THE KING'S BUSINESS
OUR CAMPUS TOUR JULY 13/AU6. 3
Escorted by Dr. and Mrs. Vem Lewis. Dr. Lewis is Assistant Professor o f Psychology at Biola Col lege, La Mirada. Three weeks o f relaxed, educa tional travel in Europe, including Switzerland, France, England, Germany, Austria and Italy. Credit available in psychology and history. Not just for students. A “ travel and learn” program with a Christian group. $795.00 from New York
JULY31/AUG.21 Escorted by Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd T. Anderson. A tour of the Bible Lands visiting the Churches of Revelation, Egypt, Lebanon and Cyprus. $1096.00 from New York
LATE FALL HOLY LAND TOUR NOV. 1-22
Directed by Dr. Charles L. Feinberg and Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland. A Holy Land Tour be fore the heavy winter season visiting the area of Christ’s birth. $1055.00 from New York
Complete information is available from Mr. Israel Carmona, Tour Coordinator, Biola College, La Mirada, Calif. 90638
Dedicated to the spiritual development of the Christian home r -
World Literacy For What
THE K ING ’S J I j j j BUSINESS
AIRADA, CALIFORNIA 90638
13800 BIOLA AVENUE, LA A
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THE KING’SBUSINESS Magazine is a Publication ofBIOLA Schools andColleges, Inc. Louis T. Talbot, Chancellor, S. H. Sutherland, President. APRIL, 1969 / VOLUME 59 / NUMBER 4 / ESTABLISHED 1910 CONTENTS ARTICLES The Kiss That WasTold in a Cross The Hour is Come Is JeaneDixon a Prophetess? EasterChangedTheir Despair to Joy The Gardenof the Cross Soul-Winning Among Servicemen What is Heaven? Drama in theChurch? 6 F. HOWARD OAKLEY l O VANCE HAVNER 1 3 DON HILLIS I T GORDON CHILVERS 1 » ENOCH S. MOORE 2 1 BOB BATEMAN 2 0 LOUIS T. TALBOT 2 9 BILL BYNUM
350 million new readers in the next five years . .. what will they re a d ? C a rl E. J o h n s o n ’s new book spotlights the challenge to world evangelism; the need for q u a lifie d , d e d ic a t e d e d ito rs , printers, translators, booksellers, and workers in TV, radio and films. And he suggests imme d ia te c o n s t r u c t iv e a c tio n fo r chu rches and individual C h ris tians . . . ways and means to use the “ literacy exp lo sion ’’ for the spreading of the Gospel. HOW INTHE WORLD? $3.50 at your bookstore A Revell Publication
3 1 PAUL A. STEWART 3 0 STANLEY BALDWIN
A Good FMAntennaMeans Beter Reception
On-the-Job Witness for Christ
FEATURES
SAMUEL H. SUTHERLAND BETTY BRUECHERT KING’S BUSINESS STAFF JOYCE LANDORF LOUIS T. TALBOT ARNOLD D. EHLERT CLYDE M. NARRAMORE C. CHESTER LARSON
A Mesage from the Editor
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Cults Critque
People in the News Over a Cup of Coffee Dr. Talbot's Question Box BookReviews Talking it Over ChristianWorkers’ Clinic
2 5 2 8 3 4 3 6 3 8
COVER: Reprinted from SAFARI Magazinebypermission ofPontiac Motor Division.
TREASURER Paul Schwepker ADV./PRODUCTION MGR. Bill Ehmann CIRCULATION MGR. Jane M. Clark H. Norman Wright John Ozmon
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A midnight call from the police . . . your child in trouble! Here’s a book about what to do if it hap pens, how to keep it from hap pening. Authoritative report on teen crime for all parents and teens, by Youth for Christ leader, Gordon R. McLean. Introduction by Senator Mark O. Hatfield. W E RE H O L D IN G Y O U R SO N $3.95 at your Bookstore A Revell Publication
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Subscription Rates: THE KING'S BUSINESS is published monthly U.S., its possessions, and Canada, $3.00 one year; S t.SO six months, 30 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. Foreign Subscription 75 cents extra. Allow one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new address. Remittances should be made by bankdraft, express, or post office money order payable to THE KING'S BUSINESS. Advertising: For information address the Advertising Manager, THE KING'S BUSINESS, 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, California 90638. Manuscripts: THE KING'S BUSINESS cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Second class postage paid in La Mirada, California. Printed in. U.S.A. by Church Press, Glendale, California.
