far as to say I am frightened at what will happen. . . . It seems to me the world is heading for a very great catastro phe.” We are no longer “heading.” Think ing men inform us that we are moving head-on toward it. A t about the same time that these comments were uttered, another well- known Englishman was likewise ex pressing himself: ‘‘I cannot resist the profound con viction that unless we in this coun try do something very drastic about . it, an explosion will take place which will wreck the whole totter ing fabric of civilization.” Apparently, nothing “very drastic” was done 'about it the “explosion” is on, and the first shot-riddled rags of the “fabric of civilization” are falling out of the gas-laden skies of Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Finland, Nor way, Holland, and Belgium. Nicholas Murray Butler, head of Alfred Tennyson, who, many years be fore, proved to be a bit keener of eye, and wrote: “ For I dipt into the future, far as hu man eye could see, Saw the vision of the world and all the wonder that would be; Saw the heavens filled with commerce, argosies of magic sails; Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales; Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rained a ghastly dew From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue. Far along the world-wide whisper of the south wind rushing warm, With the standards o f- the peoples plunging through the thunder-storm, Till the war-drum throbbed no longer, . and the battle flags were furled In the Parliament of Man, the Federa tion of the World.” Is it to be admitted that the great Poet Laureate was more far-visioned than the statesmen that followed him? And as we write these words, the heav ens are filled with the shouting of men gone mad in war, and there rains “ a ghastly dew from the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue.” And then with one farther dip into the future, doubtless, “far as human eye could see,” he actualized ‘The Parlia ment of Man, the Federation of the World.” World Federation Prophesied But the wisdom of the great Poet Laureate, great as it was, was not—is not—the wisdom of God. True, the “Parliament of Man” will come. It, we believe, must come soon. What other way will there be out, if unregenerate man is to salvage even some remnant *Pastor , First Brethren Church. June, 1940 T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 208 the Son of man is revealed” (cf. Lk. 17:26-30). We are expressly reminded by the prophet to remember the divine order: “First must he [the true Mes siah] suffer many things and be re jected”—then the cloud-burst and the glory! True it is that the prophet of God reveals the coming of a great “falling away” (Gr. “apostasy,” 2 Thess. 2:3), a great spiritual night when men shall forget God, spurn His words, when spir itual “darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people” (Isa. 60:2); but the prophet of God likewise gives us the. blessed assurance that “when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shfell lift up a standard against him; and, the Redeemer shall come to Zion . . . And the Gentiles shall come to thy [His] light, and kings to the brightness of thy [His] rising” (Isa. 59:19, 20; 60:3). True it is that the prophet of God declared that a day of frightfulness would sweep over the nations, when every nation would proclaim: “Prepare war, . . . Beat your plowshares into sWords, and your priming hooks into spears” (Joel 3:9, 10); but that same prophet also declared that when the nations “assemble” for the battle, and the “multitudes, multitudes [are] in the valley of decision,” then “the Lord shall roar put of Zion, and . . . be the hope of his people . . . then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more” (cf. Joel 3:14-17). Just beyond the day when all nations shall “prepare War,” and beat their plowshares into swords, lies the day when “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: [when] nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:4). Yea, just beyond the day wherein by prophetic ear, the great English bard “Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rained a ghastly dew From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue,” • lies the day when “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. In His days shall the righteous flourish . . . and his enemies shall lick the dust. . . . Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: and all nations shall serve him . . . and all nations shall call him blessed” (Psa. 72:6, 7, 9, 11, 17). As a matter of glorious truth, dark and foreboding as are all the clouds that now cover the earth, there is not one of them which the eye of faith does not see lined with silver, with hope, and with glory! Therefore— “Jehovah-God, Thy promise stands, Whate’er the fate of kings or lands! Before the dawn the night grows dark! Awake Thy church on earth to mark, ’Mid lust and hate, ’mid fire and sword, The nearness of her coming LORD!” Hope in the Word of God Only as we turn our ears from the voices of men of this World, and heark en to the voice of the prophets of God, does hope return to the breast. Turn, if you will, from the prophets of God, and the prophets of despair sweep in, and we are complete^ overwhelmed by the appalling darkness of the most tem pestuous night since the windows of the heavens opened in the days of Noah. Then to the prophets of God we will go! True it is that the prophet of God bespeaks the advent of a godless “beast,” who is. to sweep over the earth, reddening it with “a ghastly dew,” with none to stop his victorious march until he shall finally succeed in planting “the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain” ; but, it is also true that this same proph et of God assures us that this beastly “beast” “ shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (Dan. 11:45). True it is that the prophet of God tells us of a coming day when “there shall be distress of nations, men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” ; but, it is also true that this same prophet of God tells us that “like wise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, . . . the kingdom of God is nigh at hand” (Lk. 21:31). True ..it is that the prophet of God advises us that a day is coming when “as it Was in the days of Noe, . . . like wise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded” (Lk. 17:26, 28), even thus shall it be again—a day when, as Dr. Butler said, all “moral principle is to be overcome by economic aspiration.” But it is also true that that same prophet of God ad vises us to remember that “THE SAME DAY that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed theifi all” who had grown rich and mighty even as they polluted the earth. Yes, we are assured that “even thus shall it be in the day when IS ROME REVIVING? According to an . Associated Press report, Ansaldo, editor of IL TELEGRAFO of Leghorn, re cently predicted that the victors of the present war would, attempt to “take possession of the whole world.” He stressed the necessity of Italy’s being powerfully armed “IF SHE HOPED TO BE ON THE SIDE OF THE VICTORS. The supreme interests of Italian work ers rest with Italy’s might. Only if Italy is strong, very strong militarily, will she be able to be . . . among the conquerors.” To those who read the prophetic word,' the Italian editor’s com ments have marked significance! of his boasted “civilization” ? It will come, for it is written in the unfailing Word: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take coun sel together” (Psa. 2:2). What is that but a “Parliament” ? The wisdom of God, however, reveals that this “Par liament of Man” will be controlled by “the prince of this world,” even Satan; for, when “the rulers of earth take counsel together,” it will be “against the Lord, and against his Anointed” (Psa. 2:2). “The Federation of the World”—that also will come; for,, the “ Scripture [that] cannot be broken” (John ip:35) makes it plain that there is a day ahead when all nations shall march under one ¿lag (Zech. 12:2, 3; 14:1-3; Psa. 2:1, 2; Rev. 19:19, etc.), giving alle giance to one supreme head. For, it is written that in that day the conquer ing kings of the earth “have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Rev. 17:13). And “power was given him over all kin dreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall wor ship him” (Rev. 13:7,8); “and he caus- eth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their fore heads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark” (Rev. 13:16, 17) “and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (Rev. 13:15)— and that is FEDERATION—“the Feder ation of the World” ! Yes, Lord Tenny son was right—there is coming “the Parliament of Man, the Federation of the World” ; but, he seems not to have known that it would be the federation of the Antichrist. A Dark Picture Verily, “as far as human eye can see,” the future presents a dark picture —one of almost hopeless despair. Hu man events compel the belief that the federation of all the Satanic forces on this earth is in process of rapid forma tion. Evil forces ride the earth, “con quering and to conquer.” Everywhere there is “upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity [lit., ‘with no way ou f] •••Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth” (Lk. 21:25, 26). Everywhere, men are beginning to wonder whether, after all, Mussolini, fifteen years ago, was not right when he said: “There is no such thing as liberty” ! That old World War veteran, General Smuts, years ago, spoke his conviction: “Of what we call liberty in its full meaning—freedom of thought, speech, action, self-expression —there is less today in Europe than there has been during the last 2,000 years.” And there is immensely less today than when General Smuts spoke those words.
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