December, 1940
THE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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church was launched—not an organiza tion, but an organism, a living, breath ing thing. It took its outward form as naturally as the growing boy takes the form of a man. And here is a miracle as convincing as his walking on the sea. Furthermore, when he sent his follow ers forth to preach his message, the most revolutionizing message ever de clared among men, he sent them with out’ a written word to guide them in . theirteaching. There was no manifesto, no creed, no book of doctrine, nothing one might expect from the founder of a great religion. This looked like a tragic weakness which could only result in the failure of his plans. But the Spirit came upon those disciples, and they became inspired to speak his yet unwritten word with such power that thousands were converted within a few short days. Then the work of creating a source book of Christian doctrine began, and the New Testament came into being. It grew as a great tree grows, striking its roots deep and throwing its branches high,' and became a strong, living thing, a .tree of life for all the centuries. And this is a greater miracle than the with ering of the fig tree. I W on d e rfu l in Leadership Then there is the wonder of his power over men. He has used none of the tricks 'of the popular leader, no personal magnetism, no balcony speeches, no dramatic appearances, no appeal to the mob spirit! He has been absent from the earth since his ascension, i Not one of his followers since the apostles has ever seen his face or heard his human voice, yet to millions he is the essence of the Christian way. Not his ethics, not the deeds he did, but the man himself is the center of attraction for his people. And following him has seldom been an easy lot. His call has ever been to sac- ‘ rifice, to hard living and lonely dying. Yet men have followed him. They have followed him by thousands into dark lands to dwell among savage men, into the arenas to die in the jaws of lions, to the stake to perish in searing flames. Others haye endured persecutions more cruel than death, and even at this hour many huddle half frozen in concentra tion camps slowly dying rather than forsake him “whom having not seen” they love. Yes, he holds over men a strange, wonderful power which impells us to exclaim in admiration, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Let. us have no doubts concerning him. The saints of the ages have called him Lord, and have come to him for forgive ness and salvation, and none have been turned away, and none disappointed. It would be well for all of us this year of the world’s travail to look past the hol low show that is modern Christmas and to seek to know the One whose blood has redeemed us, who in death and in life has been called Wonderful.
ceedingly well with Israel, and Will make ^ covenant with them. Under the terms of this covenant, he will' allow the return of many of the world’s Jews to their national homeland. Having re turned, they will desire of him that they may set up a new temple where their ancient worship of Jehovah may be rei vived. Because of- his craftiness, he will apparently agree with them, and allow them to rebuild their temple. This the Jews will do joyfully. 10. He will break his covenant with Israel. Suddenly he will cause the temple oblations and sacrifices to cease. In place of the worship of Jehovah in the temple at Jerusalem, he will set up a system of worship whereby the Jews, as well as the rest of the world, wilL worship him and him only, or be put to death by him. In Matthew 24:15 this act on the part of the Antichrist is called “the abomination of desolation.” Nor is this to be a hollow-sounding attempt, for from 2 Thessalonians 2:9, we learn that these words and acts are to be accompanied with “power and signs and lying wonders.” His T im e Is Short In Revelation 19:11-21 is the answer of Almighty God to. all the blasphemies of this arch-deceiver, this Satan- inspired fiend o f hell. All his armies will be slain by thè mighty word of the Son of God. The Antichrist, along with his collaborators in crime, will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone for ever.' Satan will be bound, and God’s well-beloved Son will take the reins of power, to execute judgment and justice upon a world that has known only mis rule and woe. War shall be learned, no more, and righteousness shall cover the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9). Oh, what a glorious time that will be—a time toward which we are hastening! HIS NAME [Continued from Page 459] —just rude, untrained men with little knowledge of affairs outside the circle of their own restricted world. Yet from that inauspicious beginning came the mighty church of God. In a few short years there were Christians even in the household of Caesar, and before three centuries had passed, the gods of Greece and Rome had retired to their high Olympus and had left an empire to the religion of Christ. That is simple his tory, and it is a greater wonder than the raising of the dead. Again, he departed from the world leaving his followers without organiza tion, without anything to give shape to his church or to hold its scattered parts together. He gave his instructions only by word of mouth^then he went away leaving a puzzlOcT'uncertaim group of disciples behind him. Ten days later his
THE COMING WORLD D ICTATOR [Continued from Page 456]
the Revised Version renders the pas sage. The God of Forces indeed! How familiar this expression sounds to our ears today! Let me quote a paragraph from one of the bold utterances of the dictator on the Tiber: “Every young man, as he grows up, gets two things from me: an appointment to the ranks of the blackshirts, and what is infinitely more important, a first-class gun, with plenty of cartridges. I am not satisfied with soldiers who fight only when they are ordered. I want a more aggressive spirit in my army. Xwant men who fight for the sake of fighting, men who are long ing for battle, and whose ruling passion is combat and the encoun ter with the enemy." 6 . “A god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor” (v. 38). This god “whom his fathers knew not” he will honor with sliver and gold, and with precious stones and pleasant things. There need not be any question concerning the person’s identity here. You will remember that, in Isaiah 14:14, where the sin of Satan is set forth, he is recorded as having said, “I will be like the Most High." Why was not Luci fer, who became Satan, content with the position that God had given to him? It was because he desired to receive for himself the worship and homage that were given to God. And, through the Antichrist, he will realize his ambition. In that day, there will be devil worship on a world-wide scale. 7. He will offer counterfeit rewards (v. 39). Satan, .through his tool, the Anti christ, will pass out rewards. Those who do his will shall be given honor and power. Moreover, they shall be put in advanced places o f rulership. And the land shall be divided “for gain,” or “for a price.” The “land” in this case, as is usual in the prophetic Scriptures, is the land in which God has most concern, the land promised to Israel. And it seems that it shall be the policy of this world ruler to divide the land for the best price that can-be obtained. 8 . His power will be only for a short time. He is to prosper only until the “in dignation be accomplished” and until “that [which is] determined shall be done.” The period of his prosperity will cover only “the seventieth” week”, of Daniel,, a period of seven years, with emphasis on the latter half. 9. He will make a covenant with Israel. One of the acts of the Antichrist, at which the world will wonder, will be his seeming ability to solve the Jewish problem. At first he will get along ex
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