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APRIL, 1969
*a message from the editor *
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PRESIDENT, BIOLA SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, INC. S everal m on th s ago , a report was released under the endorse ment of the National Council of Churches, proposing that Americans liberalize their attitude toward the drinking habits of Americans. According to press reports, the National Council o f Churches recommends: 1) the lowering of the drink ing age to 18 in the transition step toward eliminating altogether legal age barriers in the sale of alcoholic beverages; 2) liberal izing alcoholic beverage advertising in mass media (i.e. news papers, television, etc.) by allowing alcohol consumption to be shown in family settings, letting people in ads, including women, be portrayed actually drinking and generally portraying drink ing as a family, rather than barroom, occupation; 3) making alcoholic beverages available to young people at adult-supervised activities such as church functions. The report was entitled, “ Alcoholic Problems: A Report to the Nation.” Of course, the whole report does its best to tone down the ill effects o f even social drinking, at the same time admitting that approximately one-third o f the arrests in the U.S. are for public drunken ness. There were more than 250,000 arrests in the United States for drunk driving and hundreds of thousands o f arrests for alcohol-based crimes such as disorderly conduct. The report esti mates that from 20 to 25% o f all welfare families have a drink ing problem. The findings also revealed that 75% of high school students have had alcoholic beverages more than once before graduation. Approximately 33% say they drink with some regu larity. The report seems to distinguish between the so-called social drinker, the “ problem” drinker, and the “ alcoholic.” The problem drinker uses alcohol to such an extent as to cause “ physical, psychological, or social harm to the drinker or others. ’ Of course, the alcoholic is defined as one in which “ the individ ual has lost control over his alcohol intake in the sense that he is consistently unable to refrain from drinking or to stop from drinking before getting intoxicated.” This appalling situation reveals another instance in which the National Council of Churches seems to be doing everything possible to drag America down further and further into the mire and muck of moral and spiritual decay. Of course, the Na tional Council leaders have long since given up any semblance of belief in the Bible as the infallible Word o f God. To them it is a book merely to be read ceremonially and used as part of a dull, dry, religious ritual which is totally devoid o f significance to the modern mind. Because the National Council leadership
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has repudiated the Bible as the Word of God and therefore has lost its moorings or standards, it is moving into these other areas and falsely claiming to speak for the mass of Protestants in these United States. Not only does the National Council urge that the legal drinking age limit be reduced to 18, but also they state that this is merely a stop-gap situation. Hopefully, they would eliminate all age limitations so that youngsters o f any age can drink legally whatever they want and all they desire. It is this same National Council of Churches leadership that is advocat ing the breakdown of law and order by encouraging young men to bum their draft cards, by having its leadership engage in the civil rights marches of recent years publicly and boastfully defying the laws of the land and inviting jail sentences to drama tize their illegal acts. It is the same National Council o f Church’s leadership that is encouraging close co-operation with the mur derers of Red China, and closer co-operation with Communist Russia and its God-denying ideology. Through its affiliate, the World Council of Churches, the National Council is encouraging a “ I hate America” program designed to take away all of the liberties that Americans hold near and dear to their hearts. Instead, the Council would substitute for them a world program in which Americans are supposed to give up everything for which we have worked to the “ have nots” and to live on the same level as the God-haters, Christ-deniers, and ignorant classes of people in other lands. In other words, the whole Communist line! The whole trouble is that all too many good people have raised their voices in very feeble protest against individual decisions on the part o f the National Council o f Churches. Those who have sought to bring together the whole mass of anti-Christiart and anti-American ideologies which are held by the leadership of the National Council o f Churches are accused of being ex tremists. “ Extremism” in every form is a despised word and concept in American life at the present time. Of course, this nation is simply another very successful effort on the part o f these world-be destroyers of our American way o f life. They have been very successful in getting all too many people to de nounce extremism, but the Word of God itself is an extremely extremist document. Sin is pictured as extremely heinous in God’s sight. Hell is depicted as a very extreme condition and location into which the unregenerate will be cast to remain forever and ever. The Lord Jesus Christ was extremely extremist when He said, “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” He was very much an extremist also when He said to the Phari sees, “Ye are of your father, the devil.” Our Lord dealt most exclusively in the blacks and whites. There was nothing of the muggy, dismal grays with His statements which are so prevalent in the thinking of so many people today. Our Lord used “ the power o f positive thinking” and speaking 1900 years ago. It is nothing new whatever, but He also used “ the power o f negative thinking” 1900 years ago. Alas, that is not popular today! “ Thou shalt not” statements are quite readily understood by any right- thinking individual. The secular press more and more is taking issue with the findings and decisions and policies o f the National Council o f Churches. It is extremely regrettable that so many ministers and churches whose denominations belong to the Na tional Council o f Churches are afraid to speak out against the terrible trends which this liberal organization espouses. . . . “ Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing” (II Cor. 6:17). Hi]
FOR THE TREE OF THE FIELD IS MAN’S LIFE ' - Deuteronomy 20.19
M n p t i h t e straight i laW season, Justus J ir 9 ^nan’s life when.": hi&guide, he grows j strong and steadfast. Cambridge University Press |>asmade Bibles since 159L When yon own a Cambridge Bible, yon own a book made with craftsmanship inherited through twelve generations.
AT ALL BOOKSELLERS
APRIL, 1969
Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:9, 10). “ For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The lines which follow were suggested by the story o f an aged African woman who, on hearing the passages quoted above, pro tested: “ That’s not love! That’s not love!” and who, when pressed for her meaning, explained that the word “ love” was not strong enough to express what was in volved in the gift of an only Son. A father one day to his own little son A letter of love had penned, He could scarcely read, so young he was, So just at the very end, “ To show him my love,” the father said, “I will close it with a kiss, That simple sign he will surely know” And he made a sign like this—X Yes, right at the end where he sighed his name, He added a simple cross, And the letter was sent, And he knew what it meant, The kiss that was told in a cross. And God wrote a letter, a wonderful book, He wrote it o’er earth and sky; A book that the humble in heart could read When lifting their heads on high, And looking at stars so far away, And looking at flowers so near, They noted the care-free birds’ sweet song, In them God’s care did hear. Yes, over it all He signed His name, On sea, on earth, and on sky, And the letter was sent, And they knew what it meant, Who lifted their eyes on high. And then when the course of time had run, A letter of love God sent; It was writ so plain that all might read And know what the Sender meant, For there at the end, where all might see, A sign that they could not miss; He placed in the language of child hood’s day The sign of a child’s pure kiss. But why if it told us of God’s great love, Oh, why was there only one? My eyes fill with tears—I sob as I see 'Twas the cross of His only Son, And the letter was sent, Do you know what it meant, God’s love in the cross of His Son?
