November, 1934
388
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
False Crists and
FalseProp /
FPÙpnecy
B y LOUIS S. BAUMAN Long Beach, California
< r
/
Fascist Italy, nor in benighted Mexico. It was done by a “ Reverend” in clerical cloth, standing in the pulpit o f an evangelical church in Maryland. W e would like to think o f it as an isolated case o f frenzied delirium within a cracked brain, were it not for the fact that the fleece- clothed hypocrite retains his job, which he could not do without the sanction o f a well-known bishop! This Maryland “ w olf” differs from thousands o f his ilk only in the fact that he too carelessly permitted his car nivorous teeth to show outside the wool. He nearly fell out o f his covering. Moreover, he let slip a howl. He should have gently “ baaed” in connection with his fulmi- nations. In the heart o f him, he differs not a whit from thousands o f impostors who have sneaked into the sheep- folds today. E armark : A n A ntipathy for the A postle P aul Another earmark o f the wolf is his antipathy for Paul. The antipathy, however, is mutual! To the Galatians, Paul wrote: “ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace o f Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel o f Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, I f any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1 :6-9). Little wonder that the false prophets have a sovereign contempt for Pau l! In their contempt, they join the out spoken infidel, Nietzsche, who fumed: “ If it had not been for the aberrations o f his [Paul’s] mind and the waves o f emotion that passed over his soul, there would be no Christianity!” JA bishop o f note recently stood on the Annual Conference platform o f his denomination and thundered: “ The only gospel I know is one which is very much on the earth, and o f the earth!” Exactly right! "O f the earth” are all false prophets and all their “ gospels/^ The overlord o f all false prophets— the one who wilLj work cheek by jowl with the Antichrist and join him in / the lake o f fire, is to come “ up out o f the earth” (R e y / * )• .. . * i-S T '? u ,/ f.T S p But Paul said : “ I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached o f me is not after man” (Gal. 1 :11). And Christ said: “ This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die” (John 6 :50 ). As the Lord Jesus cautioned against “ Christs” that are “ o f the earth,” and warned to accept none but the One who should come from above, so likewise did He warn against any “gospel” that, being “ o f the earth,” came not "down from heaven.” Justice would de mand the arrest o f any vendor whose goods, selling at a high price, are falsely labeled. What should Justice do to a spiritual vendor who offers to a sinful soul, seeking ever lasting life, a bloodless, social “ gospel” o f earth which is no more gospel (good news) than stones are bread?
The Earmarks of False Prophets T hank God, the ears that protrude through “ sheep’s clothing” are all so plainly marked that no one need be deceived. E armark : A S neering D enial of the W ord of G od “ To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8 :2 0 ). When His disciples requested a sign o f His second coming, Jesus, having given the signs, said : "Verily I say unto you, This generation [Gr., genea, “ stock” or “ race,” i. e., the Jews] shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. H eaven and earth shall pass AWAY, BUT MY WORDS SHALL NOT PASS AWAY” (Matt. 24:34, 35). Contrast that emphatic statement from the lips o f the Son o f God with this, coming from Professor J. B. Pratt, called a successor ( ? ) to that great Christian educator, Mark Hopkins : The Bible has lost all hold on leaders o f thought, and certainly is destined before many years to become one o f the curiosities of the past. . . . The inspiration o f those who spake a “ Thus saith the Lord” is o f only a little higher type than that of the whirling dervishes and heathen medicine men. W e almost mistook this howl for a bray ! Anyhow, it is not a “ baa,” even if it did emanate from beneath wool ! Not many years back, the giants o f the church would have recognized instantly this voice, and would have advanced with cocked guns ! Now that the bray-howl comes from underneath a sheepskin, the giants turn their guns upon the simple-minded ( ?) believer who is still courageous enough to advance to the attack. Last Easter, a certain preacher in these United States, denouncing all those who call themselves “ Bible students,” hullabalooed : As I see it, then, the Bible is not the Word o f God. The Bible is men’s interpretation o f the Word of God. Anything reduced to language is imperfect, for language itself is imperfect. . . . The book we call the Bible, used to restrict man’s growth mentally, morally, and spiritually, to create in him a prej udice against any new revelation of truth, or to enslave human beings in any manner, shape or form, I feel like saying with all my heart, and I believe, as Jesus would say, “ Cursed be the church and cursed be the Bible” when used to enslave man created in the image o f God. Then, holding aloft a Bible which he explained had been given his wife twelve years before, he hurled it from the pulpit across the room, snarling: “ I f the study Of this book is going to hide the real Jesus from me, there goes my Bible.” Who this “ real Jesus” is that he would find apart from the Jesus revealed in his Bible, he failed to state. But here is the important point: This was not done by a confessed atheist or an infidel. It did not take place in Bolshevik Russia, nor in Nazi Germany, nor in [This is the third and final article on this subject, brought by the pastor o f the First Brethren Church, Long Beach, Calif. Look for Dr. Bauman’s next message! — E ditor .]
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs