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THE K I N G ' S B US I NE S S
January, 1938
T HERE "are certain aspects of pro phetic truth which in the very nature of things could not be understood clearly until the time of the end drew near. This principle is indicated in the angel’s instruction to Daniel when he says: “ But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased . . . . But go thou thy . way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days” (Dan. 12:4, 13). Many things were re vealed to Daniel which it was not the mind of God for him to understand fully in his- own days, nor could they be comprehended clearly in the early centuries of the Chris tian dispensation. The Book of the Revelation, contrary to the Book of Daniel, was to be unsealed, and thus this unsealed book of New Testament prophecy has to a very large extent re moved the seal from Daniel, the outstand ing book of Old Testament prophecy. But even in Revelation there is much which it pleased God to conceal from general under standing now that the end has drawn nigh. Take, for instance, the prophecy relating to the kings of the East and their apparent onslaught upon the powers of the West. In Revelation 16:12-16 we read: “ And the sixth angel poured out his the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way o f the kings of
DR. BAUMAN’S EDITORIAL COMMENT
• High in the Japanese Alps, soldiers of thé "Empire of the Rising Sun" are shown in rigorous training for mountain fighting. What might this preparation mean when the time comes for "the kings that come from the sun- rising" to march westward across Asia? shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Identifying "The Kings of the East" Who are “ the kings of the east” here referred to? They are clearly distinguished from the powers of the West animated by the unclean spirits that proceeded out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. Armageddon is really the clashing of vast Eastern and Western armies contending for the possession of Palestine. This, I have no doubt, is all in the future and perhaps in the very near future, though not to take place until after the rapture of the church. It has often been noticed that the trumpet and vial judgments [beginning in Revela tion 8:6 and 16:1, respectively] run paral lel, to a certain extent; that is, in each in stance the same spheres of influence or groups of people are referred to under the respective numbers. The first trumpet and of the sixth trumpet (Rev. 9:13 ff.) be compared with that of the sixth vial (Rev. 16:12-16), we may see that the kings of the East are the leaders of a tremendous Oriental army which will come down upon Palestine in the last days. For the sake of convenience I quote the trumpet passage from Revelation 9:15-21, that it may be considered carefully in connection with what we have already read: “And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for the first vial are similar in character, and so on d o wn t h r o u g h the lists. Now if the prophecy
Opening the 1938 Prophetic Sympo sium, H. A . Ironside, Pastor of the Moody Memorial Church of Chicago, brings a timely article related to the tense Far Eastern situation that is arous ing the concern of thoughtful citizens of all nations. Unquestionably, Dr. Ironside is right in his location of “ the kings of the east.” Prophecy, in so far as it deals with the nations of this earth, clusters almost en- tirely around Palestine, “ the navel of the earth (Ezek. 38 :12, R. V . margin).
This fact enables us to locate with rea sonable certainty “ the king of the north” and “ the king of the south” (Dan. 1 1 :4 0 ), as well as “ the kings of the east.” The expression, “ kings of the east” (Rev. 1 6 :1 2 ) compels us to think of China, wherein one out of every four human beings first sees the light of day. Nor could it exclude the hordes from Asiatic Russia, from Japan, from Persia, and other Asiatic countries. It must be so, for it is written: “ I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle” (Zech. 14 :2) when the hour for the war of Armageddon arrives— a terrible hour. First Article in the 1 9 3 8 Prophetic Symposium Directed by Louis S. Bauman
All of this means that the ages-dormant four hundred millions of Chinese are certain to become militaristic. They must have fighting forces that are willing to march beyond the borders of China. Per haps the most significant thing about the present strife between Japan and China is that Japan is forcing China to become what she never has been before but must become before Armageddon— war-mind ed— militaristic in her spirit. Napoleon Bonaparte once pointed his finger toward China on the map [Continued on page 9]
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