TODAY 'S STUDENTS . . . tomorrow’s leaders
The kiss that WAS told in a CROSS
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Name__________________________ Address________________________ City____________________________ State___________Zip_____________ I I_______________________________ 1
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CanIbe yourown
CULTS CRITIQUE by Betty Brueehert
No mommy. No daddy. No one to care. Little Soon Ae is all alone, a tragic victim of trou bled Asia. She aimlessly fondles her only friend . . . a tattered rag do ll. . . and pleads for someone to Jove her.
B A H A I S M A fr ie n d h a s asked for information in regard to Bahaism, the re- i form movement of Mohamme danism. In Wilmette, 111. stands an impos ing structure — the great multi-mil- lion-dollar Temple of Bahai, head quarters of one of the strangest re ligions in the world, which claims over 500 centers in Persia (now Iran), where it originated, and over 90 centers, with thousands of follow ers, in the U.S. The nine sides of the temple represent the nine stages through which this religion has passed to attain its present “perfec tion.” The modern movement is the outgrowth of an earlier cult founded by the “ Bab,” a Persian prophet. Moslems of the 19th century believed the Messiah would come in 1860 to manifest the final victory of Islam over the world. They acknowledged Jesus as a prophet, believed Moham med to be greater, and looked for a still greater prophet who would cause the world to accept the Koran as the final word of Allah. The “ Bab” claimed to be this prophet, the Mes siah, introduced a new book, and gathered a group of disciples. Mos lem authorities executed him in Ta briz in 1850 and 20,000 of his follow ers were massacred. Leadersh ip passed to Bahaullah who carried the Bab’s body to Haifa and placed it in a shrine at Mt. Carmel. He then di rected the advance of this religion in all parts of the world. His son Abdul Baha, who succeeded him at his death in 1892, predicted a world war if the world did not embrace Baha ism, and received great impetus to the cause by the the outbreak of World War I. When he died in Pales tine in 1921, his grandson, and the great-grandson of the founder, Shog- hi Effendi, took over and greatly ad vanced this Oriental cult. At his death in 1957, nine leaders were elected to direct the affairs of this fanatical system which teaches that God is unknowable except through the Bahai prophet; that the mission of Bahaism is to unite all men in the one faith of Bahaism; that the final age of peace will come through the Bahai prophet o f God. Needless to say, there is no Gos pel in this cult, and Christians should seek to lead its followers to a person al knowledge of Jesus Christ as Sav iour and Lord.
J i f
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m0*9 ■ J?*•* a day) for food, cloth ing, medical care, edu cation and Christian training. And the rewards of spon sorship are great. You re ceive a photo and life story of the child you select. Your own life takes on new meaning as you bring hope to a needy child. Letters and small- gifts are exchanged. Prayers span the oceans. It's like having your own child in a faraway land. But, don't delay. The need is urgent. Follow your com passionate heart and take a love-starved child for your very own today.
Only seven or eight and all alone. Begging for food, sleep
ing in the gutter. . . unloved, unwanted, unaccepted. This is daily life for thousands of boys and girls in troubled Asia. Brave children like little Soon Ae who pray to belong to someone. They're pitiful victims of war and poverty. Daily they come to COMPASSION Homes
in India, Korea and Indonesia seek ing comfort, hope and Christian love. Yet, without your help we cannot answer their pleading cries. They long for a "mommy or daddy" or "big brother or sister." Someone who really cares. A sponsor who will share love with a heartbroken child, and supply just $12 a month (only pennies
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V O Q I I want to sponsor a lonely child today. I under- 1 u O > stand I may discontinue at any time. COMPASSION, INC. Rev. Henry Harvey, President 7774 Irving Park Road, Dept. 0000, Chicago, Illinois 60634 K49 (Canadian residents write Box 880, Blenheim, Ontario) My choice is.. , . . . . . . . If this child has been chosen, please select similar child. I prefer a □ boy or □ girl, approximately --------------------years old, from the land of______________________ Please rush FULL particulars. Enclosed is □ (12 for first month □$144 for first year. □ Select a child for me from the most needy count™. □ I am unable to sponsor, but wish to contribute $______________ for general child care. □ Please rush further information today. Name__________________________________________________________ Address__________________________________________________________ ______ City-------------------------------------------------------------State__________________ Zip_________ Make checks payable to COMPASSION, Inc., an interdenominational, Gov. approved, non-profit corporation. Contributions are tax deductible.
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These lovely souvenir baby shoes direct from Korea can be yours if you'll spon sor a needy child to day. They're cute and colorful. A delightful conversation piece or prayer reminder.
