8
January, 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Socialism, Communism, fascism “ T H R E E U N C r ï r 3 r N S P I R I T S L I K E F R O G S ” B y LOUIS S. BAUMAN Long Beach, California
O ne of the most inexplicable situations in this strange world o f ours is the fact that it is left for a bitter iconoclast, H. L. Mencken, editor o f the American Mer cury, to express his astonishment that the average clergy man seems so utterly blind to the clear testimony o f the prophetic Scriptures. He declares, “ The silence o f the theologians is one o f the incredible phenomena o f these dangerous days.” “ All I desire to point out,” he says, “ is that the New Testament offers precise and elaborate speci fications o f the events preceding the inevitable end o f the world, and that a fair reading of them must lead any rational man to conclude that these events are now upon us.” With these words, even from the pen o f a caustic skeptic, we must heartily agree. Even demons, if reports from the mediumistic world are to be trusted, are warning men o f tremendous impending events that will fulfill the infallible Word. All o f this is interesting. However, as for us, we rest only upon the Testimony o f the Eternal, forever settled in the heavens! “ T h r e e U n c l e a n S p ir it s l i k e F r o g s ” Armageddon— the world’s most famous and only decis ive battle— is yet to be fought. Its Victor will be none other than the Lion o f the Tribe o f Judah roaring forth from an opened sky. Overthrown completely will all powers be that oppose the kingdom o f God. When the smoke and dust o f that battle pass on with the winds, the throne o f David will be set, and over all “ shall the Sun o f righteousness arise with healing in his wings” (Mai. 4 :2 ). However, the prophetic picture assures us that that bat tle will not materialize until “ three unclean spirits like frogs” go forth under Satanic direction, and lure the na tions to the fateful field. Even so it is written: “ I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out o f the mouth o f the dragon, and out o f the mouth o f the beast, and out of the mouth o f the false prophet. For they are the spirits o f devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings o f the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day o f God Almighty . . . And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (Rev. 16:13, 14, 16). T o the ancients, frogs and serpents were emblems o f all that is vile, loathsome, and nauseating. The Greeks, in their mythology, regarded frogs as the inhabitants o f the Stygian lake or river o f hell. “ Like frogs,” therefore, can only signify the extremely offensive nature o f the spirits which shall entice the godless nations to Armageddon in the Val ley o f Jehoshaphat, where the thunderbolts o f divine wrath shall hurl them to the dust. These “ unclean spirits like frogs” are the source o f much perplexity to the commentators. For instance: One com mentator believes that the spirit emanating from “ the drag on” is “ the spirit o f wisdom, earthly, sensual, devilish” ; while the spirit from “ the beast” is the spirit o f power apostate from G od ; and the spirit from “ the false prophet” is the spirit which inspires hopes that are not o f G od : “ so the mass is led.” Another sees spiritism and evolution in at least two o f these froglike creatures. Another thinks of [This is the first of. a series o f articles on this subject, by the pastor o f the First Brethren Church, Long Beach, Calif .—E ditor .]
“ Christian Science,” spiritism, and theosophy. Another beholds “ the draconic spirit o f heathenlike antisocial infi delity ; the popish spirit ; the Tractarian spirit.” One man’s guess seems to be about as good as another. W i l l H is t o r y R e p e a t I t s e l f ? But may not history repeat? God once decreed that at Ramoth-gilead the apostate Ahab should fall. The fated hour arrived. “ And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? . . . And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said* I will persuade him . . . . I will be a lying spirit in the mouth o f all his prophets. And he [God] said, Thou shalt per suade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so” (1 Ki. 22:20-22). Immediately, “ the king o f Israel . . . went up to Ra moth-gilead”—marched to the spot o f doom. A well- directed arrow opened the sluices o f his heart. His life’s blood reddened his chariot, and the dogs licked up that blood, fulfilling the prophecy o f Jehovah to its jot and tittle ! Mark it well— it was a “ lying spirit” that led forth the wicked Ahab to the field o f doom. So again, unclean, lying spirits will lure “ that Wicked” (2 Thess. 2 :8) to his awful end in Armageddon’s blood-stained vale (Rev. 19:20). {Unmistakable signs o f our Lord’s imminent return are everywhere. And, if He is imminent, have we any indica tion o f a probably correct identification o f the “ three un clean spirits like frogs . . . which [are to] go forth unto the kings o f the earth and o f the whole world, to gather them to the battle o f that great day o f God Almighty”j?_, ,Are they, even now, on the march Tj ( tfuv tí wV a ¡ (Sry l S o c ia l is m , C o m m u n i s m , a n d F a s c is m ¡A multitude o f demonic frog-spirits are now croaking in the world’s deepening night. And, creeping above their fellows in the dark, dismal, pestilential swamps o f earth, we do not hesitate to name three which, in the light of prophecy, will bear close observance, to say the least. These three are Socialism, Communism, and Fascism. Who can listen in upon the news-flashes o f the hour and not realize that these three, more than any others, are responsible for the feverish fears o f the nations, beggaring themselves and the generations yet unborn in order to accouter themselves with all the paraphernalia ÆJr>skughtepp^arming as they have never armed beforelfA^h iVvéry momAt, these three godless frog-spirits are preparing to inveigle the kings o f the whole world to the battle from which no man shall ever return. Socialism, Communism, Fascism— three pied pip ers, on their awful march o f death, with the godless mil lions upon millions o f human beings, falling to! Will a whole eternity ever again witness such folly? The insid ious croakings o f these “ unclean spirits” is about all that any longer breaks the ominous hush within the shadows that betoken the end o f our unregenerate civilization with all its human folly, sorrow, and woe. W e welcome the night, for the gloomy blackness o f night must precede the glory-burst o f “ the bright and morning star”— the rising o f the Sun !
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