APRIL, 1969
7
A major Bible publishing event!
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DR. SAMUEL H. SUTHERLAND, Presi dent of Biola Schools and Colleges, Inc., was selected by the La Mirada Chamber of Commerce as the City’s "Citizen of the Year.” He was singled out for his “ service to La Mirada, America, and the world.” The mayor of La Mirada, MR. WIL SIMENDINGER, pointed out that under the Biola President’s time more than 10,000 “ good will ambassadors” have left the campus to enter the missions of the world. Dr. Sutherland has been a part of Biola’s ministry since 1936. As far as his community service is con cerned, this has included being a mem-
THE NEW SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE W I T H C O N C O R D A N C E W IDESPREAD interest and enthusiasm mark the appear ance o f the Handy Size NEW SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE as one o f 1969’s major Bible publishing events. Here is a compact, lightweight edition of the evangelical study Bible favorite which has already enjoyed sales of more than 300,000 copies. Particularly suitable for the young adult and student, the Handy Size NEW SCOFIELD is similar in page design to the Large Size Edition and contains Concordance, New Oxford Bible Maps with Index, and all the popular NEW SCOFIELD study features. The King James Version text is printed in highly legible type on Oxford India paper.
ber of the City Planning Commission, former member of the City Hostorical Society, and special assistance given to the La Mirada Symphony. He is also past Director of the Chamber of Com merce. The mayor arranged it so that the plaque itself was presented by MRS. SUTHERLAND to her husband. Wheaton College Summer School will offer over 100 courses in nine programs of study at six different locations: in Illinois, Wisconsin, South Dakota, New York, Europe, and Palestine. Wycliffe Bible Translators, formerly lo cated in Santa Ana, Calif., has acquired 65 acres in Dallas, Texas, for develop ment as a major midwestern center. Wycliffe executives state that the loca tion is ideal for a year-around linguistic training program conducted by the Sum mer Institute of Linguistics. Eventually it will be the site of a museum housing artifacts and original first-time transla tions of educational materials produced for the 440 groups in which Wycliffe's linguists are working. IVAR SVENDSEN, a sixteen-year-old' boy is the winner of the Tract Writing Contest sponsored by the American Tract Society. He is a member of Battalion 1292 in Essex Fells, New Jersey, where he serves as a Corporal. The contest was held in conjunction with the Annual
1,600 pages: 16 pages of New Ox ford Bible Maps with Index. Size: 5Ve x 7>/2, only 7/a" thick. ACTUAL TYPE SIZE 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley o f the /shadow o f death, I will *fear no evil; for thou art 'with Each with ribbon marker; 09159x with two ribbon markers.
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Leadership Training Contest of the Christian Service Brigade. DR. CLARENCE E. MASON, JR., Dean of Philadelphia College of the Bible, has announced plans for retirement. He has served with the organization for 41 years, 26 of which he was Dean. He will continue to serve as professor of Bible. Moody Literature Mission, which is the gospel literature distribution arm of Moody Bible Institute, recently shipped 25,000 paperbacks to Viet Nam which will be distributed among U.S. service men. The material totaling more than $14,000.00 in retail value was requested by chaplains for working in Viet Nam. World Vision International, headquar- tred in Monrovia, California, is assisting more than 3800 registered leprosy pa tients in Korea, Taiwan, and India. Other ministries include handicapped children, blind, crippled children, mentally retard ed, polio victims, all of which are helped through hospitals and clinics in various countries of the world. Word, Inc., of Waco, Texas, has an nounced a seven-day cruise in the Carib bean which will combine ocean travel with a program of life-centered discus sion headed by MR. KEITH MILLER, MR. KENNETH CHAFIN and MR. GARY DEMA- REST. MR. JARRELL McCRACKEN, Presi dent of Word, described the cruise as a “Christian voyage of self-discovery.” Scheduled to embark May 9 from Miami, the cruise will take place on a modern Norwegian liner which holds 393 pas sengers and has been chartered espe cially for this voyage. REV. COY T. MARET of the Emmanuel Faith Community Church in Escondido was recently honored upon the comple tion of his 25th year at the church. DR. J. VERNON McGEE, pastor of the Church of the Open Door, spoke at the anniversary. In addition, the Rev. Mr. Maret will receive a special honorary doctorate degree at the annual com mencement exercises of Biola Schools and Colleges in June. He was graduated from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in 1935. DR. W ILLIAM A.
NOW .. See and Hear Richard W DeHaan
K DAY OF DISCOVERY, the new half-hour telecast produced in color and released weekly across the United States. Dynamic Bible-teaching by Richard DeHaan. Sparkling variety and warm sincerity with
congenial host Al Sanders and a different guest artist each week. Discovery Singers and orchestra under the direction of Dick Anthony. Richard DeHaan says: "God has given us various tools to do His work, with many open doors. We are convinced that the use of television will allow us to enter homes untouched by our radio and literature outreach." DAY OF DISCOVERY can be viewed on the following stations every Sunday, unless indicated otherwise: CITY & STATE (Sundays) Channel Time
CITY & STATE (Sundays) Channel Time New York Albany 13 9:00 AM New York City 11 12:00 M* Syracuse 5 8:30 AM North Carolina Asheville 7 9:00 AM Charlotte 9 8:00 AM Winston-Salem 8 10:00 AM North Dakota Devils Lake 8 9:30 AM Fargo 6 9:30 AM Ohio Cincinnati 12 9:00 AM Steubenville 9 9:30 AM Oregon Portland 12 10:00 AM 5 8:00 AM Greenville/Spa rtanburg 7 9:00 AM Tennessee Chattanooga 9 9:30 AM Jackson 7 8:30 AM Knoxville 10 12:30 PM Memphis 3 9:00 AM Nashville 4 7:30 AM Texas El Paso 4 9:30 AM Fort Worth 11 10:00 AM Lubbock 34 1:00 PM Virginia Harrisonburg 3 12:00 N* Washington Tacoma 13 7:00 PM West Virginia Charleston 8 10:00 AM Wheeling 9 9:30 AM Pennsylvania Philadelphia Wilkes-Barre South Carolina Charleston 17 8:30 AM 28 9:00 AM
Arizona Phoenix California Los Angeles Los Angeles Colorado
5 8:30 AM 9 7:30 AM 5 9:00 AM 13 10:00 AM 18 11:00 AM
Colorado Springs Connecticut
Hartford Florida Fort Pierce
34 12:00 N* Orlando/Daytona Beach 2 8:00 AM Palm Beach 5 10:00 AM Tampa Georgia 13 9:00 AM
11 9:30 AM
Atlanta Illinois Chicago Peoria Indiana
26 2:00 PM (Saturday) 26 3:30 PM
19 12:30 PM 33 10:30 AM 6 9:30 AM 9 8:00 AM 7 10:00 AM 6 9:00 AM 10 9:00 AM 7 9:00 AM 7 9:30 AM 12 9:00 AM 8 1:00 PM 9 10:00 AM 6 10:00 AM 10 10:00 AM 5 9:00 AM 7 9:30 AM 9 9:30 AM
Fort Wayne Indianapolis Iowa Sioux City
Waterloo/Cedar Rapids Kansas Ensign
Goodland Pittsburg Wichita Maine Portland Michigan Cadillac Lansing Hays
MIEROP has joined the staff of the Bible C lu b Movement as Assistant to the Gen eral D ire c to r. D r. Mierop was pastor of the Ocean City Bap tist Church in New Jersey, H ydew o od Park Baptist Church, North Plainfield, New
Sault Ste. Marie Minnesota Minneapolis Missouri Joplin New Hampshire Manchester *N— Noon M—-Midnight
Wisconsin Green Bay Milwaukee Wausau
11 9:00 AM 6 9:00 AM 7 7:30 AM
Jersey, and the First Baptist Church of Woodbury, New Jersey. He served as president of Philadelphia College of the Bible for fourteen years. The Bible Club Movement was founded in 1936 and has missionaries in 16 countries around the world.
Stations are being added each week. Consult your local nowspaper for the station in your area, or write for further information to the Radio Bible Class at P.0. Box TV, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
¿ a i t
R A . D I O BIBLE C L A S S
P.O. BOX 22, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN 49501
9
APRIL, 1969
by Vance Havner
O ur L ord w as at the peak o f His popularity. He |had raised Lazarus from the dead. Mary and Martha had Him for supper in Bethany. Laza rus was present and many came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but to see Lazarus. Curiosity has lured many to church for secondary reasons but some times they end up seeing Jesus. Later, Jerusalem gave the Saviour a great welcome. Everybody was
talking about Him. His enemies complained, “Be hold, the world is gone after Him.” But if He was at the height of His fame, He was also at the height o f the opposition against Him. Things were coming to a head and the storm was about to break, the inevitable collision be tween Christ and Antichrist. In the midst o f it all, certain Greeks came to see Jesus. They had
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heard of His teaching and miracles and wanted to see the One everybody was talking about. Our Lord met their request with a strange an swer. He began by saying, “ The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” He was say ing, “ I am facing death and resurrection. This what I came for and if these Greeks do not see Me in that light, they do not see me at all.” There are many Greeks out to see Jesus today, but if they see only a teacher, an example, a martyr, they haven’t seen Him. Leave out the cross and the open grave and you miss the meaning of Jesus Christ. Historians who treat Him only as a re ligious leader, merely as the Founder of Christian ity, miss the point. The heart o f Christianity is His death and resurrection and Christianity grows as His followers share with Him dying to sin and rising to walk in newness of life. The grain of wheat must die to multiply. Otherwise it is only a grain of wheat. Plant one grain and you have a hundred. Plant a hundred and you have a thou sand. That is the secret of Christianity, from death unto life. After two thousand years, most church goers have about as much understanding of it as they have o f nuclear physics. So He said, “ The hour is come.” In other words, “ This is i t !” He had often spoken of His hour. He had said to His mother at Cana: “Mine hour is not yet come.” He had said to His brethren: “My time is not yet come.” When some tried to take Him, no man laid hands on Him because “His hour was not yet come.” Later we read, “When Jesus knew that His hour was come. . . .” Everything else was done in the light o f that hour. It was not just that He must die, for all men must die. This was the greatest hour in all history when God fought it out with the devil and settled the sin question forever. There have been crises in his tory, decisive battles, turning points in time, but they are as molehills beside mountains compared to this hour. Take this hour out of history and it makes no sense; it is only “ a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing.” Our Lord said, “ Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?” There is no Gethsemane account in John but here He is facing the same issue. Some have asked why Jesus seems to cringe before Calvary while Socrates and many another faced death without qualms. But this was no ordinary death. This is the Son o f God taking upon Him self all the sins of all men from the beginning to the end of time. There never had been such a death before and there never would be such a death again. Jesus Christ being Who He is and sin being what it is, this death took all the evil that ever was or would be and nailed it to the cross. No wonder the Saviour said, “ Now is my soul trou bled” ! Then He prayed, “ Father, glorify Thy Name.”
When in our little lives our souls are troubled and we know not what to say, here is the prayer for us to pray. The supreme purpose o f our Lord’s life was to glorify God and it should be the supreme purpose in your life and mine. Dr. Torrey used to say, “ The supreme purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.” But we had bet ter mean it when we pray, “ Father, glorify Thy Name” for sometimes God has strange ways of getting glory from our lives. Lazarus’ sickness was for the glory o f God and Jesus told Peter by what death he should glorify God. Whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do, we should do all to the glory of God. When we pray for revival, we should remember the old song, “Hallelujah, Thine the glory, revive us again.” Sometimes we are strong on the “ Hallelujah” but weak on “ Thine the glory” ! In answer to our Lord’s prayer, there came a voice from heaven saying, “ I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Three interpretations of this voice followed. Some said that it thundered. That is the secular, the natural explanation. Some said that an angel spoke. That is the spiritual ex planation. But our Lord gave the true interpreta tion: “ This voice came not because of me but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me.” Here is a three-fold explanation: the judgment of this world; the casting out o f Satan; the universal magnetism o f the crucified Christ. Jesus had already said: “ The hour is come.” Luke tells us that when He was arrested a little later, He said to His enemies: “ This is YOUR hour and the power of darkness.” It was HIS HOUR, the hour for which He had come to earth to die for the sins of the world. It was also THEIR HOUR when the opposition of Satan came to its climax. It was their big moment! Light met Dark ness, Heaven met Hell, Christ met Antichrist in a head-on collision. Our Lord knew that there was a dark, sinister world under the control of the devil and his demons. The priests and Pharisees and all who fought Him during His life were the human tools of this world of darkness. He was not merely accommodating Himself to the demonology of His time. Paul tells us that “we are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil” (Phillips). This warfare reached its climax at Calvary and Jesus Christ won the victory when He came out of the grave. It was His hour and it was their hour, and the power of darkness:
“One death-grapple in the darkness ’Twixt old systems and the Word."
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nuclear dilemma. Jesus has come and the world is on the spot because it must choose between light and darkness, Christ and Antichrist, light and darkness. Calvary was the greatest event o f all time. Dr. Toynbee may not think so, some little history professor may not know it but Calvary is the watershed of history. Heaven, earth and hell all met there and this world is judged by what it does about Jesus Christ. “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already.” “ And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” This is the only way Greeks or anybody else will ever truly know Him. “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” He draws by the magnetism of the cross. We do not come by our own goodness, by joining church, by human resolution. But you say that He is not drawing all men? Yes, He is, but men can resist that drawing power, the pull of Calvary. There is a tug of war between God and the devil for every man’s soul and all de pends on whether man yields to the lifted-up Christ or the down-drag o f the devil. “Neither YIELD ye your members as instruments of un righteousness unto sin: but YIELD yourselves un to God.” It is all a matter o f what you yield to! When I was a little boy, my father gave me a horseshoe magnet. I marvelled that with it I could pick up a nail and then that magnetized nail would pick up still another. When we yield to the Christ of the cross and live in touch with Him, we are able to pull others in His direction. The only power that can overcome the downward pull o f darkness is the upward pull of the light. The only match for the DEMON-stration of the devil is the demon stration o f the Spirit. We are living in the last chapter “YOUR HOUR AND THE POWER OF DARKNESS.” Only the uplifted Christ can deliver from the down-drag o f Antichrist. BE MI am coming to the cross; f am poor and weak and blind; 1 am counting all but dross, I shall full salvation find."
On one occasion our Lord said: “ I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” He saw what was going to happen as though it had happened in a moment of time. Every time demons are cast out and the devil defeated, we have a small demon stration of what happened on Calvary once for all and what will happen when Satan is cast into the lake of fire to stay forever. Mind you, our Lord did not behold Satan as victorious but as defeated. Satan may seem to be having things his way to day but our Lord saw him not as victorious but van quished. We need to see the devil through the Saviour’s eyes. But is not Satan still very much in power? Is he not the god o f this age? Yes, he possesses the king doms of this world temporarily and offered them to Jesus in the third temptation. But the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. The devil may possess it for the time being but God owns it. Satan has already been cast out in the mind and purpose o f God. He is putting up a hard fight today for he knows that his time is short. His final and complete defeat lies ahead when Christ returns. There is no devil in the first two chapters of the Bible and no devil in the last two chapters. Thank God for a Book that disposes of the devil! We are living in the last chapter of this age. Darkness is intensified and compounded. A moun tain preacher said that “ gross darkness” is 144 times darker than ordinary darkness! We are in an hour of gross darkness. Because Satan knows that he is defeated, he is pulling out all the stops, heating the furnace seven times hotter. All the fearful things you read in the papers are the last mad frantic onslaught of the god o f this age. The issue is not Communism, secularism, materialism, crime waves, worldwide lawlessness and the putrid immorality of this modern Sodom and Gomorrah. We confuse the issue with this detail and that and do not see that all of them are manipulated back- stage by the prince and powers of darkness. In this Punch and Judy show of history, Hitler, Stalin, Ho Chih Min, Castro and Mao tse Tung are only puppets. Back of all the beatniks and crackpots on the center of the stage and pulling all the strings is Lucifer. We are not seeing ordinary wickedness today but demonism. This is their hour and the power of darkness. Current events make no sense, news reports mean nothing, panelists and commen tators and experts only make confusion more con founded and the jigsaw puzzle more hopeless unless we understand what Jesus meant by “MY HOUR” and “ YOUR HOUR.” He said, “Now is the judgment o f this world.” John tells us: “ And this is the condemnation (the krisis, the test by which men are judged) that light is come into the world and men loved dark ness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” The crisis is not Viet Nam or inflation or the
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by Don W . HUMs
M a n y believe she is , and why not? Mrs. Dixon correctly predicted the assassinations o f Mahatma Ghandi and President Kennedy. She predicted the successor for Prime Minister Nehru and the turning of China to Communism. She foretold the death of Dag Hammarskjöld and Marilyn Monroe’s suicide. And these are but a few o f her prophecies. According to the Chicago Tribune (June 23, 1968), Jeane Dixon’s 1968 predictions include the statements that the Rev. Ralph Abernathy will be supplanted in his leadership of the Southern Chris tian Leadership Conference, and that Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. will “ endeavor to step into active politics as a modern Joan o f Arc.” Canada’s Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, has a great future ahead o f him. “He could be a world leader . . . , ” she says. The Chicago Tribune refers to Mrs. Dixon as a popular soothsayer and the Tribune’s Horoscope caster. Grit Magazine refers to her as “ Prophetess Jeane Dixon.” In a Grit review (August, 1968) o f the book, “ PREDICTIONS: FACT OR FALLACY?” writ ten by Hans Holser, we read, “ In recent years,
Jeane Dixon of Washington, has become a prophet tess o f world renown.” She “ predicted the fall of Malenkov, the election o f President Truman, the death of President Roosevelt, and many other events of lesser political significance. Not all of her predictions have come true, but enough have materialized to secure her a place among the great prophets.” Mrs. Dixon is a devout Roman Catholic. She consistently attends Mass and is knowledgeable of numerous portions o f Scripture. It is logical, there fore, to ask whether the Catholic Church looks upon her as a prophetess. Ruth Montgomery, author of a best-seller about Mrs. Dixon, made a definite effort to find an answer to that question. She obtained her answer from Monsignor James A. Magner, pro curator o f Catholic University o f America. Though the Monsignor’s answer implied that he felt Mrs. Dixon had a gift from God, he did not say she was a prophetess. He did, however, express his feeling that there is no basic conflict between her gift and the principles and policies of the Catholic church. Apparently, Jeane Dixon does not consider her-
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ing on her bed (but not asleep), she felt a motion against the mattress. As she looked in the direction of the motion, she saw a small snake. It was moving its way toward the foot o f the bed. It then began to coil its body around her ankles, moving steadily upward toward her head. As it entwined her, it grew in size until the diameter of its body was equal that of a man’s arm. When the head o f the black and yellow snake reached the level o f her head, it turned to look to the east and then back again at Mrs. Dixon. She testified that she experi enced no fear, for she knew the Lord was protect ing her. She felt the eyes o f the snake spoke of love, goodness, strength, and wisdom. She inter preted this vision to mean that, “we must look to the east for growth and to the west for the end ing of things.” What is the Explanation? How are we to explain Jeane Dixon’s “ gift” and that of others who are involved in such psychic phenomena? What should the attitude of the child of God be toward this? The following suggestions should be helpful. First, it is well to remember that there is noth ing new about prophets, diviners, horoscope cast ers, magicians, crystal ball readers, necromancers, and soothsayers. The Bible gives us numerous illus trations and much teaching about this. It will be remembered that the magicians o f Moses’ day duplicated several of the miracles wrought by Moses in the name o f Jehovah. Obviously, Phar aoh’s magicians (Exodus 7, 8) did not receive their power from God. This is clearly seen in the fact that they could go only so far in the producing of miracles and then were stopped. The Pharaohs of Egypt and the rulers of Babylon all had their sor cerers, their soothsayers, and their magicians. They are also found in the Roman Empire o f New Testa ment days. Secondly, there is a multiplying number of people who are exercising psychic “ gifts.” As never before, men and women are turning to horoscope casters, palmists, and psychics for information con cerning their future. Nor is this trend limited to the United States. It is universal. “ Coveys of witches are meeting all over Britain. In France jaded lovers resort to love philtres. Peasants cast the evil eye in Italy. Politicians o f newly-emerging African nations consult their witch doctors before making decisions. Even on Wall Street there are speculators who won’t invest a penny before study ing their horoscopes” (Christian Life, March, 1968). Thirdly, we can be sure that these psychic phenomena in no way relate to the true prophetic picture of the Scriptures. Let me suggest the fol lowing reasons: A. Modem prophets depend on channels of information forbidden by the Old Testament. It
self a prophetess. In fact, Ruth Montgomery quotes her as saying, “Of course I am not !” Such a state ment appears paradoxical in the light of the title Miss Montgomery has given her book, “A GIFT OF PROPHECY.” Sources of Precognitions If Mrs. Dixon is not a prophetess, then what are the sources of her precognitions? There are apparently four: 1) She is often able to ascertain the future o f people by simply touching the tips of their fingers. 2) On some occasions, nothing more than a birth date will give her a clue to the prediction she makes. 3) Gazing into the crystal ball is a third and more basic source o f informa tion. 4) Special visions are the most significant to her. Mrs. Dixon has had numerous visions dating back to early childhood. As a child, she made “pro phetic” statements ranging all the way from one relating to the death of her grandfather in Ger many to that of receiving a black and white collie dog from her father. When Jeane Dixon was still a very small girl, she came in contact with a gypsy who left a lasting impression upon her life. The gypsy predicted Jeane would some day be able to see into the future, and she would be blessed with “ the gift of prophecy.” She gave to the little girl a deck of playing cards, which Mrs. Dixon still uses on occasion in making her predictions because the cards were blessed by the gypsy and, hence, carry “ good vibrations.” Mrs. Dixon believes her most significant revela tions come to her by way o f visions. She feels she can misinterpret the symbols which she may see in the crystal ball, but she cannot misinterpret a vision. She is convinced her visions come directly from God and that they involve her in a real act of worship. She looks upon her ability to predict the fu ture as a gift from God. If you were to ask her about this, she would probably reply, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administration, but the same Lord. And there are diversities o f operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in alL But the manifestation o f the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts o f heal ing by the same Spirit; to another the gift of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discern ing of Spirits; to another divers kinds o f tongues; to another the interpretation o f tongues; but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will (I Cor. 12:4-11). One of Jeane Dixon’s most significant visions took place “ after midnight on July 14,1952.” Read
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mistakes. They were holy men o f God who wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Their prophecies were 100 percent accurate. Those that already have been fulfilled have been fulfilled in every detail. Others remain to be fulfilled. D. The Bible clearly indicates that there is no longer room for prophets. Though there is plenty of open space for “ forth-tellers,” there is no longer room for “ foretellers.” The prophetic script has been closed. The last word has been spoken. Jesus Christ is that last Word. God who spoke in times past by the prophets has now spoken by His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). The Book has been closed and the last period placed in position. We can safely con clude, therefore, that those whose words, lives, and ministries appear to make them prophets today do not fit into the Biblical pattern. False Prophets In this regard, the Bible has much to say. Jesus Christ warned His disciples that false prophets would arise who would do miracles and seduce many through power that came from sources other than themselves (Note Matt. 24 and Mark 13). The Apostle Paul warned the believers at Ephe sus that they would have to face false teachers. He said, “ For I know this, that after my depart ing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away dis ciples after them” (Acts 20:29, 30). In II Corin thians eleven, he speaks of “false apostles, deceit ful workers” who would transform themselves “ in to the apostles of Christ.” To this he adds, “ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the minis ters o f righteousness, whose end shall be accord ing to their works” (w . 13-15). But it is left for Peter to express the strongest denunciation in this regard. He says, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even deny ing the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall fol low their pernicious ways; by reason o f whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with vain words make merchandise of you; whose judgment now o f a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slum- bereth not” (II Peter. 2:1-3). This denunciation fits in clearly with the Old Testament teaching concerning Israel’s relation ship to magicians, witches, wizards, soothsayers, sorcerers, and false prophets. We read: “When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone that malceth his son is
would be difficult to imagine Isaiah or Jeremiah, Mosea or Amos carrying around crystal balls, read ing the palms of kings and rulers, or checking astrology charts. They relied entirely on God and His revelation to them. Hence, they could say with authority, “Thus saith the Lord.” B. Modem “ prophecies” lack detail. Even in specific predictions made by psychics today, details are lacking. In contrast, look at the comparatively unimportant prophecy made by Samuel to Saul, relative to an immediate event which was to take place in Saul’s life. In the following six verses, Samuel gives no less than 15 specific details which had to come to pass for his prophecy to prove true. “When thou art departed from me today, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves o f bread, and another carrying a bottle o f wine. And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves o f bread; which thou shalt receive o f their hands. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee” (I Sam. 10:2-7). This kind of prophetic detail is completely lack ing in contemporary prognostications, and not without reason. According to the law o f mathe matical chance, Samuel’s prophecy had only one chance in several millions o f being fulfilled. Twen tieth century predictors are hardly ready to take that kind o f a “gamble.” C. “Modem prophets” are not 100 percent ac curate. Though some have higher batting averages than others, all fall short o f a perfect record. Though Mrs. Dixon’s percentage may be higher than other contemporary predictors, she has made some glaring mistakes. She predicted, for example, that the Quemoy and Matsu Island trouble (1959) would be used by China to lead the world into war. She predicted that Walter Reuther would run for the Presidency in 1964, and that Nixon would win the 1960 election. She “ struck out” on all three o f these. The prophets of the Scriptures never made such APRIL, 1969
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